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Veils of illusion entrap us all. So much of the suffering of the world is unnecessary. It’s created by taking the false as the real and consequently, the real as the false.

As we make progress on the inner path, we gain a deeper sense of love, wholeness, bliss, intuition, inspiration and peace. We begin to understand what is real and what is illusion. The deeper we go, the deeper the reality of the real becomes and the less sway on our consciousness illusion holds.

Common sense tells us that the real is more important than the unreal, just like our daily lives are more important than our nightly dreams. So why do we put such an emphasis on the unreal? It’s because of conditioned consciousness – a consciousness that takes that which is unimportant and makes it important. In other words, a consciousness that takes the false as the real and the real as the false. This is a paradox, for as long as consciousness is conditioned by illusion, the illusion remains the sole reality. It’s like being under the spell of a hypnotist.

Conditioned consciousness cannot become unconditioned until it starts to experience the real as real. It’s like awakening from a dream. Only then can the false be seen as false, or illusory.

Paraphrasing David Bohm, some people seem to think that the divisions of the poor and the rich, and the world religions and the political systems and the results they bring — violence and war — are what is real. But that is nothing but a false reality waiting to be supplanted by a reality that doesn’t fade, by a reality that will be just as real a thousand years from now as it is today.

Here is a hypothetical example: Let’s say you happen to reincarnate a thousand years from now and read in some ancient history book about the politics and sports of the year 2008. I would imagine that you would find it as boring as you find reading now about the politics from the year 1008.

For example, when is the last time you got into a debate about the Afghan sultan Mahmud of Ghazna and his defeat of the Hindu forces at Peshawar? That was big news in 1008. So was the death of the Umayyad caliph al-Muzaffar of Córdoba after his six-year dictatorship. That was such a big event that it resulted in nearly two-dozen factions setting up little kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula. But not too many people talk about it today. It’s not “real” anymore. I agree with Eckhart Tolle. Anything that is not real after a long period of time was never real. It just seemed real.

But take any of these historical figures: Zoroaster, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, or Mohammad. Their significance never fades. Millions of people around the world revere these men. Why? Could it be because what they expressed was a release of love from the Infinite? Could it be that their lives were a reflection of Oneness in a world of duality?

The world of illusion seems so real until a crack appears and the light of the eternal becomes visible. For me, the process of a false reality cracking and a true reality beginning to shine happened when my whole world fell apart. I was 20-years-old. My father had just died. My girlfriend left me for another guy named Greg. My band broke up. My health deteriorated to the extent that I was hospitalized for three weeks and my weight was reduced to 90 pounds. I was told that my plans to be in the United States Air Force Band could not go forward because of my physical condition.

All of these things seemed at one time seemed so important. But when they fell away my false identity fell away. Instead of experiencing the vicissitudes of life, I was free to experience the joy and bliss of my higher self. I became so blissful that I could hardly sleep. My music became inspired. I started writing. I started caring about other people. I discovered an inner life.

But just as a hunting dog can lose the scent it is tracking, so can anyone lose the scent of the divine presence, the ultimate reality that sustains our being. When that happens, I find it helpful to get away on a spiritual retreat where my mind can find some quiet time. That’s how I gain the scent back – how I reclaim consciousness.

The veils of illusion serve to condition consciousness, to limit consciousness. It leaves consciousness focused on the trivial and the illusory rather than on the primary. The bottom line is that the veils of illusion keep us spellbound in a dream.

In personal development circles, there is a lot of talk today about the law of attraction. What we think about we attract. I see the law of attraction a little differently. My take on it is that what we think about becomes more real. When we focus our consciousness on love, love becomes more real. When we keep focusing our consciousness on love, love becomes the sole reality and eventually we merge with that reality.

On the other hand, when we get so caught up in the politics of the world, or the ups and downs of the economy, or how our favorite college basketball team is doing, we lose that inner awareness. Our happiness then is dependent upon external situations. Be aware. If you notice that, it’s time to change your focus.

The illusion is how we see ourselves. In reality, the essence of my being is not impacted by any outside force. But yet, when I allow myself to get caught up in these outside events, I find myself cut off from the essence of my being. We are all souls, infinite and eternal. But so often we forget this and identify ourselves with the finite and the passing.

These veils of illusion make things that are unimportant seem important and in so doing, make that which is of primary importance seem unimportant.

And yes, injustice happens in the world today just like it did in 1008. But what is the source of it? Unconsciousness. The challenge of humanity is not so much to lessen injustice, but to lessen the state of mind that is responsible for injustice. And that state of mind responsible and that is so prevalent in the world is unconsciousness. What is the solution? Consciousness is the solution, just as the solution to seeing in a dark room is turning on a light.