The Alchemistry

“Well, usually I learn more from my sheep than from books,” (5)

We have to be prepared for change,... (8)

It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting,.. (11)

“And dreams are the language of God. When he speaks in our language, I can interpret what he has said. But if he speaks in the language of the soul, it is only you who can understand. (13)

It’s the simple things in life that are the most extra-ordinary; only wise men are able to understand them. (15)

“I only interpret dreams. I don’t know how to turn them into reality. That’s why I have to live off what my daughters provide me with.” (15)

When someone sees the same people every day, as had happened with him at the seminary, the wind up becoming a part of that person’s life. And then they want the person to change. If someone isn’t what other want them to be, the other become angry. Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own. (16)

…everyone believes the world’s greatest lie.  It’s this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That’s the world’s greatest lie. (18)

People say strange things,…Sometimes it’s better to be with sheep, who don’t say anything. And better still to be alone with one’s books. They tell their incredible stories at the time when you want to hear them. But when you’re talking to people, they say some things that are so strange that you don’t know how to continue the conversation. (20)

“It’s what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young knows what their destiny is. At that point in their lives, everything is clear and everything is possible. They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives. But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their destiny.” (22)

“It’s a force that appears to be negative, but actually shows you how to realize your destiny. It prepares your spirit and your will, because there is one great truth on this planet: whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it’s because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It’s your mission on earth.” (22)

The Soul of the World is nourished by people’s happiness. And also by unhappiness, envy, an jealousy. To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only real obligation. All things are one. (23)

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” (23)

…people are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.” (23)

(when) you are trying to realize your destiny. And you are at the point where you are about to give it all up…. I always appear in one form or another. Sometimes I appear in the form of a solution, or a good idea. At other times, at a crucial moment, I make it easier for things to happen. (24)

“People learn, early in their lives, what is their reason for being,” said the old man, with a certain bitterness. “Maybe that’s why they give up on it so early too. But that’s the way it is.” (25)

“Treasure is uncovered by the force of flowing water, and it is buried by the same currents… If you want to learn about your own treasure, you will have to give me one-tenth of your flock…(25)

“If you start out by promising what you don’t even have yet, you’ll lose your desire to work toward getting it.” (25)

“In any case, it’s good that you’ve learned that everything is life has its price. This is what the Warriors of the Light try to teach.” (26)

He had to choose between something he had become accustomed to and something he wanted to have. (28)

…and when each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun shines. (28)

The boy felt jealous of the freedom of the wind, and saw that he could have the same freedom. There was nothing to hold him back except himself. (29)

“That’s the way it always is,” (30)

“It’s called the principle of favorability. When you play cards the first time, you are almost sure to win. Beginner’s luck…. because there is a force that wants you to realize your destiny; it whets your appetite with a taste of success.” (30)

“… God has prepared a path for everyone to follow. You just have to read the omens that he left for you.” (30)

He remembered something his grandfather had once told him; that butterflies were a good omen. Like crickets, and like expectations; like lizards and four-leaf-clovers. (30)

Urim and Thummim. The black signifies ‘yes’ and the white ‘no’… Always ask an objective question… But if you can, try to make your own decisions. (31)

“Don’t forget that everything you deal with is only one thing and nothing else. And don’t forget the language of omens. And, above all, don’t forget to follow your destiny through to its conclusion. (31)

“…‘The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never forget the drops of oil on the spoon.’” (34)

…he had become used to learning which path he should take by observing the ground and sky. He had discovered that the presence of a certain bird meant that a snake was nearby, and that a certain shrub was a sign that there was water in the area. The sheep had taught him that. (36)

If God leads the sheep so well, he will also lead a man, he thought, and that made him feel better. (37)

“I’m like everyone else --- I see the world in terms of what I would like to see happen, not what actually does.” (42)

…there were certain things one shouldn’t ask about, so as not to flee from one’s own destiny. (43)

…he had to choose between thinking of himself as the poor victim of a thief and as an adventurer in quest of his treasure…. I’m an adventurer, looking for treasure,” he said to himself… He had decided, the night before, that he would be as much an adventurer as the ones he had admired in books. (44-45)

He realized that he could… Sense whether a person was near to or far from his destiny. Just by looking at them It’s easy… (45)

There must be language that doesn’t depend on words… If I can learn to understand this language without words, I can learn to understand the world. (46)

“All things are one,” (46)

We have to take advantage when luck is on our side, and do as much to help it as it’s doing to help us. It’s called the principle of favorability. Or beginner’s luck.

