Are you here: Warmers for clothes

At the mention of the name Bach, everyone, as a rule, remembers the great composer. Meanwhile, a direct descendant of Johann Sebastian - Richard Bach - has achieved no less success than his musically gifted relative.

Seagull named Jonathan Livingston

Remember the philosophical tale-parable about a seagull named Jonathan Livingston? This work is now printed in school literature textbooks and is required reading. Since Richard Bach is seriously passionate about aviation, the theme of flight became the main theme in the story of the seagull, which brought him worldwide fame. Jonathan is small but wise, learns the intricacies of flight, learns the right attitude towards life.

“Gray boredom, and fear, and anger are the reasons why life is so short” - putting this thought into the head of his feathered hero, Richard Bach himself tried to live without boredom and fears. For those who sincerely love the sky, fears are unknown.

Aviation and writing "torn" Bach from two sides - in parallel with his military service, he worked as an editor in several publications, and soon, having started writing books, stepped aside from editorial activities and completely immersed himself in literature. His writing debut took place in 1963. The novel "Alien on Earth", in which aircraft play an important role, shows the reader that to overcome any doubts and fears, storms and winds - perhaps there would be a desire ...

But, nevertheless, it was "The Seagull named Jonathan" that contributed to significant changes in his life. On the set of the film adaptation of this work, he met his wife Leslie Parrish. She inspired the writer for several new books - thanks to Leslie, "The Bridge over Eternity" (1984) and "The Only One" (1988) appeared. The couple broke up in 1991, since then Bach did not marry anyone else, not seeing the point in it.

And his bold seagull still inspires everyone to believe in the triumph of justice and in the fact that meaning can be found everywhere and always. This fairy tale-parable has such a strong inspiring energy that to this day performances are staged based on it (in the theater "Saturday" and the theater under the direction of V. Spesivtsev). A restaurant in Novosibirsk was named after Jonathan, and one of the young rock bands from St. Petersburg is called Chaika Jonathan.

Illusions

Similar in energy to "The Seagull" and the work of "Illusions". This novel tells about a pilot who, for a certain amount, is ready to help people get off the ground. He is burdened by the fact that people have become too mundane, that fears have seized them. Together with his friend - messiah Donald Shimoda, the pilot is trying to understand why this happened; talks about his successes and failures. The writer himself once admitted: “what if someone suddenly appeared here who really would be a master of this business, who could tell me how my world works and how to manage it?”. He dreamed of a mentor, an older friend. And he embodied this dream on the pages of his novel.

“By defending your limitations, you deprive yourself of omnipotence” - this quote can be called the leitmotif of Bach's Illusions. With the help of his characters, he seems to be trying to wean the reader from the habit of fear. Break the shackles of circumstances.

The passion for flying reflected in the books symbolizes freedom and courage - something that lives in each of us. Of course, for Richard Bach himself, the words “freedom” and “courage” are also not an empty phrase.

Quotes from books by Richard Baz

Richard Bach "Jonathan Livingston Seagull"

Understand what you would like to do most in the world - and do it.

“There are no mistakes. The events that we attract into our lives, no matter how unpleasant they may be for us, are necessary for us to learn what we need to learn. Whatever our next step is, it is necessary in order to reach the place where we have chosen the path.

“You don't have to fight to live the life you want. Live the way you want and pay the required price for it, whatever that may be.”

“It is not given to us to comprehend the meaning of life, because it is incomprehensible, we know only one thing: we are thrown into this world to eat and stay alive as long as we have enough strength.”

Richard Bach "Illusions"

“Every person that comes into your life, everything that happens to you, everything that happens to you is because you brought them here. And what you do with all this next, you choose yourself.

"Don't turn your back on a possible future until you're sure there's nothing there for you to learn."

“You get used to loneliness, but it is enough to break it even for a day, and you will have to get used to it again, from the very beginning.”

“Live in such a way that you will never be ashamed if something you do or say becomes known to the whole world - even if what becomes known is not true.”

“The simplest questions are the hardest really. Where you were born? Where is your home? What are you doing? Where are you going? Think about it occasionally, and watch how your answers change."

Each dream is given to you along with the forces necessary to make it come true. However, you may have to work hard for this.

Richard Bach, "Bridge over Eternity"

“The best way to pay for an amazing moment is to simply enjoy it.”

"The only thing that destroys dreams is compromise."

To attract something into your life, imagine that it is already there.

“If you want someone to stay in your life, never be indifferent to him.”

If you want magic to enter your life, give up your protective gear.

“A kindred spirit is the one who has the keys to our locks, and whose locks fit our keys. When we feel so secure that we can open our locks, then our most authentic selves come out to meet each other and we can be completely and truly who we are. Then we are loved for who we are, and not for who we try to be. Each brings out the best in the other. And despite everything that makes us suffer, with this person we feel well-being as in paradise. A kindred spirit is someone who shares our deepest aspirations, the direction we have chosen. If the two of us are moving upwards like balloons, it is very likely that we have found the right person in each other. A kindred spirit is the one thanks to whom you begin to live an authentic life.

Reading time: 12 min

Why Richard Bach surprises himself and why The Seagull received 18 refusals - Alexei Kurilko and Anastasia Belousova figured it out.

Descendant of Johann Bach

Richard Bach: "We choose the next world according to what we have learned in this one"

LifeRead journalist Anastasia Belousova

"data-medium-file="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Nastya-site.jpg?fit=219%2C300&ssl=1" data-large- file="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Nastya-site.jpg?fit=727%2C998&ssl=1" class="alignleft wp-image-1217 jetpack-lazy-image" style="margin-right: 1em; float: left;" src="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1 %8F-%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82.jpg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1" alt="(!LANG:Anastasia Belousova" width="100" height="100" data-recalc-dims="1" data-lazy-srcset="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 150w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1 200w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1 400w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=60%2C60&ssl=1 60w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=30%2C30&ssl=1 30w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?zoom=3&resize=100%2C100&ssl=1 300w" data-lazy-sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px" data-lazy-src="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=100%2C100&is-pending-load=1#038;ssl=1" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7"> Знаю, Алексей Леонидович: ты не очень любишь этого писателя. Хотя с ним как минимум всегда весело. Например, если спросят, как зовут автора «Чайки по имени Джонатан Ливингстон» или «Иллюзии», можешь спокойно ответить — Иоганн Себастьян Бах. Поверь, найдутся те, кто скажет: «Да? Спасибо!» Им будет все равно, что между композитором Иоганном и писателем Ричардом пролегает небольшая пропасть — веков эдак в пять… Хотя, конечно, что такое пять веков по сравнению с вечностью? Гугл все сам найдет, покажет и расскажет.!}

