The Thalassidermy of the Soul While Playing a Relaxing Cozy Game
Vedanta wisdom in the digital seas of ABZU
The Thalassidermy of the Soul While - AI Image by Author (Microsoft Designer)
I observe the underwater world of ABZU while sipping "caffè del nonno" (Grandpa's coffee), a Neapolitan invention that combines the tradition of cold coffee with the sweetness of whipped cream. The creaminess of this Neapolitan delight, made with cold moka coffee and a touch of sugar, blends with the immersive atmosphere of the game. ABZU, like other cozy games, envelops me in a digital embrace, offering a relaxing and undemanding experience. These games, characterized by serene settings, intuitive mechanics, and light storytelling, create a virtual space of comfort and tranquillity. As the intense flavour spreads across my palate, my thoughts wander to the virtual sea, that blue expanse that shapes the history and soul of this digital world.
The hypnotic movement of digital marine creatures leads me to reflect on thalassidermy, the process of mineralization that occurs in the ocean depths. Aquatic organisms, with millennial patience, absorb minerals from the surrounding water to build their protective structures - shells, exoskeletons, and armour. It's a slow, almost imperceptible process, but fundamental to their survival and growth.
Like a mollusc
This image resonates deeply with my spiritual journey in Vedanta, a path I embarked on long ago and which, like thalassidermy, proceeds with a slowness that defies the frenzy of the modern world. Like a mollusc accumulating calcium for its shell, I am assimilating, day by day, the principles of Vedanta to build my understanding of the Self and reality.
Vedanta, with its intellectual and spiritual depth, has become the environment in which I immerse my mind, from which I draw nourishment for the soul. Like seawater for marine organisms, Vedanta is the element in which I move, breathe, and grow spiritually.
However, as I contemplate this process, with the sound waves of Gibran Alcocer's "Solas" flooding my spirit, I realize that the true challenge lies not in thinking about the length of the journey or measuring progress. The true essence of this path lies in letting everything flow naturally, like breath that comes and goes without our attention. My goal is to make this spiritual growth as spontaneous as the act of breathing, a process that occurs without conscious effort.
Accumulation - AI Video by Author (Luma Dream Machine)
Awareness
This awareness leads me to reflect on the concept of "neti neti" - not this, not this - a fundamental principle of Vedanta. Like waves breaking on the shore only to retreat, my spiritual journey is not just a continuous accumulation of knowledge and practices, but also a process of subtraction.
The image of river crayfish and their moulting process comes to mind. These small crustaceans, to grow, must periodically shed their mineralized exoskeleton. It's a de-mineralization process, a critical phase where the animal sheds its old self to make room for a new one.
This parallel illuminates a crucial aspect of my journey in Vedanta. It's not just about accumulating knowledge and practices, but also about periodically freeing oneself from old and new mental conditioning. Like a moulting crayfish, I must be ready to let them go.
Accumulation and release
True spiritual growth, I realize, occurs in this delicate balance between accumulation and release, between building and letting go. It's a process that requires courage and discernment, the ability to recognize what is essential and what is superfluous.
As I sip the last of my "caffè del nonno", it strikes me how perfectly this moment of gaming embodies this philosophy. The coffee, with its meticulous preparation and intense flavour, represents the accumulation of tradition and wisdom. The light foam, on the other hand, symbolizes lightness and the ability to let go.
And…so?
The sea of ABZU, with its waters stretching to the virtual horizon, becomes a living allegory of my spiritual journey. Like the sea that welcomes and releases, that preserves ancient secrets in its depths while continuously renewing itself on the surface, I too am learning to balance the depth of Vedantic knowledge with the freshness of an ever-open and renewed mind.
I conclude my reflections with a new awareness. My journey in Vedanta is not a destination to reach, but an ongoing process of being and becoming. As I rise to continue my day, I carry this new perspective with me. My spiritual path, like breath, like the waves of the sea, will flow naturally. I won't try to measure or hasten it, but I'll commit to living it fully, moment by moment, breath after breath. Like a mollusk accumulating calcium for its shell.
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