A Secret Passage

Having been inspired by a late 90s movie, today I am offering you a unique approach to reconsider your day-to-day life.

The movie features a man portrayed as a deadbeat, merely surviving in life. While at his uninspiring temp job, he discovers a magical portal that transports him to a dimension where everyone, including himself, shares the face of a famous actor.

I first watched this movie in my twenties and admired its originality. To me, it belonged to the same genre as The Twilight Zone series, and I was captivated. However, I didn’t come close to grasping its deeper meaning until very recently.

Our lives are like a monodrama. Each individual exists in a simulation where everyone they interact with—from the beginning to the end of the “game”—is actually a disguised version of themselves. This simulation, created by an intelligence far beyond our current comprehension, magnificently conceals these versions of the self.

While only a select few, with trained eyes, can clearly see themselves in everyone else, the majority of players on this platform choose to remain unaware.

But what if you chose differently today? Could you quiet the nagging voice that focuses on the flaws of others? For an hour or two, using your imagination, could you place your face onto everyone in your life?

Here’s how: during this exercise, thinking is not allowed. Each time you imagine placing your face on another, put your right hand over your heart, take a deep breath, and simply feel.

Engaging in this game will not make you go bankrupt, nor will social media vanish. When you finish, all your daily responsibilities will still be waiting for you. But if your intention is sincere, and you are fully present during this playful exercise, some amazing things are bound to happen.

I don’t enjoy giving examples or sharing personal stories, as many others do. In my experience, doing so can create expectations, frustration, or worse—conditioning.

However, if you don’t like this exercise, or feel that it didn’t result in anything different and was a waste of your time, here’s some good news: you will have spent a portion of your day doing something truly out of the ordinary—and that alone is a beneficial workout for your brain.