By the way, Richard Bach also tells his legend about this. Like, when he was five or six years old, Uncle Martin, a traveler, came to their house. He put Richard on his knees and asked with a serious look: “Do you know that we are distant relatives of the great Johann Sebastian Bach?” The kid almost fell off his knees in surprise, but answered in the spirit of any self-respecting American: “Wow, I thought so! I love his music so much!” Richard Bach is not only a military pilot, writer and journalist, he is also a joker. The mystery of Uncle Martin has remained a mystery, or rather, a legend. Moreover, Johann Sebastian had more than 10 children ...

writer Alexei Kurilko

LifeRead journalist Anastasia Belousova

writer Alexei Kurilko

LifeRead journalist Anastasia Belousova

writer Alexei Kurilko

"data-medium-file="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Leshka-site.jpg?fit=276%2C300&ssl=1" data-large- file="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Leshka-site.jpg?fit=750%2C815&ssl=1" class="alignleft wp-image-1221 jetpack-lazy-image" src="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/%D0%9B%D0%B5%D1%88%D0%BA% D0%B0-%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82.jpg?resize=100%2C109&ssl=1" alt="(!LANG:Aleksey Kurilko" width="100" height="109" data-recalc-dims="1" data-lazy-srcset="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Лешка-сайт.jpg?resize=276%2C300&ssl=1 276w, https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Лешка-сайт.jpg?resize=768%2C834&ssl=1 768w, https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Лешка-сайт.jpg?w=890&ssl=1 890w" data-lazy-sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px" data-lazy-src="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Лешка-сайт.jpg?resize=100%2C109&is-pending-load=1#038;ssl=1" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7"> Ну, постольку-поскольку… Есть любимые произведения из классики. Бах — вернее, ни один из Бахов — не входит в число моих любимых композиторов. Но о его жизни я кое-что знаю, так как интересовался ею, когда готовился играть Баха в пьесе «Ужин в четыре руки». Это единственный спектакль в нашем театре («Черный квадрат». — Авт.), где мы практически не импровизируем, а играем строго по тексту. Там всего два героя — Бах и Гендель. Они жили и творили в одно время, были почти земляками, и каждый по-своему, что называется, выбился в люди. Но Гендель был обласкан славой, его музыка приносила ему баснословные деньги, он считался самым «высокооплачиваемым композитором» того времени. Тогда как о Бахе мир даже не знал ничего, хотя в родном городке, Лейпциге, его уважали. Тонкие ценители музыки предрекали ему всемирную славу лет этак через двести, когда человечество оценит сложность его композиций.!}

It almost happened! Just a little earlier. His sons, also musicians, tried to popularize their father's work. They performed his compositions, published works ... But their own popularity, they were also gifted with talents, almost overshadowed the dimmed glory of their father. Geniuses such as Mozart and Beethoven highly valued the works of precisely that Johann Sebastian Bach. But he was awarded worldwide fame only at the beginning of the 20th century.

LifeRead journalist Anastasia Belousova

writer Alexei Kurilko

speak in parables

LifeRead journalist Anastasia Belousova

"data-medium-file="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Nastya-site.jpg?fit=219%2C300&ssl=1" data-large- file="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Nastya-site.jpg?fit=727%2C998&ssl=1" class="alignleft wp-image-1217 jetpack-lazy-image" style="margin-right: 1em; float: left;" src="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1 %8F-%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82.jpg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1" alt="(!LANG:Anastasia Belousova" width="100" height="100" data-recalc-dims="1" data-lazy-srcset="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 150w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1 200w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1 400w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=60%2C60&ssl=1 60w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=30%2C30&ssl=1 30w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?zoom=3&resize=100%2C100&ssl=1 300w" data-lazy-sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px" data-lazy-src="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=100%2C100&is-pending-load=1#038;ssl=1" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7"> Да, запутаться можно. Но! Как говорил мой любимый Шерлок: «Когда артистизм в крови, он приобретает порой причудливые формы. Вопросы крови — самые запутанные вопросы в мире!» Да и какая нам разница — родственник он или просто однофамилец? От этого его «Чайка», «Мост через вечность», «Иллюзии» не станут лучше или хуже. Потому вернемся к твоей нелюбви к Ричарду Баху. Лично я этого писателя люблю. И, надеюсь, ты не собираешься меня разубеждать, что это новый вид литературы — расширенная повесть-притча или роман-притча… Притчами говорили восточные мудрецы. И что еще для меня ценнее — притчами говорил Христос. А в ХХ веке притчами заговорил Ричард Бах.!}

writer Alexei Kurilko

LifeRead journalist Anastasia Belousova

writer Alexei Kurilko

LifeRead journalist Anastasia Belousova

writer Alexei Kurilko

"data-medium-file="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Leshka-site.jpg?fit=276%2C300&ssl=1" data-large- file="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Leshka-site.jpg?fit=750%2C815&ssl=1" class="alignleft wp-image-1221 jetpack-lazy-image" src="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/%D0%9B%D0%B5%D1%88%D0%BA% D0%B0-%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82.jpg?resize=100%2C109&ssl=1" alt="(!LANG:Aleksey Kurilko" width="100" height="109" data-recalc-dims="1" data-lazy-srcset="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Лешка-сайт.jpg?resize=276%2C300&ssl=1 276w, https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Лешка-сайт.jpg?resize=768%2C834&ssl=1 768w, https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Лешка-сайт.jpg?w=890&ssl=1 890w" data-lazy-sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px" data-lazy-src="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Лешка-сайт.jpg?resize=100%2C109&is-pending-load=1#038;ssl=1" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7"> Различие в том, что Иисус Христос говорил с людьми притчами, чтобы люди лучше поняли его. Тогда как Бах, напротив, пишет притчи, чтобы каждый понял его по-своему! Да, и чтобы люди вернее усвоили его незнание… Это самая существенная и концептуальная разница между ними. И вот поэтому я его и не люблю. Вернее, ты не совсем точно выразилась — любовь или нелюбовь моя тут абсолютно ни при чем. Просто я не считаю его великим писателем. И даже хорошим писателем я бы его не назвал. Да он, собственно, и не писатель…!}

LifeRead journalist Anastasia Belousova

writer Alexei Kurilko

LifeRead journalist Anastasia Belousova

“The meaning of life is to achieve perfection and tell others about it”

writer Alexei Kurilko

The only thing that is more or less well done is "Jonathan the Seagull" - it can still be read. But whatever comes next sucks! And if Paulo Coelho, as snobs joke, is a philosophy for the poor, then Richard Bach is a philosophy for the same poor, but not in terms of money, but in terms of intelligence and education. Note: not the poor, but the poor. His readers have a mind, but, alas, it is clearly not enough.

