I do like the idea of accepting the literal facts of gender difference without additional prejudice. Men don’t need to be emasculated, women don’t need to be intimidated, yet we do both. In the States, if a man gets married he’s seen as having “gotten a wife”. I often mock my male friends for how they talk about dating. I begin to ask them questions they don’t seem to understand, like who do they have a relationship with? They usually can’t answer very well.

Some people think family in the online virtual world of Second Life (SL) is weird. Because of a couple of factors for me, it seems quite natural. Spiritual family. My blood family was sort of incidental. My spiritual family is potentially very different. 

We were talking the other day about the false division of good/evil, dark/light and I said this was a good place to explore that concept of wholeness. Pleased to hear that, and I agree. There is really only life and those living it. Dark and light are day and night. Forever moving in a cycle, because this is how things thrive.

People show their dark sides in Second Life readily, but they don’t seem to admit that it’s really them.  Learning to embrace our shadow side is a lot of what Second Life is about. A lot of our strengths and our positivity are in our shadow sides, and they are there because we determine they are “not me”. Many people find a bravery they didn’t believe they had, or a commitment to values they never believed they would stand up for.  Sometimes people use avatars that way. They can be expressive. My avatar is my second incarnation in Second Life, and I have multiple avatars even on this “person”.

Do you find different aspects of your personality come out with different avatars? Yes. You feel the energy in them. Look more human and you might find yourself acting more “normal”. In real life practices the Shamans costumes and their masks served the same purpose that avatars can in Second Life. When costumed as Raven the Shaman would adopt the spiritual way of Raven.

Feelings are very real in Second Life. The arguments I have with people trying to tell me SL isn’t real!!! They don’t have any sensible leg to stand on. I entered Second Life to explore the inner realities, and even those who don’t have that intention still do anyway all the while even saying it isn’t real. They are people who invalidate their own feelings also, and ignore their dreams. They become very invested in “not real”, and hurt others in the process.

“I’m on a pose ball with you, but it’s not real, not important. You don’t really matter.” Yes. It’s even sexually explicit, but supposedly that doesn’t mean anything though you chose it rather than say a cuddle or a dance. Those who say feelings aren’t real likely think that way in their real life too. They’re likely the one saying “it was only sex”.  They call men who think that way “playas”, and tell those they hurt not to hate them, but to “hate the game”. Why is sex/intimacy/love a game?

Your thoughts are welcome. Be well friends and you’re welcome to join our spiritual family on Reflection Island.

Travis Saunders
Dragon Intuitive
~science,mysticism,spirituality~