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Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah
by
Richard Bach
In the cloud-washed airspace between the cornfields of Illinois and blue infinity, a man puts his faith in the propeller of his biplane. For disillusioned writer and itinerant barnstormer Richard Bach, belief is as real as a full tank of gas and sparks firing in the cylinders...until he meets Donald Shimoda--former mechanic and self-described messiah who can make wrenches ...more
Hardcover, 128 pages
Published
March 15th 1977
by Delacorte Press
(first published January 1st 1977)
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Sfdreams
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone--especially those on a spiritual path
Shelves:
reviewed
I LOVED this book!! I read it over and over and have given copies to several people.
The book starts off with a "handwritten" and smudged story, written like books in the Bible, by a auto mechanic who discovered the Divine in himself and was followed by throngs of people,who called him a messiah, until he had to disappear.
Then the "real" book begins: A young man flys around the country in his airplane, supporting himself by selling flights in his plane....more
The book starts off with a "handwritten" and smudged story, written like books in the Bible, by a auto mechanic who discovered the Divine in himself and was followed by throngs of people,who called him a messiah, until he had to disappear.
Then the "real" book begins: A young man flys around the country in his airplane, supporting himself by selling flights in his plane....more
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Madeline
rated it
·
review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
um, fans of Johnothan Livingston Seagull
Recommended to Madeline by:
its pricetag
um... probably the nicest thing to say about this book would be... a dumb mans "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"
anyway, i saw this book at a garage sale for 25cents... that made me pick it up. what made me *buy* it was this introduction
"I do not enjoy writing at all. If I can turn my back on an idea, out there in the dark, if I can avoid opening the door to it, I won't even reach for a pencil. But once in a while there's a great dynamite-burst of...more
anyway, i saw this book at a garage sale for 25cents... that made me pick it up. what made me *buy* it was this introduction
"I do not enjoy writing at all. If I can turn my back on an idea, out there in the dark, if I can avoid opening the door to it, I won't even reach for a pencil. But once in a while there's a great dynamite-burst of...more
I heard about the book on Esther & Jerry Hicks Video. After reading the reviews here on Goodreads I decided to make the 10 odd minute trip to Kinokuniya to grab a copy. I never regretted it. A book which carries the message of how we mould our own future, our own life, our own outcomes in a very engaging way. I finished this wonderful book in 4 hours or so. If you need anything to lift your spirits when you are feeling down, or restore your faith in the Law of Attraction, this is one of the many...more
I believe this book moved me more than any other before or since. Not because the writing was so great but the thoughts contained in it were so close to what I was feeling as a 19 year old away from home and on my own for the first time. I still believe the ideas contained here are timeless and profound. The fact that the author kind of went a bit off the deep end does not bother me (although it did for a while!)
I remember that some factions of the Christian right were outraged that...more
I remember that some factions of the Christian right were outraged that...more
I discovered this slim volume in my brother's book rack as I looked for our sherlock holmes collection. I had seen this around at book stores before, was a little curious, but never curious enough to buy. So, it was a surprise to find a spiritual book in my brother's otherwise thriller/adventure collection. I read it because, well, I have had a spiritual void for sometime myself. And though it took only a couple of hours, I learned nothing new except a couple of things about planes. I have to sa...more
With Illusions, Richard Bach takes us on a carefree flight of fancy to a simpler time, where you not only leave cares and responsibilities behind but actually forget that there are such things. Even if you have never previously considered flying a light aircraft, you soon long for the promised freedom of that experience, and after Donald Shimoda comes on the scene you find yourself wondering why anyone would want to do anything other than field hop in a light plane around the mid west of the US...more
I read the book since an X'er employee said he had a philosophy that "in every problem is a gift" and that was why he why he did not react to dramas the way that everyone around us did. I read the book and that one quote was the one that stayed with me. That one piece of wisdom was worth the price of the book. It's about the law of attraction, in current spiritual terms.
To me, the spiritual aspect of it was not as important as realizing that it's my choice how I look at somethin...more
To me, the spiritual aspect of it was not as important as realizing that it's my choice how I look at somethin...more
"Here is a test to find whether your mission to Earth is finished; If your alive it isn't."
