Is Steve secretly a Darkworker?

[Still Growing]

After reading Steve's recent post about "Polarity and your Career" it was my opinion that he viewed himself as a lightworker rather than a darkworker. He utilized a lot of negative labels for darkworkers and very positive ones for lightworkers.

If a person is truely a lightworker to the core then they will constantly think of others while sacrificing for themselves.

If a true lightworker wrote a blog they would:

1. Answering people's emails just to help them. It may not be productive or the best use of your time but its truely giving.
2. The ads you see to the left would primarily be for good causes regardless if they derived income.
3. Most of the posts would be about giving to others rather than building yourself.
4. The majority of income would be given to charity.

I am not judging Steve because I too am a darkworker who tries to give to others and contribute to society. If someone is rude to me I'll give them a compliment.

It can be good business to put forward a positive light and help others but if its bad for business then watch me change course.

I believe Steve is the same.

I'm now looking to the left of me and I see an ad "Abundant Lifestyle" "Create your dream lifestyle with this quality business at www.skyhiprofits.com" Hmmmm. Seems like only a darkworker would accept such an ad.

It is my belief that people are neither completely good or completely bad. In life people don't wear black capes to identify themselves.

I agree 100% that the polarity one puts forth needs to be charge to truely be effective however don't forget that people can categorize polarities.

Examples are:
1. You can write only about giving but in your advertising only be taking.
2. You can donate money to charity and be praised when you tell people about it.

Do you think Steve is ultimately a lightworker or darkworker?

[Kingston]

Originally Posted by Still Growing

Do you think Steve is ultimately a lightworker or darkworker?

Steve is a lightworker.

Read a lot more of his articles to heighten your consciousness. Then you will be able to easily judge someones polarization and polarity.

His recent articles, from before he introduced the polarity concept, are a bit biased towards the 'light', because he was working on subjective reality without fear. You will find your own side by perceiving your feelings in the present and reliving profound experiences from the past.

Take care.

[Erin Pavlina]

One of the traps many lightworkers fall into is thinking they cannot be rich when others are poor. They cannot have while others have not, because that would be selfish. But it's a trap. One I used to be caught in until Steve cleared things up for me.

I never thought it was right for me to be rich while others were poor. And then Steve said, "How many people could you help if you were poor yourself? Could you afford to give a homeless person a thousand dollars?" I of course said no because it would mean I would starve.

So he said, "How many homeless people could you help if you had an extra million dollars lying around?" And that's when it hit me. That as a lightworker I actually had a responsibility to increase my resources to a point where I had so much excess that I could easily give it away to others in a way that was very meaningful. Rather than give a homeless man a quarter or a dollar or a bag of bagels, if I was a millionaire I could open a shelter and house dozens of homeless people and take care of their needs for years, and even work on getting them off the street and earning their own living.

And look at it from the homeless people's perspective. Would they rather get a dollar from a lightworker or a place to live permanently from a lightworker?

When you increase your own capacity, you increase your capacity to help others. That is the responsibility of being a lightworker.

[Still Growing]

Erin,
I agree with you that one can be a Lightworker and still be prosperous.

My contention is really the whole definition of lightworker versus darkworker.

This all starts from the first post on polarity. I agree that when someone focuses on a particular polarity that they will be more effective at that time. Where the polarity issue seems to go grey is when we discuss one's life as being lived as a lightworker or darkworker. I truly believe that people are more complex and its almost impossible to really be one or the other.

It seems that labeling good versus evil is all to simple as people can have very complex motivations behind their actions.

To be successful, I contend that you can mix polarities in your actions (you could think about greed while drumming up advertisers but still ultimately have good intentions and be ultimately a lightworker). This doesn't mean that you don't have core things you will never be led from it just means that one can focus on the inhale polarity of gaining knowledge and focus on oneself and then switch focus on the exhale polarity of using it to help and putting it out there for people.

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Still Growing

If a true lightworker wrote a blog they would:

1. Answering people's emails just to help them. It may not be productive or the best use of your time but its truely giving.
2. The ads you see to the left would primarily be for good causes regardless if they derived income.
3. Most of the posts would be about giving to others rather than building yourself.
4. The majority of income would be given to charity.

