I keep coming back to the same topics here…
Anything can be an analogy to some aspects of the awakening process, and so also magic.
In magic, there is an illusion. Something appears to happen that doesn’t really.
There is misdirection. Attention goes elsewhere, not to the mechanics of what is happening.
The trick may be revealed. There is insight into what is really happening.
And we still enjoy the trick. The appearances, and the skills and showmanship that goes into it.
In an awakening context, the illusion is that something is here that isn’t here. There is an overlay of images, creating a sense of a separate I, an observer, doer, identification, and so on. There is a wide range of gestalts, all appearing to be real and substantial.
There is misdirection. Attention goes to stories and is absorbed into them. It is not free to notice the dynamics of what is really going on. These are missed.
The trick may be revealed. Attention may go to these dynamics, noticing how gestalts are created, what happens when they are taken as real and what happens when they are recognized as gestalts only. As soon as these dynamics as clearly recognized, we cannot any longer take the appearances as real and substantial.
And there is still enjoyment of the trick. There is still enjoyment of the play of appearances and the intricacies that makes it all appear the way it does.
Looking back, we may even see that there was enjoyment of all the parts of the process. First, in taking the trick as real. Then, in exploring how it is really done. And finally, in recognizing how it is done and appreciating the appearances and showmanship.
………………
Initial outline….
- magic
- illusion (something appears to happen that doesn’t really)
- misdirection (attention goes elsewhere, not to the mechanics of what is happening)
- revealed (insight into what is really happening)
- still enjoy the appearances + skills