Integrating Light and Dark (Blog)

[Savage]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

Integrating Light and Dark

[Warping]

This post, from beyond. Psychic download much?

One of the most attractive aspects of your work is unpredictability.

Om Shanti.

[st33med]

It's not about good and evil, it's about the balance between the two. We all do it to some intensity. Most people who are 'asleep' as you say don't do much in terms of contribution to themselves or the universe.

And this clears up my conflict in my mind with light/darkworkers!

[MidasGirl]

I don't view light/darkworking with such simplicity, but each to their own. Everybody darkworks at times or lightworks at times, and many times, a certain aspect of a person can be fully darkworked while another is fully lightworked.

But I agree that polarization is needed for outstanding results to manifest. I just don't see that practically, anyone is fully polarized either dark or light in every aspect of their lives. For example, when you Steve slam religion (I do too) or write a modern day nazi post, that is darkworking in its full glory.

[MidasGirl]

On second thoughts, maybe Jesus was a 100% lightworker, well, except that one time he got mad that people were conducting business in the temple.

But still, look where his 100% lightworking got him.

[jayh]

I think it's interesting that the increase of power you get from embracing your shadow side still puts the increase of power on yourself. Thus making everyone a darkworker in this context?

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by MidasGirl

I don't view light/darkworking with such simplicity, but each to their own. Everybody darkworks at times or lightworks at times, and many times, a certain aspect of a person can be fully darkworked while another is fully lightworked.

But I agree that polarization is needed for outstanding results to manifest. I just don't see that practically, anyone is fully polarized either dark or light in every aspect of their lives. For example, when you Steve slam religion (I do too) or write a modern day nazi post, that is darkworking in its full glory.

This is how I see it as well. But I can see how focusing by choosing one side can be a great way to get better more powerful results.

[Jasper]

I think the problem with this whole lightworker vs. darkworker subject is that, in the end, it it's very subjective. I remember Steve said in his earlier articles on this matter that the difference between the light and darkworker is who/what benefits, the whole body (lightworking) or the individual cell (darkworking).

The first problem that presents itself is this: Who is to decide who benefits? There isn't some objective entity that can say "this is benefiting the whole" or "this is ultimately only benefitting the single cell". And thus you regress into the religion kind of debate of right vs. wrong.

Another problem is the result vs. intentions. What determines what you are? Your wants/desires of result or your actual results? And who is to say you will be able to determine all of your results anyway? (What if Hitler killed some people that, if not dead, would've killed more than he was responsible for? An outlandish example to be sure, but one can never know.)

And what is the "whole" anyway? Is it the human race? Or is it the entire eco system? And who decides that? It clearly makes a difference. In one case saving a human could be considered lightworking, in the other, darkworking. We are, after all, killing the body, one could say.

Another point you could make is that if every cell was a great darkworking, that would help the whole as well. Survival of the fittest leads to fitter whole (if those that are unfit are let to die). And thus you could say that helping weaker cells actually is a diservice to the whole. You are putting some of your energy in weaker cells so that they energy levels equal out. You get to be average as a whole.

In the end, there are so many assumptions in this debate, it's almost impossible to agree on any of it.

I think the value in this whole matter is this:
Focusing your energy on a single point will increase your chances of a - in your eyes - favorable result. Be of single mind and purpose.

All the jibber-jabber besides that point is just that. Steve might feel great about himself because he thinks he's on the path of light, but some people might see his as a darkworker because he is trying to help people at all. Who is to say what is light and what is dark? Who is to say what is served?

[Melchior]

Alternatively, you could perform this integration from the start, as has been mentioned on these boards multiple times, and personally, I think it's the better way to go because as you "polarize" each aspect develops alongside the other. Granted, I think this way is probably also a bit more difficult as there's that issue of determining what may be more appropriate for different situations, but overall, I think the idea of keeping a healthy balance throughout the growth in "power" is well worth it for the additional effort in maintaining balance, no "syndromes" for example. Moreover, because integration starts at the beginning, rather than having to incorporate relatively large changes in the later stages by getting to know your shadow, all you really need to focus on is creating higher frequencies.

