One of the memories that doesn't dull with time for me is the thrill I experienced the very first time I sat in a Starwars Arcade Machine. To me, it was about as close as I'd ever come to actually being Luke Skywalker, and I was so excited that my hands were shaking. Even at the time, I remembered the words from the novelization of the Starwars movie by Alan Dean Foster, describing how Luke had felt before setting off in Red five. “...Luke had flown these fighters many times before – on his dreams.”

In these days of ultra realistic VR games, IMAX screens and multiplayer online gaming, it must be hard for the next generation to get their heads around just how awesome it felt to see a vector-graphic version of the Death Star unfolding before my eyes, but for years (And I do mean years) after, I still had recurring dreams based on that mind-blowing moment when I first sat in an X-Wing's cockpit and heard Ben Kenobi's voice in my head.

Gaming Nirvana doesn't happen very often. Even for a geek like me, the chances are that you're only going to fall in love three or four times in your life. For the record, these games for me have been Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri, Elite, Oblivion , Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 – A Century of Flight

The M62, complete with bridges to fly under

So what's special about these games? Well, for me, they all have a unique factor which sets them aside from all their rivals. That factor is that at some point or other whilst playing them, I've looked out of the window or glanced at the clock, and noticed that a whole night has passed by without me realising it.

For a non-gamer, this must seem like the height of lunacy. I'm sure you've heard that you;re supposed to take screen breaks every hour or so, but when you get completely absorbed in a game it really is quite possible to lose all track of time and even forget who or where you are. That's Gaming Nirvana, and if you've never experienced it, chances are you're not likely to.

Annoying tourists at the Ribble Head Viaduct

Jonny, a friend of mine is mad keen on climbing. I'm talking about proper climbing, involving ropes and metal loops and those funny little slippers. He once wrote an article about why he does it, in which he challenged the traditional “Because it's there” argument. To him, the reasons for climbing run much deeper.

Hopping over to ArkSanctum HQ at Skipton

What Jonny is describing here is climbing as meditation. It reminds me of something I read many years ago about a nun who ran marathons. In the interview she gave, she said “The race becomes a prayer. It becomes something you offer to God.” It makes sense to me now, after spending many years enjoying the tedious monotony and isolation of long-distance jogging that she would think that way.

Bombing run ready. Target - Frampton!

But I've climbed with Jonny quite a few times in the past, and never found a trace of that absorption. However, I have found it flying kites. I've even found it writing, once or twice. (Even if the end result isn't always as good as you would hope that a transcendent experience would lead to!) So if these activities are truly meditative, does this mean I've stumbled on the magic formula? Could it be that any activity that takes up your brain's activity is a valid meditation? I've seen graphs and technologically impressive printouts that show brain activity producing some pretty mad results under transcendental meditation. But if the hobby is absorbing enough, could it be that it's every bit as effective to go fishing?

Jordanthorpe School - Still in once piece on FS2004!

Well, I hope so, because for me, there are very few things I enjoy more than taking off from Huddersfield's air strip in a single-seater microlight, flying over Strines Moor to Ladybower Reservoir and then on to Coal Aston airport via Hathersage and Holmesfield. As soon as I'm up over Black Hill, I can feel the tension of the day slipping away and I can sit back and relax, without even having to leave the comfort of my computer chair.

Yes, it's sad. But I enjoy it. I don't just mean I think it's fun. I mean it's one of the things I look forward to. It matters to me that I get to pretend I'm flying a plane. At least once a week... And there are more up-to-date versions of Flight Simulator on the market. But I don't own the sort of giddy processing power needed to run FSX, and besides, I've installed dozens of add-ons over the months. From Yorkshire Mill buildings to extra jet liners. It would be a shame to lose them now.

My favourite place in the world. Cadir Idris Mountain; North Wales

I've never been cut out for a life of prayer. I think enlightenment is something I wasn't born for. But, in my own little way, I've learned how to find my own tranquil place. Just give me a ten knot cross wind and a grassy runway with light traffic and I'm as happy as a ten-year-old boy who's just blown up the Death Star.

Gentle Breezes to play in over Apperknowle. AKA "Dad's View"