# The Cube, the 'sufi psychological experience'



## Narrator (Oct 11, 2009)

If you've not come across it, it'll ruin the fun if you spoil it, The Cube (game) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia see if it sounds interesting.

Someone's written it out here if you want to try it out. You can substitute the white space with a desert - start off imagining a desert, or a white space:
The Cube: A fun little psych test - Straight Dope Message Board

Anyone come across this?

What did you come up with ?


----------



## owlet (May 7, 2010)

The cube: Very small and white, opaque, floating right in the centre of the room, looking at a side.

The Ladder: leading up to the cube, made of pale wood.

The flowers: to the left of the cube, small, yellow and white, pretty, scented, make me feel peaceful.

The storm: in the right, top-hand corner of the room, calm, quite big.

The horse: directly behind the cube, watching it, peaceful, dark brown.


----------



## Tad Cooper (Apr 10, 2010)

The Cube:
Translucent, blue/black, facing the top left corner, small, in the middle/lower half of the space.

The ladder:
To the right of the cube (cube is around halfway up it), made of pale wood, leaning at 45 degrees.

The flowers:
Pink/purple, pretty, no scent, warm feeling.

The storm:
Violent (lightning and rain/wind, black clouds, over the top of the space.

The horse:
To the left of the cube, light brown, small, peaceful.


----------



## onebelo (Apr 10, 2012)

i wrote my what i thought out, but the guy never gave an answer or anything?


----------



## Narrator (Oct 11, 2009)

The Cube is you, the ladder your friends, the flowers children, can be figurative children, the storm is trouble, the horse is your lover .

The cube: about 6 inches in every dimension, made of dark, compact, almost clay like in texture earth - like after rain - interspaced with medium grey stone cubes/crumbled. Some moss. Like a religious artefact made by old peoples - from the Americas/jungle/forests; esoteric, mysterious/unknown, very old, only one face is shown, sort of forgotten but that's natural - doesn't call much attention to anyone but me, as it's sort've waiting. (I'm holding it/it's on the ground, sort of). It kind of demands (without being demanding) - necessitates is probably a better word; it's just how it is - its own environment - it comes in a rainforest, hidden away, but comfortable, ferns shade it from direct sun. It has the feel - this is just how I am, I am self-contained.

The ladder: Almost black, wood, no sharp edges, no splinters, propped at a slightly steeper angle than 45 degrees, maybe ten paces from the cube, could fall over easily if the storm came, but the forest is protective. Would be useless if fallen over, more related to the human, modern world as it suggests technology, and the cube is estoeric, it has purpose standing up - can take whoever finds it to spiritual/advernture story like places, but no one is around to put it back up, needs protecting.

The flowers: the only thing in the actual desert, down and to the left of the forest, safe, warm, pink, about five, look a bit like pansies. There are also abstract blue flowers - much smaller, with a tone of darkness/melancholy hanging over all the five elements. The horse may eat the pink flowers, but this doesn't seem like a bad thing - the horse wouldn't do something bad - it is knowing/in line with the natural order.

The storm: up from the flowers, but in a distant, more moist land, is far from everything, very strong wind, wouldn't break the cube, but lower the temperature dramatically/make the cube alone, would knock the ladder down if it arrived, the flowers might freeze - but this wouldn't kill them, or be ripped out of the earth if it reached them, from the root, so not completely destroyed - dramatically change their environment, but it is distant. It merely theatrically blows the horse's hair, and the grass around the horse. The horse may have to run away from it, as the land would grow cold as it passed. But not winterlike.

The horse: There's an image of it, dark brown, fairly large, exhibits sheer natural vitality/power, magnificent, and wild, but empowered and not inhuman without being showy, like a female gandalf, but with elements of a warrior, the maternal - it is definately female, but shows a slightly masculine will - its gender doesn't constrain it in the slightest - and youth - though it is mature, but in the active stages. Is not docile, girly or weak. It is concerned with protecting what's right. Wise. Not invulnerable. It's on a hill facing whoever is looking at it, in action, running, the hill is to the right of the forest and a little way down.
There's also a grey horse, more peaceful/less wildly powerful, sort've more gracefully pretty, facing to the right, more feminine in its gentleness/less 'loud' power exhibited, less on a mission, male - the dark one is facing more to the left. It's more downhill, very far away from all this. It wouldn't eat the flowers. It's less active/powerful, more gentle and compassionate due to the darker one having harsher circumstances (it's closer to the storm, is more strongwilled by nature). It is perhaps younger, quieter - the dark one speaks due to purpose, and there is much purpose - and less weathered, a little more fearful.


