Looking back, during my university days, personal computer communication was popular, and we used modems to communicate. At a certain BBS (Bulletin Board System), I met someone I called an "esoteric pretender," and I realized that he was likely a key member, perhaps even the founder, of the Inner Game Club. This was quite a shocking experience for me, as I had been subjected to restrictive control since elementary school, and I was trying to escape the destructive mind control of the Inner Game by contacting someone who seemed to be the founder or a key member.

In reality, we initially just exchanged information on the bulletin board about trendy New Age or instructional topics. However, things soon heated up, and those around us couldn't keep up. Eventually, we decided to meet and talk.

In reality, while the man used polite and proper language on the bulletin board, when I actually met him, he was someone who would yell at me in a loud voice. I was quickly disillusioned. It seemed that I am deeply connected to this type of controlling and abusive man. He tried to portray himself as a guru, and he pressured me to follow what he said, telling me that what he said was correct and that I shouldn't argue. He persistently yelled, raised his voice, and used his expressions to intimidate me. I felt like I was just waiting for the time to pass, wondering why I was talking to this person.

Indeed, considering my mental state at the time, I must have seemed weak and vulnerable. However, there was no reason for me to be yelled at. Perhaps he thought he could easily manipulate me, but his voice was always aggressive and condescending. I finally understood what kind of people support the Inner Game.

If the founder or a key member of the Inner Game Club is like this, then all the Inner Game books, the Inner Game Club, the elementary school teacher who believed in it, and the classmates who read it and tried to control others, were all the same type of people, or rather, they were either the manipulators or the sheep being manipulated. The person who was the organizer or a key member of the Inner Game was, of course, a manipulator, and while there are people who benefit from manipulating others, there are also people who are drawn to the club because they are being manipulated and end up idolizing others.

In this case, the elementary school teacher is the one being manipulated, the one being worshipped, like a sheep, while the son of the bicycle shop owner and his classmates are the manipulators, like wolves (or wolves in sheep's clothing).

Both are in a codependent relationship, with one side manipulating and the other being manipulated. From a spiritual perspective, regardless of which side one takes, it's a story of a low level.

All the stories related to inner games are connected. Whether it's the son of the bicycle shop owner or the teacher who believed in the inner game, or the false guru, they are all drawn to, or manipulated and mind-controlled by, the concept of the inner game. This structure may have been a microcosm of this world.

Now I think that without a solid foundation in spirituality, stories about the mind often end up in a codependent relationship of manipulation and being manipulated. Similarly, in spiritual groups or new religions, there are often codependent relationships between the leader and the followers. Once in a codependent relationship, it is very difficult to become independent and break free from it. In reality, the difficulty is only created by oneself, and it disappears if it is broken, but if one has been subjected to spiritual constraints for many years and has come to accept those constraints, the constraints are reinforced in a loop of "self-affirmation of constraints" and "occasional stimulation from others." It requires considerable determination and willpower to break free from such constraints.

In my case, after finishing the conversation with this false guru, I decisively cut off contact. Even just deciding to cut off contact was a significant emotional challenge, but fortunately, I was able to stick to that decision. In reality, after the conversation, I sent only one email, saying "Thank you," in a curt manner. I thought that would be the last, but that curtness seems to have irritated the false guru. However, behind the scenes, something like this was happening. When I was in elementary school, I had an out-of-body experience. During that experience, I transcended time and space, and when I was a university student, which was the future from my elementary school perspective, I came to the false guru's room and observed his subsequent behavior, because this conversation was a significant event in my life. After finishing the conversation, the false guru returned home and, somewhat indignant at my curt email, he was thinking about how to "mentally control, disciple, and make me obedient," and was about to type on his computer. At that time, I, who was in an out-of-body state (as an elementary school student), was watching him from behind, but he didn't notice my out-of-body presence. I then made my aura shine intensely and burned it to make him aware of my presence. He seemed to sense something and realize it. Then, I spoke to him in my mind. I think it was something like, "Hey, you're saying a lot of things, but come out. Let's talk while I'm out of my body." He replied, "I can't," and I said, "What, is that all you've got?" He seemed to be discouraged, and he stopped typing. So, there was no reply to the email, and that was the end of it. In reality, according to the two guardian spirits who were with the false guru, he used to practice diligently and reached a certain level, but he mistakenly thought he had attained enlightenment, and he has been neglecting his practice recently, and he has been boasting a lot. The guardian spirits were worried about what to do, and they were grateful that I gave him such a shock. Even though he was a false guru, he had some knowledge, but he wasn't enlightened. When one mistakenly believes they are enlightened, they become like a pseudo-leader who feels entitled to make certain statements to others, which is a bad example. What I saw during the out-of-body experience may not always be correct, but it is highly likely because many things are consistent. Now that I think about it, if you study and practice a little and reach a certain level, you can say those things, but at that time, I was so ignorant that I mistook even that for something amazing. In particular, it is difficult to distinguish between those who are truly enlightened and those who are pretending in the Esoteric teachings.

