Introduction
This game comes out of a particular set of principles for viewing the world:
Needs are states of being. All living things grow through moving towards their unique states of equilibrium. The more paths we have available for that growth, and the more conscious we are of what those paths are and why we’re choosing them, the easier it will be to meet our needs.
I am not making any argument that this set of principles is unequivocally or always correct, nor that you should believe it. This is simply the perspective from which this game was built.
Needs and Feelings
People have needs, which are sometimes unmet.
Feelings (physical and emotional states of being) alert us to what our needs are. When we feel something unpleasant, uncomfortable or painful, that means we have an unmet need.
Needs are also physical and emotional states of being. What we need is the opposite experience of the unpleasant one. Needs subside when the needed feeling is experienced.
Needs can usually be met through multiple strategies (paths, tools, means, methods). We often confuse a strategy to meet a need with the need itself.
Conscious Action
We use actions to engage with our strategies. Actions are how we move down these paths or use these tools to meet our needs. Even thinking about something is an action.
Meeting our needs moves us towards a healthy equilibrium. Everything is always trying to meet its needs and reach its unique equilibrium, and so are you. Your needs can be met more effectively if you focus your action on meeting your needs rather than on only one strategy or desire. Not everyone understands what their needs are right away or at all times.
Understanding what your needs are makes your action more conscious.
Practice
This process is simple, but that does not mean it’s easy. Doing this work takes practice.
Lookingglass is a tool to help you practice, to help you to figure out your needs so that they become easier to meet.
If you find this helps you, you can come back to this game — over and over again, as many times as you like — until it becomes a habit.