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((Note this article is meant to help the Jedi Order by extending the teachings of Windu, Revan, the Dark Woman, and others to applications of the Darkside of the Force while remaining within the Light. It is to promote an understanding of the self that can be useful in preventing the fall of Jedi who may stray too close, or have come to rely on the Darkside. Specifically this entry in the archives is meant to be helpful for members of the Jedi Shadows, those seeking to master Vaapad, and/or those with similar lifetime circumstances to Caleb, the author.))
Many Jedi have asked themselves whether or not they can harness the energies and abilities of the Darkside without ever falling forever into its shadow. With some of my earliest ventures into the Force being comprised of its darker teachings and where I have come to in my training since, this question has always been personally significant to me. As I write this, I hesitate to answer, despite what I have learned. Whether you view me as an arrogant Rogue Jedi in the days following your study of this recording is for you to decide. I make no excuses for studying what many in the Order would not, although I remind you that I was indoctrinated in many teachings before coming to the Jedi to find peace. Having already fallen into darkness before joining the Order, I had nowhere to go but up.
The short answer is: yes, it is possible. However, achieving such an ability either requires a level of risk and/or patience that can be detrimental to one’s training. If one takes the path of patience, they will not develop their connection to the Force properly and be weaker because of it. If one takes the path of risk they can and will fall to the Darkside, potentially on more than one occasion. Thus any potential student of the Force must ask themselves: am I willing to put the lives of those around me at risk for the sake of my training? If you are truly a Jedi, the answer should be no. And so I record this with the hopes that it will be used solely as a guide for the Jedi Council. May it help them direct the training of those unfortunate enough to have walked as dark a path as me before coming to the light.
Similar to how Mace Windu (and few Jedi before him) harnessed the furthest extent of Juyo while remaining within the Light, so too have I discovered a similar method of harnessing the darker aspects of the Force and channeling them as a tool of the light.
At first it began as an exercise in application of Windu’s philosophy to the more palpable dark emotions required of the more potent Sith teachings. Given my lifetime dedication to Juyo, and later study of Windu’s philosophy for Vaapad, understanding the mental elements involved came quicker to me than it will to most who undertake this technique’s journey. In the words of Master Windu (and I paraphrase), “Vaapad is more than a fighting style; it is a state of mind that leads through the penumbra of the dark side, requiring the user to enjoy the fight and relish the satisfaction of winning. A practitioner of Vaapad will accept the fury of their opponent, transforming themselves into one half of a superconducting loop, with the other half being the power of darkness inherent in the opponent.” To Master Windu, “Vaapad was an answer for his own weakness, allowing him to channel his own internal darkness into something positive.” For me, this statement best summarized what I desired to achieve from my training.
As acknowledgement and constant awareness of one’s own darkness are required to master Vaapad without turning to the Darkside, I postulated that this same concept would apply in using Darkside powers. Only through constant acknowledgement and self awareness could a Jedi using the Darkside recognize exactly when their manipulations of its powers would cause them to fall. After much training and meditation, the results I managed to achieve were surprisingly successful.
But I had managed to neglect other potential means of achieving similar results. All throughout history mavericks like Revan and the Dark Woman had emerged, truly capable of balancing both sides of the Force without becoming consumed by the powerful feedback of the darker arts. These forays into the Darker aspects of the Force came long before and after Master Windu’s development of the philosophical elements of Vaapad. So what could be said of their methodologies? And was there any difference between how they exercised their powers and Windu’s approach to lightsaber combat?
The answer lies in the extent to which they studied the Force in its entirety and the depth of their application of knowledge of the self to build both a mental fortitude and an acceptance of their own inherent limitations.
Looking broadly at the Force itself, it is evident to anyone who wields its energies that those energies are hyper-sensitive to the emotional and mental state of said wielder. Thus dark and light emotions become amplified respectively, producing the results we have come to know as the “Dark” and “Light” sides of the Force. The Force is truly neither. Like water we grasp in our hands it is transparent and reflective of both our conscious and unconscious selves, with a twist. Any emotions felt while in commune with the Force can easily be amplified a hundred-fold. Therefore, while attempting to manipulate the nature of the Force, we too take on some of its properties. Of the traits we taken on ourselves, those most pertinent to this technique are its reflective nature and hyper sensitivity. It can be said that as one looks into the mirror of the Force, it also looks back at them. But perhaps the most beautiful and dangerous aspect of the Force is that it does not manipulate us; it simply provides us a means through which to manipulate ourselves. The true universal masters of old (like Revan) understood this profusely, and were aware of when they were most vulnerable to self manipulation. Thus, (like Windu in his duel with his padawan) they refused to allow themselves to go there altogether.
