The Alchemist, initial thoughts

The other night I couldn't sleep, so I decided it was time to start The Alchemist. I figured I would read a couple pages, go to sleep, and resume reading in the morning. Instead, I was up till about 3 am until I finished the book. If this is the lowbrow popular book, then I'm impressed. I loved this book, my life is changed. In fact I gave my copy of The Alchemist to Sutter's mom and brother, and went and bought another copy for myself. In fact, I was thinking about how recommendable this book is, compared to T.S. Eliot's, Four Quartets. While I would reccomend T.S. Eliot, The Alchemist would be easier to give to people and know they could read and be moved, because it is easier to understand.

*spoiler alert*

The Alchemist was for Theme #5, Dolce Domum, Home sweet Home, To arrive where we started, (and know the place for the first time). This seems pretty easy to pick out, Santiago has to travel all the way to the pyramids in Egypt, to return to find the treasure buried in the abandoned church where he had spent the night with his sheep. When he sleeps there it feels haunted, but when he returns he knows that it is where is Personal Legend has led him. Santiago had to leave and go through all sorts of experiences, Crystal merchant, being robbed three times, crossing the desert, etc, you know if you read the book, and he truly knows the abandoned church, but rather he truly knows himself when he returns. He finds his personal legend, but he also knows the Soul of the World. Just a cool book, and I completely understand why people love it so much. I want to find my personal legend and some treasure and really know myself and the place where I started.

I noticed that in The Tempest, Prospero brings everyone into a magic circle, and The alchemist from the Oasis puts the cobra in a circle where it is calm and tame. Just a little thing I noticed.

"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." page 12-13.

I wish I had underlined more, but it was so late at night and I just wanted to enjoy the book. As Haroun led me into a fantasy world of stories, Santiago captivated my heart and soul.

page 152, "The boy reached the Soul of the World, and saw that it was a 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."
This passage reminds me of Chapter IV, Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi, in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, "Verily, not for the sake of the husband, my dear, is the husband loved, but is loved for the sake of the self. Atman is the self, and Atman is Brahman, Brahman is the absolute, supreme reality, the divine. So that the Brahman is the real attraction for wife to husband, and vice versa. As Santiago's soul was also the soul of God, Atman is Brahman. That is just a little connection I couldn't help thinking about as I read the book. Sanitago's whole experience seems like an epiphany, when he returns to the abandoned church and knows the place for the first time, and as he reaches a state of mind that allows him to become the wind, it is a mystical experience.

Love it.