Many of us have difficulty distinguishing reality from illusion. Not only do we lack discernment, we prefer illusion to reality. Reality challenges our self-deceptions and prejudices. Illusions do not. They are comfortable.

Differing Attitudes

People generally adopt one of three attitudes towards illusions.

First, there are those who do not distinguish between reality and illusion. They do not see through illusion, and therefore take it to be reality. They equate their interpretations of reality with reality.

It is not surprising that they fail to excise a healthy skepticism towards constructions of reality presented to them by others. They allow others to define reality for them, particularly the persuasive. The latter are usually self-interested, focussed on their agenda--financial, ideological, political or sexual. The persuaded surrender to influence peddlers, verbal magicians whose plausibility is no more than disguised sleight of hand.

Those unable to identify the ubiquitous presence of illusion make little effort to penetrate beneath appearances to the unpalatable realities illusions camouflage. [35]

At the other end of the spectrum are those who argue that we are so enmeshed in layers of illusion that it is difficult, if not impossible, to unearth the truth.

Eastern religions have argued that what we take to be bedrock reality is not what it appears to be. It is a reality of sorts, but its solidness is an illusion.

This includes the illusion of a substantial self. According to Buddhism, the developing egoic consciousness, receiving impressions from the senses, fabricates the illusion of the solidity and permanence, which it associates with the physical world, and with itself.

The absolute aspect of Reality, according to Sangharakshita, is discerned through an experience of pristine awareness, an awareness in which there is no subject, or object.³

Foundational reality, Eastern authorities argue, can only be discerned through contemplative disciplines. They have not argued that the physical world is unreal, but rather that there are deeper realities, psychic and causal, underlying it. The divine essence at the centre of this spiritual world can be discerned through a participatory form of knowing, that is, through the experience of our being embraced by it.

Certain extreme Post-Modernists also argue that we are caught in a matrix of interlocking illusions. They contend that it is impossible for us to free ourselves sufficiently from our interpretive grids to prove conclusively that there is a fundamental Reality. Some go so far as to argue that there is no reality independent of our mental constructions. They suggest that we construct "reality" through our use of language. [36]

There is a third way of addressing the tension between reality and illusion, adopted by those who recognise that perception is selective, but who do not want to embrace the nihilism of extreme Post Modernism. They acknowledge the tension between illusion and reality, but without arbitrarily dismissing the latter.

Those adopting this perspective recognise the positive contribution of Post-Modernism. They can see that bedrock reality is not easily discerned, because it is packaged in our interpretations. They are aware that meaning is context-dependent, and that contexts are endless. They also contend that it is important that we do not privilege any single perspective, but that we take all perspectives into account.

However, while they endorse these insights, they let it be known that they consider that there is a reality, out there, or within, which bears some relationship to our interpretations. Furthermore, they argue that the most effective way of refining our understanding of this reality is to take account of the full spectrum of interpretive theories offered by all disciplines that seek to come to grips with it.

Sustained by Illusions

Our lives are sustained by illusions.

Interpretations

Our interpretations are a form of illusion.

The data of our senses would utterly overwhelm us if it were not for the fact that we select what we attend to, and organize this into meaningful patterns. Meaning helps orient us, and preserves our sanity. [37]

The simpler the explanation the more readily we accept it. This is both good and bad.

Life is enormously complex. Because we are intimidated by complexity, our interpretations are invariably reductionist.

When people suffer discrimination, they seek to identify the cause of their distress. However, rather than teasing out the complexities of the situation, they attempt to identify a single cause, a factor, person or group external to them, that they can blame. This maneuver enables the group to avoid acknowledging that they may have contributed to the discrimination they suffer.

We interpret events in our favour. Illusion is a pliable element in our interpretations, and allows us to justify actions that would otherwise be called into question. Illusion is the servant of our psychological needs, particularly the need to preserve our self-esteem.

It is for this reason that we accept our illusions as truth. Over time, we become so familiar with our favourite illusions that they are accepted as truth. As Nietzsche explained, we accept, as truth, illusions that we have forgotten are illusions.⁴

In the 14th Century, William of Occam argued that we should not multiply explanations. He contended that the simpler explanation is likely to be more accurate. However, while it is important to hone our explanations, and avoid unnecessary complexity, we should realise that Occam was not pleading for simplistic explanations. Simple, as distinct from simplistic explanations, are arrived at as a consequence of exhausting complexities and then scaling down the data into elegant formulae. [38]

Illusion as Myth

Illusions, held long enough, become myths. They dissolve into the unconscious, where they take on mythic proportions.

Myths, like interpretations, are explanations of why things are as they are. Unlike explicit ideologies, however, they are deeply buried in the psyche, and are therefore not easily identified. Because we are rarely conscious of the myths that influence us, they are rarely scrutinized by reason.

We are influenced by personal myths, myths about ourselves.

Our self-perceptions are a consequence of myths about us created by our parents, siblings, friends, and enemies. Some are positive, and others negative. One myth that has dogged me since childhood derived from persistent comment made by my mother that I was lazy, an under-achiever, a nine-day wonder. Our personal myths, whether life-enhancing or destructive, are often self-fulfilling prophesies.

My maternal grandfather was a character. While my father made him a set of false teeth, I rarely saw him wearing them. His forte was Popeye interpretations. He was fun. My paternal grandfather, by contrast, was more serious, bookish, and religious. The two men epitomized the essence of differing family mythologies. Family myths accentuate the identity of members, and highlight values espoused by families.

Cultural myths also sculpture our psyches, influencing our behaviour.

