The Pilgrimage - Life Soulful Exercises

Hello folks.

Here you will have the joy to read the life soulful exercises shared in the masterpiece - a book by "Paulo Coelho" - the Brazilian author, my favourite. This will lead you to understand the summary of the whole literature.

-Page numbers are also mentioned for your help !!

So,

Find those very helpful ten exercises which you must try once in life;

1. The Seed Exercise - Page 32

2. The Speed Exercise - Page 45

3. The Cruelty Exercise - Page 67

4. The Arousal of Intuition (The Water Exercise) - Page 104

5. The Blue Sphere Exercise - Page 132

6. The Buried Alive Exercise - Page 149

7. The RAM Breathing Exercise - Page 181

8. The Shadows Exercise - Page 193

9. The Listening Exercise - Page 215

10. The Dance Exercise - Page 235

The Seed Exercise

Kneel on the ground. Then seat yourself on your heels and bend forward so that your head touches your knees. Stretch your arms behind you. You are now in a fetal position. Relax, releasing all your tensions. Breathe calmly and deeply. Little by little you will perceive that you are a tiny seed, cradled in the comfort of the earth. Everything around you is warm and delicious. You are in a deep, restful sleep. Suddenly, a finger moves. The shoot no longer wants to be a seed; it wants to grow. Slowly you begin to move your arms, and then your body will begin to rise, straightening up until you are seated on your heels. Now you begin to lift your body up, and slowly, slowly you will become erect, still kneeling on the ground. The moment has come to break completely through the earth. You begin to rise slowly, placing one foot on the ground, then the other, fighting against the disequilibrium just as a shoot battles to make its own space, until finally you are standing. Imagine the area about you, the sun, the water, the wind, and the birds. Now you are a shoot that is beginning to grow. Slowly raise your arms toward the sky. Then stretch yourself more and more, more and more, as if you want to grasp the enormous sun that shines above you. Your body begins to become more and more rigid, all of your muscles strain, and you feel yourself to be growing, growing, growing – you become huge. The tension increases more and more until it becomes painful, unbearable. When you can no longer stand it, scream and open your eyes. Repeat this exercise for seven consecutive days, always at the same time.

The Speed Exercise

Walk for twenty minutes at half the speed at which you normally walk. Pay attention to the details, people, and surroundings. The best time to do this is after lunch. Repeat the exercise for seven days.

The Cruelty Exercise

Every time a thought comes to mind that makes you feel bad about yourself – jealousy, self pity, envy, hatred, and so on – do the following: Dig the nail of your index finger into the cuticle of the thumb of the same hand until it becomes quite painful. Concentrate on the pain: it is a physical reflection of the suffering you are going through spiritually. Ease the pressure only when the cruel thought has gone. Repeat this as many times as necessary until the thought has left you, even if this means digging your fingernail into your thumb over and over. Each time, it will take longer for the cruel thought to return, and eventually it will disappear altogether, so long as you do not fail to perform the exercise every time it comes to mind.

The Arousal of Intuition (The Water Exercise)

Make a puddle of water on a smooth, non-absorbant surface. Look into the puddle for a while. Then, begin to play with it, without any particular commitment or objective. Make designs that mean absolutely nothing. Do this exercise for a week, allowing at least ten minutes each time. Don’t look for practical results from this exercise; it is simply calling up your intuition, little by little. When this intuition begins to manifest itself at other times of the day, always trust in it.

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 neighborhood, 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.

The Buried Alive Exercise

Lie down on the floor and relax. Cross your arms over your chest in the posture of death. Imagine all of the details of your burial, as if it were to be carried out tomorrow, the only difference being that you are being buried alive. As the situation develops in your mind – the chapel, the procession to the cemetery, the lowering of the casket, the worms in the grave – you begin tensing all of your muscles more and more in a desperate attempt to escape. But you cannot do so. Keep trying until you cannot stand it any longer, and then, using a movement that involves your entire body, throw aside the confines of the coffin, breathe deeply, and find yourself free. This movement will have a greater effect if you scream at the same time; it should be a scream that emanates from the depths of your body.

The RAM Breathing Exercise

Expel all of the air from your lungs, emptying them as much as you can. Then, inhale slowly as you raise your arms as high as possible. As you inhale, concentrate on allowing love, peace, and harmony with the universe to enter into your body. Hold the air you have taken in and keep your arms raised for as long as you can, enjoying the harmony between your inner sensations and the outer world. When you reach your limit, exhale all of the air rapidly, as you say the word, ‘RAM.’ Repeat this process for five minutes each time you do the exercise.

The Shadows Exercise

Relax completely. For five minutes, study the shadows of all of the objects and people around you. Try to identify exactly which part of the object or person is casting a shadow. For the next five minutes, continue to do this, but at the same time, focus on the problem you are trying to solve. Look for all of the possible wrong solutions to the problem. Finally, spend five more minutes studying the shadows and thinking about what correct solutions remain. Eliminate them, one by one, until only the single correct solution is left.

The Listening Exercise

Relax. Close your eyes. Try for several minutes to concentrate on all of the sounds you hear in your surroundings, as if you were hearing an orchestra playing its instruments. Little by little, try to separate each sound from the others. Concentrate on each one, as if it were the only instrument playing. Try to eliminate the other sounds from your awareness.

When you do this exercise every day, you will begin to hear voices. First, you will think that they are imaginary. Later, you will discover that they are voices of people from your past, present, and future, all of them participating with you in the remembrance of time. This exercise should be performed only when you already know the voice of your messenger.Do this exercise for ten minutes at a time.

The Dance Exercise

Relax. Close your eyes. Recall the first songs you heard as a child. Begin to sing them in your thoughts. Little by little, let a certain part of your body – your feet, your stomach, your hands, your head, and so on – but only one part, begin to dance to the melody you are singing. After five minutes, stop singing, and listen to the sounds all around you. Compose an internal melody based on them, and dance to it with your whole body. Don’t think about anything in particular, but try to memorize the images that spontaneously appear. The dance offers an almost-perfect means of communication with the Infinite Intelligence. This exercise should last fifteen minutes.

Now, I must recommend you to read this whole book too. I am glad to had a chance of reading this writing.

Other recommended books of Paulo Coelho which I had already read:

The Alchemist

The Spy

The Zahir

By the river piedra I sat down and wept

Good Luck :)