LifeRead journalist Anastasia Belousova

"data-medium-file="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Nastya-site.jpg?fit=219%2C300&ssl=1" data-large- file="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Nastya-site.jpg?fit=727%2C998&ssl=1" class="alignleft wp-image-1217 jetpack-lazy-image" style="margin-right: 1em; float: left;" src="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1 %8F-%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82.jpg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1" alt="(!LANG:Anastasia Belousova" width="100" height="100" data-recalc-dims="1" data-lazy-srcset="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 150w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1 200w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1 400w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=60%2C60&ssl=1 60w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=30%2C30&ssl=1 30w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?zoom=3&resize=100%2C100&ssl=1 300w" data-lazy-sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px" data-lazy-src="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=100%2C100&is-pending-load=1#038;ssl=1" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7"> Алексей! Что ты такое говоришь? Он меня именно своим интеллектом и подкупил. То, что он пишет, многим помогает найти себя в жизни! Эти люди далеко не глупые, но им нужна литература, способная подтолкнуть их в верном направлении…!}

writer Alexei Kurilko

LifeRead journalist Anastasia Belousova

"data-medium-file="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Nastya-site.jpg?fit=219%2C300&ssl=1" data-large- file="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Nastya-site.jpg?fit=727%2C998&ssl=1" class="alignleft wp-image-1217 jetpack-lazy-image" style="margin-right: 1em; float: left;" src="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1 %8F-%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82.jpg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1" alt="(!LANG:Anastasia Belousova" width="100" height="100" data-recalc-dims="1" data-lazy-srcset="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 150w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1 200w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1 400w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=60%2C60&ssl=1 60w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=30%2C30&ssl=1 30w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?zoom=3&resize=100%2C100&ssl=1 300w" data-lazy-sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px" data-lazy-src="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=100%2C100&is-pending-load=1#038;ssl=1" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7"> Это называется «мотивационная литература». В вопросе мотивации, жизненных советов и стимулов для меня, например, «Чайка» — намного важнее и ценнее, чем «Анна Каренина», уж прости. Или даже наш предыдущий герой, . Я ищу в литературе легкость и желание идти дальше, зашитые в истории, которые помогут мне преодолеть трудности. В этом смысле Ричард Бах для меня очень дорог.!}

Engine of progress or consumer goods?

LifeRead journalist Anastasia Belousova

"data-medium-file="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Nastya-site.jpg?fit=219%2C300&ssl=1" data-large- file="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Nastya-site.jpg?fit=727%2C998&ssl=1" class="alignleft wp-image-1217 jetpack-lazy-image" style="margin-right: 1em; float: left;" src="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1 %8F-%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82.jpg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1" alt="(!LANG:Anastasia Belousova" width="100" height="100" data-recalc-dims="1" data-lazy-srcset="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 150w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1 200w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1 400w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=60%2C60&ssl=1 60w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=30%2C30&ssl=1 30w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?zoom=3&resize=100%2C100&ssl=1 300w" data-lazy-sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px" data-lazy-src="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=100%2C100&is-pending-load=1#038;ssl=1" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7"> Его «Чайка по имени Джонатан» как бы говорила на том языке, который заставляет меня подняться и идти дальше. Чайка не жует сопли. Он не сдается, он медленно, но верно идет к цели — к поиску своей уникальности и сути.!}

Richard Bach: "Your only obligation in this life is to be true to yourself"

“I wanted to write something even remotely similar, but I didn’t have such an interesting story as Tolstoy,” said Bach. “And then the inner voice that used to help me in flying said: “I will whisper them to you in a dream, but what will you do with them, Richard?” So he began to write ... And he likes to repeat one more phrase.

Richard Bach: “A professional writer is an amateur who has not stopped writing. When you want to learn something, you just need to practice this skill as often as you can - and you will become a pro in this matter. By asserting that you cannot do something, you deprive yourself of omnipotence.”

writer Alexei Kurilko

LifeRead journalist Anastasia Belousova

writer Alexei Kurilko

"data-medium-file="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Leshka-site.jpg?fit=276%2C300&ssl=1" data-large- file="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Leshka-site.jpg?fit=750%2C815&ssl=1" class="alignleft wp-image-1221 jetpack-lazy-image" src="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/%D0%9B%D0%B5%D1%88%D0%BA% D0%B0-%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82.jpg?resize=100%2C109&ssl=1" alt="(!LANG:Aleksey Kurilko" width="100" height="109" data-recalc-dims="1" data-lazy-srcset="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Лешка-сайт.jpg?resize=276%2C300&ssl=1 276w, https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Лешка-сайт.jpg?resize=768%2C834&ssl=1 768w, https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Лешка-сайт.jpg?w=890&ssl=1 890w" data-lazy-sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px" data-lazy-src="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Лешка-сайт.jpg?resize=100%2C109&is-pending-load=1#038;ssl=1" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7"> Нет, извини, не все мы, а большинство! И потом, кто его сравнивал с Иисусом? Я вот, когда узнал, что ты прочла, помимо «Чайки», «Иллюзии», и тебе понравилось, был в растерянности. Скачал «Иллюзии». Начал читать. И сразу начал скучать. Господи, на первой же странице начал скучать! Мог бы возникнуть вопрос: почему так? Как вообще такое возможно, что на первой же странице у меня пропадает к тексту интерес, потом я начинаю скучать, а потом — из-за этой скуки злиться…!}

“Every problem is fraught with a priceless gift. And you create problems for yourself - after all, you need these gifts. ”

But why ask these questions if the answers are given on the same ill-fated front page: “I don't like to write at all. If I have the strength to abandon an idea that has not been fully developed, then I will not even take a pencil in my hands ”...

Yes, he does not like to write! And it is felt! And if it weren’t for the need, he wouldn’t write… I don’t understand it already, I feel it… He thinks that he explained Chekhov’s law in other words, according to which he will be considered a writer: write only when you can’t stop writing. But in fact, he let it slip in incredibly strong vanity and did not even notice it!

Richard Bach: “I don't like to write at all. If I have the strength to abandon an idea that has not been fully developed, then I will not even pick up a pencil. But from time to time the wall of my house explodes with sparks, glass and broken bricks; someone makes their way through the rubble, grabs my throat and politely says: “I will not let you out of here until you put me on paper.”

Thus I came to Illusions. Vanity made him write the next book after the successful one and continues to force him further. You don't know what is the meaning of life? Who you are? Where do you go? What to do, how to live? Calm down! Get comfortable! I'll explain everything to you! I will take you to your destination! Do not be afraid, the crew commander, an experienced and happy aviator, is talking to you! And you will be! It's not hard, it's easy and enjoyable. Just relax. The flight time will be extended…” Etc. Is everything clear?