Therefore the key to answering the final question of my studies is found in the nature of the Force itself. If it takes on the image of our inner-most self then one must come to know themselves sincerely. This is where it can become tricky for a Jedi or prospective student of the Jedi way. While most people practice tranquility and exercise the Force in such a manner, very few are truly this way at their core. Even the most practiced Jedi Masters will struggle with differentiating between their idyllic selves and the true state of their current selves, although this is not necessarily a bad thing. It is important to aspire to the pinnacles of the Jedi teachings by transcending our natural state of existence. However, one who cannot understand the difference between their outwards emotional state and the elements inside them (that lie deep beneath the surface) are not ready for this technique. I cannot stress enough the distinction between what I am trying to say one must learn and what they claim to know of themselves. Perhaps a seemly bold statement may aid in understanding the depth of self awareness I am referring to when applying this technique properly: no fellow Jedi I have met thus far is truly capable of this level of self honesty. I say this having met Grandmasters past and present (Lecchememnon and Vainikainen), and the statement in no way diminishes their accomplishments, morale compasses, or understanding of the Jedi way. It merely recognizes the fact that neither have come to possess a truly intimate knowledge of the Darkside without falling. Master Windu’s level of self awareness may indeed be the stuff of legend, given that even his padawan and fellow masters who attempted to learn and apply his fighting philosophy eventually fell to the Darkside. Yet, in accordance with his teachings, there are times when a lack of understanding of/unwillingness to accept the Darkside holds great merit, particularly given the unfathomably volatile nature of the Darkside of the Force, the magnitude of which no one can truly comprehend without immersing themselves within its furthest depths. Not even Windu was willing to explore those depths from more than an outside perspective. And at least those who have not fallen have had the presence of mind to know to stay away from it altogether.
So the key components established thus far are: an understanding of oneself, an understanding of the Force, and arduous training to achieve a consistent and compatible mental fortitude and state of mind that allows one to keep themselves in check. This last element is critical for a Jedi attempting to call upon the Darkside in battle, and is likely where they will fail.
May what I have found serve in the redemption of those that have fallen, and may the Force be with you all.
-Caleb
((Note this article is meant to help the Jedi Order by extending the teachings of Windu, Revan, the Dark Woman, and others to applications of the Darkside of the Force while remaining within the Light. It is to promote an understanding of the self that can be useful in preventing the fall of Jedi who may stray too close, or have come to rely on the Darkside. Specifically this entry in the archives is meant to be helpful for members of the Jedi Shadows, those seeking to master Vaapad, and/or those with similar lifetime circumstances to Caleb, the author.))
Many Jedi have asked themselves whether or not they can harness the energies and abilities of the Darkside without ever falling forever into its shadow. With some of my earliest ventures into the Force being comprised of its darker teachings and where I have come to in my training since, this question has always been personally significant to me. As I write this, I hesitate to answer, despite what I have learned. Whether you view me as an arrogant Rogue Jedi in the days following your study of this recording is for you to decide. I make no excuses for studying what many in the Order would not, although I remind you that I was indoctrinated in many teachings before coming to the Jedi to find peace. Having already fallen into darkness before joining the Order, I had nowhere to go but up.
The short answer is: yes, it is possible. However, achieving such an ability either requires a level of risk and/or patience that can be detrimental to one’s training. If one takes the path of patience, they will not develop their connection to the Force properly and be weaker because of it. If one takes the path of risk they can and will fall to the Darkside, potentially on more than one occasion. Thus any potential student of the Force must ask themselves: am I willing to put the lives of those around me at risk for the sake of my training? If you are truly a Jedi, the answer should be no. And so I record this with the hopes that it will be used solely as a guide for the Jedi Council. May it help them direct the training of those unfortunate enough to have walked as dark a path as me before coming to the light.
Similar to how Mace Windu (and few Jedi before him) harnessed the furthest extent of Juyo while remaining within the Light, so too have I discovered a similar method of harnessing the darker aspects of the Force and channeling them as a tool of the light.
