#5/7 Starting the Parable, Take 2
Hi everyone!
This is my 5th entry describing what I’ve learned about how you can use video games to make intentional spiritual growth in difficult areas. The complete list of newsletters is here. I’ve been using my own playthrough of Tears of the Kingdom as a proof of concept.
After re-reading my last post I’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s not as tight as I’d like. On my quest for perfection (😬) I tried to squeeze in too much. Incidentally, one of my gameplay goals is to play without overthinking. For example, playing through TotK at a meaningfully aggressive pace, which means that I might end up fighting a boss when I’m not ready yet. Which means I’ll die. So I can experience picking myself up and trying again. My last post was me dying. I’m trying again.
My premise for learning purposes is using video games to break things down into smaller pieces – from a foot into inches. Sometimes an inch doesn’t feel like enough. The last post was basically putting the whole foot down at once. An inch is enough. This is one inch.
Starting the Parable Again
This time I’m going to very briefly outline the video game parable. Then, over the next few weeks I’m going to deep dive into each section, and relate it back to practical personal growth. This part is honestly not that complicated. The options are: either it’ll immediately make sense or I’m not explaining it properly or you need to play more video games 😀 Please tell me if it does or doesn’t make sense. If you’re not understanding what I’m trying to say I’m not doing my job!
Here we go!
A video game is an interactive storytelling experience:
It is designed by a “developer”
It is built using tools
It is run on a machine
And it is played by a player
Each of these things correlate almost 1:1 to the building blocks of Jewish mysticism
There is a creator
The creator uses the “spiritual realms” to build a “world”
The “world” runs with rules and systems, in order to cultivate an experience
The soul lives in that experience – hence the quote: we are spiritual beings having a human experience
Avatar – The Human Experience
The obvious place to start any journey is with myself. Where I am, right now. Today we’re going to lock in the experience of your avatar. So put on your “spiritual-but-not-religious” hats, we’re doing a meditation.
Close your eyes, take 3 deep breaths. Imagine that you’ve just started a new game, and your body is your avatar. Look at the space around you. Try and capture this moment as an opening cutscene. Whatever is happening around you is happening in the background. Allow your focus to center in on yourself, as an observer of a new world. A familiar one, yes. But also new—this is actually an expansion.
In an expansion you’ll often carry over all of your equipment and stats from your existing character/playthrough. You know how the game works. You understand its rules and limitations. You know yourself — well, mostly 🤷. I would suggest setting a timer for a few minutes, 3-5 should be enough. Use this time to absorb the world around you as a world that has been built. It exists to facilitate your play experience. Wiggle your toes, just like Jake from Avatar. Feel the ground, or your chair if you’re sitting. Stretch around with your arms and imagine you are test driving a brand new exo-suit — avatar? You can take as long as you’d like to do this if you’re enjoying the experience, no rush.
My favorite example is actually from the movie Avatar. The context of this clip is tremendous. Jake Sulley is an ex marine who lost his legs. When his consciousness is transported into an avatar body, for the first time in years he is able to use his legs again. Feel his feet. Scrub to 2:50 and try to imagine what it must be like to have lost the feeling in your feet, and to wiggle your toes in the dirt.
That’s it for the Avatar. Next week we’ll talk about the avatar’s story, and what makes your story so special.
Thanks everyone for your continued support. May we continue to have adventures together!
Jay