Is your life an illusion?
You've probably heard the statement in one form or another, if you're embarking on a spiritual journey, that life is an illusion.
And yes, it's easy to just accept it without thinking about it further. But if you've been following me for a while, you know that I always question everything. I want to understand for myself what it means.
And I readily admit that I really struggled with the saying "life is an illusion." How can it be an illusion when everything seems so real to me right now, in this very moment? When I feel my fear and my worries, my joy and my hope, my pain and my sorrow, yes, even sometimes frustration and hopelessness, and then again my happiness, my love? For me, all of that is real.
So I entered into a deep conversation with the angelic energies in the World Library. I asked questions, listened, and learned, again and again, until it was clear – until I finally felt I understood a piece of the whole – until I could develop a picture of my own truth, which might be different again tomorrow.
But for today, I'll take you with me and try to give you an idea of how to understand "life is an illusion" and, above all, how to consciously apply it in your own creative process.
A comparison that makes it easy
There's an example that makes understanding "Life is an illusion" incredibly easy. It's the assumption that the soul's profession (yes, the soul doesn't have a profession... this is just an assumption) is that of an actor/actress.
An actor is not his roles – he plays his roles but also has his real life, but while he is working and making a film, he is also "real".
Let's now go through this example with the soul to make "Life is an illusion" a little more understandable.
The soul exists. It exists (how and where exactly, we'll leave aside for this article – perhaps we'll address that another time). So it exists, perhaps bored, who knows. It wants to experience something. So it receives a mountain of manuscripts. In each manuscript is a life role for it to play. A role it can immerse itself in to experience what it's like to be that way.
There are countless roles: the mother, the father, the villain, the beautiful woman, the overweight woman, the successful woman, the loser, the murderer, the victim, the servant, the king, the army leader – the soul can choose from everything one could be. And as you know from films or books, a role isn't just one thing; one is always many roles.
The soul chooses a role from the vast mountain of possibilities and slips into it; in other words, it is born into life to take on the role it has chosen. It begins to act. An interesting side note: When one begins to awaken, this is very often the first "conscious" feeling one has: "This isn't me – I'm just acting. This isn't real." Or something like that.
Children up to 7 years old sometimes have such moments more frequently, before they then fully immerse themselves in their chosen role and fulfill it, or, to stick with our example, follow the script.
The script
Now, at the latest, the important question will probably arise: "Yes, how – is the script already finished at the beginning? In other words, do I have no free choice at all?"
Anyone with even a little experience in the film industry knows that a script is never truly finished at the start of filming. It's more of an idea. During shooting, lines are rewritten, plot elements are added, scenes are altered, and so on. So, everything is constantly evolving during filming. Only the general direction is sketched out, and it's further developed as the story unfolds. Therefore, there's always a free choice regarding how your current life story develops. Nevertheless, if you've taken on the role of a pirate, for example, you're a pirate to begin with. You can remain a pirate or become a bank clerk during the course of the story. 😊 You decide how the role is portrayed. Really?
The director
For a large part of our lives, we feel like we don't really have control over our lives. There's always someone trying to tell us how we should be, what we should do, how we should look, what we should say, and so on. While we're little or young, it's good to have someone by our side to help us navigate life's challenges. Someone who tells us what to do so we don't get lost. These are parents, friends, teachers, relatives. The problem is often that we get so used to others telling us what to do that we sometimes miss the opportunity (often during puberty or our early twenties) to break free from their expectations and obediently continue playing the roles others demand of us in order to be a good daughter or son, to be lovable, to be liked, to belong, and whatever other countless reasons might be.
This means we remain the actors, controlled by "foreign" directors. And that's okay. Some people spend their whole lives like that, and it's fine. But since you're here reading this, I strongly suspect you're on your spiritual path, and at some point, that's no longer okay. The awakening or liberation process begins.
