Spiritual journeys of two main characters in Illusions

Spiritualjourneys of two main characters in Illusions

Spiritualjourneys of two main characters in Illusions

Thebook, Illusions:The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, byRichard Bach, relates to the aspect of reality in which the authoraims to advance the idea that what people normally consider thattruth could sometimes just a mirage. The illusion that human beingsfrequently come up with is normally used for employment and learning.Such a case, therefore, enables them to come up with actions thatwould allow them to lead success lives. The book features to pilotswho are in the field and develop some form of teacher-studentrelationship in which they and up sharing a lot of life issues withone another. In such a case, both pilots get to understand thegeneral view of each other for the sole purpose of findings betterways through which they could interact better. The paper aims to lookat how the mystical spiritual journeys of the two characters reflecta blending of Eastern and Western philosophies.

Theelement of being keen on knowledge as seen in the Western culture aswell as the attitude the people in the Eastern culture used to haveabout messiahs are well blended in the book. One aspect that comes tolight about Western philosophies is that learning stands at the coreof many issues. As a research, people tend to believe what theyeither see or what they have been told by a person whose holds ahigher status in the society. Such a case, therefore, means that anindividual will go through the school of life getting some ideas andbelieving most of the things that he happens to learn along the way.One of the instances is where Richard, the student, was quiteappalled by the fact that Shimoda ‘miraculously’ healed a person.Going by what the already knew from what he had learned aboutmessiahs, he was quite aware that people would seek to kill Shimodaand he, therefore, fled the scene as more people began to mill aroundthe area. Regarding the incident, Shimoda would go on to tellRichard, “I do not exist to impress the world. I exist to live mylife in a way that will make me happy” (Bach, 1989, 23). The case,therefore, clearly shows that both parties would be in a goodposition to understand the view that they both had regarding life.

Thebook also outlines the link between the materialistic and superficialnature that people in the Western world could be having in relationto the need to leave for a greater purpose that is well displayed inthe Eastern culture. People in the western world are, for the mostpart, more interested in seeing their lives going on as they haveplanned and, therefore, focus on various actions they believe wouldincrease their chances of attaining better lives in the end. Theindividuals are also busy in their lives to the point they lack theintuition and ability to lead some forms of lives that would increasetheir chances of viewing life from a spiritual point of view. Shimodaindicates that “This is a test to see if your mission in this lifeis complete if you are alive, it isn`t” to show that the Easternphilosophy more often focused on looking at issues from a deeperpoint of view (Bach, 1989, 43). People in the region, therefore, putmore focus on the mystical issues of life as they attempt to lookdeeply into various issues that are more paramount to their livesand, therefore, need to be approached with a great deal ofseriousness. It shows that where people are faced with differentideas in their lives, there is a high chance that they may run therisk of lacking the ability to

Thebook also aims to explain the importance of people having the role totake up actions that would, in the end, lead to better outcomes. Thecase is well documented in both Western and Eastern philosophies. Itshows that people stand a better chance to make better decisionswhere they are in full control of their lives in such a way that theycould be able to carry out actions that are bound to be of importanceto them. It, therefore, explains that there is bound to be asituation where people are likely to lead better lives where theymake good decisions regarding their own lives. Shimoda clearly tellsRichard that he stands a better chance to have better results wherehe becomes more action-oriented in his life. Such a practice would,therefore, increase the likelihood of an individual attaining thestandards of life that he could be wishing for as he keeps on havinga constant practice of what he happens to believe in. Shimoda statesthat “if you argue for your limitations they are yours” (Bach,1989, 51). Such a statement alludes to the fact that people need tobe more proactive and be geared towards looking into ways throughwhich they deal with their problems most efficiently.

Thecase of being true to the world and oneself. Philosophies from boththe Western and Eastern regions clearly indicate that there is a needfor people to come up with strategies that will ensure people areable to attain good interactions with other individuals. The bookclearly shows that in the situation where people are able, to behonest in various aspects regarding their lives, there is a highchance that they could end up attaining success. Shimoda is quitecritical in telling Richard that he needs to ensure that he remainstrue in his actions even in the situation where it appears that thevery actions that he is involved in could have lesser impact upon hislife. He states that “We teach best what we most need to learn”to shows that where a person needs to learn the value of honesty, heneeds to practice it more often and increase chances of being ofgreat benefit to other people (Bach, 1989, 72).

Inconclusion, the views explained in the book as it relates to themystical spiritual journeys taken by the main subjects in the storyclearly shows that there is a high level of correlation betweenWestern and Eastern philosophies. The information shared by bothparties clearly indicate the fact that people need to be concernedwith issues that are bound to be of benefit both to them and as wellas to other individuals. In the situation where the element ofconsistency is attained in the practices advanced by the book, thereis a high chance that they could influence better outcomes.

References

Bach,R. (1989).Illusions:The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah. Dell