----------



## onebelo (Apr 10, 2012)

ahh right okay, then,

*Me -* a rubix cube, on the ground, viewed at from an angel
*friends - *are leaning on me
*children - *are pretty and bright but i dont smell them and they dont make me feel anything
*trouble -* dark and everywhere, but relaxing
*lover -* brown, young, thats it really

kind of a silly test imo lol... well i mean i didnt put much emotion into it i followed what it said and viewed the flowers/horse as objects. dont think the results relfected anything


----------



## onebelo (Apr 10, 2012)

Liminality said:


> The Cube is you, the ladder your friends, the flowers children, can be figurative children, the storm is trouble, the horse is your lover .
> 
> The cube: about 6 inches in every dimension, made of dark, compact, almost clay like in texture earth - like after rain - interspaced with medium grey stone cubes/crumbled. Some moss. Like a religious artefact made by old peoples - from the Americas/jungle/forests; esoteric, mysterious/unknown, very old, only one face is shown, sort of forgotten but that's natural - doesn't call much attention to anyone but me, as it's sort've waiting. (I'm holding it/it's on the ground, sort of). It kind of demands (without being demanding) - necessitates is probably a better word; it's just how it is - its own environment - it comes in a rainforest, hidden away, but comfortable, ferns shade it from direct sun. It has the feel - this is just how I am, I am self-contained.
> 
> ...


my first impression reading that is youre projecting a lot from the answers.... like you read the answer and then connected your thoughts to what you could match up to your friends/lover/you are like..... self projecting...... would you agree? maybe THATS the test lol


----------



## Narrator (Oct 11, 2009)

onebelo said:


> my first impression reading that is youre projecting a lot from the answers.... like you read the answer and then connected your thoughts to what you could match up to your friends/lover/you are like..... self projecting...... would you agree? maybe THATS the test lol



I got a book on a stall and it got you to consider the relations and such like in a fair chunk of detail, and I noted it down. I kinda just took it/take it as fun . Plus I have a long windy writing style anyway.


http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=447051
Some other answers, with a few people's horses are climbing up the ladders! Hehe, I find it entertaining to read, and the degree of difference in answers is interesting.


----------



## Dark Romantic (Dec 27, 2011)

I remember this game: I forgot how to translate it, though.

*The cube*: Large, opaque, blue, floating, and I'm facing an edge.

*The ladder*: Resting on the cube, stretching to the top. It's made of wood, and appears small, even though it reaches to the top of the cube, which is enormous.

*The flowers*: They're all around the base of the cube (the cube is now resting on the ground); they are pretty, multicolored, and smell... flowery? Almost like roses. They give me a feeling of nostalgia, a reminder of days long past.

*The storm*: Right above the cube (which is growing larger and larger, now). It's violent, thundering, and yet, the cube keeps growing. For some reason, it only seems to be above the cube; either the cube is growing larger than the storm, or the storm only formed over the cube to begin with. Eventually, the cube will grow past the storm, larger than ever.

*The horse*: Right next to the cube, with shiny black hair, a wild, angry look in its eyes, rearing and getting ready to chase something down.


----------



## owlet (May 7, 2010)

onebelo said:


> kind of a silly test imo lol... well i mean i didnt put much emotion into it i followed what it said and viewed the flowers/horse as objects. dont think the results relfected anything


 Isn't it just a fun test? I think it said to put as much detail in as possible on the actual page, so maybe you didn't do it right? I didn't put too much detail on my answers up there, but I've got a very good image of what they are - I think you get out of the test the equivalent of what you put in, pretty much.

It was a pretty interesting test, I thought - reflecting stuff from the subconscious  Though the horse-as-lover thing means mine's stood behind me?!


----------



## Narrator (Oct 11, 2009)

laurie17 said:


> It was a pretty interesting test, I thought - reflecting stuff from the subconscious  Though the horse-as-lover thing means mine's stood behind me?!