I have been told that beauty is the great seducer or men. (59)

I don’t want to change anything, because I don’t know how to deal with change. I’m used to the way I am.  (59)

“…every blessing ignored becomes a curse. (60)

Sometimes, there’s just no way to hold back the river. (61)

…there was language in there world that everyone understood… It was the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired. (64)

‘When you want something, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it,” (65)

…discover the secret of the Master Work --- the Philosopher’s Stone --- … the Elixir of Life. (69)

“Everything in life is an omen,” 72

“There is a universal language, understood by everybody, but already forgotten. I am in search of that universal language, among other things. That’s why I’m here. (73)

“If I could, I’d write a huge encyclopedia just about the words luck and coincidence. It’s with those words that the universal language it written.” (73)

But I want each and every one of you to swear by the God you believe in that you will follow my orders no matter what. In the desert, disobedience means death.” (74)

“There’s no such thing as coincidence… he was about to describe, though: the mysterious chain that links one thing to another(75)

The closer one gets to realizing his destiny, the more that destiny becomes his true reason for being, (75)

“I’ve crossed these sands many times,” said one of the camel drivers one night. “But the desert is so huge, and the horizons so distant, that they make a person feel small, and as if he should remain silent.” (76)

Whenever he saw the sea, of a fire, he fell silent, impressed by their elemental force. (76)

I’ve learned things from the sheep, and I’ve learned things from crystal, he thought. I can learn something from the desert too. It seems old and wise. (76)

Creatures like the sheep, that are used to traveling, know about moving on. (77)

…the universal language that deals with the past and the present of all people. “Hunches,” his mother used to call them. The boy was beginning to understand that intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life, where the histories of all people are connected, and we are able to know everything, because it’s all written there. (77)

But that disaster taught me to understand that word of Allah: people need not fear the unknown if they are capable of achieving what they need and want. (79)

“We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it’s our life or our possessions and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand.” (80)

“Once you get into the desert, there’s no going back,” said the camel driver. “And, when you can’t go back, you have to worry only about the best way of moving forward. The rest is up to Allah, including the danger.” (81)

“That’s the principle that governs all things… In alchemy, it’s called the Soul of the World. When you want something with all your heart, that when you are closest to the Soul of the World. It’s always a positive force.” (82)

He also said that this was not just a human gift, that everything on the face of earth had a soul, whether mineral, vegetable, or animal --- or even just a simple thought. (82)

“Everything on earth is being continuously transformed, because the earth is alive… and it has a soul. We are part of that soul, so we rarely recognize that it is working for us. (82)

…all things are the manifestation of one thing only. (83)

…the liquid part of the Master Work was called the Elixir of Life, and that it cured all illnesses; it also kept the alchemist from growing old. And the solid part was called the Philosopher’s Stone. (84)

Helveetius, Elias, Fulcanelli, and Gerber. (85)

Maybe God created the desert so that man could appreciate the date trees, (91)

I don’t know why these things have to be transmitted by word of mouth. (91)

It wasn’t exactly that they were secrets; God revealed his secrets easily to all his creatures. (91)

…things have to be transmitted this way because they were made up from the pure life, and this kind of life cannot be captured in pictures or words.