Now, in the post, you mentioned a benefit to light/dark polarization being learning how to channel power effectively, and I'll agree that going with one modality or the other would certainly help with that to a great extent, although mainly for the reason that the learning curve of doing so is smaller as there doesn't need to be as much attention paid to how that power is channeled, namely, it was already chosen, given the modality. The benefit of an integrated modality is that, because power doesn't just flow one way or the other, but rather in some form of cycle, by tuning how much is channeled in either direction, some form of harmony is achieved. Thus not only is power channeled effectively here, it is also channeled optimally for the situation. And just as you've pointed out in your blog post that the two modalities, while superficially opposing, are not actually in conflict, I'm sure you can understand that with effort, by integrating light and dark from the outset, there are ways to bypass the so called energy tension that may result if integration was done haphazardly.

Of course, that's just my personal preference and path on how to polarize. Eventually, it leads to the same place as the others, the only major difference is that harmony is just as much a part of the "destination" as it is the path.

[NSS]

From my understanding, when darkworkers begin to integrate their shadow self, they still do it for selfish reasons yea? For example a darkworker doing philanthropy is doing it to make himself feel better or whatever other selfish reason. But because the deed itself is lightworker-ish it benefits many people as a whole and increases his power as well.

Or do darkworkers suddenly start caring about other people when they've reached a certain level? Based on my experience its almost impossible to have this kind of shift all of a sudden. But I'm not polarized in any direction yet so maybe I'm wrong.

[Zach M]

You’ll rarely hear polarized people say something like, “I can’t afford that,” as such a statement is an abuse of power. Lightworkers and darkworkers are stronger than that. They know how to channel their power to get what they want instead of inadvertently creating the opposite.

So does that mean that LWs and DWs don't dream about, say, hiking on Olympus Mons on Mars? Or they do feel powerful enough to muster the world's resources and accomplish it if they really want? Or what? The feeling that one can do whatever one wants seems rather illogical to me, and I'm just looking for a clarification. Thanks.

[Chris_1977]

Very interesting article.

[RohanMitchell]

Originally Posted by Zach Matley

So does that mean that LWs and DWs don't dream about, say, hiking on Olympus Mons on Mars? Or they do feel powerful enough to muster the world's resources and accomplish it if they really want? Or what? The feeling that one can do whatever one wants seems rather illogical to me, and I'm just looking for a clarification. Thanks.

Here's what goes through my head when I approach this from a darkworker mindset:

"It'd be pretty sweet to go hiking on Mars. Man, the views would be awesome. Okay, what would I need to do to make it happen? Maybe the best way would be to push NASA towards doing a manned mission to Mars, and position myself to be one of the astronauts. Okay, so that's vaguely plausible on first investigation. Do I really want to do it? Not that strongly. Sure, it'd be cool, but deep down there's plenty of things that I want more that are easier to achieve."

In summary, I think that "whatever one wants" is not as fickle as it first sounds, as, in the darkworker mindset, I'd be weighting up the strength of the desire against other desires. Weak, shallow, short-term desires would be weeded out pretty quickly. Going hiking on Mars would be a shallow impulsive desire to me, but I can imagine a deeper desire like exploration or strategic conquest that might get a darkworker there.

[invisiblehouses]

This article makes me wonder: do you consciously choose to be a light- or darkworker, or do we each have a natural polarity within which we will achieve the best results (at least until that point where we must integrate the other)?

I ask this because I've told myself for years that I'm a lightworker. Okay, I didn't use the word "lightworker" because I only heard that term here about a year ago, but I was basically convinced that I was a generous, giving person whose main concern was for others.

However, I'm starting to wonder if perhaps I've been deluding myself, due to a (limiting?) belief that light=good and dark=bad. My ability to create my life as I'd like to experience it (power) has mostly hovered on the low end of the spectrum. Is this because I'm telling myself I should operate from one polarity, when my natural state is the other?

I'll admit it: my energy tends to flow towards myself. I give lip service to the idea of helping others, but the action side of the equation has always tended to not amount to much--I've been a light worker more than a lightworker. "What's in it for me?" is a question that crosses my mind more often than I like to admit.

