Do you know that human beings are delusive thinkers? We do not realise that we live in a hypnotic world. Our thinking process is hypnotic. The words we use in our minds have a conditioned response in the subconscious mind. The meaning of the words does not matter, but they generate real feelings. The subconscious mind is like a piano, and the words we use are the keys on the piano keyboard. They produce a specific sound. Twenty-four hours a day, we play a tune on this keyboard, and most people have no idea how their mind works.

We have to use our brains for thinking and reasoning. Without using our brains, we will not understand how our mind works, and without this self-knowledge, we will continue to live in a world of delusions. Here I am going to try to help you understand how we delude ourselves. Yes, truth is stranger than fiction. You do not have to believe what I say, but please try to disprove it in your mind and see if what I write makes sense.

Do you know that words have a powerful hypnotic effect on our perceptions and thinking? We use words not only for communication but also to express our thoughts and feelings. Words make us travel in time and stimulate our imagination. Without words, we would be stuck in the present timeless reality. Since the beginning of time, we have been using words to communicate and think. Our ego is a product of self-hypnosis. It cannot appear in the conscious mind without using words. Without words, it has to stay in the background. But to survive this harsh world of reality, the ego has to use the brain with its thinking process to constantly appear in the conscious mind. Thus using words and thinking become ego-boosting tools and habits.

To understand how delusive our thinking process is, we must understand how words affect us. Remember, the ego creates words; no one else does. For example, the word ‘soul’ immediately creates imagery of immortality, something that never dies. Whether such a thing exists or not does not matter. When we use the word ‘spirit’ or ‘spiritual’, it instantly creates a world beyond the one we see in front of us. The same thing happens when we use ‘heaven’ and ‘hell’. They instantly create a world beyond the present. All these words give form to our feelings. Every day, people use these words in their daily lives created by an ego seeking immortality. It instantly creates a world of dreams and everlasting life.

Another example, let us look at the ‘sun’ and the ‘moon’. They are real objects and create an instant picture in your mind which is not dependent on any belief. Then consider the words ‘angel’ and ‘Santa Claus’. They also make an instant picture, which most people do not treat as real. However, using words such as ‘God, Allah or Bhagwan’ can create a powerful spiritual reality in many people. Why? It is because these words have a belief system associated with them. The ego is forever seeking immortality, never the truth. Using words such as ‘resurrection’ and ‘reincarnation’ instantly creates a picture of a world beyond the present with a comforting prospect of survival after death. How can one not resist falling for such a beautiful world of delusion? The more one thinks about it, the more real it becomes in our minds. Thus, we create a whole new dream world out of our imagination to bring us a sense of peace, permanence and security.

When we look at our present civilisation and the ones before, are we different? The beliefs and philosophies created by the ego in all cultures provide a comfort zone. They are evidence of our attempts to harmonise how we think with how we live. They try to give meaning to our stressful, miserable lives and existence. Yet sadly, because people do not understand the mechanism of delusion and have no insight into how their mind works, they are willing to kill and die for their beliefs.

Yes, all the words we use have conditioned responses in our subconscious mind. The words ‘ yesterday, today and tomorrow’ have the same effect. When we use these words, they make us travel in time from the past to the present and future. Yet, in reality, there is no such thing as time.

Looking at the world today, one can see how the ego uses the hypnotic power of words to survive and build in this harsh world of reality. Words can make us happy or sad. When we pray, we use words; when we sing, we use words. When we fall in love, words intensify our feelings. Music without words has not the same effect as when we add lyrics to it. It touches our hearts and emotions and can bring tears to our eyes. Twenty-four hours a day, we submerge ourselves in a hypnotic world of words. The radio, the TV, the cinema, the newspapers, the books etc., all ensure that we remain in a hypnotic world of a time traveller—no wonder the ego does not want to and cannot stop thinking. It has this false fear that it might disappear from the mind if it stops thinking. Since the ego can only appear in our conscious mind using words, non-stop thinking becomes a habit, turning the mind into an endless turbulent mode.

Thus, in its pursuit of immortality, the ego conjures up and creates a world of dreams from the knowledge we gain from the world around us. It prefers to remain in a world of delusion rather than face and understand reality. It is why academics do not want to study the ego because they are afraid to look at themselves for fear they might have to change their perceptions and direction. When they say they practise evidence-based medicine, the medical profession must be joking.

After reading the above, do you appreciate that we live in a hypnotic world? How do we wake up and face the timeless reality in front of us? Since you now know that your thinking process is hypnotic, just become aware of the words and how you use them in your mind. Become aware of your emotions and feeling. Become aware of your habit of verbalising your thoughts and feelings. See what happens when you temporary stop verbalising. Do your thoughts and feelings have any substance when you do this? Learn to understand your hopes, fears and desires. The ego wants to control everything. That is just a bad habit. Become aware. Harmonise your thoughts and feelings. You will only be able to do this if you are aware of what you are doing. Awareness dehypnotises you. Get your perceptions straightened out. The sooner you understand how your mind is working and learn more about how your ego operates, the quicker you will discover how eternal and peaceful the mind is.

When the French philosopher Rene Descartes in 1637 made this famous statement, “I think; therefore, I am”, he did not understand what hypnosis was. He did not realise that the self or the ego is a product of self-hypnosis. We are hypnotic creatures. The ego ( thinker) in your mind can only appear if you use words. Without the words, the ego automatically has to take the back seat to become an observer in the conscious mind. The nature of the ego does not allow it to take the back seat. Thus thinking and the ego become linked- “I think; therefore, I am”.

If you still think you are not living in a fool’s paradise after considering what I have just explained, please think again. Become a true scientist, not a pseudo-scientist. There is peace and eternity to be found in the timeless present if you stop chasing your shadow. Discover it while you are alive. Because when we die, we all return to the timeless dimension.