Leela: a game of emotional truth

1. 1
   Beginning

   You are on the board. The six opened the door, and your question will walk beside you on every move. A beginning promises nothing. It is just honest: you are here.

   How does your question sound if you say it as simply as you can?
2. 2
   The Body

   Everything starts with the body: sleep, food, tiredness, touch. The body often knows the answer before the mind does. It just speaks more quietly.

   What does your body feel when you think about your question?
3. 3
   Fear

   Fear is not the enemy. It tries to protect you, sometimes from something long gone. You can listen to it without handing it the wheel.

   What are you afraid of here? Is it a danger now, or an echo from before?
4. 4
   Hunger

   You want more: money, attention, things, reassurance. A hunger that never fills up is usually asking for something other than what we feed it.

   What are you really missing, once you take away everything that can be bought?
5. 5
   Safety

   A place where you can breathe out. A person you don't have to stay on guard with. It is hard to grow without this, so there is no shame in staying a while.

   Where, and with whom, do you feel truly safe?
6. 6
   Illusion

   A beautiful picture that is comfortable to believe. An illusion is not always a lie. Sometimes it is a hope that was never checked against reality.

   What do you want to believe here more than you have reason to?
7. 7
   Pride

   Pride keeps your back straight, but sometimes it stops you from asking, apologising or admitting it hurts. It is armour, and it helps to take it off now and then.

   What is pride stopping you from doing in this story?
8. 8
   Shame

   Shame whispers that something is wrong with you. It lives in silence and grows weaker as soon as you tell even one person about it.

   Is there something in your question you feel ashamed to say out loud?
9. 9
   Pleasure

   Good food, a hot bath, music too loud. Pleasure reminds you that life is not just tasks. What matters is whether it is joy or an escape.

   What gives you pleasure, and what do you use so you don't have to feel?

Read: The Gifts of Imperfection (Brené Brown), Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway (Susan Jeffers). Watch: Wild (2014).

1. 10
   Clearing Outarrow to 23

   Letting go of what you don't need: things, obligations, old grudges, people who only take. Space opens up and it gets easier to breathe.

   What is it time to clear out so you can move?
2. 11
   Play

   Doing something just because it is interesting. Adults forget how to play, and play is where the most alive ideas are born.

   What changes if you treat your question a little more lightly, like a game?
3. 12
   Envysnake to 4

   Someone else's life looks better and yours suddenly looks empty. Envy stings, but it honestly shows you what you really want.

   Who do you envy, and what exactly do they have that you want?
4. 13
   Emptiness

   Nothing feels worth wanting, everything looks grey. Emptiness is frightening, but sometimes it is the pause between old and new, ground where nothing has grown yet.

   What was here before the emptiness? And what could grow here?
5. 14
   The Dream

   What you think about before you fall asleep. A dream gives direction even when it is far away. The only danger is putting life on hold until it comes true.

   What do you dream about, and what is the smallest step towards it this week?
6. 15
   Daydreams

   In your head it has all happened already: the conversation, the meeting, the win. Daydreams comfort, but they can replace action, and then life stays in your head.

   Which conversation do you keep rehearsing in your head but never start?
7. 16
   Jealousysnake to 3

   The fear of being replaced, that love will end or go to someone else. Jealousy is loud, but underneath it there is almost always a quiet fear.

   What are you afraid of losing in this story?
8. 17
   Compassionarrow to 67

   Seeing someone's pain and not looking away. Your own pain too. Compassion for yourself is not weakness: it is what lets you rise instead of tearing yourself apart below.

   What would you tell a close friend in the same situation? Say it to yourself.
9. 18
   Joy

   Not a celebration or a success, just a simple «this is good». Joy comes in small things and needs no reason. It is easy to miss while waiting for something bigger.

   What small thing brought you joy this week?

Read: Wishcraft (Barbara Sher), The Artist's Way (Julia Cameron). Watch: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013).

1. 19
   Work

   What you spend your days on. Work can feed you or eat you alive. The question is not how much you do, but what you do it for.

   What do you do all of this for, day after day?
2. 20
   Generosityarrow to 32

   Giving without keeping score: time, attention, a kind word. Generosity brings you back to balance because it reminds you that you have something to give.

   What can you share without making yourself poorer?
3. 21
   Apology

   Saying «I'm sorry» with nothing after it. Or waiting for an apology that will never come. Both are about the same thing: something was left open.

   Who do you owe an apology to? Or whose apology are you still waiting for?
4. 22
   Your Own Codearrow to 49

   What you won't do for any money, and what you will stand up for. Your own code gives you ground when everything around is noise.

   Which of your inner rules matters most in this question?
5. 23
   Lightness

   When something heavy lets go, lightness comes. You can laugh, try, get it wrong without drama. Not everything has to be hard to be real.

   What in your situation could be simpler than it looks?
6. 24
   The Wrong Crowdsnake to 8

   People who make you worse: meaner, smaller, louder than you want to be. It is fun at first, then it turns into shame.

