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<v Speaker 1>Hello, and welcome to Mythic Mind, where we pursue wisdom

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<v Speaker 1>in the past between primary secondary worlds. I'm your host,

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<v Speaker 1>Andrew Snyder, and I'm glad that you're here. Before we

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<v Speaker 1>get started, I want to let you know that we

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<v Speaker 1>have our first free book club coming up. Based on

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<v Speaker 1>a Patroon vote, We're going to be reading and discussing

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<v Speaker 1>Augustine's Confessions starting at the end of April. No previous

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<v Speaker 1>experience or expertise are necessary, and no payments required to

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<v Speaker 1>participate or just to get some more information as we

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<v Speaker 1>get closer. All you need to do is to become

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<v Speaker 1>a free level patron of Mythic Mind at patreon dot

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<v Speaker 1>com slash mythic Mind, and you can also find that

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<v Speaker 1>link in the show notes. Now, if you want to

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<v Speaker 1>throw a few dollars of support our way, then that

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<v Speaker 1>would certainly be appreciated, and this would also give you

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<v Speaker 1>discord access and a voice in future projects, but that's

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<v Speaker 1>not app required to participate in the book club. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>for today, I want to read a short article that

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<v Speaker 1>I recently posted in the Mythic Mind substack, which you

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<v Speaker 1>can find at mythicmind dot substack dot com and in

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<v Speaker 1>the show notes. If you aren't subscribed, then go ahead

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<v Speaker 1>and do that. This is our community substack, our fellowship substack,

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<v Speaker 1>and so you get a range of different voices or

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<v Speaker 1>represented here on this platform. So it's really a I think,

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<v Speaker 1>a unique platform that we have going on for us. Well, now,

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<v Speaker 1>as I said, I'm mostly going to be reading this article,

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<v Speaker 1>but I may add lib a little bit of it

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<v Speaker 1>along the way. Okay, so this is called video games

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<v Speaker 1>as subcreation. I wouldn't call myself a gamer, at least

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<v Speaker 1>not these days. Between my responsibilities as a husband and

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<v Speaker 1>a father, as well as my lesser roles, the time

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<v Speaker 1>simply has not been there for quite a while, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's not necessarily a bad thing. Furthermore, making up for

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<v Speaker 1>an over engagement with video games in my youth, I

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<v Speaker 1>had long become convinced that they were, at least for

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<v Speaker 1>the most part, a waste of time. However, as I

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<v Speaker 1>advanced further into my literary renaissance of the last few years,

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<v Speaker 1>which has gotten me thinking about questions regarding what is art,

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<v Speaker 1>what is enchantment, what is beauty, I'm starting to reconsider

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<v Speaker 1>this prejudice that I've had toward video games based off

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<v Speaker 1>an over indulgence of my youth. So our games, are

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<v Speaker 1>they indeed an unhealthy escape from responsibility and real world achievements,

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<v Speaker 1>And obviously that argument can be made, or might video

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<v Speaker 1>games serve some kind of real world benefit? And I'm

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<v Speaker 1>still working through this question and even exactly how to

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<v Speaker 1>articulate that question properly, but I'm definitely moving toward the

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<v Speaker 1>latter possibility that there is some potential value here. Now.

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<v Speaker 1>As a kid, video games were ubiquitous in my life.

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<v Speaker 1>I can't remember a time before the nes and the

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<v Speaker 1>snees were set up, or or before the game Boy

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<v Speaker 1>was a hallmark of long drives. And yes I'm talking

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<v Speaker 1>about the original clunky gray game Boy. I mean equipped

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<v Speaker 1>with the handy boy of course, to add to the sound,

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<v Speaker 1>add to the light dynamic, and so I really had

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<v Speaker 1>that maxed out. And then I remember being taken in

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<v Speaker 1>by the you know, quote realistic graphics of the Nintendo

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<v Speaker 1>sixty four and the PlayStation two. And then eventually I

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<v Speaker 1>moved into primarily PC gaming, and I would regularly ask

