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Jedi/Sith... light, dark?
- Wescli Wardest
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- Unity in all Things
Bruce Lee...“Truth has no path. Truth is living and, therefore, changing. Awareness is without choice, without demand, without anxiety; in that state of mind, there is perception. To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person. Awareness has no frontier; it is giving of your whole being, without exclusion.”
Jiddu Krishnamurti..."Truth is a pathless land."
It seems that very often I read about “the Dark Path” and people wanting to explore aspects of it or follow those teachings. And several times it has been suggested that we offer insight into those teachings, ideals or philosophies. I have no problem with this line of thought or the idea of people wanting to know that side more intimately… after all; it takes all types to make the world go round!
Through my own time and studies here I find that the Force encompasses all aspects of what mankind knows to be “good” and “evil”, “light” or “dark.” I also find that as one journeys down the path of Jediism they will discover that as they learn one, they will learn the other in retrospect. That does not mean that because I am a Knight of Jediism I am qualified to teach the dark aspects of the Force by any means. But I am not ignorant to it or its "ideals".
I feel that as one becomes aware of their own connection to the Force (the whole) they discover that it is all part of one big all. I also feel that Jediism is not the quest for making “good” people, but rather discovering self, and in turn acceptance. If I were to take all my wisdom from one train of thought, it would quickly become ridged and stagnate. I do not look at a quarter (piece of U.S. money) and compare it to Jediism and the back as Sithism. I do not look at the quarter and say “the Force.” I understand that the quarter is just a part of a monetary system, and that is just one function in a universal whole.
I think that many would say that I am a “good” person or Jedi, but I just… am. It is how people perceive my actions and deeds as to how they view me. And I feel that same truth applies to all peoples and things.
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It has been mentioned, by me and many others here (and elsewhere), several times...the path is just the path light and darkness are determined by the actions (and attitudes) of the walker and the opinions of the onlookers.
The Force is neither "light" nor "dark" it is what I choose to make of it. I can either live in harmony and accord with the Force, which would tend to look like I'm being a "good" person and I would likely be called Jedi. Or I can choose to live adversely to the Force and try to bend it to my will, which would tend to look like I'm being an "evil" person and I would likely be called a Sith. But in the end there is only the Force and how I interact with it, and only I can know how I think and feel in my deepest thoughts and heart of hearts, so only I can make the call, Jedi or Sith...
But none of that matters as, in the end, there is no good or evil or light or dark or Jedi or Sith...there is only the path and the walkers of it. And whether one wishes to admit it or not, they are walking the path; just sometimes, some people don't realize it.

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I find that I ask myself...what do 'light' and 'dark' actually mean?
What in their meaning are we associating with Jedi and Sith?
The way I see it, the main difference is to do with life...things fester and die in the dark, but grow and multiply in the light...
Many Sith seem to happily refer to themselves as 'dark', but is their path not their own personal light, where life and growth take place?
Similarly, we here are Jedi, but is everything in our lives healthy and fruitful?
I could not in all good conscience try to pretend that I do not have some areas which are more stagnant...
Perhaps some would disagree, I just find that unless someone is purposefully trying to hurt themselves, their personal path must be their 'light' and the opposing paths of others would be their 'dark'...
So to a Sith, who is to say that Jedi are not dark?
And more importantly, who is to say that they are wrong?
Would that not make the terms 'light' and 'dark' little more than meaningless labels?
That makes me think of labels on jars in food cupboards...they tell you that something different is in Jar A to what is in Jar B, but they do not describe the true essence of what is in the jars...
B.Div | OCP
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- Alexandre Orion
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The Tao doesn't take sides;
it gives birth to both good and evil.
The Master doesn't take sides;
she welcomes both saints and sinners. The Tao is like a bellows:
it is empty yet infinitely capable.
The more you use it, the more it produces;
the more you talk of it, the less you understand. Hold on to the centre.
This argument is like unto the Cold War – it was neither Day all the time in the West Bloc nor Night always over the East – and regardless which ideology one held, the Earth turned all the same, changing days and dates and 'twix New Moon and Full the face stays quite whole .... And as with Daylight to Nightshade, there are those fussy, fuzzy, in-between of dawn or dusk wherein it is neither and both at once …
One can choose to call oneself Jedi or Sith as one could choose to live in the West or the East, but this will not keep sunrises and sunsets from happening – nor should it keep the Moon full nor New. One cannot choose to keep the high tide to shun the low …
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MTFBWYAAF
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A study of the "Darkside" is a study of the sublimated aspects of yourself. Your self interest, your psychotic potential,your ability to do harm rather than good.
It's very important to understand those aspects of ourselves and that potential that lies within us. Self knowledge is a primary aspect of what we do.
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- Alethea Thompson
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Light and Dark were terms used to explain how one operates in their environment in relation to society.
When we talked in terms of "Light Aspect"/"Jedi" and "Dark Aspect"/"Sith", it represented the mission of these philosophies. Light strives to aide their fellow man, Dark seeks to fuel their own personal pursuits. The Shadow were more focused on internal growth.
Noel Vock, a former head of the Dark Aspect at Force Academy, once made the statement that he was dark because he was not yet light. He felt that he needed to fully understand himself and his darkness, while reaching his personal dreams, before he could move on and join the light's mission to help others.
Westcli, if you ever came to the FA, I would recommend you to the Shadow Aspect. I believe both you and the Aspect would benefit greatly from each other.
Gather at the River,
Setanaoko Oceana
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Alethea Thompson wrote: It wasn't a decade ago that the majority of the community came to a conclusion that these were merely descriptions of one's actions.
Ally, you can't assume people know these things. People have not been around that long and the wheel is constantly being reinvented.
There is probably a guy out there, starting a jedi website, completely ignorant to the fact that a community already exists.
You can't be surprised when people come to conclusions though the evolutions of ideas even if you consider them old news.
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Some of our members like to take a step back from the fictional Jedi how ever these are just stories. Telling stories is the single thing that makes humans unique. Dont step away from stories.
Having said that there are some key points in my findings.
@ Wescli
There is no ignorance, there I knowledge.
Knowing something doesn't mean you should use that knowledge.
"It is the duty of the Jedi to use the Force to protect others, not study its absolute limits. Testing the Force to its limits would lead to the dark side."
Knowledge is power. Power corrupts while absolute power corrupts absolutely. I wont preach ignorance but knowing the consequences of the knowledge you seek.
@ V-Tog
If there is no dark side...than why do we need Jedi? We already have police and scientists. :dry:
If we're Jedi its because we have something others dont.
-If a criminal shoots two men and both fall but after a little one of them stands back up you know one of the men has something the other doesn't.
-If two men jump off a plain on lands safely on his feet but the other hits the ground like a ripe tomato you know one has something the other doesn't.
-If we already have police and scientist but we call ourselves "Jediist" there has to be something we have that other protectors and learners don't. What would that be?
@Alluvius
Your 100% correct. The Force isn't light or dark but our culture labels things as such to try and understand it. Nothing wrong with that. We've used the word "God" for that very same reason. Calling something dark side and light side doesn't mean that one is better than the other. To much light can corrupt to much dark can corrupt. Balance is the philosophy of life and so the Jedi serve life.
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