Paulo Coelho speaks

Traditional religious practices are important: they allow us to share with others the communal experience of adoration and prayer. But we must never forget that spiritual experience is above all a practical experience of love. And with love, there are no rules. Some may try to control their emotions and develop strategies for their behavior; others may turn to reading books of advice from "experts" on relationships---but this ia all folly. The heart decides, and what it decides is all that really matters.

All of us have had this experience. At some point, we have each said through our tears, "I'm suffering for a love that's not worth it." We suffer because we feel we are giving more than we recieve. We suffer because our loe is going unrecognized. We suffer because we are unable to impose our own rules.

But ultimately there is no good reason for our suffering, for in every love lies the seed of our growth. The more we love, the closer we come tto spiritual experience. Those who are truly enlightened, those whose souls are illuminated by love, have been able to overcome all of the inhibitions and preconceptions of ther era. They have been able to sing, to laugh, and to pray out loud; they have danced and shared what Saint Paul called "the madness of santliness." They have been joyful---because those who love conquer the world and have no fear of loss. True love is an act of total surrender.

(Text: Source:
Paulo Coelho writes in Author's Note of the story "By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept")