Why do we sometimes cling to an idea even when our experiences have already raised questions about it? Perhaps it is not only because we believe it to be true, but also because it gives us something we do not want to lose.
Security, an explanation, a familiar place in the world. If we want to understand the power of illusion, I think it’s worth examining this too: what value have we attached to the things we cling to?
Why we’re keeping it
In this essay, I take as my starting point the everyday manifestation of illusion: the moment when we equate one of our ideas with reality as a whole. We fail to realise where we have supplemented what we actually know with assumptions, and over time we come to regard our own explanation as the only possible truth.
In my spiritual outlook, there is an even deeper question lying behind this: we regard the experience of separation as the ultimate truth, whilst we could instead turn towards the realisation of our interconnectedness. For me, therefore, illusion is not merely a mistaken belief; it is also linked to how we see ourselves and how we understand our relationship with one another and with the Source.
I am using the word ‘illusion’ here in the context of self-knowledge and spirituality. I am not using it to refer to illnesses or psychological difficulties.
Such an idea does not necessarily seem pointless. Perhaps we cling to it precisely because it brings order to our world, or spares us from having to grapple with a difficult question.
If, for example, we think we already know exactly what sort of people we are, we may feel there is no need to re-examine this image of ourselves. However, in doing so, we may also overlook things that have changed in us in the meantime, or things we have not yet recognised.
Trying to force the thought away does not, therefore, necessarily bring us any closer to letting go. First, we need to understand what purpose it served, what it promised, and what we stand to lose if we continue to base our thinking solely on it. As the value we attach to it changes, our attachment to it may also loosen.
From a sense of omniscience to curiosity
For me, the spiritual path is a commitment to self-knowledge and lifelong learning. It means accepting that, from time to time, I will examine my beliefs and my usual ways of explaining things, rather than simply seeking confirmation of them.
This shift can foster curiosity rather than a sense of knowing everything. What else is there within me that I do not know? What have I overlooked in what is happening around me?
We do not have to give up our inner certainty in order to be able to ask questions. It is worth distinguishing between the two: the certainty of spiritual realisation is one thing, and the conviction that we already know everything about a situation is quite another.
We all view the world from a particular perspective. However, this does not mean that every explanation is equally valid. Openness means, precisely, that we are willing to test our ideas against our experiences and the facts at our disposal.
What we only come to understand through experience
For me, listening to the voice of the heart is part of inner sincerity. It means pausing to notice even those things we scarcely hear amidst our ready-made explanations: a question, a contradiction, a realisation we have long put off acknowledging.
I don’t mean to suggest that all our inner feelings are infallible guides. Rather, I mean that our own lived experience should not be left out of our understanding.
Theoretical knowledge is important, but it cannot entirely replace experience when it comes to understanding ourselves. It is one thing to know that we can adopt a new perspective, and quite another to actually listen, in a specific situation, to someone we have previously misunderstood.
Even this realisation does not necessarily resolve everything straight away. We may need time, further experience or support to be able to be present in a different way.
It is not the events that actually took place or our pain that we should call untrue. What we should examine is what story we have built around them, and whether that story helps us to see things even more clearly.
For me, letting go of the illusion is not a matter of denying who we are. Rather, it makes room for what we have not been able to perceive until now.
With love,
Georgina
Soul4you