Hehe, it's pretty funny to looks back on some bits - I love that some people saw their horse climbing up the ladder. Some say the horse is ideal lover/love, or past lover/love. It's cool that people seem to get very instinctual, particular responses, though not wholly necessarily without change - I know it was very instinctual for me. Like with dreams, the manifestation of how you create/interpret/vest meaning into the symbols can be taken many ways. It could be to do with power/security - they're 'behind' you in what you do - or the reverse, possibly even value judgements/trouble understanding them, or communication, or whatever else it, if it does have significance at all.

I like how I see two horses, so much appriciating being done here, or maybe indecision...

I've read someone else puts the ladder as ambition, and the flowers as family/loved ones.


----------



## Flatlander (Feb 25, 2012)

Amusingly, I actually wrote in my notepad:

"A HORSE??? Ugh, why do the living have to intrude on my environment so much?"

I had a cube that floated, bobbed up and down and changed colors lazily. The ladder to the side of the cube, sturdy but not attached, sometimes there and sometimes not. Instead of flowers I saw grass in lazy rows in the background, and the storm was way off and mild, with the horse wandering around quiescently in it. In short, I thought everything else was distraction from the white space and the cube, and tried mostly to push it away.


----------



## snail (Oct 13, 2008)

cube: iridescent, hollow glass, semi-translucent, bigger than a house, floating, rotating, pristine, beautiful
ladder: lying on the ground, rusted metal, unsafe, falling apart
flowers: inside the glass cube, at the very center, a single white lily, no scent, rootless, floating, unreachable, perfect, with butterflies fluttering inside the cube all around it
storm: violent, noisy, wet, giant hailstones pounding, wind strong enough to move a person, thunder shakes the sky, lightning sets the ground on fire
horse: unicorn, glowing white, small and meek, fragile, hungry, wise, pure, touching the cube with its nose and horn


----------



## mushr00m (May 23, 2011)

*The cube*:The cube has no color, just angles and it is floating on top of the paper and rotating at the same time. 
*
The ladder*:The ladder is leaning on someone's window in a busy new york street. Its rustic and wooden. 
*
The flowers*:There are lots of flowers that are starting to lose their potency, the petals are starting to droop. Slight pleasant smell but not long lasting. Slight brown tinge on the end of the petals. I feel sad knowing these flowers are going to be dead soon. The colours make me feel serene.
*
The storm*:The storm is on a big road, I can feel the ground shake. It is very loud but exciting. It makes me feel somewhat nervous.
*
The horse*:The horse is on a green patch of field, the grass is very green. Its a brown horse. It won't let me play or get on his back. It looks irratated, independent and free.:crazy:


----------



## arleccio (Feb 1, 2012)

The *Cube* has no color. It is more of an image than an actual cube. A projection. No physical body. Basically invisible but I know it is there. 
It's floating and slowly rotating in all directions. 

The *Ladder* stands beneath the cube, rather to the edge than the middle. It stands free, not touching anything, not reaching high enough to touch the cube. It's wooden. Neither old nor new. Sturdy. 

The *Flowers* are spread beneath the cube. Wildflowers. Colorful. Red, yellow, blue, green. Many hues and shades. I don't know if they are fragrant. Their sight calms me down. They sway gently in the wind and bathe in sunlight. Like a nice day in late spring or early summer.

The *Storm* is above the cube. Actually all over the place. Makes me wonder where the sunlight beneath the cube comes from. It's grumbling. Reminding the world of it's presence and power. But not actually doing anything. Just waiting. Threatening. It could erupt and destroy everything beneath. Leaving the untouchable cube all alone in that place. The power deep inside the clouds is palpable. Fearsome. Eerie.
It could just as well just go away... 

The *Horse*. Well, I know how it looks and where it stands and so on, but it's too private a thing for me to share... 

However, the horse and the ladder both stand on the patch of gras with the wildflowers beneath the cube. In the sunlight. Unbothered by the storm. As if they don't know it's there.



I thought it was rather interesting that the cube did not change after I knew what it meant. Thanks for sharing this.


----------



## EmpireConquered (Feb 14, 2012)

This test is painfully accurate.. I love it


----------



## Coil (Mar 28, 2012)

This is fun!

Cube (me): Very simple, black edges, floating in mid-air.

Ladder (ambition): Leads up to the cube. (Eh... my goal in life is to find myself? Perhaps).

