ALCHEMIST :

If you start out by promising what you don't even have yet, you'll lose your desire to work toward getting it. Sometimes it's better to leave things as they are, he thought to himself, and decided to say nothing. The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon As he mused about these things, he reali ed that he had to choose between thinking of himself as the poor victim of a thief and as an adventurer in !uest of his treasure. "I'm an adventurer, looking for treasure," he said to himself. I'm like everyone else#I see the world in terms of what I would like to see happen, not what actually does. "$ou must always know what it is that you want," %very blessing ignored becomes a curse It was the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired. "I'm alive," he said to the boy, as they ate a bunch of dates one night, with no fires and no moon. "&hen I'm eating, that's all I think about. If I'm on the march, I 'ust concentrate on marching. If I have to fight, it will be 'ust as good a day to die as any other. "(ecause I don't live in either my past or my future. I'm interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man. $ou'll see that there is life in the desert, that there are stars in the heavens, and that tribesmen fight because they are part of the human race. )ife will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we're living right now." "If good things are coming, they will be a pleasant surprise," said the seer. "If bad things are, and you know in advance, you will suffer greatly before they even occur." The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. *orget about the future, and live each day according to the teachings, confident that +od loves his children. %ach day, in itself, brings with it an eternity." "It's not what enters men's mouths that's evil," said the alchemist. "It's what comes out of their mouths that is." $ou must understand that love never keeps a ma n from pursuing his ,ersonal )egend. If he abandons that pursuit, it's because it wasn't true love ... the love that speaks the )anguage of the &orld. %verything that happens once can never happen again. (ut everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time. The truth that many people never understand, until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering the more you suffer because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you in proportion to your fear of being hurt. ----------------------------- ------------------------------------------------

WAY OF THE PEACEFUL WARRIOR: "To see where something leads, it's best to wait until you reach the end," It is better for you to take responsibility for your life as it is, instead of blaming others, or circumstances, for your predicament. As your eyes open, you'll see that your state of health, happiness, and every circumstance of your life has been, in large part, arranged by you.consciously or unconsciously." &hen you become fully responsible for your life, you can become fully human/ once you become human, you may discover what it means to be a warrior. "0ust as there are different interpretations of the past and many ways to change the present, there are any number of possible futures. &hat you dreamed was a highly probable future. you can make choices and change your present circumstances. $ou can alter your future. $ou're a prisoner of your own illusions.about yourself and about the world. To cut yourself free, you're going to need more courage and strength than any movie hero. If you don't get what you want, you suffer/ if you get what you don't want, you suffer/ even when you get e1actly what you want, you still suffer because you can't hold onto it forever. $our mind is your predicament. It wants to be free of change, free of pain, free of the obligations of life and death. (ut change is a law, and no amount of pretending will alter that reality. )ife is not suffering/ it's 'ust that you will suffer it, rather than en'oy it, until you let go of your mind's attachments and 'ust go for the ride freely, no matter what happens. If you remain blind to your weaknesses, you can't correct them#########nor can you play up your strengths. It's 'ust like gymnastics $ou don't have to do anything e1cept to stop seeing the world from the viewpoint of your own personal cravings. )oosen up2 &hen you lose your mind, you'll come to your senses. &hen the mind resists life, thoughts arise. &hen something happens to conflict with a belief, turmoil is set up. Thought is an unconscious reaction to life." &hen you understand the source clearly, you'll see that the ripples of your mind have nothing to do with you/ you'll 'ust watch them, without attachment, no longer compelled to overreact every time a pebble drops. $ou will be free of the world's turbulence as soon as you calm your thoughts. 3emember when you are troubled, let go of your thoughts and deal with your mind2 That's e1actly what it is, 4an, a thought, no more real than the shadow of a shadow. 5ere is the truth6 consciousness is not in the body/ rather, the body is in consciousness. And you are that consciousness/ not the phantom mind which troubles you so. $ou are the body, but you are everything else too. That is what your vision revealed to you. 7nly the mind is deluded, threatened by change. So if you will 'ust rela1 mindless into the body, you'll be happy and content and free, sensing no separation. Immortality is already yours, but not in the way you imagine or hope for. $ou have been immortal since before you were born and will be long after the body dissolves. The body is consciousness/ it is immortal. It only changes. The mind your own personal beliefs and history and identity is the only mortal/

%veryone wants respect. (ut it is not 'ust a matter of saying, ',lease respect me.' $ou must earn respect by acting respectable##and the respect of a warrior is not easily earned. &hat comes out of your mouth is as important as what goes into it. 8let it flow and )et it go9 I've been ready for a change. %very habit itself##any unconscious, compulsive ritual##is negative. (ut specific activities#smoking, drinking, taking drugs, eating sweets, or asking silly !uestions are bad and good/ every action has its price, and its pleasures. 3ecogni ing both sides, you become realistic and responsible for your actions. And only then can you make the warrior's free choice##to do or not to do. 8There is a saying when you sit, sit. &hen you stand, stand. &hat ever you do don:t wobble. 7nce you make your choice do it with all your spirit. 4on:t be like the evangelist that thought about praying while making love to his wife and making love to his wife while praying9 8It:s better to make a mistake with the full force of your being then to carefully avoid mistakes with a trembling spirit. 3esponsibility means recogni ing both pleasure and price, making a choice based on that recognition, and then living with that choice without concern." 85appiness e!ual satisfaction over desires9 3emember, the time is now and the place is here. "Stay in the present. $ou can do nothing to change the past, and the future will never come e1actly as you plan or hope for. There have never been past warriors, nor will there be future ones, either. The warrior is here, now. $our sorrow, your fear and anger, regret and guilt, your envy and plans and cravings live only in the past, or in the future." "&hat you mean is that you acted angry in This is natural/ action is always in the present, because it the body, which can only e1ist in the present. (ut the mind, phantom, and, in fact, never e1ists in the present. Its only to draw your attention out of the present." 4on't let anybody or anything, least of all your own thoughts, draw you out of the present. "3eading the future is based on a realistic perception of the present. 4on't be concerned about seeing the future until you can clearly see the present." "Special powers do in fact e1ist. (ut for the warrior, such things are completely beside the point. 4on't be deluded. 5appiness is the only power that counts. And you cannot attain happiness/ it attains you but only after you surrender everything else." "A fool is 'happy' when his cravings are satisfied. A warrior is happy without reason. That's what makes happiness the ultimate discipline##" Act happy, be happy without a reason in the world then you can love and do what you will. ********************************************************************************