​                              Constant Motion Is The Rule

This piece will be the first of several articles on the illusions sustained by human consciousness, starting with the illusion of non-movement when immobile.  Illusions are representations of external reality or assumptions based on perceptions that are not scientifically complete.  For example, when sitting still or laying down, there is the illusion that one is not moving.  But we are standing on something that is moving quite fast.  The Earth is rotating at the speed of 1,038 mph near the equator and is orbiting the sun at an even higher velocity of 67,108 mph.  If we are standing still on a functioning escalator, we are aware of its ascent and descent and there is no illusion that one is not moving.  But if we are standing still on a spinning globe, we are not aware of our change of position in the universe.  In truth, we are moving all the time while embodied but our brains construct inaccurate representations based on incomplete physical data.

Illusions are created by the neural machinery’s representation of itself and of the external environment.  Our physical senses do not provide a scientifically accurate representation because our brain is not built to obtain data from space without special instruments.  If we had a satellite between our ears, we might have some knowledge of constant movement because we would be aware of the Earth’s rotation and its orbit of the sun.  But if the brain is constantly analyzing incomplete perceptual data without conscious control, can it free itself from illusion and if so, how?

Freedom from illusions is possible through an accurate science of the universe, a careful study of the brain’s perceptual mechanisms, insight, and capable technology.  Science birthed astronomy, astrophysics, physics, flight, and computers which allowed space travel that in turn provided the information about our planet’s movement through the universe.  Thus, a more developed astronomy frees from the illusion of non-movement; constant motion is the rule.  In a way, the brain creates illusions and it provides a way to know the truth as well, even if the ongoing neural representation of the physical environment continues unaltered.

Share your theory of freedom from illusions with scott@theorism.org.