The World Series – Part V: Testing the Self in Digital Worlds

In this concluding episode of the series, Right Worshipful Brother Michael Arce shares a lived example of how the symbolic “world” manifests in unexpected places—including digital ones. Through a story of cooperation, conflict, and moral choice inside an online game, he reveals how the same patterns of trust, effort, equality, and ethical testing found in Freemasonry appear in the wider world. The result is a reflection on belonging, character, and the universal human search for connection.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• Digital spaces recreate the same moral tests and relational dynamics found in real life
• Equality and contribution can flourish when identity and status fall away
• Freemasonry provides a durable, real-world framework for connection that transcends digital interactions

💬 Featured Quotes

• 0:01:32–0:01:39 — “We were able to become friends through the evening… I spent more time hanging out with strangers than I did with real friends that week.”
• 0:03:07–0:03:14 — “In this digital video game environment… that equality that we seek in life… it exists.”
• 0:03:21–0:03:28 — “In this world, this digital world, we're only judged by our effort and our contributions to the game, just like in Freemasonry.”
• 0:03:40–0:03:47 — “Your sense of decency gets tested when your squad is just randomly attacked by another squad.”
• 0:04:39–0:04:46 — “We fear that we might also act just as selfishly as other people do.”
• 0:05:12–0:05:18 — “We're ultimately the player in this game.”
• 0:06:03–0:06:10 — “The digital quest… confirms that hunger that we have, that we're looking to find a sustainable real connection.”
• 0:06:26–0:06:34 — “You're listening because you're seeking that same light too.”

🔗 Explore Related Episodes

Cognitive Dissonance and the Work of the Craft

Explores the gap between who we believe ourselves to be and how we act—mirrored in this episode’s exploration of moral testing within anonymity.

Staying Unfinished – Holding Tension Between Work and Result

Reflects the ongoing, imperfect work of growth, paralleling how digital interactions expose real blind spots and opportunities for refinement.

Creators & Guests

• RW Michael Arce - Guest

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