Paulo Coelho
General Information
The famous Brazilian novelist was born on August 24,1947. Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro.
It was his novel, The alchemist, that, brought the world-wide-attention at his door steps.
Paulo, before persuing his dream career of 'writter' has worked as
a songwriter, composing lyrics of Eils Regina, Rita Lee and
Brazalian icon Raul Seixas.
But before he could launch his first book Hell Archives , he went through the torture by the military government for his
dangerous lyrics(more informatio is provided at the later part of blog).
Also he has worked as an actor, journalist and theatre director.
Some of his great works includes Adultery, The alchemist, Eleven minutes, The fifth Mountain,The
Pilgrimage, The Valkyries, Veronika decided to die, The winner stands
alone, The witch of Portobello, The Zahir, Brida, et al.
The Psychic Treatment
Paulo always wanted to be a writer but the 'logical'
engineering background of his father was strong enough to hold back little
Paulo's desires. Born in a Catholic family Paulo's
head
strong parents wanted a follower and not a rebel in their house.
The only way to cure this obnoxious behaviour was a mental asylum. So, at
17, Paulo was in the Asylum and was finally released at the age of 20.
Meanwhile, he broke-free thrice (1966,1967,1968) from the domain.
This phase of his life made him a fighter, the one who knew how to
protect his dreams.
The disinterest in academics continued as he dropped his law studies just
after an year of joining.
The pathetic treatment, electricshocks and no amount of tranquelizers feed
in the asylum could make him forget his dream.
Dangerous Lyrics
The songs penned by the word wizard included Al Capone, All of us, Gita, Falling Nightmare, Believe and many more.
But there is another side to this lyrical success. He was branded as
'subversive' by Brazil's then ruling military government and was
arrested and tortured. This left a mark and an opening for self discovery and made him question,
Is this my calling?
Commenting on the life before and after Brazil's military dictatorship, he
stated that,
"Yesterday we thought we were just instruments of a most powerful game,
beyond our control. Today we are proud of being Brazilians".
The 'Normal' Life
The most read author back then was leading a very 'Normal'
life. In an interview, he stated,
" I was very happy in the things I was doing. I was doing something
that gave me food and water- to use the metaphor in The Alchemist, I was
working, I had a person whom I loved, I had money, but I was not
fulfilling my dreams. My dream was, and still is to be a writter".
Every dream comes with a cost.
In order to fulfill his dream he paid the cost by cutting off his 'normal'
but stable life, which a million of us admire. He left behind his well set Songwriting career, spouse , dwelling and almost everything holding
him back.
It was clearly a big risk!
The Tower Moment
Now the to be mystic writer has turned into a hippie.
The Pilgrimage (Diary of a Mage) is essentially the book about his own awakening.
Paulo Coelho, The wizard of words, in the past, has practised Buddhism, atheism, and then finally returned back
to Catholicism after a 500+ mile aimless walk across South America, North America,
Mexico and Europe, all this wandering with just himself and drugs (1986).
Popular Quotations
"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to
achieve it"
"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering js worst than the suffering
itself. And no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its
dream".
"Don't waste your time with explanations: people only hear what they
want to hear".
"There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the
fear of failure".
"One is loved because one is loved . No reason is needed for
loving".
Sara's View
The sync that Paulo Coelho creates between the ground reality and
spirituality is the heart of his writings. And additing to
it, his much procastinated start of career as an author, which only came as
a blessing in disguise. The
delay helped him to bring down all of his experiences in his writing
style and has infact, made them relatable to most of us.
Now, how can one forget the roller coaster life changing series of events he
went through, making him contemplate and breakdown the human psycology while
presenting his content with wisdom and enough contemporary touch.
The foundation of transformation lies in the ability to see the light
despite all the darkness. Such transformative energy purges out from the man
who was once snuggled into black magic, drugs and orgie.
Well, the past is past!
One can feel the power of his writing, when at the end of the book you come
out with the ability to listen to your inner voice or atleast with a desire to search for it.
Good one
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