Your opinion on: Signs by Paulo Coelho

[illsuive]

funny how everyone's arguing misses the entire point of the video. there's a sign for me Paulo.

[TheLastModernist]

@illsuive The discussions are about the video.

How does that miss the point ?!?!

[TheLastModernist]

Is it a "misguided desire" to suffer from the thousands of diseases and ailments that can make life a living hell ?

Have the victims of murderers and rapists not" constructed their reality" properly?

Do the mentally ill not have a "positive world view?"

No Rachael, I don't accept that.

Your woolly world view suggests a control over our lives that it's apparent we don't have. As for "an omnipresent energy" called God ?!? This just serves to underline the vacuousness of your beliefs.

[1618Rachel]

...Because they only listen to their misguided desires, they represent hell on earth; once one starts listening to God, then despite all this hell going on in the world, you can make your universe positive, because heaven and hell are constructs of the mind. Therefore, if you care about the universe, the universe cares about you.

[1618Rachel]

...until a conscious being (e.g. a human) interprets it. Furthermore, in the reality I have constructed for myself, the universe cares, because I believe that the human rights abuses and war that you read about in the news are committed by an elite that promotes global capitalism for their own greed and benefit. I do not think that these wealth and power seeking individuals are anywhere close to God (I see God not in the biblical sense, but more like a positive omnipresent energy)....

[1618Rachel]

@thelastmodernist So you are going with option 1 - that there is an objective reality, which we all interpret differently. But, I believe option 2: there is not an objective reality, but rather that "there is only perspective seeing and only perspective knowing" Nietzsche (i.e. God can simultaneously exist and not exist, depending on whether you believe in 'him'). The maths that is the 'language' of an objective truth, I would argue, is part of the material world that has absolutely no meaning..

[1618Rachel]

@thelastmodernist I would ask what is being 'realistic'? Because there are two possibilities here: 1. There is one reality (e.g. a monotheistic God exists/doesn't exist) that we are all trying to explain or 2. There is a material world, but other than this, our reality is what we make of it. If you think the universe doesn't care, it's because you think it, not because it is universally true. I think the universe does care - so which of us is right? If we create our own reality, we both are.

[TheLastModernist]

@1618Rachel I understand the concept that each individual will be experiencing "reality" differently. However, this doesn't mean that there isn't an objective, non-biased reality that is not influenced by our interpretation. Pure maths would appear to be the language of this reality.

Anyway, why would you think the universe cares? A casual look at a daily newspaper would be a strong argument against your belief.

[poefn98]

@thelastmodernist Please believe me when I say that flattery was never my intention. I posed the question for the sole reason of understanding the harshness of your words and your seemingly hopeless outlook on life.

[TheLastModernist]

@poefn98 There's a distinct difference between being hopeless and being a realist.

To believe there's a "God" overseeing your life will only lead to disillusionment as you are beset with loss, illness and death. And, in any case, what kind of God oversees the rape and torture of thousands every single day?

It's apparent that the universe is completely indifferent to our life’s, our achievements and our pain.

This is the hard, cold truth of our existence.

[poefn98]

And I am seriously asking. Not only because I find you infuriating and extremely bitter, but because id like to hear one solid, valid reason for existence if this is all there is. I might not agree with you, but ill accept your argument seeing as you probably are not the last modernist. Btw, wasn't virginia woolfe a modernist? She drowned herself in a river later in life right? Not a very promising outlook to have in life if you ask me.

[poefn98]

@thelastmodernist You know what I think is laughable, you obviously believe that God doesn't care about anything or any one of us...but you still haven't answered my question. Why exist? You sound like a damn Franz Kafka novel.

[TheLastModernist]

@poefn98 Why exist indeed? That is the question, and I'm flattered you'd think I have an answer.

You would need to know the purpose of existence, and whilst religions and "spiritual" people claim an insight into this, none have made convincing arguments.

Just because we may desperately want and need answers, does not mean that we will get them.

The inquisitive intellects amongst us just has to accept the question remains and wonder at it's mystery.

