Paulo Coelho

Stories & Reflections

LINK FOR THE INTERVIEW IN ENGLISH>>> CLICK HERE

L’auteur Paulo Coelho parle avec Metro sur le succes de son roman ‘L’Alchimiste”. d’etre la deuxieme personne qui a le plus d’influence apres Justin Bieber et de son nouveau livre ‘Aleph’.

‘Aleph’, de quoi s’agit-il?

Mon experience sur le train le ‘Trans Siberien’. Je pensais que j’etais deja un auteur tres repute. Je n’avais pas besoin de faire autre chose. et je ressentais que quelque chose n’allait pas. J’ai voyage pendant trois mois. J’ai commence a Londres et suis arrive a Vladivostok – juste pour rentrer en relation avec mon ame –

Avez-vous appris quelque chose sur vous?

On apprend tout le temps. Le probleme est que, parfois, on a l’impression de comprendre le monde. – c’est une erreur – le monde est toujours en mouvement. Vous n’arrivez jamais au moment ou vous devez vous arretez de faire un effort.,

Y-a-t’il eu des revelations en route?

Bien sur – le fait de rencontrer des gens – un chauffeur de taxi par exemple- ou trouver un livre. Je suis ouvert a la vie et durant cette periode, j’etais ouvert a de nouvelles experiences. Lorsque vous vous arretez de suivre les regles que vos parents vous imposent ;”Ne parles pas avec les etrangers’ – vous apprenez –

Les gens semblent tirer un enseignement spirituel dans des lieux exotiques – pouvez-vous en recevoir un en allant au travail?

Evidemment – Je ne prends pas le Trans Siberien tous les jours mais j’essaie d’avoir l’occasion de faire ces experiences chaque jour. Si vous etes accessible aux autres – cela peut arriver en vous rendant au travail – Ou bien vous choisissez de vous replier sur vous -meme – Vous devez vivre le moment.

Qu’attendent vos lecteurs de vos livres?

Je ne le sais pas – je n’ecris jamais avec cette question en tete – J’ecris seulement pour mieux me comprendre. Je parle avec mes lecteurs sur les reseaux Internet – mais je ne leur parle jamais en ce qui concerne le livre – Ecrire est solitaire , alors de temps en temps, je parle avec eux sur l’Internet. C’est comme si vous discutiez dans un bar sans quitter votre bureau. On parle de tout sauf de mes livres.

Quelles sont vos habitudes lorsque vous ecrivez?

C’est, comme le disait lewis Carrol : Commencer par le debut, aller a la fin et s’arreter. J’ecris comme cela. Je n’essaie pas de montrer a quel point je suis intelligent ou cultive. J’essaie seulement de partager mon ame – Partager fait partie de la vie –

Vous etes venu a l’ecriture tard dans la vie, comment se fait-il que vous ayez mis si longtemps?
Je voulais ecrire lorsque j’etais jeune. Mais les gens m’ont dit que c’etait impossible. Puis mes parents m’ont interne dans un hopital psychiatrique – ils disaient que j’etais fou et que je pourrais pas gagner ma vie en faisant ce metier . J’ai appris que l’on a besoin de traverser des ponts et d’en detruire d’autres. Je n’allais jamais etre a la hauteur de leurs reves – devenir un ingenieur – Mon point tournant a ete le pelerinage, en 1986 a Saint Jacques de Compostelle en Espagne, J’avais 40 ans et revais de devenir ecrivain, Je l’ai reporte a plus tard. J’ai marche pendant 56 jours puis je me suis dit ;” Il te faut commencer a ecrire a present ‘. Le succes n’est pas arrive du jour au lendemain. Cela a pris des annees pour que mes livres soient traduits – et ‘L’Alchimiste’ avait ete rejete par les maisons d’edition. Vous avez besoin de vous battre pour ce en quoi vous croyez.

Pourquoi ‘L’Alchimiste’ a ete aussi populaire?
C’est la question a 1,000.000 de dollars. Je ne le sais vraiment pas. C”est une metaphore sur ma vie personnelle et en l’ecrivant elle a touche un point sensible chez les autres. C’est le livre qui a ete le plus traduit par un auteur vivant. Je n’aurais jamais pense qu’il serait autant lu,Je ne sais pas pourquoi – et je n’ai pas envie de le savoir – cela mettrait fin a la magie.

