"Spiritual" Games Demand You Play by the Rules, Fools!

All games have rules.

 “Spirituality” is a game that also has rules. Even choosing not to call it a “game,” makes that a rule. We all follow rules and we believe that there are some rules that we must never deviate from.

What are the rules of your spiritual game?

Can we play “with” your rules or must we play “by” your rules? Do you insist that your rules are “the truth” and, therefore, not to be questioned? Can your rules be changed or must we rigidly adhere to the letter at all times?

Do your rules make other rules “wrong”? If my rules are different from yours, do you feel it incumbent upon you to “correct” my mistakes?

Beliefs are rules and rules shape your perception. Do your rules help you to see or do they blind you to what is there? Do your rules make you happy or is your happiness based on following the rules? If you refuse to follow the rules, will you still be happy?

Are you the teacher of “the rules”? Do you feel compelled to teach your rules? If I resist learning your rules, what will you think of me? Are you then compelled to contrast my “ignorance” against your “wisdom”? Is that wise or is that ‘righteous’? When I question your rules, will this diminish me in your mind? Will you look down upon me, demanding I replace my rules with yours? If my rules are different from yours, can we still love each other?

Or do the rules make all the difference between love and hate?

Can I bend your rules or will that change your “truth” and make it false? Will you fight to insist that your rules be followed against all others? Will you say “no, not that, but this”? Do you insist that the rules are not yours but “god’s” rules? Or, do you insist that they are the rules of “Oneness”? Do your rules insist that there is no “self” and that the world is “Illusion”? Do your rules demand sacrifice and struggle?

Do you follow the rules of Christianity or the rules of Islam? Do you follow the rules of Hinduism or Buddhism? Do you follow the rules of Non-Duality? Maybe you follow the rules of science?

Does your “god” have rules through which your playing the game is judged?

The ego-self will cleverly use everything at its disposal, even denial of itself, to impose its rules. But there must always be rules and “you” cannot exist without the “rules of play” and many call the rules “truth.” Even to assert that you follow NO RULES, is to assert a rule to follow.

Maybe it’s not the games that you suffer through, but the rules you feel compelled to follow?

Are your rules “sacred”? Do you follow special rules passed down for centuries? Do you revere the teachers of those rules? Must you follow the rules because someone ‘smarter’ than you determined the rules? Does this make your ignorance a rule? Or, because you follow their rules, you now no longer claim ignorance? Have they told you that if you follow the rules they teach, you too, can be 'smart' like them?

What are your rules? Do you even know the rules you play by? Can you list the rules you play by or do you blindly conduct your life with no awareness of the rules you follow?

Or… do you just “know,” without a doubt, that your rules are the “truth”?

Just asking…
mikeS

Re: "Spiritual" Games Demand You Play by the Rules, Fools!

I don't know, Mike.  It may all be inescapable.  If I were to think of spirituality as a game of rules, I guess I would say, for myself, believe and let believe.  I love a good debate, and I don't have to be right and usually I am not.  There is always something to be brought to the table in terms of variance in perception and it is a joy to discover something one has not considered before.  When there are unmovable rule systems, you run into fundamentalism which seems to breed rage at some point in the game.  What can possibly be the answer, the consensus?  I don't think there is one. Individuals just sort of gather into their own collectives.  Some just want to co-exist and some are wont to conquer; still others just want to stand about and appear wise.  And can there be a rule to wisdom, or does that surpass the rules of the game altogether?  Again, I just don't know.

Peace~

Re: "Spiritual" Games Demand You Play by the Rules, Fools!

My rule is:  Due to the non-linear nature of the universe, The opposite of any true statement is true, because it must also be true.  For any statement one can make, it's negation is as true as the statement. 

This rule in and of itself is true and it is false, as everything is true and false, if indeed any statement and it's opposite are both true.

So too, the very idea that spiritual games can or must have rules, while true, is also false. 

This rule that is not a rule that is true and false is called “the law of paradox.” 

It's not really a law at all.  In as much as it exists, it doesn't.  :-P

<3

A

Re: "Spiritual" Games Demand You Play by the Rules, Fools!

Well, Alan, I like that rule that is not a rule that is a rule. 

Plain and simple, yes.  Perhaps that is all wisdom is: recognizing just that.  The beauty in Divine Paradox.

Blessings :)

Re: "Spiritual" Games Demand You Play by the Rules, Fools!

hi mike, Alan, Nahnni

thanks for all of your thoughts - at this moment what you say Nahnni  seems to be so… that rules are rather inescapable.  whether they are formal and rigid or whether there is play in them… or even if the rule is simply to say there should (or shouldn't) be a rule.

i do believe (one of my rules i guess) that there are “spheres” of experience and there are groups that are plugged into their various “spheres”… and the rules (or mandala which is how i like to think of it) are related to that set of experience - and that to some extent perception of reality is dependant on that form (mandala)…
… and just going into a free thinking space (which isn't really free - and has been conditioned to and by my favorite rules) it seems to me that mind is inseparable to mental forms… and perhaps that is simply what mind is.

i think that what is called wisdom ,which could be perhaps, just full living with “what is” - along with what we call loving compassion, empathy etc, arises when there is a sense of relaxation… and i thnk that is what rules or a mandala can do.  providing a context, a template on which mind can rest.

just a thought.
love
christine

Re: "Spiritual" Games Demand You Play by the Rules, Fools!