            Because people become fascinated with pictures and words, and wind up forgetting the Language of the World. (91)

Since they were visitors, they would have to share living space with those who lived there, and would be given the best accommodations. That was the law of hospitality. (93)

The closer he got the realization of his dream, the more difficult things became. It seemed as if what the old king had called, “beginner’s luck” were no longer functioning. In his pursuit of the dream, he was being constantly subjected to tests of his persistence and courage. So he could not be hasty, nor impatient. If he pushed forward impulsively, he would fail to see the signs and omens left by God along his path. (93)

God placed them along my path. He had surprised himself with the thought. Until then, he had considered the omens to be things of his world. Like eating or sleeping, or like seeking love or finding a job. He had never thought of them in terms of a language used by God to indicate what he should do. (93)

At that moment, it seemed to him that time stood still, and that Soul of the World surged within him. (97)

…he learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke --- the language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart. It was love. Something older than humanity, more ancient than the desert. (97)

It was the pure Language of the World. It required no explanation, just as the universe need none as it travels through endless time. (97)

…maybe people who felt that way had never learned the universal language. Because, when you know that language, it’s easy to understand that someone in the universal language, it’s easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it’s in the middle of the desert or in some great city. And when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. Without such love, one’s dreams would have no meaning. (98)

That’s the man who knows all the secrets of the world… He communicates with the genies of the desert…. The genies were the spirits of good and evil.  (99)

It’s not a battle of good against evil. It’s war between forces that are fighting for the balance of power… Allah is on both sides. (101)

The dunes are changed by the wind, but the desert never changes. That’s the way it will be with our love for each other. (102)

“The desert takes our men from us, and they don’t always return,” she said. “We know that, and we are used to it. Those who don’t return become a part of the clouds, a part of the animals that hide the ravines and of the water that comes from the earth. They become a part of everything…they become the Soul of the World. (102)

“I’m a desert woman, and I’m proud of that. I want my husband to wander as free as the wind that shapes the dunes. And, if I have to, I will accept the fact that he has become a part of the clouds, and the animals and the water of the desert.” (103)

Here and there, he found a shell, and realized that the desert, in remote times, had been a sea. (104)

He tried to deal with the concept of love as distinct from possession, and couldn’t separate them. (104)

When you are in love, things make even more sense… (105)

… any given thing on the face of the earth could reveal the history of all things. One could open a book to any page, or look at a person’s hand; one could turn a card, or watch the flight of the birds… whatever the thing observed, one could find a connection with his experience of the moment. Actually, it wasn’t that those things, in themselves, revealed anything at all; it was just that people, looking at what was occurring around them, could find a means of penetration to the Soul of the World. (106)

The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day according to the teachings, confident that God loves his children. Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity. (108)

The camel driver has asked what the circumstances were under which God would allow him to see the future…. Only when he, himself, reveals it. And God only rarely reveals the future. When he does so, it is for only one reason: its future that was written so as to be altered. (108)

… to die tomorrow was no worse than dying on any other day. Every day was there to be lived or to mark one’s departure from this world. (114)

“Courage is the quality most essential to understanding the Language of the World.” (117)

“You must not let up, even after having come so far… You must love the desert, but never trust it completely. Because the desert tests all men: it challenges every step, and kills those who become distracted.” (117)

“When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream,” (120)

“So you are going to instruct me? …No. You already know all you need to know. I am only going to point you in the direction of your treasure.” (121)

“It’s not what enters men’s mouths that’s evil… It’s what comes out of their mouths that is.” (121)

“Life attracts life,” (123)

“Well, what if I decide to stay? …Let me tell you what will happen. You’ll be the counselor of the oasis …You’ll marry Fatima, and you’ll both be happy for a year…. And you’ll get better and better at understanding omens, because the desert is the best teacher there is…. Sometime during the second year, you’ll remember about the treasure. The omens will begin insistently to speak of it, and you’ll try to ignore them…During the third year, the omens will continue to speak of your treasure and your destiny. You’ll walk around, night after night, at the oasis, and Fatima will be unhappy because she’ll feel it was she who interrupted your quest. But you will love her, and she’ll return your love… So you won’t blame her. But many times you’ll walk the sands of the desert, thinking that maybe you could have left… that you could have trusted more in your love for Fatima. Because what kept your at the oasis was your own fear that you might never come back. At that point, the omens will tell you that your treasure is buried forever…. Then, sometime during the fourth year, the omens will abandon you, because you’ve stopped listening to them. The tribal chieftains will see that, and you’ll be dismissed from your position as counselor… You’ll spend the rest of your days knowing that you didn’t pursue your destiny, and that now it’s too late. (126)