[poefn98]

And subjective validation sounds right, but I think Carl Jung coined the term synchronicity and the Bible calls them messages or prophecies. So...what to believe then? That we should go to work everday, come home, sleep, wake up and do it all over again until we die...without ever having found a purpose for our existence? You work on the dying children and ill work on myself until I run into some kid being raped on the street...maybe then, ill find meaning. Excuse me, I mean perspective.

[TheLastModernist]

@poefn98 Synchronicity is just a new-age term for coincidences (which can sometimes seem amazing but are still just statistically probable events.) As for prophecy, there has not been ANY documented proof under scientific conditions that anyone has successfully foretold the future.

There are vast mysteries in life, but when individuals come forward and suggest the universe gives a fuck about who you're sleeping with or what work you do ... well, it's just laughable.

[poefn98]

Thelastmodernist So as a modernist, you'd prefer to not believe in God or the universe. Then, what would be the purpose of anything? Live to just live? In that case, let me watch thousands of children being killed and not feel anything because there's no point. Not everything is as black and white as it seems and many of us hope that there are still unexplained mysteries in life.

[hegitty]

I have received signs by my intuition, mostly happen if there is something will happen to me. I dont believe it at first but then it is proved that everytime i ignore my intuition, the worst scenario happens afterward. But sometimes the signs are not only concerning myself. I often suddenly fell sick at the exact same time as some disasters happen in my country (although not in my state). Firstly I was thinking it was coincidence, but after I've had it more than 3 times I started to feel scared.

[TheLastModernist]

@hegitty It's called "subjective validation"

This is when you perceive 2 unrelated events (i.e a coincidence) to be related because of your own personal beliefs

The universe is entirely indifferent to your thoughts, feelings, achievements and sorrows. Grow up and get on with your life.

[uranusisnotfunny]

everything in life is truly magical. i think a willingness and receptivity are required. this is probably why so many can't see the signs! it will just sound crazy to people if they don't have experiences themselves. i am so happy to find Paulo. maybe i will find some direction or answers. i've been seeing things 4 years in dreams/ synchronicities/ signs, it is very intense now, everyday all day. so i just try to understand. it seems like someone is trying to tell me something w/ funny hints.

[uranusisnotfunny]

this is so great. i just finished listening to the alchemist audio book. MAGICAL! i was drawing the symbol for alchemy years ago, & later found out what it meant. had recently been pondering the concept of alchemy, then saw the audio book at the library, and felt urged to get it ( not into fiction?) it sat on the counter for weeks, then saw an interview w/ Will Smith( not a fan?). he mentioned the alchemist. i knew i had to listen now (sign). i'd been thinking about about symbols/signs

[poefn98]

I've been going through a very difficult time for the last few years and so I began to question my faith in God and myself. So...one night, as I drowned myself in tears, I asked God who my soulmate was. I had never asked this for fear of what the answer would be. The next morning, on my way to work, I looked into my rearview mirror and saw the sun rising. At that exact moment, J--- called me on the phone. I took that as a sign that God or something up there had answered my question. Besitos

[TheLastModernist]

@poefn98 You think God would intervene to get you a "soulmate" yet he allows thousands of children to be raped and starved to death on a daily basis ?!?

Get a sense of perspective on your life.

[danceswithcrayons]

Things in nature are signs for me, as is certain music of certain people. When I see bubbles, certain colors. Is very specific. Pink in the sky became important, and pink is good sign. Also feeling vibrations; sensory, energy. I like Shirley MacLain's book 'Sageing While Ageing' because she has a great idea there, to help ppl. Lately I am noticing numbers again too, always have but how to read correctly? Angels are trying to help. Oh yes! Initials and some faces. Thankyou Paulo!

[omarramzi]

a tire at. A few seconds after that thought popped into my head the car in front me popped its rear left tire and was spinning out of control and next thing i know i was too since i hit the breaks so suddenly but alhumdulilah i managed to gain control of the car. I once saw my ex girlfriend kiss a man in a dream and when i confronted her about it, it was almost exactly like the dream i had. Ive become so used to signs they are part of my everyday life.

[omarramzi]

First of all in order to see the signs you have to believe that there are signs. After you have accomplished that you have to understand what a sign looks like and how to interpret it. With me i have reached a point where id unconsciously think about a certain event and keep it in the back of my mind. Either when im awake or when im dreaming and then when it actually happens im never really suprised. Once i was driving to work and i was wondering at what speed would it be dangerous to pop.....

