I was never one to dwell on the past; I think that the present is the result of all that we have lived, and seeing how we act at this very moment suffices for us to understand our blessings and correct our curses.
But now that my life is being turned upside down by journalist-biographer Fernando Morais, I have also decided to look at some notes on my apprenticeship with J., my friend and master in the Regnus Agnus Mundi (RAM) tradition. Most of these notes were written between 1982 and 1986. Many years ago I published some of these dialogues in this column, and although the reaction from the readers was excellent, I felt it was enough. Nevertheless, on re-reading some dust-covered notebooks (I no longer take notes or keep diaries), I discovered some very special things. In the next four columns I shall transcribe those that strike me as most interesting.
One afternoon, sitting in a café in Copacabana after a week of long spiritual exercises that resulted in nothing, I asked: “I often feel that I am ignored by God, although I know that He is here by my side. Why is it so hard to establish a dialogue with the Divine?”
“On one hand we know that it is important to seek God. On the other hand, life distances us from Him – because we feel ignored by the Divine, or else because we are busy with our daily life. This makes us feel very guilty: either we feel that we are renouncing life too much because of God, or else we feel that we are renouncing God too much because of life. This apparent double law is a fantasy: God is in life, and life is in God. If we manage to penetrate the sacred harmony of our daily existence, we shall always be on the right road, because our daily tasks are also our divine tasks.”
“But what kind of exercise can I practice that will make me really believe what you are telling me?”
“Relax. When we start our spiritual journey, we want so very hard to speak to God – and we end up not hearing what He has to tell us. That is why it is always advisable to relax a little. It is not easy: we have the natural tendency always to do the right thing, and we feel that we are going to improve our spirit is we work at it non-stop.”
“Are you saying that I ought to be passive and not try to improve myself?”
“That depends on how you see your work. We may feel that all that life can offer us tomorrow is to repeat what we did yesterday and today. But if we pay attention we can see that no day is like another. Each and every morning brings a hidden blessing, a blessing that is only good for that particular day, for it cannot be kept or re-used. If we don’t take advantage of this miracle today, it will be lost.”
“But isn’t there some sure way of establishing this dialogue with the Divine, like meditation, for instance? Or endeavoring to make myself better every day?”
“Your question reveals a man committed to an idea, and if that question can always be kept present, everything will fit together. The ideal conditions that you are looking for don’t exist. We shall never be able to get rid of certain defects. The trick lies in knowing that despite all your flaws you have a reason for being here, and you have to honor that reason.
“Try to go beyond the limits that you are used to. For ten minutes a day, be that person you have always wanted to be. If the problem is shyness, stimulate conversation. If the problem is guilt, feel approved. If you think that the world ignores you, try consciously to attract everyone’s looks. You will experience the occasional difficult situation, but it’s worth it. If for ten minutes a day you can manage to be what you dreamed, you are already making great progress.”
I decided to provoke him by quoting a Buddhist scripture on the six difficulties of living in a house: the work involved in building it, more work still to pay for it, the work of always having to repair it, the risk of having it confiscated by the government, the house constantly full of visitors and undesirable guests, and the house being used as a hiding place for condemnable activities.
According to the same Buddhist text, there are six advantages of living under a bridge: you can easily be found, the river shows us that life is a passage, we are rid of the feeling of covetousness, we need no fences, someone new is always passing by to have a chat, and we don’t have to pay rent.
I ended by saying that it was a beautiful philosophy, but that at least in my country, when we see people living under bridges and viaducts, we know for sure that this text is wrong.
J. answered: “The text is beautiful, but in our context it is certainly wrong. However, that should not serve to feed our sense of guilt. We feel guilty for all that is authentic in ourselves – our salary, our opinions, our experiences, our hidden desires, the way we speak – we even feel guilty for our parents and our brothers.
“And what is the result? Paralysis. We grow ashamed of doing anything different from what the others are expecting. We do not expose our ideas, we don’t ask for help. We justify this by saying: ‘Jesus suffered, and suffering is necessary’. Jesus experienced many situations of suffering, but he never advocated staying still in those circumstances. Cowardice cannot be concealed with this type of excuse, otherwise the entire world fails to move ahead. That is why, if you see someone under a viaduct, you go to help them, because they are part of your world.”
