Illusions seeing behind the mask of reality

It’s an interesting concept to contemplate I think, is what we see everyday in front of our eyes actually reality or is it part of an optical illusion? I know the idea seems rather far-fetched and *out-there* but lets just think this over for a few minutes.

In movies this has been explored somewhat, tying in the theory that our *reality* isn’t what we think it is the following movies come to mind; The Truman Show, Dark City, The Thirteenth Floor, eXistenZ, The Matrix, The Island, The Forgotten.

The Truman show-- Unknown to Truman Burbank, (Jim Carrey) his life is actually the subject of a reality TV program, complete with actors and sets, watched by millions around the world. His friends, his coworkers, even his wife, are just hired actors playing a role. Adopted as an infant by a corporation, Truman (True Man) has been raised in the world’s largest artificially created city, underneath a dome so big it can be seen from space.

Dark City------ John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) awakens in a bathtub in a hotel room with no recollection of who he is or what’s going on. He soon discovers that he’s the suspect in a string of murders, and finds himself pursued by “The Strangers”, a group of cadaverous looking beings with other-worldly abilities. Also looking for Murdoch are his estranged wife, (Connelly) an Inspector, (Hurt) and a mysterious psychiatrist, Dr. Schreber, (Sutherland). But Dark City is just that — dark. A city that never seems to experience daylight, although nobody seems to notice or question it. Every night at midnight the entire city stops, as the Strangers perform what’s known as “Tuning.” As they gather in front of a huge clock, time stops. While things are on pause, the city is rearranged – new buildings form, old buildings are redesigned, people are injected with new identities via a syringe administered by Dr. Schreber, the psychiatrist who now works for the Strangers, doing their bidding. Then time resumes again, the city comes back to life, and people go about their business, none the wiser. Murdoch is one of the only people who is aware, an anomaly who woke up in the middle of a Tuning and now has the same abilities as the Strangers. As he wanders about Dark City trying to piece together the puzzle of his missing identity, he is able to witness of the true nature of reality. Now he just needs to get to the bottom of who the Strangers are, and what Dark City really is.

The Thirteenth Floor-- Douglas Hall (Bierko) and his colleague Whitney (Donofrio) have created a virtual reality world set in 1937 Los Angeles, although have yet to test it. When their project leader Hannon (Mueller-Stahl) is found murdered, Douglas soon becomes a suspect in the murder, with damning evidence that places him at the scene of the crime. Yet, he has zero recollection of any of it, he actually really liked his boss and considered him a friend, and nothing about his personality indicates that he has it in him to do such a thing. Adding to the mystery is Jane, (Mol) the beautiful woman claiming to be the daughter of Hannon – who never once mentioned that he had a daughter. Douglas discovers that Hannon had been entering the virtual reality world prior to his death, and decides to follow his lead to get some answers. He goes in thinking he’s going to find out the truth about Hannon’s murder, but comes away discovering the truth about the entire nature of their reality.

eXistenZ — Computer game designer Allegra Geller (Leigh) has designed eXistenZ — a virtual reality game system designed to plug into a bioport in the spine in order to interface with the user. While demonstrating it for the first time on a group of participants during the premier, Allegra dodges an assassination attempt that winds up damaging the unique, only-one-in-existence game system. With the help of marketing PR assistant Ted Pikul, (Law) she takes off on the lam, then lures Pikul to enter into the damaged game system with her, much to his reluctance. The eXistenZ game system itself is organic, with an actual umbilical cord for a cord and a pod made of real flesh that writhes and squishes and squeaks, grown from fish eggs that have been inserted with synthetic DNA.

The Island – In the middle of the Arizona desert in an underground former military bunker lies the world’s premier cloning facility for the rich and famous and elite. For 5 million dollars a person can have themselves cloned in the event they ever need the spare parts or a vehicle to give them a baby. The clones are known as “insurance policies” – but what the elite don’t realize is that they’ve been lied to. Their clone counterparts are not brain dead vegetables lying in pods as they’ve been told, but rather, fully functioning people being reared in a high tech utopian facility. The clone agnates are viewed as nothing more than a multi-billion dollar product – and the product is being lied to as well. They know nothing of their true situation and are kept obedient and unquestioning via some heavy duty mind control, implanted fake memories, holographic projections of a false outside world view, and a whopping lie that they are the fortunate survivors of a contaminated world unfit to live in. There is one thing though that keeps hope alive for the cloned residents and gives their existences purpose – it’s called “The Island,” supposedly the last uncontaminated place on Earth where “lucky” lottery winners get to go.

