I grew up as part of the game-boy generation; back then Tetris was considered a mind-blowing experience. It was revolutionary that we could have an entertainment device in our hot little hands, able to be played when we wanted.
Over the proceeding decades, games have got increasingly sophisticated, to the point that at a glance, a casual observe would be hard pressed to tell if a game was in fact a recording of reality.
Why are we drawn to games?
What does it say about our human experience? (And what does this have to do with meditation and yoga?)
Before digital games became a thing, nothing disrupted social dynamics and family harmony quite as much as Monopoly.
How is it that a ‘game’ can so effortlessly get under our skin?
A good game, is not just something fanciful, it is more than imaginary, it is a microcosm (a tiny pattern) of life.
Life is a game. The game. Of what? Of a Soul…
On the spiritual path of yoga, we inhabit a worldview rooted in our direct experience (as opposed to the modern trip of intellectual abstraction.)
When we examine our own direct experience, and I encourage you to do so now, you will find that there is a feeling of playing a character.
Who is this player?
In meditation, there eventually comes a time where identification with body and mind ceases. One makes the choice to rest, simply with awareness / consciousness.
In Himalayan Meditation, we utter “I am a holy Soul, I am a pure Soul” to remind ourselves of this fact.
From this place, we notice that the body mind complex comes and goes and is ever changing. But the Soul, Atman, awareness, this part of us, the player, sits ever free, witnessing, absorbing, simply being.
When we know ourselves as ‘that,’ we become more free to play the character (the mind/body + circumstance we have chosen.)
If we do not realise ourselves as Soul, what then?
We feel that Life is not a game, but a crushing series of blows, highs and lows, here to make us the victim. By reclaiming the knowledge of the Soul, we become free to create the game we want to inhabit.
When we live with awareness that we are a Soul playing human, of the game-like nature of the situation, we can focus our energy on being the heroic character (rather than the random bot or bad guy.)
The freedom that comes from knowing our true nature as the player of the game, is juxtaposed against the heaviness that comes when we feel bogged down by being too immersed in ‘life.’ No character here, we ARE our suffering. Left to fester, many find life so challenging that checking out early seems like an easy out.
But just like a computer game, you will re-spawn to pick back up where you left off. This is the cycle of karma, of endless births and deaths.
Yoga (of which meditation is a crowning practice) helps us on this endeavour by giving us a daily pattern interrupt. A moment to put the game-boy down. Time to rest the fingers and thumbs. Time for the batteries to charge back up. Time to remember that if we no longer like the game we are playing, we alone have the power to pull the cassette out, and pick a new game and a new character.
That begs the question, what is the best game and who is the best character to play?
For those with a spiritual inclination, it is 100% a game called the journey towards liberation, also known as freedom from suffering, or embodying inner peace. The Soul Game.
The character? To be the most Saintly bad-ass version of yourself that you can imagine.
9 years ago, I unplugged the ‘Army game’ and can assure you, what has come into my life since plugging in the ‘Soul game’ is nothing short of my dream life; I live surrounded by the woman and kids of my dreams, doing what I love to do (helping other people change the game they are playing too.)
At the time, had you told me I would land here, running an Ashram, I wouldn’t have believed you. Trust me when I say, the game of life is waiting for you to plug in, and for me, 30 minutes of a simple daily meditation is the cost of playing; a price well worth it!
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If you are seeking a better game, and a better life, I encourage you to consider joining us on a retreat, where you will learn ancient ‘games’ through the yogic knowledge and frameworks. We have seen the simple practices we share on our retreats impact hundreds of our students for the better, and it would be our joy to host you when you feel the call.
