.ll 72
.fo off
.co on 
.ce ((Editor's comments in double parenthesis - Homer))
 
.ce ADR - 90
.ce
 
.ce Copyright (C) Homer Wilson Smith
.ce Redistribution rights granted for non commercial purposes
 
======================================================================== 116
Date:         Tue, 21 Mar 89 02:36:27 EST
From:         "Homer W. Smith" 
Subject:      Re: two camps
To:           Omer Zak ,
              adore-l@ualtavm
In-Reply-To:  Your message of Mon, 13 Mar 89 14:19:54 +0200

>I am taking an exception to your claim that PSI abilities are natural to
>a well operating game.
>Suppose that the spirits which we are - were bored with their easy spiritual
>life and decided that they need a bit of TOUGH CHALLENGE.

     Boredom is a serious level of psychosis, not recognized as such
by the spirits you mention, so they chose a game of greater limitation
to keep them interested rather than less limitation.

     An infinite being once limited to any finite arena, can
UNLIMIT himself on a gradient scale FOREVER without running out of limitations.

So they chose
>a game in which they play it out in a world whose rules of the game admit
>of no PSI abilities, but have substitutes of it in the form of telephones
>and the like.
>Then they promptly forget they are spirits (it is one of the rules of the
>game).  One of the interesting observations which I would observe in such
>a situation is that people are sort of trying to cheat on the rules of the
>game.  They wish for having PSI abilities instead of using whatever tools
>they have at their disposal to win the game (winning the game means in
>whatever sense they want to win it - probably by feeling happy for as long
>time as possible and being in a stable state of happiness).
>
     One of the early tricks on the track was to convince a spirit
that he was too powerful, that he could win games too easily and so
his bretheren would not want to play with him as the odds were not fair,
the odds were too much in his favor.

     The idea was to get the spirit to toss away his powers and become
dependant on limited machines like a body or telephones so that the
people playing this trick on him could win the game more easily.

     THEY were the ones that were cheating, not the spirit.

     Telling a person that he needs to be LESS in order to
be more acceptable to a game CAN be a valid statement, but often
it is used by others who already ARE less, trying to get the
spirit to give up more powers THAN NECESSARY in the name of making
the odds more fair.  The real intention is to make the odds favor
the other players.


     The demarkation happens when the spirit finally limits himself
to a point where he can not win the game no matter what, but people
still try to make him think that everyone else is playing the same
handicap so so should he.  Its a trick to make the spirit OVER
handicap himself into oblivion.  It works.  Look at Earth.

>An example - I play chess and when I play it I enjoy it even though the
>rules of the game don't include the ability to enjoy my time by fucking
>the mind on the other side of the board.  You may have been playing baseball
>and have enjoyed it at the time, even though your interactions with the
>fellow players are rather limited.
>
    Yes but you can get up and walk away from the chess board
anytime you like.  You still have your SELF DETERMINISM about the game.
You also remember chosing to sit down and play, and you know that when
the game ends, win or lose, there will be other games you can and may
or may not choose to play.

    Most spirits at this time would not consider life a game they
CHOSE to play, few remember chosing birth, and they believe that
when they die it is all over forever.  (Some think they go to Heaven,
most think they become worm food.)

     Further while the game of life is taking place, one wrong move
can lose you the ability to play the game at all.  The game is for
the most part, the game of keeping the game going.

     Many solve this problem by ripping people off, by getting them
to play the game for them and take all the risks.  The criminal takes
the survival and the victim takes the fall.

     Although the spirit MAY have honestly believed that it was
necessary and in good faith to throw his awareness of Immortality
away so that he could better play this game, he was wrong, and the
people who helped him make this decision had no intention of limiting
themselves in a similar fashion and just couldn't wait until the poor
dup did himself in so they could move in and take the spoils.

     Of course once he HAD thrown his awareness Immortality away he often tried
to get others to do it too.  But that is later on the chain.

>---
>
>You claim that life as spirit outside of any 'adventure games' is more
>interesting.  Could you tell me how does it look like in your opinion so
>that I would be spared the fear of being just bored every time I contemplate
>how is it like there.
>                                                         --- Omer

     Boredom is a very serious problem to an infinite almighty self
responsible being.  But it is a CREATED problem.  It does not come
as part of the package of eternity or reality in general.

     One of the more interesting games the spirit created was the
game of eternal boredom.  This allowed him to justify making some other
God Awful games that he would otherwise not have been able to bring
himself to stomach or confront.

     From the standpoint above that decision to MAKE eternal boredom
the viewpoint of the spirit is that the future is endlessly beautiful.

     Adoration is Operation.

     Boredom is a Joke looking for the punch line.

 Homer W. Smith      Omer Zak             3/21/89*two camps