Imago ego

Beliefs are delusional because illusions source them.  Illusions are distortions of perceptions and the result of irrational conclusions we’ve drawn about ourselves and others.  It stands then to reason that the outcomes are delusional opinions – many held to be right beliefs about others and ourselves. 

I have no reservations with the possibility of possessing clear and rational beliefs.  The pre-requisite to having them, however, must be in the attitude with which I hold my current views.  If I am not willing to accept that my beliefs are subject to the irrationality or falsehood as others also have, then the chances of my being able to scrutinize them, repudiate them, and ultimately correct are slim to none.

Painting By Rene Magritte

So how are my beliefs real?  The nature of Maya, Illusion, is complex and sophisticated.  As we have previously discussed, illusions are just that – an illusion.  The construct is unreal.  It is immaterial and yet entertained by my ego because these illusions (deceptions) instigate and stimulate feelings like drugs.

Feelings fuel my subjective interpretations of reality.  If my tools of interpretation (hermeneutics) are delusion, it is given that my beliefs will be, too.  This is a recurring or cyclical process.  A vicious cycle. 

Belief in God can be as subject to delusion and any other belief.  Nationalism, Homophobia, Racism, and countless other fears and constructs are open to a warp and illusory outcome as a result of the same fears, ignorance, or narcissism causing all the other delusional beliefs I entertain as true. 

I must do the same thing to ensure my belief in God is as free from Maya as my work in putting all my beliefs, opinions, and thoughts under scrutiny.  As the dross of ignorance, fear, and ego, are lost in the fire of scrutiny and spiritual rigor, I will meet God again for the first time and discover that I had never actually met divinity before.  I believed in a god I created in my own image.  Imago ego.