Flowers (friends/loved ones): Inside the cube. (I ate my friends. :tongue. They're mostly red and purple. Beautiful, but with pointy edges (that does really sound like my friends).

Storm (My problems): Everywhere. Threatens to tear down the ladder (there goes my ambition ). Does not affect the flowers, since they are protected by the cube (like a true INFJ, I protect my friends from problems!).

Horse (My lover): Standing on top of the cube (my submissive side exposed? :laughing. Not affected by the storm (guess the protector needs a protector). Big, black, serious (nnh, nah, doesn't sound like my thing).

All in all, it fits me pretty well, but that might be all about creative interpretation.


----------



## Loki Grim (May 8, 2011)

The Cube:
Transparent, Black biometric finger pad on the top. Floating up into the clouds.

The ladder:
Broken in two, One half of it on each side of the cube.

The flowers: Dead, Black. Fellings somewhere between apathy and peaceful, Hard to describe.

The Storm: Violent, Dark sky lightning.

The horse:
Dead laying a few feet away from the cube. Adjectives: Weak, Damaged, Broken


----------



## Narrator (Oct 11, 2009)

Loki Grim said:


> The horse:
> Dead laying a few feet away from the cube. Adjectives: Weak, Damaged, Broken


D: I worry that attempting to wander into the image/scene would be psychologically damadging, but uhh, Here's a pretend sugar cube that you can 'feed' it?...or it's dead corpse...

And I've never heard someone imagine ladder broken in two before, interesting.


----------



## Dark Romantic (Dec 27, 2011)

I found it really easy to analyze my storm and my horse, but I cannot for the life of me understand the cube, flowers, and ladder that I got. :laughing:


----------



## nam (Feb 18, 2017)

That's cool! But my mind is changing every 2 seconds the pictures/motions.
So i just 'up' this post 

@BranchMonkey it remembers me the kind of tests you maybe would like to do!


----------



## Cephalonimbus (Dec 6, 2010)

I did this years ago but I kind of forgot what it was all supposed to mean so perhaps it's worth giving another shot.



* *




*cube:*
material seems like unpolished silvery metal
rough surface, lots of imperfections, doesn't reflect like a mirror but it's still shiny
rounded/beveled edges
about 1x1x1m
floating (what else would it be doing in a "white space"?)
looking at it from an angle, slightly from above so 3 sides are visible

*ladder:*
to the left of the cube, leaning against something... not sure what, it's out of frame
made of wood, a bit worn out and aged but it looks sturdy
not clear how tall it is

*flowers:*
small white ones, about 30-40. daisies? GG growing in the friggin void.

*storm:*
blowing left to right
dry brown autumn leaves come with it
makes me wonder why the cube and ladder are hanging out here in the void if there are trees nearby... maybe that's what the ladder is leaning on?
ladder is not moving, nor is cube

*horse:*
brown
in the back to the right, facing the cube and ladder
observing the rest of the scene
seems a bit impatient/nervous/frustrated
probably because of the storm





again with the horse lmao... no wonder I'm single >_<


----------



## ninjahitsawall (Feb 1, 2013)

Came across a different variation of this, don't really remember 90% of it so gonna try this one. 

Cube: Opaque, on the ground, blue, small-ish (maybe 1 sq ft.), side facing me. 

Ladder: Leaning against the wall, base next to the cube. 

Flowers: Little flower pot in the corner of the space (room?) the cube is in. Flowers are generally not "ugly", so I guess they're pretty? But nothing fancy. Red and pink mostly. One of those species with flat looking petals, maybe impatiens. No strong scent and I'm not really paying attention to them. 

Storm: The storm is outside, sounds pretty bad, but it probably sounds worse than it really is, because the rain is hitting the roof. 

Horse: Hanging around the flowers. Brown. Freaking out a little because of the sounds of the storm. Looking around to see what's going on. Curious, cautious, solitary (a lot like a cat).


----------



## series0 (Feb 18, 2013)

The cube is often a lie or image-crafting only. Once someone knows of its narrative part, they can masterfully produce results. The real you would not be so wonderful. The real you shows its truth when the chips are down. The real you must make do with far less than imagination and perfect colors allows for.

Far better than the cube is a test of recent real events in your life. Discuss that and you, your friends, ambitions and creations, and the troubles, and your partners; and you have some chance of useful insights.


----------