Now...if the polarity chooses you, here's my major hangup: does being a darkworker necessarily entail being a selfish jerkass? Do I have to act like Gene Simmons? Do I have to start voting a certain way? Can you be a darkworker and still be polite, kind and loving towards others?

If you choose the polarity, how does one make the shift to lightworker? Do you sit yourself in a corner and say, "You're going to get out there and perform generous acts, and you're going to do it until you damn well like it"?

[st33med]

I honestly don't care for the labels. I feel like it binds you to making limiting decisions upon oneself, as if it were some 'code'. Even drinking water is technically 'darkworking' because you serve yourself a glass/bottle of water!

I say, do whatever resonates deeply in you. Darkworking isn't 'evil' or 'egotistical' in nature. And lightworking doesn't mean you sell yourself to others.

[Cado]

Originally Posted by invisiblehouses

Now...if the polarity chooses you, here's my major hangup: does being a darkworker necessarily entail being a selfish jerkass? Do I have to act like Gene Simmons? Do I have to start voting a certain way? Can you be a darkworker and still be polite, kind and loving towards others?

Being a darkworker means honoring yourself. If acting polite and loving is the sincerest expression of who you are you couldn't be a good darkworker by doing otherwise.

If you choose the polarity, how does one make the shift to lightworker? Do you sit yourself in a corner and say, "You're going to get out there and perform generous acts, and you're going to do it until you damn well like it"?

Polarizing is like pulling teeth when you begin. You gradually shift your disposition through thought, energy, and action.

So you're partly right, getting out there and helping people would help push you in the right direction but if it's all you did you'd eventually think, "this is stupid" and hang it up. I imagine you would want to be as happy and excited as you could be to help other people. You'd probably wanna take time out of your day just to generate those feelings and bask in them until they started flowing automatically.

When I chose darkworking that's essentially what I did. I placed the focus on myself as often as I was able and I conjured the energy to back it. I read up on objectivism, I searched for a darkworker's perspective on popular topics like the LOA, and so on. I knew it was part of me when someone wrote a blog post saying that eating meat was wrong and my gut reaction was, "so?" That's significant because it meant that I no longer felt an inclination to honor the constructs and limitations others have placed upon themselves. The question isn't, "is that right or wrong?" it's "what will I do?" My heart is my guide and I have no commitment to act unless it moves me.

[MidasGirl]

Originally Posted by rekcuF

From my understanding, when darkworkers begin to integrate their shadow self, they still do it for selfish reasons yea? For example a darkworker doing philanthropy is doing it to make himself feel better or whatever other selfish reason. But because the deed itself is lightworker-ish it benefits many people as a whole and increases his power as well.

Or do darkworkers suddenly start caring about other people when they've reached a certain level? Based on my experience its almost impossible to have this kind of shift all of a sudden. But I'm not polarized in any direction yet so maybe I'm wrong.

Everybody does what they do for selfish reasons. Even altruistic people do their "selfless" acts for selfish gain. This is where I feel these labels lead to separation instead of Oneness, people who consider themselves lightworkers being convinced they're being less selfish than darkworkers. Or of higher integrity or something.

To bring in Hitler (somebody had to at some point), perhaps the most famous darkworker, he is also said to have been a vegetarian and supposedly was loved by his dog, tee hee. So was he a darkworker or a lightworker?

[NSS]

Originally Posted by MidasGirl

Everybody does what they do for selfish reasons. Even altruistic people do their "selfless" acts for selfish gain. This is where I feel these labels lead to separation instead of Oneness, people who consider themselves lightworkers being convinced they're being less selfish than darkworkers. Or of higher integrity or something.

To bring in Hitler (somebody had to at some point), perhaps the most famous darkworker, he is also said to have been a vegetarian and supposedly was loved by his dog, tee hee. So was he a darkworker or a lightworker?

That depends on his intentions of being a vegetarian and loving his dog I guess. Darkworkers can be vegetarians if they really feel it benefits their health/body. And everyone needs some kind of connection to be happy so he could have loved his dog to make himself feel better.

Or he could have been a lightworker (a ****ed up one though) and really believed that killing jewish people was to the benefit of the world. Based on Steve's original articles I think polarity is more about your intentions and the energy you send out than your acts. Two polarized people can do the exact same thing with different intentions/energy and thats what makes them dark/lightwworkers.

