attendant spirits

what if you really believed in yourself? what if your growing edges were opportunities? what if you treated yourself with the same compassion you would extend to others? what could you accomplish if you saw yourself as an agent of change?

this is a meditative game of journaling prompts that encourage you to explore potential answers to these questions and more. it is a game that leans into the transformative potential of imagination and play, offering you an opportunity to practice skills you may be hesitant to use in your "real" life.

the game imagines a world in which an entity called an "attendant spirit" is observing you in your everyday life. this spirit is not omnipotent, omniscient, or omnipresent—and unlike humans, they are not a part of physical reality—but they are generally compassionate and want what's best for the humans they are watching, and to that end will whisper inspiration and encouragement in the ears of those they observe.

rather than playing the game from the perspective of your human self, you will play as the attendant spirit who is observing you. the game will offer some exercises for envisioning and embodying this spirit during play. randomized journaling prompts will create a series of vignettes of moments that you, as the attendant spirit, watch as your human self faces everyday situations. your job as the attendant spirit is to gently whisper wisdom and encouragement to the human you are observing, and bear compassionate witness to how they respond to and move through these situations.

a note on self-compassion and playing with friends

if you find you are struggling with the idea of embodying an entity that views your human self with compassion, you can work up to this by starting out embodying an attendant spirit for someone you care about. 

this also opens up some options for making this into a multiplayer experience. if you want to play with friends, you can take turns playing as each other's attendant spirits. our friends sometimes see strengths in us that we don't see in ourselves.

a note on safety

some of the situations in this game will play to the strengths of your human self; others will highlight growing edges, or areas where your human self might feel a sense of lack. you are encouraged to particularly lean into the more challenging prompts as opportunities to see where and how you might grow. that said, if any of the journaling prompts feel overwhelming, you are invited to skip or rework them in a way that feels more accessible and within your current capacity. alternatively, you can put the game down and come back later, or walk away from the game entirely at any time. your safety is the most important thing.

material components

• a candle, some incense, or another way of marking the time and space as special
• a journal (whether analog or digital)
• some means to write in this journal
• a deck of tarot cards, separated into major arcana and minor arcana (see the alternative rules and materials section at the end if you don't have a deck of tarot cards handy)

let's begin.