Christianity: The Chess Game A young man said to the abbot from the monastery, “I’d actually like to be a monk, but I haven’t learned anything in life. All my father taught me was to play chess, which does not lead to enlightenment. Apart from that, I learned that all games are a sin. “They may be a sin but they can also be a diversion, and who knows, this monastery needs a little of both,” was the reply. The abbot asked for a chessboard, sent for a monk, and told him to play with the you... Read Full Story

Of course things don’t always happen they way we wish they would. There are moments in which we feel we are seeking something that is not meant for us, knocking on doors that don’t open, waiting for miracles that don’t manifest themselves. Fortunately that is the way things are – if everything went the way we wanted, soon we would no longer have anything to write about, nothing to guide our daily thoughts. This script serves our dreams as nourishment, but to our battles as energy. And a... Read Full Story

Father Alan Jones says that building our soul requires Four Invisible Forces, namely love, death, power and time. It is necessary to love because we are loved by God. It is necessary to be conscious of death in order to understand life better. One has to fight in order to grow – but without falling into the trap of the power that we obtain in doing so, because we know that such power is worth nothing. And lastly, it is necessary to accept that our soul – although eternal – is at this mo... Read Full Story

What is happiness? This is a question that has not bothered me for a long time, precisely because I don’t know how to answer it. I am not the only one. Through all these years I have lived with all sorts of people: rich and poor, powerful and mediocre. In the eyes of all who have crossed my path – and here I include warriors and wise men, people who should have nothing to complain about – I have always found that there was something missing. Some people seem to be happy: they just do... Read Full Story

I got a gift from a reader, Agnieska from Poland it is the painting of my guardian angel.I wrote a book about angels I believe in angels. The book is called The Valkyries, it takes place in the Mojave Desert and there (and not only there) I had a very strong experience with angels.Having said that: I want you to share in this forum your experience with angels.Meaning, moments that you know that your angel is taking you out of trouble; moments that you know that your angel is helping you to ge... Read Full Story

We have to take risks. We can only truly understand the miracle of life when we let the unexpected manifest itself.Every day – together with the sun – God gives us a moment in which it is possible to change everything that makes us unhappy. Every day we try to pretend that we don’t realize that moment, that it doesn’t exist, that today is just the same as yesterday and will be the same as tomorrow. But if you pay attention, you can discover the magic instant. It may be hiding at the moment wh... Read Full Story

Arash Hejazi Interview for BBC http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2009/06/25/arash-hejazi-interview-for-bbc Read Full Story

Paulo Coelho wrote on his blog:My best friend in Iran, a doctor who showed me its beautiful culture when I visited Teheran in 2000, who fought a war in the name of the Islamic Republic (against Iraq), who took care of wounded soldiers in the frontline, who always stood by real human values, is seen here trying to resuscitate Neda - hit in her heart.http://www.paulocoelhoblog.com/2009/06/22/iran-by-neda24.06.2009Paulo discovered that his friend Arash Hejazi was the doctor trying to resuscitate... Read Full Story

We have to take risks. We can only truly understand the miracle of life when we let the unexpected manifest itself. Every day – together with the sun – God gives us a moment in which it is possible to change everything that makes us unhappy. Every day we try to pretend that we don’t realize that moment, that it doesn’t exist, that today is just the same as yesterday and will be the same as tomorrow. But if you pay attention, you can discover the magic instant. It may be hiding at the moment w... Read Full Story

I asked this week to friends to stare a blank wall – what do you see?In my case, I’m used to stare to a blank wall or a candle – but I don’t try to empty my mind because this is impossible. I rather try to follow my train of thought on what happens inside of me and I’m not entirely conscious.When I wrote the post on staring at the blank wall, I remember I was trying to think about songs, then about the name of the artist, at the same time I was thinking about of the plumber that had to show u... Read Full Story