Steve's Selfish Article vs. Lightworking / Darkworking

[4Mind4Life]

It seems as though Steve's "How Selfish Are You?" article is contradictory to the Polarity articles... In this article he describes why you should align both STS (service to self) and STO (service to others):

There’s a good chance you find yourself in a situation where STS and STO are in conflict. Maybe it’s your work, your relationship, or your family. Take some time to think about how you could set these two powerful forces in harmony. Instead of having them work against each other, set them both after the same goal. Allow your greed to fuel your service and your service to fuel your greed. Accept and integrate both the selfish and the selfless parts of you. Learn to use both the dark and the light sides of your nature.

While in this Polarity article he says you ultimately lose by not picking a side: serving yourself (darkworking) or serving the greater good (lightworking)...

If you use the polarity of creation and giving (outflow), you will experience a surge of related emotions such as love, joy, and inspiration.

If you use the polarity of acquisition and receiving (inflow), you will experience a surge of related emotions such as greed, lust, and power.

These polarized emotional states are incompatible with each other, which is what we’d expect as a result of the underlying energies being incompatible. However, a peak emotional state on either side can be labeled as a form of passion. On either side you will experience intense, highly motivating emotional states.

Have his opinions changed since the first article? (which seems to contradict the second article)...

Any feedback would be great (particularly from Steve).

THANKS

[Brutha]

I don't know whether Steves opinions have changed in this case, but Steve is a human being that changes his opinion from time to time.

Steve also doesn't happen to believe that there is one right way to do things but sometimes explores different perspectives in his blog post that can be incompatible.
His general goal is to get people to make conscious decisions for their own life and therefore there no problem with presenting perspectives in blog posts that contradict each other.

Check out the "Beyond Religion"-podcast if you want to get more about that type of thinking.

[Andrew Gubb]

Yeah, this contridiction pops up quite a lot and it confused me.

Now that I've developed my ideas I think he was just wrong: there is nothing "dark" about self-interest. I've seen a running motif of selfishness being bad through his stuff - his christian brainwashing, I guess.

Lightworking involves love energy, and love energy can be directed towards oneself. Seeing as you are the person who you most live with, you'll do so more of the time than anyone else.

Creation, though, tends to flow outwards, but only because you make more than you can enjoy yourself.

LW for me is when you realise that your own body is just as worthy of love as, and no more than any other body.

[supertom]

Hes using a different lens in the two articles.

[4Mind4Life]

Thanks for the feedback all! I seemed to have thought this out on my own.

Either Steve has changed from the STS + STO model perspective to a lightworking / darkworking perspective....

OR...

The TWO articles relate - though I don't know if Steve intended this relation...

Choosing either Lightworking OR darkworking will automatically align STS with STO even though you're focusing primarily on the other. For example, if you chose Lightworking, providing STO will automatically result in gratitude, positive feedback, etc. >>> generating an indirect STS.

Whereas choosing darkworking the primary focus would be STS, getting you what you needed and where you needed. You would also be indirectly providing STO - [even though this wouldn't be the primary focus].

OR... maybe I misinterpreted and Steve has a different explanation that I'd be interested in reading.

THANKS

[Angela Leeds]

I don't know anything about Steve's personal take on it, but I do know that the human body is as much a manifestation of Creation as what one might create in service. I just don't see a difference between lightworking in the sense of what one gives to others vs what one gives to self. Creation by extension of who one Is is always just that, no matter the form or context.

In fact, for someone to be truly Self-realized seems to me the ultimate service and gift to humanity...it raises the vibration on the planet, demonstrates what is possible, and makes it easier and faster for those coming along behind to find their way. And it is achieved only thru embracing Oneness, Love, Power, and Truth.

At the same time, "service to others" isn't necessarily enlightened & noble, even tho the person doing the serving may feel virtuous. It may actually be based on a premise that those being served are weak & powerless. That's "shadow-working", in my book...someone who conceives of himself as a lightworker, but doesn't realize the he is acting from a place of fear and separation.

Is there anyone else here who sees this? I haven't come across anyone else as yet on the forum who recognizes this distinction.

[JeremyFM]

I think he is being perfectly consistent. Here is how... lets say you decide that you want to choose lightworking as your path. You will still most likely have selfish emotions. There is no way to 'cure' or counter selfish emotions, however it only requires a simple mindset to make them work for your chosen polarity. For example: if my selfish desire is to have a website that is well known and everyone likes it, I can realize that achieving that desire will teach me character and probably some wisdom, so I will be better equipped to help others with similar desires. From that mindset my selfish emotion is now polarized to lightwork.

[Channing]

Steve has said AFAIK that at higher levels of consciousness LW and DW end up often doing the same things, the only difference being the intention behind their actions.

For example, it would be useful for both a LW and a DW to have a healthy body in order to get the things done that they want.

Another example would that both a LW and a DW would want to have a family. The LW would want to experience the love and the DW would would maybe do it for vanity.