LifeRead journalist Anastasia Belousova

Richard Bach: “My heart bleeds when I see people who don’t know what they want, don’t know their way… If we don’t know what we love, how can we see the path ahead of us?”

Questions for which there are no answers

writer Alexei Kurilko

LifeRead journalist Anastasia Belousova

writer Alexei Kurilko

LifeRead journalist Anastasia Belousova

"data-medium-file="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Nastya-site.jpg?fit=219%2C300&ssl=1" data-large- file="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Nastya-site.jpg?fit=727%2C998&ssl=1" class="alignleft wp-image-1217 jetpack-lazy-image" style="margin-right: 1em; float: left;" src="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1 %8F-%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82.jpg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1" alt="(!LANG:Anastasia Belousova" width="100" height="100" data-recalc-dims="1" data-lazy-srcset="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 150w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1 200w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1 400w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=60%2C60&ssl=1 60w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=30%2C30&ssl=1 30w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?zoom=3&resize=100%2C100&ssl=1 300w" data-lazy-sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px" data-lazy-src="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=100%2C100&is-pending-load=1#038;ssl=1" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7"> Перестань, Алексей. Меня поражает, что он на вершине мастерства, на пике военной карьеры, в звании майора, вдруг оставляет ВВС, чтобы отдаться иному полету — писательству. Его вдруг заинтересовало, как черпается вдохновение, творческие силы. «Надо писать, веселиться и ни о чем не думать», — эти слова он прикрепил на свою печатную машинку.!}

writer Alexei Kurilko

"data-medium-file="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Leshka-site.jpg?fit=276%2C300&ssl=1" data-large- file="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Leshka-site.jpg?fit=750%2C815&ssl=1" class="alignleft wp-image-1221 jetpack-lazy-image" src="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/%D0%9B%D0%B5%D1%88%D0%BA% D0%B0-%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82.jpg?resize=100%2C109&ssl=1" alt="(!LANG:Aleksey Kurilko" width="100" height="109" data-recalc-dims="1" data-lazy-srcset="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Лешка-сайт.jpg?resize=276%2C300&ssl=1 276w, https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Лешка-сайт.jpg?resize=768%2C834&ssl=1 768w, https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Лешка-сайт.jpg?w=890&ssl=1 890w" data-lazy-sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px" data-lazy-src="https://i2.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Лешка-сайт.jpg?resize=100%2C109&is-pending-load=1#038;ssl=1" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7"> Хотя думать-то и не мешало бы… Например, подумать: а вдруг меня будет читать не только большинство, не знающие основ истории и развития философии, но те, кто читал до меня много других книг? Вдруг они расскажут, что ничего нового я не придумал? Что ни одна из моих мыслей не смеет претендовать на звание оригинальной? И что вся моя литература слишком деланна и вторична! Что тогда? Меня перестанут читать? А потом издавать? И я вернусь к тому, с чего начинал…!}

Letters from readers and 18 rejections from The Seagull

LifeRead journalist Anastasia Belousova

"data-medium-file="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Nastya-site.jpg?fit=219%2C300&ssl=1" data-large- file="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Nastya-site.jpg?fit=727%2C998&ssl=1" class="alignleft wp-image-1217 jetpack-lazy-image" style="margin-right: 1em; float: left;" src="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1 %8F-%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82.jpg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1" alt="(!LANG:Anastasia Belousova" width="100" height="100" data-recalc-dims="1" data-lazy-srcset="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 150w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1 200w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1 400w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=60%2C60&ssl=1 60w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=30%2C30&ssl=1 30w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?zoom=3&resize=100%2C100&ssl=1 300w" data-lazy-sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px" data-lazy-src="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=100%2C100&is-pending-load=1#038;ssl=1" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7"> Кстати, да, Алексей: поначалу его печатали, он приобрел некий вес. А вот «Чайку по имени Джонатан Ливингстон» не брался печатать никто. Ему отказали 18 издательств!!! У другого бы опустились руки, но Бах говорит так:!}

“If you love something very much and want to give it to the world, something strange will happen to you. An idea always gathers around itself those who will help it come true. And it works with the help of ... Coincidences. Coincidences always come to the rescue"

“If I tell someone at least once something from a book, I become uninterested in writing,” Richard Bach admitted. — The book should be interesting. And for this she must surprise me, otherwise she will not be able to surprise anyone. But I don't write for everyone, only for those who are curious. Who works on his life like a sculptor on marble.

Richard Bach has a whole theory about coincidences and accidents. After 18 rejections, Bach wrote to the editor of one of the "rejected" publishers, asking him to look at his manuscript. After reading, she flew into the office of the general director of the publishing house with a manuscript in her hands. In the end, it was approved. But the author had to work hard to sell the book.

writer Alexei Kurilko

Richard Bach: “For thousands of years we have been searching for fish heads, but now it is finally clear why we live: to learn, to discover new things, to be free!”

And I want to ask Bach: if this is so, then why are you not trying to discover something new and be free from public opinion? Because he needs public attention! He needs the interest of this most despised gray Pack, that's all! Already the cheekbones are reduced from indignation and disgust from how simply he makes you all!

LifeRead journalist Anastasia Belousova

"data-medium-file="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Nastya-site.jpg?fit=219%2C300&ssl=1" data-large- file="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Nastya-site.jpg?fit=727%2C998&ssl=1" class="alignleft wp-image-1217 jetpack-lazy-image" style="margin-right: 1em; float: left;" src="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1 %8F-%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82.jpg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1" alt="(!LANG:Anastasia Belousova" width="100" height="100" data-recalc-dims="1" data-lazy-srcset="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 150w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1 200w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1 400w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=60%2C60&ssl=1 60w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=30%2C30&ssl=1 30w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?zoom=3&resize=100%2C100&ssl=1 300w" data-lazy-sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px" data-lazy-src="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=100%2C100&is-pending-load=1#038;ssl=1" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7"> Знаешь, Алексей, ты напоминаешь мою учительницу русской литературы. Когда мы принесли ей «Чайку», она пообещала ее прочесть, а на следующий день вернула: «Хорошая книга для подростков. Но я достаточно взрослая, чтобы восторгаться этим». Когда недавно мне нужно было перечитать «Иллюзии», я отчасти тоже боялась, что не смогу… Но мне снова понравилось.!}

writer Alexei Kurilko

LifeRead journalist Anastasia Belousova

"data-medium-file="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Nastya-site.jpg?fit=219%2C300&ssl=1" data-large- file="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Nastya-site.jpg?fit=727%2C998&ssl=1" class="alignleft wp-image-1217 jetpack-lazy-image" style="margin-right: 1em; float: left;" src="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1 %8F-%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82.jpg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1" alt="(!LANG:Anastasia Belousova" width="100" height="100" data-recalc-dims="1" data-lazy-srcset="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 150w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1 200w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1 400w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=60%2C60&ssl=1 60w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=30%2C30&ssl=1 30w, https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?zoom=3&resize=100%2C100&ssl=1 300w" data-lazy-sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px" data-lazy-src="https://i1.wp.com/liferead.media/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Настя-сайт.jpg?resize=100%2C100&is-pending-load=1#038;ssl=1" srcset="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7"> Твои слова мне напомнили, как Бах рассказывал о злых письмах от читателей. Как-то он вскрыл конверт, а там его «Чайка», изрезанная на мелкие кусочки, с запиской: «Вот что я думаю о вашей книге!» Так что да, и такое бывает.!}