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<v Speaker 1>for a new graphics card for Christmas, and so that's

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<v Speaker 1>really my thing for a while. And the reality is

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<v Speaker 1>that I just played video games far too much in

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<v Speaker 1>my youth, and I now regret that I didn't spend

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<v Speaker 1>more of that time reading books. I regret that I

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<v Speaker 1>only really discovered the value of reading relatively recently, all

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<v Speaker 1>things considered, within the last several years, while waxing and

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<v Speaker 1>waning with other responsibilities. This practice, this regular engagement with

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<v Speaker 1>video games continued largely through my young adulthood until I

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<v Speaker 1>was married, at which point I started to play considerably less. Then,

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<v Speaker 1>once the twins were born, gaming time became nearly non existent.

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<v Speaker 1>A significant cause for this was immuree necessity, as I

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<v Speaker 1>saw some fulfilled the greater desire of providing for and

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<v Speaker 1>spending time with my family. And you know, part of

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<v Speaker 1>that meant that I had to work a lot. It's

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<v Speaker 1>important to me that my wife is able to fulfill

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<v Speaker 1>her desire to be home full time with the kids.

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<v Speaker 1>It's important to me that you know my kids that yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>we're not extravagantly wealthy, but I want them to be comfortable.

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<v Speaker 1>That's important to me. And so I work a lot,

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<v Speaker 1>and I also spend a lot of time with them,

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<v Speaker 1>which means I'm working odd hours sometimes to make that happen,

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<v Speaker 1>which means there's not a whole lot of time for

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<v Speaker 1>things like video games. However, as I continue to consider

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<v Speaker 1>questions about the nature of enchantment and the power of wonder,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm starting to conclude that, you know, properly ordered within

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<v Speaker 1>life's demands, there can be some good in playing games. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>it's not an overstatement to say that my life was

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<v Speaker 1>changed by reading Tolkien, not being an active reader in

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<v Speaker 1>my youth. As I mentioned, I discovered Tolkien later in life,

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<v Speaker 1>just a few years before writing this article. I was,

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<v Speaker 1>of course familiar with Tolkien inspired media such as the

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<v Speaker 1>Jackson films and various games, but I'm still fairly new

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<v Speaker 1>to actually reading Tolkien's own words. Knew as in, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I just picked up The Fellowship really a few years ago,

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<v Speaker 1>and from the moment that I opened the Fellowship, I

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<v Speaker 1>knew that I was engaging with something real, although I

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<v Speaker 1>didn't get have the categories for articulating what that meant.

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<v Speaker 1>But it didn't take me long for me to finish

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<v Speaker 1>Lower the Rings. I went through that pretty quickly, and

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<v Speaker 1>then I moved on to Tolkien's other works, including on fairy Stories,

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<v Speaker 1>in which he describes fantasy as subcreation rather than merely

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<v Speaker 1>being made up we make in the image of and

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<v Speaker 1>with the materials made by the one in whose image

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<v Speaker 1>we are made. Good fiction, therefore, is dealing with things

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<v Speaker 1>that are It's dealing in the domain of truth. That's

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<v Speaker 1>what good fiction does. And this was a very important

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<v Speaker 1>corrective to a misunderstanding that I had growing up, and

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<v Speaker 1>that honestly most people today have. So I want thought

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<v Speaker 1>that if I wanted to learn something, if I wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to know something true, then I would have to turn

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<v Speaker 1>to nonfiction, because nonfiction deals with truth and fiction is

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<v Speaker 1>made up right, and this is typically how these two

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<v Speaker 1>categories of literature are divided. One's true, one's made up. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>this is certainly what I thought for a number of years,

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<v Speaker 1>although even before picking up Tolkien, I was already starting

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<v Speaker 1>to spend some time with fairy tales and with folklore,

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<v Speaker 1>and I was starting to recognize that there is some

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<v Speaker 1>hidden wisdom there, there is truth to be found there,

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<v Speaker 1>and so my appreciation for good, so called made up

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<v Speaker 1>stories was beginning to grow. But Tolkien helped me to

