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Basic Information:
Author: Paulo Coelho,
translated by Alan R. Clarke
Edition: eBook on Nook
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 9780061841927
Read: February 23, 2018
188 pages
Genre: Autobiographical,
Fantasy, Personal Growth, Camino de Santiago
Language Warning: None
Rated Overall: 2 out of 5
Religion: Pseudo-Christianity
Religious Quality: 1 out of 5
Christianity-Teaching Quality:
out of 5
Fiction-Tells a good story: 4
out of 5
Fiction-Character development:
4 out of 5
Synopsis (Caution: Spoiler Alert-Jump to Thoughts):
The book traces Paulo Coelho’s
journey from his failure to obtain the order of the RAM (Regnum Agnus
Mundi) and to proceed as a Master of that order. After completing the
ceremony, his old sword is buried and a new sword is laid at his
feet. In his anxiousness to be a Master, he grasps at the sword
instead of letting the sword be given to him. To his Master, this
says that he still has something to learn.
To accomplish this, he is to
walk the Road to Santiago, the Camino de Santiago. He is to see a
woman. Who guides him to seek his guide, Petrus. Petrus leads him
both along the Camino de Santiago and through several mystical
experiences and exercises. These experiences include meeting and
confronting his own personal devil and his own desires.
He learns from a monk that one
must go through all of the steps to achieve his goal. He learns to
observe when he is told his guide has lead him through the Pyrenees
six times to the same spot without him realizing it. He learns how to
summon his own messenger/devil to help him understand situations.
He then goes through a series
of exercises and trials, including fighting a dog twice. Then at a
Templar castle, he is part of a ceremony to induct a new member of
the Tradition. But this is not him. Also his guide, Petrus says
goodbye before the ceremony, leaving Coelho to find his sword alone.
As he travels the Camino de
Santiago, he discovers the secret to his sword. Then subsequently, he
finds his swords and returns back home, enlightened.
Cast of Characters:
- Paulo Coelho-Author and seeker of the order of RAM
- The Master-the one who has guided Coelho in his initial stages to be part of RAM. He gives Coelho his sword at the end.
- Coelho’s wife-keeper of the sword which Coelho failed at during the initial ceremony
- Mme Lourdes-French lady who will be able to show Coelho how to start the walk.
- Petrus-Coelho’s guide along the Camino de Santiago
- legion-his own personal devil in the form of a dog
Thoughts:
Paulo Coelho says that this
book is autobiographical (I cannot find the reference now, so I may
be mistaken). It is his journey to become part of the order of RAM.
But in the book itself, it says it is a work of fiction.
As I was going through the
book, I noticed I was getting more and more concerned with how Coelho
was presenting the material, particularly from as he took more and
more imagery from the Christian world, but seemed to depart from it
and its tenants. One of the biggest aspects of it was the dichotomy
he presented of the Camino and what Coelho calls the Tradition is for
the common person. But the more he sought after his sword, it was
full of hidden meanings and rites. Coelho’s thoughts seemed to be
more in tune with the ancient gnostics than with the ancient
Christian thought. That only a few could understand the secrets of
the world. Paul talks about the mystery in Christ, but goes on and
says the mystery through Christ has been opened to the world (that is
Christ in you the hope of glory.)
In addition to the hidden part
of his mysticism, he is always interested in acquiring power. This is
from the first sentence of the book to the last chapter. But what
power and to do what? Coelho really never answers these questions.
This seems more the false ways which the Church has followed over the
years, rather than the way of Christ and his humbleness.
Is the sword symbolic or a
real sword out of iron?
Prologue
Ceremony where he fails the
final requisite-to be given his new sword rather than grasping it. It
exposes Coelho’s desire to be superior to others. The master says
that the road of the
Tradition is not for the chosen few. It is everyone’s road.
This is traditional Christian thinking. While Paul’s letters talk
about a mystery, unlike the gnostics, this mystery is open to anyone
who wants to receive it.
In order to receive the symbol
of being a Master of RAM, he needs to walk the Strange Road to
Santiago.
Why is it called the Strange
Road to Santiago? I have found some blogs by that name, but not
really other places.
Arrival
Coelho and his wife arrive in
Spain. But here they split destinations. His wife to put the RAM
sword in a designated place where Coelho will be able to find it at
the appropriate time. Coelho needs to go to the start of the Camino,
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.