On dit que vous etes la deuxieme personne la plus influente sur Twitter apres Justin Bieber – etes -vous tente d’utiliser votre pouvoir pour de mauvaises intentions ?

Tout le monde est responsable de ce qu’il/elle ecrit. Vous pouvez avoir des trolls destructeurs – mais , si vous etes convaincu de ce que vous faites, vous n’allez pas vous soucier de ce qu’ils disent . C’est tres important pour un ecrivain.,

Est-ce que vous lisez les critiques?
Je les lis et je les garde. J’ai plus de 40 GB de critiques – bonnes et mauvaises – Cela ne me derange pas de lire une mauvaise critique – sinon je me serais arrete d’ecrire depuis 15 ans. Les eloges ou les critiques ne durent que 3 ou 4 jours.

Quelle est la raison pour les garder?
Eventuellement, apres ma mort, les gens continueront a lire mes livres et peut etre, quelqu’un tot ou tard, voudra ecrire sur mon travail; alors ils auront besoin de lire ce que j’ai connu – ce n’est pas tout rose –

Quelle a ete votre plus folle depense?
Quand j’etais hippie, j’avais depense tout mon argent sur un billet d’avion pour l’Europe.

‘L’Alchimiste’ est un des 25 titres qui fait partie de la ‘Nuit Mondiale du Livre’ ce lundi, 23/Avril

traduit par Marie-Christine

Interview: Metro UK

Author: Paulo Coelho

What’s Aleph about?
My experience on the Trans-Siberian Railway. I was thinking: ‘I’m already a very successful author, I don’t need to do anything,’ and was feeling something was wrong. I travelled for three months. I started in London in 2006 and ended up in Vladivostok – just to get in contact with my soul.

Did you learn anything about yourself?
You’re always learning. The problem is, sometimes you stop and think you understand the world. This is not correct. The world is always moving. You never reach the point you can stop making an effort.

Were there any revelations along the way?
Of course. Just from meeting people – a taxi driver, for example – or finding a book. I’m open to life and during this period I was open to new experiences. When you don’t follow the rule your parents impose – ‘don’t talk to strangers’ – you learn.

People seem to experience spiritual revelations in exotic locations – can you have one on the way to work?
Of course. I don’t take the Trans-Siberian every day but I try to give every day the opportunity for these experiences. If you’re open to people on your way to work, it can happen. Or you can choose to be totally inwards and think only of yourself. You have to live in the moment.

What do your readers expect from your books?
I don’t know. I never write books with this question in mind. I only write to understand myself better. I talk to my readers on social networking sites but I never tell them what the book is about. Writing is lonely, so from time to time I talk to them on the internet. It’s like chatting at a bar without leaving your office. I talk with them about a lot of things other than my books.

Do you have any writing habits?

It’s as Lewis Carroll said: start at the beginning, go to the end, then stop. That’s how I write. I write quickly. I don’t try to show how intelligent or how cultivated I am, I just try to share my soul. Sharing is part of life.

Read more: 60 Seconds with Coelho

Afraid of the lion?

Author: Paulo Coelho

A group of monks from the monastery of Sceta – among them the great Abbot Nicerius – were walking in the Egyptian desert when a lion appeared before them.
Terrified, they all began to run.

Years later, when Nicerius was on his death bed, one of the monks remarked:

“Abbot, do you remember the day we met the lion? That was the only time I saw you afraid.”

“But I was not afraid of the lion.”

“Then why did you run like all the rest of us?”

“I thought it better to run away from a lion one afternoon than to spend the rest of my life running away from vanity.”

Na época em uma base aérea na ífrica, o escritor Saint-Exupéry fez uma coleta com seus amigos, pois um empregado marroquino queria voltar í  cidade natal. Conseguiu juntar mil francos.
Um dos pilotos transportou o empregado até Casablanca, e voltou contando o que aconteceu:
“Assim que chegou, foi jantar no melhor restaurante, distribuiu generosas gorjetas, pagou bebidas para todos, comprou bonecas para as crianí§as de sua aldeia. Este homem ní£o tinha o melhor sentido de economia”.
“Ao contrário”, respondeu Saint-Exupéry. “Ele sabia que o melhor investimento do mundo sí£o as pessoas. Gastando assim, conseguiu de novo ganhar o respeito de seus conterrí¢neos, que terminarí£o por lhe dar emprego. Afinal de contas, só um vencedor pode ser tí£o generoso”.
______________________
Estando en una base aérea en el ífrica, el escritor Saint-Exupéry hizo una colecta entre sus amigos para un empleado marroquí­ que querí­a regresar a su ciudad natal. Consiguió reunir mil francos.
Uno de los pilotos transportó al empleado hasta Casablanca, y volvió contando lo sucedido:
-En cuanto llegó, fue a cenar al mejor restaurante, distribuyó generosas propinas, pagó bebidas para todos y compró juguetes para los niños de su aldea. Este hombre no tení­a el menor sentido de la economí­a.
-Al contrario – respondió Saint-Exupéry – Él sabí­a que la mejor inversión en el mundo son las personas. Gastando así­, consiguó ganar nuevamente el respecto de sus coterráneos, que terminarán por darle empleo. Al fin y al cabo, solo un vencedor puede ser tan generoso.

