Zen Pacman

For those of us who remember and loved The Breakfast Club, leg warmers and big hair, you likely were an afficianado or at least knew an afficianado of the game Pacman. In high school, my friends and I would go to the local pizza place simply to play the game. Many quarters were spent giving me the practice I needed to become so good, it was hard pressed for me to lose a game. Eventually, the world (including yours truly) turned away from this crazed pastime, turning their interests onto newer ventures.

Fast forward thirty years and my nine-year-old nephew and I were sitting at my computer as he was showing me the games he was interested in playing, most of which I had never heard of; that is until he came across the all too familiar game I played incessantly in days long past. With an air of familiarity, I gained interest. I hadn't played in nearly three decades. I wondered how good I would be. As in everything one needs to practice to keep up their skills and admittedly I had lost, or at least misplaced, my edge. That's ok, we still had fun together.

Afterwards, I found that I may not have been the Pacman shark I once was, but one thing was for certain, I still enjoyed playing. I practiced and became better and better, remembering my former glory. My high score went from 2,500 to 60K in no time. Hallelujah, I was beginning to show signs of days gone by.

So, you may be thinking, what on Earth does Pacman have to do with Zen? I am glad you asked. All answers stem from a question. So, here goes...As a Spiritual practioner, I am always on the look out for new ways to improve my way of thinking about the world, making my physical experience here a more beneficial place for my Spirit. As I continued playing the game, I noticed that I increasingly clenched my body, most especially my stomach, every time I got excited about the game (which was about 90% of the time). The adrenalin had been racing to every sector of my body and the movements in my form was emphasizing this fact.

I decided to take the opportunity to focus on my breathing. As I did so, I imagined Obiwan Kenobi's voice as he spoke to Luke in Star Wars, "Let go Luke. Feel the force flow through you." I took it as my cue to allow the Universal Life Force to indeed flow through me as I bobbed and weaved through the maze, chasing various blue creatures and fruit while running away from the ghosts who wanted to gobble me up.

Every time I became tense, I breathed into that space and let it go. I never judged myself for losing my concentration on my body. I simply moved back to my awareness when I remembered. With each moment I stayed focused on my body, I was bringing my awareness to the present moment and remained calm. With practice I became not only better at the game, but better at my new found meditation. The game I just completed before writing this article, I had scored 111K! This high score was obtained through my Zen awareness.

This winning score can also be seen as a metaphor. As I relax the mind, keeping it in the present and not judging myself when I faulter, I not only perform better in the game of Pacman, I perform better in the game of Life. It is a game afterall and we are all merely players.

Thank you for reading and Namaste! (The Light in me recognizes the Light in you!)