What is Illusion?

[Wi11iam]

What is Illusion?

Hi Wi11iam.
One thing that I hear parroted over and over is that this world is illusion.  So I have to ask everyone, how did you get to the conclusion?  I can tell you how I did, (if you want to read it, that is)- but the idea of illusion has to be clarified- illusion does not always mean 'falsity', it simply means 'something other than what it seems to be', and this is the crux of what I'm getting to.
I think you get this, Wi11iam, so I'm not speaking to you per se- I'm just putting some thoughts out there to consider, if you want to hear/read what I have to say on the question.


Sure CFTraveler  - I am most interesting in we all sharing our understanding on this.
Another thread perhaps?

The Next Day....

Such a small pertinent question which requires a vast answer.

My short answer is that Illusion is not what Consciousness is experiencing, but how Consciousness chooses to understand what It is that It is seeing.

Said in a more down to Earth way...Illusion is not the experience of life you are having, but how you choose to interpret the experience.

Having said this much, I haven't said much at all really now have I?
I have more to say on the subject, and will share as I am able to...I have some time now to write, and since everything I submit as information on the internet, I first write in a word doc., I best get to it.

Catchalata.

Oh – one more thing, I was thinking this morning walking home from work, that words can be so cumbersome when trying to incorporate concepts from within the great halls of imagination, and the greater Invisible Reality...just as I finish writing that, I am reminded by my Self of an old saying I realised many years ago.
A little verse...

There was I was where I ought
Examining my conscious thought.

[Wi11iam]

I am capable of being able to do many things.  I could be painting right now – I love creating art.
I could be making music, I love making music.
I have a body which is getting on in years and does not have the energy to do things like it once did.
I have a mind which does a great deal more than it once did.
I have to sleep – how annoying is that!
I have to work – I work just enough to pay my way in this world.
I interact with others.  I make sure that I interact with those who are not about wasting my time – I look for distraction only so as to avoid it wherever I see it.
At this moment I am writing – my thoughts on 'What Is Illusion?'
Illusion is that which distracts, but that which distracts is illusive.
Hard to notice.

I have lit the fire – it is a cold morning.  I have coffee – I have my notebook – I have you in my head.

I am writing and wondering even as I do as to if I am simply being distracted by the opportunity to write my thoughts about what I have learned so far re 'Illusion' and what it is.

Ill U s I On

So I write to teach myself what my Self is teaching me – same as why I paint or compose. 

I would be writing this down anyway, even if I had no one in the world to share it with.


Vibration Inalienable

[Wi11iam]

One thing that I hear parroted over and over is that this world is illusion.

Yes.

So I have to ask everyone, how did you get to the conclusion? 

Yes – big question for everyone that is

I can tell you how I did, (if you want to read it, that is)- but the idea of illusion has to be clarified- illusion does not always mean 'falsity', it simply means 'something other than what it seems to be', and this is the crux of what I'm getting to.


This is something to do with how we each interpret our shared reality in this world – However I would be inclined (so do) to examine why illusion is not false or 'falsity.'
I understand otherwise – but I understand also what you are attempting to 'get to'  The crux  of the matter.

[Wi11iam]

No sooner do I say I am 'writing' and I start drawing!  Ha!  Distraction!

[Wi11iam]

So sometimes one's intention is not what captures one's attention.
Just after drawing that pic, little Bro arrives and we carry on designing this game we are working on creating.
So there goes a couple of hours, but at least I am not bored!
So then ...about illusion – I go to the letter box and get this letter from something called Parking Enforcement Services
Ah that reminds me!

So the illusion was, my partener and I were in Christchurch and we had to go to the hospital.
It was a Sunday morning and traffic was thin on the ground – we found the hospital parking area and there were plenty of parking spaces.
My partner said it should be alright to park here because it was a weekend.
We are from the country- a small town over the horizon from the big city.
After 4 hours at the hospital we got back to the car.  There were still plenty of available parking spaces available.
Behold!  A parking ticket!
Oh know!  How much!  What!! 
It works out that the price to park there was $3 per hour so it would have cost us $12.
The fine was $45.
Total profit $33.

How sad is that!

So the illusion was – we looked at our situation and without checking out the facts, concluded that because it was a weekend, we did not need to pay.
The reality was, we did need to pay.

All in the way we 'see' each situation.

So I am pi$$ed off.