This would make for a rather inefficient lightworker.... someone I'd describe as having lightworker syndrome. It seems like such a person would care more about looking like s/he's doing good in the eyes of others rather than being committed to doing what's best.

Think about it. If you had an extra million dollars as a lightworker, what would be the best use of it? Give it away to charity? That is indeed a good usage for many people. But what if you can use that money more efficiently than the charity? What if you already have an outlet for service that could be greatly expanded with that money, putting it to better use than a charity would? Then I'd say you should use the money to expand your own service, such as by building a staff of people to help you.

Being a lightworker doesn't mean being lazy and inefficient. It's reasonable to put some serious effort into optimizing and increasing your capacity to contribute. If I didn't believe that, I'd still be working in the gaming industry.

Triage is often necessary. If you genuinely care about helping people, you must learn to say no to the smaller good, so you can say yes to the greater good.

[Still Growing]

What is interesting is that both can be right.

It is so interesting that two people can be speaking and there can be a disagreement with both people believing their point is more valid. Ultimately they can both be right.

I really think its about perspective.

Words really are poor uses of thought when it comes to efficiency. What I want to say and what it is perceived that I am saying I am afraid will go misunderstood.

I want to be clear that I am pro Steve, believe he is good and love his work.

I have read every single entry on his archive page (pretty dedicated), have read one book a month for the last 10 years on personal development and have been pretty successful in life. But when I perceived Steve to be saying that one cannot be as efficient by going back and forth between polarities I disagree.

In many of the other posts by people I've heard people argue you can use both at the same time and still be effective and I've heard people argue that you can only be one or the other. I seem to be the only one saying that you can go back and forth and even multiple times throughout the day.

There is a time to push and a time to pull. A time to inhale a time to exhale. I time to take and a time to give. Focusing on one motivation at a time while maintaining your ultimate lightworker outcome is ideal.

Labels are dangerous and ultimate statements or conclusions are even more dangerous. People can generally be good or generally be evil but complete focus on only giving will not lead to success and complete focus on only taking will not lead to success.

Most people who read stevepavlina.com do so for personal development for the ultimate outcome of personal gain (in happines or in money). Through their study they main grow interested in contributing to society as well.

This goes back to Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs and the level of Self Actualization.

As our needs are met we can choose to spend even more time on the greater good but take away food, sleep and shelter and the entire perspective changes drastically and so do your motivations.

My point is that people can have great intentions and dedicate their lives towards helping others but there is a time to utilize positive polarities and a time to use negative. It doesn't mean that you cannot mix the two but doing so at the same time on the same event will not give you the desired results.

[Still Growing]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

This would make for a rather inefficient lightworker.... someone I'd describe as having lightworker syndrome. It seems like such a person would care more about looking like s/he's doing good in the eyes of others rather than being committed to doing what's best.

Think about it. If you had an extra million dollars as a lightworker, what would be the best use of it? Give it away to charity? That is indeed a good usage for many people. But what if you can use that money more efficiently than the charity? What if you already have an outlet for service that could be greatly expanded with that money, putting it to better use than a charity would? Then I'd say you should use the money to expand your own service, such as by building a staff of people to help you.

Being a lightworker doesn't mean being lazy and inefficient. It's reasonable to put some serious effort into optimizing and increasing your capacity to contribute. If I didn't believe that, I'd still be working in the gaming industry.

Triage is often necessary. If you genuinely care about helping people, you must learn to say no to the smaller good, so you can say yes to the greater good.

Steve,

I agree 100% with what you said above.

When I mentioned about you not donating all money to charity what I'm really trying to say is that by your definition of a lightworker you are I are not one all the time.

I have a very successful business myself and I often feel good about the good I can do through my donations. I dont' worry about money and so I have time to give time to friends for example. But I am not a lightworker through and through.

The better I do I can help others but I still do vain things. I still possess greed and I will ultimately put myself before others. I don't believe I'm ultimately a darkworker but I realize that I possess both polarities.

What has made me successful is having a clear intent and then focusing my actions towards the outcome I wish to manifest.

Inside do we all possess greed, vanity and lust? I believe we all do.

