The Master Game
Seek, above all, for a game worth playing. Such is the advice of the oracle to modern man. Having found the game play it with intensity – play as if your life and sanity depended on it. (They do depend on it.) Follow the example of the French existentialists and flourish a banner bearing the word “engagement.” Though nothing means anything and all reads are marked “no exit,” yet move as if your movements had some purpose. If life does not seem to offer a game worth playing, then invent one. For it must be clear, even to the most clouded intelligence, that any game is better than no game.
But although it is safe to play the Master Game, this has not served to make it popular. It still remains the most demanding and difficult of games and in our society, there are few who play. Contemporary man, hypnotized by the glitter of his own gadgets, has little contact with his inner world, a vast and complex territory about which men know very little. The aim of the game is true awakening, full development of the powers latent in man. The game can be played only by people whose observations of themselves and others have led them to a certain conclusion, namely, that man’s ordinary state of consciousness, his so-called waking state, is not the highest level of consciousness of which he is capable. In fact, this state is so far from real awakening that it could appropriately be called a form of somnambulism, a condition of ‘waking sleep.’
Once a person has reached this conclusion, he is no longer able to sleep comfortably. A new appetite develops within him, the hunger for real awakening, for full consciousness. He realizes that he sees, hears, and knows only a tiny fraction of what he could see, hear and know, that he lives in the poorest, shabbiest of the rooms in his inner dwelling, and that he could enter other rooms, beautiful and filled with treasures, the windows of which look out on eternity and infinity.
The solitary player lives today in a culture that is more or less totally opposed to the aims he has set himself, that does not recognize the existence of the Master Game, and regard players of this game as queer or slightly mad. The player thus confronts great opposition from the culture in which he lives and must strive with forces, which tend to bring his game to a halt before it has even started. Only by finding a teacher and becoming part of the group of pupils that , that teacher has collected about him can the player find encouragement and support. Otherwise he simply forgets his aim, or wanders off down some side road and loses himself.
Here it is sufficient to say that the Master Game can ‘never’ be made easy to play. It demands all that a man has, all his feelings, all his thought, his entire resources, physical and spiritual. If he tries to play it in a halfhearted way or tries to get results by unlawful means, he runs the risk of destroying his own potential. For this reason it is better not to embark on the game at all than to play it halfheartedly.
Purpose and Vision
Being able to access your power as a man is the first step. Having direction and focus in your power is the next. Without purpose and vision to harness the flow of your power, it has no destination, no objective, and so it becomes dissipated.
Your Higher Purpose in life is not anything you actually do. It’s who you are ‘being’ while you are ‘doing’ life. Your higher purpose is not about saving the world, it’s about saving yourself, and in the process, having something meaningful and unique to offer the world because you are being responsible for being yourself. You don't choose your higher purpose, it chooses you. It’s an energy that inspires you and calls you forth toward a sense of Completeness when as a human being you are not “feeling” complete. If you can simply begin noticing What Is Missing or lacking in your own experience of your humanity, then you are on your way to living your purpose. Just take a closer look at the “reoccurring themes” and patterns in your life that cause you pain or disappointment. They are your opportunities to connect with your higher purpose, which in turn, is a kind of personalized invitation to connect with a sense of completeness. In other words, your higher purpose IS to just be complete as a human being. But feeling complete as a human being doesn't come easy. It’s not suppose to. There would be No Work to do then, No Vision to be carried out as a consequence. Your purpose was meant to be an ongoing challenge, a labor of love that takes a lifetime to unfold.
Your Vision You get to choose. It’s your gift to the world. Your own unique expression of love and gratitude for being alive, that touches at the heart of humanity. It’s worth dying, and therefore, living for. It gets your dick hard. It’s the mark only You can leave behind, the legacy only You can pass on. Vision definitely has to do with “doing,” with taking action. But you can only “do” your vision if you're first “being or living” your higher purpose. That’s the order: your Purpose, out of which comes your Vision, which gives you your Goals, which gives you your Priorities and finally your day to day Decisions and Choices.
Accountability
Accountability is at the heart of a man’s power and integrity. To be accountable as a man, you must first have something to be accountable for, and that means declaring that you are committed to something. Before you can say your are committed to something and that you have something significant at stake, you must first have considered what it is you want. You can't really know what it is you want until you've discovered your truth or higher purpose, and that implies you've reached a considerable level of maturity as a human being. Your maturity as a human being is a function of acknowledging, accepting and then owning your humanity, knowing thy self, and that implies that you also know the distinction between human being and manhood. Knowing that distinction means remembering that your worth as a human being is unconditional and that manhood is only reserved for those who choose to play a game called conditional worth.
