THE AUTHOR OF THE SITE :-)

WISE WORDS FROM PAULO COELHO'S WISDOM OF LIGHT NEWSLETTER

Accepting paradoxes

"It’s odd," the warrior muses to himself. "I have met so many people who, at the first chance they get, try to show the worst of themselves. They hide their interior strength through aggressiveness and disguise the fear of solitude with an air of independence. They don’t believe in their own capacity but are always extolling their virtues to the four winds.”
The warrior reads these messages in many men and women he knows. He is never fooled by appearances and insists on remaining silent when others try to impress him. But he uses the opportunity to correct his flaws – since people are always a good mirror.
A warrior puts to good use every opportunity to teach himself and to admit his own contradictions.


Patience and Speed

A Warrior of Light needs patience and speed at the same time. The two biggest mistakes of a strategy are to act prematurely and to let the opportunity pass by. To avoid making these mistakes, the warrior copes with each situation as if it were unique, and applies no formulas, prescriptions or the opinions of others.
Caliph Moauiyat asked Omar Ben Al-Aas what was the secret of his great political skill: “I have never gotten involved in any matter without first studying the way out; on the other hand, I have never become involved and wanted to get out right away,” was his answer.

Pardoning x Accepting
A Warrior of Light always keeps his heart clean of the sentiment of hate. To do so, he needs to pardon.
When he walks to a fight, he never forgets Christ’s words: "love your enemies."
And the warrior obeys, but always remembers that Christ did not say: “like your enemies.”
The act of pardoning does not oblige him to accept everything. A warrior must not lower his head, otherwise he loses sight of the horizon of his dreams.


Resting x Acting

In the interval of the combat, the warrior rests.
He often spends days on end doing nothing, because his heart needs that.
But his intuition remains alert. He does not commit the capital sin of Sloth, because he knows where that can lead to: the tepid feeling of Sunday afternoons, when time passes – and nothing else.
The warrior calls this "cemetery peace." He recalls an extract from the Apocalypse: I curse you because you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot! But since you’re tepid, I shall vomit you from my mouth.
A warrior rests and laughs. But he is always attentive and ready to act.

Angel x Devil

A warrior knows that an angel and a devil dispute the hand that holds the sword.
The devil says: "you are going to fail. You are going to miss the right moment. You are afraid."
The angel says: "you are going to fail. You are going to miss the right moment. You are afraid."
The warrior is surprised. Both of them say the same thing.
Then the devil continues: "let me help you."
And the angel says: "I’ll help you."
That is when the warrior notices the difference. The words are the same, but the allies are different.
So he dedicates his victory to God. And with the confidence of the brave he chooses the hand of his angel.

Believing in signs
The Warrior of Light knows the importance of his intuition.
In the midst of battle he has no time to think about the enemy’s blows – so he uses his instinct and obeys his angel. In times of peace he deciphers the signs that God sends him.
People say: "he’s crazy."
Or else: "he lives in a world of fantasy."
Or even: "how can he trust things that have no logic?"
But the warrior knows that intuition is the alphabet of God, and continues listening to the wind and talking to the stars.

Believing in love
For the warrior, there is no such thing as impossible love. He does not let himself be intimidated by silence, indifference or rejection. He knows that behind the mask of ice that people wear there exists a heart of fire.
That is why the warrior risks more than others. He seeks tirelessly for someone’s love - even if this means often hearing the word "no", returning home defeated and feeling rejected in both body and soul.
A warrior does not let himself become scared when he seeks what he needs. Without love he is nothing.


Believing in negotiation
A Warrior of Light cannot always choose his battle field. Sometimes he is caught by surprise in the midst of combats he did not desire, but there is no use in fleeing, because these combats will follow him.
So at the moment when the conflict is almost inevitable, the warrior talks with his adversary. Without showing fear or cowardice, he tries to find out why the other wants the fight, what reasons made him leave his village and seek him out for a duel. Without unsheathing his sword, the warrior convinces him that that combat is not his.
A Warrior of Light listens to what his adversary has to say. And only fights if it is necessary. But if there is no alternative he thinks neither of victory or defeat: he takes the combat all the way to the end.