“And how can that be changed?”
“Have faith. Believe that it is possible, and all the reality around you will begin to change.”
“Nobody can perform that task all alone. What I see is that most people don’t have enough faith.”
“Sometimes we criticize lack of faith in others. We aren’t capable of understanding the circumstances in which this faith has been lost, nor do we try to alleviate our brother’s misery – and this causes revolt and incredulity in the divine power.
“Humanist Robert Owen traveled all over England talking of God. In the 19th century it was common to use child labor in heavy work, and one afternoon Owen stopped at a coal mine where an undernourished twelve-year-old boy was lugging a heavy sack of bricks. ‘I am here to help you talk to God’, said Owen. ‘Thanks very much, but I don’t know him. He must work in another mine’, answered the boy. How can you expect a boy in those conditions to be able to believe in God?”
“Let me return the question. How could that be made possible?”
“Besides faith, have patience. Understand that you are not alone when you want Divine Justice to make itself manifest on this Earth. In the Middle Ages the Gothic cathedrals were built by several generations. This prolonged effort helped the participants to organize their thoughts, to give thanks and to dream. Today that Romanticism is ended, and yet the desire to build remains in our hearts, it’s just a question of being open to meet the right people.”
(ends in the next edition)
and then the gardener found a plant drying in his garden. The leaves were turning yellow, the plant was drooping and the tiny bud that the plant had so carefully pushed forth, was a dry shrivel.
Father and son, before they had even begun…
But that’s high brow politics!
So, the gardener merely stopped a while to ponder and smile at the comparison at the wild shrubs beyond his garden! And a silence filled his little garden. Was he ready to accept the meaning of that silence?
And a gentle questioning smile was upon him from above and beyond.
The questions of tending and civilization and culture…
Don Juan (by Carlos Castaneda)
All what is necessary to get in touch with personal Essence (God or Nagual or…) is a thoroughly recapitulation of the personal life (through knowing others recognition all the phases of self-building the existing personal character i.e. Ego. Recapitulation can be realised also accidentally through heavy physical injury or poisoning. In any of above cases must not be lost the support which was mostly created in the early ages through reading fairy tales or any other identification during a lifetime with positive heroes.
The jump to the freedom should be paid by the recapitulation of the personal life.
Honestly sometime i have a lot of question in my life,is GOD really exist?
But through my own experiences i came a lot of struggle in my life,trials that sometime leads to hopeless ,thing
that i cant explain miracles comes up of surprises. But all of these is the parts of living in this word.We kept in surviving not only for ourself but the truth is for our love ones, family, relatives and also for the people that sorround us all of them give us strength to face the reallity,acceptance of our community and spread love inorder to maintain peace, harmony followed by tears and laugther this is the meaning of life that we tackle everyday.Lastly we are the one who chose of what the life we have now, but the rest is done by GOD….!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!beleiving god is not payable…GOD IS WITHIN ITS UP TO US HOW TO CARRY FOR LIVING…!!!!!!!!!!!
Even if someone believes in God or not, IT DOES NOT MATTER… the inherent goodness in all of us, whether he be a thief, a prostitute, a politician, a priest, a nun, a doctor… is the same evidence that we don’t need institution to tell us how to act and when to… as Paolo Coelho stated in The Alchemist, just speak to your heart… the heart never fails us… it helps us to remember what is, what was, and what will be… it tells us the truth and the beauty of life… go ahead, if you’re reading this now… go ask your heart… the question whose answers seem elusive and non-existent… will be answered… yes, by your heart… it will not lie… it will only tell you the truth… no matter how much it’ll hurt… that is the miracle that God, or Allah, or Krishna has done for us… The Absolute Truth resides in our heart… if only we stop and learn to listen… then the miracle is ours to have and to share…
DEAR Renate !
There is so much pain, in what u have written. I don’t know if God exists or not and frankly I don’t care. But I see that I am not all knowing, and all intelligent. Suppose one cell of your body which is to be discarded ( our body is made of of cells and they all reproduce and get discarded so many times during the course of our lives , starts feeling sad about it, what will u do. the whole is a play a game of cosiousness, where we come to enjoy the extraems of emotions, fear pervents us from extreams ( and also protects us somewhat) . Have u heard of OSHO, try his writings, they may help. ( Don’t get lured by orgaisations running in his name, don’t ever donate anything to them, pay for services that u want to receive from them, but nothing more ).
