Deon Holt
Prof. Taylor
HUMS101
10/30/18
Illusions Eassy
After reading Illusions by Richard Bach, the thought of ‘The Law of Attraction” came into mind. As mentioned in the prompt prior, what had been stated was that “by most accounts, illusions serves as a novel to bridge Eastern and Western ideologies…” And I could not help but feel the same way about some of the core views in the law of attraction. In the book, Bach writes “You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.” In the Law of Attraction, the general belief is that if you want something, how have the tools and potential to get what you want; however, you have to put it out into the universe so that you can manifest those dreams. In a sense, what Don always telling Richard that he just has to work to accomplish some of the feats and miracles that he has witness Don accomplish time and time again. I have always found it fascinating how the Law of Attraction states many things, everything, for the most part, is very generalized. I am not sure if this is by design or not. In Illusions, Richard does mention how the very use of the word Messiah could be offensive to some, given the individual’s origin belief system and the teachings or definitions associated with the word. Some may find that if the origins do not align with what they have been taught, then they may feel the information is incorrect and become offended by what is being presented to them. With that being said, that is the very reason I feel why the Law of Attraction generalizes a term to avoid such a thing because at the end of the day, one’s religion is a part of their identity and the fuel behind their core beliefs and if you begin to question that, the individual may very well feel ill-will.
At the time of writing this, I had to really dig deep and question what western philosophical beliefs really encompassed. Going to public school my entire life then attending a university where I never really found the value in taking an actual philosophy course, I had to grasp some understanding of what it meant to have ‘western views’ outside of what I know about my religious upbringing. With that being said, I had to ask myself, what is western philosophy? What I found as that in western philosophy, there is a general emphasis on the importance of the individual rather than the whole. The mind and body are typically views of separate parts with varying identities. Instead of seeing the two as a whole being, the two are two opposing parts. Which can be seen in daily life, in the states at least. Whether it falls into race related issues, politics and of course, the classic religion. Personally, I have experienced the all of the above in my day by day life with all of the above. Being raised in a household that has been politically democrat, in a neighborhood that is politically democrat, discovering I am more libertarian, being told that I am not ‘one of us’ because I stand a little differently politically speaking; completely taking away from the whole of an individual based off a single part. Even though I may still face certain challenges that everyone else in the community does. Instead of seeing the bigger picture, what I find is that there is a separation on a single aspect.
During my time in naval boot camp, on Sundays, we would have what is referred to as ‘Holiday’ routine. Typically, this was the day you could attend religious services. On this day there was a service for just about every religion you could think of. At this point in my life I was not very religious but understood the importance of it. When I was younger I had a Christian upbringing but as I grew, I realized I had beliefs that spawned from varying belief systems. Which made me wonder if these different messiahs and deities that each religion spoke of, could be the same being, just interpreted differently due to culture differences. So, I decided to take advantage of the various services. I attended more eastern services. What I found was that, compared to the west, eastern philosophy had an emphasis on the whole. The eastern view stressed more of a focus on all things being inseparable and independent pieces of the universe. Different manifestations of the same reality. The eastern perspective did not see a single creator, but more of a creative energy. This energy was the source of all life and it is what sustains that life. The goal is to connect with said energy by living a balanced lifestyle. This means meditating, knowing the body and mind as a whole and connecting with nature.
In the book, time in and time out you see Don challenge Richard’s way of thinking. Richard approaches most things with a western mindset. He sees everything around him as an individual part and only knows the reality and facts that his prior education has led him to believe is true. Richard feels he cannot walk on water because he has always been told it cannot be done. There were many parts where Don showed eastern flares, but I felt this part really stuck out: “For the love of god if you want freedom and joy so much, can’t you see it’s not outside of you? Say you have it and you have it, act as if it is yours.” Eastern philosophy is about going with the flow of nature and that nothing is by any means a ‘miracle’. Don had been trying to get Richard to understand that the limitations that he knew to be true where those that he placed upon himself and that with the fruits of his hard work, practice and effort could be called any sort of ‘miracle’.
References:
Coward, Harold (2008-02-07). The perfectibility of human nature in eastern and western thought. p. 114. ISBN 9780791473368.