The Australian character is self reliant, and disdainful for authority. Australians value mateship, a fair-go and the [39] ability to make-do. The emergence of the ideal of the "noble bushman", as the image of the Australian male, reached its apogee in the late 1890's.⁵ This is interesting, because White Australia was an urban phenomenon from the beginning.⁶ The alacrity with which Australians identified with the attitudes and skills of the bushman, the overlander, was an indication of how they wanted to see themselves. This self-perception persists. In spite of massive migration, from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and South America, Australians continue to identify these qualities as "Australian".

Myth-Generation

Myths are generated by two sources.

The first is the need to locate ourselves in the scheme of things, to identify our differentness, and to help explain why we are as we are.

The second is unconscious. The most influential myths arise out of the unconscious of individuals or groups. They reflect subterranean energies. They tell it like it is for us, and suggest a way forward.

For this reason, myth can be a more accurate measure of inner realities than our conscious reflections. This does not mean, however, that they represent external circumstances more accurately, though they do anticipate the direction of our responses to those circumstances. Like less comprehensive illusions, their purpose is to ensure our survival. Ironically, they may imperil this survival if they cement us into responses that do not allow us room for negotiation. [40]

Because our myths tend to sharpen contrasts, to foster dichotomies, they encourage us to divide people into goodies and badies. It is usual for us to see ourselves as the goodies, and those who frustrate our desires as badies. Furthermore, if our myths suggest that our distress can be traced to the actions of others, they may encourage, or even oblige us to attack them. It is myths that perpetuate feuding between families, races and nations.

Blindness

Myths, which are legion, are rarely recognised as such by those holding them.

This can be illustrated from the rhetoric of those who argue that we fabricate reality through our use of language. What they appear not to appreciate is that this point of view is mythic. Their rhetoric expounds their myth. It is ironic that those who argue that there is no reality, or that if there is, it is beyond our reach, should contend that their perspective, their myth, is real!

The complexity, and ubiquity, of our myth-making capacity, and our blindness to our governing myths, is evident in almost any endeavour. For example, while our society is dismissive of shamans, and the phenomenon of shamanism, we are dependent upon doctors, who, in many respects, practice a profession that is shamanic.⁷

An End to Myth?

This raises the question of whether, or not, it is possible to rid ourselves of myth?

While we can deconstruct certain myths, it is almost invariably ancient myths, or the myths of communities other [41] than our own, that we deconstruct. Furthermore, if our myths were successfully deconstructed, new myths would emerge to take their place.

The process of deconstruction is more difficult than we realise. Ridding ourselves of myths altogether is an impossibility. While we need to unearth and challenge our myths, it is these very myths that sustain us. We could not get along without them.

A more appropriate response would be to recognise the influence that myths have upon us, and, at the same time, keep in mind the fact that we will likely fail to identify the myths that influence us most deeply. This should increase our vigilance, and develop in us a degree of humility.

Others' Illusions?

Some years ago, I remember being fascinated by a volume of cartoons by "Ashley Brilliant". On the cover of the book was a picture of a middle-aged man with a black beard holding a candle in front of his face. The caption read, "I have given up on the truth. I am looking for a good illusion".

All of us are sustained by illusions that offer to order our world and comfort us.

If others are happy with their illusions, have we a right to unmask them? If we cannot bear much reality,⁸ and if the collapse of our illusions results in depression,⁹ the answer would seem to be "No"!

Alexander Lowen has illustrated the complex nature of illusions, the psychological role they play in supporting the self-structure, and the difficulty we have in dealing with them. He instanced the case of an individual with a [42] masochistic personality, who could not afford to let the therapy he was engaged in succeed. Had he done so, it would have proved, to him, that the therapist was a better (more competent) person than the patient. This would have exaggerated his masochism. The patient had an investment in the failure of the therapy. The failure of the therapy supported the illusion of the patient's "superiority".¹⁰

To bludgeon our way into someone's life, on the pretext of freeing them from their illusions, can be both presumptuous and dangerous.

Of course, not all illusions are benign. Some are harmful, disguising truth that ought to be faced, promising outcomes that cannot be delivered, and construing scenarios that terrorize.

If, in our concern for others, we discover that their illusions are harming them, have we the right to puncture them?

Socrates certainly considered that illusions needed unmasking, and that sloppy thinking should be exorcised. Jesus challenged illusions, particularly those that marginalized people. Both encountered opposition. Some were irritated to the point of demanding that those doing the unmasking be put to death!

Before we surrender to the temptation of unmasking other's illusions, we need to recognize that we are no less subject to illusion than they are.

We also have to face the fact that our illusion-busting fervour may be far from pure in its intent. What makes this situation so slippery, is that our deepest motivations are hidden from us. We may be insecure in the presence of others who adhere to illusions different from ours. It is also [43] possible that our action may be fuelled by a secret desire to wound them. They may irritate us, or we may have a score to settle. We may challenge their illusions in a desperate effort to preserve ours. We are rarely conscious of why we act as we do, which means that we are rarely aware of the motives that drive us.

A Broader Responsibility

In spite of the difficulties associated with the unveiling of illusions, we do have a responsibility to encourage others to refine their view of reality.

We should approach this task with humility and compassion. We need to earn the right to talk with others, and we should seek their permission to accompany them in the exploration of their illusions, and be willing to have them join us in our attempts at unmasking our illusions.

People need to be ready for this unmasking. We can bear having our illusions revealed if we have other structures in place upon which we can fall back when our illusions collapse. It is part of our responsibility to help others build these alternative structures.

Krishnamurti argued that we cannot escape our illusions by seeking to get rid of them. He argued that this approach is counter-productive. The search--our drivenness to find an answer--is part of what holds us captive. Freedom is achieved through acknowledging our drivenness, and by riding it to a state of exhaustion. When its energy is exhausted, it evaporates. It is when we are free from this [44] stress, a freedom that allows us to be totally focused, in the present, with our minds wide-awake, that we can recognize our illusions for what they are. [45]

[ROI 35-45]