Celestine Prophecy Essay, Research Paper

(NOTE: Book written in first person and the name of the narrator was never revealed, to avoid confusion he will be referred to as James, the authors first name)

1. James meets an old friend named Charlene who tells him of a manuscript consisting of nine insights that were recently found in the Peruvian countryside.

2. James decides to go to Peru in search of this manuscript and so James books a flight to Peru.

3. During the flight, James meets a scientist named Dobson who is also in search of the manuscript.

4. Dobson tells James of the first insight: all seeming coincidences in life are really events meant to happen, which directly reflects their meeting.

5. Once off the plane, James and Dobson have a run in with the local government and they loose contact.

6. After loosing contact with Dobson, James meets Wil, who leads him to a secret compound where the manuscript is being read and studied.

7. At the compound, James meets Julia and she tells him about the relationship between plants and the energy field.

8. James learns that the churches and governments of Peru don t like the manuscript and will do whatever it takes to keep it from the public.

9. While continuing his search around the countryside, James tries to learn more about the manuscript but ends up losing contact with Wil and being arrested by the government.

10. James is held at a facility run by priests, Through a past encounter James had discovered that his purpose in life was to learn what the church fears about the manuscript.

11. While held up in the facility James tries to convince the priest that their fears about the manuscript are unfounded

12. James escapes with another friend named Marjorie who is also being held at the facility.

13. James rejoins his past friends and ends up in a confrontation with the Cardinal of the church in Portugal

14. The Cardinal is unconvinced by James and his attempts to keep the Manuscript alive, James accomplishes nothing more than to convince the Cardinal to destroy all copies of the manuscript

15. James goes back to the U.S. to spread the message of the manuscript because the only place where it still existed was in the memories of the people who s eye s it had graced.

PASSAGE ANALYSIS

1.) “Life is about passing a spiritual test.” (Dobson, pg. 26)

Response: This passage is stated by Dobson, the first person that James, the author and main character, meets in the book . This passage is significant because it sends a message to the reader of what might come to follow in the book. James passing his spiritual quest and finding the truth about his life and reason for humanities existence.

2.) Passage: “Working to establish a more comfortable style of survival has grown to feel complete in and of itself as a reason to live, and we ve gradually, methodically, forgotten our original question… We ve forgotten that we still don t know what we re surviving for.” (Dobson, pg. 22)

Response: This passage refers to the lack of direction in society today. People seem to find making life easier and more luxurious in itself a reason to exist. We see it everywhere in today s society and as technology prospers so does this mislead way of life. The whole purpose of the manuscript was to tell humanity why it is still here. The search for the manuscript, in a way, is a search for the meaning of life as we know it. The manuscript represents the greater purpose in life, that which is beyond simply establishing “a more comfortable style of survival.”

3.) Passage: “We have found that when an individual walks up to another person and engages in a conversation… one of two things can happen. That individual can come away feeling strong or feeling weak, depending on what occurs in the interaction.” (Reneau, pg. 70)

Response: Reneau is explaining to James the theory behind the source of energy discussed in the Second Insight. Each person has their own individual energy. This statement simplifies all conflicts in the world to whether an individuals energy is lost or gained. The winner of the argument steals a large portion of the losers energy and leaves the other person feeling drained. The winner, with an abundance of energy leaves feeling good about his or herself. This explains the simple emotions and feelings felt by people, relating the amount of energy to the way one feels about his or herself.

4.) Passage: “We have a spiritual purpose, a mission, that we have been pursuing without being fully aware of it, and once we bring it completely into consciousness, our lives can take off.” (Father Carl, pg. 146)

Response: Until we discover what our spiritual purpose is, our lives will seem almost meaningless. It is not until we are able to discover our purpose in life is that we will be complete. Once our purpose in life is discovered everything will completely snap into place and we will be able to accomplish anything. This passage is significant because James had just discovered his spiritual purpose from Father Carl, to convince the church not to destroy the manuscript.

5.) Passage: “Isn t the story of the New Testament the story of a group of people being filled with some kind of energy that transformed them? Didn t Jesus, himself, say that what he did, we could do also, and more? We ve never really taken that idea seriously, not until now. We re only no w grasping what Jesus was talking about, where he was leading us. That manuscript clarifies what he meant! How to do it!” (Father Sanchez, pg. 236)

Response: The final insight of the manuscript refers to the movement to a higher consciousness and leaving the earth to achieve a higher plane. Sanchez is trying to convince the Cardinal of the Portuguese church that to move to a higher consciousness is to do what Jesus did and was beginning to teach us to do. The manuscript simply completes theses teachings. This higher consciousness is supposed to be the reason for existing, beyond simply existing to make life more enjoyable. This higher consciousness spoken of in the final insight represents the meaning of humanities existence, to reach a higher plain.