Infinite Players have NO need to Sacrifice

It can be difficult for egos to play infinitely, because egos are very sacrificial by nature. However, once the ego-self gets the hang of it, infinite play can be quite exhilarating and even transformative.

The ego actualizes itself through the world’s finite games and all the world’s games demand egocentric sacrifice in order to achieve a self-actualizing reward. Look closely at any game played, be it football, baseball, education, career, family, celebrity, retirement, love, religion, parenting, government, etc, etc, etc. Inherent to achieving a reward is an underlying expectation of sacrifice and "hard work." In fact, based on the nature and degree of your sacrifice, you have an expectation of achieving a reward and not to be rewarded as expected can very disappointing to an ego-self.

Even spiritual-religious games have, within the ideologies and practices, an unspoken demand that you must sacrifice or work hard to achieve your awakening, enlightenment, revelation, salvation, non-dual experience, etc, etc, etc.

However, infinite players do not experience sacrifice, simply because they play with NO expectation of a reward and play merely for the joy of playing. When you have no expectation of reward or desire for an outcome, you are no longer bound by the rules (but can still follow the rules if you so choose).

Sacrifice, by its very nature, demands reward, otherwise it would not be considered sacrificial and no one would seriously follow game rules. The ego-self learned early on that hard work and sacrifice result in rewards that, unfortunately, are not always as rewarding as first thought. This demands the ego press on with other sacrifices and associated rewards. This is often referred to as “living on a treadmill.”

The ego-self is outcome-focused and rarely engages in any action that does not include a reward or outcome beneficial to its self-actualization. No spiritual or religious endeavors would be pursued if a valued outcome, taught by those who claim to have achieved the reward, were not forthcoming.

Infinite players find reward in simply playing and realize that NO ideological dogma (rules) or societal belief systems, need impede play and this leaves rules open to change.

We have been playing the same games for centuries, however, every so often after many years, the rules to the games change. You can be sure that infinite players have much to do with these changes. However, this often results in delay of game, causing change to evolve very slowly, because finite players often vehemently resist change.

Obviously, it would be advantageous if more finite players could choose to play infinitely so that rules could change more rapidly without the need for wars and numerous forms of suffering.

An ego adapting to infinite play can experience rewards, but applies no preparation in expectation of a specific outcome other than simply engaging in play with others. When the reward is unknown, no expectation of an outcome interferes with the freedom inherent of playing infinitely. Yet, even when a specific finite reward is introduced, the infinite player’s lack of seriousness tends to nullify the outcome as in any way rewarding. This is frustrating to finite players, who are continually dumbfounded by the infinite player's obvious lack of serious intent, even though clearly the infinite player is engaged in most of the same life games as the finite player.

This does not mean that an ego playing infinitely is NOT rewarded. However, the reward does not demand following any specific rules and play is not restricted to any specialized playing field not of ones choosing. One need not attend a university, follow a particular career, have a loving family, meditate daily, study the scriptures, attend church, believe any particular ideology or follow any specific creed in order to play infinitely. Of course, an infinite player can participate in all these games, but does so freely without the burden of necessity to conform to preordained rules.

In fact, most infinite players establish rules along with other infinite players precisely because one of the only goals of an infinite player is to engage with as many players as possible. But this goal is never-ending or infinite. Any rules established by infinite players are established with the understanding that such rules are always open to change.

The game of “family” can be quite transformative to the players who play without the unnecessary burden of needing to conform to specific rules. Certainly rules are followed in a family. Yet, when all players are infinitely aligned, rules are NOT in anyway burdensome.

To be infinitely aligned means that rules never replace the desire for play. This is easier for an infinite player than a finite player because, when outcomes are no longer necessary, the mind is no longer constrained by burdensome preparation and returns to its natural state.

This natural state is often referred to as “love.”

When outcomes are unexpected, and no longer prepared for, sacrifices are no longer experienced as necessary to play and play becomes quite spontaneous, even miraculously so. Life becomes less suffered-through and players experience a state of freedom rarely accessed by individual egos intent on outcomes and rewards for which they must engage in a life of sacrifice, as opposed to play.

This is because, “those who must play, cannot play” (James Carse). Infinite players never play because they must, but only because they choose to play and this makes all the difference between the infinite and finite players.

Artwork by Adam Scott Miller - "Antenna"