The Forgotten — Telly Paretta (Moore) is still grieving for the death of her nine year old son Sam who died 14 months before in a plane crash during a field trip. Then it happens — her husband and psychiatrist do a 180 one day, claiming she never had a son and fabricated his memory as some sort of delusion. One by one, pictures and memorabilia from Sam disappear, leaving Telly with nothing but her memories and conviction that he did exist…even if nobody else remembers, and all the evidence has disappeared. She embarks on a mission to get to the bottom of what’s going on, enlisting the help of fellow Brooklyn neighborhood resident Ash Correll, (West) who, like everybody else, has no recollection of Sam either…or his own daughter Lauren, who was friends with Sam and died along with him.

“The Forgotten” is slightly different from the other movies mentioned here in that it’s not about “fake” reality — but it is about manipulated reality and hidden controllers, and reality not being entirely what it seems to be. I think this is a good movie that’s been overlooked and maligned by people that I consider to be doing “damage control” with their negative reviews. There are many parallels to “Dark City” with this movie – the lead character waking up to the fact that reality is an experiment being conducted by aliens, taking off on the lam to solve a big mystery and being sought after by her spouse, a detective, and a psych doc. So if one of them isn’t your cup of tea, then the other should work.

The reason I am interested in this theory is that what if there are some credence to this, would this explain things like shadow people, aliens, ghosts etc? Are we awakening for a few seconds/minutes every so often to truly see reality, would this lean some credence to the many stories we hear of abductees about being operated on, seeing beings, etc etc perhaps those people briefly awakened to the *true reality*.

Maybe this awakening everyone goes on about has more credit than first thought if you lean towards the *this is not our true reality theory*. Perhaps this is going to be our awakening when we truly see our world for what it is and not what tptb wants us to see, perhaps this is what the *government* is hiding from us, with all their non-disclosers and cover-ups, the MIB threatening abductees/ ufo witnesses, maybe they are just keeping us from the ultimate truth out there.

CONTINUED BELOW

[edit on 013131p://56071 by ronishia]

Mnd Control has been some what explored theories like MKUltra and similer if truly pulled off could tie in with the theory. Programming centers around the concept of inverted reality and illusion, where nothing is at it appears to be, where up is down, yes is no, pain is pleasure, and reality and dreams are blurred. Not being able to determine what’s real and what’s illusion/dream/fake is a big theme used in mind control to get targets to give up on reality and succumb to alter-ego programming. So would it be possible to *trick* our eyes into believing we are seeing stuff that isn’t there?

Are we living in a computer simulation type world? Take for example this site I found

Perhaps its most startling lesson is that there is a significant probability that you are living in computer simulation. I mean this literally: if the simulation hypothesis is true, you exist in a virtual reality simulated in a computer built by some advanced civilisation. Your brain, too, is merely a part of that simulation. What grounds could we have for taking this hypothesis seriously? Before getting to the gist of the simulation argument, let us consider some of its preliminaries. One of these is the assumption of “substrate independence”. This is the idea that conscious minds could in principle be implemented not only on carbon-based biological neurons (such as those inside your head) but also on some other computational substrate such as silicon-based processors.

Now we get to the core of the simulation argument. This does not purport to demonstrate that you are in a simulation. Instead, it shows that we should accept as true at least one of the following three propositions:
(1) The chances that a species at our current level of development can avoid going extinct before becoming technologically mature is negligibly small
(2) Almost no technologically mature civilizations are interested in running computer simulations of minds like ours
(3) You are almost certainly in a simulation.
Each of these three propositions may be prima facie implausible; yet, if the simulation argument is correct, at least one is true (it does not tell us which).

If we are in a simulation, is it possible that we could know that for certain? If the simulators don’t want us to find out, we probably never will. But if they choose to reveal themselves, they could certainly do so. Maybe a window informing you of the fact would pop up in front of you, or maybe they would “upload” you into their world. Another event that would let us conclude with a very high degree of confidence that we are in a simulation is if we ever reach the point where we are about to switch on our own simulations. If we start running simulations, that would be very strong evidence against (1) and (2). That would leave us with only (3).

READ THE FULL HYPOTHOSIS HERE

Would Deja Vus also show credence to this scenario? A deja vu, as most probably know, is a strange physical sensation that you’re experiencing something you’ve already done before. Not just that you’ve done something similar…but that you’re actually repeating yourself in the same exact way. The sensation usually appears out of nowhere, last for several seconds or longer, and then fades out again.
Thanks to the 1999 movie “The Matrix,” many people now jokingly (or seriously…) think of deja vus as something being changed in the program of reality. Mainstream science would have us believe that deja vus are nothing more than a meaningless and explainable biological phenomena centered in the brain, with no known reason for why or how they happen, what if déjà vus is another symptom of this other so-called reality theory?

So What if….

