MASTERING THE BODY GAME

Imagine: You have traveled, not through time and space, but beyond these familiar dimensions,
to the dimension of pure-light-entities of Higher Consciousness. We call them entities, although they are
without bodies. In fact, some of these light-entities amuse themselves by playing a body game, with
complex rules and lots of drama. Lots of drama. Some of these will be using the forms they did when they
last had bodies, so that you, too, will be able to see and hear them. Other entities watch and listen, but
will be unseen and unheard.

You will see them gathered to review and rehearse the rules of the body game, so that all may share
in learning what a body is, and how it can be used to its fullest advantage. Novices always believe that
Mastering the body game is easy.

Watch, you, now, and listen, and judge for yourselves the truth of it.

Welcome, entities, to “The Body Game, 101 – Beginners' Review.” I know some of you have
recently been playing in the body game, and you'll probably want to add your own observations during this
session, so go right ahead.
Those of you who have never had a body-game experience will find this session fascinating and
interesting.
First of all – What is a body?
Bodies can have many forms, but they are all slow energy, with which we experience the body-game
and emotions.
Emotion can't be explained here. You need a physical body to react to and interpret physical events,
in order to comprehend emotion.
The bodies on most planetary surfaces are basically bags of various liquids with a feeding tube
running down them. Some have things called bones and muscles which help you move a body about and
gather food to it.
For the planet most of you like to play on, you'll have a human body. The early stage of the human
body is called a child. Other bodies, who play roles called parents, teachers, employers, friends, etc., will
try to give you the best advice they can on how to function as a human on their planet. Unfortunately, their
information is often inadequate, or distorted from their own early planetary instruction.

Maintaining a body in harmonious balance is not very difficult, but bodies themselves are fragile
things, and require a lot of attention. And if you forget what you've heard here, and fall into believing that
you have no part in the material well-being of your body, then you will have experiences they call illness,
disease, and accident.
And there's always a chance that you'll find yourself in a culture where it's considered normal to use
only pills, operations, and machines to treat illnesses, with a minimum of effort on the part of the individual.
You will then be able to choose between life-long dependencies, needles and scalpels, and personal
responsibility in solving your ills. As proof to the faint-of-heart, there will be both many children and some
grown people who will cure their ills and injuries by themselves, and this may remind you of the things you
heard here.
Human beings use illness, and accidents, for all sorts of reasons, and if you pay close attention,
you'll see that what seem like the weaknesses of bodies are actually powerful aids to mastering the body
game!

After birth, you will begin to come into conflict with the will, wants, and needs of other people,
principally your parents'. And you'll learn early that if nobody is touching you, and nobody is paying any
attention to you, you might get a whole lot of attention and touching when you're too weak to move by
yourself. This discovery in many, many cases becomes a life-long habit, or pattern.
 As adults, caught up in the pressures and demands of grown-up life, minor illnesses, or injuries,
serve as “permission-givers” in the eyes of other adults, to catch up on lots of needed rest, and to drop
responsibilities and pressures for a while.
You will also discover hundreds of humans, thought of as “pillars of their community,” who spend
their lives conforming rigidly to the rules and expectations of their society, who, rather than admitting
dissatisfaction, develop the most serious, and life-threatening, illnesses.
Unlike minor ills, major illnesses are very dramatic, and the more dramatic one is, the more likely
the sufferer will be able to get out of doing anything that they don't want to do!
And for these people, changing bodies is easier than changing careers – or life-styles . . . .

The final great benefit of infirmity is the getting of lots of sympathy. Of course, when you have all
of your attention, and everybody else's, focused on the presence of sickness, there's very little pay-off in
encouraging its absence!
So – many, many people stay sick, because they believe they can't get love, or attention, or even rest,
without illness; and a lot of people can't say “no” any other way. There is also an odd human idea that they
“deserve punishment” for some “guilty” thought or action they may have performed. Forgiveness is a better
route. Especially forgiveness of oneself.

Now we come to the subject of “accidents,” which are, of course, never 'accidental,' once you
understand them.
A nice injury gives you a chance to rest up, get sympathy, etc., etc., too. A sensible human being
understands that a stubbed toe means “slow down;” and a body in harmonic balance is a graceful body, after
all. It is possible to avoid 'accidents' by becoming intensely aware of your environment, your feelings, your
needs, and taking care accordingly.
And a really big, life-endangering 'accident' means that it's time to make some changes – in
priorities, or life-style . . . .

