For many gamers, gaming has something religious about it – from the regular ritual of gambling to intensive theorizing in forums to representing dogmatic opinions about the best gaming platform.
But apart from this rather humorous comparison, can video games actually offer profound spiritual experiences, i.e. a kind of expansion of consciousness as experienced, for example, by religious practitioners or monks?
Spirituality can be found directly and indirectly in many games, here e.g. B. Ghost of Tsushima.
In this article we address this question from different points of view. To do this, we must first clarify what we mean by the term “spirituality”.
What is spirituality?
The term “spirituality” is interpreted and evaluated in different ways. Some readers among you may negatively associate spirituality with wild esotericism, with superstition or naivety. For others, spirituality is the search for something higher, the question of morality and the meaning of life.
Final Fantasy 7 plays with the idea of an all-connecting energy.
The word comes from Latin; “spiritus” means spirit. Most definitions attribute to spiritual people the belief that there is a body and a mind or soul. So the basic idea is a duality between a physical, material world and something beyond it, which we cannot see or measure, but only feel. A spiritual seeks connection with that plane which is greater than themselves.
For example, the intangible can be construed as something divine, as religions do, or as some kind of energy or higher, cosmic truth that ties everything together. So spirituality is the essence of religions, but it is not necessarily religious.
In a broader sense, for many, spirituality also means resting within oneself, inner balance or simply trying to always be optimistic, grateful and in a positive mood. Yoga and meditation are two well-known practices that aim precisely at this mental harmony through training in living in the moment, self-reflection and mindfulness.
These “magical” moments that we like to remember can also be spiritual. For example, when we reach a goal, when we are met with deep love, when we are gripped by gratitude and humility, or when everything just feels perfect and connected.
In this sense, everyone should find themselves somewhere in the broad spectrum of spirituality and its definitions, even if they have rather negative connotations to the term.
Now let’s see how video games can be spiritual in this broader sense.