It is far-fetched. We are all spiritual beings. It MAY be possible but only in the short run. As spiritual beings, we would know that something is wrong with our reality. We have intuitions.

In the Matrix example, Neo "knew" there was something wrong with his reality. He managed to get out of it. How would he know this?

I could see how the Truman's Show would be much more effective and manageable since all the people were playing their roles and present Truman with fake news and such.

I just think it would be too difficult to run a computer simulation this grand. It is possible to convince a spiritual being to believe in something, but that will not last long.

reply to post by Deaf Alien


good point and yes it is rather far fetched- but....maybe this is why our *reality* is breaking down, and we have so many people who are starting to awaken spiritually and notice more more around them. We have instances of people disappearing without a trace , maybe these people awoke and were deemed defective?? People who have been close to many conspiracies out there have either simply disappeared, or killed for knowing to much maybe? Maybe people dont actually get abducted but wake up periodically.

Perhaps the hypnosis example could tie in here, we know that not everyone is susceptible to it, there are a few that it just doesn't work on.

Like in the matrix (just to cite an example) neo was given a choice to make whether or not to discover the truth or to stay ignorant to the facts. maybe this is why its all starting to fall apart and our *reality* is starting to crumble as to many people are being woken up

We have instances of people disappearing without a trace

The Celestine Prophecy mentioned this. It may be possible that some people have fully awaked and just "disappeared". In fact, they didn't disappear, but just step into another reality but are still here.

But, you may be right. Some awaken people might be made to disappear to maintain the status quo.

Maybe people dont actually get abducted but wake up periodically.

Please explain this. Are you talking about alien abduction? Explain.

Like in the matrix (just to cite an example) neo was given a choice to make whether or not to discover the truth or to stay ignorant to the facts.

Yes, but he knew before he was given the choice. This proves my point. It is difficult to keep people sleeping. Eventually some will wake up.

I just had a thought. What if this is the reason people's lives are kept short, busy, kept growing old, and their memories fading away.

"Idle hands are the devil's workshop", they keep preaching.

My personal theory is that we all living in a projected reality, projected by the Sun. That is why we can't travel faster than light as we would break out of this reality.

Each reality has it's own transmission frequency and we are only tuned to this frequency, which is the speed of light.

I think aliens etc can alter there frequency and tune themselves into this reality and tune back into their reality.

While we are discussing alternate realities I have recently read
"Busting Loose from the Money Game" the book is about the whole world been a figment of our imagination.

EDIT to add link

Busting Loose from the Money Game
Just reading the book has made some big changes in my life.


[edit on 12/7/2009 by lightchild]

Originally posted by Deaf Alien

Maybe people dont actually get abducted but wake up periodically.

Please explain this. Are you talking about alien abduction? Explain.

My *theory* would be that there have been accounts of abductees in the past that state they *wake up* in a room with *beings* surrounding them, some state that they were injected with things etc, i meant that maybe they simply fall asleep in this reality and *wake up* in the true reality periodically.

Before some abductions people have stated feelings of being watched, hearing whispering, bright lights etc, maybe this is the true reality poking through to ours?

does that make sence?

reply to post by lightchild


pretty good theory there and would tie in with my alternate reality thing, i havnt heard of the book you mentioned il need to look it up

I don't in the least condone drug use but I've been wanting to write a thread about this. Please don't judge and keep an open mind about this!! Your post caught my attention because about two weeks ago my sister, her boyfriend and I took an extremely powerful hallucinogen called 2c-i and our experience was mind-blowing.

At the peak of our trip, we sat and stared at each other, amazed at how our faces would change (which in and of itself is amazing, why would we see so clearly and vividly a completely different thing than we usually do?) but then it became a bit more intense when my sister was sitting between me and her boyfriend and we could actually see right through her to the other person. I know that most of you reading this will brush it off as an effect of the drug but it was all too real as we could see clearly right through her.

Then something even stranger started to happen, when two of us would hold our hands close but not touching and concentrate all our energy through our hands and we would be able to see and feel the energy between our hands. It was like a bubble of little threads that we were holding connecting us, we could feel the heat from it. Our fingers were turning purple and our hands actually ached from the energy that we were producing. At this point we were kind of freaking out, like WTF? So my sister tried to grab one of the little threads and when she pulled it out we saw the thread she held and felt it being pulled out of our hands and actually saw our skin being pulled with it.

We decided to go outside and when we did we could actually see... I don't know what I should call it... The fabric that made up everything. At which point a bird landed on one of our cars and stared at us eerily. So we all concentrated and began to push at the "fabric", trying to push the bird off of the car. It actually began to fall off, trying to regain its balance by flapping its wings and it was squawking loudly. It was like we were pushing everything as the background started to morph. Then a different bird flew right at us from a tree and tried to peck us.

