How to Play
This is a solo game, inviting a private, ongoing “interview” with oneself. Although its process is analytical, its approach is intuitive. The game is played in two phases: Research and Revelation. The Research phase is a process of self-disclosure in which, using life probes, you gather information about your typical experiences in each of the five Lotus directions. In the Revelation phase, you illuminate your Lotus heart through a process of associative reflection. This will be explained below.
RESEARCH PHASE INSTRUCTIONS
LIFE PROBES
Sufis sometimes give their followers tasks called chilla, novel experiences through which new, often surprising, information about oneself is brought into awareness. In the Heart of the Lotus we’re calling these self-inquiries “life probes”—tasks which you will give yourself.
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In this phase of this game you learn about yourself by doing something you might not typically do or have not done before. To do this you will need to envision tasks, challenges, or goals you have not tried before. These explorations are undertaken as developmental pathways in each of the five Lotus centers of activity. For example, in
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In addition to the “freshness” of the tasks you create for yourself, this action research is enhanced by what we might call its “spiritual potency”. The simplest way to describe this is that the task has implications beyond the obvious, a meaningful depth which might only become apparent through its pursuit.
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Keeping these guidelines in mind, you start the game by defining your life probe for each center of activity:
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Print out the 5 Life Probe Report pages found here and select one of these as your starting point. (It doesn’t matter which since in this game you will go through all five.)
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Enter a contemplative space. You can do this through a brief meditation, awareness of breathing, or even some stretching and movement. The important thing here is opening channels for new flows of information. This is both a physical and metaphysical matter—brain, body, breathing as well as inner attention and feelings all brought together in a relaxed atmosphere.
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Mentally check off the things that immediately occur to you as ways to improve your life in the area you have chosen. These are probably things you have thought of before. Now sit quietly awaiting for something new to arrive in that space. The task you come up with should be something you could do, or work on, every day. If you draw a blank, see if something occurs when you combine two of the immediate thoughts you just had. If you still cannot find a task, go through this process again at another time. As a final resort you can select one of your immediate ideas but with a twist or variation of some kind.
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In the Life Probe section of the report sheet write down what you’ve come up with. Start with, “For the next 3 days I will…”. Working each probe for only 3 days will help focus your effort. Also, this short duration emphasizes that the point of this game is not the change that may be sought but the insight gained through the seeking.
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After the 3 days, write your report on that glyph in the “Findings” section of its page. A simple way to do this is to start with these statements: “I noticed that…”; “I discovered that…”; “I realized that…”, “I was surprised that…”. But you can write it in any way that feels right to you, even poetically. The important thing is to distill your experience with that life probe so that when you come back to it (after all life probes have been completed) you will be able to faithfully recall what you experienced with each one.
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Do this for each of the five Lotus petals until you have probed each direction for 3 days.
REVELATION PHASE INSTRUCTIONS
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You should go on to this only after you have completed the Research phase.
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The Lotus revelation process is an intimate self-inquiry, inviting a depth of sincerity, and a clarity of vision which can only come from completely relinquishing judgements. This means finding your own optimum way to do this. The instructions below are intended only to give you a sense of where this process may bring you and to stimulate your imagination about how best to get there.
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SUGGESTED PROCESS
When you’re ready to enter the Revelation phase, print out the Lotus Revealed form found here depicting a five-petaled lotus. Bring it and your five Life Probe Reports to a place where you can sit quietly and reflect undisturbed for a half hour or so.
Begin with any one of the glyphs. Study your findings in that life direction, remembering your experiences with that life probe. Find a signifier—a word, phrase, symbol or shape—that says something essential about what you have discovered through this life probe. Avoid judgemental terms; look for words that describe feelings or experiences as objectively as possible. Write or draw that on one of the lines of, or next to, that glyph. (Three lines are provided for each glyph but you may wind up writing fewer or more than three signifiers.)
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Once you have done that for each glyph put aside the Life Probe Reports and enter a contemplative state. A simple way to do this is to allow your breathing to become rhythmic—not too deep or shallow— and to center your attention in your chest. In what follows, your attention will tend to rise into your head since this is where most of us imagine revelation happens. When you notice this, gently return your attention to “the heart”.
Look at each glyph in turn, moving slowly from one to the other, taking time to consider the signifiers you have listed. Keeping your awareness centered in your chest, find a signifier (or signifiers) common to all five sets of signifiers and write it (them) in the center of the lotus. Just as surely as each of us has only one body there are singular attributes that underlie the many ways we relate to the world. The center of the lotus will then contain something like the answer to the question, “Who are you, really?”
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These instructions are intentionally sketchy because the authenticity of your own process of revelation is vital to the fidelity of what is revealed.
