Is Everything an Illusion?

The buzz-phrase that "everything's an illusion," is taken literally by concrete thinkers who convince themselves that they are indeed the authors of the Universe. Yes, it's possible to imitate wisdom without actually being wise.

Now hear this! The brain interprets sensory input, overlooks a lot of detail due to subjectivity, ego and missing data. There are a lot of forces present that we don't detect as well. We can't see the spokes of a spinning bicycle wheel, but know better than put our fingers in their path. Yet we overlook other threats to our well-being because the evidence isn't under our noses and visible at the moment.

So, the human ability to relate to surroundings is strictly a function of mind. Perception is more than sensory input. It's what the brain decides to do with it, what to consider as worth one's attention, then assigning meaning to it. Once meaning is assigned, it's far more likely to "see" what one expects to, rather than what actually is.

So, "everything's an illusion," and it's cohort claim, "what you see is of your own creation," does not mean that the Universe outside our mind is a dream. It simply means that our perception is illusory, regardless of empirical input. The mountain is real, even if what we perceive isn't the actual mountain, but reflected light, distorted in color and scale at least. As individuals, we didn't "create" it either.

All the above is stated simply to call BS to those who shrug off the problems we face because "it's all an illusion."

I'm not saying that has happened in this thread, but I'm on a rant because I'm tired of hearing about this "illusion cop-out" from pseudo-intellectuals. These same folks will think they're doing something wise by telling those who are suffering that their pain isn't real, but an illusion. They will ignore hunger, pollution, homelessness, and environmental destruction, because it's "an illusion."

So, if anybody asks, it's NOT all an illusion "out there." The illusion exists between our ears, that's it. The creation we see is ours, as we created our own illusion, not someone else's.