“You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny. If he abandons that pursuit, it’s because it wasn’t true love… the love that speaks the Language of the World.” (126)

“I’m going away,” he said. “And I want you to know that I’m coming back. I love you because…” Don’t say anything,” Fatima interrupted. “One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.” (128)

So, I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you.” (128)

She would have to send her kisses on the wind, hoping that the wind would touch the boy’s face, and would tell him that she was alive. (129)

“If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return.” (130)

“There is only one way to learn…It’s through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey. (132)

“And what went wrong when other alchemists tried to make gold and were unable to do so?...They were looking only for gold….They were seeking the treasure of their destiny, without wanting actually to live out the destiny.” (132)

“I’m an alchemist simply because I’m an alchemist,” (132)

“I learned the science from my grandfather, who learned from his father, and so on, back to the creation of the world. In those times, the Master Work could be written simply on an emerald. But men began to reject simple things, and to write tracts, interpretations, and philosophical studies. They also began to feel that they knew a better way than others had. Yet the Emerald Tablet is still alive today… it can’t be understood by reason alone. The Emerald Tablet is a direct passage to Soul of the World. (133)

“The wise men understood that this natural world is only an image and a copy of paradise. The existence of this world is simply a guarantee that there exists a world that is perfect. God created that world so that, through its visible objects, men could understand his spiritual teachings and the marvels of his wisdom. That’s what I mean by action.” (133)

… you are in the desert. So immerse yourself in it. The desert will give you an understanding of the world; in fact, anything on the face of the earth will do that. You don’t even have to understand the desert: all you have to do is contemplate a simple grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation.” (134)

“How do I immerse myself in the desert?...Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because it came from the Soul of the World, and it will one day return there.” (134)

“Why do we have to listen to our hearts?” the boy asked…Because, whenever your heart is, that is where you’ll find your treasure.” (135)

“Treason is a blow that comes unexpectedly. If you know your heart well, it will never be able to do that to you. Because you’ll know its dreams and wishes, and will know how to deal with them. (136)

“You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it’s better to listen to what it has to say. That way, you’ll never have to fear an unanticipated blow.” (136)

“Even though I complain sometimes,” (his heart) said, “it’s because I’m the heart of a person, and people’s hearts are that way. People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don’t deserve them, or that they’ll be unable to achieve them. We, their hearts, become fearful just thinking of loved ones who go away forever, or of moments that could have been good but weren’t, or of treasures that might have been found but were forever hidden in the sands. Because, when these things happen, we suffer terribly.” (136)

My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer…Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.  (137)

When I have been truly searching for my treasure, I’ve discovered things along the way that I never would have seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a Shepard to achieve.” (137)

… all people who are happy have God within them. And that happiness could be found in a grain of sand from the desert … Because a grain of sand is a moment of creation, and the universe has taken millions of years to create it. “Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him,” (137)

            “We, people’s heart, seldom say much about those treasures, because people no longer want to go in search of the. We speak of the only to children. Later, we simply let life proceed, in its own direction, toward its own fate. But, unfortunately, very few follow the path laid out for them --- the path to their destinies, and to happiness. Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place.

“So, we, their hearts, speak more and more softly. We never stop speaking out, but we begin to hope that our words won’t be heard: we don’t want to people to suffer because they don’t follow their hearts.” (138)

            “Why don’t people’s hearts tell them to continue to follow their dreams?” the boy asked the alchemist.

            “Because that’s what makes a heart suffer most, and hearts don’t like to suffer.”

