Hello there you beautiful person!
If you have read my blog before, then please accept my thanks. If you are a newcomer then: Welcome! This could be a big day for you. You must be here for a reason. Something has led you here and that means this post is meant for you.
My last two posts have been largely about how important it is to be present in your life. Why functioning with the auto-pilot switch constantly turned on is damaging for you. I spoke about the monkey in your head that may be running the show and how you can take control away from the little scamp.
For this post I'm going to speak about a game I developed that, when played often enough, will strengthen your ability to remain in the present. Because it is a fun game, it doesn't feel like hard work or a chore. For when we have fun, the natural learning process is most fluid and unconscious. That is when real learning remains with us. This is learning in the moment and it has the power to change us instantly. So read on dear reader, there is an inner revolution waiting to happen!
As you can guess from the title of this post, my game is called the Avatar Game. In this context an avatar is what video gamers refer to as the game character that represents you. It is the character that you control in the game. You determine the actions of the character. You are the puppeteer so to speak.
Have you ever played a Virtual Reality game? If not, I encourage you to do so. It is really amazing. Experiencing just five minutes of a VR game will help you understand my Avatar Game on a deeper level. So if you can, give it a go! If you haven't had the opportunity, just go online and watch videos of others playing VR games and you'll get the idea, but there's nothing like doing it yourself.
When a person tries VR for the very first time, they are shocked to say the least. Your mind becomes absolutely convinced that the new (virtual) reality is real. The heights feel real, the enemies seem real and the sounds appear real. The fear of falling, the fear of dying all have the surreal taste of reality there, but at the same time you intrinsically know that you can stop the game and pull off the goggles at any time.
Many times when playing VR you just become amazed at how real it all appears. It is like walking through a portal into a new reality. Usually as soon as you realise that you have virtual hands, all you can do is stare at them for a moment. Then you begin to swirl them around, make fists and test out the environment. It's not uncommon to literally spend five minutes of whatever game you're playing, just performing and experimenting with these new virtual hands.
You may then notice that you have feet. Then you notice that you have a body and can move around in the environment. Many games provide a virtual mirror, just because the exploring of your new virtual body is a game all by itself. I pretty much guarantee that if you find a mirror, you're going to end up doing a silly dance, just to see your virtual self in action. It's irresistible!
Some VR games (to teach you the controls) have tasks that are pretty much the same mundane things we do in our real lives every day. In fact some games are literally just doing tasks that we might do everyday. For example, making and serving drinks or food, or playing simple games like throwing and catching an object. They have you switching on things, pushing buttons, pulling handles, throwing items, ducking down, bending from side to side ect.
Then things get even more interesting because more often than not we must interact with other characters in the game, or even real people from elsewhere in the world who are doing exactly the same thing as you, which is using an avatar to play a game.
My point here is that in our real lives, we would hardly ever find our own hands something to marvel at. We've seen them before and we are no longer amazed by them. Our reflection in the clothing shop mirror does not make us want to dance in front of it. Pushing buttons on a laptop no longer holds us in awe. In our everyday comings and goings we do not feel the same amazement of opening a door and walking into another room and yet if we experienced this in a virtual world we would be astonished and entertained.
Why is this? Why do we react to a virtual world with such enthusiasm? I feel that we are amazed by the virtual world simply because we have lost the grip on our true nature. We have learned over the years that only the new and the outstanding events are remarkable. We have learned that the everyday events are just everyday events.
When a bird flits down from above and catches the eye of a child, it is an absolute wonder. The child is seeing something never seen before, a small and fluffy thing that swoops in from the big blue higher place. The child can see the colours of this beautiful entity and the sweet language that it speaks. The child has no words in its mind for it is far too young. It merely experiences it. The sights, the sounds and the feelings. This tiny entity has lifted the child into a world of joy and adventurous excitement. To the child, this is the same as coming face to face with God.
As the child grows older, he or she learns the word for this wonderful thing is 'bird' and that there are many and are not unique. What a tragedy to have lost this wonderment! What a shame it is to learn that something is normal or unremarkable.
We have forgotten that everything is temporary. Never will the person I see in the mirror, ever re-appear upon the face of this earth again, and neither will the person that stares back at you. It cannot be argued any other way. You, me and every single living and non-living thing shall have its time and then it will deteriorate and it will appear as if it were never here at all. The soil we walk upon is made up from the things that were here before us, broken down into their smaller parts. Look at microscopic images of sand from any beach or desert and see what it is made from. Broken down parts of things that were here before.
Now look at your hands. Look at your reflection. See that you are absolutely unique. Realise that you are a one off piece of art and that you have a specified time here. There is no argument that anybody can put forward to refute this. It is a universal truth.
If we treat our existence as temporary, if we really grasp that truth, we can begin to see that the mundane things are far from it. Standing in the rain waiting for a bus might be a horrible experience, but I know that almost any dying person would trade you that experience in a second. Your last day will come. Your last hour and your last minute will come shortly afterwards. Surely this is the only reason we need to lift ourselves up from this world of the apparent normalcy.
The problem is that we may need to reverse this learned unappreciative mindset. It may take time, it is for me but I keep punching at it. I'm a persistent practitioner. So now it is time for you to learn the Avatar Game and bring back some of that wonderment we felt as children. Why not! It was fun then and it can be fun now. Growing up is a trap as they say, and I totally agree. So lets play with life.
The Avatar Game: Just like VR you need to get into the mindset that your eyes are your VR goggles. So get behind them. Realise that you are controlling this puppet avatar. We all are, because if I am no longer here (dead) then my avatar would be nothing but an inanimate bag of skin, tissue and bone. No controller means no avatar. Realise that you control your hands and you can explore your environment. Whenever you find that you have drifted off into auto-pilot and the monkey is driving the train, just congratulate yourself that you have noticed and get back to playing the game.
Just like the VR game, nothing happens unless you take the controls. So take responsibility of your avatar and play the game. Do it today, do it now. Go about your life, go to work, speak to people and interact with the world around you, but do it as often as you can from the truthful standpoint that you are the controller of your avatar. A conscious controller, an alert player.
Make that drink with those hands that you control, walk with those feet that are yours, play the game and make it fun. Without you the avatar is dead.
You and your avatar are separate things. When you have passed on, you're avatar will still exist for short while but it will be what it always was. Just a shell you inhabit whilst you are here. It is merely the car you get into. It is suit you put on and nothing more. You are the key. You are what makes the avatar animated. You are the snail within the shell.
This game will help you practice the state of mindfulness which is essential in maintaining a life of responsibility instead of a life that is only ever expressed in reaction. Practice the Avatar Game and you will improve the experience of your life. This existence may be temporary but it is also a great privilege. This practice cultivates an appreciation of life. Try it for yourself. Suck it and see!
I thank you greatly for reading this post. Let me know how things go in the comments. There is a video too, so please check it out. I will be back with another post very soon.
Always your Wing-Man,
Paul Jackson