Entering into the game of manhood prematurely, before you clearly understand your unconditional status as a human being, is always a deadly game. First of all, you'd have no freedom or choice in the manner and therefore no joy. You would be playing the game only because you felt compelled to, as a compensation for where you think you failed as a human being. As compensation then, even if you did manage to win a few rounds in the game of manhood, it would only end up proving that you had already last as a human being.
If as a man you remember however, that there ‘is’ no way to fail at being a human being, then you become not only willing but glad to be held accountable in the playing of the game called manhood. For the more you are held accountable by those who know what you truly have at stake, the more likely you will be able to correct your mistakes and overcome the fears and barriers that otherwise keep you from winning at the game.
To be truly accountable then, implies you are also supportable. That means knowing how to let others contribute to you, and remembering that you are worthy of their support, even if you don't feel deserving of it in that moment. At times such support may feel ruthless, and the challenge becomes to remain “open” to the support by acknowledging the compassion and risk on the part of the one giving the support. Before this can happen however, a man needs to have identified and owned his own bullshit-the conditional masks that conceal his unconditional humanity-so that he becomes conscious of when and how he prevents others from contributing to him. This further implies knowing when and how to take the mask off, and that means a willingness to risk being vulnerable, being known or seen, the heart of which is intimacy, the heart of intimacy being trust. There can be No trust without Forgiveness, as we all make mistakes. Trust, as with forgiveness, is always a supreme act of love. So there you have it. Love your brother as you would yourself, and let the games begin. May the best men win!
Empowered vs. Un-empowered
If you are empowered, you suddenly have a lot of work to do because you have the power to do it. If you are un-empowered, you are less dominated by the opportunities in front of you. In other words, you have an excuse not to do the work. You have a way out. You have the security of being able to do what you have always done and get away with it. If you are empowered, suddenly you must step out, innovate and create. The cost, however of being un-empowered is people’s self-expression. They always have the feeling that they have something in them that they never really gave, never really expressed. By simply revealing the payoffs and costs of being un-empowered, people have a choice. They can begin to see that it is possible to make the choice to be empowered rather than to function without awareness. Empowerment requires a breakthrough and in part that breakthrough is a kind of shift from looking for a leader to a sense of personal responsibility. The problems we now have in communities and societies are going to be resolved only when we are brought together by a common sense that each of us is visionary. Each of us must come to the realization that we can function and live at the level of vision rather than following some great leader’s vision. Instead of looking for a great leader, we are in an era where each of us needs to find the great leader in ourselves.
Manhood Is:
A Story
A Legacy From The Past
A Game
A Set of Rules
A Code of Honor
A Choice
A Conditional State of Grace
A Social Agreement
A Commitment
A Stand
A Contribution
A Gratitude For The Past
A Being in Service to The Present
A Responsibility For The Future
A Privilege
The 7 Domains
- Mind: intellectual pursuits
- Body: physical well-being and vitality
- Soul: spiritual growth.
- Career & Finance
- Marriage & Romantic Relationships
- Family & Friendships
- Politics, Community & The World
The Rules of The Game of Manhood
You STOP Being a Man When You Are…
Not remembering manhood is just a game
Not in the playing of the game by choice
Being a victim
Not playing the game as if your life depended on it
Not remembering what you are willing to die for
Using manhood as a compensation
Mistaking the game for your worth as a human being
Not being accountable for your actions
Apologizing for or justifying your behavior
Not honoring the source of your masculine power
Judging or blaming your father
Unwilling to assume complete responsibility
Unwilling to forgive
Withholding love or gratitude
Not honoring the differences between men and women
Not respecting women’s contribution in the world
Feminizing your relationships with men
Not fighting honorable battles
Complaining about the price you are paying
Trying to get something for nothing
Not giving your word as your self
Unwilling to identify and own your B.S.
Not knowing when and how to take the mask off
Putting your ego before your commitments
Denying your jerkhood
Willing to sell other men out
Not being an example for children
Not being impeccable
Unwilling to play by the rules
No longer willing to be in the playing of the game