One thing I’ve noticed in many spiritual teachings is the strong tendency to label everything impermanent as an “illusion” or “Maya.”
They say the body is Maya. The world is Maya. Thoughts, emotions, and even the sense of self are all Maya.
I get why they use that language — they’re trying to help people stop clinging so tightly. But I think it goes too far.
Just because something is temporary doesn’t make it unreal.
A flower is real even though it blooms and eventually dies. Your body is real, even though it changes and will one day pass away. Your feelings are real while you’re experiencing them. This moment is real, even if it won’t last forever.
Impermanence and unreality are not the same thing.
When people take the “everything is illusion” teaching too literally, it can lead to dissociation, spiritual bypassing, and even neglecting real responsibilities — bills, relationships, health, children, etc. — because “none of it is real anyway.”
The Iself itself is real, even if it only lasts for one lifetime. From the Iself perspective, the world, the body, and the ego are real. From the Allself perspective, they are all expressions of the One. From the Godself perspective, they are all expressions of the Divine. From the Noself perspective, they are empty of any permanent, inherent existence.
All of these perspectives are true at the same time.
I no longer feel the need to call everything Maya just because it changes. I can accept impermanence without denying reality.
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