   Who do you stop being yourself around?
7. 25
   Your People

   The ones you can be quiet with. Who are glad about your wins and don't vanish on bad days. Sometimes there are two of them, sometimes one, and that is enough.

   Who are your people? Do they know about your question?
8. 26
   Sadness

   Sadness comes when something has ended or never happened. It doesn't need fixing, it needs to be lived through. Tears can be an answer too.

   What are you sad about, if you let yourself admit it?
9. 27
   Carearrow to 43

   Many people know how to care for others. Receiving care, and caring for yourself, is much harder. Real care flows both ways.

   Who takes care of you? And do you let them?

Read: Nonviolent Communication (Marshall Rosenberg), A Man Called Ove (Fredrik Backman). Watch: The Intouchables (2011).

1. 28
   Honesty With Yourselfarrow to 50

   The hardest conversation happens inside: admitting what you want, what you fear and what you have known for a while. After that kind of honesty, the choice becomes visible.

   What do you already know about your question but haven't told yourself?
2. 29
   Self-Deceptionsnake to 6

   «It's fine», «it's temporary», «it will sort itself out». Self-deception spares you pain today and charges interest tomorrow.

   What line do you keep telling yourself so you don't have to look?
3. 30
   Tenderness

   Softness without armour. Tenderness towards another person, towards yourself, towards your own story. It takes courage, because it makes you visible.

   Who or what in your story could you be more tender with?
4. 31
   Resentmentsnake to 21

   An old wound you keep touching. Resentment keeps you close to whoever hurt you and pulls you back to the apology that never came.

   What grudge are you carrying? What does it give you, and what does it take?
5. 32
   Balance

   Neither giving everything away nor keeping everything. Balance is not a fixed point but constant small corrections, like riding a bicycle.

   Where is your life tilted right now: too much of what, too little of what?
6. 33
   Taste for Life

   Interest in the morning, in people, in what is new. A taste for life doesn't stay constant. It comes back through curiosity and small changes.

   When did something last make you truly curious?
7. 34
   Longing

   A pull towards where you are not: the past, a person, another life. Longing shows what mattered. But you can't live there, only visit.

   What or who do you long for? What part of it could you bring into the life you have now?
8. 35
   Forgivenessarrow to 53

   To forgive is not to say it was fine. It is to stop carrying what keeps pulling you back. Forgiveness frees the one who forgives first.

   What changes if you stop waiting for the past to be different?
9. 36
   Clear Eyes

   Looking at a person and seeing them, not your expectations. Looking at yourself without flattery and without a verdict.

   How does your situation look if you describe it as a stranger would?

Read: Attached (Amir Levine, Rachel Heller), The Choice (Edith Eger). Watch: Inside Out (2015).

1. 37
   Knowingarrow to 66

   Not advice from the internet, but what you know from your own life. Knowing like that brings peace: you don't need to prove it to anyone.

   What does your own experience already tell you about situations like this?
2. 38
   Saying It Out Loud

   A thought said out loud becomes real. Frightening, but afterwards you don't have to carry it alone.

   Which sentence about your question is it time to finally say?
3. 39
   Silence

   Silence can be wise, or it can be a way to avoid a conversation. From outside they look the same. The difference is only inside.

   Is your silence in this story protecting you, or hiding you?
4. 40
   The Mask

   Always the strong one, always cheerful, always «I'm fine». The mask gets you through the day, but underneath it you get very tired.

   What role are you playing here? What would happen without it?
5. 41
   The Boundary

   Where you end and someone else begins. A boundary is not a wall but a door with a handle on the inside.

   Where does your situation need a boundary that isn't there yet?
6. 42
   The Fight

   A fight is not always destruction. Sometimes it is the only way to say something important. The question is whether you are looking for the truth or for a win.

   If there is a conflict in your story, what do you really want from it: to win, or to be understood?
7. 43
   Asking for Help

   Saying «I need help» without apologising for it. Asking is not shameful. People are often glad to help. They just don't know what you need.

   What help could you ask for, and from whom?
8. 44
   Refusing to Seesnake to 15

   Not opening the letter, not checking the statement, not asking the question you already know the answer to. Closed eyes take you back to where you can still daydream.

   What in your situation are you trying not to look at?
9. 45
   Trutharrow to 64

   The truth is rarely comfortable, but you can stand on it. Telling it to yourself or to someone else gives you back your wholeness.

   What truth about your question wants to come out?

Read: Boundaries (Henry Cloud, John Townsend), The Dance of Anger (Harriet Lerner). Watch: The King's Speech (2010).

1. 46
   Consciencearrow to 62

   The quiet inner voice that knows when you are being fair. When your conscience is at peace, you sleep better and happiness comes closer.

   What does your conscience say about your question?
2. 47
   Inner Quiet

   Not quiet around you, but quiet within: when thoughts stop running in circles. You don't have to look far for it. Sometimes five minutes without your phone is enough.

   What do you hear about your question when your mind goes quiet?
3. 48
   Intuition

   Knowing without an explanation: «something is off» or «this is it». Intuition is made of experience your mind hasn't found words for yet.