            From then on, the boy understood his heart. He asked it, please, never to stop speaking to him. He asked that, when he wandered far from his dreams, his heart press him and sound the alarm. The boy swore that , every time he heard the alarm, he would heed the message. (138)

“…Your heart is still capable of showing you where the treasure is.” (139)

“… before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream. That’s the point at which most people give up. It’s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one ‘dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.’ (139)

“Every search begins with beginner’s luck. And every search ends with the victor’s being severely tested.” (139)

The boy remembered an old proverb from his country. It is said that the darkest hour of the night came just before the dawn. (139)

“To show you one of life’s simple lesson …” When you posses great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed.” (141)

And his heart told him something else that the boy had never noticed: it told the boy of dangers that had threatened him, but that he had never perceived. His heart said that one time it had hidden the rifle the boy had taken from his father, because of the possibility that the boy might wound himself. And it reminded the boy of the day when he had been ill and vomiting out in the fields, after which he had fallen into a deep sleep. There had been two thieves farther ahead who were planning to steal the boy’s sheep and murder him. But , since the boy hadn’t passed by, they had decided to move on, thinking that he had changed his route. (141)

“Does a man’s heart always help him?...Mostly just the hearts of those who are trying to realize their destinies. But they do help, children, drunkards, and the elderly, too. (143)

“Your eyes show the strength of your soul,” (143)

“Everything in the universe evolved,” he said. “And, for wise men, gold is metal that evolved the furthest. Don’t ask me why; I don’t know why. I just know that the Tradition is always right.

            “Men have never understood the words of the wise. So gold, instead of being seen as a symbol of evolution, became the basis of conflict.” (144)

“I have known true alchemist …They locked themselves in their laboratories, and tried to evolve, as gold had. And they found the Philosopher’s Stone, because they understood that when something evolves, everything around that thing evolves as well.” (144)

Others stumbled upon the stone by accident. They already had the gift, and their souls were readier for such things than the souls of others. But they don’t’ count. They’re quite rare. (144)

“And then there were others, who were interested on in gold. They never found the secret. They forgot that lead, copper, and iron have their own destinies to fulfill. And anyone who interferes with the destiny of another thing never will discover his own. (145)

He reached over and picked up a shell from the ground.

            “This desert was once a sea,” he said.

            I noticed that,” the boy answered.

            The alchemist told the boy to place the shell over his ear. He had done that many times when he was a child, and had heard the sound of the sea.

            “The sea has lived on in this shell, because that’s its destiny. And it will never cease doing so until the desert is once again covered by water.” (145)

“What is an alchemist?” (147)

“It’s a man who understands nature and the world. If he wanted to, he could destroy this camp just with the force of the wind.” (147)

“Don’t give in to your fears,” … “If you do, you won’t be able to talk to your heart.” (148)

“If a person is living out his destiny, he knows everything he needs to know. There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” (149)

“Usually the threat of death makes people a lot more aware of their lives.” (149)

“… the world is only the visible aspect of God. And that what alchemy does is to bring spiritual perfection into contact with the material plane.” (150)

“What is love?” the desert asked.

“Love is the falcon’s flight over your sands. Because for him, you are a green field, from which he always returns with game. He knows your rocks, your dunes, and your mountains, and you are generous to him.”

“The falcon’s beak carries bits of me, myself,” the desert said. “For years, I care for his game, feeding it with the little water that I have, and then I show him where the game is. And, one day, as I enjoy the fact that his game thrives on my surface, the falcon dives out of the sky, and takes away what I’ve created.”

“But that’s why you created the game in the first place,” the boy answered. “To nourish the falcon. And the falcon then nourishes man. And, eventually, man will nourish your sands, where the game will once again flourish. That’s how the world goes.”

“So is that what love is?”