I know this sounds crazy, and I know you would probably write this off as a crazy drug experience, but I researched it online and many psychologists were pushing for this drug to remain legal back when it was made so that they could study the uses. One psychologist even thought that this drug activated parts of the brain that humans can't normally access. It was all too real for us and an experience I will never forget. It really made us question what our reality truly is and what reality in general truly means.

reply to post by ronishia


Oh I get it I think. So you think it is possible that all of us are still laying on tables with aliens surrounding us, doing experiments on us?

reply to post by shockme


yea some drugs have some trippy feelings that for sure, and i could well belive that it would access parts of the brain thanks for sharing your story for us

reply to post by Deaf Alien


well you never know maybe that is the case i dont know, i could theorize about alot of things though, maybe that person was *defective * in some way and they were repairing it? maybe they do to us what we do in the labs, we grow things in test tubes to test out inoculations, to find cures, we do stem cell research, cloning cells (people) and animals, maybe in this true reality we are the test tube babies so to speak, they are striving to better learn about humanity???? maybe they need cures and are testing things out on us like lab rats

the possibilities are endless if you start thinking along the alternate reality spectrum

I am finding this thread very interesting!
I also have in watching programs such as "The Matrix" wondered along those same lines. Additionally I have "visioned" interesting events. Not events such as like say 9/11 prior to it's happening, but rather events I don't even understand. Images of things that at the time make no sense, and often quite chaotic in nature. These visions happen during spiritual exercises that lend back to part of my heritage as a Native American.
Recent studies pointed out something that has been symbolized in many major cultures throughout history including the Ancient peoples of Egypt and Sumer, and that is the symbol of a pine cone. I do not recall pine trees being indigenous to Egypt, however the pineal gland with the brain is a pine cone shaped gland that is supposed to be responsible for our ability to "see" beyond what is in front of us. Hence we have people who have special powers, telepathy, kinetic thought, seeing the future, other dimensions etc..
I have also read much on chemicals, vaccines, and practices that are imposed upon us now that are harmful to the function of the pineal gland, basically rendering it useless. Perhaps engineered to prevent people from "seeing the truth"? Good natural diets and exercising of the pineal gland improve it's function, and the former seems to be increasingly "forbidden" by sanction of entities such as WHO, whom seem to aim at insuring all food and water supplies globally are 'fortified' with certain chemicals suggested to aid in prevention of various diseases and such, and attempts to outlaw such things as herbology and homeopathic medince..

Just a thought...

[edit on 12-7-2009 by ShiningWolf]

reply to post by ShiningWolf


good to know that there are people out there who have wondered the same things i have, and the instances what you mentiond about WHO, and chemicals and vaccines could very well tie into all this

reply to post by ronishia


1 liner:

The Illusion is the reality behind the truth of life.



Nia Wind

*completly indeed with that thread
go on...

reply to post by ronishia


i was in a serious car crash 11 years ago, i often wondered, what if i actually died that night!

maybe i carried on in another scenario of my trueman life?

but the folks left behind think im dead!

illusions or reality?

one and the same maybe, who knows, how can you tell? if did die i would like to know who came to my funeral

S&F for you roni

My journey in the last few years has lead me to a point where I'm convinced that this reality isn't real. This all seems very much like an illusion and I keep trying to figure it out and keep running into roadblocks.

Salvia Divinnorum (this is a legal substance) keeps showing me that this thing we call reality is not really real. I can't seem to get beyond that though. I do think sometimes I might be crazy but if that's the case I don't think I can really do anything about that. Any help in figuring out just what the hell is going on would be greatly appreciated.

Great thread by the way. S+F

You forgot the film 'They Live' by john carpenter from 1988.

The theory is an old one but it makes for interesting films.

[edit on 12-7-2009 by VitalOverdose]

It is not a secret that the universe hold so much we can't begin to even imagine, as well as a lot we can almost get a grip on, and yet a bunch we are about to awaken to.

Many theories are around, one of my favorite ones theory/logic from when I was in High school and studying electronics.... the atom.. a nucleus with a bunch of electrons flying around it.. atoms make up molecules, molecules make up all the mass around us, as well as us ourselves.
So suppose every atom with in us and our surroundings is yet another solar system, the right electron (planet) would likely support life, hence an alternate dimension.

For that matter, the electron called Earth is spinning around a nucleus called the sun, in a solar system called the Milky Way, in a molecule making up in part who's thumbnail?

food for thought ;-)

[edit on 12-7-2009 by ShiningWolf]

reply to post by ShiningWolf

Heres an idea..
For you its probably your thumbnail.. and for me its probably my thumbnail.

A subjective reality? lol

[edit on 12-7-2009 by VitalOverdose]