Como probablemente Uds. lo han visto en mi calendario: en el 29 y el 30 de Mayo, estaré celebrando los veinte anos de mi libro El Alquimista.
He decidido hacer-lo en un local simbólico, Avilés, una pequeña ciudad en Asturias, España. Me gustaría así invitar algunos de Uds. para el acto de conmemoración del libro que será a las 20h en el Teatro Palacio Valdés, C/ Palacio Valdés, 985 549 658, Avilés, Asturias
Estamos en el proceso de chequear las posibilidades de transmitir esta conferencia en directo gracias a la tecnología de Seesmic. Estamos trabajando duro para que esto funcione, pero dependemos de la conexión Internet del teatro. Si logramos instalar todo, Paula empezara a pedir-les que manden sus videos a partir de la próxima semana, así que os veremos en un telón en la escena, y os responderé.
Castellano será la lengua del evento así que os invito a dejar sus preguntas en esta.
El día siguiente también podremos visitar una exposición dedicada al libro en el
Palacio Valdecarzana, C/ El Sol s/n , 985 510 667, Avilés, Asturias
Si UD. quiere venir, iremos elegir los primeros que manden su confirmación a este mail : pilar_piedra@hotmail.com
Por favor no olvide de poner en el mail su link de su blog.
Esta invitación se limita a estos dos eventos – todos los gastos del viaje deben ser cubiertos por los que desean venir.
Con amor
Paulo
As you may have noticed in my Calendar : on the 29th and on the 30th of May I will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of my book The Alchemist. I decided to do it in a very symbolical place, Aviles, a small town in Asturias, Spain.
I would like then to invite some of you to attend the conference/event on the 29th of May at 20h in Teatro Palacio Valdés, C/ Palacio Valdés, 985 549 658, Avilés, Asturias
We are in the process of checking the possibilities to broadcast it live via web thanks to the technology of Seesmic. We are working hard to make it work, but we depend on the local high speed connection. If we manage, Paula will start asking you to send video questions from next week on, so we will see you in a screen placed on the stage, and I will answer them. Spanish will be the language of the event, therefore the questions should be in Spanish.
The following day, we will be able to also visit the exhibition dedicated to the book in
Palacio Valdecarzana, C/ El Sol, 985 510 667, Avilés, Asturias
If you want to come, we will proceed on the basis of “first come, first served” - therefore please write to the following email address (don’t forget to send us your blog link!) : pilar_piedra@hotmail.com
Please also note that I am only inviting you to attend these events - all costs are to be taken care of by those who wish to come.
Carlos Castaneda was an author who left his mark on my generation - although in academic circles he was never considered someone worthy of attention. As a tribute to him, I present a summary of his most important writings:
The most difficult thing in this world is to adopt the spirit and attitude of a warrior. It is no use being sad, complaining, feeling unjustly treated, and believing someone is doing something negative. No one is doing anything, and certainly not to a warrior.
It matters not how we were brought up. What determines our way of acting is the manner in which we administrate our will. A man is the sum of all his wishes, which determine his way of living and dying.
The will is a sentiment, a talent, something which lends us enthusiasm. The will is something which is acquired - but it is necessary to fight for it one’s whole life.
From the moment we are born, people tell us that the world is like this and like that, this way, that way. It is natural that - for a certain period of time - we end up believing what we are told. But we must soon push these ideas aside and discover our own way of living reality.
The humility of a warrior is not the same humility as that of a servile man. The warrior does not lower his head to anyone, and nor does he allow anyone to bow before him. The servile man, on the other hand, kneels before anyone he believes to be more powerful, and demands that the people under his command behave in a similar fashion before him.
The bad thing about words is that they make us feel as if we were illuminated and understanding everything. But, when we turn and face the world, we see that reality is completely different from that which we discussed or heard. Because of this, a warrior seeks to act, and not waste time in useless conversation. Through action, he discovers the meaning of that which occurs in his day-to-day life, and takes creative and original decisions.