The "fake awakened" person, while seemingly having a certain level of understanding, was still a hypocrite and a fraud, just like the son of the bicycle shop owner who only used techniques. The elementary school teacher, who was a devotee of "inner game," was similar to the son of the bicycle shop owner in that they didn't really understand much, but the difference was whether they were the ones being manipulated (the elementary school teacher) or the ones doing the manipulating (the son of the bicycle shop owner and the "fake awakened" person). The "fake awakened" person understood the logic to some extent, but ultimately, they were still just a cult leader.

To break free from this bondage, I spent a considerable amount of time during my university years. This mind control is similar to religion, and in reality, the "fake awakened" person's foundation was religious, disguised as a self-improvement organization, but in reality, it was the same structure as a new religious movement with a cult leader, and the spiritual bondage was quite strong. When I was young, I didn't understand where this spiritual bondage was coming from, but I felt that I was being restricted in my actions by my classmates due to this "inner game" bondage. The classmates who were good at manipulating the minds of others had the potential to be fraudsters. I think there was a lesson in understanding and distinguishing such people. This is because, ultimately, the way to distinguish them is the same as the tips for identifying suspicious religious organizations. The level of "spiritual" that ends up being just another cult leader is probably at this low level. The "fake awakened" person's seemingly "spiritual" appearance (which was actually suspicious), their confidence, and their intimidation were exactly like a cult leader.

After this conversation, I was able to mostly break free from the bondage of "inner game," but I was almost completely free after graduating from university. In my case, my student life was strongly linked to the bondage of "inner game," and I was freed from the bondage by getting a job. Whether it's the structure of schools, the "fake awakened" person's manipulation of others, or the dishonest behavior of the son of the bicycle shop owner, these fraudulent behaviors are rooted in the desire to "control others." No matter how beautifully it is covered up with words, it ultimately comes down to that. Controlling others and "achieving results" in the workplace are completely different things. In the workplace, what matters is achieving results, and things like manipulating others, intimidation, or dishonesty are not really relevant. While in student life, you might be able to use clever words or, in voluntary organizations or clubs, rhetoric might be considered important, but in the world of work, results are the top priority, especially in technical fields (which may be different for sales or other positions). By getting a job in the IT field, I was freed from the bondage of "inner game." While there may be people in startups or management positions where the ability to control others is useful, if what they are doing is at the level of a cult leader, then it's only at that level, and I don't want to imitate them. Even after getting a job, I have often encountered people who are trying to control others, and in each case, my experiences with these fraudsters have been helpful. In any company, there are people who are nagging, using clever words to intimidate, or getting angry to manipulate others. Nowadays, this is called "moral harassment," but the underlying cause is often the same as the prototype of a fraudster or a "fake awakened" person. Tracing back to the root of that prototype, ultimately, the motivation is to control others, and that manifests itself in various forms as cult leaders, fraudsters, or moral harassment. The way it manifests depends on the person's intelligence, knowledge, or personality, but the underlying motivation is the desire to control others. This is all rooted in a codependent relationship of "manipulating" and "being manipulated," and people with only that level of mentality tend to attract people of the same level.

In order to escape from codependency and become more free, it requires a firm will to become free, as well as correct knowledge, correct insight, and specific actions.