I'm not too sure about the everyone does everything for selfish reasons part. Part of me believes that but another part wants to believe that there is a balance and there are selfless people out there.

I find this dark/lightworker topic really fascinating for some reason. Maybe I should do a 30 day trial for it and see where it leads.

[James81]

Originally Posted by rekcuF

That depends on his intentions of being a vegetarian and loving his dog I guess. Darkworkers can be vegetarians if they really feel it benefits their health/body. And everyone needs some kind of connection to be happy so he could have loved his dog to make himself feel better.

Or he could have been a lightworker (a ****ed up one though) and really believed that killing jewish people was to the benefit of the world. Based on Steve's original articles I think polarity is more about your intentions and the energy you send out than your acts. Two polarized people can do the exact same thing with different intentions/energy and thats what makes them dark/lightwworkers.

I'm not too sure about the everyone does everything for selfish reasons part. Part of me believes that but another part wants to believe that there is a balance and there are selfless people out there.

I find this dark/lightworker topic really fascinating for some reason. Maybe I should do a 30 day trial for it and see where it leads.

LOL @ your username!

[Lionman]

I think the problem people have with polarity is that they understand on an intellectual level that both polarities are required in the universe so they find it hard to limit themselves to either polarity.

At the same time I understand that a big part of power is that it's a directional force. The narrower the focus, the more energy is laser like. Otherwise it's dissipated and therefore not powerful.

Something that should be emphasized is how the opposite polarity comes into play when you focus on one of the polarities. Because in the world you need both, by choosing a polarity you're just choosing your focus but the other polarity is still extremely important.

For instance, darkworking a business means you're intending huge gains for yourself and your focus is creating an empire which expands your power and ability to enjoy yourself. However, a fundamental tenant of being successful in business is giving (lightworking), otherwise nobody's going to give you any cash!! So while you're focusing on building your riches, you also obviously have to focus on giving people what you want.

Take blogging for instance. A darkworker wants to be successful for himself, he goes online to research being successful at blogging and finds out that you must focus on giving value that people enjoy in order to be successful. Therefore in order to maximise his results and achieve his dark desire, he has to focus on the opposite polarity or else he fails! But if he read the article on polarity he may be paralysed at this stage wondering if he should focus only on taking and therefore fail at his dark goal, or if he should focus on giving and possibly limit his power. This is the heart of the problem people have and leads to confusion and paralysis.

Or from the other side, think about getting into a relationship. If you're a lightworker you want to make a big difference in giving. If you're a goodlooking, great person with many options, in pure lightworker sense then you should choose the most down and out, not-very-good-lookin person in order to make the biggest giving impact. You'd be like a winning lottery ticket for this person. But in order to give genuine affection you have to focus on your desires and what you WANT in a person (opposite polarity).

If you think of Hitler, I believe he was a lightworker. He was not a selfish person, he was very inspirational, wanting to achieve what he thought was a divine plan for his country and he thought he was being led by God to do his work. To be of service to God, whether it's delusional or not, you have to have a humility and a sense of service. I don't think Hitler was a nice man. But I think he was a lightworker.

Personally accoarding to the definitions I think I'm a darkworker. Because I only do things which feel good to me. I work to get money and enjoy myself. Because I work in a commission structured role, the better I do at my job (giving) the more money I get. Therefore I give a hell of a lot. And enjoy helping people, but because I enjoy the feelings from helping people and it makes me feel more worthwhile. If helping people made me feel crap, then I wouldn't do it. I enjoy making an impact in people's lives because it makes me feel good. Infact all my actions revolve on whether it feels good to me or not. But I don't resonate with how that makes me more like say Emperor Palpetine from Star Wars (reference to one of Steve's articles). And I don't resonate with how it comes from a place of fear or how it means you don't have loving relationships. You can have a direction inflow of love which is darkworking... and in order to get a big directional inflow of love, other people are going to have to love what you're giving!

As you can see I'm not disagreeing with Steve, just drawing attention to things I believe should be emphasized.

[laurensierra]

Light or dark - hmm, interesting. I've always found it fascinating how we partner. Often a total giver gets together with a total taker.