The ordinary man thinks that yielding to doubts and worries is a sign of sensibility, of spirituality. Acting thus, he remains distant from the true meaning of life, for his reduced reasoning turns him into the saint or monster he imagines he is, and before he realizes it, he is caught in the trap he has set himself. This type of person loves being told what he should do, but even more than that, he loves not following sound advice - simply in order to anger the generous soul who, at a certain moment, was concerned about him.
Only a warrior can endure the path of knowledge. A warrior does not complain or lament anything, and sees challenges as neither good nor bad. Challenges are simply challenges.
The world is unfathomable and mysterious, just as we all are. The art of the warrior consists of reconciling the terror of being a man with the wonder of being a man.
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In your novels “The Fifth Mountain” or The Alchemist there is a wide deep understanding of the countries where events took place, how did you reach such relation with what you are not related to. Are books and movies enough?
You relate to cultures through art – this is the most important bridge among different civilizations. The Arabian Nights, and most of the classical Arabic texts helped me to understand and admire the soul of the Arabian people.
The warrior of the light knows that no one is a fool, and that life teaches everyone - even if that requires time.
So he treats his neighbor according to the qualities he sees, and seeks to show the whole world each one’s capabilities.
Several companions say: “some people are useless”.
The warrior is not thrown by this. And continues to stimulate others, for this is a way to stimulate himself.
In search of affection
A warrior of the light needs love. Affection and tenderness are part of his nature - as much as eating, drinking, and the taste for Good Combat.
When a warrior is unhappy as he watches the setting sun, something is wrong.
At this time, the warrior interrupts the combat and goes to seek company, in order to watch the sunset together.
If he has difficulty finding company, he asks himself: “was I afraid to approach someone? Did I receive affection, and did not notice?”
A warrior of the light uses loneliness, but is not used by it.
Facing despair
A warrior of the light often despairs.
He thinks that the feelings he had hoped to awaken are nowhere to be found. Many afternoons and nights he is forced to adopt a position of the defeated, and no new event can bring back his enthusiasm.
His friends comment: “perhaps your fight has come to an end.”
The warrior feels pain and confusion upon hearing these comments, for he knows that he has not come as far as he wished. But he is determined, and does not abandon that which he set out to do.
Then, when he least expects it, a new door opens.
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Recently I read in an article by David Mehegan in The Boston Globe about the release of the book “Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions.” by Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist at MIT.
This book seemed very appealing to me because the author proves, by a series of behavioural experiments, that humans tend to act much more irrationally than rationally.
Indeed, as the journalist puts it:
“Ariely’s book explores the varieties of nonsensical economic thinking, such as:
We value things more when we pay a higher price for them. The Bayer aspirin and the Rolex watch
seem valuable because of how much they cost, not because they’re better in practical terms than a generic aspirin or a Timex.
Relativity distorts reality. We might be earning 10 times more money than we earned for the same work a decade ago, but we’re convinced that we’re underpaid if the people around us are earning more.
Easy choices make decisions difficult. The more nearly equal two alternative products, jobs, or presidential candidates are, the more agonizing the choice between them.
We’re hopeless suckers for the word “free” on an item for sale, even if there’s a hidden cost and the product is something we don’t need or even like.”
Indeed, how many times the power of the word “free” plunges us into an unnecessary buying spree of things that as soon as we leave the store we already regret?
Why do we keep on postponing decisions and most importantly let ourselves be guided by this illusion of abundance?
If the reasons of this irrationality are impossible for us to see, at least, Ariely’s book seem to give some sort of comfort.
We can learn from our mistakes and refrain from making the same irrational gestures that we afterwards we feel bad about.
The solution then lies in our ability to bypass our “wired-in tendencies”.
Ariely’s book is interesting in the realm of economics. It not only reveals that much of our “rational” decisions are actually irrational, but also that our rationality can guide us to step away from a vicious circle.
I believe nevertheless that when one gets away from this economic perspective - this tendency is reversed.
Sometimes it is by letting our irrationality take over that we actually manage to see our true path.
What’s your take on that?
Love
Paulo
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