As a teenager, the French writer, bestseller "God is always on the move". incognito”, “The Day I Learned To Live”, “The Man Who Wanted To Be Happy”, “Intuition” author Laurent Gounelle wanted to become a psychiatrist. Following the wishes of his parents, he graduated from economics, but found himself in travel, writing and constant meetings with people.
On September 23, at 18:XNUMX, you can meet the world bestseller author L. Gounelle in Vilnius - the writer is coming to the "Open books" festival. L. Gounelle's books are published in Lithuania by the Alma littera publishing house.
Before the trip to Vilnius, the writer answered the questions of journalist Laisvė Radzevičienė. Translated into Lithuanian by Augustė Gittins.
Sometimes you are called a specialist in human thoughts. What skills do you need to be one?
I don't consider myself an expert on human thoughts. In general, I don't think anyone can be like that at all. Why? Because every person is unique, no two think alike in the world.
You've said that writers often write intuitively. How do you combine reason and intuition in your life and work?
Great question! Before, I always relied on my mind, I believed that it is best to go through life guided by it. I have to say I was wrong: the best decisions I made were intuitive. I'm sure you feel the same way. Especially when really important decisions have to be made. Well, who among us chose a wife or a husband by strategizing and thinking? Rare! Albert Einstein used to say: “Intuition is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that respects the servant but forgets the gift."
In my work, the mind helps define the themes and ideas I want to share with my readers. Intuition brings me a story that can convey these ideas. All I have to say is that those stories come out of nowhere, just thrown into my head. You have to employ thinking to get the story in the book in the right order.
Don't you sometimes think that a person demands too much from himself? That it would be easier for us to live if we delved less into our inner selves waters?
Sometimes we learn to be kind to ourselves without thinking about the consequences of our actions. Intentions are always better than results: when we recognize our intentions, we allow ourselves to move in their direction at whatever pace we see fit.
Introspection is a tool for self-awareness. If you don't understand yourself, you risk losing your life.
Sometimes our lives seem completely uninteresting to ourselves, but there are many people who would be happy to change places. In what moments do you realize that you are living a life worthy of yourself?
Some people are just out of place, especially in their profession or work environment. In order to feel complete, they have to fundamentally change something. But sometimes the problem is just our ability to appreciate the present time. Many people do not live in the present - they are enslaved to thinking about their past, constantly remembering what worries tormented them, what sadness they experienced, or thinking about the future, about next weekend, shopping before the holidays. Our ability to stop just thinking, and sometimes even doing, to appreciate our presence in the present is something that could change your relationship with your life without changing anything… Mindfulness meditation can be a great help if you really want to go in this direction.
During your life, you undoubtedly belong to the most interesting stories, and after all, books and movies are among them. How do you choose the stories that deserve to be in your books?
It may seem strange, but I rarely get inspiration from real stories. I prefer to fantasize and build into my visions the messages I want to share with my readers in a way that is effective.
To be free and happy is the dream of every person. Why is this mission completely impossible? Why is it not enough for a person what he has - freedom, happiness, wealth, life?
The foundation of our society's economy is to create a sense of scarcity. The feeling that you are missing something makes you buy things that are being sold by all means. We are conditioned to feel as if we are always missing something, and things can fill that void. One way to change this state of mind is to become aware of and name the positive things in your life, whether it's related to wealth, relationships, or health. Personally, I take two minutes every morning to thank the Universe for the simple fact that I am alive in this world. This feeling of gratitude indirectly sends a message to my body and soul that I am a happy person, even when I have unresolved issues in my daily life. If you prefer to thank God, thank him.
Sometimes it seems that humanity, especially in human psychology, is making great discoveries, although we only have to look into the past to see that everything we have discovered has already been discovered. Why are we destined to forget experiences and repeat the mistakes of our cognition.
As human beings, we are safe when we follow habits. We hate change. So even when a scientific study tells you that taking two minutes each morning to be grateful will change your life, it's unlikely that you'll actually start changing your morning routine.
Do you follow the trends of world change? How else to explain why your books keep hitting the top ten?
The theme of each of my books corresponds exactly to the topics that interest me at the time. And I care about what is happening in the world, like many people around me.
You have said that writers do not create ideas in their head, they are given to them, gifted from above. Who gives them to us?
I think writers are more intuitive than creative. My ego would like to think that my ideas are actually MY IDEAS, but the truth is, I know they aren't. Intuition is the ability to relate yourself to the information that is presented to the world. Everyone has intuition, but most people ignore it or don't trust it. I will tell you a true story that happened in 2018. That October, I published the book I Promise You Freedom. At the same time, my friend Bernard Werber, who is also a writer, published the book La boîte de Pandora. We read each other's books and were surprised: my story is happening in a restaurant- on the ship, his - in the restaurant-on-ship. My ship has a mythological name ("Le pygmalion"). His ship has a mythological name ("La boîte de Pandora"). My story is the story of a man who changes his life every day by changing his personality through hypnosis. His story is the story of a man who changes his life every day by visiting his past lives through hypnosis! And I promise we never exchanged a single word about the stories we wrote before.
What do you do when you cannot rationally explain events, occurrences, or states?
I have learned to accept it. I tell myself that I am missing the meaning of that event or state, but I trust the Universe, and that there must be a reason. It's hard to do that when all you see in the world is evil, but most of the events that I initially perceived as negative actually weren't. Sometimes it takes months or even years to figure it out. So accepting and trusting is often the best way to respond. But that doesn't mean you have to be passive in every situation: there are definitely contexts where you have to react or even protest.
Have you met one who travels incognito?
A. Einstein said that this is how God travels...
