Have you ever wondered what life would be like if passion was your essence? Sexual passion, passion for Life, intellectual passion? Can you imagine living more from your soul, feeling yourself radiate from the inside out, rather than reacting to circumstances and letting them poison you from the outside in? Welcome to the masterpiece that is Paulo Coelho’s Eleven Minutes.
I’ve started building my Paulo Coelho library (www.paulocoelho.com). Eleven Minutes is the first of his books that I’ve read, and I was completely blown away by the story and the sacredness with which he treated the subject matter (sex). This is a story that, as you read it, your mind wanders to your own life experiences with sex, to your own misconceptions, to your own hopes and dreams for living life with passion.
You find yourself reflecting on how you’ve come to the place you’re at in your own sexuality. And when you’re done absorbing it, you have this new awareness to move forward in your life in a way that you never thought possible. The writing itself is beautiful and simple. He makes you feel that you are more than just a reader of a story, you are a discoverer in the wisdom of the truths that are slowly revealed to you. However, these truths aren’t revealed by the author, they come from inside of you as you reflect and turn things over in your mind and in your heart. Paulo Coelho puts into words what you feel, those very confusing, energizing and sacred feelings of sex that are the essence of each person. As I would read, I’d pause and think: This was written by a man……he’s articulated very simply and succinctly what I, as a woman, feel and think. It truly is a masterpiece.
This book, Eleven Minutes, has given an honest voice to how sexuality is perceived in society, and to how truly life-giving sex can be when love and trust are part of sexual expression. Thomas Moore has written The Soul of Sex – Cultivating Life as an Act of Love (www.careofthesoul.net) ; although not a work of fiction, this book echoes many of the themes on sexuality that Paulo Coelho has so eloquently described in Eleven Minutes.
I read the last forty pages with my heart beating (really!) and when I closed the book, I was left with this hopeful feeling for my own journey through whatever Life has in store for me.
Apparently, this book is very different from his others. I’m eager to read the rest, and have acquired The Pilgrimmage and The Valkyries. I’m searching for The Alchemist at my library, and from the looks of it I might have to reserve it, as it seems to be checked out often. I’m not surprised.
I went to Chapters on the weekend, and they have MANY of his books there…..but the only copy of The Alchemist that they carry is this beautiful hardcover book that comes in its own sleeve, with illustrations and everything. With a $40 price tag, it wasn’t in the budget right now, but maybe at Christmas…… Actually, that would make a nice gift from the kids to me. Hmmm….
From Eleven Minutes:
“I need to write about love. I need to think and think and write and write about love – otherwise, my soul won’t survive.”
“The person who gives him or herself wholly, the pereson who feels freest, is the person who loves most wholeheartedly. Adn the person who loves wholeheartedly feels free…….That is the true experience of freedom: having the most important thing in the world without owning it.”
“Love is not to be found in someone else, but in ourselves; we simply awaken it. But in order to do that, we need the other person. The universe only makes sense when we have someone to share our feelings with.”
“…..she knew this love was impossible, and yet, expecting nothing, she could nevertheless have everything she still hoped for from that particular stage in her life.”
“…I realize that I didn’t go into that café by chance; really important meetings are planned by the souls long before the bodies see each other. Generally speaking, these meetings occur when we reach a limit, when we need to die and be reborn emotionally. These meetings are waiting for us, but more often than not, we avoid them happening. If we are desperate, though, if we have nothing to lose, or if we are full of enthusiasm for life, then the unknown reveals itself, and our universe changes direction.”
“Anyone who is observant, who discovers the person they have always dreamed of, knows that sexual energy comes into play before sex even takes place. The greatest pleasure isn’t sex, but the passion with which it is practiced. When the passion is intense, then sex joins in to complete the dance, but it is never the principal aim.”
“Each day I choose the truth by which I try to live. I try to be practical, efficient, professional. But I would like to be able always to choose desire as my companion. Not out of obligation, not to lessen my loneliness, but because it is good. Yes, very good.”
Ok, I’ll stop there. Get your hands on a copy, and set your soul sailing.
Love, Chantal xoxooxox