Why?

Because I don't respect thieves who hide behind the illusion of 'the law' in order to steal.

Such illusion has made itself very much a part of reality.

So how did I shake the anger?

I created an illusion.  I decided I would pay the fine as a donation to the 'Rebuild Christchurch" initiative.
I think the idea of rebuilding Christchurch is an illusion.
But the Earthquakes certainly were not.
Furthermore, Christchurch is losing revenue of around $5,000,000 per day, with the CBD out of action.
Thus, however they get revenue, they will take whatever they can grab, so writing a letter asking them to reconsider the fine would be an illusion.
So the letter arrives to remind me I owe, and to tell me to pay before too long, or I will suffer more lawful consequences.

So I will pay, and pretend I am helping Christchurch.

It will cost me too, to go to their bank and pay the fine – lawful bank charges.

The big illusion is that we live our lives to these illusions created by the illusion of consumerism, from which cities are built around.

All it will take to close Christchurch down for good, is one more shake like the last one.
The reality is, our small country cannot handle the debt it is paying (created through The Illusion) AND rebuilt a city which is practically already ruined.

Anyway, little Bro has returned so it is back into this game designing.

[Stillwater]

C-C-Combobreaker!


You should read The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, if you haven't, WillIam. It is one of the greatest pieces of understanding ever published in English, and it is a devil to follow and comprehend. It is written from a few different perspectives, all of whom have a different mental disturbance that colors their perceptions. It does not follow a direct chronology, but jumps around from time to time, and from different people's perspectives at random, sometimes after a few words, and this compounded with the fact that most of it is near-imcomprehenisble to start makes it a joy to read. It is read in much the same way that life and existence is experienced- as a stream of connected perceptions and reflections. Faulkner mentioned that he also intended to print every word in a different color.

I mention this because you have been channeling Faulker lately 

[Wi11iam]

Every WORD a different color? 
I am glad you are enjoying my comprehendible offerings Stillwater.
I think that while these offerings might remind you of "The Sound and The Fury", that is likely an illusion.
"Different mental disturbance coloring perceptions."  is an accurate description of why illusion exists.  You are not exempt from this affliction.  No one really is.  The 'trick' is to see through the illusion, which requires a certain mending of those mental disturbances – transforming them through a kind of retraining of thought processes and redirecting of personal energy.

[CFTraveler]

Hi Wi11iam.
Thanks for responding to my question.
Here is how I understand the situation, based on the beliefs that I have come to have about reality.  As most of the beliefs that I have, I have come to understand/believe certain things about reality, and in my case they are beliefs that can change, because I try to not become attached to them.

First of all (and it is obvious, but I'll state it anyway) what our senses gather is only part of the picture.  We know for a fact that there are spectrums in the physical world that we cannot perceive- UV, IR and very micro and very macro world.  We only perceive a little bit, only what we need to survive.
What we don't know is a lot, but we approximate on what is there by what we do perceive.  It's what we can do, and this is fine.  It doesn't mean things aren't there, or things are a 'lie'- it means that 'things' are only part of the picture, and the appearance of things is not their only reality.

Now, for the idea that reality (or what is commonly understood as reality) is an illusion, here comes a religious viewpoint:mine.  Since it's my religious viewpoint, no one has to accept it, or even find logic in it.  I do, but I'm just explaining it as I see it, and I won't respond to taunts or challenges to it, because the purpose of my post is descriptive, not some sort of proselytizing.

I believe in God.  Not as an objective being with faults and errors, but as an idea of omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence.  As a panentheist I am also a Monist.  That means that I believe that the expressed universe (multiverse, pick your favorite term) is God in expression.  But my belief does not end there, because the expressed universe is only part of the picture (like physical reality is), but ideas like Eternity, Timelessness and such are also God, 'not' in expression.  To me, God is everything, but not just everything.
What is reality?  For some, reality is what can be perceived.  The problem is that to perceive something it must be expressed in time and space.  And as we know about time and space, things that exist in time and space are not eternal- there is a time where they did not exist and there will come a time that they will not exist any more.
This is true of anything in the manifest universe as we know it- The sun, the stars, the trees, the world- all objects have a time where they did not exist as themselves, and there will come a time that they will stop existing as what they are- therefore, from the point of view of eternity- from the point of view of the absolute, these things do not exist.
Something exists now, and we can experience it, but from the point of view of the absolute, no, it has no absolute existence.
So can anything have absolute existence?  Not in expression.
How about energy?  I don't know, all indications are that energy seems to be pervasive (the rules say it cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed) so it's possible that energy is that one manifestation that doesn't follow the rule of 'no absolute existence'- since I have no way to go back in time (other than in my imagination) and 'see' what was there before the big bang or whatever it was, I cannot speculate if energy came to be as a result of the BB- after all energy is also called 'potential', and that is supposed to have been there before the BB- too much potential, no space or time.