At the end of the black tunnel

Author: Paulo Coelho

“I saw only a tunnel.”
In the bar in Sibiu, in Transylvania, Sorin looks deep into my eyes. He carries on speaking.
“I saw a black tunnel with a man at the end of it, making signs at me.”
I wait. We have all the time in the world and I remember that when I was in the same situation I saw a tunnel too, except this one led to a hotel in Rio de Janeiro, the Glória Hotel. I looked at that hotel, expected the worse and thought to myself: “it’s not fair, I’m only 26 years old!” Fair or not, in the early morning of 27 May 1974 I stood before death and could not see what was happening beside me. Just the tunnel and the hotel. But my story does not matter, it serves only to say that I understand perfectly well what Sorin is telling me in a bar lost in the middle of the Carpates Mountains.
“I saw only a tunnel, with a man pointing a gun at me and telling me to get out of the car.”
Sorin Miscoci’s Calvary began on 28 March 2005, near Baghdad. He had been designated to spend a week there at the request of a Rumanian TV station and ended up being kidnapped for 55 days.
“Later on, when they freed me, the American security agents asked me how many people were there. And I told them: one. They laughed and said that just wasn’t possible. It was the psychologist who helped me, explaining that in situations like this, nothing in the surroundings has any importance. All you see is the focus of the crisis, what is threatening you, and you simply forget the rest.
Sorin has just got married to Andrea, who strokes his hand. We have been traveling together for three days and we will continue for another week crossing the Carpates Mountains. I knew his story, but waited until he was in his home town before asking him the details. Cristina Topescu, an old friend who worked as a journalist in the same TV as Sorin, was also at the table. She says that when the time came to mobilize the country, few colleagues came forward to speak to the President of the Republic, for fear of losing their jobs.

An action is a thought that manifests itself.
A small gesture denounces us, so we have to make everything perfect, think about the details, learn the technique so that it becomes intuitive.
Intuition has nothing to do with routine but rather with a state of spirit that lies beyond technique.
So, after practicing a lot, we no longer think about all the necessary movements: they become part of our very existence. But for this to happen, you have to train and repeat.

And as if that were not enough, you have to repeat and train.
Watch a good blacksmith working the steel. To the untrained eye he is repeating the same hammer blows over and over again.
But those who know the importance of training know that each time the hammer is raised and then lowered, the intensity of the blow is different. The hand repeats the same gesture but as it approaches the iron it knows whether to touch it harder or softer.
Look at the windmill. Whoever sees its vanes just once imagines that it always turns with the same speed, always repeating the same movement. But those who know windmills know that they are conditioned to the wind and change their direction whenever necessary.
The hand of the ironsmith was trained after the gesture of hammering was repeated thousands of times.
Windmill vanes can move fast after the wind has blown a lot and polished their gears.
The archer lets many an arrow pass far from the target because he knows that he will only learn the importance of the bow, posture, the string and the target after he repeats his gestures thousands of times without being afraid of making a mistake.

Training is NOT routine. It is essential

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CoelhoOffice

Author: Paulo Coelho

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CoelhoOffice 14 – Open to love

Author: Paulo Coelho

Videocast #14 – Paulo Coelho is talking about love and that we should not give up searching for the other half. Somewhere, someone is waiting and searching for us, too.

Videocast #14 – Paulo Coelho falando sobre amor e que ní£o devemos desistir de encontrar nossa outra metade. Em algum lugar, alguém também está buscando por nós.

Videocast #14 – Paulo Coelho hablando acerca del amor y que debemos dejar de buscar nuestra otra mitad. En algun lugar, alguién también esta buscando a nosotros.