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<v Speaker 1>understand that good fiction is not made up at all,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's rather a secondary creation that is true, and

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<v Speaker 1>as much as it relates to the way that things

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<v Speaker 1>are on a metaphysical level. Of course, we don't believe

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<v Speaker 1>that there are such things as orcs and elves and

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<v Speaker 1>dwarfs in the same way, at least that they're portrayed

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<v Speaker 1>in Tolkien's text. However, there is something fundamentally true about

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<v Speaker 1>the character of the story, the fibers of his world,

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<v Speaker 1>the interaction to the peoples that are involved, which is

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<v Speaker 1>why one can read the Lord of the Rings as

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<v Speaker 1>an act of Christian discipleship as much as anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>When we escape in the right way and into the

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<v Speaker 1>right substance, we are not merely running away from the

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<v Speaker 1>primary world, but we are rather escaping to a place

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<v Speaker 1>of value that we might recover something of that value

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<v Speaker 1>and bring it back into the primary world, although of

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<v Speaker 1>course we can get lost along the way, because for

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<v Speaker 1>better or worse, no one leaves the perilous realm unchanged,

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<v Speaker 1>because it is there that we come to terms with

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<v Speaker 1>ourselves and decide what that relationship looks like. Again, in

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<v Speaker 1>un Fairy Stories, Tolkien clarifies that it is not the

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<v Speaker 1>denizens of Ferry that are supernatural, as they're actually hypernatural,

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<v Speaker 1>but that it is we, with our transcendent souls, that

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<v Speaker 1>are supernatural. The perilous realm brings us not to heaven

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<v Speaker 1>or to hell, Tolkien tells us, but to the road

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<v Speaker 1>that we must walk. It's where our destination is determined.

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<v Speaker 1>It's where our direction is set. It may be the

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<v Speaker 1>path to salvation or damnation. Hence the differing impacts of

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<v Speaker 1>Galadriel on Borimir and the other members of the party

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<v Speaker 1>that everyone becomes really more solidified in the direction that

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<v Speaker 1>they are going. So this is where our relationship with truth,

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<v Speaker 1>for better or worse, becomes solidified. It's where we can

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<v Speaker 1>be gained or where we can be lost. And so

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<v Speaker 1>Tolkien provides us with a framework for relating to truth

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<v Speaker 1>even in worlds that are not found in history. And

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<v Speaker 1>this is immediately relevant for our primary topic in dealing

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<v Speaker 1>with how we might engage with video games, and in

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<v Speaker 1>pointing out that this is a place where we can

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<v Speaker 1>gain something or it's a place where we can lose something,

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<v Speaker 1>even ourselves. Now Again, in the same essay, Tolkien also

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<v Speaker 1>discusses why literature is a superior medium for fantasy compared

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<v Speaker 1>to cinema, and I think that this is going to

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<v Speaker 1>give us some useful principles as well. In a movie,

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<v Speaker 1>he tells us. The audience is given the full story,

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<v Speaker 1>including plot, visuals, music, etc. There's no room for the

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<v Speaker 1>viewer to get involved in the process of subcreation. A book, however,

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<v Speaker 1>does provide this room. When you read a book, assuming

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<v Speaker 1>you've not first seen a cinematic adaptation of the book,

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<v Speaker 1>you fashion so much of the story in your own

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<v Speaker 1>head based on your background other books you've read, the

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<v Speaker 1>thoughts floating around in your conscious and unconscious mental spaces,

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<v Speaker 1>and everything else that you bring with you to the text.

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<v Speaker 1>You cast the characters and decide exactly what the text

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<v Speaker 1>looks like, what it sounds like, what it feels like.