So the point is, that from the point of view of the absolute, nothing exists, nothing 'is' except perhaps energy (and that is debatable) but from the point of view of the observer looking at reality, everything exists- therefore what we call reality isn't the complete story.
Now I'm not talking philosophy (my reality is different than your reality)- I'm talking about reality from an absolute point of view.
Does it mean that nothing ever happens to anyone?  No, I don't mean that- I mean, that from the point of view of an eternal 'I', this is just a dream, one that won't even last that long.  What happens next, well, if our perception (which is brain-based) of OBEs and APs are correct (or somewhat correct) we exist outside of time, or it appears, so that there may be some other type of existence that is "I" based (the astral plane?) but this is a big "if".

So why do 'bad' things happen?  Because any existence that requires a point of view will require all point of views- that can be judged accordingly.  But if eternity is a reality for a soul, then suffering is only part of the experience, and the idea of experience can become also debatable.

Now this is getting too abstract, so I'll stop here.
But anyway, now at least you have an idea of what I mean when I say "this is an illusion".  More or less.
Cheers.

[personalreality]

I didn't read everything that has been posted here, just william's first post, but I will throw my two cents in real quick.

I often claim that objectivity doesn't exist, which in a sense it doesn't (though, on the other hand there is absolutely a fundamental reality common to all).  What I mean when I say this though is precisely what william shares.  It's not so much that an objective reality doesn't exist, it's that psychologically speaking we all see such a different reality that focusing on an objective reality is unnecessary for most people in their personal development.  We each have very subjective perceptions of reality based on our lifetime of experience and perhaps even multiple lifetimes of memories and emotions.  This is what william describes as illusion.  We see the reality that our experience dictates.  It is up to us to move beyond the influence of personal history and see the greater reality.  But this is a process, you don't just turn it off, which is why, for all intents and purposes, I constantly make the grandiose claims that objectivity doesn't exist.  It's more important that the individual understands the nature of their perception before they can move beyond it.  This is the goal of all mystery traditions from buddhism and hermetism to esoteric christianity and occult groups.  Recognize that you are not your feelings and perceptions, you are not just a reaction to your environment.  You can move beyond all of that.

[Wi11iam]

  Hi Wi11iam.
Thanks for responding to my question.


Greetings returned CFTraveler.
Thank you also for your response – it is appreciated.

Yes – beliefs are what they are and they need to be able to morph, naturally transform and be built upon or in some cases, cut out altogether as being provably faulty. 

Yes – indeed, what our senses gather are part of the picture, but the picture may still be very much an illusion.  We also have intuition and we also have the opportunity to connect with that which does have a true overview of 'The Bigger Picture'
I agree that it doesn't mean that things we cannot see about our reality are a lie.  This is not really what I am referring to as "ILLUSION"

The idea that "Reality is an Illusion" is not something that I am making a point about.  Rather I am making a point that how we have been taught to and learn to 'see' Reality, it is THIS which I am saying is Illusion.  This is true of the dominant reality we live on (Earth) and in (The Universe) and within (the *Astral*)

Even the labels we are called by or call ourselves, these are Illusion.
You are – in your own words a "Panentheist"
and a "Monist"
– this is handy as a reference for me to 'see where you are coming from' but believe me or not, this is not who you are, this is just what you believe yourself to be, and this is Illusion.

Now, that is rather rude of me to say so yes?

But it is not said to taunt you, but it might be said to 'challenge' you, but only in the sense of potentially helping to assist.

I understand that there is a 'God' – and that there are many 'gods' which are creations of First Source (which is a 'label' I accept for The One Conscious Intelligent Awareness with Purpose which is ultimately responsible for All That Is)

I see the Universe is a physical image of creative ability expressed/impressed upon the Quantum Material. Space.  Matter, Energy and Time are effects of that expression.