It's no longer enough for us to simply play our roles. We begin to seize the director's chair (in other examples, I refer to this as "ascending the throne of life"). We begin to take over the direction of our own life's film. In other words, we decide how the plot lines should unfold, what should happen, and where the film or story should lead. Similarly, when we hold both the director's and lead's positions, we can finally begin to decide more freely how we want to approach our roles and which parts of the film we actually want to play. Perhaps we want to be a funny pirate, not an evil one. A loving pirate, not a scoundrel or a bank clerk.
Many believe that this completes the awakening process and that they are now masters of their own lives, and wonder why things still aren't going as smoothly as they would like.
Well, awakening continues and continues.
Another important position that we may or must take in order to get our hands on the reins of our lives.
The producer
Every film needs a producer. Someone who pulls the strings behind the scenes. But in our analogy, the most important task a producer has is this: they bear the responsibility for the film and everything that happens in it. They have to answer for it if the film flops, or be celebrated if it's a huge success.
Many forget about "responsibility" along their path. Only when you are truly ready to honestly take responsibility for all your actions will you become a conscious soul who now knows that she plays a role. Who knows that it is up to her to decide how she wants to play that role. As the director, she has the free choice to decide how she wants to fulfill the role and where the script should lead, and as the producer, she can fully take responsibility for her creation. She no longer looks for someone to blame when things don't go as planned. She seeks solutions and other ways to achieve her desired goal. She needs no scapegoat, no excuses, no sugarcoating, and no manipulation. Now she has truly arrived in her power.
This is ultimately the path to spiritual enlightenment.
The further you develop here, the more you begin to experience a state where, when you are "awake," you play and develop your role, and at night you delve into your true soul-being—going "home" to recharge, to connect with your soul family, before returning to the set the next day to continue playing your role, so that the film can have its ending. Just as a "real" actor knows that in real life they are not a pirate, so the soul knows that in "real life" it is indeed a soul. Just as a real actor, the more experience they gain, can make their roles more multifaceted and nuanced, so too can the soul, from its infinite pool of experience, allow it to flow into every moment of its life, bringing more soul-being to the role it plays.
Nevertheless, it remains a role. A role that can be wonderful, light, and beautiful, but also, at times, tough, unsettling, and exhausting. Perhaps so exhausting that we'd rather just throw in the towel. Yes, even though we've already realized that we are producer, director, and actor all in one. The film set isn't always easy, even when we're perfectly prepared. There are always hurdles that need to be overcome. Ideas that have to be discarded so that new ones can be born. Money that's lacking, forcing us to get creative and make our visions and dreams a reality.
People who leave the set because they don't want to or can't continue acting with us. That's film – that's life. And yet, as soon as you awaken, you know that even though you're playing your part, you are the soul behind it. That it's an illusion to go home in the evening and let that role rest, to be entirely your soul. To get up the next day and play your part until the film is finished, and then you can finally take a break, regenerate, and reflect on the film and the process of its creation. Then, when the time is right, you start looking for new roles. Precisely because you are an actor, because you need the roles to experience yourself in the most diverse situations – until the time comes to finally retire.
Close the flap
A good actor feels their role, they become completely immersed in it, they surrender to it and always strive to deliver their best. And yet, they always know, once the take is over, that they are an actor. It's the same in life. We feel pain, joy, love. We cry, we laugh, we celebrate. We feel good, we feel bad. That's part of being a good actor. It's part of our soul's journey. And yet, behind it all lies your true soul. Connecting to this soul can help us avoid losing ourselves in our roles, preventing us from crashing, losing perspective, and getting stuck. The soul guides us on our path.
I hope this simple example has given you some insight into what it means that "life is an illusion." But just because it's an illusion doesn't mean it's worthless. How many films, books, or radio plays do you know that have touched you, inspired you, given you hope, or provided valuable impetus for your decisions? You see, they may be illusions, but they are valuable. Similarly, every life you "play" is valuable. The experiences you have are valuable. They enrich your soul, make it fuller. And just because it's an illusion doesn't mean it isn't true.
I wish you a wonderful journey. And don't forget, if you'd like to delve deeper into the soul, take a look at my Soul Course - click - or work with the wonderful Soul Sprays - click -
Greetings from soul to soul, your Jennifer