I was watching an old movie and its theme was about gambling. The older guy was teaching the younger guy how to win. His basic advice was: You play the man, not the game.

The next day I am watching a political debate on CNN. They were discussing elections and the various facts that decided them apart from the obvious. One of the participants said something like, “The guy who knows how to play his opponent moves ahead. You always play the man.”

I’ve been doing this teaching long enough to know that when The Universe sets something before me twice in two days, I’m supposed to pay attention. What, I pondered, does “play the man” really mean? I know it meant to play to his weakness, his fear, his patterns. But I wanted to know if there was some hidden meaning I wasn’t conscious of.

The channel took me to core belief #5: “I have to give up me so I can take care of others.” Hmmm. There is no way you can choose to “give yourself up” and win a poker hand. You always have to play to win. And when others play with you then, they must rise to the occasion of their own personal best.

Then we jumped to core belief # 20: “When I value myself I have to give myself up.” Again, I got the simplicity of this when I perused playing a card game. You can’t give yourself up to take care of the other players and walk away with the winning hand.

But don’t these two beliefs play out in the creation of our day to day lives? Isn’t this what our little children are taught? Give your toy away (you’ll win the game of friendship). Give yourself up for your family (so you can feel loved and also “protect everyone”). Give up your power and defer to others (and you’ll be accepted more). 

But the truth is, WE CAN’T WIN THAT WAY. We win by playing ourselves as the powerful creators we are… in every game of the Game of Life. That’s how we create the new beginnings of Us.

We have to be the power that makes the choice of Who We Are in every moment. I Am a winner. I Am a winner in this game of life. Go ahead world, deal me in.

Blessings, 

Dee 

 “I Am the power, love, joy and choice. My heart is open.”

– The Channel