Games & The Spiritual Pathway

Tonight I had my 17-year-old daughter Melissa over to my apartment for dinner and a movie.

The dinner was Fettucine Alfredo with green salad.

The movie was The Game, directed by David Fincher.

Melissa drank orange juice. I drank Barefoot Pinot Grigio.

Cuz that is just the kinda guy I am, as you know.

In the olden days, during my marriage to my second ex-wife Patricia, I would have been treated like subhuman scum for daring to imbibe alcoholic beverages in the presence of my children.

Nowadays, we are divorced, so it is WAY HARDER for Patricia to make me pay for doing shit she disapproves of. And my youngest kid Melissa is old enough to decide for herself what she is willing to endure from either of her parents.

And: Melissa has no problem with me drinking wine in her presence. Cuz she got some of my genes for sanity that her mom did not donate from her OWN bloodline.

Some of you might doubt my claim to sanity genes...so all's I can say to that is: Thank God I am not married to YOU!

Wait...what was I talking about? Oh, yeah...The Game.

Well, hell, it is ALL games, innit?

The thing is, I show ALL my kids this movie when they turn 17.

Oh, yeah, btw: I have seven kids. Three are stepkids from my ex-wife's first marriage, and four are kids she and I made together. Via the usual, traditional, low-tech method.

But, yeah, you want to know why I make a point of showing all my kids this movie, right?

So...the reason is: This movie closely reflects what I perceive to be my own spiritual pathway. And so I use this movie as a vehicle to try to explain myself better to my kids.

So after viewing this movie with Daughter Melissa, I launched into a semi-drunken exposition of my thoughts on the relationship of the movie to my personal spiritual path.

Melissa caught on quite quickly, and saw the parallels I was drawing very easily. She even offered some of her own thoughts about how the way my spirit guide Deanna won my confidence was very similar to the way the character Christine in the movie won the confidence of the main character, Nicholas Van Orton...only for the purpose of fucking with his head even more.

Is it dismissive of me to equate life to a game?

It is just that...the farther down this spiritual path I go, the less serious all of life appears...until I finally conclude: Yeah. It really is a kind of game.

You might think: "But, NO! Life has serious consequences that can cut us to the very core of our being!!!"

And, yeah, part of me agrees very strongly. And another part of me - the part that is growing - thinks: Emotions like that are an illusion. They are just chemical reactions in our bodies.

Years ago...in the year 2003...I told Deanna in an email that I loved her. She responded via email, "What is love?"

That reply was major disconcerting to me at the time. However over the ensuing years, I think I have come to know what the answer to her question is. And I am ready to share that answer with all of you, right now on Hip Forums.

Are you ready to know what love truly is?

Okay then - brace yourselves, cuz the truth might shock you: It is just chemicals. That is correct: Love is chemical reactions in our physical bodies.

"You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."

That's a Bible verse. I don't remember which one...Google is your friend.

Deanna is laughing her ass off in my mind right now...

You might want to know how I learned this fundamental truth. I will not keep this a secret from you, cuz I know only too well that inquiring minds want to KNOW. And I want to help.

I learned this truth as a result of Deanna playing games with me for many, many years.

And I'm grateful to her.

If you think that romantic love is somehow sacred, then you are prolly pissed as hell at me right now. AND at Deanna.

If so, that is not a problem for me. If you want to hold onto your illusions, then feel free! I don't give a flying fuck! If your illusions bring you comfort that you cannot part with, then by all means, live in a world of illusion.

Each of us needs to play our OWN games in life...for whatever spiritual purpose. I asked the universe to show me more truth. And the universe did as I asked. Maybe YOU want the universe to bring you happiness, no matter what the cost in loss of truth. I am not here to judge you. You need to do what you need to do. I am merely relating my own experience, which you may file away or toss down the oubliette - as you wish.

However you MIGHT want to remember that whatever view you choose to make your reality is part of your personal game.

Are you winning?