Napolean Hill's "Think and Grow Rich" listed Sexual Transmutation as being one key to success. I think that for successful Lightworkers there must be some transmutations of certain underlying motivations whether they be greed,etc.

[Frankie]

Still Growing....

Thank you for your replies. My thoughts exactly.

I am a huge Steve fan. I have referred tons of people to his blog. I love it. I love the way he approaches things. He has given me hope that I can be a better person.

But this polarity thing - no matter which way I slice it just seems like a huge self-deception. In the most recent blog about career and polarity, it made more sense because it seemed like Steve was simply talking about ways to approach doing work.

For instance... I have an assignment in front of me, and I must get down to business and work hard on it. The person who isn't clear about whether they want to do the assignment to benefit others or if they want to do the assignment to further their own career will somehow have those two energies flowing at the same time, negating each other, and ultimately not get the assignment done as quickly or as well as the person who feels singularly motivated by something. The person that is truly committed at their core to do the assignment to improve the lives of people and the person who is truly committed at their core to furthuring their career.... both of these people will be more effective workers.

That makes sense. But to make this a life code that people live by? Either building yourself up or building up other people and to think that EVERY SINGLE decision you will ever make will be motivated by one of those extremes? It just feels WRONG. It feels like a lie. As Still Growing said.... people are more complicated than that.

I guess I feel like, in this instance, personal development is being taken too far.... when it gets to the point where we have to label ourselves as light or dark and that is the only way that we can believe that we are going to do truly great things...... I feel that a line has been crossed here.

I think there is some value to having a singular motivation in certain isolated instances. But I'm not sure that being fully polarized for one's entire life is at all realistic.

And I am still not convinced that steve is fully polarized. Steve - do you take nice vacations? Do you buy nice clothes? Do you live in a house that is *just* big enough or do you have a bonus room with a pool table?

I completely understand what you're saying that for someone to give to the world, they must satisfy their own needs first. And that's not just food/water/shelter.... that's a lot of different things. I understand that you need a vacation from time to time to get away, clear your head, and relax so that you can provide good articles for people like me who read them and feel inspired. I understand that nice clothes might make you feel good and might increase your confidence and, thus, further improve your ability to give back. I understand that if you and your family didn't have enough space to really relax at home, then you might feel compressed, uncomfortable, and a bit unhappy.

Pretty much anything that you give yourself... you can justify that you need it in order to do your best job..... for OTHERS. Which is why.... to me.... this all seems to be grounded in semantics more than anything else.

If the job that you had wasn't providing YOU with enough resources.... then, you'd find one that provided you with more. Because... you need the godiva chocoate to feel truly in a place to give back, right? You need the hour long massage to relax and get ready to work? You NEED this, and that... and the other thing....

But, what we "need" is all relative. It's based on our standard of living and what we expect. It's amazing how our needs decrease to adjust for a lower standard of living or a higher one, depending on income.

A lightworker will always be immersed in his or her own life... the standard of living... the income level that he or she has. And their "needs" will go along with that. It seems incredibly silly to assert that EVERYTHING that you do as a lightworker ultimately comes back to the desire to give to other people. It's simply not true. If it were - then you would work to decrease your standard of living in whatever way you could (without compromising your health or your family's health) so that you could give more.

And, frankly, that's just silly. I don't think that Steve does that. And when I say that it's "silly"... I don't mean that it would be a stupid way to approach things. I simply mean - we're PEOPLE! We want the godiva chocolate and the bubble bath and the massage and the european vacation and all of that.... no matter how much of a "lightworker" one claims to be..... we want things. Things that we don't need. Things that will NOT increase our productivity to others. We just do. Steve - please correct me if I'm wrong, but... looking at your life, do you NEED all of the stuff that you currently have in order to continue to increase your giving output? Can you honestly say that there is NOTHING that you possess that you don't need or wouldn't need if you decreased your standard of living just a tad (note: not decreasing your income, decreasing your standard of living AT your income level)? If the answer is no, then honestly - I probably won't believe you. Part of the reason that I like your blog is because I consider you to be human.

As a mental focus for doing work.... I see how the polarization concept is very effective. But, as a concept of managing personal finances, I think it is rife with self-deception and rationalization.

