Playing the System

[Mole]

Are you gaming the system or is the system gaming you?

It is very easy to tell.

If you think you can beat the system, then the system is gaming you.

If you think you can beat the system, then you are a sucker.

And the system knows there is a sucker born every minute.

But it is more complicated than that.

We are born helpless and chaotic and we are offered a system to bring order to our lives.

And we grab it with both hands.

But we know we are hooked when we believe we can beat the system. But the system has seen us coming.

Women, of course, are offered the patriarchal system.

They are made an offer they can't refuse. And before long they are hooked into believing they can beat the system.

They practise and practise and practise to beat the system. They practise mimicking arousal so they can fool the patriarchs.

But the very act of mimicking arousal betrays them at the deepest level of their being.

But they are focused, focused on beating the patriarchal system. So they employ whatever else is needed to fool the patriarchs.

They need to induce in the patriarchs a kind of trance. So they start with the trance of arousal but supplement it with astrology, mbti and religion.

Have you ever wondered why astrology fills the back of every woman's magazine? Have you ever wondered why mbti was invented by two women, a mother and daughter? Have you ever wondered why women form the backbone of most religions?

The answer is that all of these tools require belief without evidence - perfect for inducing a trance in the patriarchs - perfect, perfect for making a fool of the patriarchs.

But alas, as we all know, it is the patriarchy that makes fools of women.

So the question remains -

Is there any safe way out of the system or are we trapped forever?

 

[Owl]

Good morning (afternoon/evening?) Victor,

You certainly stuck your foot in it this time, didn't you?

I wonder: do you believe there is an inherent difference between the way women perceive the world and the way me do?

Is it bad to be 'trapped' in the system?

But the very act of mimicking arousal betrays them at the deepest level of their being.

^Why?

 

[Mole]

Good morning (afternoon/evening?) Victor,

You certainly stuck your foot in it this time, didn't you?

Good evening Owl.

Tonight I went and saw the movie, "Duplicity". And I was thinking about my University where I think the staff and the students play the system.

So I thought I would put some of my thoughts into words, and as you say, I put my foot into it.

 

[527468]

Oh, you. You just couldn't let me go, could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You are truly incorruptible, aren't you? Huh? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever.

 

[Mole]

I wonder: do you believe there is an inherent difference between the way women perceive the world and the way me do?

Is it bad to be 'trapped' in the system?

^Why?

No, I don't believe there is a female mind and a male mind, anymore than I believe there is female algebra and male algebra. As far as I can see there is only algebra.

And sure, I don't want to be trapped or imprisoned in a system. I want to be able to think and feel freely.

But most of all I don't like being fooled or fooling others. I much prefer openness and trust. Or at least working towards openness and trust.

I know that damaged people are damaging. And I think systems tend to make damaged people.

I also think systems are part of our development and I am interested in what comes after systems.

 

[Mole]

Oh, you. You just couldn't let me go, could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You are truly incorruptible, aren't you? Huh? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever.

Of course I am not going to let you go, Lemons.

Einy, meeny, miny, moe, catch our Lemons by the toe.

If he squeals, let him go - einy, meeny, miny, moe.

But not you Lemons for we are destined to do this forever.

 

[Mole]

^Why?

If our being consists of learning and then integrating what we have learnt, then mimicking arousal is a direct attack on our integrity.

If we are consistently fake and phoney, then we have no opportunity to be authentic.

If authenticity and integrity are our aim, then consistently fooling people is going in the opposite direction.

Of course we are rewarded for being fake, but our hope lies in integrity.

And thank heavens some will forego reward and even suffer for their integrity.

And whatever we love grows. And this is true of integrity.

 

[matmos]

If our being consists of learning and then integrating what we have learnt, then mimicking arousal is a direct attack on our integrity.

The Siren song is one to the soul not the body; but their true intention is, literally, in the flesh and seek - contrary to appearances - that which has already gone to hell.

And in these liberated times our Sirens come in many denominations.

 

[me_plus_one]

I don't think most of what you've written can be founded on real arguments.


Yeah, I get, everyone of us has our little conspiracy theory moments, but geez, your going in circles.
Of course, if you want to believe you can't beat the system, then you can't.
But, if you believe you can beat it, than it has already beaten you.

 

[Nonsensical]

The system's playing all of us. We're all faceless, nameless beings walking in a 2D plane of lies. Our identities belong to our superiors. We are simply what our ego is telling us to be..trying to live up to what we think we are.

And it's when you reach this understanding, that we realize who the bad guy is; our ego, that we can be given the opportunity to change it. Are you going to rebel against the greatest enemy of all? Your ego. And our ego is a metaphor for our external systems that we think define us.

 

[Mole]

The system's playing all of us. We're all faceless, nameless beings walking in a 2D plane of lies. Our identities belong to our superiors. We are simply what our ego is telling us to be..trying to live up to what we think we are.

And it's when you reach this understanding, that we realize who the bad guy is; our ego, that we can be given the opportunity to change it. Are you going to rebel against the greatest enemy of all? Your ego. And our ego is a metaphor for our external systems that we think define us.

Ego, they tell me, is not a dirty word.

In fact it is what we aim for, for twenty-two years.

But once we can hit the target, what then?

This is a delicate moment for we are proud of our achievement. And our family is proud. When Dad tells you he is proud of you, you know you have arrived.

At this moment we reach our first temptation.

We are tempted to keep firing at the target simply because we can now hit the bulls-eye.

But how can I tell you? How can I tell you to simply walk out into the trackless waste? It makes no sense. You know it makes no sense.

Yet there is a small call in your heart. There is something you almost glimpse out of the corner of your eye. Something is calling to you.

You can't see it. Your parents can't see it. Even your friends can't see it.

It's a longing.

But what do you long for?

