Life Is a Video Game. Level Up.

One of the key realizations of The Way is that physical existence in this world is a dream and that, at some point, you wake up in the dream, look at life objectively, and see the symbolic meaning of the events and archetypes you encounter. Another way of looking at life is as a video game and you and others are the avatars.

The movie series, “Jumanji,” while being entertaining, is popular because people’s souls recognize in it a great truth. We are all in a vast cosmic holographic video game. Each of us is an avatar with strengths and weaknesses and many lifetimes, not just three as in the movies. And we need to work together to save Jumanji (the world) from some evil villain (the collective unconscious).

In video games, your avatar meets challenges and obstacles and either overcomes them; learns from experience; earns points, treasures, and skills; and levels up, or fails them and loses points but still gains knowledge of what not to do from experience. At my job is a system of promotion involving four levels. Each level has specific characteristics that you have to meet before you can get promoted to it and enjoy the higher pay and privileges. Some people use it to increase their status and add their level number after their name in their email signature. They become competitive and focused on leveling up. But, as Grantland Rice said, “It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how you play the game.”

In a video game, if your avatar loses too many points, it dies, but it can come back in a limited number of new lives. However, it has to start from scratch, earning points, and gaining treasure and skills. In life, we come back as a baby. Some children are prodigies because they have excelled at a certain skill for many lifetimes.

Avatar is a Sanskrit word meaning "coming down from far away." It also means “a manifestation of a deity or released soul in bodily form on earth; an incarnate divine teacher.” For example, Rama and Krishna were avatars of the Hindu god Vishnu. These divine Beings had completely transcended selfhood and separateness. They realized very early in life that they were One with Vishnu and that their bodies, minds, and personalities were just vehicles through which they could carry out their divine purpose or mission, which usually was to restore dharma or order in the world. This is the goal of the avatars in "Jumanji." Getting back to the video game analogy, Vishnu is playing the game and adopts an avatar, Rama, who overcomes the challenges and defeats the villain Ravana not just to earn good karma points and level up but also to fulfill a higher mission to restore order.

Most people aren’t aware that life is a game and that they are avatars, both in the video game sense and in the spiritual sense. They are avatars of their own God Self. Most people play the game and level up, going from achieving goals that meet lower motivations such as food and shelter, safety, relationships, and self-esteem. These are the lower levels of Maslow’s pyramid of motivations. Some level up to cognitive motivations, getting graduate degrees, and aesthetic motivations, living in beautiful surroundings and being in harmony with nature. A few level up to self-actualization, being the best they can be; fulfilling their dharma as an artist, scientist, writer, etc.; and sharing their gifts with the world. Some spiritual people understand the law of karma and desire to earn good karma and balance bad karma by doing good deeds. But they too will have to reembody and start all over again. Some think that if they balance 51% of their karma, they will win the game of life, ascend, and escape the cycle of birth and death. That may or may not be, but the point is that their motivation should not be on just earning points because even that is an attachment.

Very few reach the highest level of motivation - transcendence, which is the level of a God-realized Avatar. At this level, you transcend your human ego, let go of your attachments, and realize that you are One with your God Self and that life is a dream or game that teaches you lessons. It’s also the level at which you realize your highest purpose as an Avatar or messenger of God, showing others The Way through the particular God qualities that you embody. When you reach this level, you can change the world. So, level up.