[Steve Pavlina]

The vast majority of people are not polarized and do not want to polarize. I would estimate that conscious lightworkers and darkworkers combined amount to less than 1% of the population.

I first encountered the concept of polarity in 2002. I started using it on a small scale at first, using one polarity for handling certain situations and the opposite polarity for others. I had to live with the concept for a couple years to see how it worked before I understood the benefits of polarizing completely.

Choosing a polarity is much like choosing a life purpose. Most people haven't chosen one and have no intention of chosing one. But those who do will experience a life that's markedly different than those who don't.

[sirkinm]

Frankie, I really feel that Godiva chocolate is overrated .

Like a lot of people, I'm feeling frustration over this concept that Steve has introduced (I've never encountered polarization prior to his first article), and I don't know what to make of it. It does seem to be absurd to classify all elements of one's life in the terms of light/dark.

I've also wondered the same questions that others are asking: How do lightworkers reconcile those actions that are only marginally directed at helping others. And really - do darkworkers have to be solely concerned about their own power/wealth/etc. to the exclusion of all else? Do they only love their families for the status that they provide them, because they will continue their legacy, etc.??

[wolfgang]

The blogs said that a lightworker, in order to not be a lightworker syndrome candidate, has to allow receiving too.

So then the lightworker focuses on giving as the motivation but how does the lightworker keep from being sick? Letting stuff come back in is needed too. Taking some for one's self.

What is the lightworker thinking about or focusing on to allow this to come back in?

Steve says that the lightworker will see the coming back stuff as part of the giving - so why is that not to be part of the motivation?

There has to be some sort of attention and even intentions to let ths stuff back in or the lightworker will get sick. So then how is it the lightworker is polarized to only be giving while allowing the coming back in stuff too?

Implodes on me everytime I think it through. I don't see how the polarization stays without rejecting any inflow, which would then cause sickness.

[Baltar]

Originally Posted by wolfgang

What is the lightworker thinking about or focusing on to allow this to come back in?

Steve says that the lightworker will see the coming back stuff as part of the giving - so why is that not to be part of the motivation?

There has to be some sort of attention and even intentions to let ths stuff back in or the lightworker will get sick. So then how is it the lightworker is polarized to only be giving while allowing the coming back in stuff too?

As I understand it, a lightworker focuses on giving and trusts that the universe will compensate them. This way they don't have to focus on receiving; the universe handles it for them. They just have to accept things that are given to them. A darkworker focuses on receiving, and the universe handles the reverse compensation.

So I think in the end both can easily end up accomplishing the same things. It's just a difference in philosophy. Based on my understanding, darkworkers include people like John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Nixon took darkworking to the extreme and sabotaged his presidency. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are also darkworkers. Microsoft is a great example of a darkworker organization that's probably going to crumble because they take darkworking to the extreme.

I think George Lucas is a lightworker. He created Star Wars without a motive for getting really rich and famous from it. And later on he created a whole bunch of companies that he pretty much gave away to other people because he couldn't manage them all himself (Steve Jobs bought Pixar from George Lucas for $5 million, and recently sold it for over $7 billion to Disney). I think lightworkers are generally not very high profile people though, because they don't seek fame, recognition and power.

I think what confuses people about the lightworker/darkworker polarization is that they immediately start looking at the extremes. Taken to the extreme, both of these philosophies are completely impractical and ultimately lead to self-destruction. If Steve were to answer every email he gets, this would be taking lightworking to the extreme. To be a lightworker or darkworker doesn't mean taking the philosophy to its extreme.

[Still Growing]

Steve,

I commend you on your dedication to being a Lightworker and I can see your intentions are good. The value you have created with this site is helping thousands of people! It must feel good to have such a positive impact on so many people.

Its not for me to judge whether someone is a lightworker or darkworker so even though I started it by asking "Is Steve really seretly a Darkworker" does not mean that I think you are a darkwork but that I'm trying to show the grey in even the best among us. It doesn't mean I disagree with the core but may disagree that there isn't Dark in all of our lives.

Can a Lightworker sin? Can a Lightworker operate on fear or greed from time to time? We are human and so even if someone is striving to live as a Lightworker they must also see the Dark in their own lives.