For example, during each moment of crisis, ask yourself if you'd be making that decision that way if
you had only one year to live. If the answer is “no,” allow your priorities to change appropriately. No one
else can do that for you – not a pill, or a therapist, or a parent.

At this point, we come to the question of, How does one know what changes to make? The answer
is, simply, pay attention to where the symptoms, or injuries, occur in the body! That's why they're there!
Your body will be 'talking' to you continuously, if you pay attention. When you don't pay attention, of
course, it has to shout to be heard, which is then experienced by you, in that body, as PAIN!!! Watch that. If
you suppress the pain, or treat a symptom without making the necessary changes – whatever that may be at
the moment – you will soon enough discover these acts to be self-defeating.
Even if some changes in life-style are made, if they're the wrong ones, or not enough, the person will
continue to have symptoms, and probably different ones than before, until the right changes are made.
You see, symptoms themselves aren't dangerous – they're really just messages. Sometimes, they're
just sensations telling you that energy is moving around in your body, but they're also warnings from your
body when it needs your attention – and, so, to completely ignore them is absurdly foolish.

You may have developed a number of pleasant little habits which seem harmless enough to you,
until your body begins to ask for changes that require changing those pleasant little habits. It is possible –
and part of the human experience – to make a choice in favor of pleasure and take care of all the symptoms
as they arise. That's okay, too. One may enjoy a long and vigorous life, regardless, by mastering the use of
human consciousness.
 How a person uses his mind and thoughts makes the difference, and you will have the opportunity
to test out, in your living experience, the role your thoughts play in causing disease as well as in healing and
maintaining your health. For instance, pain is held in place by specific fearful thoughts, two of the most
powerful of which are FEAR OF WORSENING and FEAR OF IRREPARABLE DAMAGE.
Thought is, in fact, the most powerful force in all creation. For example, if you believe, if you think,
that something will make you sick, you will indeed become sick; and if you are afraid that some sensation
in the body is dangerous, your thoughts and fear can create something that wasn't even there, before.
What this means, is that the Creative Force every body carries is totally obedient to, cooperative
with, and ready to fulfill, whatever thoughts come to it. Even in private thoughts, making statements like
“I am always...,” and “I never...,” and “it always happens,” has tremendous power.
Bodies will respond to mind-talk, however unintentionally you speak, because they can't tell the
difference, and strive to please, by giving you exactly what you apparently want it to!
So, observe the words you use in speaking and thinking, and choose words that define good health
for the body, until this habit becomes automatic. This is, however, a great rarity among humans.

Now that you've heard several of the ways bodies develop problems, we'll itemize how all of this
can be avoided – while maintaining the strongest possible attachment to the body.

Love yourself.

This means, first of all, being as gentle as you possibly can toward yourself, your body, and your
inner consciousness. Which means paying attention to your body's signals, and responding to them.

When you feel hungry, eat. If you savor and enjoy the things you eat, you'll be able to choose your
food wisely. There are no 'shoulds' about diet. Each body is different and is changing all the time. The
'correct' diet simply means following your body's signals, regardless of the advice and demands of other
people.
When you are tired, rest. Most bodies require both active periods, for work and play, and rest periods
for re-energizing. It will be up to you to balance times of intense stimulation with time for profound
relaxation. You'll find a lot of people fighting sleep, as if it were a waste of time, but sleep is a miracle. It
restores energy, perception, and clarity. How? Because sleep erases pain. It is your greatest ally, in
maintaining strength and harmony within the body.

Other ways to love yourself are, to live up to your own standards, to allow yourself time to decide
what's best for you, and to say “no” freely whenever you feel uncomfortable or under pressure.
Saying yes when you want to say no is one way to surrender your personal integrity and court
frustration and illness. If you obey all commands without thinking, you will lose your own vital response to
life. Sometimes, you will find yourself having to choose between social or parental values and beliefs, and
those you have developed for yourself. To make a choice in support yourself requires an uncommon faith in
oneself. It also may require a touch of heroism. But the rewards of consistently supporting oneself are:
feelings of wholeness, complete integrity, and quiet confidence; you will carry a sense of tranquility with
you, and be harmonious in your body. Remember, first, you must consider your needs important!!

