The Satan Game

A dear friend of mine recently invited me along to see a 'teacher' they are in to. Reluctantly I agreed, only to find my reluctance justified. Don't get me wrong , I think teachers are fine and have benefited greatly from sitting with many people who were able to connect me more deeply to grace and to myself. But not all teachers are equal. In my experience their are two types of teacher. The first are those who, from their  own grace and knowing, facilitate us in the discovery of ourselves. The second being those who are playing, or are caught in, what I call the "Satan Game".

The Satan game is both very simple and highly complex. It is simple in that it boils down to one simple message: "You are not okay the way you are, and you need to be fixed/changed/evolved or in some way improved". It is complex because it invariably involves a huge edifice of complicated and seductive theories, levels, practices and lessons that must be learnt in order for us to earn our way back into love/bliss/redemption or power. Of course, all this arcane knowledge we apparently require can only be gained at the discretion of the guru/master/teacher who has the inside scoop on deep secrets that transcend everybody else's inferior or 'less evolved' understandings. Usually, but not always, this involves handing over large amounts of money. It always involves handing over large amounts of personal power.

This one was no exception. A self declared reincarnation of Jesus (3rd one I've met so far), this particular character proceeded to enlighten us with the knowledge that he was the only being to ever transition the entire 22 dimensions of God's universe and return to Earth. Of course, the rest of us slobs were only at the first level along with the billions of other spirits stuck in this desperate purgatory. But have no fear, with the aid of his deep wisdom that no one else has access to (of course) we would soon be be able to rocket to the head of the queue and achieve the heady bliss awaiting the devoted at level 22.

Now I've seen quite a few of these guys over the years, but this one was probably the most impressive in terms of having the act down. After a while you get to recognise the tricks of the trade.

Step 1: Establish some sort of entirely unprovable 'spiritual authority' (i.e. I'm Jesus).
Step 2: Speak the predictable 'objections' of the audience (an old door to door sales trick).
Step 3: Establish the idea that the audience are 'free to choose' and that the presenter is in no way attached to the audience members choices (actually, only the really good ones do this).
Step 4: Create the context in which anyone who is 'close minded' or 'resistant' is just working through their 'stuff' or denying themselves the growth and learning they really need. This particular teacher managed to imply that anyone who expressed objections was committing an unloving act on the rest of the audience (Always nice to see something new).
Step 5: Deal with all questions or challenges by a process of 'engulfment'. this means that rather than argue with the challenger the presenter acknowledges what their saying in such a way that it makes it seem the challengers ideas are valid, but a 'lower' form of understanding.
Step 6: Once having quelled all audience dissent, proceed to establish that the audience members reality is an inferior experience, implying that this is because of some flaw or limitation in their understanding or evolution.
Step 7: Proceed to outline the path by which the listener may redeem themselves to the heights of spiritual ecstasy as defined by the presenter. Of course, this path is a deep and mysterious thing that cannot never be fully described or understood, but must be experienced under the guidance of the teacher.

Or something like that. There are a few other things to look out for. There will always be enough 'truth' in the teachings to get them past casual inspection and make them seem superficially attractive. The good ones will appear humble, simple and sincere (they may even be sincere in their belief - that why I call it the Satan game - the deception can be at any level). There will always be the promise of being special or privileged, an attractive idea to the wounded egos that are drawn to these teachers. Last but not least, none of the teachings will ever be provable or backed up by empirical evidence and you will almost always be encouraged to 'go beyond' your mind and 'transcend' or 'release' any feelings that might be objecting to the program. Though the very best will also 'engulf' rather than oppose these.

See what I mean about highly complicated? Fortunately, there is a simple way to tell the difference. If we assume for a minute that the universe is the manifestation of a loving Creator, would such a being really do this to their creations? Would a loving God create all these tests and trials? the idea that happiness can only be found by leaping though extraordinary spiritual hoops is absurd. The premise that any one being would be of greater worth or value than another is sick. The concept that we would have to strive against impossible odds and unearth hidden secrets that are only revealed to a few 'special ones' is basically cruel. If you were God, would you do this to your children?

No is the answer. There is only one 'truth' we ever need to know. "We are BEAUTIFUL and PERFECT, just the way we ARE". Every problem we can ever have, every moment of suffering we can ever know, comes from forgetting that simple truth. All the horrible things we do to ourselves and each other come from the simple fact that we have come to believe something different to this. In the moment that I accept this truth everything else falls away. I can no longer believe in 'levels' of love or spiritual attainment. I can no longer see myself or others as broken and in need of fixing. I can no longer see my reality as something that needs to be transcended or transformed. I can, in that knowledge, only be who I am.

