Through life there are several illusins we live in and make. We look diferently in each situation. Think of how you act at a Religous or spiritual gathering and compare it to how you act just hanging out with a group of close friends. Maybe you dress differently, maybe your choice of words is more limited in one group than it is in the other. How you act in one case will give a person a different view of who you are and what to expect from you. Your friends might know you as the person they can count on for doing something outlandish just to prove you can. Your spiritual group might think of you as the person that keeps a level head and is totally responsible, any one that told them you jumped three stories off a tree into a swimming hole would probably be considered more nuts than you. This is something they might not be able to see you doing. This is just one example of how we create illusions in our life.

Another way we create illusin is our image. I myself have a hard time dealing with closed minded people, this is a flaw on my part. To keep myself from having to deal with people who would judge another, I create a physical image different than what my inside is. My hair is down to the middle of my back, I have two earings in my left ear, a tatoo of a half naked water nymph on my left shoulder, and wear tank-tops and cut-off shorts. To somebody who has never met me, this might give an impression (because of the social norm) that I am a young punk or deliquent. If they were to talk to me, or make an effort to get to know me, they would learn That I detest vandalism, I help where I see need of it not only when asked and I comfort those I see needing it. Besides the inner parts of me, they would find That my hair is the length of time its been since I decided to change my life for the better, my earings are reminders of a great friend I probably won't see again and of my sister who died in a car accident, and my tatoo represents the anama, or female psyche within the male that create and gives the talents of art and poetry. A closed minded person rarely takes the chance to find these things out. He or she would rather walk away; but if they were to chance upon the person behind the illusion, it might spark the thought that - you can't judge a book by its cover. Now, if I feel I have to create an illusion of a person intelligable and mature I tie my hair back, put on a nice sweater and pants, put my glasses on and maybe a tie. This illusion is for advancing in a career or when I need to get a point across without having to fight with the reactions or thoughts provoked by my usual appearance.

The idea of illusion is not only of the body, but also of an individuals environment: the inside and outside of the home, the vehicle he or she drives, or the services a person does in a comunity or in his or her personal groups. You might say these are not illusions but preferences. To be able to prefer something one must have a choice. Guns and Roses said it best with the names of their albums - Choose Your Illusion I and Choose Your Illusion II. Granted the illusions we prefer are actually parts of ourselves. So each illusion is just another aspect of the me. Stop for a minute and think of who you are after you yourself take off the diferent layers of your chosen illusions... Did you feel diferent? A little bigger? At one?

What illusions do you use to get through life? Are their any you can think of that you might want to try? This is the basis of understanding personal illusion. When you find and understand you are seperate from the aspects you choose to show, you can then create more productive ones. This does not mean pretend to be somebody else, This would lead to loosing the me, it means locate the parts of yourself that you are and enlarge them to aspects of the Self. By doing this you will find ways to understand and communicate with others that you haven't before. Illusions do not have to be tricks, they can be tools to enlarge your world both inside and out.

I hope this has given you a thought or two. If you liked it feel free to e-mail.