You can be concerned and responsible toward others without sacrificing your own life – you do this
by balancing the time and energy you want to give to friends, children, family and business, with the time
and energy you give to yourself, to meet your own needs and desires.
When you must make decisions like this, trust your feelings. All bodies vary in their needs for
affection or love, or stimulation or activity, or rest or food, and if one decision leads to discomfort, you
always have the choice of doing something different, something new.
So there's no reason for you to ever suffer from boredom, there.
 During moments of high stress and tension, you will always have the power to 'turn off' mental
turmoil and chatter, and 'turn up the volume' on your physical senses. Tune in to your surroundings and
immerse yourself in its textures, colors, patterns, aromas, sounds, and so forth. . . . This will restore a state
of relaxation and balance, and re-awaken your awareness of yourself as a conscious, observing self. When
your thoughts need a break, reading a good book, seeing a movie, or writing a letter are relaxing activities.
When your body needs a break, taking a walk, taking a hot bath, or taking a nap is helpful.
By doing many things to maintain a state of balance and relaxation, you will experience far fewer
'accidents,' too . . . .

Of course, there aren't any 'victims,' in the body game. There ain't nobody there but us immortal
game-playing creatures of light.

It is possible that, during your play, you will remember that life is all a wonderful adventure, and
that in order to have experiences, we invented the worlds of form and appearance so that we can play with
each other. Learning, growth, and change keep the game interesting, and no human experience is ever
useless or unimportant. This includes the final experience you can have in a body, the death experience. It's
funny how people in bodies confuse “death” with “failure.” We love drama; any kind of drama. Lots of
drama . . . . Lots of variety; lots of change. The only way we have to explore our infinite potentialities is
through life experiences. Experiences happen when we set ourselves problems to solve, to experiment with
life, and learn from the solutions we find. If we never had new experiences, we'd stagnate and decay, the
way the body begins to decay when it's no longer learning and growing and changing.

You can always learn something from an experience, and usually many things on many different
levels.

But, no matter how dramatic life is, it is always possible to focus on the comedy of it, to view the
world and humanity with a sense of humor: a C*O*M*I*C PERSPECTIVE!! It helps when you
remember that Life itself is just a game, and not to take any game too seriously. You, after all, always get to
choose the content of your experience – which means, you get to make up the rules, set the goals, and play
the game! Moreover, you can always create a new story for yourself.

In life, any goal is all right; you can remain happy and healthy by enjoying the process of life, of
living.

And when you begin to love every moment of your life – 100% – keep doing it, forever!
Then, when you can do it with absolutely anything that ever comes along, you will have achieved
MASTERY of the B*O*D*Y G*A*M*E !!

In conclusion, I'd like to give you five easy pieces of advice.

One: There will be no one 'right' way, no single set of rules to follow at all times, and certainly not
for all individuals. Your path of learning is different from all others', and it is solely yours to travel.

Two: Trust your own judgment in most things. The final 'authority' over your life is you. Standing
apart from the opinions of the masses takes great courage, but is often highly rewarding.

Three: After a time, you may begin to believe that the limits of your birth-body are unchangeable
and natural. They are, however, based entirely upon the belief structure of your current culture and society,
which you may eventually disregard. Throughout your life, question your beliefs continuously, to discover
how you are limiting yourself, needlessly.
 Four: Use any of the gifts of mind, and heart, and body, to find solutions to your problems. Use
what works for you. Try out new concepts and ideas – play with them, apply them – to find the truth of
them.

And, Five: The one thing you have absolute and instantaneous control of is thought – the source of all
creative power; the very same Creative Force which makes your whole living experience. You will always
have it; it will never desert you.

Discover love: Love – not because it feels good, not because it will help you live forever; love is its
own reason, and not the means to an end. Love makes life worth living, no matter how long life may last. It
may enhance health, and well-being, and physical healing, but that is a bonus – the icing on the cake.

Go forth with love, harmony, and peace profound.... Go forth and be born.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Theatre of the MIND: Review Reminder for the BODY Player

Congratulations! You have chosen to play the BODY Game because you wished for the excite-
ment and stimulation of LIFE. It's been more exciting than you expected, hasn't it? Well, the more new
experiences you seek out, the broader your mastery of the game becomes. Guaranteed.

