Manual of The Warrior of Light

Product Information

A warrior of light needs both patience and speed. The two worst strategic mistakes to make are: acting prematurely and letting an opportunity slip; to avoid this, the warrior treats each situation as if it were unique and never resorts to formulae, recipes or other people's opinions. The caliph Moauiyat asked Omr Ben Al-Aas the secret of his great political skills: 'I never get involved in something without having first worked out my retreat; then again, I have never gone into a situation and immediately wanted to run straight out again,' came the answer. A warrior knows that an angel and a devil are both competing for his sword hand. The devil says: 'You will weaken. You will not know exactly when. You are afraid.' The angel says: 'You will weaken. You will not know exactly when. You are afraid.' The warrior is surprised. Both angel and devil have said the same thing. Then the devil goes on: 'Let me help you.' And the angel says: 'I will help you.' At that moment, the warrior understands the difference. The words may be the same, but these two allies are completely different. And he chooses the angel's hand.

Manual of The Warrior of Light (Paperback) - Waterstones

One day, for no apparent reason, the warrior realises that he does not feel the same enthusiasm for the fight that he used to. He continues to do what he has always done, but every gesture seems meaningless. At such a time, he has only one choice: to continue fighting the Good Fight. He says his prayers out of duty or fear or whatever, but he does not abandon the path. He knows that the angel of the One who inspires him has simply wandered off somewhere. The warrior keeps his attention focused on the battle and he perseveres, even when everything seems utterly pointless. The angel will soon return and the merest flutter of his wings will restore the warrior's joy to him. The only trap I must beware not to fall into, is to think that each day is the same as the next. In fact, each morning brings with it a hidden miracle, and we must pay attention to this miracle.”The Latin root of the word 'responsibility' reveals its true meaning: the capacity to respond, to react. A responsible warrior is one who has proved able to observe and to learn. He is even capable of being 'irresponsible'. Sometimes, he has allowed himself to be carried along by a situation, without responding or reacting. But he always learned his lesson; he took a stance, listened to advice and was humble enough to accept help. A responsible warrior is not someone who takes the weight of the world on his shoulders, but someone who has learned to deal with the challenges of the moment. Warriors of light always keep a certain gleam in their eyes. They are of this world, they are part of the lives of other people and they set out on their journey with no saddlebags and no sandals. They are often cowardly. They do not always make the right decisions. They suffer over the most trivial things, they have mean thoughts and sometimes believe they are incapable of growing. They frequently deem themselves unworthy of any blessing or miracle. They are not always quite sure what they are doing here. They spend many sleepless nights, believing that their lives have no meaning. That is why they are warriors of light. Because they make mistakes. Because they ask themselves questions. Because they are looking for a reason - and are sure to find it. When the moment for combat approaches, the warrior of light is prepared for all eventualities. He analyses every strategy and asks: 'What would I do if I had to fight myself?' He thus discovers his weak points. At that moment, his opponent approaches; he comes with a bag full of promises, treaties, negotiations. He has tempting proposals and easy alternatives. The warrior analyses each of the proposals; he also seeks agreement, but without ever losing his dignity. If he avoids combat, it will not be because he was seduced, but because he judged it to be the best strategy. A warrior of light does not accept gifts from his enemy. The warrior of light, once he has learned how to use a sword, discovers that his equipment is still incomplete - he needs armour. He sets off in search of this armour and he listens to the advice of various salesmen. 'Use the breastplate of solitude,' says one. 'Use the shield of cynicism', says another. 'The best armour is not to get involved in anything,' says a third. The warrior, however, ignores them. He calmly goes to his sacred place and puts on the indestructible cloak of faith. Faith parries all blows. Faith transforms poison into crystalline water. A warrior of light is not constantly repeating the same struggle, especially when there are neither advances nor retreats. If a battle is not progressing, he knows that he must sit down with the enemy and negotiate a truce; they have both practised the art of the sword, now they need to understand each other. This is a dignified gesture, not a cowardly one. It is a balance of forces and a change of strategy. Once the peace plans have been drawn up, the warriors return to their houses. They do not need to prove anything to anyone; they fought the Good Fight and kept the faith. Each one gave a little, thus learning the art of negotiation.

