Pilgrimage – Love Part 2

URL: Paulo Coelho Blog

This is a continuation on the agape love that I had been thinking about. Oh and btw these few entries will be about Paulo Coelho’s The Pilgrimage. I decided to blog this first instead of my other outstanding entries because it is quite a theme based book even though it is a story of a guy and his journey to oneself. Oh and I finally remembered the venue is Northern Spain, on the Pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela in 1986. Maybe my last entry will be on my review of this book.. I have not made up my mind on it yet.

Although I used to say that my GA has been with me since I was born, but seriously I am too young to really remember if he was around or not. I only know that to have lived till now, I have indeed been blessed.

What I do remember was that at a tender age of 10 due to some encounter, I firmly believed that there are spirits. Maybe that is the time I acknowledged GA’s presence. In my teens, I was sent to a Christian school due to my results. My first choice had not been that actually. 4 years there, you either get converted or you don’t. And I did not. It is weird that since young, my family never had good feelings about Christianity and yet they sent me to this school. Maybe it is destined that I have to see the other side of Christians. My best friend then tried to convert me but failed. However we both respected Mother Teresa a lot. Thus her death saddened us both that time. And she inspired me a lot, especially on my dream. Maybe I felt an affinity with her as we share the same horoscope haha. I made a promise to God then on my dream.

I was 18 when I gave in to temptation and thought I experienced eros. Only that it hurt me badly and nobody knew it. I remember my friend said I was an ice maiden in my uni days. At that time, I had regrets and thought I should concentrate more on my dream instead.

Then I met him. I am not sure if that is giving in to temptation again. But this time, I don’t really have any regrets. Even though we might have not been too truthful with each other, I still felt that when the flame of eros died, we still had philos to keep us together. And I believed even now, philos still exist because we are still friends.

A year ago though, I remembered about my dream. And I realised I did not want to give it up, for him. Maybe it was destined that with the break-up, he would find his own enlightenment. And with the break-up, I would rethink about my dream, and on agape.

For the past 9 months, I was trying to adjust and adapt and to figure out how to embark on my dream. Then I happen to read Paulo Coelho’s Alchemist. And maybe, just maybe, I am starting to try to understand myself better. (However I did not really like the ending of Alchemist haha)

Anyway the Blue Sphere Exercise is to let one experience agape. (Btw, there are many exercises in The Pilgrimage.)

The Blue Sphere Exercise

Seat yourself comfortably, and relax. Try not to think about anything.

1. Feel how good it is to be alive. Let your heart feel free and affectionate; let it rise above and beyond the details of the problems that may be bothering you. Begin to sing softly a song from your childhood. Imagine that your heart is growing, filling the room – and later your home – with an intense, shining blue light.
2. When you reach this point, begin to sense the presence of the saints (or other beings) in which you placed your faith when you were a child. Notice that they are present, arriving from everywhere, smiling and giving you faith and confidence.
3. Picture the saints approaching you, placing their hands on your head and wishing you love, peace, and communion with the world – the communion of the saints.
4. When this sensation becomes strong, feel that the blue light is a current that enters you and leaves you like a shining, flowing river. This blue light begins to spread through your house, then through your neighbourhood, your city, and your country; it eventually envelops the world in an immense blue sphere. This is the manifestation of the great love that goes beyond the day-to-day struggle; it reinforces and invigorates as it provides energy and peace.
5. Keep the light spread around the world for as long as possible. Your heart is open, spreading love. This phase of the exercise should last for a minimum of five minutes.
6. Come out of your trance, bit by bit, and return to reality. The saints will remain near. The blue light will continue to spread around the world.

This ritual can and should be done with more than one person. When this is the case, the participants should hold hands while they do the exercise.