Is it an illusion?…..

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

Ever heard of the Escherian Staircase? Is it an illusion?

According to Wikipedia an illusion is….

“An illusion is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Though illusions distort reality, they are generally shared by most people.^[1] Illusions may occur with any of the human senses, but visual illusions (optical illusions), are the most well- known and understood. The emphasis on visual illusions occurs because vision often dominates the other senses. For example, individuals watching a ventriloquist will perceive the voice is coming from the dummy since they are able to see the dummy mouth the words.^[2] Some illusions are based on general assumptions the brain makes during perception. These assumptions are made using organizational principles (e.g., Gestalt theory), an individual’s capacity for depth perception and motion perception, and perceptual constancy. Other illusions occur because of biological sensory structures within the human body or conditions outside of the body within one’s physical environment.”

Another example of an illusion is an ad by Honda

Not really an illusion but amazing CGI that blends the whole thing together. I’m not on commission from them but they do make some really great ads.

Isn’t it weird how our eyes/ears can decieve us in all sorts of ways. Like the master card trick expert or the ventriloquist who can throw his/her voice. It can be the same with our own belief system. We’ve been conditioned over the years to believe certain things, but are you really certain about the truth behind it or is it an illusion? I got a message from a close friend earlier today and I’d like to include it here just to make you think.

“Programming the mind….

If you start with a cage containing five monkeys and inside the cage, hang a banana on a string from the top and then you place a set of stairs under the banana, before long a monkey will go to the stairs and climb toward the banana.
As soon as he touches the stairs, you spray all the other monkeys with cold water.
After a while another monkey makes an attempt with same result
.. All the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.
Now, put the cold water away.
Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one.
The new monkey sees the banana and attempts to climb the stairs. To his shock, all of the other monkeys beat the crap out of him.
After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs he will be assaulted.
Next, remove another of the original five monkeys, replacing it > with a new one.
The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment…… With enthusiasm, because he is now part of the “team”.
Then, replace a third original monkey with a new one, followed by the fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked.
Now, the monkeys that are beating him up have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs. Neither do they know why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.
Finally, having replaced all of the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys will have ever been sprayed with cold water.
Nevertheless, not one of the monkeys will try to climb the stairway for the banana.
Why, you ask? Because in their minds…that is the way it has always been!
This, my friends, is how Parliament operates… And this is why, from time to time:
ALL of the monkeys need to be REPLACED AT THE SAME TIME.”

So are we all suckers for a very clever illusion? Answers on a postcard or leave a comment below. That’s down there/

Enjoy your weekend and take five minutes out and really think about whether what your doing is really what you want to do or is it an illusion.