The result is frequently lots of complaining about the other - failing to recognize we choose.

I'm all about personal growth and it's amazing to me how common it is these days to see putdowns of "selfishness", as if it's not cool to want anything for yourself.

An example: Unless you take care of yourself you have nothing to give others. Can we frame it as it's cool to take care of yourself and have fun, even passion, aside from what we have to give others?

It seems like a continuation of a christian ethic that implies it's bad to experience pleasure or joy and that's we're "sinful" at our core and don't deserve to feel good.

Hello! I'm here to want! A flow of giving and receiving is a good life, from where I stand. As Pia Melody said: Hug your demons or they'll bite you in the ass!

I don't trust someone who is all giving and doesn't know how to receive. Nor do I admire someone who is all take and no give.

As Steven points out, though, it requires conscious awareness to balance these seemingly opposites. I like to play with them.

Happy playing!

[MidasGirl]

re: Hitler -- obviously he was convinced (like any other dictator) that his actions were for the ultimate good. Maybe it's more a question of how much destruction do you plan to cause on your way to your "ultimate good"? Notice though, you could be causing destruction in one area while being a universal light in another. Are corporations (pretty much all of which are darkworking entities if you look at it from the perspective of getting as much as they can) also not lightworking when they fund a hospital elsewhere? Is it a way to truly serve or just to atone their non-existent conscience?

Originally Posted by rekcuF

I'm not too sure about the everyone does everything for selfish reasons part. Part of me believes that but another part wants to believe that there is a balance and there are selfless people out there.
.

Who are these people? Name some of them (not individuals necessarily, but something they are doing that is selfless). You know the 19 guys who slammed planes into the twin towers? Those guys were giving of themselves in a completely selfless act. What's more selfless than dying for your cause, regardless of what it is? Does that make them lightworkers? Hmm...maybe to those whose cause they were furthering, sure.

[NSS]

Originally Posted by James81

LOL @ your username!

Haha yeah it's a stupid joke I have with a couple of friends from school days.

Originally Posted by MidasGirl

Who are these people? Name some of them (not individuals necessarily, but something they are doing that is selfless). You know the 19 guys who slammed planes into the twin towers? Those guys were giving of themselves in a completely selfless act. What's more selfless than dying for your cause, regardless of what it is? Does that make them lightworkers? Hmm...maybe to those whose cause they were furthering, sure.

I said I believe right now that everyone does everything for selfish reasons but some part of me would like to believe that there are selfless people out there so no idea why you're asking me to give examples of selfless people.

I guess the only way to find out for sure is to experience this myself.

[Lakshyayidhi Lakshmihi]

Originally Posted by rekcuF

Or do darkworkers suddenly start caring about other people when they've reached a certain level? Based on my experience its almost impossible to have this kind of shift all of a sudden. But I'm not polarized in any direction yet so maybe I'm wrong.

Although this is the first time I have heard the use of this terminology, I am familiar with darkworking, and my sudden shift occurred when my father died in 2006. I knelt down by his body and touched the cool hard flesh on his forehead before the funeral home came to collect him and I recited the "Our Father" (which apparently is traditionally called the Lord's Prayer, but I have never called it such even during my darkest preoccupations). I had attended Catholic school until I was 13 and had been fully educated on Catholic catechism. However, was the first time I ever recited the prayer and felt it fully in my whole being. This began a cascade of events that pushed me irrevocably away from that which I had chosen and taught me to accept that which I feared.

Perhaps that was his dying wish; I know that in life my choices from darkness caused him immense suffering. Whatever caused this sudden shift, I fought against it tooth and nail, but for whatever reason, I have been irrevocably drawn towards this very foreign path.

I am still in the process of transition and suffer as homo duplex.

[Smartass]

For me it doesn't make sense to sepperate the two. Light workers do everything they do because it makes them feel good, atleast that is the underlying intention.

Why contribute? because your unconcious bubbles up good feelings when you do it!

Why do drugs? The Same!

For me there is no dark working or lightworking? Just doing what you want to do and creating what you want to create.

I guess it boils down to if you believe in pure altruism. I don't, but I believe in empathy

Whos with me on this?