At first it began as an exercise in application of Windu’s philosophy to the more palpable dark emotions required of the more potent Sith teachings. Given my lifetime dedication to Juyo, and later study of Windu’s philosophy for Vaapad, understanding the mental elements involved came quicker to me than it will to most who undertake this technique’s journey. In the words of Master Windu (and I paraphrase), “Vaapad is more than a fighting style; it is a state of mind that leads through the penumbra of the dark side, requiring the user to enjoy the fight and relish the satisfaction of winning. A practitioner of Vaapad will accept the fury of their opponent, transforming themselves into one half of a superconducting loop, with the other half being the power of darkness inherent in the opponent.” To Master Windu, “Vaapad was an answer for his own weakness, allowing him to channel his own internal darkness into something positive.” For me, this statement best summarized what I desired to achieve from my training.
As acknowledgement and constant awareness of one’s own darkness are required to master Vaapad without turning to the Darkside, I postulated that this same concept would apply in using Darkside powers. Only through constant acknowledgement and self awareness could a Jedi using the Darkside recognize exactly when their manipulations of its powers would cause them to fall. After much training and meditation, the results I managed to achieve were surprisingly successful.
But I had managed to neglect other potential means of achieving similar results. All throughout history mavericks like Revan and the Dark Woman had emerged, truly capable of balancing both sides of the Force without becoming consumed by the powerful feedback of the darker arts. These forays into the Darker aspects of the Force came long before and after Master Windu’s development of the philosophical elements of Vaapad. So what could be said of their methodologies? And was there any difference between how they exercised their powers and Windu’s approach to lightsaber combat?
The answer lies in the extent to which they studied the Force in its entirety and the depth of their application of knowledge of the self to build both a mental fortitude and an acceptance of their own inherent limitations.
Looking broadly at the Force itself, it is evident to anyone who wields its energies that those energies are hyper-sensitive to the emotional and mental state of said wielder. Thus dark and light emotions become amplified respectively, producing the results we have come to know as the “Dark” and “Light” sides of the Force. The Force is truly neither. Like water we grasp in our hands it is transparent and reflective of both our conscious and unconscious selves, with a twist. Any emotions felt while in commune with the Force can easily be amplified a hundred-fold. Therefore, while attempting to manipulate the nature of the Force, we too take on some of its properties. Of the traits we taken on ourselves, those most pertinent to this technique are its reflective nature and hyper sensitivity. It can be said that as one looks into the mirror of the Force, it also looks back at them. But perhaps the most beautiful and dangerous aspect of the Force is that it does not manipulate us; it simply provides us a means through which to manipulate ourselves. The true universal masters of old (like Revan) understood this profusely, and were aware of when they were most vulnerable to self manipulation. Thus, (like Windu in his duel with his padawan) they refused to allow themselves to go there altogether.
Therefore the key to answering the final question of my studies is found in the nature of the Force itself. If it takes on the image of our inner-most self then one must come to know themselves sincerely. This is where it can become tricky for a Jedi or prospective student of the Jedi way. While most people practice tranquility and exercise the Force in such a manner, very few are truly this way at their core. Even the most practiced Jedi Masters will struggle with differentiating between their idyllic selves and the true state of their current selves, although this is not necessarily a bad thing. It is important to aspire to the pinnacles of the Jedi teachings by transcending our natural state of existence. However, one who cannot understand the difference between their outwards emotional state and the elements inside them (that lie deep beneath the surface) are not ready for this technique. I cannot stress enough the distinction between what I am trying to say one must learn and what they claim to know of themselves. Perhaps a seemly bold statement may aid in understanding the depth of self awareness I am referring to when applying this technique properly: no fellow Jedi I have met thus far is truly capable of this level of self honesty. I say this having met Grandmasters past and present (Lecchememnon and Vainikainen), and the statement in no way diminishes their accomplishments, morale compasses, or understanding of the Jedi way. It merely recognizes the fact that neither have come to possess a truly intimate knowledge of the Darkside without falling. Master Windu’s level of self awareness may indeed be the stuff of legend, given that even his padawan and fellow masters who attempted to learn and apply his fighting philosophy eventually fell to the Darkside. Yet, in accordance with his teachings, there are times when a lack of understanding of/unwillingness to accept the Darkside holds great merit, particularly given the unfathomably volatile nature of the Darkside of the Force, the magnitude of which no one can truly comprehend without immersing themselves within its furthest depths. Not even Windu was willing to explore those depths from more than an outside perspective. And at least those who have not fallen have had the presence of mind to know to stay away from it altogether.
So the key components established thus far are: an understanding of oneself, an understanding of the Force, and arduous training to achieve a consistent and compatible mental fortitude and state of mind that allows one to keep themselves in check. This last element is critical for a Jedi attempting to call upon the Darkside in battle, and is likely where they will fail.
May what I have found serve in the redemption of those that have fallen, and may the Force be with you all.
-Caleb