Ok so i understand that we are real Jedi's and not the movie Jedi's, but no doubt we've all seen the movies. I have come to understand that there is another sect of Jediism called Sithism for those who choose to embrace the Dark side of the force. In Revenge of the Sith Senator Palpatine (also Darth Sidious) tells anakin that in order to be completely be one with the force you must embrace all aspects of the living force. This includes the knowledge of the dark side. In the book Yoda: Dark Rendezvous by Stan Stewart, Stan tells about Yoda embracing the dark side of the force and coming back strong thus continuously proving how much of a Master Yoda is. Is this true in the sense of our religion that in order to truly be one with the living force you must embrace all aspects of the force even those that are darker?

Maybe not "embrace"...

How about study, and try to understand?

I also moved this thread to the General Discussions Forum...

Let's be honest, is there a way to be human and not "embrace" the dark aspects of life?

Everyone knows fear, everyone knows anger. We experience those emotions, maybe get carried away by them sometimes. And yes, I do believe that this is important in order to be able to understand the impact and power of those emotions and to understand how to deal with them. And that is the key part, I believe.

We are all human, and as such we can't not experience these emotions. But we decided to become Jedi, which means that we acknowledge the fact that these emotions exist and that they play a part in our life, but we attempt to find balance and peace in a way that we are not driven or controlled by our emotions, but aware of their presence and hopefully aware of how we can control them - that is, to stay as objective as possible even in the face of fear or anger - and not be helplessly controlled by them.

This might not quite be the answer you are looking for but here it goes...


There are various meanings of all aspects of the force, both light and dark.

We as humans can't help but to embrace the basics of our nature.


Anger for example, we can be angry that something that should have happened , didn't. A promotion didn't come thru. Someone sniped a trinket we were bidding on from Ebay. That anger is fleeting, and human , and in normal circumstances , subsides quickly.

Anger for example can also represent a serious slight to us by someone. When someone seriously injures a family member, or maybe property, this can bring out anger that borders on rage. Some of us may have experienced this. This anger stays with us, days...weeks. perhaps longer. This is the anger we as Jedi are trying to keep in check.

You know...from a certain point of view!

Please correct me if I am off on this.

MTFBWY-A

If we think about a computer game, there are many ways of approaching it. If we turn the difficulty onto the hardest setting then we force ourselves to learn innovative ways of completing it, indeed we get better just from having to try harder.

As with emotion, if we expose ourselves to that which is difficult and we overcome it then we are stronger.

'That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger.' While that statement is not true for all cases, certainly learning more and getting more experience is good.

To ignore negative emotion is fear in itself as well as ignorance. We are scared of being exposed to it, so when we are we are unsure how to react. But if we know about it from the get go we are much more prepared to handle difficult situations in the future.

My own opinion supports that of Sidious. How can you be at one with something when you don't understand half of it?

As Jestor said, you may not need to embrace the other half, but you are at no benefit by remaining ignorant of it.

I totally agree. Knowledge is universal and it's always good to know. Knowledge has never been divided into Greek or Roman, European or American, dark or light. The only question is what will each person do with that knowledge.

Know The Force so that you are neither blinded by the light or helpless in the dark.

@ Bluesummers

Hi Bluesummers,

You mentioned in the Shout posts that you are a Sith at heart.

How do you, as a Sith, embrace the Dark Side? As a Jedi, I really like what Br. John said and I agree with it at this stage of my journey. As a Sith, are you basically doing the same thing, but just leaning on the Dark Side part, or do you fully embrace it? And again, what does that mean to you to embrace it?

I look forward to your response.

(And welcome back from your hiatus!)