“Yes, that’s what love is. It’s what makes the game become the falcon, the falcon become man, and man, in turn, the desert. It’s what turns lead into gold, and makes the gold return to the earth.”  (152)

… the winds know everything. They blow across the world without a birthplace, and with no place to die. (153)

But, actually the wind came from no place at all, nor did it go to any place; that’s why it was stronger than the desert. (154)

“You can’t be the wind,” the wind said. “We’re two very different things…That’s not true,” the boy said. “I learned the alchemist’s secrets in my travels. I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the same hand, and we have the same soul. I want to be like you, able to reach every corner of the world, cross seas, blow away the sands that cover my treasure, and carry the voice of the woman I love.” (154)

“Just teach me to be the wind for a few moments,” the boy said. “So you can I can talk about the limitless possibilities of people and the winds.” (154)

The wind’s curiosity was aroused, something that had never happened before. It wanted to talk about those things, but it didn’t know how to turn a man into the wind. (154)

“This is what we call love,” (155)

“When you are loved, you can do anything in creation. When you are loved, there’s no need at all to understand what’s happening, because everything happens within you, and even men can turn themselves into the wind. As long as the wind helps, of course.” (155)

“The wind told me that you know abut love,” the boy said to the sun. “If you know about love, you must also know about the Soul of the World, because it’s made of love.” (156)

“From where I am,” the sun said, “I can see the Soul of the World. It communicates with my soul, and together we cause the plants to grow and the sheep to seek out shade. From where I am ---- and I’m a long way from the earth --- I learned hot to love. I know that if I came even a little bit closer to the earth, everything there would die, and the Soul of the World would no longer exist. So we contemplate each other, and want each other, and I give it life and warmth, and it gives me my reason for living. (157)

“And I know the Soul of the World, because we have talked at great length to each other during this endless trip through the universe. It tells me that its greatest problem is that up until now, only the minerals and vegetables understand that all things are one. That there’s no need for iron to be the same as copper, or copper the same as gold. Each performs its own exact function as a unique being, and everything would be a symphony of peace if the hand that wrote all this had stopped on the fifth day of creation.

            “But there was a sixth day,” the sun went on.

            “You are wise, because you observe everything from a distance,” the boy said. “But you don’t know about love. If there hadn’t been a sixth day, man would not exist; copper would always be just copper, and lead just lead. It’s true that everything has its destiny, but one day that destiny will be realized. So each thing has to transform itself into something better, and to acquire a new destiny, until someday, the Soul of the World becomes one thing only.” (157)

“This is why alchemy exists,” the boy said. “So that everyone will search for this treasure, find it and the want to be better then he was in his former life. Lead will play its role until the world has no further need for lead; and then lead will have to turn itself into gold.

            That’s what alchemist do. They show that, when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.” (158)

“Because it’s not love to be static like the desert, nor is it love to roam the world like the wind. And it’s not love to see everything from a distance, like you do. Love is the force that transforms and improves the Soul of the World. When I first reached through to it, I thought the Soul of the World was perfect. But later, I could see that it was like other aspects of creation, and had its own passions and wars. It is we who nourish the Soul of the World, and the world we live in will be either better or worse, depending on whether the power of love comes in. Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are.” (158)

“Nature knows me as the wisest being in creation,” the sun said. (159)

A current of love rushed from his heart, and the boy began to pray. It was a prayer that he had never said before, because it was a prayer without words or pleas. (160)

…he could see that not the deserts, nor the winds, nor the sun, nor people knew why they had been created. But that the hand had a reason for all of this, and that only the hand could perform miracles, or transform the sea into a desert … or a man into the wind. Because only the hand understood that it was a larger design that had moved the universe to the point at which six days of creation had evolved into a Master Work. (160)

The boy reached through to the Soul of the World, and say that it was part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles (160)

“I only invoked what you already knew.” (162)

“But this payment goes well beyond my generosity,” (163)

“Don’t say that again. Life might be listening, and give you less the next time.” (163)

Everything that happens once can never happen again, But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.” (164)

“No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn’t know it. (167)

“Where your treasure is, there also will be your heart,” (168)

“Be aware of the place where you are brought to tears. That’s where I am, and that’s where your treasure is.” (168)

…in Egypt, the scarab beetles are a simple of God. (169)

It’s true; life really is generous to those who purse their destiny,…(176)