[beckweth]

For me yes there are signs. Small, seemingly insignificant things like squirrels, birds, and lizards. Squirrels, when they have a nut in their mouth and are looking at me, I receive something that day. A dead squirrel will mean a loss of something. A bird that comes up to me is a message from spirit, but don't always know what the message is right away. Lizards always let me know when there is danger, they're very reliable. To be aware and use intuition helps to understand the signs.

[TheLastModernist]

Paulo, it despairs me to see the delusions that you encourage. The cold, hard reality of life is that the universe is an indifferent to our wants and desires as it is to our pain and suffering. To go through life believing that were given signs from a higher force is symptomatic of the woolly, wrong headedness which puts humans, and our wants and desires, at the centre of things.

[agirotil]

@TheLastModernist I wouldn't disqualify it so fast, become calmer and more aware and you may experience things of a different quality

[TheLastModernist]

@agirotil If this phenomena were real, our scientists would be studying it, important thesis’s would be written on the subject and the great intellects of our time would utilise it’s benefits. It would NOT be up to a barely literate gnome like Paulo to have to tell us of it's value.

I respectfully suggest that you read up on critical thinking and ponder with some humility your place in the cosmos.

[Ltohermione]

"Ni tanto que queme al santo, ni tanto que no lo alumbre" It means we should not go to extremes. At certain points its good to recognize signs, but you cant expect to see them always, cause then you would be waiting to be told how to live, and God wants us to take that desitions on our own. I have the warrior of ligth manual and at certain point I opened the book randomly and i did always get the same page " I keep beliveng everything others say, and i always get dissapinted..."

[serendipitytwo]

I believe in signs & I do believe that everyone has specific signs designed for them, that only they will notice. my signs usually revolve around music,symbols 4m my fave films, sayings etc and it comforts me when I notice them. reassurance that I am on the right path?

[baneofbris]

I have signs all the time, I think this is because I am a pretty aware, in-tune person, with a crazy memory for numbers, times, street names... all sorts of innane, mundane things, that many people would not notice in the same way.

For Me, when I have signs I appreciate that my life is running smoothly and I am where I am meant to be at the time.

I was inundated with these all the time I knew my ex girlfriend and ended up giving me a religious experience of sorts.

Cheers Paulo.

[agent101101]

Signs? I think it's something we make up to satisfy ourselves. That's just it for me. I actually think it's a negative thing... because there will be times that you will identify a sign to try to assure yourself, but assuring yourself or other people of something that isn't actually for sure would make you feel bad big time if the sign wasn't what you were expecting. Your instinct is the one actually helping you out, but being the imaginative human you are, signs begin to exist in your mind.

[Shofeart]

I think, signs - they're unexpexted, sudden things, which particulary sticks in our minds (we hear something from strangers, read something from advertisings, etc). This is the language of our angels. What we have to do - is read them in a proper way, and listen deeper, because each small thing can bring us a solutuion of the situation.

[MuntucoGer1]

continued: For me, Idries Shah's works (particularly 'Learning How to Learn') has helped me to become cognizant of my lesser self and its ambition. Sufi materials appear to be important to my understanding God. Likewise, I believe a physical expression is important to me and I am an Aikido student. Aiki-harmony (for practioners looking for Buddah-mindedness) is both a helper and goal for me. Como siempre, Gracias Paulo ;-)

[MuntucoGer1]

I was moved by your personal account in The Pilgrimage many years ago. I find great interest in the subject of Signs. I am a romantic however, and very prone to self-deception because I enjoy the way the Magic of the Universe can make me feel...I tend towards fancy and imagination, blurring the contrast between 'worthy' demonstrations of the Real and the imagined (or the 'hoped-for')...

[odiliacarmen]

I belive the true signs are the ones that are felt by heart not read by the intelect. I guess.. when a true sign is there for you you feel it with your whole being.. and there is no need for a second thought..

[marciacromao]

Adoro este assunto e seus livros.

Mas sabe siceramente o sinal que me incomoda no seu video?? Esta porta de madeira no fundo..está pela metade..dá uma olhada e vai me entender..

Namastê!