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<v Speaker 1>So we could all read the same story but have

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<v Speaker 1>different mental adaptations as we contribute to the story through

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<v Speaker 1>our own process of subcreation alongside the primary author what

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<v Speaker 1>they give us. Now, it seems to me that much

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<v Speaker 1>the same could be said regarding video games, whether we're

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<v Speaker 1>talking about a story driven role playing game or something

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<v Speaker 1>more in the sandbox arena, there is space for the

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<v Speaker 1>player to decide who they are, what their background and

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<v Speaker 1>motivations entail, and what kind of impact they will have

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<v Speaker 1>on the world, and whatever else may be relevant to

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<v Speaker 1>that particular game. All of This brings us into the

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<v Speaker 1>act of subcreation, which can be a great aid in

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<v Speaker 1>helping us to become more enchanted in our primary world experience.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, it should be noted that the potential of

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<v Speaker 1>the reader's subcreation is directly related to the materials that

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<v Speaker 1>they are provided in the text, and the same could

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<v Speaker 1>be said of video games. Sometimes the material is so

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<v Speaker 1>corrupted that one who engages with it is far more

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<v Speaker 1>likely to be destructive first and foremost to their own

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<v Speaker 1>selves than creative in a positive direction. Some books are

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<v Speaker 1>just bad, Some games are just bad. They're very unlikely

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<v Speaker 1>to move us in the direction of being more integrated selves,

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<v Speaker 1>situated to bear primary world responsibilities and to accomplish worthwhile things.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe the philosophy at hand is particularly heinous, or maybe

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<v Speaker 1>the nature of the material is so tedious and addictive

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<v Speaker 1>it is simply amusing, which is literally to not be

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<v Speaker 1>amusing that we're likely to throw away time with very

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<v Speaker 1>little hope of gaining something back in return. Now, sometimes,

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<v Speaker 1>and probably most of the time, time, the fault is

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<v Speaker 1>not so much with the material, even if that might

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<v Speaker 1>be there, but the primary fault is actually with the

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<v Speaker 1>person who's engaging with it. As with every vice, it's

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<v Speaker 1>easy to prioritize whatever lesser good that may come from

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<v Speaker 1>games over the greater goods that are before us. However,

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<v Speaker 1>that many, and that you and I can go wrong

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<v Speaker 1>with games does not mean that games themselves are an evil.

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<v Speaker 1>It has been said, do not suppose that abuses are

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<v Speaker 1>eliminated by destroying the object which is abused. Men can

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<v Speaker 1>go wrong with wine and women, Shall we then prohibit

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<v Speaker 1>and abolish women? Now, as far as I can tell,

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<v Speaker 1>this is an apocryphal quotation attributed to Martin Luther, but

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<v Speaker 1>the principle certainly holds up even if the citation does not.

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<v Speaker 1>That we can go wrong with video games does not

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<v Speaker 1>mean that video games are of necessity wrong. There is

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<v Speaker 1>a way I believe to go right with games, instead

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<v Speaker 1>of letting them pull you into the abyss of empty amusement.

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<v Speaker 1>They can be tethered to virtue, to truth, and to beauty,

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<v Speaker 1>and in turn they can become points of connection between

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<v Speaker 1>you and goodness. Furthermore, games can become touch points with

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<v Speaker 1>our culture and with ourselves for dealing with significant topics

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<v Speaker 1>that apply to primary life. As with most mediums, you're

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<v Speaker 1>likely to find what you are seeking if your desire

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<v Speaker 1>is rightly ordered, you will find another step on the

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<v Speaker 1>upward journey. If your desire is wrongly ordered, you will

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<v Speaker 1>slip further toward the abyss. Discernment rarely involves in all

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<v Speaker 1>or nothing mentality. It instead involves having honest conversations with

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<v Speaker 1>yourself and with others. If you are honest with yourself,

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<v Speaker 1>then in your heart you generally know when something is

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<v Speaker 1>upbuilding and when it's not. If you authentically seek the good,

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<v Speaker 1>you will surely find it, as seeking the good is

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<v Speaker 1>evidence that you have already found it in some measure.