Thus I see that this Universe is not the physical image/expression/reflection of God/First Source, but a creative expression – and a purposeful expression.

Created With Purpose.

The purpose of creating is to explore the creation.  First create, then explore.  What creates?  Consciousness creates.
What explores?  Consciousness explores.

If 'God' was 'all knowing', there would be no need to explore, there would be no consciousness within the Physical Universe.
Or, more to the point, the consciousness within the Universe would be exactly in harmony with the universe....exactly acting/expressing itself physically in harmony with the physical universe...evidence on Earth suggests strongly that consciousness within human form is NOT in harmony with its physical surrounds.
The reason for this being the case has to do with Illusion.

Now it could be that the act of Creation is one and the same as the act of Exploring the Creation – there is no difference.  It is the same thing.

Therefore "God' might still be 'all knowing' and knew the consequences of Creating/Exploring a physical Universe.

Either 'God' is not omniscience, or It is, but in order to explore the physical universe, it had to 'go within' its creation, knowing that it could only do this through a complex set of expressions, within an astronomically vast time period and that the denser It moved into Its physical creation, the more It would forget itself.


So can anything have absolute existence?  Not in expression.


Consciousness has absolute existence.
What we inside the physical reality call the 'Big Bang' might well be that moment when First Source (Consciousness) first interacted with Quantum.
Also, there is nothing to show us that the BB is only one event.  I have often thought that there could be an innumerable number of 'Big Bangs' happening as a 'pulse' of sorts – creating a ripple effect through the Quantum – each going through that 'motion' of creation and dissipating eventually to return to Quantum....
Furthermore, this idea can feed information from the preceding pulse/creation/reaction to the one following – thus the consciousness within the one following will react different based on the information received from the one which precedes it...



So the point is, that from the point of view of the absolute, nothing exists, nothing 'is' except perhaps energy (and that is debatable) but from the point of view of the observer looking at reality, everything exists- therefore what we call reality isn't the complete story.


Although, as you have said, you believe that 'God' (as an idea) is omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence.
Those three words together denote the Absolute and Consciousness.  As such, the point of view of the absolute has to be Everything, and would include 'nothing' in the sense that if consciousness entered a realm where there was 'nothing' then by definition 'Nothing' becomes 'something, BECAUSE Consciousness deemed it to BE 'nothing'
That is how I understand it anyway.


Does it mean that nothing ever happens to anyone?  No, I don't mean that- I mean, that from the point of view of an eternal 'I', this is just a dream, one that won't even last that long.  What happens next, well, if our perception (which is brain-based) of OBEs and APs are correct (or somewhat correct) we exist outside of time, or it appears, so that there may be some other type of existence that is "I" based (the astral plane?) but this is a big "if".

I think our major difference in understanding "what 'God' is" has to do with the separation.  There is "God" and there is 'Us'.  The two are not the same thing.
However, I understand that 'we' are the same thing, in the sence that what makes us 'something' has to do with consciousness, and that is the part of First Source which we all have.  It is the reason we are able to say "I Am".
Having said this, I return to the topic of this thread – it is this very thing which is able to say "I Am" which has been taught an Illusion – and Illusion of what 'we are'.
Well, many illusions really (re this expression), but they are all illusions apart from the expression which knows it is First Source within Its Creation.  That is the first expression (step) towards freedom from the Illusion...and requires suspension of all belief/non belief, prior to exploring this 'I AM' option.
"I am Consciousness within a creation which that Consciousness created"
"I am Consciousness with Intelligent Reason and Purpose, which exceeds the notion of exploration for the simply sake of self entertainment."

That is what I think.

The *Astral* realm is mostly a creation of human belief systems, which mirror the capabilities of First Source Creative Ability.
However, this realm is largely the product of consciousness in human form cut off from the reality (truth) of what it is (First Source) and has created these realities in the Astral Realm, based on the Illusion of what they think they are, as human beings.

As such, these creations – while long-lasting (in terms of human experience) are not permanent, because they derive from Illusion – from a false understanding of those who create these 'worlds' in the Astral, of who they really are.


Now this is getting too abstract, so I'll stop here.
But anyway, now at least you have an idea of what I mean when I say "this is an illusion".  More or less.
Cheers.