Manual of The Warrior of Light | book by Coelho | Britannica Manual of The Warrior of Light | book by Coelho | Britannica

In the intervals between battles, the warrior rests. Often he spends whole days doing nothing, because that is what his heart demands; but his intuition remains alert. He does not commit the capital sin of Sloth, because he knows where that can lead - to the warm monotony of Sunday afternoons when time simply passes. The warrior calls this 'the peace of the cemetery'. He remembers a passage from Revelation: 'I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot... So then because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.' A warrior rests and laughs. But he is always alert. The warrior of light has learned that it is best to follow the light. He has behaved treacherously, he has lied, he has strayed from the path, he has courted darkness. And everything was fine, as if nothing had happened. Then an abyss suddenly opens up; you can take a thousand steps in safety, but just one step too many can put an end to everything. Then the warrior stops before he destroys himself. When he makes that decision, he hears four comments: 'You always do the wrong thing. You're too old to change. You're no good. You don't deserve it.' He looks up at the sky. And a voice says: 'My dear, everyone makes mistakes. You're forgiven, but I cannot force that forgiveness on you. It's your choice.' The true warrior of light accepts that forgiveness. However good we are, however correctly we seek to lead our lives, tragedies do occur. We can blame others, look for justification, imagine how our lives would have been different without them. But none of that matters: they have happened, and that is that. From this point on, it is necessary that we review our own lives, overcome fear, and begin the process of reconstruction.” Casimiro de Abreu): Teixeira de Melo ► Artur Jaceguai ► Goulart de Andrade ► Barbosa Lima Sobrinho ► Raimundo Faoro ► Cícero Sandroni The warrior of light sometimes behaves like water, flowing around the obstacles he encounters. Occasionally, resisting might mean being destroyed, and so he adapts to the circumstances. He accepts without complaint that the stones along the path hinder his way across the mountains. Therein lies the strength of water: it cannot be shattered by a hammer or wounded by a knife. The strongest sword in the world cannot scar its surface. The waters of a river adapt themselves to whatever route proves possible, but never forgets its one objective: the sea. So fragile at its source, it gradually gathers the strength of the other rivers it encounters. And, after a certain point, its power is absolute.

Every warrior of light has felt afraid of going into battle. Every warrior of light has, at some time in the past, lied or betrayed someone. Every warrior of light has trodden a path that was not his. Every warrior of light has suffered for the most trivial of reasons. Every warrior of light has, at least once, believed that he was not a warrior of light. Every warrior of light has failed in his spiritual duties. Every warrior of light has said 'yes' when he wanted to say 'no'. Every warrior of light has hurt someone he loved. That is why he is a warrior of light, because he has been through all this and yet has never lost hope of being better than he is. Certainly. But take this into consideration: of every ten problems we have, nine are created by our own selves - through guilt, self-punishment, self-pity. However, from time to time a great obstacle appears in our path, which was put there by God, and which is there for a reason. The reason is: to give us the opportunity to change everything, to move forwards.” In 2018, it was announced that Coelho had signed for a TV series based on the characters of his novels The Devil and Miss Prym, Brida and The Witch of Portobello. [27] [28] Bibliography [ edit ] Year A warrior of light accepts his Personal Legend completely. His companions say: 'He has remarkable faith!' For a moment, the warrior feels proud, then immediately feels ashamed of what he has heard because he does not have as much faith as he appears to have. At that moment, his angel whispers: 'You are only an instrument of the light. There is no reason to feel proud or to feel guilty, there are only reasons to feel happy.' And the warrior of light, aware now that he is but an instrument, feels calmer and more secure.

Manual of the Warrior of Light: Paulo Coelho: 9780007156320 Manual of the Warrior of Light: Paulo Coelho: 9780007156320

Adam Mars-Jones finds Paulo Coelho hurtling towards stupidity as he reaches for wisdom in The Zahir", The Observer, 19 June 2005 Each warrior of light contains within him the spark of God. His destiny is to be with other warriors, but sometimes he will need to practise the art of the sword alone; this is why, when he is apart from his companions, he behaves like a star. He lights up his allotted part of the Universe and tries to point out galaxies and worlds to all those who gaze up at the sky. The warrior's persistence will soon be rewarded. Gradually, other warriors approach, and they join together to form constellations, each with their own symbols and mysteries. On 22 December 2016, Coelho was listed by UK-based company Richtopia at number 2 in the list of 200 most influential contemporary authors. [20] There are two types of prayer. In the first type, the person asks for certain things to happen and attempts to tell God what he should do. This does not allow the Creator either time or space in which to act. God - who knows perfectly well what is best for each of us - will continue to do as he sees fit. And the person praying is left with the impression that his prayer went unanswered. In the second type, the person may not understand the Almighty's intentions, but he allows his life to develop according to his Creator's plans. He asks to be spared suffering, he asks for joy in the Good Fight, but he never forgets to add: 'Thy will be done'. This is how the warrior of light chooses to pray.Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and attended a Jesuit school. At 17, Coelho's parents committed him to a mental institution from which he escaped three times before being released at the age of 20. [3] [4] Coelho later remarked that "It wasn't that they wanted to hurt me, but they didn't know what to do... They did not do that to destroy me, they did that to save me." [5]