‘Being’ in Virtual Spaces; Immersive Experiences that Alter Our Physical Reality
Over the last few weeks I have been able to dive deeper into the infinite sea that exists on the internet. I’ve done some surfing, if you will. And although I am someone who grew up with technology, the way I have come to know it in the last month has changed everything about how I perceive its role in our societies and its role in moving forward in a united manner.
There are an array of ways to engage online, whether that be with specific communities and people or if it just means engaging with content. The internet feels endless when it comes to its potential. Its ability to connect us not just with each other but with an understanding of what we as a species have come to know, discover, believe, understand, and then replicate. How we work in community, even if we are geographically distanced and isolated. How connected we are, through tools but also in essence.
Much like the way I see our individual lives being limitless if we choose to step into the infinite possibilities that arise, I see technology as a tool with pure potential. Opportunities to use this potential within us, and in our man made tools like the internet, for the betterment of humanity and our individual experiences exist without limitations.
These opportunities, or choices around how we engage with or use tools are always arising, always present. It’s just so dang easy to miss them when we have been conditioned to feel our limitations - which also exist, if we think they do. What a trip. In feeling them and believing them to be real, we recreate and replicate them in our individual experience thus supporting the initial belief that they exist in the first place. It can be an endless cycle for many.
I write this as if it were simple, but I have come to know in my own experience that there are many layers and realms to what I speak of. And I feel it important to note that for some working past these engrained limitations can be quite difficult, especially if the societal structures that are currently present reinforce the limitations put onto people with their characteristics and/or backgrounds, and have been for centuries.
In this deconstruction of limitations, individually but also societally, I feel that the internet and how we choose to use it can play a founding role. An essential role.
For some time we have used the internet in a specific way – to capitalize on people’s time, to spread information, to sell, to learn, to communicate, to connect. Really there are many ways we use this tool. And yet, we have somehow come to unconsciously perpetuate the standard ways of usage. Without being too harsh, we have kept things quite vanilla.
In a tool that is so malleable and influenced by its very users, we seem to have forgotten it is a tool that is for us and that we can tailor it to be something that serves us, not just as a means to capitalize on our time, energy, and money. It doesn’t have to be a distraction, or a platform commonly used for monetary extraction and trade. It can be a tool used to unite, communicate with, and experience one another like never before.
Before I get into it, I do want to preface this by saying that having access to these things and enough of an understanding on how they work and function to use them is an extreme privilege. My education around these topics and how people and systems work is an extreme privilege. Me being able to sit down and write about them is a privilege. All of this is coming from a privileged stance - and that has felt important to me, to notice and recognize, but also to discuss.
There have been 3 events that have completely altered my take on technology and its ability to connect us. They were MAPS Bicycle Night, Immersiverse, and Remote Burn w/ Reimagine. Now some of you may be like...I don't know what any of that is nor do I want to go researching to find out. That’s fine!
Each of these experiences was put on by a collective, community or organization with the intention of providing and creating online experiences where people could connect during these distanced times much like we do out in the real world. They each came with their own set of events, workshops, and music sets put on by a participative, creative, expressive bunch. Each specific event had its own set of intentions or goals that are worth exploring as well, however that isn’t why I write this so I am not going to further elaborate in this very moment. Feel free to do your very own internet surfing if you wish.
In each of these experiences I stumbled across a game like space where one could simply exist. Where one could be in a virtual space much like they would be in a physical space. I know that if someone had tried to explain this to me a month ago, I may not have been able to comprehend it, and so I realize for many this may not reach the depth I wish it did, but I will do my best.
Topia is the space I found myself constantly drawn to. It was a space that allowed for raw, human to human connection above all things. A virtual commons. A tool that's highest purpose was to hold space for people to be. You were enough, just as you came. And you still are enough, reading this <3
In this space you entered as a very simple avatar. You were able to move around using your keys or clicking on the screen. The environment you entered into was quite simple too, cute little drawings of trees, rocks, a forest. In the latest edition at Remote Burn there was even a temple - much like the ones people see at Burning Man.
Something that is quite important to mention is that in this space your video and audio was required to be in use to truly engage with the full experience. When you got close to another avatar, or person, you would see their video stream and hear their audio. As you distanced yourself from others their video and audio would fade until you no longer saw or heard anything from them. In this you could choose to engage with others, or go off on your own and explore - either was fine. This experience for me was much like coming close to people in real life, being able to see and hear them, but also being able to choose to wander or walk away.
But what stood out to me was what happened after entering. I know that when I first entered I had to make sense of what I was in. I had a deep unconscious desire to understand before doing. I spent some time learning to walk, understanding how the video/audio feed worked, and most importantly trying to figure out the point. What was I supposed to be doing? Was there a specific adventure I needed to embark on? Was there something I was supposed to find? What was the purpose of this game? Why was I here? How was I supposed to interact with others? What were we all doing?
