Ask a Dark Sider.

If you believe in the Force, then the Force dictates your path...if that were not true then you wouldn't refer to yourself as Sith, or Jedi, or what-have-you...so the question, in my mind, is not, "What would the darkies do?" or "Is there a dark side?" or anything of that nature. The question is, "If you're on the journey, how can it matter how you arrive?"

I don't know tho...after all the "conversing" and reading I've done over the past few days, I'm beginning to wonder just how "sith" I truly am. :laugh:

Hey, William, there's a question for you...Is it possible to be Sith, and not believe in the "dark side"?

Firstly I do not call myself sith, nor do I consider myself to be a “lightsider” or “darksider”…I am simply jedi….though most would consider me grey…truthfully I think all those terms simply try to pigeon hole unique individuals…for our older members that have read my ip, apprentice, and bdiv journals none of what follows will be new or surprising, since I frequently mentioned it…for newer members…well some of it will probably surprise you or change your thoughts of me… c’est la vie

So, tell me: What is your view of a "dark side"? How do you perceive darkness? Is it a perspective? Or, is it a literal thing?

The dark side in my view is that of human nature, not the force. The force has no side it simply is the force, the light or dark aspects are aspects of the individual follower…”your focus determines your reality”(qui gon jinn).

Darkness is a collective of mostly negative aspects of humanity ie: greed, lust, desire, cowardice, jealousy, anger, hate, rage, etc…of course it’s also a matter of perspective…the psycho on death row may see themself as the beacon of light and others as evil …”from my point of view the jedi are evil”(Anakin skywalker)…most people’s perspective of light and dark is based on a general consensus of what is or isn’t socially acceptable, they then list what is acceptable as light and what isn’t as dark…and for some people perspective and literal are one in the same…

1. What drew you to the dark path? Why did you choose to follow the dark path over the Jedi path?

Once there was a child, he was frequently bullied/beat up every day at the bus stop, at the school playground, then the bus stop again. This child would then go home where he was abused by a cocaine addicted stepfather. This child lived with the fear of being hurt both physically and psychologically, he lived feeling a complete lack of control in his life. He began playing with the dead bodies of animals because he could control them…not content to wait for a body to present itself he began torturing and killing animals and found the thrill of controlling the very existence of another life form to be overwhelmingly joyful, each day finding more enjoyable and cruel new ways to kill animals. He was in control of this part of his pitiful existence…he had touched power…as time drew on he began using more and more of his hatred for everyone first taking it out on the animals…eventually he began turning his hatred towards people…he always justified it by defending others that experienced his same pain…one day during a session of exercising control over the life of another animal, he looked into its eyes as it drew its final breath, and he felt the emptiness left in death’s wake…then he felt the weight of all his hatred and all the lives he had taken to that point come barreling through…the force had sparked a change within him…however he has never abandoned that part of him…simply set it aside, then later incorporated it into his new self…two halves of the same whole…

Typically a good number of children that torture and kill animals for “fun” eventually move on to larger game(people) and spend their lives in prison…I was fortunate enough to have been spared that fate, even though I was well on my way towards it…

In short I was drawn to it because of the appeal of power and control in a time of my life where I had no power or control…it gave me joy when there was no joy to be had…it gave me strength of will and spirit that lasts to this day…it forged the person I am…it probably also had to do with the fact that i grew up surrounded by racism, sexism, drug abuse, etc...children often mimic their environment

2. Do you consider the dark path the "evil" path? Or is it just a "different" path from the Jedi way? How so?

Is the dark path evil? No..not inherently…the only “evil” is in the individual…some that follow that path could be viewed as evil, but there are very few of those…most simply have a strong inward focus that makes them appear selfish or sinister, when in fact they are neither…

yes it is just a different path to the same end, most sith/darksiders have the same goal as jedi, they simply take a “me first” approach to reaching those goals…after all how can you help someone else if you can’t help yourself…

3. In real life, how do you explain to other people that you are a follower of the dark path? Don't people think you are a bad person if you tell them you follow a "dark" path? How do you justify it to other people?

Ah, I don’t follow that path anymore, I follow my own path wherever it meanders…as to others...well I’ve never cared what others thought about me and I seldom feel the need to explain myself to anyone…people base their judgments on first impressions, which usually are appearance based. They may later change their judgments once new information is available…

As far as justifying it…don’t have to do that now…never felt the need to justify it before, people can take me as I am or not at all…

That was very good. Scary but good.

Well yes, but that's all in the getting. What would I use that power for? That's the question. "Through power, I gain victory, through victory my chains are broken."

The goal is success in whatever we choose to level our sights upon. Mine are upon my aspirations towards getting fit and becoming a writer.

Power, any power, is neutral. It's the application that makes it dark or light.

So what is it about the dark side of the power that you need to get what you want?

I don't think you're a Sith, maybe confused about what you are and exploring to discovering that but not a Sith.

:woohoo: scary....I'll give you scar...,.no... better not, nevermind. I will add that I HEAVILY watered down my "take" on things in the Jedi/Sith forum for the sake of the kiddies! I don't know, perhaps it would make for a good journal entry, anyways Thank you RyuJin for sharing that, its nice to read the trials and tribulations from others who have walked both "paths", its much appreciated!