Oct 28, 2016

Seagull Jonathan Livingston. Illusions. Messiah's Pocket Guide Richard Bach

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Title: Seagull Jonathan Livingston. Illusions. Messiah's Pocket Guide

About Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Illusions. Messiah's Pocket Guide by Richard Bach

Seagull Jonathan Livingston. Illusions. The Messiah's Pocket Guide” are works on which more than one generation has grown up. Author Richard Bach is a recognized American writer, philosopher and publicist. His books inspire and evoke indescribable emotions.

The first book of the collection tells about the boundless spiritual freedom. "The Seagull Jonathan Livingston" is a story-parable that calls for self-improvement. Richard Bach wrote it in 1970. Two years later, the book entered the New York Times bestseller list.

In the center of the plot of the work is a seagull named Jonathan Livingston. The hero does not understand and rejects the way of life of other seagulls. He sees meaningless simple existence, the purpose of which is the struggle for survival. Therefore, the seagull decides to devote himself to flying. For the hero, this has become not just a way to fish - but a real art.

Soon the seagull is driven out of the flock, and he becomes a hermit. But the character does not feel alone. He devotes his life entirely to the skill of flying. The fate of the hero changes when he finds seagulls with the same zeal for self-improvement.

The plot of the work "Illusions" develops around an ordinary pilot. The hero earns his living by flying. And then one day he meets an unusual man named Donald Shimod. It turned out that the character looks at the world in a completely different way. Moreover, it can work real miracles. The hero understands that every person is capable of magic - you just need to believe. The book is filled with allegories and hides subtle discussions about the psychology of Americans.

"Messiah's Pocket Guide" is closely intertwined with the work "Illusions". Messiah Donald Shimod used a certain reference book. Then he disappeared for two decades, after which he finally showed up. What is this mysterious guide? To understand this, follow the instructions: ask the right question, close your eyes, open the guide to any page. You will know the answer, and all doubts will immediately evaporate. The directory works flawlessly, giving hope and enlightenment to everyone.

If you are looking for inspiration in fiction, Richard Bach will not disappoint you. His works are filled with dreams, aspirations and desires. The author is not only a good writer, but also a competent psychologist. Each story will change something in your mind and give you hope.

On our site about books, you can download the site for free without registration or read the online book “The Seagull Jonathan Livingston. Illusions. Messiah's Pocket Guide" by Richard Bach in epub, fb2, txt, rtf, pdf formats for iPad, iPhone, Android and Kindle. The book will give you a lot of pleasant moments and a real pleasure to read. You can buy the full version from our partner. Also, here you will find the latest news from the literary world, learn the biography of your favorite authors. For novice writers, there is a separate section with useful tips and tricks, interesting articles, thanks to which you can try your hand at writing.

Quotes from Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Illusions. Messiah's Pocket Guide by Richard Bach

New horizons, new questions.

Every turn you fear is just a void that pretends to be an insurmountable hell.

Your only obligation throughout your life is to be yourself.

A subtle twist today will lead you to a dramatic different tomorrow.

Acting ordinary is okay, as long as you don't feel ordinary.

Anger is always fear, and fear is always fear of loss.

Life tells you nothing, it shows everything.

True love will never make a man leave his path.

Ignorance of the truth does not prevent it from being the truth.

You can. For you have gained knowledge.

Download free book "The Seagull Jonathan Livingston. Illusions. Messiah's Pocket Guide by Richard Bach

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Richard Bach is a born dreamer and inventor. Despite the fact that most of his books are emphatically autobiographical, all the facts here are invariably seasoned with a fair dose of fiction, and it often seems that he is simply mystifying the reader. This fully applies to the mysterious story associated with the most famous book by Bach - the story "A Seagull named Jonathan Livingston".

2.2 The system of images, conflict, symbolism in the story "A Seagull named Jonathan Livingston"

One day, walking along the foggy bank of the Belmont Shore California canal, Bach heard a voice that said the words: "A seagull named Jonathan Livingston." In obedience to this voice, Bach hurried home, sat down at his desk and wrote down the vision that passed before his inner eye like a movie. But the vision was short, and there was no continuation. Bach tried to compose the story on his own, but he did not succeed - until, eight years later, he dreamed of a continuation. In 1970 "The Seagull" was published as a separate edition and immediately became a bestseller. Perhaps there is no need to retell here its simple plot; we confine ourselves to a few remarks concerning the proper philosophical side of this allegorical tale.

The story of Jonathan the Seagull is, in fact, the story of a bodhisattva, a Buddhist saint who was able to free himself from the fetters of earthly conventions, but returned to Earth in order to help free other suffering beings. Here there is severe asceticism, and asceticism, and miracles, and the idea that Knowledge can be transferred only to those who are already ready to accept it. Echoes of Buddhist philosophy are heard very clearly in the story; sometimes it is present here even in the form of almost literal quotes:

"Most of us move forward so slowly. We move from one world to another, almost the same, and immediately forget where we came from; we don't care where we are led, we only care about what is happening right now. Can you imagine how many lives do we have to live before we have the first vague idea that life is not limited to food, fighting and power in the Pack. Thousand lives, Jonathan, ten thousand! And then a hundred more, before we begin to understand that there is something called perfection, and a hundred more, until we are convinced that the meaning of life is to achieve perfection and tell others about it.The same law, of course, applies here: we choose the next world in accordance with what we have learned in this one. If we have not learned anything, the next world will be just like this one, and we will have to overcome the same obstacles again with the same lead weights on our paws.

Moreover, the liberation that Bach speaks of is not at all a liberation from being, and not even a liberation from one's own "I". “Your entire body from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other is nothing but your thought, expressed in a form accessible to your vision. Break the chains that bind your thought, and you will break the chains that bind your body,” Jonathan tells his students. Realizing the world as his illusion, a person acquires qualitatively new opportunities and, ultimately, finds himself in a new world, which gives him even more opportunities for self-improvement. In "The Seagull" this world is called Heaven; however, Heaven is not at all the limit of achievable perfection. There is no limit: "what the caterpillar calls the End of the World, the Master will call a butterfly"; but each butterfly is just a caterpillar for the next stage of development.