In exploring the forests and spaces, I found flowers with messages. Some would give instructions, while others were just kind sentiments. Some were random, others felt organized. There wasn’t a wrong flower or a right flower, there were just flowers.
I followed some of them leading me to different parts of the space, but in the space itself I didn’t find anything that settled any of my original questions. Like what was I doing there? What was the point? How and why had each individual come together on this platform? What was it for?
I ventured around for some time, occasionally bumping into others and talking to them in real time though our video chats - they often had similar questions. They were also on a journey of discovery, searching to find meaning in what was otherwise some white space with drawings (don’t get me wrong - they were beautiful drawings and a wonderfully coded and designed space). But all in all, there was this seeking. Searching. What are we doing here? Why do we exist in this space? How do I move? How and what do I do? What are these flowers? What is going on?
We are so used to needing a reason to be, to exist, that when put in a space where existence is all there is we find ourselves lost and confused until we receive guidance and direction from others to validate our experience. Fascinating.
In meeting others, I learned how to plant flowers. It was a feature, not just part of the setting. I learned that what had been guiding my journey had actually been laid out by other participants. That I too could plant flowers that could possibly help and assist someone else in their exploration. Or I could leave little notes of flowers for myself to later stumble upon. Or I could just plant flowers to plant flowers - because why not. Overall, I realized how I could not only interact with the environment and people in this space, but that I had become part of its very structure. We were each paving the road as to what things would look like in this world. We were creating.
Every once in a while I would come across gatherings of 3-7 people all just hanging out. Having conversations, as if in real life, but online. I would stick around and quickly be accepted, welcomed in, and have the opportunity to engage with whatever was being discussed if I wanted to. I could also participate silently through observation if that was more my style. There were no rules in how I was to show up. The important part was that I was there.
I now know people in Mumbai, Colorado, San Francisco, Portland, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, and more that I had not known before. I got to hear what people were thinking about, how they were feeling, what they were doing. I got to engage with others, in a way that felt much like talking to people in a social gathering space. But I noticed some differences too.
If there was a group of people talking and I entered into close enough proximity where I then joined, it wasn’t weird. At no point did I feel like people were like, we are talking and we don’t know you so why are you here? There was no exclusion. I was not interrupting, I was adding to. There were no strangers, just friends. There was an instant sense of belonging. Instant acceptance. A deep experience of non judgment. Of openness and vulnerability. Of sharing.
A lot of the conversations I ended up having were with the creators themselves - Dylan, Hayden, and Dan. They had created this in a matter of weeks and were still coming to understand it themselves. They were also working through many ‘bugs’, though I jokingly saw these as features. It was such a deep learning experience for me to hear from the very makers what they had intended and were intending for future spaces. How they had come to make decisions and how they were learning through interaction too. How they were continuously creating, that the creation wasn’t ‘done’, and that we were a part of what was being made. We were the content.
A ‘bug’ I experienced was there were times where one user wouldn’t be able to see another and vice versa, but everyone else could see everyone. In this sense there were times where it seemed like people were talking to ghosts, or that they were existing in a whole other dimension being able to see what others might not have the ability to. While I know these were issues they plan on fixing, the rawness of the situation inspired me and allowed me to process things in a way that a perfect gaming system might not have been able to. I valued each and every ‘bug’ as they revealed another layer of how we work as humans.
Of course, with this particular bug it makes sense that people want to be able to see and hear each other. People want to be a full part of what is happening and what is being said, they don’t want to be left out. Also, what others have to say is important so people want to hear what it is that is being shared. And at the same time, I learned patience. I learned the joy in not letting FOMO take over. I learned there is value in only hearing half the conversation - in seeing people react to another's expression without knowing what the initial conversation was. For me, it illuminated how influenced we can become by others words, by others sharing their ideas and thoughts, their feelings and experiences, their praise. How quickly the energy travels from one to another.
It also made me think about how we treat people like they are crazy if they hear or see things we don’t. How we separate ourselves from them and label them into something we aren’t. How we no longer trust what they do or say because we can’t comprehend what they are experiencing. It made me think about what it means to be crazy and if there is such a thing. Maybe there are ‘bugs’ here on Earth too, maybe some people have a different connection to all the energies that flow in, through, and around us.
Another ‘bug’ that was truly just an unknown feature was the ability to zoom in and out using command + or -. It wasn’t initially a part of the game, but users had discovered it and enjoyed being able to zoom out and gather a better understanding of what they were a part of.
When I was super zoomed in and didn’t know there was a larger picture, which is how I entered the space, it was easy for me to get lost. All I saw was my world, my box, and it was hard to understand it in relation to the whole. I was so focused on my own little avatar and the immediate space I was in that I couldn’t really comprehend what I was a part of.