EN ESPANOL CLICAR AQUI: Las dos gotas de aceite
EM PORTUGUES, CLICAR AQUI: As duas gotas de óleo
_________________________________________

Story taken from my book “The Alchemist”, one of the Top 20 Bestselling Books from all times

A merchant sent his son to learn the Secret of Happiness from the wisest of men. The young man wandered through the desert for forty days until he reached a beautiful castle at the top of a mountain. There lived the sage that the young man was looking for.

However, instead of finding a holy man, our hero entered a room and saw a great deal of activity; merchants coming and going, people chatting in the corners, a small orchestra playing sweet melodies, and there was a table laden with the most delectable dishes of that part of the world.

The wise man talked to everybody, and the young man had to wait for two hours until it was time for his audience.

With considerable patience, the Sage listened attentively to the reason for the boy’s visit, but told him that at that moment he did not have the time to explain to him the Secret of Happiness.

He suggested that the young man take a stroll around his palace and come back in two hours’ time.

“However, I want to ask you a favor,” he added, handling the boy a teaspoon, in which he poured two drops of oil. “While you walk, carry this spoon and don’t let the oil spill.”

The young man began to climb up and down the palace staircases, always keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. At the end of two hours he returned to the presence of the wise man.

“So,” asked the sage, “did you see the Persian tapestries hanging in my dining room? Did you see the garden that the Master of Gardeners took ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?”

Embarrassed, the young man confessed that he had seen nothing. His only concern was not to spill the drops of oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.

“So, go back and see the wonders of my world,” said the wise man. “You can’t trust a man if you don’t know his house.”

Now more at ease, the young man took the spoon and strolled again through the palace, this time paying attention to all the works of art that hung from the ceiling and walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around the palace, the delicacy of the flowers, the taste with which each work of art was placed in its niche. Returning to the sage, he reported in detail all that he had seen.

“But where are the two drops of oil that I entrusted to you?” asked the sage.

Looking down at the spoon, the young man realized that he had spilled the oil.

“Well, that is the only advice I have to give you,” said the sage of sages. “The Secret of Happiness lies in looking at all the wonders of the world and never forgetting the two drops of oil in the spoon.”

from the book “The Alchemist”

Feliz Páscoa / Happy Easter

Author: Paulo Coelho



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TURN THE VOLUME ON, CLICK ON THE PHOTO


The Hallelujah Chorus, from Handel’s Messiah, is one of the most well-known musical pieces from the baroque period, AND also one of the most difficult to perform. Therefore, there must be a conductor in the crowd, but I am unable to identify him/her<

Shunning pessimism

Author: Paulo Coelho

To help to renew the Earth’s energy, it is necessary to be aware that pessimism is contagious.
Defeatism is contagious.
Despair is contagious.
Those who have enough sensitivity to see auras (energetic vibrations that surround living beings), perceive that before physical sickness penetrates the body, part of the vital energy is drained by the afflicted and worried brain.

All that we put into today will somehow be returned to us in a cycle much like what we see in nature.

EN ESPANOL AQUI >>> Reconstruir el mundo

A father was trying to read the newspaper, but his little son kept pestering him.
Finally, the father grew tired of this and, tearing a page from the newspaper – one that bore a map of the world – he cut it into several pieces and handed them to his son.

‘Right, now you’ve got something to do. I’ve given you a map of the world and I want to see if you can put it back together correctly.’

He resumed his reading, knowing that the task would keep the child occupied for the rest of the day.
However, a quarter of an hour later, the boy returned with the map.

‘Has your mother been teaching you geography?’ asked his father in astonishment.

‘I don’t even know what that is,’ replied the boy. ‘But there was a photo of a man on the other side of the page, so I put the man back together and found I’d put the world back together too.’

( in “Like a flowing river”)