His wife points out that You
have never in your life let another person make an important decision
for you. This is
probably one of those underlying conditions why he needs to walk the
Camino-to establish his dependency on others. Coelho ends the chapter
by saying that if I
were not able to find my sword, the pilgrimage along the Road to
Santiago was going to help me to find myself.
Coelho gives a brief history
of the Camino de Santiago.
Paintings:
-
The Milky Way by Bunuel is this a real painting?
-
Wandered by Juan Manoel Serrat-also could not find reference to this either.
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port
The Seed Exercise
You can see what kind of
person Coelho can be starting in this chapter-one who has knowledge,
but does not have recognition of all what he is involved in. When he
gets to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, he finds his contact, but forgets to
give the call-sign indicating he is part of the “Tradition”. Only
after he recognizes his mistake does he give this and the situation
is rectified. He is also swears to obey his guide in all things, even
if it is homicidal,
blasphemous or senseless.
Before he meets his guide, he
finds a man going through a backpack and assumes this is his guide.
It turns out this was a gypsy and according to Coelho’s story, his
personal devil. When Coelho’s guide turns up and gives the correct
passwords does Coelho realize his mistake.
Here is one of the first clues
that this will not be a book which is about the traditional Christian
thinking. In the conversation with the Petrus, the guide, he says In
the Tradition, the devil is a spirit that is neither good nor evil,
he is considered to be the guardian of most of the secrets that are
accessible to human beings and to have strength and power over
material things.
This is an example where Coelho uses Christian concepts and words and
shapes them into something which is heresy.
But in the germs of this
non-Christian thought, there is seeds of truth. We are all acting in
accordance to a greater power. Coelho says He
[the gypsy]
thought that he was being intelligent, but he was really acting as
the instrument of a greater power.
This is how we are when we think we are outsmarting God. We are
walking a path which leads us away from God and yet we are showing
others where the path is not.
The RAM practices are so
simple that people like you [Coelho]
who are used to
making life too complicated, ascribe little value to them.
Petrus, the guide, says that the true
path to wisdom can be identified by three things,
agape, practical application to your life, a path that can be
followed.
The Seed Exercise is then
described:
Kneel on the ground, with
yourself seated on your heels. Have your head touch your knees. Relax
Perceive yourself as a seed which is growing. He describes this in
more detail.
Coelho did this for seven
days.
The Creator and the Created
The Speed Exercise
When you travel, you
experience, in a very practical way, the act of rebirth.
Petrus goes on and says this is because you travel through lands you
have not experienced, are immersed in languages you do not
understand, and cultures which are alien. You have to be reborn, come
out of your womb like a child.
At the same time, since all
things are new, you see only beauty in them, and you feel happy to be
alive. I see this
when we travel a new trail or go to a place I have not been before.
It is something I try to recapture when I go someplace I have been
many times, like Yosemite, by bringing people who have not gone
before, or going in a different season or on a different trail.
What does peccadillo mean?
Coelho says “small sin”, a foot incapable of walking a road.
Dictionary says: a small, relatively unimportant offense or sin.
Dictionary is saying that is is more related to stumbling or walking,
to fall
Petrus is asked, why would he
take time out of his busy schedule to guide him on the Camino de
Santiago? That which is left behind is either unimportant and can
wait or will be better after experiencing the camino again.
After walking seven days and
doing the Seed Exercise he has an experience which almost makes him
lose sight of everything. The guide indicates this happens often,
especially with
people like you who are fascinated by details and forget what they
are after. That is
true of me-I will get wrapped up in seeing and understanding
something and lose sight of what I am wanting to do.
Petrus had lead Coelho on a
route which took six days to cross the Pyrenees. It should only take
one. He was being lead around and had not noticed this. This was to
show that he was not observing the process, he only existed for his
desire.
When you are moving toward
an objective, it is very important to pay attention to the road.
How you achieve your objective is better or worse depending on the
route you choose. Also in how you travel that route.
The Speed Exercice is
essentially slowing yourself down to about half your speed of
walking. Pay attention to details. Find pleasure in the speed you
travel, particularly if you are not used to going that speed. Looking
at a watch while doing this makes things worse. time
isn’t something that always proceeds at the same pace. It is we who
determine how quickly time passes.
He meets a monk who says to
him, without that on
[the trail he failed in Brazil],
nothing you have learned has any significance,
You cannot skips steps in growth. Even doing something as large as
walking the Camino de Santiago means nothing if you do not understand
about your failures.
Who is Sancho the Strong?