Why write of the book when it could be more fun to explain the reactions of several other people who have read this one. Before I say anything else I feel it needs a health warning. The symptoms that I have witnessed as people read this book include, delusional psychosis, fantasising in public, maniac attempts at cloud bursting and one very very bruised nose. (A result of a grown man ...more
Why write of the book when it could be more fun to explain the reactions of several other people who have read this one. Before I say anything else I feel it needs a health warning. The symptoms that I have witnessed as people read this book include, delusional psychosis, fantasising in public, maniac attempts at cloud bursting and one very very bruised nose. (A result of a grown man ...more
One of my all time favorite books. Author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
Metaphysics and airplanes.
Rise into your own reality. Believe, create...
Do what makes you happy.
Here is how it begins...
"Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a great crystal river.
The current of the river swept silently over them all - young and old, rich and poor, good and evil, the current going it's own way, knowing only it's ...more
Metaphysics and airplanes.
Rise into your own reality. Believe, create...
Do what makes you happy.
Here is how it begins...
"Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a great crystal river.
The current of the river swept silently over them all - young and old, rich and poor, good and evil, the current going it's own way, knowing only it's ...more
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I read this pretty quickly, thinking I would be able to come back to it later and re-read, but then I passed it on. Probably another read would be useful before writing a review. On a first read, it felt sorta Secret-ish (full disclosure: never read The Secret) in that it argues that we're all living the lives we want to be living, whether or not we're aware of this, and that we can change our realities at any time--that far more is open to us than we realize. I don't think it's quite that simpl...more
دانش،پی بردن به آن چیزی است که میدانستی
انجام دادن،نشان دادن چیزی است که میدانی
تعلیم،یادآوری به دیگران است که خود آنها به همان حد خوبی که تو میدانی،میدانند
شما همگی یادگیرنده،انجام دهنده و معلمین هستید
تنها وظیفه شما در هر دوره زندگی،حقیقی بودن خودتان است
با حقیقت بودن با هرکس و هرجیز دیگر نه تنها ناممکن،بلکه نشانه یک مسیحای جعلی است
آسان ترین پرسشها عمیقترین آنست
کجا به دنیا آمده ای؟خانه ات کجاست؟
به کجا می روی؟چکار می کنی؟
گاهی در اینباره بیندیش و ...more
انجام دادن،نشان دادن چیزی است که میدانی
تعلیم،یادآوری به دیگران است که خود آنها به همان حد خوبی که تو میدانی،میدانند
شما همگی یادگیرنده،انجام دهنده و معلمین هستید
تنها وظیفه شما در هر دوره زندگی،حقیقی بودن خودتان است
با حقیقت بودن با هرکس و هرجیز دیگر نه تنها ناممکن،بلکه نشانه یک مسیحای جعلی است
آسان ترین پرسشها عمیقترین آنست
کجا به دنیا آمده ای؟خانه ات کجاست؟
به کجا می روی؟چکار می کنی؟
گاهی در اینباره بیندیش و ...more
This was actually a life-changing book. It was a book that opened my mind as to my own thought process when I came upon other individuals having challenges with life's journey. Here's a story I wrote about it (Not for eyes under 18):
JEALOUS OF THE DOG
I'm in love with a man who doesn't love me. Well, love is a strange word, a strong word, a poor-excuse-to-be-miserable word. He loves me as a friend, as a sister, as a pet, perhaps. I'm always around, following him ...more
JEALOUS OF THE DOG
I'm in love with a man who doesn't love me. Well, love is a strange word, a strong word, a poor-excuse-to-be-miserable word. He loves me as a friend, as a sister, as a pet, perhaps. I'm always around, following him ...more
Es klingt vielleicht bescheuert, aber oft lasse ich mich von dem Cover eines Buches beeinflussen, wenn ich sonst noch nichts über ein Buch weiß. Spricht mich die Gestaltung des Covers an, ist es wahrscheinlich, dass ich das Buch mit einer gewissen Vorfreude anfange zu lesen und bei gewissen Passagen im Buch einen Blick auf das Cover werfe, um das Gelesene mit dem gegebenen Versprechen auf dem Buchdeckel zu vergleichen.
Die Ausgabe, die ich von diesem Buch habe, ziert ein Foto, welches einen...more
Die Ausgabe, die ich von diesem Buch habe, ziert ein Foto, welches einen...more
Viraj
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
None
Recommended to Viraj by:
Swanand Sahasrabuddhe
Shelves:
novels
Overall: Boring…
Directly from the book (my comments in brackets):
Pg. Quoted
49 The best way to avoid responsibility is to say, “I’ve got responsibilities.”
75 Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they’re yours.