By now, you've probably experienced ILLNESS. Have you discovered how a lack of self-love – not
supporting yourself and your needs – manifests as illness or injury of the body? Do you notice when
accidents and sickness result from feelings of anger and frustration? When you must suppress your true
needs and desires because of fear, your body must express them indirectly, and sometimes illness is the
only way you have been able to protest the quality of life you've found yourself living. The frustration of
unfulfilled needs and desires often results in so much internal conflict that your body itself cries out for
attention and change.

Self-love begins when you begin to treat your body well. And you can begin to make profound
changes in your life the moment you decide to be the most important person in your life. You always have
the choice of living your life differently, of doing something entirely new, of 'dying' to former circumstances
and being 'reborn' in mind and action. The only limits, the only boundaries, to life and change are those
you choose to live within. No one can possibly know what is best for you other than yourself. Only you
know, and can do, what is right for you.

The crystallization of thought patterns is a universal law and a creative tool. Remember that un-
directed thoughts and imagination are just as powerful as deliberate, directed thought. Your imagination
is the principal source of your sovereign personal power.

The swarming thoughts of others, full of fears, anxieties, worries, envies, jealousies and negativity,
can be deflected by directing your own focus inward toward courage, confidence, joy, laughter, and serenity.

Laugh often. Knowing how to laugh and how create laughter directly increases the quality of life
for all those around you. “Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.”

Create your own reality. Do it on purpose, instead of unconsciously. Approve of it. Learn from it,
and enjoy the trip.

Take pleasure in the many challenges of life, for if there were no problems, we would have no
adventures, and the adventure of life is the reason we chose to be here.
 Suggested Reading
The Mind as Healer – The New Heresy. Ed., Onslow H. Wilson. Insights & Sources Corp., 1987
Alexander, Rolf. The Renewing Power of Your Mind, or, The Doctor Alone Can't Cure You. Warner Destiny
Books, 1979
Bach, Richard. Illusions, The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah. 1977. Dell, 1979
Beck, Deva & James. The Pleasure Connection. How Endorphins Affect Our Health and Happiness.
Synthesis Press. 1987
Bloomfield, Harold H., with Robert B. Kory. Inner Joy. Playboy Paperbacks. 1980.
Coffey-Lewis, Lou. Be Restored to Health. How to Manage Stress, Heal Your Self & Be Whole Again.
Ballantine Books, 1982
Cousins, Norman. Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient. Reflections on Healing and
Regeneration. W. W. Norton & Co., 1979. Bantam Books, 1981
Garfinkel, Perry. “Invasion of the Bodyworkers,” in New Age Journal, 1988 Guide
Hay, Louise L. Heal Your Body. Hay House, 1982, 1984; You Can Heal Your Life. Hay House, 1984
Hodgkinson, Neville. Will to Be Well, The Real Alternative Medicine. Rider & Co., England, 1984. Samuel
Weiser Inc., 1986
Kassorla, Irene. Putting It All Together. Warner Books, 1973
Kushner, Harold. When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough, The Search for a Life that Matters.
Pocketbooks, 1986
Leonard, Jim & Laut, Phil. Rebirthing – The Science of Enjoying All of Your Life. Trinity Publications, 1983
Lowen, Alexander. Bioenergetics. 1975. Penguin Books, 1976
Miller, Don Ethan. Bodymind, The Whole Person Health Book. 1974. Pinnacle Books, 1975
Moody, Raymond A. Laugh After Laugh, The Healing Power of Humor. Headwaters Press / J. B.
Lippincott, distributor, 1978
Oyle, Irving. The Healing Mind. Celestial Arts, 1975. Pocket Books, 1976
Oyle, Irving. The New American Medicine Show, Discovering the Healing Connection. Unity Press, 1979
Oyle, Irving. Time, Space & the Mind. Celestial Arts, 1976
Policoff, Stephen Phillip. “The Search for the Elusive Aha,” in New Age Journal, 1988 Guide
Schmidt, Dennis. Way-Farer. Ace Books, 1978
Siegel, Bernie S. Love, Medicine & Miracles. Harper & Row, 1986
Simonton, O. Carl. Getting Well Again. Tarcher, 1978. Bantam Books, 1980
Speare, Grace. Everything Talks to Me. Dell, 1979
Stapp, Will. “Imagine Yourself Well,” in Medical Selfcare magazine, Jan./Feb. 1988
Vitale, Joe. “The Healing Vision of Meir Schneider,” in East West magazine, Feb., 1988
Wilson, Robert Anton. “Colin Wilson,” an interview, in New Age Journal, 1988 Guide