Paulo Coelho Quotes

As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.

Contemplation and wisdom are highest achievements and man is not totally at home with them.

The unexamined life is not worth living.

Many roads lead to the path, but basically there are only two: reason and practice.

I reject any path which rejects life, but I can't help loving Sufism because it sounds so beautiful. It gives relief in the midst of battle.

I have always preferred the reflection of the life to life itself.

Since the time of St. Jerome, it was mandatory for any kind of scholar or thinker to spend time out in the desert in solitude. It's no coincidence that the desert has been a major part of the visionary or mystical experience from the beginning of time.

To reflect is to disturb one's thoughts.

In my personal life, I am very contemplative.

A lot of my time was spent searching, thinking and planning my life.

The great quest of life has always been to discover truth.

I would like to call myself a spiritualist more than an actor.

Follow effective action with quiet reflection.

Action and contemplation are very close companions; they live together in one house on equal terms. Martha and Mary are sisters.

Most persons who indulge in second thought don't do much thinking when the subject is presented for first thought.

One sits down first; one thinks afterwards.

Nature has made us a present of a broad capacity for entertaining ourselves apart, and often calls us to do so, to teach us that we owe ourselves in part to society, but in the best part to ourselves.

Action should be founded on contemplation, and those of us who act don't put enough time, don't give enough emphasis, to contemplation.

In the end, we need two things to lead a balanced life - a sense of the world and a sense of ourselves; it's like breathing in and breathing out. And if you can only get to know the world by stepping out, and losing yourself in experience, you can only get to know the self by stepping back, and finding yourself in contemplation. One without the other leads to a kind of madness.

We all need to get the balance right between action and reflection. With so many distractions, it is easy to forget to pause and take stock.

Half of humanity has been accepting the inner world but denying the outer world.

There always comes a time when one must choose between contemplation and action. This is called becoming a man.

When the act of reflection takes place in the mind, when we look at ourselves in the light of thought, we discover that our life is embosomed in beauty.

Stillness is our most intense mode of action. It is in our moments of deep quiet that is born every idea, emotion, and drive which we eventually honor with the name of action. We reach highest in meditation, and farthest in prayer. In stillness every human being is great.

Then he [The Star Child] waited, marshaling his thoughts and brooding over his still untested powers. For though he was master of the world, he was not quite sure what to do next. But he would think of something.