90 Negative attachments… If you really want to remove a cloud from your life, you don’t make a big production out of it; you just relax and remove it from your thinking.
92 You are never given a wish without also being give...more
Directly from the book (my comments in brackets):
Pg. Quoted
49 The best way to avoid responsibility is to say, “I’ve got responsibilities.”
75 Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they’re yours.
90 Negative attachments… If you really want to remove a cloud from your life, you don’t make a big production out of it; you just relax and remove it from your thinking.
92 You are never given a wish without also being give...more
Please note the shelves this book is on: It's much more "junk" than "fun." I received this as a gift, and it says on the cover, "The glorious best seller by Richard Bach author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull and One", which I think pretty much sums it up. The author's note in the beginning is pretentious drivel about "I never wanted to write another book again because it's just so hard, but these characters and this story were just begging to be let out of my...more
“Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself. Being true to anyone else or anything else is not only impossible, but the mark of a fake messiah.”
“Where were you born? Where is your home? Where are you going? What are you doing? Think about these once in a while, and watch your answers change.”
“There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts.”
“If you really want to remove a cloud fro...more
“Where were you born? Where is your home? Where are you going? What are you doing? Think about these once in a while, and watch your answers change.”
“There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts.”
“If you really want to remove a cloud fro...more
Richard Bach and Donald Shimoda, master and disciple. One, a messiah waiting to retire and the other reluctant to learn. Both barnstorming pilots in mid west America.
The book is about our perspectives and perceptions of reality, and a view that what we see around us is an illusion.. of our own making, a manifestation of what we want it to be.
Shimoda is tired of being a messiah as he thinks people are more interested in the miracles he shows them, than any understanding of what he's trying to s...more
The book is about our perspectives and perceptions of reality, and a view that what we see around us is an illusion.. of our own making, a manifestation of what we want it to be.
Shimoda is tired of being a messiah as he thinks people are more interested in the miracles he shows them, than any understanding of what he's trying to s...more
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah - first off, it is the very best title of any book EVER! Many of Bach's books I wrote off in my mind as somewhat 'self-help'-like in their mission, but there's something really deep and intellectual about his writings. JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL was the first book I ever read that showed me the meaning of symbolism (I was in 5th or 6th grade) - I still love the book because I learned about myself (self-help?!) - and ONE taught me about love an...more
Richard’s life of flying airplanes around Illinois change when he meets a man by the name of Donald Shimoda. They create a student-teacher relationship after Shimoda decides to leave his former job of being a messiah, to teach Richard about what he knows. Throughout the story, Richard reads passages from the ‘Messiah’s handbook’ that somehow tie into the things he is learning about his life, and about life in general. The more knowledge Shimoda passes on to Richard, the more Richard begins to cr...more
Richard Bach happens to be one of my favourite writers. He has a very lucid way of expressing his ideas. Philosophy is vague in general. He makes his stand on things crystal clear. There is very little circumlocution, which is my main complaint against philosophy "texts".
"Illusions" is a good read, for the interested. It appeals to the spiritual side of me, but overall, i wasn't blown away. There are a few quotes in the book that hit you where it hurts the most and make you r...more
"Illusions" is a good read, for the interested. It appeals to the spiritual side of me, but overall, i wasn't blown away. There are a few quotes in the book that hit you where it hurts the most and make you r...more
While I enjoyed Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull when I first read it as a teenager, it was both for its philosophy as well as for its gentle humor and simple (though not simplistic) view of the important things in life. I did not have as positive a reaction to Illusions. While it was mildly interesting to me, it seemed more like somewhat amateurish fiction than anything that was especially thought-provoking or developmental. There are some good quotes in the book, and it held my atten...more
I find it amazing that so many reviewers feel the same way that I do. I first read this book many years ago, and pick it up to re-read every so often. It's a simple read and yet it takes me a long time to get through it -- there are so many profound, insightful observations that I set the book aside and think about it. I feel so empowered by some sections. I actually learned how to float on my back after reading the chapter about walking on water! I just walked into the lake and did it (flo...more
"Remember where you came from, where you're going, and why you created the mess you got yourself into in the first place."