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<v Speaker 1>For more on this topic, you can go back and

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<v Speaker 1>listen to episode seventy eight of Mythic Mind when I

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<v Speaker 1>talk with Master Samwise and Josh Trailer about this topic

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<v Speaker 1>in a more extended fashion. But that is the end

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<v Speaker 1>of the article, and we have some exciting things in

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<v Speaker 1>this department coming down the pipeline, And if you want

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<v Speaker 1>the inside scoop on that, then you can become a

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<v Speaker 1>patron at any level, including just five dollars a month

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<v Speaker 1>at patreon dot com slash Mythmind. Any level of support

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<v Speaker 1>gives you full discord access, which is where most of

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<v Speaker 1>the communication takes place. You'll be able to post on

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<v Speaker 1>our community substack, you'll get a discount of courses from

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<v Speaker 1>Mythic Mind creators, and you'll get ad free and often

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<v Speaker 1>early episodes of myth Mind, along with some other perks

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<v Speaker 1>along the way. And remember that you can access all

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<v Speaker 1>of my upcoming courses by purchasing a Tier three annual

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<v Speaker 1>subscription that is an apprentice level of patronage. And I'd

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<v Speaker 1>like to go ahead and think all Tier three patrons

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<v Speaker 1>by name, and so that's Mark, Amanda, Chase, Chas Clinton,

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<v Speaker 1>Aaron Evy, Jamie Justin, Kyle, Mariah, Paul Tyler, and William

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<v Speaker 1>and thanks to all Tier one and two patrons as well.

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<v Speaker 1>In total, we're now up to fifty one active patrons

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<v Speaker 1>with another one hundred or so free patron who are

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<v Speaker 1>following along with more support, we have more capacity for

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<v Speaker 1>doing incredible things. And I can tell you that this

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<v Speaker 1>is going to be an incredible year with Mythic Mind,

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<v Speaker 1>and you can go ahead and sig on to a

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<v Speaker 1>paid level to get in on that action. But that's

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<v Speaker 1>it for now. Next time we should have another edit

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<v Speaker 1>chat for you, and until then, God's speed. The Elder

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<v Speaker 1>scrolls in Philosophy a six week course beginning in September

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty five. I don't play many video games these days,

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<v Speaker 1>but there are certain titles that have stuck with me,

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<v Speaker 1>enchanting the mind of my youth and never entirely fading away.

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<v Speaker 1>One of the chiefs among these titles is the Elder Scrolls,

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<v Speaker 1>namely Maruin, Oblivion and Skyrim. The level of artistry, mythology,

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<v Speaker 1>and lore of this universe is vast and provides a

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<v Speaker 1>strong representative for asking the question as to how video

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<v Speaker 1>games might relate to literature as an art form. Where

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<v Speaker 1>might it rise to such a level, where must it

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<v Speaker 1>fall short? And what unique advantages does it possess. For

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<v Speaker 1>this eight week study will be seeking to answer these

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<v Speaker 1>questions while analyzing various elements of this franchise, specifically focusing

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<v Speaker 1>on content related to Morrow and Oblivion and Skyrim. We'll

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<v Speaker 1>be taking a look at the philosophy of RPGs and

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<v Speaker 1>considering the philosophical implications of character creation and formation in

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<v Speaker 1>an open ended series such as this, and will be

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<v Speaker 1>looking at the relationship between in game religion, lore, and

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<v Speaker 1>ideas with our primary world philosophical and religious concepts. Each

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<v Speaker 1>week will include one to two videos addressing these topics,

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<v Speaker 1>ongoing discord conversations, and live meetings. You are also encouraged

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<v Speaker 1>to spend at least a little time playing one of

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<v Speaker 1>these titles each week as a launching pad for conversation.

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<v Speaker 1>Join us in Tamreil that we might better understand our

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<v Speaker 1>primary life here on mundus. Enrolled today by going to

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<v Speaker 1>patreon dot com slash Mythic Mind and checking out the shop,

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<v Speaker 1>or you can access all courses that begin during your

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<v Speaker 1>subscription period if you purchase a Tier three annual subscription.

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<v Speaker 1>Get that Tier three annual subscription and I'll give you

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<v Speaker 1>that special code for your all access paths. I hope

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<v Speaker 1>to see you there. M