The monk says there are four
roads:
-
Camino de Santiago-the Road of Spades, giving you power
-
The Road to Jerusalem, the Road of Hearts/the Grail-allows miracles
-
Road to Rome-Road of Clubs, communication with other worlds
-
a secret road-the Road of Diamonds
Once again, this is where
Coelho deviates. The monk is blessing his Camino shell and they grow
light and a mysterious voice calls out. What is then said, wherever
your heart is, there will be the cradle of the Second Coming of
Christ. It then
gets related back to agape. Also, it is the secret of Coelho’s
sword.
Cruelty
The Cruelty Exercise
He opens the chapter by saying
this is where love died. The story of Felicia
of Aquitaine
was related.
Petrus says the guiding
concept of the Camino de Santiago is its simplicity. Even those who
are not sophisticated can understand why they are walking this road.
This is in contrast with a person who is trying to reason a
relationship with God and approach him intellectually.
But this is where he really
has one of those good sounding things-it does not matter what you
believe as long as you do good works. This is the conclusion he
takes away from the Felicia story. Not that our good works does not
matter in our approach to God.
The good fight is the one
that’s fought in the name of our dreams.
Really? He goes on and says that we kill our dreams because we refuse
to put up the good fight. The
first symptom of the process of our killing out dreams is the lack of
time. The second is
in our certainties.
The third is peace.
We cease asking for the great and are content with what we have.
dead dreams...rot
within us… We become cruel to those around us… and then to
ourselves.
we follow only the road
that we become accustomed to.
The Cruelty Exercise:
When a thought comes into
mind, that makes you feel bad about yourself: dig the nail of your
index finger into the cuticle of the thumb in the same hand until it
becomes painful. This is a reflection on what is going on in our
spirit. Repeat as necessary.
The Messenger
The Messenger Ritual
This is where the break
between Christian thought and Coelho is definitely shown. What Coelho
calls the devil, he recasts as being a messenger which can give
Coelho help to understand the situations he is in.
This comes out when they
approach a town. A ball is miss-thrown and Coelho gets the ball. But
because of how Petrus is, Coelho holds on to the ball. The boy asks
for it, then demands it through force, then tries to bribe for it,
then tries to buy it. The scene ends with Petrus giving the ball to
the boy. Coelho asks what happened? Petrus’ response is that it
allowed Coelho to win out over his personal devil. You have your
angel and devil. The angel protects you. The devil is also an angel,
but free and rebellious. Petrus prefers calling him The Messenger.
Here he he equates this devil with Hermes/Mercury. You must accept
him as your friend. The angel is your armour; the devil is your
sword. His messenger's name is called Astrain-used in the book, not
Coelho’s messenger's real name.
The above is Coelho’s
thoughts, not mine. There is a reason why the devil is also known as
the deceiver. Even in Petrus’ instructions, he says that you
have to know how to distinguish between what is real assistance and
what is a trap.
This sounds much more like Coelho is playing with fire than good
guidance.
Petrus points out that John
the Baptist went into the desert; Jesus went to the people. But later
on Petrus points out that Jesus went out into the desert to meet his
own personal devil (see how the story is getting recast?) . Jesus
learned how to deal with people through that encounter.
The Messenger Ritual:
Sit down and relax. Let mind
wander, unrestrained. Repeat,” I am relaxed and I am in the
deepest kind of sleep.” The imagine a fire, billowing to right,
lively and brilliant. Order your subconscious to show itself.
Concentrate on the fire. Once it appears, make a fire on your left.
Say “May the power of the Lamb,....”. Talk with your messenger.
Discuss your problems and ask for advice. Then dismiss the messenger.
In the next chapter, Petrus
clarifies a couple of things concerning the messenger. The messenger
function is to help you with regards to the material world. Also he
will only help you if you know exactly what you want.
Love
The Arosual of Intuition
The chapter starts with an
explanation of the messenger. But then goes on to an exorcism where
Coelho is speaking in tongues to cast out an evil spirit out of a
dog.
Petus points out that
sometimes we learn to live with evil. When that evil is lifted, it
feels unnatural, unwelcomed. Often
when we try to demonstrate that life is good and generous, such
people reject the idea as if it came from the devil.
This is why sometimes we do not ask enough out of our lives. We are
afraid.
The Water Exercise:
Let yourself become fluid,
like water, rather than restrained by logic. Make a puddle of water
on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. Look at the puddle. Play with it
without design. Make designs without meaning.
Marriage
We are always trying to
convert people to a belief in our own explanation fo the universe.
