Book Review: The Alchemist

The Alchemist is not only Philosophy, it is good Philosophy. It tells us that life is not about the consequences, but about the Journey. It is an unforgettable story about the essential wisdom of listening to our heart and, above all, following our dreams. It is the story of a shepherd boy from the Spanish province of Andalusia who dreams of travelling the world in search of a treasure as desirable as any ever found.

From his home of a treasure as desirable as any ever found. From his home he journeys to the exotic markets of North Africa and then into the Egyptian desert, where a fateful encounter with the Alchemist awaits him. The crux of the novel is mouthed by the Alchemist himself – “When you want something, the whole universe conspires in helping you to achieve it”. The whole purpose of the novel is to dive inside and find yourself.

The book does not get away from the fact that dreams have a price, but as Coelho has noted, not living your dreams also has a price. For the same money, he said, you can either buy a horrible jacket that doesn't fit, or one that suits you and looks right. There will be difficulties in whatever you do in life, but it is better to have problems that make sense because they are part of what you are trying to achieve. Otherwise, difficulties just seem insidious, one terrible setback after another. The dream-follower has a greater responsibility, that of handling their own freedom. That may not seem like such a price, but it does require a level of awareness we are maybe not used to.

The old man that Santiago meets in the town square tells him not to believe 'the biggest lie', that you can't control your destiny. You can, he says, but you must 'read the omens', which becomes possible when you start to see the world as one. The world can be read like a book, but we will never be able to understand it if we have a closed type of existence, complacent with our lot and unwilling to risk anything. Destiny requires the oxygen of higher awareness.

The Alchemist is remarkable for being a love story that renounces the idea that romantic love must be the central thing in your life. Each person has a destiny to pursue that exists independently of other people. It is the thing you would do, or be, even if you have all the love and money you want. The treasure Santiago seeks is of course the symbol of the personal dream or destiny, but he is happy to give up on it when he finds the woman of his dreams in a desert oasis. Yet the alchemist tells him that the love of his oasis girlfriend will only be proved real if she is willing to support his treasure search.

The alchemist Santiago meets in the desert is the real thing. He actually can turn base metals into gold, the goal of the medieval alchemists. Santiago asks why the other alchemists never succeeded, and gets the strange answer, 'They were only looking for gold.' That is, they were seeking only the treasure of their destiny rather actually trying to live the destiny. Their focus on a prize lessened the quality of the present.

Much of self-help literature is about pursuing our destiny, but dreams do not always pull us along; they speak persistently but quietly, and it does not take much effort to smother the inner voices. Who is willing to risk comfort, routine, security and existing relationships to follow something that to others looks like a mirage? It takes courage, and dog-eared, stained copies of Coelho’s classic have become the constant companion of people who need to make fearless decisions daily to keep true to a larger vision.

Facts about Giza Pyramids

One of the most interesting Giza Pyramids facts is that the Great Pyramid held the record as the tallest structure in the world built by man for almost four thousand years. It was not until the Eifel Tower was built in Paris, France. All Pyramids in Egypt, including those built on the Giza Plateau are situated on the west bank of the River Nile because that is where the sun sets every evening, symbolizing the realm of the dead.

Inside the main chamber of the Great Pyramid lies a granite coffer that is far too large to have fit down the narrow passageway at the entrance. This realization has led historians and archaeological to believe that the Great Pyramid was built around the coffer rather than it being brought inside. The Pyramids of Giza were once covered in a white casting made of glimmering limestone which was so polished that it would reflect the sun rays. The original pyramid with its casing stones would act like gigantic mirrors and reflect light so powerful that it would be visible from the moon as a shining star on Earth.

The size of the Great Pyramid of Giza is enormous measuring 756 feet at its base and 455 feet in height. In fact, the pyramids are so big that can be visible from space on clear days. No other man made structure in the world can boast this incredible fact. The quarry of Aswan, about 525 Miles upriver, was the site for the stone used to make the massive blocks that comprise the pyramid and it has been suggested that there are enough blocks in the three pyramids to build a 10 feet high 1 feet thick wall around France.

Modern Egyptologists now believe that the pyramids were built by thousands of skilled workers rather than slaves. It is known that Pharaon Khufu’s nephew Hemiunu was appointed head of construction for the Great Pyramid and that Khufu provided good food and clothing for his workers. The Great Pyramids of Egypt now stand a full 3 miles south of the spot where they were originally built. That’s how much the earth’s surface has shifted in the last 4500 years. The Great Pyramid’s base is a perfect square and each side of the square measuring 756 feet. The base spans over 13 acres of land and is big enough to accommodate nearly 10 football fields.