Life is an Illusion

By Samuel Cochran,

UU Church of Loudoun, October 12, 2005

When I was a lot younger than I am today, my friends and I would read a lot of comic books. I never did understand why they were called comic books as there was a lot of drama in Superman, Batman, and Captain Marvel comics. Anyway, my friends and I would use the story lines and characters as the basis for our magical world of role playing games, in the days when the games were physical rather than automated.

We would gather as many “props” as possible to create the illusion of the comic book story—a broom handle could become a sword or a staff; a trashcan lid, a shield; a large cardboard box, a fort. We would play for hours without watching anything on television—of course, the fact most folks then in Southern West Virginia didn’t have a TV may also have played a part.

In those days of 5 and 10-cent comics, even when alone and not playing, I always enjoyed reading about the adventures of Superman or Batman or Flash Gordon or “Turok, Son of Stone.” But my favorite character was “Mandrake the Magician.”

We did not have any difficulty recognizing our illusory world was one of fantasy. When you leap over a cinderblock (as a substitute for a tall building), catch your toe, and scrape your knee, you get brought back to reality real quick. And there is nothing worse that watching a “superhero” cry over a skinned knee—it is almost traumatic.

Mandrake was different though — he seemed more real than the others in his fancy, black suit with the matching red-lined cape and wearing a top hat. He was also the only superhero with a mustache. [Tweek] He looked more real that some guy wearing blue tights or sporting a bat-winged cape.

And his adventures! How I used to really enjoy him using his magical illusions to outsmart the bad guys. And I would often wonder if some of the illusions could be real. His adventures formed for me a life long interest in magic(k).

Every motivational speaker will tell you that if you think about something with passion, it will come true. This leads to being careful what you ask for because you might get it. As luck would have it, the Raleigh County WV school board decided one year to hire a magician to visit and perform at all schools in the County. For the first time, I saw in real life some of the illusions Mandrake performed in the comic books—and I was captivated more so than before! I wanted to be a magician! [Color Changing Scarves]

I was so impressed that I convinced my parents to get me a small magic kit for a birthday present and I even managed to give a few performances to my class at school.

[BALL VASE]

But then life changed, as we all know so well, and it became necessary to “grow up” and leave magic(k) behind.

Truth be known, I never really gave magic(k) up—I just suppressed it. Because today I know magick is real.

Now as we all know, sometimes when you work with magic(k), strange things begin to happen. [FLYING SCARF]

Years later, while reading everything I could get my hands on, I came across some interesting ideas that stated the suppressed ideas of my youth to surface once again. I read portions of a book called “Metaphysics” by Plato which, paraphrasing basically stated life is an illusion; that every thing you see and touch is not real, but is an illusion of the real item that only exists in your mind.

I read a book on Hawaiian culture by Serge Kahili King in which Dr. King indicated the Hawaiian peoples believe individuals are not independent, but actually are connected to everything else through the great web of Kaneloi; and, what you think as independence is one of the great illusions of life.

After joining the Masonic Fraternity, I developed a deep interest in symbolism. But, I found the Masonic explanations lacking and began my own quest to find a spiritual meaning in the various symbols around us.

My studies lead me to occultism where I found the philosophy that everything you see is an illusion consisting of dancing and surging patterns of energy that can be manipulated. And in order to have something physically manifest (be it money, a job, or a soul mate), it first must be created in your own mind.

All of this is some pretty heavy stuff and it left me reeling like a drunken sailor on Saturday shore leave.

Just as my head almost stopped spinning like a top, science gave the top another push. First, a German scientist conceived the idea, from his abstract calculations of symbolic numbers, that every physical item is really is an illusion composed of energy that can be changed from one form to another, but cannot be destroyed. [E=MC²]

Then God stepped up to the proverbial plate and, using my head like a softball, hit a home run in the guise of a Swiss psychologist. From observations of his patients, Carl Jung came to the conclusion everybody is connected by their minds through what he called the Collective Consciousness. Other folks have referred to the Collective Consciousness as God or the Great Unknown. Suddenly science, religion, and mysticism started coming together and reinforcing each other.

How many of you have ever thought about a particular person or relative and then shortly thereafter receive a call or letter from that person? Jung would say your minds were already communicating through the Collective Consciousness and the appearance of separation was but an illusion.

Everything is composed of energy and anything that is moving creates an electro-magnetic field that can be felt, seen, and measured. Sometimes this field is perceived as a static electricity spark; other times as a TV image. Often when referring to the energy field around a person, it is called the aura.

The effect of the aura is easily demonstrated. I want all of you to rub your hands together, briskly, for a few moments like this [show] and then cup your palms together as if you were holding a ball. Move your hands closer and back. Some people can feel something like an invisible ball that resists bring your palms completely together. What you are feeling is a type of energy field. Now I want you to rub your hands together again, but this time I want you to feel the energy field of another person in your pew. Ground yourselves by actually shaking hands.

Now to wrap up this long story, what does all of this have to do with us as members of a UU congregation? That in itself is another illusion.

In our daily lives, we all wear different masks—one mask may be that of a lover; another, that of a warrior. Some of you put on a “Parent” mask; an employee mask, and/or an employer mask. Then there is the “penitent” mask. This cycle repeats over and over, day in and day out, until you finally put on the last mask you possess—the “Death” mask.

Earlier you greeted your neighbor—which you may have just done verbally. I then had you feel each others energy field. Later, you physically touched each other and again separated. That separation was another one of life’s illusion as you are still connected; and what you do or think affects each of us and all beings of the Earth—including the Earth itself.

I have one last example of fooling your senses for you before I conclude. You are now going to become magicians and manifest, levitate, and vanish an imaginary object. Place the tips of your index fingers together on the bridge of your nose. Now slowly move your fingers away while watching your fingertips. Carefully pull our fingers apart. Do you see the floating sausage? Make it vanish by pulling your fingers apart. You have just manifested an imaginary sausage, made it float in space, and then disappear.

Everyone you meet is a reflection of yourself, your inner feelings and conflicts, at that moment projected upon them through the Collective Consciousness. According to the various authors I have mentioned, as well as Dr. Deepak [Dee POK] Chopra, "there are no coincidences" and everything happens for a reason. Every person you meet, you meet for a reason—you either need to learn a lesson from them or to help them learn a life lesson.

You had a choice this morning to either stay at home or to come here. Why did you make the choice you did? The same applies to making any choice. What are you learning and what are you helping others learn.

That said, Was it my destiny to provide you with something to think about leading to an epiphanic moment of insight on your way to enlightenment? Or was it your destiny to teach me humility for being so presumptuous?

Remember, the illusions of life that we perceive as separateness from one another is just that—an illusion. We are one and what we think and do affects us all.