The Dark Side

[starlitdancer]

**First off, I'm not sure if this is in the correct section, so feel free to move this if necessary**

Everyone has a dark side. How important is it to integrate that side of yourself into your personality? If you don't acknowledge that side of you, would that pose a problem in your everyday life? Are there safe ways to express that side, and if so, what are they?

[reaper]

Well I would say is important to not integrate your dark side into your life. I suppose problems would only come from an overly active malicious side, if that were the case I would suggest counseling or therapy. And there are no safe ways to express your dark side directly but you can put that energy into something such as the arts or whatever hobbies you have. The key really is to convert negative energy into positive. Nothing good can really come directly from negative energy.

[starlitdancer]

Thanks, reaper...

Something happened in class today that kinda set off my dark side, and later on I said/did some things that I now regret. I think I may have burned a bridge--one that really isn't a good one to burn, considering who it is. The thing is that I get into these dark, angry moods occasionally (like once a month). It scares me because I end up feeling angry, yet I don't know how to express it appropriately. I either stuff it inside or mention it after the fact--and that isn't healthy (especially considering the field I'm going into...). I don't want to make it seem like no one cares (because family and friends do); it's that once I get into that mindset, I push people away...I don't want to do that anymore.

That's why I asked whether it's possible to integrate that dark side into your personality -- and if so, how to handle it. Being creative is a good idea...

[reaper]

One thing I do when I get mad about some stupid crap is I ask myself if this will matter to me tomorrow, and if the answer is no which 99% of the time it is, I just forget about it. Just keep in mind that just pinning up the anger inside you will only lead to problems, usually big ones. Hence the idea of releasing it in an alternate form.

[Reverend]

Well, that's a tough question, because inherently there is a darkness to all of us. Whether you consider it original sin, or the reptillian remmnants of our ancestry, humans have a part to them that is just not nice.

On the flip side, we are lucky enough to recognize the duality that exists within ourselves. We can find outlets for are darker emotions. Remember that acting on those emotions and feeling them are two different things, and that you are entitled to feel the way you do.

In all reality, it is not good to shunt your emotions to one lockbox, but that does not mean you should act how you feel. A happy balance would be to strive for being yourself, which is usually different from who you are now. I can say that due to personal experience I feel often how you do SD, and that I am working now to allow the 'dark side' of myself to have some room to breathe. I'm not talking Jekyll/Hyde here, but allowing myself to voice when I am feeling angered, irked, irritated, and pissed. Finding a place where it's safe to feel those emotions is very important, and that is what has been helping me to work through them.

That and a little more righteous fury in some of my sermons now.

[Therin]

My advice is, has been, and always will be: Let it out.

Write. Draw. Exercise. Throw things. Hit things. I don't care what it takes, just let it out.

Because, in my opinion, what we call a "darkside" is a reflection of pent up emotion. It's the parts of ourselves that we hate, and want no one to see. This doesn't necessarily mean that those parts are malignant, nor does it mean that they are benign. Simply that it's a part of you, that you are locking away. It's a manifestation of self-hate. I know hate is a strong word, and I use it to full strength here, believe it or not. I think there is almost no one that we humans can hate quite as much, or as permanently as ourselves, and I think that the true trick is simply not to hate, to accept the parts of yourself that you may not like, that you are afraid to show, that you push away. Do not strive to be the person you think you should be. Strive to be the person you are. However, that is more easily said than done, so I propose this, as a temporary relief: Let it out. It doesn't matter how. It doesn't matter where. Just let it out. You can write it out. I've found that poetry is often a good way to do this. You can draw it out. You can go to the gym, and bash a punching bag until you feel better. Just let it out. Because if you hold on to it, it will come back to haunt you. Every time. Guaranteed.

[Shurikane]

I'm Ikaruga incarnate. The dark side will show up just as much as the light side and I won't be afraid to do so!

[GAAZ]

See? That's why they should start allowing us to clone humans..Then we can make clones of ourselves and when we get pissed we can kill our clones. Because usually what makes you REALLY mad is something you did and not anyone else. Or if it was someone else you can kill their clones...Cloning is the way of the future.

I see myself killin my clones then having them stuffed and mounted...That'd be awesome.

[Excel Zero]

Starlit you outta take my Kenshou class...it teaches you alot about the philosophy and extrication of that excess energy. I can send you the link if you want but i'll give you a synopsis of what I feel

Ok let's imagine just for the sake of example that there is 1 billion units of energy in the world. This can be good, bad, neutral and it is within all people, objects, etc.

Now let's say you are walking to work and you have inside you 100 units of energy. You have 50 good units and 50 bad. That's wha we call balanced (Duh )

Now something bad happens to you; a person wrongs you, or someone almost mows you down in a car. Now you have what we call excess energy. Example; now you have 50 good and 60 bad. Most MA instructors will tell you that balance is wonderful, as will I. So what happens is your body feels the need to release all the excess, in this case bad energy.

There are three basic ways to do this.

1. You can force your energy into another object or person. That may be acceptable for you, but now you have burdened that person with excess (example, yelling at the next person you see)

2. You can hold that energy in. Anyone who has ever held bad thoughts for too long will tell you that it can emotionally and physically damage you over time. (example. stuffing it down and never dealing with it)

3. Finally you can learn how to release it back into the world naturally and without hurting yourself. (example is what I teach..Kenshou)

feel free to PM me if ya want to talk further or want the link...I can teach this from thousands of miles away since all I need to do is describe

Thanks for listening

Excel

[Azurel]

I've had this problem for quite some time, and strangely enough my solution has been PO. I keep my darkside locked up when I'm around people that I want to hold it back from. i.e. friends and family. But if nobody's around that I care about, all hell breaks loose and I feel much better. However, I'm usually around my friends and family so I let a lot of it build up inside. My release: a little character named Dantrel Rayne. He is basically the personified version of what goes on in my head. (Azurel too, but that's not important). I like using Rayne to let out my aggression and evil, because most people just write it off as me imagining what an evil character might do. In reality, minus the powers and lack of ability to say whatever I want (grr censors), it's what I would do without my friends and family around. I've also had to tone down some of Rayne's evilness just so I can actively participate in RPs without murdering everyone.

My advice: Do both. Let it out at other people and in some form of hobby/activity. It's good to let it out in the open once and a while, I believe that's natural and healthy. I also realize that doing it everytime you get that darkside urge is going to make you lead a very lonely life (ah, fond memories). So uh, yea, do both, but limit the amout of out-loud darksidedness.