While true and put in these terms it appears close to offensive in
this day and age. On the other hand, just our own living gives rise
to this supposition. For example, if you decided that you were not
going to say a word for the rest of your life, what would that tell
people about what you think? At its best, you cannot engage with
others. But even your non-engagement says to them that you do not
care enough to correct an error which you see. The other shoe on this
is that we each have certain things we hold as true. When we talk, we
work off of these assumptions. Should we be expounding something
which we did not think is true? Isn’t that a form of hypocrisy?
you will find your sword
only if you discover that the Road and the truth and the life are in
your heart.
To Petrus, there is three
kinds of love: agape, philos and eros. Coelho defines eros as being
love between two people. Not necessarily romantic love. He then
defines philos as friendship. I not sure how Coelho’s definition
between eros and philo is different. He will then talk about agape
over the next couple of chapters. But in brief, agape is the love
which consumes.
Enthusiasm
The Blue Sphere Exercise
Not sure what Coelho means
when he says that the Apostle Paul was
the major occult interpreter of Christ’s message.
Occult-does he mean mystic, then i think that is a possibility. If he
means hidden messages-Paul makes it clear in places that the message
of Christ is widen open, not hidden. If Coelho is referring to magic
or the black arts, he is so off base.
He continues his talk on love.
He says that eroz leads to philos which leads to agape. For the
answer to what is agape, Petrus says that it must be lived. He
indicates that the messenger cannot lead you into agape. It takes the
divine spark, luck. How does this
play into that RAM is for
all, if luck has something to do with it?
In a hermitage where Petrus
expected to meet a friend, he starts to explain agape to Coelho.
Coelho had asked about being in love. Petrus responds and said that I
don’t think you look to love as a means to a comfortable
retirement. After
an hour pause, Petrus says that Agape
is total love. .. that consumes the person who experiences it.
He talks that it was Jesus agape love which shook the world. He said
that the people lived
just to be consumed by their love.
This is the agape love according to Petrus. This was the first form
of agape and few experience it.
The second form is enthusiasm.
This is directed at a particular idea or things. We lose enthusiasm
through daily defeats. We
blame the world for our boredom and for our losses and we forget that
it was we ourselves who allowed this enchanting power...to diminish.
While I think Coelho is right in that our love gets worn down and
needs conscious renewal, that is not agape.
I am thinking of a parallel
explanation of love. This is by CS Lewis in The
Four Loves.
Lewis takes the
four Greek words and talks his way through them. Eros-romantic love;
philos-friendship; storge-familial love; and then agape. Agape being
the highest form and only perfectly expressed in God. It is the love
which a person looks at to a dog. It is not a mutual love, but one
sided. A love without reason, a love without condition, a love of a
person.
The Blue Sphere Exercise:
Get seated nd relaxed-not
thinking about anything. Feel how good it is to be alive. Feel free
and affectionable. Go above the problems you have. Sing a song from
your childhood. Imagine your heart growing, filling the room with an
intense blue light. Sense the presence of the saints of your early
faith. Picture these saints approaching you and wishing you
well-being and love. The blue light will then shine and flow like a
river. Keep your light spreading around the world.
Death
The Buried Alive Exercise
Coelho meets the dog again and
does battle with it. This was right after experiencing what he
defines as agape love he is now confronted by death and the problems
which goes in this world. Fear, or at least the thought of fear, but
not fear itself comes through. Coelho tackles this more has a mind
problem than an emotional one. When a nun passes by, fear is released
and the dog sulks away. Pertus says that it had nothing to do with
the dog. He says it is that Coelho sensed something positive and that
it would help you. It was Coelho’s faith, not in the nun or in
Christ, but in the positive.
Petrus explains that before
when he confronted the dog, he did not do anything with the demons
which were in the dog. Jesus drove the demons into the lake. But
Coelho let it wander the countryside. So Coelho will need to confront
the dog on another day. Petrus says the demon in the dog is named
Legion-like the name of the demons in the pig story.
Your confidence and your
sense of mastery depends a great deal on how you react to threats
made by others.
A threat leads to nothing
if it is not accepted.
Both attacking and fleeing are part of the fight.
Death-humans are the only
creatures which know they are going to die. Petrus says that death
will either destroy you or become your best friend. We try to hide
from death. But it is death
itself that motivates them to do the best things in their lives.
Death is our companion, It is also what gives our life meaning. What
does Coelho mean by this?