Hey!

Of course, we have to follow rules. Gravity is a rule and so is breathing (although we have found ways to play with those rules as well). Yet, we tend to take these rules for granted, while others we hold as 'sacred.' When a rule is considered 'sacred' most tend not to question it and those that do are labeled deviant. Even the great spiritual traditions of antiquity have become normalized, just like any other cultural tradition.
To question the rules is to play with the rules. Should “loving compassion” be a rule? Why? Nature shows no such compassion and it seems to get along just fine.
I suppose the issue is not about following rules, since we all do so, but on how 'seriously' should the rules should be followed. Is there one rule that everyone should follow? Or are all rules relative to the rule maker?

Thanks,
mikeS

Re: "Spiritual" Games Demand You Play by the Rules, Fools!

All rules are relative to the rule maker and the ones who follow the rule maker.

Re: "Spiritual" Games Demand You Play by the Rules, Fools!

Hey Nahnni,

Yes that seems logical, but what happens if you don't particularly like yourself to start with? Many people have come expect attack from others, only because they are their own worse enemy. And if they expect attack, why would they not also expect to give it? In fact, this seems to be exactly how the egoic world works.

Dunno, just saying…
mikeS

Re: "Spiritual" Games Demand You Play by the Rules, Fools!

Yes! Herein the golden rule lies a wonderful understanding of opposition which boils directly into the issue of rules.  In the opposites is the reflection of one's self.  Our world is in a duality stage.  We pit this against that, my view vs that view, male vs female, child vs parent, and so on.  “Do onto others as you would have done unto you” repeats the verse that says, “Do not remove the smote from your brother's eye unless you remove it from your own.”  AND, the commandment, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”  In the opposite / other is us.  Rules are important.  “Don't get too close to a hungry lioness,” for example, would be a great rule to attend to, unless you feel it is time for you to give back to the world in gratitude for what She has given you.  This is different from “it's my way or the highway.”  This is a rule built out of arrogance, be it in institutionalized religion, politics, or a classroom.  While boundaries are necessary, extreme control is as destructive.  Very complex issue.  It's one of those that don't allow for a “yes” / “no” dichotomy.  It's a “both” / “and” proposition.  Burl 

Re: "Spiritual" Games Demand You Play by the Rules, Fools!

Well, Mike, that would blow that whole rule out of the water.  The nuance of things is complex, yes.  I guess, then, the rule(s) is/are only relative to the rule maker.  I may have a wretched self esteem, but in contrast I have self respect and so I would take the Golden Rule to be of extreme importance, but if I had neither, then I wouldn't expect any better or any worse, and probably worse.  Then, there is the problem we have discussed before, and that is de-humanization or de-valuation of other living beings and systems, which would make the Golden Rule moot.

I don't think there is really any answer to the battle of the egos.  The self-protective and self aggrandized mechanism is as strong as the will to live, I suppose, and especially in individualized cultures.  But then, as you suggest, that in an altruistic culture, the danger of seeing differently than the collective becomes the mark of the deviant, who then becomes marginalized, ignored, despised, feared or in the worse case scenario, mocked, exiled or even annihilated. 

So, I guess, in the end, I go back to my own rule of believe and let believe.   I realize there are many whose egos are dependent on others believing the same way, but I just walk away from them.  I don't know if that is humility, wisdom, laziness or simply not being terribly dependent on outside validation.  I think we do strive to find those of like mind, as it were, because of the desire and need to communicate, debate, learn, bond and have relationships, but there is always a point where one has to have confidence in one's own truth…or rules, I guess it would be.

Blessings~

Re: "Spiritual" Games Demand You Play by the Rules, Fools!

Well Hello There…!

Nice pull Nahnni…I accept that the rule game has much to do with self confidence…and so has been my experience…the more confident I become the less I give a sh*t about the rules…but in a good way…

It is hard to impossible anyway not to play with the rules…what are some of our examples or who or where is this happening, I am interested to know!

I tried hard to get out of the system, rules and the grid…impossible…here I am on the WWW…

So much of this depends on how many systems your are plugged into…you got a job…you got kids…a car…a bank account…a receipt…a mail box…a coupon…a neighbor…a partner…a fridge? These all have rules that influence the spiritual funnel of rule less desire. 

I have attempted hermit hood…and failed miserably…I made a schedule each night in my mind before I fell asleep about how much time I was going to allow no rules or thoughts in…and than a bug crawled in front of me…and away I went again…reflecting back to my first bee sting as a child…it is really hard to stay or achieve this state with only two eyes, I don't know where my third is…and I am not sure I really get why I need to get there anyway.

Or does this depend on how much confidence you have to let it all go…but how far can you let it go before it is chaos? Have you ever see what happens to children left unattended to? Or a fridge not cleaned? Perhaps there is something in anarchy that is intriguing but only with levels of anarchy qualities…beyond that or a step away from that, what do we got? 

