Viva Voce Q&a’s

QUESTION ONE: AREA OF STUDY - IMAGINATIVE JOURNEYS

1. What do you understand the concept of the journey to be and how does it fit into the idea of imaginative?

My understanding of a journey is that it is a process of change an individual can experience. The change can be in the environment, by moving physically, or in the persons emotional feelings or by being moved intellectually, being in a way that their own understanding of their surroundings and situations is changed.

The reasons a person can choose to embark upon any type of journey are to escape from their own current situations, for a desire to experience new and different worlds or to speculate over what may have happened had they chosen a different path in their life. The reason for why a person goes on their journey is how the concept of the journey can be linked to the imagination.

Imaginative journeys often encompass aspects of the supernatural; such as magic and mythical beings for example, and so by going on a journey in ones mind, a person can experience these elements that would otherwise be impossible in any other type of journey. An imaginative journey is anything to do with the mind and so can come in the forms of dreams, hallucinations, or daydreaming for example.

In an imaginative journey expressed through text or film, it differs from other types of journeys in that a self-realisation or enlightenment almost always occurs. This is in most circumstances because until this happens, the person is usually unable to end their imaginative journey.

2. How does the focus of Imaginative affect your understanding of the concept of the journey?

Before studying the topic of imaginative journeys, my understanding of the term journey was far more limited. My understanding of a journey was that it could act as a process of change but was solely based on it referring to the ability to move from one place to another.

However at this stage I did recognize that the traveling from one location to another could result in changes within an individual on another level. I acknowledged that the physical journey, and the experiences it brought with it along the way, could alter a person emotionally and teach them new things, as well as the possibility of a change occurring in them as an individual later on due to their new surroundings.

By concentrating on the focus of the imagination playing a role in the concept of the journey, my knowledge of what a journey can really encompass has been broadened. Through our study of how the imagination can play a role in an individual’s journey I came to understand the reasons surrounding why a person might embark upon a personal journey, what their journey may encompass, and how it can result in a change of self.

By focusing on the role the imagination plays in a journey I have learnt that journeys do not only involve moving physically but that they can actually involve not moving at all or that the physical movement can be expressed in the mind only. Any individual is capable of escaping the daily realities they face without actually moving a muscle. The imagination acts as a tool in which a person can enter a world otherwise unknown, can experience the impossible, and can speculate over their own lives.

3. How has your study of the imaginative journey affected your understanding of your place in society?

My original understanding of a journey was that it was a process of change an individual could experience. The change could be in the environment due to moving physically, in the person’s emotional feelings or by being moved intellectually, being in a way that their own understanding of their surroundings and situations is changed.

The reasons a person chooses to embark upon any type of journey can be to escape from their own current situations, for a desire to experience new and different worlds or to speculate over what may have happened had they chosen a different path in their life. The reason a person has for going on a journey can be linked to the concept of imagination.

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