Such a picture of the world is drawn to us by Richard Bach; and I must say, some find it quite inspiring. "The Seagull" helps people look at all the problems of everyday life as if "from a bird's eye view, realize the power of their consciousness and believe in the power of their own spirit. "This book by Richard Bach has a double effect," wrote the famous American science fiction writer Ray Bradbury. “She gives me the feeling of flying and gives me back my youth.”

The main symbol, a wide strip passing through all the work of Richard Bach, is the sky. The theme of flights, sky, horizons is found, if not on every page of his works, then on every second one for sure.

The sky is not just a metaphor that runs through all the work of Richard Bach. The sky is his life; he flew hundreds of times into the sky - in gliders, in light aircraft made of wood and fabric, in combat fighters and high-speed airliners. He is extremely realistic about everything related to flying - from aerodynamics to the flight qualities of aircraft engines. But at the same time, he believes that "people could not fly for a long time. Because they were sure that this was impossible, and that is why they did not know the simplest first principle of aerodynamics. I would like to believe that there is another principle: we do not need planes to fly "or visit other planets. We can learn to do it without machines. If we want to."

And not only to fly: Richard Bach is sure that a person can do everything that he is able to imagine. The idea that sustains this confidence in him is that the whole reality of our world is just an illusion, and if we are well aware of this, we can master it and do whatever we want with it. This idea formed the basis of most of his books and, obviously, largely determined the course of his life.

2.3 Universal and spiritual values of the doctrine as the main criterion for "Illusions" by R. Bach

To consider this aspect of the work of the great American writer, we must undoubtedly plunge into the world that the protagonist of the work "Illusions" Donald Shimoda, the wandering Messiah, offers us.

Donald Shimoda calls himself "the reluctant messiah". He says that all people are children of God, and that each of them is able to do whatever he wants. But his mission fails: even Richard Bach, Shimoda's most capable student, having learned several miracles, never gained true omnipotence. Shimoda claims that human life is like a movie, and each of us watches exactly the movie that he wanted to see. Thus, all the troubles and tragedies that happen to us in life are just the consequences of the perversion of our taste (for example, an addiction to tragedies or horrors) or an insufficiently successful choice of film. But we should remember that we ourselves compose our films and act in them ourselves, and therefore we can change them at any time.

Another time, he teaches Richard how to walk on the surface of a pond. He explains to him that water "is neither solid nor liquid. You and I decide what it will be for us. If you want water to be liquid, act as if it were liquid, drink it. If you want it to be air, act like it's air, breathe it. Try it." After Richard actually manages to walk on water and breathe water, he has a question: is it possible to do the same with land: And Donald Shimoda shows him the following: "He easily approached the shore, as if walking on a painted lake. But at the moment when his feet stepped on the coastal sand, he began to sink and, after taking a few steps, he went shoulder-deep into the earth covered with grass. It seemed that the pond suddenly turned into an island, and the land around became the sea. He swam a little in the pasture, splashing and raising dark greasy splashes, then floated on its very surface, and then got up and walked along it. Unexpectedly, I saw a miracle: a man was walking on the ground! ".

"There are better ways to move mountains," Shimoda says in response to a remark about a powerful tractor that can move a mountain. Further, emphasizing the well-known gospel motif, grain also appears - however, not mustard, but sesame, and moreover, in a rather unexpected context. "If you have an imagination the size of a sesame seed, nothing is impossible for you," says Shimoda. For him, faith and imagination are synonymous; but the second word, in his opinion, more accurately reflects the essence of the matter.

All imaginary miracles are real insofar as they are performed in an imaginary reality. Each of us is free to fill this reality with wonders and adventures - or make it limited and colorless and earn our bread by the sweat of our brows. "In order to be free and happy," he wrote in his pocket Messiah's Handbook, "you must sacrifice boredom. Such a sacrifice is not always easy to make." And indeed: while Shimoda himself works miracles, everyone treats him with reverence, as a new Christ. But as soon as he says to people, "Try it yourself," they become indignant; some even call him the Antichrist.

These lines from R. Bach's story "Illusions, or the Adventures of the Messiah Willy-nilly" can serve as the key to the work and fate of the writer.

The sky is not just a metaphor that runs through all the works of Richard Bach. The sky is his life; he flew hundreds of times into the sky in gliders and light aircraft made of wood and fabric, in combat fighters and high-speed airliners. He was extremely realistic about everything related to flights - from aerodynamics to the flight qualities of aircraft engines. But at the same time, he believed: “people could not fly for a long time, /…/ because they were sure that it was impossible, and that is why they did not know the simplest first principle of aerodynamics. I would like to believe that there is another principle: we do not need airplanes to fly /…/ or visit other planets. We can learn to do this without machines. If we want." We can learn more than just fly. Richard Bach is sure that a person can do everything that he is able to imagine. The idea that supports this belief in him is that the entire reality of our world is just an illusion, and if we are well aware of this, we can master reality and do whatever we want with it. This idea formed the basis of most of his books and, obviously, largely determined the course of his life.

Richard Bach (born in 1938) is a hereditary small-engine pilot. At the age of eighteen, he first sat at the helm of an airplane and since then he has practically never parted with the sky. With the exception of a short service in the US Air Force, his entire life was associated with small, light-weight "pleasure" aircraft. In these machines, sometimes very old and unreliable, he often flew all over America from west to east or circled the fields of the Midwest for months, arranging paid air rides for local farmers. Sometimes he had to do more unusual work: for example, to participate in the filming of air battles for the films Von Richtofen and Brown. In addition, from time to time he wrote short essays, articles and stories on aviation issues in various specialized journals, where they were sometimes published.
Richard Bach is a born dreamer and inventor. Despite the fact that most of his books are emphatically autobiographical, all the facts are seasoned with a fair amount of fiction and it often seems that he simply mystifies the reader. This fully applies to the mysterious story associated with Bach's most famous book - the story "A Seagull named Jonathan Livingston".
One day, walking along the foggy bank of the Belmont Shore California canal, Bach heard a voice that said the words: "A seagull named Jonathan Livingston." In obedience to this voice, Bach hurried home, sat down at his desk and wrote down the vision that passed before his inner eye like a movie. But the vision was short, and there was no continuation. Bach tried to compose the story on his own, but he did not succeed - until eight years later he dreamed of a sequel. In 1970, The Seagull was published as a separate edition and immediately became a bestseller. This book made the name of the great-great-great-grandson of Johann Sebastian Bach famous not only in the United States, but also in many countries of the world. The commercial side of the success of The Seagull (only the sale of copyright brought Bach over a million dollars) helped the writer put into practice one of the famous formulas: "Understand what you would like to do more than anything in the world - and do it." He returned to flying, already as an amateur pilot, and tried aircraft of various types and models, went in for parachuting, learned to fly a yacht. He made a film based on his story "Nothing Accidental" and played one of the roles in it. Richard Bach did not leave all these years and literary work, writing a number of books. Of these, two received the greatest fame and recognition - "Illusions, or the Adventures of the Messiah Involuntarily" (1977) and the fictionalized autobiography "Bridge over Eternity" (1987) .