Marcia Lewis

[poetrychicks]

Hehe!U might giggle, this might be "one step from paranoia" as you say, but at your booksigning when the roof started leaking we thought it was a strange co-incidence.

Why are malevolent spirits repelled by running water? I've had alot of dreams where I'm trying to get peope to safety by taking them to the sea. :o)

[olgaef]

Last year I left home for another country for 9 month, beeing away from home I felt scared, so I started wearing a cross arround my neck. When I came back home, I never stoped wearing it. It was like a sigh, that everything is fine. One morning I woke up and the chain was broken. This was the day things happened that changed me to a totally different person.

[zebrarose]

cont: like if you put your mobile somewhere and think to yourself that you must not forget it, go straight away and get cuz the sign is that you would have forgotten it. These things have really helped me.

you put your mobile somewhere and think to yourself that you must not forget it, go straight away and get cuz the sign is that you would have forgotten it. These things have really helped me.

[zebrarose]

I just started to realise this thing about signs, but I didnt know that people were talking about it.I am now aware of that signs excist to make life easier.I studied filmmaking before and there is a word called plantation, that is when you show for example a key on a table and later on in the movie somebody will need that exact key.I dont know how else to explain it.But if your eyes catch something and a thought about it comes up in your head,listen to that and act on it,cuz there is your sign

[cadyc3]

I have learned not to look for signs but to be open to them. Searching for a sign leads one down many dead ends.

My signs are found in nature (an unexpected glimpse of a deer) or in the sky. A shooting star, a hawk flying low overhead...those are the signs that speak to me.

[arieloflight]

If I am looking for signs I will find them anywhere... are they real or just a justification we need to do something? We need external signs when we are loosing our way because we also have internal signs like dreams or deja vous...but: are we goingo to wherever the signs point to? or are we going wherever our heart feels we have to go? signs appears when our heart gets clowdy? Cause otherwise the only sign we need is: follow what makes you shine. Look inside you not outside! follow your heart!

[beverleymckenzie]

I "see" signs all the time. I see them as a form of confirmation about something that is on my mind. I have learnt over the years to trust my instinct better and use the signs to guide me. I don't focus all my attention on looking for them, if I am meant to see them I will.

[cmmantunes]

yes !!!

[Acidecritics]

Reading your biographie we see that you used to be VERY concerned and somehow "paranoic" about sings. For me, my life is a COMPLETE LACK of signs...

[phinallee]

Signs to me are communications with my Higher Self. The method that i am most attentive to are "brainworms". These are those songs that come into your head for no seemingly logical reason. By paying attention to them, i have often gotten glimpses of what is going on or going to happen.

I agree about the concern of people turning every sign into an apocalyptic prophecy. Signs are guideposts, it is our choice as to whether we pay heed or ignore it.

[tizianoj]

This is a strange moment of my life, the one when I'm looking for my path. I've got many signs to try one way, a way that probably I would have not considered if all those signs wheren't so aligned togheter... But since now, only slow improvements seems to take place, and seems to lead to nowhere. I'm about to quit, but I'll give it one more try after watching this video... maybe it's a sign too... I'll write a line here if those signs are pointing to the right place at the end...

[tizianoj]

One more sign: this story is tied to the song "Still Loving You" by Scorpions... I've just found in the "Similar Videos", soon after the message over here... Paulo singing it with Rudolf Schenker...

That's a sign I'm sharing

[ozmosis1]

For me, signs do not mean that I will not have to work or over come or meet with obstacles rather that I should not give up on my journey. Signs encourage me. If I look for signs usually I make an error but if they come then I know they are right. It is easy to think things are signs when they are not. There is so much information now that it is only a matter of time until we see something that will touch on something we think related to our journey but that doesn't mean it is a sign.

[angeldharma]

Everything that could go right did, It Flowed with the ease of a river.  Now i find in life If I am faced with obstacles it means I am not on the right path. or have to back track to get on the right road til things flow again.

[angeldharma]

For me I ask for for a sign that i am on the right path,. and then afterwards I would see something or hear something and know in the depths of me being that its a sign. Example I was thinking of doing the Camino and asked for signs if I sould go or not. I kept seeing the name santiago on bed linen, film about Santiago. people talking about walks etc,. so I took it as a validation to continue with my journey and it has been one of the best experiences I had.