I don’t know if it was any help, but I felt like recahing out and when i went to u’r site, I did not understand teh language,
regards
Aditya
Dear Paulo
So much love, so much prayer, so much concern is the reflection of all the nice work you have done in most genuine way.
Keep on doing your good work.
The world is in a misery and needs healing words and helping hands like you.
You are always in my prayers.
I think every human has another perception of what and who God is. I have my own story. For me it is the terrible truth of Jesus who was killed by his “father”, who is the unknown and unseen God of today. For me people don’t want to believe in a god, because if they would, they would ask…..I am very sad that nobody understand what Jesus wanted to show us with his terrible death. His body was strong because he was a god, He could hold out his pain for a long time. A human had to die after 5 minutes. Jesus believed – as I, that the voice he heard in his head was from his father, that he was his teacher. A great plan. Jesus wanted to become King…the was not the wish of the competition. With magic he was killed and he saw his mistake to believe in that voice too late. So he decided a last sensation (for us!!!!!) and he shoutet “father why did you leave me?” A person who believe in the existence of god will never believe that a father has to kill his son to make something better. This unseen god is able to decide between life and death. For me it is murder. To say it once again. Everybody has an own opinion. I need always a logic. I was catholic, heard there the voice of god and believed of course. I was so excited. But I am reporter. I need always an answer. I got many answers, I could see what God is able to do. He wanted that I write a book for him with new spectacular happenings that circumstanciate that we have only one god in our world, the one with the ten comments…I am writing now a book for my girl-friend Karin Struck, a famous autor. She died this year in April before we wanted to write together a book about things nobody would believe. I don’t know if is important to tell others about feelings, nobody can understand. And I think nothing will happen. People are full of fear. God has much power…Ah, I forgot. I am not believing in something that not exist. I found out who the man is who can talk into my mind. I am not more willing to work for him and so he is hurting me. Every day. -
[quote comment="342"]I am always searching for God, and I always think to myself, If only I could just speak to Him one time, dream of having a dialogue with Him once, anything at all that connects me to Him. Maybe it’s me, maybe I am not faithful enough to have the Divine one speak to me…Now I realise that I should just relax. I am too busy searching for God that I don’t even see Him in everyday life. In the flowers that He coloured, the stars and planets that He put into orbit. I mean if the God that created all the animals, and trees and universe created me, then I am special. I was created with a soul. I was created in His image. The sooner I can have faith in that belief, the sooner I will know God in all His Glory. As quoted in the Bible in the book of John 8.32
‘The truth will set you free’.
Pray for me that I can believe this truth, so that I can be set free of my anguish and live the life that I deserve.
Below are some quotes from the Bible that I found relevant to this blog.
Luke 17.21
The Kingdom of God is within you.
John 10.34
You are gods.
1 Corinthians 3.16
You are God’s temple, and God’s spirit lives within you!
I hope these can inspire you and give you faith so that you can know God, trust God, and accept His blessings.[/quote]
Thanks Paulo once again..Nice experience!! Keep on sharing..
Que surpresa boa, descubrindo a existencia deste bolg…
Acho uma pena que o Sr. não pode responder, mais imagino que seja muito difícil…
Quando lí o seu livro famoso, nem imaginava que um dia ia morar para sempre no pais da sua origem, que ia falar seu idioma, ia trabalhar e criar laços com pessoas de uma origem tão distante da minha…
mais a força do universo tem segredos para nos, e nosso papel é só encaminhar em frente aceitando os risgos e reconhecendo aqueles momentos especiais.