I hope too that you now have a better idea as to why I say that this Universe can NOT be an illusion, if it were created by First Source.  It is Real.  What makes it so is Consciousness.
I cannot say for sure that it is not permanent.  The material which is used to make Matter, Energy, Space and Time, may well be – like that 'infinite number of pulses' theory I offered.  So it may not– in its present 'incarnation' be permanent, but as a template...as something which is nothing which can be made into something, it may well be permanent.

Well now that we have shared our understandings and beliefs about 'God' – it would be great to continue this discussion regarding Illusion in more depth, as I feel that the subject has hardly 'scratched the surface' as to how much Illusion plays its part in why the world is as it is...

Cheers

[CFTraveler]

– this is handy as a reference for me to 'see where you are coming from' but believe me or not, this is not who you are, this is just what you believe yourself to be, and this is Illusion.

I absolutely get it- and agree for the most part with what you are saying.
Cheers.

[Wi11iam]

Objectivity

1.  Ability to view things objectively: the ability to perceive or describe something without being influenced by personal emotions or prejudices 
2.  Accuracy: the fact or quality of being accurate, unbiased, and independent of individual perceptions 
3.  Philosophy actual existence: the actual existence of something, without reference to people's impressions or ideas 


Yes PersonalReality – in human form objectivity would be a very rare thing indeed.  Not impossible but unlikely.

Nevertheless, the Reality in which we find ourselves collectively sharing, does exist.  The 'frustrating' part is in agreeing as to the why's and wherefores' and I understand that this has been 'taken care of' in the form of our collective education – there is a need to unite individuals to a common conception of the Reality we share, and this process of education has been ongoing for long time gone already.

Different methods of education have been applied to all of the various 'races' evolving over the face of the Planet.  Some are violent and some are subtle.  Most are fear based.
We could look at the similarities of these differing methods of education, and also at the content of the belief systems being endorsed and enforced by the differing cultures, sciences, politics and religions and we can find common denominators, no doubt.

There has always been a 'battle' for numbers, for superior advantage, etc...this is all part of a reaction to belief which is anchored in the illusion which promotes belief system.

This energy created by belief, transfers between the two worlds – the outer and the inner.  Seeing through The Illusion does require the ability to be as objective as possible, but this is no easy thing because it is not how we are educated to think, and the distractions are survival based at their foundation – thus the distraction for food clothing and shelter is First Priority.  Yet those who are surviving in relative comfort and who are thus more able to focus on Objectivity and agreement, are further distracted by their education to shop, to party, to hope in heaven, to play sports, gamble, to have sex consistently, to fight wars, to get married and have kids, to --- the list goes on.

The equivalent of this in The Astral Realm amounts to the same – Objectivity hardly exists because of the continued distractions.

In most cases (it appears), individuals who are interested in "Astral Projection" are interested because it offers them even more distraction and even a kind of escape from the Earth Experience...even those who are exploring for 'deeper meaning' and 'spiritual evolution'...the beliefs are simply transfer from one world to the other.

And just like on Earth, there are those in the Astral Realm who encourage and teach others to be distracted.
And there are those Earth-side who are offering the same advice re 'Astral Experience'.  "Step right up for the ride of your life where YOU create your own world" type advice.

There are reasons for why such educators are doing what they do.  There is a battle for both worlds.  Objectivity is the Key to unravelling the fabric of The Illusion.

[Wi11iam]

The Four Systems of Human Society which are collectively controlling the Human Mind System, creating Illusion.

The Human Mind System is the predominant influence on creating nearly Everything That Is, within the 'Astral Realm'

That which controls/influences the Human Mind System is that which creates the aspects which unfold and become real, in the Astral Realm.

In this model, the Astral Realm is represented as the background circle.

The Four Systems of Human Society together create an illusion which involves distracting the collective human consciousness, by giving explanations as to 'why' it's reality (F1) exists and 'why' it (the collective human consciousness) exists within it.

If any individual becomes attracted to the Invisible Realm, be that through mysticism, religion and other isms of that nature, Religion and Culture are there to direct the individual's belief systems in directions which are designed to perpetuate the Illusion.
Science and Politics utilise the beliefs of those less incline to believe such fairy tales, and have their own methods of influence in order to perpetuate the Illusion.

All human belief systems controlled and directed by these Four Systems of Human Society are echoed through the area which separates the two worlds, very effectively.
This area, Frank Kepple calls F2 – and through this process, are created as Real, in F3 and it is there that consciousness which was formerly experiencing human life through human form, ends up once that human life experience expires.

