The Alchemist. Reasearch. Great book bytheway

Notes on the Warrior of Light

            In Paulo Coelho's blog he discussed how no matter what a person looks on the exterior there are always some form of terror haunting them. The proper children afraid of punishment; The girl alone reading a book scared of not ever finding the love of her life; The husband who contemplate an affair with his secretary but is afraid of how his wife would react. All these seemingly happy people deflected from risk by fear. Although it is impossible,  a world without terror would be an extremely hectic place, it would be complete anarchy. The fear of many things would subside. The fear of getting arrested, the fear of death, the fear of rejection, the fear of injury, etc. with out fear there would be no order.

            Fear is the most essential part of government and order. If there is no fear of consequence there is no thinking twice and no strategy. An example is a teenager in our “real” world, he has no money and is at a grocery store, he wants soda but does not have the proper currency for the purchase. He looks at the soda contemplating whether he should steal it he looks back and forth with many a butterfly in his belly. He thinks of the consequences and his fear of disappointment from his parents and getting arrested. The boy does not steal the soda from fear of disappointment and a criminal record. Now if the same boy, in an alternative universe devoid of terror, were to contemplate the same theft, he would not think twice. Without pause the boy would grab the soda and then just walks out. If there even are police they would beat him mercilessly because they have no fear. Now I'm pretty sure that the alternative world would not have made it this far because there is no order without fear.

Notes on Alchemy

            Alchemy has been studied throughout time and all over the world. Alchemy is a mix of spiritual and physical science, it is composed of many beliefs and facts. Alchemists strove to discover ;The transmutation of common metals into gold or silver; the creation of “panacea” or the elixir of life; the discovery of a universal solvent. These are only the main ideas that were sought after by alchemists. Certain Hermetic schools argue that the transmutation of lead into gold is analogical for the transmutation of the physical body (Saturn or lead) into (Gold) with the goal of attaining immortality, this is described as internal Alchemy. Pope John XXII and Henry IV of England  banned Alchemy. Alchemist perfected; ore testing and refining, metalworking, production of gunpowder, ink, dyes, paints, cosmetics, leather tanning, ceramics, glass manufacture, preparation of extracts, liquors. Without Alchemy there would be no modern chemistry.

Notes on Paulo Coelho

 Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro Brazil. He attended a Jesuit school. As a teenager Coelho wanted to become a writer. Upon telling his mother this, she responded with “My dear, your father is an engineer. He's a logical, reasonable man with a very clear vision of the world. Do you actually know what it means to be a writer?” After researching, Coelho concluded that a writer “Always wears glasses and never combs his hair” and has a “duty and an obligation never to be understood by his own generation,” amogst other things. At 17, Coelho's introversion and opposition to following the traditional path led to his parents committing him to a mental institution from which he escaped three times before being released at age 20. At his parents wishes, he enrolled in law school and abandoned his dream of being a writer. Only a year later, he dropped out and lived life as a hippie, traveling through South America, North Africa, Mexico, and Europe and became immersed in the drug culture of the 1960s. Upon his return to Brazil, Coelho worked as a song writer worked as a songwriter writing for various artists including Raul Seixas. Composing with Raul led Paulo being associated with satanism and occultism, due to the content of some songs. Raul and Paulo begain organizing an experimental "Alternative Society," which was to be an anarchist community in the state of Minas Gerais based on Aleister Crowley's premise:”Do what though wilt' shall be the whole of the Law.”

The project was considered subversive by members of the Brazilian military, which imprisoned all prospective members of the group and tortured Seixas and Coelho.

            I feel that with out these life changing experiences Coelho would not be the successful author that he became.