What would be the challenge if it wasn't something you had to work on?

In one of the other threads someone asked "How does it feel to be a Darkworker..." I don't even know where to start with this type of comment. Thats the same as asking, "How does it feel to be self centered...." or "How does it feel to be selfish". By labeling one as Dark or Light we can feel part of a group but people are usually not as categorized in life so clearly as they are in the movies.

I agree with the basic efficiencies of extreme polarity. But for someone to say "I'm generally consider myself a Lightworker" is completely different that elluding that someone as mastered being a Lightworker.

My name says it all, "Still Growing"....

I am still working on myself and striving to become better and better everyday. We are all either Still Growing, stagnant or in some cases declining. I don't think anybody in this forum is completely 100% a Lightworker.

I can say without any reservation that I am following you Steve. I am reading and learning from you.... Only on this subject have I slightly disagreed. Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems that you are concluding that because extreme polarities produce power and since Star Wars has Sith or Jedi that people are either a Sith, a Jedi or neither. I'm not saying that it is your intention to be so absolute but if you remember the Star War quote "Only siths work in absolutes..."

I think humans like labels and like to categorize people. We like neat and tidy titles that can make absolutes from grey area. We also like to feel part of a group and it feels good to be part of a small elite group of good in a world of evil. The warm feeling of vanity by calling it out by name is in itself a dark action. We must never get blinded by our own light because that is what the dark side wants. It wants us to roll in place so we won't keep progressing to the light. The dark side is so powerful that it can even make you justify your dark actions though waiving a white flag.

Polarity is real however we all have negative charges in our life that counter our positive charge. I believe there to be degrees.

Lets assume that 0 was neutral and -100 was all dark and +100 was all light. Who among us is a +100 and all light?

[Asmoday]

There is some confusion here on giving and the darkworker path...

Again, Steve hit the nail on the head when he mentioned darkworking as being primarily motivated by self-love, and lightworking as primarily being motivated by other-love.

Please note, that says *primarily*.

A darkworker can give (yes, as Steve puts its, for good PR). But they can also give just to get off on being such a caring person. The other person's gratitude is great for your self-esteem. Lightworkers don't like talking about this, but...

I did habitat for humanity last week (I put some gravel in the driveway). But, the team built a house for a former drug addict, which, sorry, I sense the dark and "former" part is a total lie, BUT...

No one there knew me. I will get no PR. I did it because now I can call the universe out on owing me one, and, I feel like such a magnanimous...man...

See, you lightworkers, by definition, HAVE to do some amount of giving.

I just up and chose to do it...

Aren't I so amazing?!?!

Man, I love me....

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by sirkinm

Like a lot of people, I'm feeling frustration over this concept that Steve has introduced (I've never encountered polarization prior to his first article), and I don't know what to make of it. It does seem to be absurd to classify all elements of one's life in the terms of light/dark.

As Steve said, polarising is much like defining a purpose for your life. It's not so much you saying, "this is how reality works and how it should work for everyone" but rather, "this is the experience I want to create for myself, regardless of how reality works". In other words, even if you define a purpose for your life or say you’re a lightworker, it doesn’t mean everyone else has to follow your life purpose as well and also be lightworkers. Everybody is free to choose their own experience, whether they be purpose driven, purposeless, a light or darkworker, unpolarised, TV salesman, gynaecologist, etc.

On the other hand, I think Steve has only covered the tip of the figurative polarity iceberg in his writing on polarity, so basically what we are trying to do is understand something when we can only see 10% of it. Like trying to understand the story of a 2 hour movie by watching it for 5 minutes, trying to understand polarity by reading a few articles about it is equally difficult -- you'll be left feeling confused and you'll probably have a whole lot of questions. Basically, you'll be left wanting more. I'm sure there is much Steve could write about polarity, light/darkworkers, etc, but I really think such material would be best served in a comprehensive book or audio program (or a combo of both) that brings everything together and goes into exhausting amounts of detail (hint hint, Steve ).