The consciousness is not free from the Illusion when it passes from F1 to F3.

[Wi11iam]

  When I close my eyes all I see is blackness. But I think the essential difference between me and many beginners is when they close their eyes they are not really noticing. And that's another key to it... that of noticing self. I think people become too wrapped up in methods and techniques, and it prevents them from really noticing themselves.
Frank Kepple

"Noticing Self"

  People often tell me that they keep trying and they are saying about how they are concentrating upon holding their awareness outside of themselves, and at the same time they are concentrating on "raising energy" and doing everything correctly, and whatever... but nothing is happening. That's right, because all their attention is fixated elsewhere, whereas all my attention is fixated on noticing.
Frank Kepple

"Focus on Noticing"

  So from then on, I continue to notice anything that may come about. I'm not all that curious, I'm not trying to make anything happen, I'm not enacting some kind of method or technique, I'm simply looking within and noticing what is taking place, and the act of doing that is focusing my attention. Frank Kepple

While Frank is writing this as an illustration on how he 'Phases' from one focus to another, he also uses this method within the experiences he is having.
I understand that because of this discipline, he was able to – over the years – 'map' something of the nature of the underlying structure/template of the 'mechanism' which allows for all individual consciousness to have what they refer to as their experiences. 

Frank was able to literally examine and observe from a position outside the prevailing influence of the distraction of the myriad 'possibilities' to which less focused  individuals find themselves experiencing.

This is not to say that he did not indulge in experiences, but that his focus was on trying to better understand the 'make-up' of the 'mechanism' in which those experiences were happening.

The 'mechanism' Frank describes as – "The Wider Reality"

  As we are primarily focused on the physical world, we only really perceive the physical. This leads us to think that the rest of the Wider Reality is somewhere else. This is incorrect. The Wider Reality is in fact ALL here, the crucial factor is that we have chosen to focus our awareness into a specific area of that entire spectrum of consciousness for the purpose of gathering experience. Frank Kepple

Frank believed that there was a purpose to our focus on a specific area, F1 and that purpose is for 'gathering experience'.

In relation to the other things Frank has to say about the 'Wider Reality' it is obvious that Frank understood that we in the dominant  reality of F1, as individuals, are 'gathering experience' for the Wider Reality, rather than for our individual purpose of 'self' which are more focused on having the experience, and do not necessarily understand our experience from any objective point of view (such as gathering experience for the collective use of Our Particular System of Consciousness) – we each are our subjective part of the shared objective experience of F1. 
That is most often how we identify our individuality, and this description often transfers into all our individual experience, including the other areas of this Wider Reality Frank identified.
Note: I suspect that this is exactly WHY there is a lack of success with AP'ers to 'meet each other' when experiencing the Wider Reality

  Now, the Wider Reality is apportioned into 4 Primary Areas that I label Focus 1 to Focus 4 inclusive. You can call them what you like. The actual label you place is irrelevant. For ease of understanding, however, we need to call them something simple and logical.
Frank Kepple

What these areas are called or labelled, is useful.  Keeping things simple is useful.  The reason Frank has been able to identify these Primary Areas has to do with the function these areas can be observed to be involved in, by the individualised consciousness observing them.
In observing, Frank has been able to ascertain that the Primary Areas are integrated with each other, together making up a whole 'thing' which Frank identifies as being
'Our Particular System of Consciousness'

  Someone asked me recently if there was anything beyond Focus 4, i.e. a Focus 5 or such like. The answer is, to my knowledge, within our particular system there are just 4 Primary areas. But consciousness doesn't end there. Consciousness is infinite. There may well be an infinite number of other systems either like ours or perhaps wildly different. But let's just concentrate on the structure of our particular system and get people projecting properly with that first.
Frank Kepple

Frank is correct that 'there may well be' other systems, but that we are within OUR system, and this then is the best thing to focus on holistically – in its entirety.

It is obvious that Frank's observations had led him to understand that 'projecting properly' within the structure of 'our particular system' was of great importance, and that understanding the mechanics of this particular system had everything to do with this idea.

This is because Frank understood that as individuals, each of us had this 'particular system' in common.  It was something that we each, as conscious human beings shared together, as One Conscious System, and that the 4 Focuses together was what made up the totality of  that One Conscious System, and everything within it.   