The plot of the story "A Seagull named Jonathan Livingston" is straightforward: the seagull Jonathan Livingston brings his flying skills to perfection, but, faced with a hostile Flock, he finally turns into an outcast, seems to die and moves to Heaven, where he finds his true brothers, the true Flock , but returns from this bird Paradise to pass on his knowledge to all who are thirsty. However, the story is rightly referred to as an allegory or a parable, since its philosophical side is far from simple. So, it has long been noted that the story of Jonathan the seagull is, in fact, the story of a bodhisattva, a Buddhist saint who was able to free himself from the fetters of earthly conventions, but returned to Earth in order to help free other suffering beings. Here there is severe asceticism, and asceticism, and miracles, and the idea that Knowledge can be transferred only to those who are already ready to accept it. Echoes of Buddhist philosophy are heard very clearly in the story, sometimes it is present here even in the form of almost literal quotes - for example, the belief in multiple rebirths experienced by every living being is expressed: “Most of us move forward so slowly. We pass from one world to another, almost the same, and immediately forget where we came from; we don't care where they lead us, we only care about what's happening right now. You can imagine how many lives we have to live before we have the first vague idea that life is not limited to food, fight and power in the Pack. A thousand lives, John, ten thousand. And then a hundred more before we begin to understand that there is something called perfection, and another hundred, until we are convinced that the meaning of life is to achieve perfection and tell others about it. The same law, of course, applies here: we choose the next world according to what we have learned in this one. If we have not learned anything, the next world will be the same as this one, and we will have to overcome the same obstacles again with the same lead weights on our paws, ”says Jonathan, who has already fallen into another, not earthly world, his mentor Sullivan.

However, even from this fragment it is clear that the philosophy of Richard Bach differs significantly from Buddhism. Buddhists say that suffering is an inevitable companion of being; the liberation to which they aspire is the complete cessation of being, the return of the personality to the original and impersonal Void underlying all things. We will not find anything similar in R. Bach. First of all, he denies the tragedy of being. “Your ignorance is measured by how deeply you believe in injustice and human tragedy,” all his books convince the reader. According to Bach, we ourselves create all the problems and misfortunes for ourselves, because we do not know any other way of existence or consider it reprehensible. A world beyond our fantasies, a world where we are all doomed to work for our own survival, is a perfect excuse for the laziness and timidity of our imagination. In addition, the liberation that Bach speaks of is not at all a liberation from being, and not even a liberation from one's own "I". “Your entire body from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other is nothing but your thought, expressed in a form accessible to your vision. Break the chains that bind your thought, and you will break the chains that bind your body” (117), Jonathan tells his students. Realizing the world as his own illusion, a person acquires qualitatively new opportunities and eventually finds himself in a new world, which gives him even more opportunities for self-improvement. In The Seagull this world is called heaven; however, heaven is not at all the limit of achievable perfection. There is no limit: “What the caterpillar calls the End of the World, the Master will call a butterfly,” says the hero of Illusions, but each butterfly is just a caterpillar for the next stage of development.

Bach's story is also permeated with the ideas of Zen Buddhism: for example, Jonathan experiences a mystical experience of experiencing the Highest Reality - a flash of comprehension outside of time and beyond the limitations of individual consciousness; this mystical experience is commonly referred to as awakening. Meditation is an indispensable path in achieving a direct experience of the Supreme Reality. All the great achievements of mankind were created in inspired moments when the mind of the creator was in a state of deep contemplation, strikingly different from the usual state of consciousness. Bach's hero is also depicted in a state of altered consciousness, when the meditator experiences a kind of "floating" that opens other worlds to him. (“And then one evening, when Jonathan soared calmly and alone in the sky that he loved so much, they flew in. The two white gulls that appeared near his wings shone like stars and illuminated the darkness of the night with a soft, caressing light”; “ The events of his earthly life were pushed farther and farther away.He learned a lot on Earth, it is true, but the details were hardly remembered ... " / 49, 65 /.)

Bach expresses all these most complex philosophical ideas with the help of artistic forms. Thus, the author gives the moment of Jonathan's transformation through the realization of the metaphor of enlightenment: "His white feathers sparkled and sparkled, and his wings became impeccably smooth, like polished records." The change in the hero's consciousness is emphasized by the metaphors of light and height: “At dawn, Jonathan resumed his training. From a height of five thousand feet, the fishing boats looked like slivers on the blue surface of the sea, and the Flock at breakfast looked like a light cloud of dancing dust particles” (33); the vanity of the illusory world, which imagines itself to be real, is emphasized by the images of “slivers”, “a light cloud of dancing dust particles”. Very often, the literal and metaphorical meanings of the word merge: the real wind picks up a daring seagull, a powerful gust picks up the one who dares to find out (“Good intentions are forgotten, carried away by a swift hurricane wind ... Such promises bind seagulls, the knot of which is mediocrity. For one who strives for knowledge and once reached perfection, they do not matter " / 33 /).

In this state, something that had no special meaning for the hero before (a fishing boat feeding the Flock, or bad weather fettering other seagulls) simply disappears: “When /…/ he was finally able to spread his wings, the vessel was /…/ below him and seemed like a dot on the surface of the sea”; “... He flew in full sea fog and broke through it to a clear, dazzlingly shining sky /... / at the very time when other seagulls huddled to the ground, not suspecting that there was something in the world other than fog and rain” ( 45).

The expression of the idea of infinite improvement in cognition determines the features of the composition of the story. The first part depicts the spiritual awakening of an extraordinary being, all the earthly stages of his craving for something else. At first, "he couldn't do anything" - neither stop being a seagull ("Why don't you let the pelicans and albatrosses fly over the water?"), nor remain one ("for several days he tried to do the same as everyone else, tried his best strength..."). “Curved wings”, a metaphor for uncertainty, makes flying difficult, does not allow you to know the sky (“wind”) and the ocean (“curved wings slowed down, and he flew so slowly that the wind barely whispered in his ear, and the ocean seemed to be motionless under him " / 13 /. It is useless to ask the hero "why?" (He is echoed by the tragicomic "why?" of anxious parents) until he decides to become himself, i.e. become "inquisitive". With the rejection of everything obsolete ( own "decrepit body", a hostile Pack, consciousness of his limitations) Jonathan ends his earthly existence.