The Buried Alive Exercise
Only to be done once. Lie down
on the floor, relax. Cross your arms over your chest. Imagine the
details of a burial. Imagine you are being buried alive.-the chapel,
the cemetery, lowering the casket, worms in the grave. In your mind,
keep trying to escape, but you cannot. It is ok to scream.
Personal Vices
Petrus says the one thing
which can stop Coelho from completing his quest of finding the sword
is his own personal vices. He says that one of his own hands will be
the enemy. Petrus prays for Coelho (and himself), Petrus prays to
the Lord.
Conquest
The RAM Breathing Exercise
Petrus takes Coelho to a hole
in the ground where there is a beautiful waterfall. They climb down
into the hole. Coelho is admiring the beauty when petrus commands
that they climb up the waterfall. He remembers something which his
old Master said you
wanted to be brave, when it was enough to have been intelligent.
There are times like that where if we did not want to appear chicken,
we decided to do something which our brain said this is stupid.
a disciple such as you can
never imitate his guide’s steps. You have your own way of living
your life, of dealing with problems and winning.
Petrus is climbing the waterfall, but using it as a screen so that
Coelho has to find his own way in the climb, he will just know it is
possible. There was a point where victory over the climb was within
grasp, but it had not come, so Coelho was not to rush it.
Does this place exist?
The RAM Exercise
Expel all of the air from your
lungs. Inhale, slowly, raising your arms as high as possible.
Concentrate on love, people and harmony. Hold the air as long as you
can, holding the arms above you as well as your thoughts. Exhale
rapidly as you say the word RAM. Repeat process for five minutes.
Madness
The Shadows Exercise
Not sure if this is true, but
more thinking it is more quackery: vegetation,
and especially mature trees, are able to transmit harmony when one
rests one’s nerve centers against a tree trunk.
I do know that I enjoy letter a tree take some of my burden by
resting against it when I am backpacking.
Where is the honorable passage
bridge? Orbigo’s bridge. Don Suero de Quinones
Every one of us has the
flame of madness burning inside, and it is fed by agape.
While the first makes sense. How many times have I come down from a
lack of reality to a better understanding of things? But what does
this have to do with agape? I suppose if you take his definition of
being consumed by love, it has some possibilities. But less than one
would first suppose. If you really have love, can you be insane by
it? No I do not mean the lust for a person, but the love of the
person. or thing? Particularly if it is the higher level of love,
does it not make you want the best for a person? Does your insanity
aide that person whom you love? So how can it be related?
in order for agape to
flourish, I must not be afraid to change my life.
The only way to make the
right decision is to know what the wrong decision is.
Definitely not a relativistic statement.
The Shadows Exercise
Relax completely. For five
minutes, study the shadows of all objection and people around you.
Try to identify exactly which part of the object is casting a shadow.
For the next five minutes continue to do this, but also focus on the
problem you are trying to solve. Look for all of the possible wrong
solutions to the problem. Spend five more minutes studying the
shadows and thinking about the remaining correct solutions. Eliminate
them one by one until there is only one correct solution remaining.
Coelho uses this exercise to
deduce the type of location where his sword is.
He also meets his dog demon
here, Legion. Coelho realizes he needs to face the dog, and his
fears. He finds that he has overestimated the dog’s strength, his
fears strength. His own personal demon, Astrain, fed doubt into
Coelho. He ones when he falls to the earth and gets in contact with
it, releasing Legion into the earth.
Command and Obedience
During his fight with the dog,
he is pretty badly wounded, lost a lot of blood. Petrus brings in an
old woman to care for him. He also tells Coelho to lick the
wounds-his saliva will help heal them. A medical officer says the
type of wounds Coelho had was caused by a rabid dog. Petrus and
Coelho refuse to believe him.
Petrus says that the only
acceptable excuse for a pilgrim not completing the Camino is due to
illness. If the fever had continued, then he would have had to leave
the Camino.
Petrus is is not as
overwhelmed with Coelho’s victory as Coelho is. He points out that
timing is everything and that Petrus had to rush Coelho to be in the
right spot at the right time. Petrus points out the Coelho wants the
sword for power, but without the understanding of what to use it for.
A
few moments of political talk. This is so similar as a person who
seeks political power without understanding why they sought the
position in the first place. Also without the preparation to use the
office in a fit way once it is obtained.
Petrus says something which
strikes me as being out of Sun Tzu’z Art
of War: The
sword only strikes a blow, but the hand is already victorious or
defeated before the blow is delivered.
He also says that Our
enemy always represents our weaker side.
We ended up defeated because we let the enemy choose the battlefield.