I am going to quote a document I've read.

As mentioned in my companion text Lapis Philosophicus [1] regarding the apparent
division of the journey to wisdom into a Right Hand Path and Left Hand Path:
" The 'outer secret' of the inner, the real, the living, alchemy is that the end and the result of both our apparently separate journeys is the same; the same place, the same understanding, the same knowledge. For wisdom is undivided, the same for all of us, whatever we believed or assumed when we began. Or expressed another way, lapis philosophicus is what it is, and always has been, and does what it does, and always has done, in terms of how it affects and changes those few who have succeeded in their decades-long endeavour and thus discovered it, and discovered it where it has always been hidden."

Furthermore, this work as one moves after decades of pathei-mathos toward The Abyss of necessity involves a living of the sinisterly-numinous. For those of the LHP – having followed 'the sinister' – living numinously for a period of some years; for those of the RHP – having followed 'the numinous' – living sinisterly for a period of some years. For such a living (and the pathei-mathos which of necessity is part of it) is a means to know, to live (to move toward becoming) the natural balance, the Life, beyond abstracted opposites and all abstractions. There develops thus a knowing of Wyrd, an Aeonic perspective, taking the 'sinister' individual beyond personal destiny, beyond the self, and far beyond the attempted, the primitive, deification of the ego of the charlatans and the novices of one particular 'path'. After which follows the ordeal of The Abyss which, for both types, both paths, is a living alone for a month or more in a certain difficult if simple manner, as for example outlined in the traditional Camlad rite of the abyss.

There is only lapis philosophicus and its individual discovery. There are only those, on their own individual journeyings, journeying in their own way in their own species of Time, and who may or may not arrive at their planned destination. For we are life, the Cosmos; we are Time beyond its perceived illusive dichotomy and are and have been and will be Being, presenced and unpresenced, particular and general, past-present future, and beyond the illusion, the deception, of 'a being' and of 'beings'.

One of the issues I have with the Jedi religion is that I am having a hard time seeing that it is a religion at all, only that it is claimed to be a religion. (I have a Masters in Religious Science). Most of the components one -normally- associates with a religion are lacking in the Jedi religion, and we would also categorise it as a New Age movement.
In this context, I am surprised to see that you are one of the more 'religious' in that you refer to the Star Wars lore and core philosophies more than most. So big lead-up I know, but the question is then how important is the Star Wars religion to you? By that I mean, are the other religious/spiritual traditions one would associate with the 'dark side' just as central to your beliefs, or do you mainly identify with the Star Wars lore and a religion based primarily on that.

Very good question. A question I certainly need to reflect on. Thank you.

William, allow me to answer the question of can a Sith be a Jedi-

They can certainly demonstrate actions of a Jedi, just as a Jedi may demonstrate some actions of a Sith. At Force Academy, OCS and the Light Council had a battle over a word in a document OCS produced for the introduction to a book we are compiling. The word was "conniving" as it relates to the Light Aspect. The reason is that the Light are not conniving (which insinuates that there is a blatant disregard for the law), however we do allow for Sith trait of manipulation (which was the word proposed to replace "conniving") to achieve our goals of bettering the community around us.

At the end of the day, no, a Sith cannot be a Jedi- but they can become a Jedi if they choose to and find value in the path. At Force Academy, all three councils acknowledge the usefulness of each path and are completely fine with the decisions of members to choose whatever path that will benefit their inner convictions (personal, society or a mixture of both [I think that's how the Shadow work...I've never fully understood that particular path...and if it were not for a Shadow, none of you would have known my name! lol]) in the long run.

Iron Wings: I don't see it as a religion, to me it's a philosophy/way of life-which is the defining difference between a Jedi Realist and a follower of Jediism.

Rickie wrote: Power, any power, is neutral. It's the application that makes it dark or light.

So what is it about the dark side of the power that you need to get what you want?

It's the core fundamentals that I enjoy. It's the control and use of passion and the primal nature of man. It's rising up to become better than others for the sake of one's self and one's goals, rather than dedication and service.

Alethea Thompson wrote: William, allow me to answer the question of can a Sith be a Jedi-

Alethea, your input is always welcome with me. I personally believe the Shadows interpret their ways on an individual level like the Dark Aspect do. But they are a mysterious lot when they want to be. I wish Azrael did more talking and less lurking though.

Iron Wings, I do not like Jediism or Sithism as the concept behind a religion, but that's just me. I treat it as a path of philosophic enlightenment and personal development. For those who wish to make it a religion, that's fine with me, as with many things, until it brings harm to another, against their will.

As for other religions, no, I don't have any. What I do follow, however, are ideologies, and the two I identify with most are Norse/Asatru, and LaVeyan Satanism. I refer to the lore at times when I find that it's appropriate subject matter or I don't have a Realist's answer. The lore laid the foundations for what we have and we've built on it heavily. It's not our gospel or mythology, but there's enough philosophic work within the fiction to quote at times. The Bane novels and the I, Jedi novel are prime examples of this.

I began Force Realism through studying different religions. That's part of what I started doing as a Sith; theology. To me, it's the interpretation of fictional values to fit our reality, as well as the re-examination of older works to fit our present culture, such as the New Age aspects of the movement, as well as the Pagan Jedi, among others.