Fearless — The Game
Sunday 13th of December 2020
Last night I fell asleep listening to Adyashanti’s audiobook «The end of your world». This was the start of an novel and spectacular dream.
The dream was about a full-immersion VR game, where I started at the same place every time and went through a series of challenges. First it was raining boulders, then came diverse adversaries like specters, zombies, hostile people, and even dinosaur-like creatures.
The way to get past them was basically always the same. To be completely fearless and take action in the present moment without reacting. Usually in a Judo kind of way by using the others momentum and minimal effort on my part, but as long as I was fearless and present I could also take a chokehold on an adversary and toss them aside.
It was the state of mind that was most important. Immediately when I became afraid or lost my cool, I would inevitably be defeated in a very efficient manner, and would have to start at the beginning. With the raining boulders. This happened again, and again, and again.
The flip-side was also represented; Fearlessness in loving and intimate encounters with others. I had to assess immediately what kind of encounter I was running into, and how to respond, because I was running fast between each encounter (and through many of them).
Outside the game I was wearing a light visor which seemingly connected to my brain wirelessly. Adyashanti was my guide in the game, explaining things to me.
I realized this was a game of mind training where the player learned to be fearless regardless of the situation. This was bad news for the ego, which is based on fear (controlling, grasping and pushing away). Playing the game would effectively lead to enlightenment, provided that the player was learning and progressing far enough through the game. The different situations and challenges were only different because of the player’s beliefs and thoughts. The solution was always the same, and an “inside job”.
I was told that the raining boulders in the beginning of the game was there to overload the brain. This was necessary to overcome the players previous mental programming. Players usually spent 2–3 weeks just getting past this initial hurdle before the game really started to get interesting and varying. This was a challenge when it came to creating interest in continuing the game, but the creators hoped that people would be motivated to go through this initial phase, Adya explained.
Towards the end of the dream I exited the game, walked down a hallway and met a woman I knew in the dream. She invited me into her apartment to have dinner. When I was inside, she threw away the pretense, took of her sweater and said “let’s skip dinner”, and we kissed. Perhaps this last part of the dream was showing me an example of what can happen as a side-effect of playing the game. Side-effect — as I’m a happily married man. Having no fear but little grounding is a phase on the path to enlightenment for some, and can be disruptive.
I woke up remembering everything, and then it started fading. This dream was so significant I started “putting it to memory” as best I could while lying still. It was not like other dreams where you could find logical flaws or continuity glitches. I also had full access to the entire range of emotions. What I remembered was as real as everyday life, if not hyperreal.
Questions about the purpose of the dream came up. Was the purpose that I should create this game? Was the purpose to explain a concept? Was the purpose to tell me that I am in the game already? Is it the game of life or the game of enlightenment? Is there a difference?
I was feeling particularly energized and electric after waking up. Adyashanti talks about the energetic component of awakening in the audiobook, and what I was feeling fit the description. It was as if some energy was changing my body and healing it from the inside out.
The thought “I’m in the game” arose repeatedly, and brought powerful energetic chills all over and inside my body.