When I learned to zoom out I developed a better understanding of where I was in relation to the entire space itself, the objects in the space, and the other people. I was able to better understand my relationship to each of these pieces, and could better identify what I wanted to do based on each of these things. I was also able to move quicker by clicking across further distances. But when I was zoomed out I couldn’t fully appreciate the immediate environment I was in, I couldn’t see other people’s videos as well, and I couldn’t read what the flowers said or even let myself coddiwomple around.
I knew exactly where I was going when I was zoomed out and I had a full picture which came with its own pros and cons, but I would then zoom in to truly enjoy the moment by moment experience. I didn’t want to miss what I was a part of just because of my wanting to understand and comprehend a larger picture.
This experience with the ‘bug’ that was actually a feature got me thinking a lot about micro/macro levels of awareness and states of existing in. I am a systems thinker afterall, and I enjoy zooming out to understand the whole, but also zooming in to understand my individual experience and engagement with the world. It was nice to have both options, and I personally liked that this discovery had to be made, that it wasn’t apparent.
If you haven’t caught on yet, each experience I had in this virtual world somehow spoke to how I experience the real world. I found that there were little lessons throughout that could be deeply applied to my overall life. I was constantly learning new things as I applied what I already think I know.
I think everyone’s experience on this platform widely varied. In fact, I am sure of it. I can only speak for myself. And yet, there were commonalities. A lot of people opened up about their experience and their thoughts when it came to this virtual world, this virtual commons. When it came to Topia.
People wanted to be a part of. People wanted to participate. People were excited to find other people who were willing to accept them as is and love them anyways. People wanted to share. People wanted to be witnessed. People wanted to be. People wanted people. People were so willing to simply show up.
The element of play in this felt essential. The play itself allowed the room for development, growth, expression, understanding. The room for people to come together and have real ass conversations with someone they just met. And for that person to be open, willing, and receptive.
The expression of gratitude to have had the opportunity to participate and experience was immense. I heard people getting energized off of others' energy. Like the powersource was abundant and all we had to do was light it up within one another.
In going forward, while I think that these spaces can be useful for the playfulness and fun in and of itself, I also see extreme power in using these tools for the betterment of our world, of our social systems, of our treatment of each other and of our space rock that gives us life. To me, what else is the point of existing? Just to be? While I like that notion, in a world where others are suffering I can’t help but want to act and participate. I will leave the being to when we can all do so. Because as it currently stands, just ‘being’ is an extreme privilege, and I don’t think it should be one. I think it’s an inherent right.
For me this virtual space provided an experiential platform in which people could test out different ways in showing up in the world. They could collectively redefine what is accepted, what is encouraged, how we communicate, how we love. Topia gave us a way to meet people of all different backgrounds and specialties and come together in talking about what matters to them. It is a space where we can experiment with nonviolence, with nonjudgment, with radical expression, with sharing and gifting, with the present moment. It is a playground that can help us carve out what we will then bring forward in our physical realm. Because as much as I like online games, if it isn’t moving towards bettering the social inequalities and the environmental degradation that I see happening around me on a daily basis, I am not interested. My time is of value, and it is essential we act now collectively to bring balance to our engagement with one another and our planet. Not to be the doomsday girl but ya know, what we do matters. And the time really is now. Always has been, always will be. Now Now Now.
To me, I see a deep use for this playfulness to lead us into collaboration with real life action. To show people how fun, exciting, and liberating it can be to collectively create. To bring back the love for creation, rather than a dread for what those who have been creating for us will continue to create if we don’t alter some things. To bring back participation and to allow people to experience what it is like to be loved and enough simply for being. To practice nonviolent communication and to witness communal support.
What is beautiful is a platform like this does all of that just by being. Hah! I am over here wanting action, and sometimes being itself is the action. Oh the paradoxes. Topia’s existence creates these experiences whether people are consciously aware of them or not. And that brings me deep joy. And yet, if this playfulness is only online, it leaves out immense portions of the global population. It leaves out those who need these experiences most. But the more people that experience something like this whether virtually or in real life the more they will have a better understanding through personal experience of the realities that we can create, and my hopes are they will bring these out into the world with them.
I never saw this bridge between technology and real life. I could never comprehend the level of connection that can exist online. I used to see technology as a distraction getting in the way of real life action and change. I now envision a future where they go hand in hand. This last month has shown me a new reality. A new piece to the puzzle we are building as we create forms of moving forward.
The potential is infinite. A new realm has been revealed to me, and I am excited to see how it works in connection and collaboration with the systems and structures we have in place. This isn’t about destruction but rather about bridging the gaps we may have previously left out due to our own lack of consciousness, and I think spaces like Topia can propel us forward in ways we can’t yet comprehend. There is no bad guy good guy, it’s just us. A world of creators.
So, cheers to the creators. All of em. All over the world. Cheers to the creator in each and everyone of us. Cheers to YOU.
Let’s play together. I know it’ll be great fun.