Illusions, Delusions, and Hallucinations

A few years back, I told someone that fantasies were good things. They are especially necessary for older people, and older men in particular, because they provide hope that can sustain us through otherwise dark times.

The manifestations of the imagination listed in the title are very different, however, and can provide various levels of harm.

Hallucinations may be the least of these. Certainly, if they are peripheral to one’s experience, they don’t cause much harm. You see something (a cat? a peeking Bigfoot?), or hear music playing somewhere distant, or feel the touch of an unseen spirit’s gaze or touch…these can produce doubt or uncertainty, but most likely not a situation where physical danger occurs. (Let me know if I’m wrong.)

But the other two—illusions and delusions—can lead to life-threatening and life-ending situations. By illusions I mean thinking the world is different than it is; itoperates on rules conjured by one’s mind. And if those perceived rules come into conflict with actual physical reality, they can result in bodily, mental, and psychic harm.

Delusions manifest differently, but are very similar. I would perhaps distinguish them by saying illusions are passive and delusions are active (or aggressive?). They can be mild, such as, “Everyone does love me! I have lots of friends!” Or they can be more insidious, such as, “I am chosen by God to be his instrument on Earth!” Both are dangerous, though the blast radius from carrying out the delusion to an inevitable conclusion can be quite different.

And I like to think I am writing this from a position of wisdom—but is this part of my illusion/delusion? Can we truly know?

By the way, I expect I am entirely rational and just trying to make sense of my present situation and surroundings, which will be revealed slowly through my blog posts like an Ibsenesque exposition.

Thoughts and responses. Let me know.