Believing in perseverance
The Warrior of Light never forgets the old advice about accepting trials and criticism humbly.
Injustice happens. He also suddenly finds himself involved in situations that he did not deserve, at moments that he has no means to defend himself.
At such times the warrior remains silent. He does not waste energy on words, because they can do nothing; it is better to use his strength to resist, be patient and know that Someone is watching. Someone who saw unjust suffering and cannot accept that.
This Someone gives the warrior what he needs most: time. Sooner or later everything will once again work in his favor.
A Warrior of Light is wise; he does not comment on his defeats.

Believing the Personal Legend
A Warrior of Light assumes his Personal legend entirely – his reason for living. His companions remark: "his faith is admirable!"
The warrior is proud for a few minutes and then ashamed of what he hears, because he does not possess the faith that he displays.
At this moment his angel whispers to him: "you are only an instrument of the light. There is no reason to feel proud of yourself or to feel guilty; there is only reason to fulfill your destiny."
And the Warrior of Light, aware that he is an instrument, feels calmer and more secure.

EXCERPT FROM “Warrior of Light Online, published by www.paulocoelho.com.br”

" We are the children of those who chose to survive"
- Nana Poussaint in Daughters of the Dust


If you have ever doubted your ability to survive, look at who you came from. Don't limit yourself to parents and grandparents, go all the way back to the root. In your family line is the genius of those who were born into a barren land and built the pyramids. In the oasis of your mind is the consciousness of those who charted the stars, kept time by the sun and planted by the moon. In the center of your being is the strength of those who planted the crops, toiled in the fields and banqueted on what others discarded. In the light of your heart is the love of those who bore the children who were sold away only to one day hang from a tree. In the cells of your bloodstream is the memory of those who weatherd the voyage, stood on the blocks, found their way through the forest and took their case to the Surpeme Court.
With all of that going for you, what are you worrying about?

I move in the power of a mighty past

Excerpt from Iyanla Vanzant's "Acts of Faith"

Has it ever occurred to you how many broken vessels and damaged goods there are on today's market?

The world we live in today and especially the relationship/social arena can be easily likened to a market. A market place where people sell and buy others, sell themselves, buy themselves, market each other, and engage in all of the activities that any modern entrepreneur would to create, market and sell any object in the complex globalised market place today. Just took a look at the myriad of advertisements that flood our consciousness at every second. At least every other one is geared to help in the process of buying and sell ourselves and each other in the global 'capitalist' marketplace.

Like any young, red-blooded male, I have had my fair share of dating, metting new people, casual encounters and the like but the interesting element about this 'relationship marketplace' came when I decided that I would give ago at looking for a stable, committed, loving relationship, lol.

In all previous attempts, I had used my toolkit of skills and my strong net and managed to throw it out and reap a catch, but like fish, the effects on the body were only temporary :-).

It amazed me to find however, then when posting an ad on any modern connection site, and expressing one's desire to find someone who was ready to handle a relationship and all it brings - while giving an adequate description of what one would like and expect from the optimal partner - that there were a plethora of responses from a wide variety of individuals.

But here is the catch. Their responses to one's ad are always 'Pandoric' - full of hope, promise and desire and then they invariable tend to take an interesting twist to say the least. They go from being enthralled with one's ad and the potential union that can occur, to a variety of reposnes, including that they are not ready for a relationship due to recently ending one, not responding at all and much more.

It occurred to me today that over the past 9 month, the time for gestation of an infant, amongst many of the people I have met, many of them can be classed as 'damaged goods' or 'broken vessels' on the market place. The merchants of these damaged good and broken vessels are in need of help and are avidly seraching for craftsmen to help them repair and heal their product but the fear they store from previous encounters with fraudulent repairmen make them timid and quasi-schizophrenic.

It is touching to see how many 'Damaged Goods' there are on the market place and how few serious craftsmen.It is even sadder that the damaged goods can go through several cycles of damage until they themselves begin to damage others - without ever recognizing or encountering a true craftsman.

