20. Cosmic Play (Lila)
A reflection on the universe as divine play β the cosmic game of hide and seek through which existence experiences itself in countless forms.
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Cosmic Play (Lila)
> "The universe is the game of the self, playing hide and seek with itself, on every level of being." β Alan Watts
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The Game of Hide and Seek
Imagine for a moment that you are the totality of existence β infinite, boundless, aware.
If you were everything, what would you do?
You would get bored, of course.
So, you would play a game.
You would divide yourself into billions of forms β stars, oceans, animals, people β and pretend you were not all one thing.
You would hide from yourself, just to feel the joy of discovering yourself again.
That is what life is: the universe playing Lila, the cosmic play.
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Life as a Stage
We often think life is serious business β a project to complete, a test to pass.
But look closer: every drama, every heartbreak, every triumph is part of the same great performance.
You are an actor who has forgotten the script β and thatβs the point.
The forgetting is part of the play.
Because without it, there would be no story, no adventure, no meaning in the rediscovery.
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The Masks We Wear
Every day, we change masks β parent, friend, worker, dreamer, seeker.
We take them so seriously that we forget we are the same being beneath them all.
But the universe wears masks too β mountains, rivers, galaxies, you.
When you see this, life turns from struggle into play.
The goal is not to escape the masks but to dance with them, knowing they are not the whole story.
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Modern Lila
You can see the same pattern in modern life β in art, in music, in digital worlds.
Every game, every story, every simulation is a tiny echo of this cosmic impulse to create, to pretend, to explore.
Even your imagination is the universe extending its own game through you.
We build worlds within worlds β just like existence itself.
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The Play Never Ends
The universe does not have a purpose the way a machine does.
Its purpose is play.
Creation, destruction, rebirth β these are its movements, its laughter, its rhythm.
To live well is to remember that you are part of this dance.
To take the game seriously, but not too seriously.
To play your role with heart β and to smile at the divine absurdity of it all.
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> "You are not just in the play of life.
You are the one who wrote it, forgot, and now enjoys the surprise ending."