Coelho puts these words into
Petrus’ mouth: Going
to war is not a sin. It is an act of love.
But there is not explanation here. How is it an act of love? GK
Chesterton indicates what a soldier will fight wholeheartedly if what
he loves is threatened. Is this what Coelho means? Petrus says that
refusing to engage in battle is worse than being defeated. At least
in defeat, we learn something; fleeing we just declare the enemy as
the victor. Petrus also says that Jesus needed Judas so that his
battles on earth would be glorified. To me, this is too much yin/yan
thing where each has an equal part. I think God would be happier if
all did well each other and Him in love.
the enemy rarely represents
evil. Probably
true-as much as we do not represent evil when we are someone else’s
enemy. Still there is evil around which needs to be combated. Usually
an enemy of another person is due to our own sins-greed, lust, pride,
…
The person who does not
know how to listen will never hear the advice that life offers us all
the time.
The Listening Exercise:
Relax and close your eyes.
Concentrate for several minutes on the sounds you hear. Separate out
the sounds from each other. Concentrate on each one. Try to eliminate
other sounds from your awareness. Later on you will hear voices.
They may be people from your past, present or future. This is to be
performed in conjunction with knowing the voice of your messenger.
After this exercise, Petrus
has him raise a broken cross. Coelho tries to do it with thought, but
cannot. Then Petrus says to use his hands. It is a test of obedience.
Because of his previous wounds, Coelho is in pain while trying to
free the broken cross from its base. Eventually he figures out how to
listen to the cross and gets it cut from the base and put into the
right place to hold it upright.
The Tradition
The Dance Exercise
This is a chapter I found
strange, really strange. More like, is this fantasy rather than a
person who is traveling the Camino de Santiago.
Coelho has just uprighted a
cross and is trying to get an answer from Petrus on why he was doing
it. petrus is having none of the questioning and is switching
subjects. Sort of usual to get Coelho to think for himself.
They go to a railroad yard
where Petrus announces that the Road to Santiago is about to end.
people who consider
the,selves to be wise are often indecisive when command is called for
and rebellious when they are called upon to obey. They are ashamed to
give orders and consider it dishonorable to receive them. Don’t
ever be that way.
True, while I do not feel I call myself wise often-others have, but I
feel the lack of wisdom many a time. Yet I understand and feel what
Petrus is saying.
Petrus then starts to lead
Coelho in a new exercise, the Dance Exercise. But as a prelude, he
explains how he came into the picture as a guide-this is his first
experience as a guide, and his only. He talks about how Coelho was
more interested in the intellectual implications of the teachings
rather than the true meanings. It is the road of the common people.
In order to gain wisdom, he will need to walk all four roads. Petrus
then says that he is leaving Coelho, but Coelho will be part of a
ceremony to honor those who have upheld the Tradition over the
centuries. Petrus says that there is many roads to God.
The secret of the RAM
teachings is: You
can learn only through teaching.
… Petrus says that as he has taught Coelho, he was able to find his
own path. Life
teaches us lessons every minute, and the secret is to accept that
only in our daily lives.
The Dance Exercise:
Relax, close your eyes. Recall
the first songs of your childhood. Begin to sign them. Little by
little, let each part of your body begin to dance to the melody you
are singing-but only one at a time. After five minutes stop
singing.Listen. Compose another melody based upon what you are
hearing and dance with your whole body. Don’t think, but memorize
the images. The dance offers an almost perfect means of communication
with the Infinite Intelligence. The whole exercise will last about
fifteen minutes.
Petrus removes himself, but
says he will leave a note. The next day Coelho is given a note saying
to come to the Knights Templar castle in the city where they are
at-Ponferrada. There he comes into contact with several others who
were being part of the ceremony. But only Coelho and an Australian
were expecting to go through the induction. When they enter into the
chapel, there are seven men in the Templar outfits, one of them being
Petrus.
It is here that things go even
stranger. They disrobe and put on robes. They are given as vestment
of salvation from God. ??? Definitely not Christian. They then
summon something, not sure what, by the power of God. The 72 names
of God are written and they recite these names. There had been a
circle drawn with the knights on the outside, people like Coelho on
the inside, protected by the circle-protected from what? As they
danced, the face of RAM came to hi, and then only the face of N-a
spirit known to Coelho. The name Yahweh Tetragrammaton is said
several times, calling all back out of the trance they were in.