Another interesting element is that once one passes 23, and the older one gets, the frequency of damaged goods and broken vessels being displayed on the shelves of the relationshop marketplace tend to be higher. Most people have gone through one or more transfers from their place of manufacture and been slightly to severely damaged. So what is the new buyer in this market to do?

We are all craftsmen in our own right and it is only through making an attempt to heal another can one truly be healed.

Would love to know what others think on the subject

pic taken from http://www.sara-la.com/art/makeup.JPG

" Until you free yourself from the final monster in the jungle of your life, your soul is still up for grabs" - Rona Barrett

Many of us do not realise we have a problem because the way we live is a reflection of what we have lived with.
There are men who don't know they are abusive.
There are women who do not know they are being abused.
There are people who do not know how to take care of themselves,
There are people who believe just getting by is fine.
There are children who think it is ok that they are not nurtured.
There are people who do not know how to ask for what they need.
There are people who fall down and never try to get up
There are people who get up by stepping on the people who fell down
Each one of us believes we are fine just the way we are, so we make no effort to get better.
If the world and how it works is a reflection of the people who live in it, what will it take for us to realise we have a lot of work to do?
Meditation: Today I will take a long , hard look at me
Excerpt from Iyanla Vanzant's "Acts of Faith" - FEEL FREE TO PASS IT ON

What does the mirror show you??

The discrepancies between the way we view ourselves and the way others view us in an interesting theme that has been a recurring one in my life ane more so in the present time.

Recently, my younger sister asked me, " How do you see yourself in the future?" to which I responded with a puzzled look, " I am not sure, why?" and her response, which echoed the comments of others before is what is of interest to me.

My sister and other family, friends and acquaintances, for some reason or due to some reflection of my attitude behaviour etc., seem to think that I am destined to be a leader, a change creator, someone to have a significant, positive effect on the state of the world around me. My sister went as far to say that she sees me as a compassionate leader who will bring people back to themselves and make things better for all concerned.

I have thought of myself as a leader naturally once or twice maybe but I always felt as if fate has conspired to make me into one forcible as people and circumstances have thrust me into leadership roles and pushed me to take lead others and processes forward. But outside of that acknowledgement that I fell into these positions for several possible reasons (my stature, disposition, etc.) I never really saw my self as a leader, maybe as an agitating link in the chain but never as an engine for that change.

When we look into the mirror of our souls and minds, what contributes to the self images that we cultivate and conversely what do we continually do or exhibit that may give those outside of us a differing impression leading to the difference. More importantly, how can we reconcile the two...will I indeed become a "great leader"? Time will tell :-)

The Five Steps to Peace

This is another excerpt from Neale Donald Walsch's book " the New Revelations".

In the book God proposes the 5 Steps to Peace on earth:

1. You can choose to acknowledge that some of your old beliefs about God and about Life are no longer working
2. You can choose to acknowledge that there is something you do not understand about God and about Life , the understanding of which will change everything
3. You can choose to be willing for a new understanding of God and Life to now be brought forth, an understanding that could produce a new way of life on your planet
4. You can choose to be COURAGEOUS enough to explore and examine this new understanding, and, if it aligns with your inner truth and knowing, to enlarge your belief system to include it
5. You can choose to lives your lives as demonstrations of your highest and grandest beliefs, rather than as denials of them

Let us reflect on these steps to peace and the possibilities and repercussions they can bring forth of we were all to adpot them. Feel free to leave comments ...I'd like to here what you think

This month has been a hectic one driven with lots of travelling and more for me and it has given me the chance to reflect, to think about life, observe humanity and focus on what is important for me and my life.

Here are a few pictures from some the places that I have been blessed to visit recently




views from my hotel in Bangkok, Thailand














City Hall - New York City, NY

















Me opposite City Hall and my Alma Mater - Pace U.


My friend & colleague Marzia and I at Times Square
(picture taken by Rachel Singh)

the famed Lady Liberty, NYC