Illusions are everywhere.

Sometimes we pay for these illusions to entertain us and distract us from the challenges of life, other times they intrude into the fabric of our daily lives without asking our permission, and other times we remain in denial to the truth because it is too scary. The field of marketing and advertisement is illusioneering at its finest. It is quite difficult to avoid some kind of spin on a daily basis unless you completely unplug yourself and enjoy your own company.

We have become wired to crave hyper stimulation and profiteering sellers are more than happy to satisfy our cravings with bigger, better, faster, and bolder stimulation urging us to expend our life energy to get, get, get, buy, buy, buy, become, become, become, change, change, change… Somewhere in this mix the truth gets morphed and stretched and before we know it we agree that we have a need that was not there before we were advertised to.

Sigh…what is real in all this? How do we find our way through this maze of spells and persuasions? What is really needed and what is extra fluff? As I have advised before, return to the breath. Try to separate yourself from all of the noise and neurostimulation for a few moments several times throughout the day and breathe deeply and let yourself and your focus come back to yourself. Remember who you are, what your likes and dislikes are and what you really need. The basics of life generally include food, clothing, shelter and positive interaction with other human beings. They are few and simple, not always easy to provide for yourself and others, but they are called basics because they are the foundations and roots of our life. Anything more is extra and it will add complexity to your life that requires some of your life energy to deal with.

If you have been feeling like you are wrapped up in a web of confusion and cloudiness it is probably because you are. In this information age very few human made organizations have a sole purpose of helping you to live a good, simple & clear life. To get to that place you need to learn how to cut through the crap and determine what is real for you. A powerful part of this healing journey is also taking a good hard look at what kind of illusions you carry about yourself or spread out into the world. Are you a person who tells it just like it is, or do you have to add some sugar coating or hyperbole to the information that you share to make it meet the standards that you think the world needs? Remember the reciprocity that I have written about before – what you put out into the world is what comes back to you.

If you are operating as a spin doctor in your community maybe you need to decide if you believe in what you are doing, or if you are hyping it up to make it look better than it actually is. If this is the case I think that a reevaluation of your work in the world is in order. Yikes!!! This is a scary thought for many to gaze into a mirror and truly look at what they see and know. Getting back on track can be a very challenging task, but when you allow yourself to really connect with the original intention for your life this time around, you can reprioritize and set yourself back on track to fulfilling your destiny.

Living in a way aligned with your destiny brings you back into alignment with the big picture and reconnects you with all that is – it is like plugging back in to real life.

I know for many of you this sounds like mumbo jumbo, and the thought of self assessment brings sweat to your brow and jello to your knees, but I am hoping that you have had at least a few moments of connected alignment in your life to remind you of the power and clarity that living in your right way can bring to your life. Take a moment to breathe deeply again and imagine what living a life filled with that power and clarity can be like – freeing, healing, reenergizing…_________________add your descriptors here.

So if everyone started cutting through and confiscating many of the illusions in and around their lives, collective clarity would begin to grow. Ladies, come on now – do you really believe that the expensive antiwrinkle cream is a necessity? The surface of your skin is dead, dead, dead. The next time you see, read or hear an ad for beauty enhancing products get out your hyper observing skills and really listen to what they are trying to sell you – an illusion in a jar. Men, will drinking that particular brand of beer really bring you the lifestyle that is being acted out in front of you on the screen (yes they are actors!). Shake it off everyone and wake up. Are you living a life like a rat on the wheel to keep the illusions alive? If we work together and demand truth in advertising and call companies on their “limited lifetime warranties” (by the way isn’t that an oxymoron?) and outrageous claims we might be able to begin seeing clearly and doing the right thing.