This is where Coelho fuses
Christian practice with his mysticism. He has the High Priest say
seven Paternosters, Ave Marias, and Apostle Creed. Why? Sounds more
magical than Christian. Then the Australian is summoned: he is to
enter into the Templar. This all lasted all nights, because they
were now at dawn. Coelho is left wondering about his own sword and
has he been defeated.
El Cebrero
Coelho now feels at a loss
about how to continue the Camino. It sounded like he was walking the
Camino not for the Camino’s sake, nor to find his spirituality, but
only to gain his sword. Coelho’s mind now wanders to how Petrus is
feeling. He feels that Petrus must feel humiliated because Coelho has
not found his sword. Coelho realizes that he is fascinated with
occult wisdom-by this I think he means more hidden wisdom, than that
of the devil. Coelho also realizes that he was ready to fight the
good fight, to battle and be triumphant.
He makes the statement that
One’s efforts are
salutary and indispensable, but without results, they amount to
nothing. I do not
think this is true. Our efforts in so many things in the Christian
life is about the effort and the purpose of our efforts-to please
God. It is up to Him to obtain the results from our efforts.
Along the way to Santiago, he
comes across a little girl who encourages him to pass through the
Gates of Forgiveness. Coelho thinks he will find his sword there. But
no. When he offered the little girl money, she is offended and asks
him to leave. Moments later an old man offers to show him another
church, which he accepts. When offered money, the man refuses and
says people of his city does not help others for money. Most of the
world turns on money. But there are places and people who do not.
Know and honor those people.
These events sets him to
thinking that maybe the reward for victory should come in a different
way. Eventually this thought leads to him understanding the secret
which Petrus was trying to work into him, the secret of the sword is
not in the finding, but afterwards, what are you going to do with it?
The only reason for
seeking a reward is to know what to do with that reward.
His purpose had been to find it, not to use it. It still is
unanswered how is he going to use it?
He says that now on his walk
he was learning to communicate with the universe. There is a certain
looseness in his writing now. I think this reflects more of his new
found freedom of having to find the sword and the realization his
quest is not the end of all of his desires. He reflects that being
his own teacher transformed himself into his own Master.
El Cebrero is a mountain.
He uses the phrase the
Road to Santiago began to “walk me.”
this is in reference to a predicament he faced: to progress through
fog or return to a village to wait out the fog and the incoming rain.
He allowed the Road to have him continue on. This is the result of
what he says walking in the love that consumes. He hears a woman’s
voice where there should be none.It was coming from inside him.He
sees a cross on top of the mountain and decides he needs to pray at
the cross.
At this point Coelho tries to
use Christian imagery to convey a sense of spirituality of finding
his sword. After praying on top of El Cebrero, a lamb comes to lead
Coelho. In his prayer there was a realization of purpose and his
failures. There is symbolism in the lamb before an empty cross.
Coelho lets the lamb lead him to the village below the mountain. When
they reach village, Coelho sees picture of the lamb throughout the
Bible, but particularly in Revelations.. He pictures that everything
ended with the victory of the Lamb and with every human being on
earth awakening the sleeping God and all of God’s power.
Interesting that Coelho pictures God sleeping. It may be a modernist
view of God, but definitely not traditional Christian.
In the chapel in the village,
Coelho’s Master (not Petrus) stands with Coelho’s sword. His
Master quotes a verse from Ps 91:7, but then adds other words to the
Psalm. Coelho now has found and obtained his sword. But like most
things in this book, its Christian spirituality is not the teachings
of Christ, but of a mysticism separate from Christ. Coelho wants the
trappings of this religion, but not the religion. The searching is
interesting, but it is not the search of a Christian, but of a
modern. Not the humbleness of a pilgrim, but more of a Crusader.
Epilogue
Santiago de Compostela
Why does Coelho take the bus
for the rest of his Camino? Was it because he really was not walking
the Camino, but only using it as a mechanism to get his sword? If so,
this is not really a Camino book, but more of something which happens
along the way. He is not a pilgrim. Now that I have written it, it
seems pretty judgemental. And yet, I have a hard time with that
statement.
To answer the question above
about the purpose of the sword. Coelho says that the secret of the
sword is his and he will not reveal it.
He closes the book with people
always arrive at the right moment at the place where someone awaits
them. I am not sure
this is right.
Evaluation:
I
obtained this book because I saw it on a
list
of books concerning the Camino de Santiago. Coelho does take you down
a
pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago, but it is hardly one which
any of “normal” pilgrim would recognize, whether the pilgrimage
was religious or secular. He leads you through a series of physical
exercises or meditations to bring you in tune with the mystical side
of the world, to sharpen your understanding of your walk. This is all
in the context of finding his sword.