So what is the purpose of the Satan Game? To hide the simple truth that we are OK just as we are. It has to be complicated, seductive, and full of outlandish promises or we'd see though it too easily. Why does it exist? Beats me, I only know that it does, and that it is easily seen through with a single question. Does what this person is saying connect me to the knowledge that I'm OK, or does it try to convince me that I'm not?


Together we rise

Seek and you shall . . . . seek?

I live in Byron Bay, the California of Australia. replete with sunshine, great surf, fabulous weather, high unemployment and every imaginable type of therapist, healer, workshop and spiritual pursuit. A veritable 'seekers' paradise. Let me define what I mean by a seeker. Seekers are a subculture of privileged western society who are in search of spiritual attainment. The stated goal of a seeker is this indefinable thing thing called enlightenment. Why indefinable? Because if you can't define it, you can't know when you've attained it.

Seekers congregate in places like Byron Bay, Los Angeles and Goa because the lifestyle is excellent and no one expects you to have a job. If one is going to be seeking, it might as well be somewhere comfortable and enjoyable. Seekers drink coffee or green tea in little street side cafes where they meet with other seekers. Seekers have tried every sort of spiritual practice, sat with every guru, done dozens of workshops, seen every sort of therapist, and try to make a little extra cash to supplement the welfare cheque by offering their services as whatever sort of healer they can claim to be.Seekers do yoga, have numerous short term relationships, experiment with Tantric sex, despise religion, protest against capitalism and governments, talk about how they would have an electric car if they could afford one and tell you their big dreams of living sustainable lives.

I used to be a seeker. Hell, why not? It sure beat working for a living, the women have great bodies (all that yoga) and 'progressive' attitudes towards sex, and as long as you talk endlessly about saving the world from those dirty capitalist dogs no one expects you to actually make some sort of contribution or assume any sort of responsibility. It's a cruisy life, a sort of spiritual hedonism with the added benefit of getting to think you're one of the 'special ones'. Homo superior just waiting for the rest of the world to catch up with your spiritual development and recognise your trailblazing wisdom.

The problem is that I did, quite by accident, the one thing that a seeker is never allowed to do. I found. "Wait a minute" I hear you say, Isn't that the goal of every seeker? Well actually, NO. The goal of a seeker is to seek. Ceaseless, vigorous, determined seeking. If you actually find what you are apparently seeking you lose all the benefits of being a seeker. No more spiritual ego trips and delusions of superiority. No more free ride at the expense of those 'normals' you so deftly deride. No more excuses for transient relationships that you really can't commit to because they might interfere with your 'spiritual progression'. No more grandiose delusions of saving the world to compensate for your almost total lack of usefulness and contribution.

The problem with actually 'finding' is in what you 'find'. Finding is not an achievement or a triumph. Not an elevation to sainthood or eternal freedom from pain and suffering. Not a free ride to wealth, sex and power. Not the attainment of magical powers and mystical wisdom. Finding is the simple realisation that you are just like everyone else. Just as divine, glorious and amazing as everyone else. Just as deluded, selfish, violent and flawed as everyone else. Just as capable of love and of evil. Just as frightened, just as deceitful, just as noble, just as responsible for the state of things, just as small and powerless, just as creative and resourceful, just as dependent on the good will of others, just as capable of kindness.

Finding does bring freedom, but it brings tremendous responsibility too. The freedom it brings is freedom from the need to be special, to be different, to be perfect, to be superior, to be extraordinary. The responsibility it brings is to play you part in the great game of creation, to contribute, to love, to ease the burden of others, to look after yourself, to cry for your suffering and the pain of your brother, to make the world a better place because of your presence in it.

Seeking is easy. It's merely the act of an immature ego inflating itself with dreams of separation, specialness and the easy way out. Finding is hard. Its the surrender of a mature ego to the realities of life and the responsibilities of love. So how do you 'find'? Simple - you stop seeking. You recognise that your seeking is a trick you are playing on yourself. Nothing more than a fantasy you use to distract yourself from what is right in front of you - life. A Course in Miracles calls seeking 'delaying tactics'. Trying to put off the moment in which the ego must surrender it'a attempt to 'rule' the kingdom and take up its alloted service role.

That which is real has never been hidden, never been lost, never been obscured from our view. It is simple reality. Sometimes joyful and exciting, sometimes hard and daunting.So why, you may ask, should we stop seeking and simply 'find' what has always been in front of us? Because it is the only way that peace and happiness can ever be ours. Heaven is not the absence of pain, difficulty and effort. It is the willingness, the bravery, to respond to them with love. It is the adventure of life, faced with simple courage, and the supporting hand of grace. But grace can only help those who are prepared to give up the isolation of egotism and specialness, and rejoin the ranks of our shared humanity. Grace is only present in that which is real.

The Invitation - stop seeking, FIND.

Together we rise.