There is only one way to find out and that is to go looking.

Or you can continue your target practice until you become bored. And you can continue to be bored until you become depressed. And then they are ready for you, and you are ready for them.

And as the pipes of Pan waft gently away, you will wonder and keep on wondering. Until you can wonder no more.

And it is at that very moment, they know they have you.

You know you are no longer wonderful, and you can see quite clearly that no-one else is either.

 

[Jeremy]

The thing is, life only has a meaning if you give it meaning. So, the system, and everything else, may be a form of meaning for some people. I guess your question is, what comes next? If you realize there is a system, and you realize there is a game, then what comes?

Good question. I think that's something everyone has to figure out on their own. Gaming the system won't work, because the dealer holds the cards. But at the same time, like you said, the fact of the matter is that the system itself is required for us to have security, and there's really no escape from it.

The only thing I can think of is to cling to those close to you, and hope for the best. Life is a hurricane, you just have to ride it out, and look for an island of hope to get you through the waves.

 

[Nonsensical]

Ego, they tell me, is not a dirty word.

In fact it is what we aim for, for twenty-two years.

But once we can hit the target, what then?

This is a delicate moment for we are proud of our achievement. And our family is proud. When Dad tells you he is proud of you, you know you have arrived.

At this moment we reach our first temptation.

We are tempted to keep firing at the target simply because we can now hit the bulls-eye.

But how can I tell you? How can I tell you to simply walk out into the trackless waste? It makes no sense. You know it makes no sense.

Yet there is a small call in your heart. There is something you almost glimpse out of the corner of your eye. Something is calling to you.

You can't see it. Your parents can't see it. Even your friends can't see it.

It's a longing.

But what do you long for?

There is only one way to find out and that is to go looking.

Or you can continue your target practice until you become bored. And you can continue to be bored until you become depressed. And then they are ready for you, and you are ready for them.

And as the pipes of Pan waft gently away, you will wonder and keep on wondering. Until you can wonder no more.

And it is at that very moment, they know they have you.

You know you are no longer wonderful, and you can see quite clearly that no-one else is either.

Just
Like
Everyone
Else



The doors waiting.

The question is..are you ready to walk out?

 

[lorkan]

Victor: Very nice written. And I can fully relate to your last post.

 

[Mole]

Victor: Very nice written. And I can fully relate to your last post.

Lorkan: it's nice to think of you in Sweden.

We plant Swedish birches here like ballerinas.

With their white bark and their pale green leaves they dance in front of our Gum trees.

But very soon their green confetti will turn to gold as we reach into Autumn cold.

But we never worry because as our Autumn leaves disappear, we know they burst forth in your Spring.

We know that, like the birds, they hear the call of the North, and fly all the way to Sweden on the other side of the world.

So go out, Lorkan, and sing to your birches and ask them how they enjoyed their sojourn in Oz.

 

[civil_disobedience]

I vaguely know what the hell this is all about and yet.. in some way I think I actually do..
Oddly enough Victor, your writing reminds me of my own mind. (Maybe that's why I barely know what is going on.)

But how can I tell you? How can I tell you to simply walk out into the trackless waste? It makes no sense. You know it makes no sense.

Yet there is a small call in your heart. There is something you almost glimpse out of the corner of your eye. Something is calling to you.

You can't see it. Your parents can't see it. Even your friends can't see it.

It's a longing.

But what do you long for?

All systems are stifling as they are built on someone else's rules.
Rules that will maintain the system and keep us all in order. Our dreams are handed down to us on the basis of efficiency within a given society.
There's almost no thinking outside of the box, if you want to remain respectable, sane, or survive. Jeremy says life only has meaning if you give it meaning. I agree with that. But what if you're not content with the cheap buffet of meaning you're given to work with? You've either got to become what is deemed insane, and blissfully so or live in this half-world discontent (which I think would be a tragedy.)

Mmm dreamy.

 

[Mole]

Oddly enough Victor, your writing reminds me of my own mind. (Maybe that's why I barely know what is going on.)

And of course we don't know what is going on - so we have the pleasure of discovery.

When we don't know what is going on, everything comes to us fresh and new.

When we do know, it becomes bleared and smeared with toil.

And when we don't know, it appears as if by magic.

There are two ways to enter the cloud of unknowing -

The first is to learn to turn off that part of your brain that knows what is coming next. At first this produces fear, 'cause all animals fear the unknown. But soon the fear passes, every moment is a gift - the gift of ecstasy.

At a formal level, you can safely learn how to turn of that part of your brain that knows what is coming next by learning how to enter and leave the trance of unknowing at will.

A good place to start is The Trance Institute

The second way to enter the cloud of unknowing is to step off the beaten path - to start to learn something about which you know nothing. And of course to learn anything, you first need to know nothing.

So entering the cloud of unknowing will bring you fear and ignorance, then the ecstasy of discovery.

 

[Mole]

Ersatz Ecstasy

Just
Like
Everyone
Else


The doors waiting.

The question is..are you ready to walk out?

Or instead you can go to a nite spot and pop a little green pill called Exstasi and dance to the Trance music.

But Extasi is a kind of ersatz ecstasy.

Exstasi is the kind of ecstasy you are having when you are not having any ecstasy.

Exstasi is the perfect example of playing the system.

 

[professor goodstain]

You left out the ones who won the powerball.

But yet they too are puppets to get all the 100,000,000 that didn't win to go out and buy another ticket.

There is something that can temporarily beat the system....booze.

But that can possibly beat ones self and others around.

Then can the system that made people use booze beat itself in a way.

Do the masterminds of the system use booze?

I think the people who fair the best against the system are those who are least attached to it.

The Amish

 

[professor goodstain]

Perhaps the Aborigines, over there, kick the system in the ass everyday in that they dont need to rely on entitlements that come with a system.