Such the wonder!

I think…so much of this has to do with the whole nine to five requirement…this one system impacts everything else…what if I don't feel like coming in at nine in the morning to listen your “important” meeting…

Really…just what if?

Re: "Spiritual" Games Demand You Play by the Rules, Fools!

You did it again Mike, your posts keep me on my toes..I like it.

I feel grateful for my background, I see why I choose to be born in to it. In this life I am a rebel, the salt of the earth.
From my background, a slightly brainwashed fundamentalist christian one, I developed a survival defense strategy, I have incredible developed  sense for avoiding rules and can smell loopholes. I feel a resistance against rules (unless they are my own) and yes I observe how my ego changes or bends these rules whenever “appropriate”. And I observe how my super ego will check if I am following my own rules.

Connected with this, I respond to the following:
”Are you the teacher of “the rules”? Do you feel compelled to teach your rules? If I resist learning your rules, what will you think of me? Are you then compelled to contrast my “ignorance” against your “wisdom”? Is that wise or is that ‘righteous’? When I question your rules, will this diminish me in your mind? Will you look down upon me, demanding I replace my rules with yours? If my rules are different from yours, can we still love each other?”

Yes I regularly see myself falling into this preacher role, teaching the rules. In the beginning I hated it, because it reminds me of the role my father played ( he is a church minister)
Slowly I have learnt to embrace it and choose the positive side of it, instead of the solely ego function it has.

But there is deep down a struggle when I am in a relationship, I recognise what you write about if the other has different rules/truth. It threatens my ego part.
I have the tendency to disengage. That issue is an ongoing inquiry and still under construction :-)
Isn't life fascinating.

Re: "Spiritual" Games Demand You Play by the Rules, Fools!

Hey Guys!

Some really good responses here. It seems that I have not been receiving Gaia emails since I've missed these comments. I'll check my settings. Maybe something is Kabluhey with the technicals.

Certainly, we must have rules. But I suppose it depends on how seriously one takes the rules. Serious rules are called 'religion.' No rules would be anarchy.
Outcomes require rules. But I suppose if one is unconcerned with outcomes, then the rules are not taken seriously. Maybe this is a more relaxed and peaceful way to play ego games, when it really doesn't matter what happens.
Of course, death is a game we take very seriously. Not to play that game seriously might determine how important all the other games are. When you no longer take death seriously, how could you take anything seriously any more.

just saying…
mikeS

Re: "Spiritual" Games Demand You Play by the Rules, Fools!

Mike, you should know that we have been experiencing a lot of problems with notifications here over the past few weeks, so my guess is that you have likely missed a lot of discussions if you were relying on them. 

Sure death is a biggie, but people seem to have an endless capacity to take things seriously even without that worry…

love,

nicole

Re: "Spiritual" Games Demand You Play by the Rules, Fools!

Sorry Mike, there where too many questions for my little mind to take in, to either understand the “rules” you want us to seemly play by. 
My understanding is, and I am no where near it, is that a “true spiritual being” accepts everything as it is, rules, no rules, truth or untruth, that what is is… 

I have also not read everyone else's response… so I did not follow any rules… or maybe I did… I just desired to make a sound in the woods… 

Re: "Spiritual" Games Demand You Play by the Rules, Fools!

Jeff,

I'm not asking you to play by any rules.
Just to be aware of the rules you play by.
To “accept everything as it is” then becomes a rule you follow in order to be a “true spiritual being.”
However, some may not follow that rule.

Or should they?
mikeS

Re: "Spiritual" Games Demand You Play by the Rules, Fools!

I really enjoyed this post as well as the many and diverse responses.

I love anything that makes me ask important questions of myself.

I have had a tumultuous relationship with rules through out my life and I have been in a process of releasing all of my own rules for several years now. Rules are very closely related to belief and the best way for me to answer this question is to state my current stance on belief.

Belief is my only belief.  Belief creates what i experience through my perception. Belief is the doorway for perception because it is the only difference between what we call reality and dreams, hallucinations, memories, etc.

So the only rule is that you must choose your own rules. How do your rules make you feel?

To me, that is the most important question.

Peace,

SaTek

Re: "Spiritual" Games Demand You Play by the Rules, Fools!

Hey SaTek!

Glad you enjoyed the posting. I can relate to “a tumultuous relationship to rules through out my life” as that has been my experience as well. And yes, rules ARE belief.

Belief creates what i experience through my perception. Belief is the doorway for perception because it is the only difference between what we call reality and dreams, hallucinations, memories, etc.

What you say seems accurate to me. Yet, many have attempted to differentiate between the dream and “reality” with much emphasis on detaching from aspects of the dream, but little on what is 'real.' So what is 'real' if everything is illusion? If the 'real' excludes nothing then should we even discriminate between real and illusion? May be that's a rule we should look to discard?

So the only rule is that you must choose your own rules. How do your rules make you feel?

And I have always wondered, do we ever choose our own rules? Seems there is a menu of rules to choose from, but if we did not choose the menu how can we ever claim we choose our own rules?

All I have are unanswered questions…

Thanks!
mikeS