Bassano del Grappa videos

Author: Paulo Coelho

Visit to the Montegrappa factory

Launching of The Alchemist Pen

St. Joseph’s Party 2012


This past Sunday, when I asked for your suggestions on how we should celebrate reaching 8.000.000 friends on Facebook, the vast majority of you suggested we should say a prayer at a particular time.
Therefore, on Wednesday, April 4, at 6:00 PM (always your local time) I encourage you to say a prayer.
In my prayer, I will ask:
A] For myself. May God guide me and inspire me for the years to come.
B] For my family and friends on Facebook. May God allow all of them to follow their call, their Personal Legend.
C] For my work. May I always be an instrument of the Light.
As we are in different time zones, I strongly believe that the Planet will be filled with light and prayers during 24 hr.
If you don’t feel comfortable with praying, a random act of kindness during the day will certainly be very helpful to humankind
===============PORTUGUES =================
No domingo passado, quando pedi sugestíµes como celebrar 8.000.000 de amigos no Facebook, a maioria sugeriu uma prece coletiva.
Portanto, faremos a prece na quarta, dia 4 de abril as 18:00 hr (sua hora local).
Na minha oraí§í£o pedirei
A] Por mim mesmo, que Deus me inspire e me guie
B] Por minha familia e por meus amigos no Facebook. Que Deus permita que todos sigam seus sonhos
C] Por meu trabalho. Que sempre possa ser um instrumento da luz.
Como estamos em fusos horários diferentes, eu acredito que o Planeta será coberto com a energia das preces durante 24 horas
Se vocíª ní£o sente-se confortavel com a oraí§í£o, um gesto gentil com seu próximo com certeza será de grande ajuda ao mundo
=============ESPANOL======================
Cuando pregunté el domingo qué debí­a hacer para celebrar el llegar a los 8.000.000 de amigos en Facebook, la gran mayorí­a sugirió que deberí­a decir una oración a una hora determinada.
Por lo tanto, el miércoles, 4 de abril a las 18:00 (tu hora local) los animo a decir una oración.
En mi oración, pediré:
A] Por mí­. Para que Dios me guí­e y me inspire en los próximos años.
B] Por mi familia y amigos en Facebook. Para que Dios permita a todos seguir su llamado, su Leyenda Personal.
C] Por mi trabajo. Para que siempre sea un instrumento de la Luz.
Como estamos en diferentes zonas horarias, estoy seguro que el planeta estará lleno de luz y oraciones durante 24 horas.
Si no te sientes cómodo con la oración, hacer un acto de bondad al azar durante el dí­a sin duda será de gran ayuda para la humanidad.

The Gypsies and the Mother Goddess

Author: Paulo Coelho

Once a year, gypsies from all over the world head to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the South of France, to pay homage to Saint Sarah. According to tradition, Sarah was a gypsy who lived in a small seaside town when Jesus’ aunt, Mary Salome, arrived with other refugees trying to escape from persecution by the Romans.
The statue of Sarah, dressed in beautiful robes, is taken from somewhere near the church (since the Vatican has never canonized her) and carried in procession as far as the sea, through narrow streets strewn with roses. Four gypsies dressed in their traditional clothes place the relics in a boat filled with flowers and repeated the arrival of the fugitives and their meeting with Sarah. From that moment on, everything involved music, feasting, singing and showing one’s courage in front of a bull.

It is easy to identify Sarah as another of the many black Madonnas to be found in the world. Sara-la-Kali, says the tradition, came from noble lineage and knew the secrets of the world. In my mind, she is one of the many manifestations of what they call the Mother Goddess, the Goddess of Creation.
Every year the festival at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer attracts more and more people who have nothing to do with the gypsy community. Why is that? The reason is because God the Father is always associated with the rigor and discipline of religion. On the contrary, the Mother Goddess shows the importance of love above all the prohibitions and taboos that we know so well.

The phenomenon is no novelty; whenever religion makes its rules tougher, a significant group of people tends to seek for more freedom in spiritual contact. This happened during the Middle Ages, when the Catholic Church confined itself to imposing taxes and building luxury-filled convents; the reaction was the appearance of a phenomenon called “witchcraft”, which, despite being repressed on account of its revolutionary character, left roots and traditions that have managed to survive across all these centuries.

In earlier traditions, the cult of nature is more important than reverence for the holy books; the Goddess is in everything, and everything is part of the Goddess. The world is just an expression of her goodness. There exists many philosophical systems, such as Taoism and Buddhism, that do away with the distinction between creator and creature. People no longer try to decipher the mystery of life, but rather, take part in it.

In the cult of the Great Mother, what we call “sin”, generally a transgression of arbitrary moral codes, is far more flexible. Customs are freer, because they are part of nature and cannot be considered the fruits of evil. If God is a mother, then all that is necessary is to join together and worship her through rites that try to satisfy her feminine soul, such as dancing, fire, water, air, earth, singing, music, flowers and beauty.

The tendency has grown enormously over the last few years. Perhaps we are witnessing a very important moment in the history of the world, when at last Spirit integrates with Matter, and they unify and change.

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