Illusions can be elusive.........

Some time ago, I watched a movie titled "Instinct" with Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding Jr.

Anthony Hopkins, anthropologist, is accused of murdering two poachers in a Gorilla habitat, Gooding Jr., a psychiatrist, is employed to find out why the renown professor suddenly acts so out of character.

Through much negotiation and patience, Gooding Jr. is introduced to the anthropologist world; a world beyond common human comprehension; The true nature of being. One by one the illusions of mankind are stripped away and a deeper understanding is gained by the psychiatrist when the anthropologist shows him that the true values of existence are not easily found.

The word "illusions" was used over and over and the moment when Gooding Jr. finally grasps the implicatiopns of the concept, a mammoth moment. Which it also was for me.

Have you ever really looked at yourself in the mirror? It dawned on me one day that the face, which is our most recognisable feature, is a part of us we will only ever see reflected.

What about photos, you may ask?

That's the thing with illusions, we only ever see what we see through our internal filters.

A person suffering with Anorexia standing in front of a mirror will see how much more weight they need to loose, while someone else may see that same person as someone who can't afford to loose any more weight. And vice versa, an obese person may see how he/she looked years ago and not identify the size they are currently.

A person reaches for a beer first thing in the morning; he/she calls it "hair of the dog" a friend may call it alcoholism. A father/mother slaps the excited child on the cheek; he/she calls it discipline, a grandparent may call it abuse. A person spends hours on end on the net watching porno's; he/she calls it normal appetite, the partner may call it an addiction.

We filter what we see/perceive through our internal filters, our belief systems, our moral, and ethical, values. Just like we don't engage in a conscious effort every time we need to take a breath, we are mostly unaware of when we apply our filters of perception.

Back to the mirror.....have you ever watched yourself in the mirror and asked it: Who and what are you?

Are other people "living" mirrors? Does your image of yourself harmonise with others?

Illusions;  perhaps it's time for a definition: an erroneous perception of reality, an erroneous concept of belief...(from the Free dictionary) an erroneous mental representation.

Waiting in line for your morning coffee, someone taps you on the shoulder.

"-Wow, long time no see, how are you?", your friend asks. As you chat away while waiting in the line you notice that your friend looks drawn, his/her clothes somewhat scruffy and there is an air of restlessness about him/her. "-You have time for a chat?", your friend asks you.

You glance at your watch and wonder if you have the time while simultaneously thinking: Man, he/she has really let him/herself go, do I really want to know what kind of issues he/she may be dealing with?

Meanwhile your friend is watching you and asking him/herself the same question and regretting asking for a chat.

"-Sorry", you say, "-I'm real busy, but some other time perhaps?" as you pay for your coffee and hurry away thinking how fortunate you are to be as together as you are.

Your friend smiles, grabs his/her coffee, sits down at a nearby table and thinks to him/herself: "Sheeesh, I really need to get the washing machine fixed, doing the laundry in laundrymats is taking far too much of my time not to mention ending up having to wear my old clothes between washes."

Illusions appear to be real, and good illusionists can tempt us to believe that anything is possible; such as make jumbo jets vanish, people hovering in the air, people be sawn in half, etc.etc.

A good illusion has us convinced that it is real, which is why illusions work; we want it to be real.

And that's a positive aspect of illusion, it can encourage hope, wonderment, and imagination.

Research suggests that "positive illusions" are useful in helping people get through major stressful events i.e.serious illnesses, traumas, accidents. People who who are able to maintain a positive outlook in the face of difficulties, tend to cope better.

Back to the mirror......so here you are, looking at yourself in the mirror.

What do you see?  If you see a trim, slim terrific person while the scales says XXXL kilos, then perhaps illusions are in play. If you see a virile, strong, young stag, but your razor gets stuck in your wrinkles, then perhaps illusions are in play. If you see a happy go lucky person, but your nails are bitten down to the quick's, then perhaps illusions are in play.

Often we only see what we want to see, and at times what we see may be illusions, but if you want the truth, ask a child what they see,(and think).

They are oddly "illusion free"........

 

“How often, you wonder, has the direction of your life been shaped by such misunderstandings? How many opportunities have you been denied--or, for that matter, awarded--because someone failed to see you properly? How many friends have you lost, how many have you gained, because they glimpsed some element of your personality that shone through for only an instant, and in circumstances you could never reproduce? An illusion of water shimmering at the far bend of a highway.”  (Kevin Brookmeier)

 

"Illusion is Reality's coy lover who cheers him when he is grim. Illusion is cunning to his wisdom of ages, weet oblivion to his knowledge. A bounty to his lack." (Kresley Cole)

 

"Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces." (Sigmund Freud)