You also have to keep in mind that Steve has a large amount of background, "foundation" knowledge/experience that supports what he knows about polarity (and many other things). While he may easily understand a concept, without the prerequisite knowledge, you may find it incomprehensible, much like trying to read a book without knowing how to read, or trying to solve a math problem without knowing the basics of maths. Steve has stated before that he's read about 600 books in the field of personal development, so that alone should drive this point home for you.

While you (and I) may have newbie, beginner , or even intermediate knowledge/understanding/experience, Steve is easily an expert in his field, so trying to understand advanced subjects such as polarity can be much like a beginner weight trainer trying to lift the amount of weight a seasoned, expert bodybuilder can lift. You simply can't do it to any reasonable degree and should instead focus your efforts on building up your strength instead of tackling challenges that are far above your skill level.

I personally find it best to respect the magnitude of the challenge that is understanding polarity instead of expecting it to be conquered with little time/effort, which is actually somewhat empowering since it makes me my expectations much more realistic and practical rather then leaving me constantly confused. I can admit to myself that I probably only have around 10% of the knowledge Steve has on this (if that), so it's no doubt I have questions and things I don't understand!

And I can see how this relates to some other naive expectations I once had. When I first started my conscious pursuit of personal development I expected it to be something I'd get the hang of really quickly, and I envisioned myself racking up many results in no time at all. I thought "even though people say it can take a few years, I'm sure it'll only take me about a year or so". I was wrong. I don't let it get to me though, since with the knowledge/experience I had at the time, that was the best conclusion I could make. But I now have a much more realistic perspective. That doesn't mean that I don't have high aspirations (that are probably equally naive ), it just means that I have a respect for the process and I know that if I wish to get any results, I must honour it. Which brings me to my next point...

Originally Posted by sirkinm

I've also wondered the same questions that others are asking: How do lightworkers reconcile those actions that are only marginally directed at helping others. And really - do darkworkers have to be solely concerned about their own power/wealth/etc. to the exclusion of all else? Do they only love their families for the status that they provide them, because they will continue their legacy, etc.??

Don't worry, I'm confused as well. At first it frustrated me, and it still does slightly if I try to figure it out mentally and focus all of my attention on my confusion, but the fact is that polarity is something you need to experience to fully understand, much like subjective reality, how it feels to swim in water, driving a car, etc. You can still try your hand at figuring things out in your head alone, but until you're ready to invest some decent effort into actually testing out the concept/theory and evaluating it experientially, you'll only be dwelling on the tip of the iceberg.

Basically, until you have some decent experience under your belt, you will be in what’s called a state of unconscious incompetence (that doesn’t mean your stupid, it just something to accept as a part of the learning process). In a state of unconscious incompetence you are not yet aware of what you don't know, so practically everything is confusing.

But eventually after enough experience, you move from unconscious incompetence to conscious incompetence (knowing what you don't know, but still not knowing what you want to know), and from conscious incompetence to conscious competence (a state where you are beginning to know what you wanted to know, consciously), and on and on it goes (up until you get to what I call "conscious mastery", a very difficult state to reach).

For a long time now I’ve continuously fallen into the trap of getting frustrated when I can’t figure out things that I have little to no experience with, but since it’s happened many times now, I’ve started to see patterns emerge. And as such, I’m beginning to accept the unconscious incompetence state as something that is part of the learning process, and it’s much more empowering since you don’t dwell on the fact that you are incompetent.

It’s all too easy to fall into the insidious and not at all beneficial trap of bringing your ego into the picture and attacking your identity by saying or thinking things like: “why can’t I figure it out? Is there something wrong with me? I must be no good at this. I just can’t get a break, it seems like life is against me.”, etc, but at all costs, you must maintain your awareness.

That said, a few unwilling trips into negative thinking can give you the knowledge you need to stop falling into that trap in the first place. It’s certainly been the case for me, and genuinely thankful for both the good experiences I’ve had in life, as well as the bad, since both have important lessons to impart. A very wise quote Steve often uses is this:

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?

And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?

When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see in truth that you are weeping for that which has been your delight.
~ Kahlil Gibran

(It sure took me a while to understand that quote, but I think I've finally got it. But that's what I thought when I first read it, so I may still have some surprises waiting for me when I read it again down the track. Unconscious incompetence indeed. )