   What does your first feeling tell you, before any reasoning?
4. 49
   Strength

   Strength is not never falling. It is getting up. And it is saying «no» calmly, without shouting.

   Where in this situation do you need quiet strength?
5. 50
   Choice

   You almost always have more options than it seems. Not choosing is a choice too. From here you can see the whole crossroads.

   What are your options, including the ones that scare you?
6. 51
   Solid Ground

   Solid ground under your feet: a routine, money for the month ahead, people nearby, familiar tasks. After a storm, this is where you come back to recover.

   What gives you footing when everything shakes?
7. 52
   Crueltysnake to 26

   A sharp word, a cold silence, hitting where it hurts. Towards others or towards yourself. Cruelty almost always grows from pain that was never lived through.

   Where is there cruelty in your story: towards others, or towards yourself?
8. 53
   Letting Go

   Opening your hands. Stopping trying to control what was never yours to control. Letting go is not giving up. It is making room.

   What are you holding too tightly?
9. 54
   Devotionarrow to 68

   Giving yourself fully to a cause, a person or a path, with no back door. Devotion leads straight to clarity because it clears away the extra questions.

   What in your life do you give yourself to completely?

Read: Wherever You Go, There You Are (Jon Kabat-Zinn), Blink (Malcolm Gladwell). Watch: Peaceful Warrior (2006).

1. 55
   Egosnake to 7

   The feeling that you have it all figured out and know better than others. The higher you climb, the harder you fall back into ordinary pride.

   Where is proving yourself right more important to you right now than understanding?
2. 56
   Your Word

   Saying it and doing it. Keeping your word, to others and to yourself. Trust is built on that, including trust in yourself.

   What promise to yourself are you not keeping?
3. 57
   Resolve

   The moment when the doubts are still there but you take the step anyway. Resolve doesn't cancel fear. It just walks ahead of it.

   What step will you take, even if you're afraid?
4. 58
   Gratitude

   Noticing what is already here. Gratitude doesn't make you put up with what is bad. It just turns your eyes back to the good that is easy to overlook.

   What in this story can you be thankful for, even if it is hard?
5. 59
   Things As They Are

   No «if only», no «what if». Accepting reality is not resignation. It is simply the point you can start from.

   What does your situation look like without «if only»?
6. 60
   Wisdom

   Knowing when to speak and when to stay quiet. When to hold on and when to leave. Wisdom comes through mistakes, so there is no need to be ashamed of them.

   Which lesson from past mistakes will help you now?
7. 61
   The Cold Mindsnake to 13

   Everything sorted, everything logical, and nothing felt. A mind without a heart leads quickly to emptiness.

   What do you feel about this situation if you stop analysing it?
8. 62
   Happiness

   Not an endless party, but the feeling of «I'm where I belong». Happiness is quieter than the adverts promise, and often you only recognise it afterwards.

   Where and when do you feel calm and good at the same time?
9. 63
   Apathysnake to 2

   No energy even for what used to bring joy. Apathy sends you back to the very start, to the body: sleep, food, light, movement. If it lasts for weeks, it is worth talking to a professional.

   What does your body need right now?

Read: Man's Search for Meaning (Viktor Frankl), Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom). Watch: Perfect Days (2023).

1. 64
   Wholeness

   All the parts of you in their places: the strong ones and the wounded ones. Wholeness doesn't mean perfection. It means nothing needs hiding.

   Which part of yourself are you hiding in this story?
2. 65
   Inner Light

   The warmth that is always in you, even on bad days. You don't have to earn it. You only have to stop covering it up.

   What in you stays alive no matter what happens?
3. 66
   Peace

   Not the absence of problems, but the end of the war with them. Peace comes when you stop demanding that life be different.

   What can you stop fighting?
4. 67
   Kindness

   Kindness without calculation, to others and to yourself. It looks simple, but it takes strength: staying soft in a hard world.

   What would the kindest step in your situation look like, including towards yourself?
5. 68
   Claritythe goal

   The path is walked. Clarity doesn't mean every answer is found. It means you see where you stand and know your next step.

   Go back to your question. What do you know about it now?
6. 69
   Lecturing Others

   Clarity is so close that you want to explain to everyone how to live. But while you teach others, your own path stands still.

   Which advice you give others do you actually need yourself?
7. 70
   Perfectionism

   Just one more fix, one more check, start when it's perfect. Perfectionism looks like ambition and works like a brake.

   What are you putting off because it isn't «perfect» yet?
8. 71
   Rushing

   Running faster than you live. Rushing overshoots the goal and carries you further than you need to go. Sometimes the fastest way is to stop.

   What are you rushing towards, and what are you missing on the way?
9. 72
   Burnoutsnake to 51

   Too long at the limit. Burnout brings you back down to the ground: routine, rest and simple things. If you've had no energy for weeks, it is worth talking to a professional.

   What can you take out of your week so you can truly rest?

Read: Burnout (Emily Nagoski, Amelia Nagoski), Four Thousand Weeks (Oliver Burkeman). Watch: About Time (2013).