How are illusions formed?

1. Most illusions are built to protect our weaknesses and ignorance.

People think, talk, and act to cover themselves and to appear the way they are not in essence. Such an attitude impresses on their minds in such a degree that they build an image of illusion about themselves. When such an illusion is built, they no longer think, talk, and act as themselves, but as the fabricated image.


2. Illusions are built when we do not understand the facts and replace them with our opinions, then take our opinions as facts.

Opinions can be a method of escape from admitting the facts for various reasons. For example, admitting the facts may hurt you legally, may humiliate you. Or you are unable to understand the facts, and in your mind you fabricate thoughts or concepts that you think explain the facts. Once the falsified facts are accepted as reality, you have an illusion in your mind. And every illusion is a distorting factor in your consciousness.


3. Illusions are created because of the unreadiness of our consciousness to understand things as they are.

You may not be ready to understand a phenomenon because of lack of knowledge. For example, if you translate thunder as a war in heaven, and lightning as the swords of warriors, you will have a hard time breaking that illusion and discovering the true reason for thunder and lightning. Illusions hinder the progress of mental unfoldment.


4. Illusions are created because of our self-centered viewpoints.

If you look at events, or anything in the Universe, from the viewpoint of your self-interest, you cannot see the entire issue, and the small part in the radius of your viewpoint is impressed in your mind as the totality of the event or issue.

Self-centered viewpoints only see things within their personal interest and level of evolution.


5. Illusions are created when we force our logic and reasoning to justify our negative emotional reactions, such as jealousy and hatred.

When we try to support or justify our jealousy, hatred, slander, and treason, we create illusions in our minds. This is because all these negative emotions are based upon our past wounds, defeats, and hurts, and they come into being as mechanical reactions.

For example, you hate someone whose nose reminds you of a girl who hurt you in the past, and you fabricate reasons to justify your hatred.


6. Illusions are created when we project our weaknesses on others and fight against them.

Most of the time when we are jealous of someone we say, "He is jealous of me," or, "He hates me," or, "He is not honest toward me," and so on.

The truth is that in thinking about others being exactly what you are you prevent yourself from knowing your real nature. Instead you want to fight against them, "because they are no good." Such an illusion does not let you "know yourself."


7. Illusions are created when we try to appear that which we are not or imitate something that we are not.

People appear in many forms because they have an illusion in their minds about their true Image or they hate the image they are. What happens is that over the years they lose the Image of their Real Self and try to be many selves. This illusion creates a long term mental confusion, instability, and finally senility.


8. Illusions are created when we try to distort a fact or lie about it.

Every one of us knows when we lie, but when we continue to distort facts and lie for a long time, the mental body loses its clarity. Man builds so many illusions that the illusions begin to think, to measure, to handle the life of the man. Then man, the real operator of the show, does not exist any more. Illusions cause you to disappear.


9. Illusions are created when, under pressure or bribery from other people, we serve their destructiveness or self-interest.

In helping such people, first we become impressed by their image. Second, we dull our consciousness and inner voice, and act as they want us to act. This forces our Real Self to retreat, and we act by a mechanical self created by them as a toll for their interest. This is a very dangerous illusion.


10. Illusions are created when we impose our self-interest upon others and manipulate or exploit them.

Our self-interest is not truly an innocent interest, but it is an interest of our body, emotions, and separative mind. As we allow ourselves to be used by our self-interest, we lose our real identity and become our lower self. Thus, illusions bind us to our lower self, and for centuries they prevent us from being our Real Self.


11. Illusions are created when we do not choose the right ways to solve problems but act under ego and vanity.

Whenever we choose wrong ways, we create problems in our minds and conscience. Trying to solve problems illegally, or in wrong ways, involve us in more problems. In trying to solve these problems, we identify ourselves with the problems and with the "wrong ways" of solving problems. Identification with wrong ways creates illusions because "wrong ways" are like plastic forms which are not absorbed by our system.


12. Illusions are created also by post-hypnotic suggestions.

When the opinions and concepts of people by-pass your rational mind, they form the worst illusions because you cannot decipher them with your mind. They flash in your mental sphere as unidentified objects, creating disturbances in your thinking.

In a sense they react and respond to your thinking, but you can control neither their response nor their reaction.

Most of our opinions are parts of our illusions, especially when our illusions are created because of our self-interest and because of our emotional reactions.

Illusions, when they increase, do not allow you to think clearly and do not let your consciousness enter or communicate with the Intuitional Plane.

A certain degree of purity must be achieved in the mental plane to allow your soul to operate in the Intuitional Plane because the Intuitional Plane is pure light. This pure light can be used to dispel illusions.

Illusions cannot be dispelled by logical thinking because as long as illusions are found on the mental plane and in the spheres of consciousness, they do not allow you to use your pure logic and reasoning. But when the light of the Intuition hits your illusions, it dispels them almost instantaneously, as if through an electrical shock.

Glamors, which are astral illusions, can be dispelled by reason and logic and especially by the increasing light of the human soul. Clear thinking, confrontations with your glamors through analysis and logic, soon enable them to be destroyed.

Illusions are mental, and they need a more fiery energy to wipe them out. This energy is the energy of Intuition, which can be invoked through meditation and especially through contemplation.

Sometimes your Solar Anger or your Master sends a beam of intuitional light to dispel your illusions, if your karma allows its.



-Torkom Saraydarian
Leadership vol.3