The second part is devoted to the image of the beautiful "heaven" and the realization that "heaven is not a place and not a time. Heaven is the attainment of perfection." This explains the strange, at first glance, movement of Jonathan leaving the Earth (“He took one last long look at the sky, at this magnificent silver country where he learned so much”; “And Jonathan Livingston rose up with two seagulls, bright as two stars, and disappeared in the impenetrable darkness of the sky” /33/): he falls from heaven to heaven; it is strange to define the sky as both brightly lit and impenetrably dark at the same time. This logical inconsistency should emphasize the difference between the two worlds and the last earthly sensations of a being saying goodbye to the Earth.

"Heaven" helps Jonathan to realize the main thing: "I am created perfect, my possibilities are limitless, I am a Seagull!"; to realize that, having perfectly mastered the technique of flight, he is prepared to “fly up”, that is, to understand kindness and love.

The story of Fletcher Lind's terrestrial gull, which concludes the second part of the story, is a brief outline of the story of Jonathan's terrestrial life, with the essential difference that Fletcher is overly self-confident (“He /…/ was still a young gull, but already knew that there was no bird in the world, who would have to endure such mistreatment by the Pack") and conceited ("Don't they see how famous we'll be if we actually learn to fly?"). But the main thing is that he finds a Teacher who helps him to make a “swing up”.

The third part is built on revealing a false and true understanding of the essence of flight, hence the opposition: students - Teacher, initiates - uninitiated. The author emphasizes that the difference between the disciples and the Teacher is not so great (after all, Jonathan also has a Teacher - first Sullivan, then Chiang), there is no gap between initiates and initiates, since in the main they are one - they decided to break with the routine of everyday life; but fundamentally their difference from the unenlightened, rejecting knowledge. Not only the body is involved in the process of cognition (Jonathan and his associates are constantly improving the flight technique), the intellect (the questions “what is it?” “how to do it?”) are invariably heard, but also the spirit; therefore, to approach Knowledge is to gain wholeness.
This acquisition is given through the metaphor of flight, because for Jonathan everything in the existence of a seagull is flight, but even his students do not immediately decide to accept it: “... None of them /…/ - could imagine that the flight of ideas is the same reality like the wind, like the flight of a bird."

“Your whole body from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other,” Jonathan repeated over and over again, “is nothing but your thought, expressed in a form accessible to your vision. Break the chains that bind your thought, and you will break the chains that bind your body...
But no matter what examples he gave, the students perceived his words as an amusing invention, and they most of all wanted to sleep” (117).

And only when the seagulls realize that they are free, they are able to fly even with damaged wings, as happens with Maynard, one of Jonathan's students. The following significant dialogue takes place between them:

“- Maynard, you are free, you have the right to live here and now as your “I”, your true “I” tells you, and nothing can stop you ...
- Are you saying that I can fly?
- I say that you are free.
As easy and simple as it was said, Kirk Maynard spread his wings - without the slightest effort! - and rose into the dark night sky" (128-129).

In the third part of the story, the gospel allusions are most distinct, since it is here that the development of the theme of confrontation between Jonathan and the inert Pack reaches its climax: a gigantic knife raised over their heads" (121). Jonathan's students are still unable to overcome the rigidity of thinking, still halfway to understanding ( “Can we learn to fly like you? came a voice from the crowd of seagulls to Jonathan. - You are special, you are talented, you are extraordinary, you are not like others. - Look at Fletcher! To Lowell! To Charles Roland! To Judy Lee! Are they also special, also talented and extraordinary? No more than you and no more than me. The only difference between them, the one and only difference, is that they have begun to understand who they are, and they have begun to behave like seagulls. His students, with the exception of Fletcher, moved restlessly. They weren't sure this was the case." /132-133/).

However, Bach is not going to show Jonathan as a tragic figure: next to him is the talented Fletcher, who no longer believes in the legends that the Teacher is the “Son of the Great Seagull”, but still doubts whether Jonathan was “outstripped” by “his time by a thousand years” . Their conversation is given in a certain context - “after Training Flights at High Speeds”, therefore, Jonathan answers the traditional “misunderstanding” only with a “sigh”, and the student’s lucky guess (“maybe we /…/ got ahead of the usual ideas about the flight of seagulls” ), as well as to his unifying “we”, reacts completely comically: “This is already something,” said Jonathan, rolled over his wing and glided up in the air with his paws for a while (133).

Undoubtedly, the hero's understanding of true love is closer to the teachings of Christ than orthodox ideas about Christian love (“I don’t understand how you can love a mad flock of birds that just tried to kill you. - Oh, Fletch! You should not love a mad flock of birds! You don't have to return love for hatred and malice at all.You have to train and see a truly good seagull in each of these birds and help them see the same seagull in themselves.That's what I call love.I wonder when you will finally understand this. ?” /143/). It is also true that the hero of Bach is still not very similar to Christ: for a Christian, life is a test to which his virtue is subjected; for Jonathan, it's a training flight that can always be improved. The cyclical composition of the story makes it possible to understand this idea more precisely: flight training of various heroes is shown many times - from the enlightened to those still in the darkness of ignorance, many stages of knowledge are shown, and the endlessness of this process is shown. Therefore, the story ends with a symbolic scene of eternal flight - knowledge - love: “Fletcher ... suddenly saw them all [students - Etc.] as they really were, he saw for a moment, but at that moment he not only liked them - he loved them all. "There's no limit, Jonathan?" he thought with a smile. And he rushed in pursuit of knowledge” (151).

It is fair to consider the work of Richard Bach one of the most profound and inspiring philosophical allegories of the twentieth century. The path of the hero of the story is the path to freedom and unlimited possibilities of the human person. “Asserting that you cannot do something, you deprive yourself of omnipotence” - this is the author's credo; and he convincingly proves the practical value of this postulate. Bach is a storyteller and a science fiction writer, but his fantasies bring the reader closer to that True Reality, which is hidden from our eyes by the veil of everyday life. True, in order to achieve the Truth, one must make a considerable sacrifice - courageously reject boredom, that is, the limitedness and colorlessness of one's existence, and decide to fill it with miracles and adventures.

“This book by Richard Bach has a double impact,” wrote the famous American science fiction writer Ray Bradbury. “She gives me the feeling of Flying and gives me back my youth.”

R. Bach. Seagull named Jonathan Livingston // Per. from English. Y. Rodman; S.-Pb., 2002. P.71. (Further references to this edition are given by indicating the page in the text of the article).

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