[mabdalaw]

Each is being communicated as per one's capacity to perceive..Those who read you, know you're authentic in comparison to other signs that are meant to distract us away from our path,, that's why they identify with the msg you're trying to pass because it's like a universal code of symbols which you were given the capacity to simplify.. That itself is a sign. :) maryam abdallah

[mabdalaw]

Each is being communicated as per one's capacity to perceive..Those who read you, know you're authentic in comparison to other signs that are meant to distract us away from our path,, that's why they identify with the msg you're trying to pass because it's like a universal code of symbols which you were given the capacity to simplify.. That itself is a sign. :) maryam abdallah

[kathleendb23]

We I experience a sign- I interpret it as the Holy Spirit/God speaking to me- I have to be calm, at peace, and not struggling in order to be able to recognize the existence of a sign. They will often occur when I have stopped struggling, stop attempting to manipulate the outcome of a given circumstance- signs are an opportunity to recognize the beauty of the chaos and uncertainty around me, within me, and within the lives of the people I come in contact with- thank you sincerely!

[sosedica]

... continuation 2... If He decides to show me his Signs, in any shape he chooses, I only pray that I am able to read and understand these signs. And if I am not, I believe he will find another way to speak to me.

Take care Paul Coelho,

Best regards,

V.

[sosedica]

... continuation...And so it happened. The black bird did not have a negative meaning for me. The week in France ended in the best possible way, either in business or privately.

My conclusion: I am not superstitious as long as I have true faith. I believe God has a plan for me and when I feel lost or out of power, I put myself in his hands - good hands they are. ...

[sosedica]

Last week when I was in Paris, I visited the Pere Lachese Cemetery for the first time. the graves of Frederic Chopin. Edith Piaf adn Jim Morrison. I saw a black crow eating something on the top ot the gravestone near me. it. My God, I was thinking, does this have a bad meaning for me, is it a bad sign? I prayed: Dear God, please give me strength to overcome all the troubles and remain your faithful and beloved soul...

[Chopper132231]

I don't know if I just haven't seen any signs, or if I've been blind to them I shuold have seen, or maybe I actually see signs, and follow them without giving it thoughts. But I feel that I don't know what a sign is, and I feel that I might be missing something. This is a hard topic for me, and I feel that I don't understand, but I hope someday I will understand what signs is, and so maybe I can read them too... Maybe I need help from a friend on this one!

[maghy3431]

I think que las señales estan, in the sight of everyone who wants to see them, but la cosa es que al igual que uno aprende una lengua new, you discovered that it has vowels and consonants, in the same time you discovered that its meaning of the new word in that new lengua, por eso al igual que todo, everything have a begining.

[KRSchannel]

In Vedic astrology, its is said, that signs are all over the place, and I don't mean your astrological signs. Your life, which is know as your "Universe", will give you signs throughout your life, to show you; who you really are. Most of the time we can't see them due to Maya, and illusion but; by taking Vedic remedies, we can star to see the signs that are speaking to us, and manifest ourselves into what we're born to be!

[steadyeye]

I believe in signs since I read "The Alchemist" because that book opened my eyes to them. In my life I´ve felt many things to be signs and I can say they were, for example: when I come across with something dead, could be a bird or some strong symbol of death like witnessing a traffic accident, etc. They give to me a sign that a big change in my life is about to happen, a positive change I deduce because though they could apparently mean something bad to happen I never thought that way.

[CoeurSufi]

I think I should give more importance to signs, but I have had some signs given by animals: an old dog following me in a quite difficult time of my life; a cat I saw during a journey in Greece, also a dove. After these signs I felt something was truly changing in my life. And now that I speak about this I realize that it has happened with animals. Also with leaves in a tree (the way they moved).

Love.

[Sleepingsun4]

To me sign is something that talks to me at the particular moment when i´m struggling with some issue and doesn´t seem to find an answer. Once it was this REALLY rare animal that popped out of nowhere when I was taking a walk and wondering if that path would be the right one... :D to me that was a sign. Love, Päivi

[JonnyMoonshine777]

Good one Paulo. Truly a subject that is on the minds of everyone but on the lips of very few, it seems.