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?? 我想和你分享一个游戏。 我要你去想象一个沙漠，一直延展到你所能看到的最远端。在这个沙漠中有个立方体。 你的第一个任务就是去描述这个立方体。它是什么样子的？它有多大？它是由什么做的？它具体在什么位置？ 这里没有正确答案，只有你的答案。在你继续之前花一些时间，细节是很重要的。 当你看着沙漠和你的立方体时，你发现还有一架梯子。你的第二个任务（只有有五个任务）是去描述这架梯子。它是由什么做的？它有多大？相对立方体它在哪？ 现在想象一下在这个场景中有一匹马。你的第三个任务是：描述这匹马。最重要的是：这匹马在哪，它在做什么？如果在某个地方，它的情况是怎样的？ 我们现在很接近了。在你眼前的场景，有许多鲜花。你的倒数第二个任务是描述这些花。那儿有多少？它们是怎样的？它们相比起马，立方体，梯子和沙位置在哪？ 最后一个问题。在沙漠里有一场风暴。描述这场风暴。它是什么类型的？它很近或者很远？它前往什么方向？它会影响马，鲜花，立方体或者是梯子吗？ 如果你一直按照步骤做下来，有趣的就要来了。准备好了？现在不能回头了。 … … … 这个立方体就是你自己。 它的大小是你表面上的自我。一个大的立方体说明你对自己非常确定，小的立方体稍差一些。立方体的垂直布局说明你有多脚踏实地。静止在沙地上？你很可能是个非常现实的人。飘浮在空中？你比较爱幻想。 这个立方体的材料说明了你对他人有多公开。透明的立方体属于坦率的人，不透明的立方体属于那些心思不外露的人。鲜艳的？你很可能是个积极的人，你希望去提高他人的情绪。花岗岩做的？你很可能是个有保护欲且固执己见的人。 这里的技巧是，当你被要求去描述一个空白抽象的实体——一个立方体，你的想象力会把自己的身份投射到物体上。 梯子代表着你的朋友。 你的“朋友”靠在立方体上吗？你的朋友依靠你，而且非常亲近。梯子是非常脆弱还是非常结实的？高的还是矮的？它通往立方体的内部吗？或者它被扔到一边，躺在沙地上？现在你能得出自己的结论了。 马代表着你的理想伴侣。 马的类型说明了很多关于你对伴侣的渴望。一些人看到了一批沉稳的棕色驮马，其他人看到一匹闪亮的飞马或者独角兽。这些便代表着你的意愿。 如果这匹马亲切地爱抚你的立方体，或者在上面咬一口？它离你的立方体很远或者走开了？这代表了你目前的伴侣，或者是你梦寐以求的，但结果通常伴着感动和欢笑。 花代表着孩子。 花的多少和你有多少想象有关。一些人只看到一朵花，一朵枯萎的雏菊；其他人看到一个华丽的花园，覆盖着下面的立方体和沙漠。花朵的颜色和活力说明了它们的健康和假定的繁荣。 最后，风暴代表着威胁。 这说明了一个人现在的状态，以及他们是怎么感知生活中的风险。一些人也许看到了遥远的风暴，在视野的边上，感觉要消失在视线之外。其他人也许认为他们就在雷鸣般的启示之中，网球大小的冰雹攻击着他们脆弱的立方体和马。这说明这些人在生活中有些直接的创伤。 现在这些都是正确的吗？当然不是。你不是在读一本同行评审杂志，看上面关于马和梯子的预言性质。这只是一个游戏，虽然已经经历了几千年的不同形式。 但是假如你一直玩下来，我建议你在其他人身上试试，你可能会对它的可靠性有不可思议的感觉。或许有很多原因：人们会把他们自己投射到一些抽象的物体上（立方体），以及他们对动物的喜爱（马）。对花朵的培育和培养孩子有一些相似之处，风暴是环境中危险的信号，它会接近我们不安的感觉；而梯子是我们发现能够帮助的东西。也许这些都只是我们一厢情愿的心理呓语。 但是我要告诉你。这是去了解某人的一个难以置信的工具。在五分钟之内你就能发现一个陌生人的性格，朋友，伴侣，孩子，风险，梦想和志向。你将会变成一个令人难忘的人引人注目，而且或许你也能够笑出来。 I want you to imagine a desert, stretching out as far as your eyes can see. In this desert is a cube. Your first task is to describe the cube. What does it look like? How large is it? What is it made of? Where exactly is it? There are no right answers here, only your answers. Take a moment before you continue – the detail is important. As you look at the desert and your cube, you notice there is also a ladder. Your second task (there are just five) is to describe the ladder. What is it made of? How big is it? Where is it, in relation to the cube? Now imagine that in the scene there is a horse. (Yes, horse. I didn’t say this desert made sense). Your third task: describe the horse. Most importantly: where is the horse and what is it doing? Where, if anywhere, is it going? We’re nearly there now. In the scene before you, are flowers. Your penultimate task: describe the flowers. How many are there? What do they look like? Where are they, in relation to the horse, cube, ladder and sand? Final question. In the desert there is a storm. Describe the storm. What type of storm is it? Is it near, or far? What direction is it headed? Does it affect the horse, flowers, cube or ladder? If you’ve been playing along, this is going to be fun. Ready? There’s no going back. … ... ... The cube is yourself. The size is ostensibly your ego: a large cube means you’re pretty sure of yourself, a small cube less so. The vertical placement of the cube is how grounded you are. Resting on the sand? You’re probably pretty down to earth. Floating in