This is a very easy read and one of my all time favorite books that I have read over and over. The book starts out with the main character Richard who travels around in his biplane throught he midwest and sometimes gives paid rides to people. He makes friends with Donald Shimoda who is a mechanic and retired messiha. They begin to fly together and Donald...more
This is a very easy read and one of my all time favorite books that I have read over and over. The book starts out with the main character Richard who travels around in his biplane throught he midwest and sometimes gives paid rides to people. He makes friends with Donald Shimoda who is a mechanic and retired messiha. They begin to fly together and Donald...more
An interesting premise this story rests upon.
The first chapter really baffled me when I first read it - I really did not know what to expect out of the book, except that it was quirky enough I believed I would not like it. Especially the manner in which the words of the Bible were twisted just enough so as to give the exact opposite meaning - God giving all the choice to man, as versus Jesus acknowledging God's power over man, and that sort of thing - the entire chapter is filled with...more
The first chapter really baffled me when I first read it - I really did not know what to expect out of the book, except that it was quirky enough I believed I would not like it. Especially the manner in which the words of the Bible were twisted just enough so as to give the exact opposite meaning - God giving all the choice to man, as versus Jesus acknowledging God's power over man, and that sort of thing - the entire chapter is filled with...more
I didn't get why this book is so hyped. There is nothing new nothing special. Just usual boasting. Nothing is explained through out the book. Seems that he has just written whatever comes to his mind first no second thought. The book is small so it didn't hurt much and I have finished the book. Actually I was thinking that may be may be somewhere I will get something which will change my view about the book. This was third book from Richard Bach which I have read and apart from "Jonathan Li...more
What can one say about this book? I've always liked it but not exactly because if its content. Mind you, that's all right too. A little simplistic, but the main point's pretty obvious, and preachy when it comes down to it. Probably not a book for a devout believer, unless of course, he or she worships the idea of perfection and us as souls already there.
But for me, it's always been a very soothing sort of book. I read it when my life is in turmoil and always it helps me find balance ag...more
But for me, it's always been a very soothing sort of book. I read it when my life is in turmoil and always it helps me find balance ag...more
One of my favorite books from Richard Bach.
It is a mystical adventure story about two itinerant pilots who met in the field is Midwest USA and by the time develop a spiritual teacher-student relationship. In it, life and death, a philosophical theory that embraces mankind and makes the reader think about its world, its beliefs, its reason in this world.
"If your happiness depends on what somebody else does, I guess you do have a problem."
"The simples...more
It is a mystical adventure story about two itinerant pilots who met in the field is Midwest USA and by the time develop a spiritual teacher-student relationship. In it, life and death, a philosophical theory that embraces mankind and makes the reader think about its world, its beliefs, its reason in this world.
"If your happiness depends on what somebody else does, I guess you do have a problem."
"The simples...more
شبیه مشابه را جذب می کند.تنها همان که هستی،باقی بمان،آرام،شفاف و درخشان.اگر خود به خود،همانگونه که هستیم بدرخشیم و از خودمان هر دقیقه بپرسیم که واقعا چه می خواهیم بکنیم و زمانی که پاسخ درونی مثبت است آن کار را انجام دهیم،به طور خود به خود این موضوع،آن کسانی راکه در این مطلب"ما کی هستیم" چیزی برای یادگیری ندارند،دور کرده و آنهایی که یاد می گیریند،جذب خواهیم کرد و همانطور کسانی که مایلند از آنها بیاموزیم.
My favorite part of this book is the mini-story-within-a-story about the village of little critters clinging to the rocks and reeds on the river bottom. It pretty much sums up the singular spiritual wisdom i keep going back to... stop clinging, let go of the securities and comforts and knowns, be prepared to be dashed about painfully on the rocks. This is how to set the soul free. Such simple instructions, so easily implemented, yet so difficult to remember as i attach to mundane narratives and ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illusions | 8 | 76 | Aug 25, 2011 05:17am |
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Richard David Bach is widely known as the author of the hugely popular 1970s best-sellers Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Illusions, The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah and others. His books espouse his philosophy that our apparent physical limits and mortality are merely appearance. He claims to be a direct descendant of Johann Sebastian Bach. He is noted for his love of flying and for his books r...more
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“The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof.”
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227 people liked it
“You're never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true.”
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