It takes years and years of experience and hard work to seek authenticity in our lives. But what if an illusion helps us more than authenticity? What is the significance of a psychological mirage? Let’s find out.
“Have you ever lived through a series of illusions seeking life beyond reality?”
“Is it possible that one of the most depressing things can be an asset to seek our true potential?”
Well, saying things doesn’t lead to action. We might be all imaginative and transcendental with our questions, but reality always deems otherwise. Moreover, nobody wants to spend his life on something he cannot comprehend physically.
Mirage has always been an alluring and mystic word for me. The science behind an optical illusion is interesting enough to stimulate our analytical minds with creative juices.
But, what caught my attention was how we could apply the idea of mirage to the field of psychology or psychological problems. For instance, we can impart the significance of an illusion in the lives of people.
Now, “What significance does an illusion or mirage hold in our lives?”
It would be really foolish to say that we can help someone with an illusion or a mirage, or is it? We aren’t aware of how we can use an illusion to heal our deepest and gravest of wounds.
That is why we are going to find out the significance of a psychological mirage.
How does a psychological mirage manifest in our minds?
Before learning the significance of a psychological mirage, let’s find out how a psychological mirage manifests in our minds. In other words, what are the ways through which we get this illusion of the mind?
For instance, consider a little boy who is desperate to find a toy he lost while playing on the lawn of the house. He doesn’t know where he dropped it and tries to seek it, but in vain.
Finally, his mother comes out on the lawn, and picking up the boy in her arms she tells him that the toy is not lost but has evolved into a new one, thereby giving him a new toy better than the old one.
Likewise, most people chase the reality like a 5-year-old boy desperately looking for a toy, only to find out that it was lost long ago. But when they snap out of their misery, they understand the significance of illusion in their lives.
So, here are the 3 most important ways how psychological mirage manifests in our minds.
1. It surfaces with the complexity of things:
Complexity is one of the prime factors that lead to an illusionary world and society. Although it is not accurate or perfect, it helps us with a different perspective.
For instance, we learn a lot of our individual and social skills through society. But we can also learn these things through introspection and freedom of thought. The only difference is that it may or may not be true.
So, the complexity and diversity in things lead to a world of illusion that fuels the purpose of a psychological mirage.
2. It feeds on the contradictions of human nature:
Human nature is contradictory. It wouldn’t be a surprise if we find walking contradictions 10 years from now. Moreover, expecting them to be simple is impossible due to easy access to knowledge and resources, which have turned them this way.
Contradictory human nature acts as a source for the psychological mirage governing the fallacy and illusions in life.
Ironically, this mirage arises from human nature itself, which, if anything, doesn’t go well while dealing with reality.
3. It makes us look beyond the aspects of reality:
Of course. What is an illusion worth if it doesn’t oppose the aspects of reality? Nothing, right? Similarly, there is no way to live in an illusion while limiting oneself to reality.
Besides, reality can disappoint a person to a point where following an illusion becomes necessary to motivate him. In other words, when going gets tough, it is important to follow a goal that could inspire you to do something.
It is due to our inspiration-seeking nature that we follow an illusion beyond the aspects of reality.
So, we have now discussed the ways how psychological mirage manifests in our lives.
Now, let us discuss its significance in the next section.
What is the significance of a psychological mirage?
Finally, it is time to discuss the core of our post. How can we determine the significance of a psychological mirage? Is it worth recognizing and embracing this illusion? Let’s find out.
For instance, when we meet someone with depression and anxiety, we often realize that the source of his problems is not the reality but his perception of it.
In other words, he has aligned himself with one of the polar views of society where he believes cynicism is the only answer to it.
We try to identify with the idea of duality i.e., good and bad, but seldom succeed in creating a balance between them and make sense of our problems, all the while ruminating on the polar views about us and our environment.
So, here are 5 strong and convincing reasons why is psychological mirage significant in our lives.
1. It is the understanding of reality itself:
“Have you ever asked yourself why you see reality the way you see it?“
“Why do we limit it according to our perceptions?“
Maybe there is a reason behind it. Maybe there is something inner mind. It is possible that we are wired from birth, or we gain this perception with age.
But the most important thing is that the illusion is a part of reality, just the one without facts and truth. Most people realize this but do not understand that their illusions or psychological mirage, as I say, are an extension of reality itself.
Therefore, the mirage is the understanding of reality itself. Some learn reality first to understand illusions, while others do the opposite.
2. Its purpose is to show who we are deep inside:
We all want to be in touch with ourselves, no matter what. It is the inherent desire of humanity to stick true to their beliefs and morality, whether objective or subjective.
Likewise, the purpose of the mirage is not to show the illusions but the reality of who we are deep inside. Are we practical or imaginative? A practical person might disregard the mirage to focus on reality, while an imaginative one will accept it and utilize it to manifest his dreams.
Hence, the mirage helps us in identifying the depth of our personality and understand the type of person we are.
3. It is a road beyond normal and conventional life:
The worst way people could go wrong is by blaming things and not their perception of them. In other words, the fault lies in the way we see illusions and not the illusions themselves.
Mirage is just an illusion and not an entity that dissuades you from reality. It is a vital part of our psychology. Moreover, we see it when we are stressed or worn out. Therefore, we need to understand why do we see illusions in our toughest times. We have to find out the purpose behind them or the things they are trying to show us.
Disregarding them can put us into trouble, but accepting them and utilizing them wisely is important. It is difficult to do it the first time, but over the years one learns to deal with them.
4. It can make us creative and spontaneous:
It depends. Creativity is highly revered in the eyes of society, not spontaneity. More than anything, this trait is highly despised for making us naive and childish.
However, spontaneity breeds problem-solving abilities and a greater likelihood of agility and mental strength. Mirage works in a way that seems confusing to humanity. It stimulates our creative juices, and by combining them with reality, we can influence people through poems, stories, and songs.
Hence, mirage helps us to see things from an altogether different perspective and be more open-minded to multiple possibilities.
5. Lastly, it allows us to see past the authenticity:
If you think being authentic always comes with benefits, then you are wrong. It is equally important to understand how we can maintain a harmonious relationship between authenticity and reality.
Mostly, people who are highly focused on being authentic have trouble understanding the need for looking past the truth and realizing the greater benefit of humanity. The psychological mirage helps them to recognize this by showing them an illusion of their inner feelings and how these can manipulate them.
All we need is a person, a friend, or a therapist to help us learn something valuable from this illusion to make the path clear for us to follow.
Final Words:
To sum up, the mirage might not be a perfect way to tackle the psychological problems at large, but it is nevertheless significant. The illusion seems deceptive if that is how you see it. However, at the end of the day, it is also helpful to seek reality in its true sense.
Whining and complaining over the morbidity isn’t going to help in any way. The only thing that can help is the realization of the relationship between illusion and reality.