Coelho is a good writer,
knowing how to tell a story. He brings you into his world by
portraying this story as a first person account of a Camino he
walked. In his blog he calls this autobiographical (I cannot find the reference now), event though the
book says it is fictional.
The second part of a good book
is does it portray truth. This is where I think Coelho fails. He
portrays a mysticism with Christian images without the Christian
thought in it. This is the main issue I have with this book and the
reason why I marked it down.
(As a note, according to
Coelho’s publisher, during his walk of the Camino de Santiago, he
reconverted to being a Christian in 1986.
Notes from my book group:
My book groups have not read
this.
How does Coelho uses Christian
words and concepts in a non-Christian way? Why does he do this?
Throughout the book, a theme
runs through it that the path
to knowledge is open to everyone.
How so? Is this true in Christianity?
Is the sword talked about in
this book symbolic? If so, what is the symbolism? If not, why a real,
physical sword in today’s world?
Many of these questions are
either from or adapted from LitLovers.
-
Why the title of The PIlgramge? What pilgrimage does he portray?
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Does this story work as fiction?
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Did the ending seem fitting? Satisfying? Predictable?
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Which character was the most convincing? Least?
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Which character did you identify with?
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Which one did you dislike?
-
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Every story has a world view. Were you able to identify this story’s world view? What was it? How did it affect the story?
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In what context was religion talked about in this book?
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Why do you think the author wrote this book?
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What would you ask the author if you had a chance?
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What “take aways” did you have from this book?Are there solutions which the author presents?
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How did this book affect your view of the world?
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Of how God is viewed?
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What questions did you ask yourself after reading this book?
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Talk about specific passages that struck you as significant—or interesting, profound, amusing, illuminating, disturbing, sad...?
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What was memorable?
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New Words:
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vicissitudes (The Creator and the Created): a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.
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suffused (Love): gradually spread through or over
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tachycardia (Death): an abnormally rapid heart rate.
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rollo (Death):
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Yahweh Tetragrammaton (The Tradition): YHWH in Latin script, is the four-letter biblical name of the God of Israel
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Codex Calixtinus by Pope Calixtus II
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works of Carlos Castaneda
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probably wrote the Codex Calixtinus-Aymeric Picaud
Good Quotes:
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First Line: “And now, before the sacred countenance of RAM, you must touch with your hands the Word of Life and acquire such power as you need to become a witness to that Word throughout the world.”
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Last Line: And when I think about it, I guess it is true that people always arrive at the right moment at the place where someone awaits them.
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When you are moving toward an objective, it is very important to pay attention to the road. Chp The Creator and the Created
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time isn’t something that always proceeds at the same pace. It is we who determine how quickly time passes. Chp The Creator and the Created
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we follow only the road that we become accustomed to. Chp Cruelty
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Your confidence and your sense of mastery depends a great deal on how you react to threats made by others. Chp Death
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A threat leads to nothing if it is not accepted. Chp Death
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it is death itself that motivates them to do the best things in their lives. Chp Death
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wisdom has value only if it helps us to overcome some obstacle. Chp Conquest
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a disciple … can never imitate his guide’s steps. You have your own way of living your life, of dealing with problems and winning. Chp Conquest
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Once a problem is solved, its simplicity is amazing. Chp Conquest
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The only way to make the right decision is to know what the wrong decision is. Chp Madness
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The person who does not know how to listen will never hear the advice that life offers us all the time. Chp Command and Obedience
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people who consider the,selves to be wise are often indecisive when command is called for and rebellious when they are called upon to obey. They are ashamed to give orders and consider it dishonorable to receive them. Chp The Tradition
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The only reason for seeking a reward is to know what to do with that reward. Chp El Cebrero
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Prologue
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Arrival
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Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port
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The Seed Exercise
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The Creator and the Created
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The Speed Exercise
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Cruelty
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The Cruelty Exercise
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The Messanger
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The Messenger Ritual
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Love
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The Arosual of Intuition
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Marriage
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Enthusiasm
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The Blue Sphere Exercise
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Death
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The Buried Alive Exercise
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Personal Vices
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Conquest
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The RAM Breathing Exercise
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Madness
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The Shadows Exercise
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Command and Obedience
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The Tradition
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The Dance Exercise
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El Cebrero
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Epilogue
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Santiago de Compostela
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References:
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