[Stookie_]

I missed a whole lot here, so my quick 2 cents:

It isn't that it's not real, but it's not real in the way we tend to perceive it as real. Our physical perception limits us in seeing the true reality of things.

[Wi11iam]

It isn't that it's not real, but it's not real in the way we tend to perceive it as real. Our physical perception limits us in seeing the true reality of things.


Yes Stookie, this has much to do with it – but also how we actually perceive our self and others, has much to do with 'keeping up Illusions'

[Xanth]

Meh...

You might as well also ask "What is Real?"

[Wi11iam]

Frank identifies the Primary Focus as F1 which remains this way until 'death' at which the Primary Focus becomes F3 – Frank calls the F3 the Transition Area   

  You see, when you switch your Primary Focus, all subjective interaction with your physical body is stopped. In other words, the physical shell stops functioning as you shed it and go to live within Focus 3. This area is known as the Transition Area for various reasons.
Frank Kepple

Frank also states that every individual can verify the reality of the One Conscious System for themselves.  However it is an observable consistent, that most people who participate in AP, do so for reasons which are still very much tied into their understanding of their dominant reality of F1 and how each express themselves in F1 (how you live, the choices you make and why you make those choices) is the determining factor of how you will experience and what you will experience as AP's.

  Ignore those that claim you have to reach a particular "level" of "incarnation" before you can access the "higher" areas. We actually occupy ALL of consciousness ALREADY. Every one of us has the EXACT SAME subjective structure! There is no such thing as any one person being more advanced than any other. Frank Kepple

This is the quintessence of The Reality which is concealed by the Illusion.  What we think of as our Self, and why we think so, is the very thing which sustains the Illusion.

  In fact, the people who have the hardest or most difficult time in Transition, tend to be the highly religious and deeply spiritual types. They just get bogged down in their own belief constructs and end up trudging through the Astral Mud, as I call it. Frank Kepple

I think this is primarily where Frank gets somewhat 'bogged down' himself.
I can understand his persistent bemoaning of "gurus" and other 'spritual' guides who lead people down the garden paths, and how this attitude can grate on individuals, as Pauli expresses in his review when he states:

Through out his document, Frank again and again attacks something
very ill-defined, which he labels "mystics" or "mysticism". I am having a hard
time just accepting his criticism as it often is so all-encompassing and
unspecific. Frank does very little to explain exactly what he means
with those two concepts, which repeatedly becomes targets.

This 'way of doing things' is something we all do as individuals within our dominant reality F1 and is carried through (as an attitude) into all our dreams, LDs and AP's (etc) experiences.
Everyone has 'mud to get bogged down in' and Frank's almost disdainful annoyance of 'spiritual types' is reminiscent of James Randi.

This is understandable.  Frank is witnessing the effects of what he see as extending from "mystics" -  from his vantage points within F1 and F3 and understands the correlation.
James Randi works to expose it in F1, and in his own way James R is expressing his contempt for the fraudulent soothsayers he sees as preying on the ignorant, vulnerable.
Ironically, if James R only realised how such stuff affects F3 he might well double his efforts! He and his followers have their work cut out for them because they have their own 'mud' to wallow through.

The 'mud' is part of the Illusion.

As to 'mystics' the other aspect of this 'mud-slinging' stuff is that once the proverbial 'stone' is dropped, rather than cast, they are extremely useful.
This is because they understand, having come from that 'direction', the Concept of "GOD" (in its various guises) and have explored this concept through their available resources, and this approach is different from those whom approach it with a more Scientific manner.

All that remains is the final step of realising that We are not separate from "GOD", in the sense that "GOD" is 'outside' of what we ourselves are.

I think this is where Frank was annoyed – because he saw the results of belief systems transferred from F1 into F3 and that  - where "GOD" remained outside the individuals understanding of who that individual actually IS, that individual (through this belief system) contributes to the Illusion and the Illusion continues into F3, hampering the full realisation for the Reason of Being.



Meh...
You might as well also ask "What is Real?"


Dismantling the Illusion answers that Question perfectly – indifference does not.

[Xanth]

Dismantling the Illusion answers that Question perfectly – indifference does not.

It actually doesn't... not even kind of. 
Why?  Because your question and my question are unanswerable.

