The Karma of Gaming

     The medium of gaming may be the most intriguing artform yet,  offering endless hours of entertainment to it’s users But is there something deeper about the medium of gaming we are missing altogether?

     Without delving into any conspiracies, one need only glance at the industry to see the heavy agenda of sexualized violence and Pentagon funded military propaganda being shoved in the face of the consumer. My personal experience with gaming has been one of a love/hate relationship with a codependent nature. Introduced at a young age, gaming was little more than a novelty reserved for rainy days and late night sleep overs, when outside play was not an option. Later in my adolescence as my youthfulness began to fade, I used gaming as a coping mechanism to escape the harsh realities that surrounded me. As an adult, gaming basically served the same purpose, It provides an escape from the daily grind and drudgery of adulthood and I have often felt guilty and shameful for the amount of time I squandered on these false realities, time that could have been better spent in the present reality.

     Upon searching my heart for resolution to my internal conflict an insight came to me, Gaming offers an extremely new and unique experience for the human condition. The human soul or consciousness can attain experiences and knowledge through interaction with these virtual worlds that it otherwise could not attain. Even more beneficial is that it can be attained without accumulating karma or a decrease in polarization. Of course, this is only the case if one is not neglecting their dharma or “real” life responsibilities in favor of this virtual experience. The potential is both fascinating and exciting to contemplate. One can simulate what it is like to fight in a war without living with the horror of having murdered someone, or fly an airplane without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars, Or the thrill of stealing a Lamborghini without ending up a felon. Also allowing us to experience what it may have been like to live scenarios that are not even possible to get today, like fighting in WWll or build a fortress in ancient times, these examples are endless, including even experiencing fantasy realms inside other peoples imaginations. Consciousness could potentially experience a multitude of lifetime lessons in a single incarnation without any of the consequences of karmic debt. It really has the ability to open us up to a host of experiences we simply cannot have in one life and without having the heavy burden that comes with many of those experiences.  This can also be seen in how gaming is used as therapy for disabled people and even for treating Veterans with PTSD

    Sadly, though mainstream gaming is mostly being used as little less than a distraction from the current state of world affairs and social struggles, becoming a filler for the masses to appease our appetites so we don’t disrupt the status quo. And may even bind us to repetitive negative machinations, concepts of war,death, and destructiveness. The potential is there to truly use the medium in a conscious way opening up the imagination to entirely new realms of experiences and it is inevitable that more and more high minded artists will be getting involved with the gaming medium, offering more valuable experiences than simple minded violence and elevating it to its true potential.