Queria agradecer vc, pois vc me explicou numa maneira simples como seguir o caminho certo na vida…
i believe in miracles, and i believe in a divine source, be it Allah, Buddah, Christ, whatever name one wishes to embrace it by. i have seen angels in abundance, and i have heard a voice within me which is not my own.
i have prayed in desperation to a God with tears freely flowing from my face, and have answered, in my own voice, promises and blessings of which i could not imagine, for they do not co-incide with the imaginations of what i believe i deserve.
in my path, the confusion and doubt i encounter leads me to become closer to the light of the Divine, for that is where i am lead in clarity, with vision. it draws me like a moth to a flame, for in it, i find my peace. my place of rest. and only there. only there.
i pray to know the Divine and the Divine’s true nature of love. that is my prayer. that is my greatest wish, for i believe with that knowing, all else will fall into place.
it is when i reach around me for all i can touch, and see, and that which gives me habitual comfort, i find i am living in the fear which has kept me confined to the prison in my mind for the majority of my lifetime.
i am but human, and it is my humanity which compels me to strive, for in my times of challenge i find opportunity to not only encounter the supernatural nature of the Divine, but also to experience the presence which exists in my deepest knowing each and every day.
i do not know of what i dream. i do not know my purpose in this world, for i am just beginning to realize i exist.
perhaps my purpose is only to learn the Divine exists in the simplicity of a raindrop falling from the skies, and perhaps i can touch one to my tongue and set smile to my face with that knowing.
Janell I am a lot nervous when posting to, whe are all humans after all
Even though I might not realise it I am eager to what the responses to my post would be.
Everytime when Coelho writes, it seems like he eagerly tries to teach the humanity of something important. Of being fruitfully alive on this earth. His works speak of the essential basics of a worthy human existence; dreams, following dreams, normalcy and abnormalcy, value of discovering the miracle of life, spirituality of sexuality, discovering onself in order to discover one’s life partner, significance of traveling, respecting the inner innocence, destiny or maktub, above all be in love with LIFE!
Thank you master!
Patience, faith and being open to meet the right people -absolutely the way to be in touch with the Divinity in you. The blatantly hypocrital exhibition of faith, strictly within the confines of religion and without any touch with humanitarianism, which i kept on witnessing since childhood in my country and community had left me disillusioned and indifferent to God or Divinity. But as i came to understand the essence of Divinity infused within our being, faith blossomed. Until i could instil the discipline of patience i could not relax and let things happen. The moment i let myself open to meet the right ideas from the right people i started growing, and still do thanx to writers like you Paulo and to the Master you led me to. Guided, i move on savoring miracles that unfold…savoring the richness of life!
There, I have done what i have never done before, namely unburden my inner thoughts for the world to see.
Sabitha
To be honest, I am a little nervous posting. I have read The Alchemist, Valkries, and Warrior of the Light. All of them amazing. But I must admit, reading these blogs today has made me truly realize that the human experiance is (trying to think of the right word) amazing is the best I can come up with right now. Many of you talked of balance, many of you talk about faith. Others about what choices you have or duty that you have and how to deal with it. When i see the world much of the time it is pessimistic. I see and feel the hate, and the violence. I have always and will continue to hope that we can change that. That regardless of our cultures and beliefs, or religions that we have common ground as humans.
Janell
Deb,
I responded to your inputs, only because I liked U. Pl carry on. I like u much more “Endearingly” than I do “Deb -Who is prepared for crucifixion. ”
Other than first para of my earlier post, second para onwards was for Paulo’, excuse my confusing ways,
regards
aditya
Jus want to share this news!!
About miracle!
there is one couple in Kerala(India) who lost their two children in the tsunami in 2004.
last week they gave birth to pretty twins!!
so again I would like to believe….
” Everything that has happend, has happened for good
Everything that is happening, is happening for good
Everything that will happen, will happen for good “
Dear Paulo and Fellow Bloggers,
As many of you may know, on Tuesday, November 7th, the U.S.A. is holding mid-term elections. Although the majority of us do not hold much faith in our electoral system since George Bush was (ahem) voted into office the first time, we still are hoping that this election can help to restore some semblance of balance by ousting the majority of Republicans in the House and/or Senate. Since the Republicans have gained complete control in our government, they have not only taken away many of our most basic rights as citizens, but, as everyone knows, have terrorized the world with their greed for power.
This election’s outcome is not just an issue for the United States, but for the world as well, as the fate of the world lies in the grubby hands of this administration.
Please join with me in PRAYING for the best possible outcome in the election for all involved.
Thank you and God bless us all,
Sincerely,
-Debbie
Isn’t losing with dialogue with God just another way of saying one has lost dialogue with oneself?