[Wi11iam]

Dismantling the Illusion answers that Question perfectly – indifference does not.

It actually doesn't... not even kind of. 
Why? 
Because your question and my question are unanswerable.



Interesting.
So is the statement "Your question and my question are unanswerable" Real or Illusion?

I could simply ask "Really?"

Then if the Answer was "Yes" I could accept it or reject it or simply say "Meh" as a way of showing my lack of interest and indifference.  (Of course, the expression "Meh" is said [real] to express lack of interest and indifference, but is often used [illusion]  in a way to denote derision and contempt, which are not products of indifference.)

If the answer was "No" I could accept it or reject it or simply say "Meh"...

The truthful answer, based on the statement would have to be "I don't know"

Like so:


"Your question and my question are unanswerable"

"Really?"

"I don't know"


What asks your question?  What asks my question?
I say consciousness is that which asks.
Is Consciousness Real?

I say YES.

Both Questions – are answerable.

The Illusion in this case then is in believing and being asked to believe that these questions are unanswerable....just 'because'...

Where "Meh" is the dominant attitude within the individual, I can fully understand why that individual would think/believe that the question, 'What is Illusion?' is unanswerable.

Indeed, I have even experienced individuals who claim to be 'this' or 'that' and even 'indifferent' but are anything but what they claim.  It is in the claim of such individuals that the Illusion exists, and in the actions where the Reality becomes apparent.

Thus if I were to ask myself - 'is this person being truthful or false' I am asking 'is this individual being Real, or is this individual trying to create an Illusion?

The answer would eventually come through the individuals own behaviour which either lines up with that individuals statements regarding themselves, or is seen and thus proved to be false.

James Randi is famous for revealing falseness in individuals and in organisations which claim something as Real, when it is provably Illusion.

Thus, James Randi believes that Illusion is Real, and goes about proving so.

Thus the question "What is Illusion" can be answered.

I once saw the magician David Copperfield make a Lear Jet disappear.  I understood that the whole thing was Illusion, but it looked Real...the jet was hidden behind a large screen and then when the screen was removed, the jet had disappeared.

I am told that this is a 'magic trick' and would think that this is true – mainly because a screen was used – if the screen was not used and the jet simply faded into nothing, then yes – I would think that it was likely Real, but until I actually found out HOW, I would not be able to answer conclusively.

Was it Real or was it Illusion?

I have read advice to those experiencing 'dark entities' from those who are more experienced in the ways of AP, explaining that these things are products of the individual's imagination, and advice on how to stop the Illusions are often given.
Those who answer in this way are saying that it is Illusion.  They are saying what is Illusion and proving that the question 'What is Illusion' is answerable.

At least from their own experience.

[Summerlander]

Illusion - 1. A false idea or belief; 2. A deceptive appearance or impression; 3. A thing that is or is likely to be wrongly perceived or interpreted by the senses.

Phew!

[Lexy]

A belief that you are separate from all that is.


All is one. 

[Wi11iam]

Yes - separated from all that is - or separate.  Anything that would cause you to think in separatist ways is Illusion, and there are plenty of those to distract anyone unknowing.
This is why, in the case of AP, one can develop methods which pull back the veils of illusion and get to the heart of the matter, as it were.
Mostly what is experienced in AP is co-created by individual and collective human imagination which has been shaped into defining belief systems and 'made real' through the process.
However, it can be seen that those 'areas' where beliefs are made real in "astral realm" are themselves of necessity separate - if only from each other, through those belief systems...heaven and hell to use two well known extremes...but there are so many more.
Thus, they are products of illusion and deleteable enough through F4 processes...F4 being the collective individual hub which oversees the vast worlds/universes of these associate realms and is enabled to carry out this function.

Individuality is not forfeit so much as it is incorporated into support of a greater thing than itself.



Even then, Focus 4 not only umbrellas the other focuses, in a directional role, but is also itself connected to something even vaster outside itself, which is an influence on direction and purpose to do with opening up in house programmed loops of distraction and illusion - something Frank in his writing at the time did not appear to realize to an extent where he share any detail.

Focus 4 + Click image for link >

 
Ultimately, sampling F4 consciousness can be a very rewarding experience when you get it right. Because then all your Wider Self is laid open for you and you can revel in the excitement and the enjoyment of it all. Stand transfixed by the sheer awesomeness of it all. Find out who you truly are. Frank Kepple