the sky? Your head is in the clouds. The cube’s material conveys how open you are: transparent cubes belong to transparent people, opaque cubes are more protective of their minds. Glowing? You’re likely a positive person, who aims to raise the spirits of others. Made of granite? You’re likely protective and resilient. The trick here is that when asked to describe a blank, abstract entity – a cube – your imagination will tend to project its own identity onto it. This trick is as old as time, but it’s about to get more interesting. The ladder represents your friends. Are your friends leaning on the cube? Your friends depend on you, and are close. Is the ladder frail, or robust? Tall or short? Does it lead inside the cube? Or is it cast to one side, lying unloved on the sand? By now you should be able to draw your own conclusions. The horse represents your dream partner. The type of horse reveals a lot about what you yearn for in a partner. Some people see a steady brown workhorse, others a shining Pegasus or unicorn. Make of these people what you will. Is your horse nuzzling your cube affectionately, or taking a bite out of it? Is it far from your cube, or walking away? This can represent a current partner, or an aspiration one, but the results are often a mix of touching and hilarious. The flowers represent children. The number of flowers relates to how many you imagine having. Some people see just a single, withered daisy; others a resplendent garden covering the cube and desert beneath. (Guys: watch out for those). The color and vitality of the flowers can speak to their health and presumed prosperity. Finally, the storm represents threat. This speaks to the current state of the person, and how they perceive risk in their life. Some may see a distant storm, on the lip of the horizon, fading from sight. Others may view themselves in the midst of a thunderous apocalypse, hailstones the size of tennis balls pelting their fragile cube and horse. Chances are those people have some immediate trauma in their life. Now is this all correct? Of course it isn’t. You won’t be reading any peer-reviewed journals on the soothsaying properties of horses and ladders. This is a game, albeit one that has endured in various forms for thousands of years. But if you play along – and I encourage you to try this on others – you will find it appears to have an uncanny sense of reliability to it. There might be many reasons: people seem to project themselves onto abstract objects (the cube), and their affections onto animals (the horse). Our nurturing of flowers bears some resemblance to that of children, a storm is a signal of environmental danger that taps into our sense of unease, and a ladder is something we find supporting. Maybe it’s all just wishful psychobabble. But I’ll tell you what. It’s an incredible tool for getting to know someone. In five minutes you’re able to discuss a stranger’s character, friends, partner, children, risks, dreams and aspirations. You will stand out as someone memorable, and you probably had a right laugh too. |
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