Confucius once said that only the supremely wise and the ignorant do not alter. Everything must change.
When I decided to embark on the path of the Dark Side I accepted the idea that I had the power to cause change in conformity with my will. I embraced the belief that I was connected to the world which surrounded me rather than being separate from it. At first I wasn't thinking about changing myself, but change I did. And this was my first step on the path of Darkness for me.
Many people just let this process of metamorphosis take them where it will. They don't notice most of the transformations in their life that come about over the years. Suddenly they find themselves staring at someone they don't recognize in the mirror. Often they don't like what they see. The American Indian Shaman Sun Bear once said, "A lot of people are waiting for others in this world to be brave enough to do the things they think they should be doing." When most people want change they pray for some miracle to come their way. They dream of winning the lottery, or getting their big break. This is not the Dark Warrior's way.
What is a Warrior?
A true Dark warrior has a purpose and a will. To become a Dark Warrior is to take charge of the process of change, to begin a journey of self-discovery and transformation. The point of the Dark Warriorship is to work personally with your situation now, as it is. Never mind what you might have been or not been in the past. It is what you want to be that counts. This is called throwing away your personal history. A Dark Warrior dares to be whatever he wills. Change is a law, and no amount of pretending will alter that reality. You will change so why not take charge of this event? Make it a change that you want rather than one you don't.
What is a warrior? Here is my definition: A Warrior is a person who through objective and thorough self-examination, develops an understanding of his talents and limitations. A Warrior then achieves his goals using a combination of this self-awareness and his will to overcome weaknesses, fears, and limitations. It has nothing to do with serving in the military or fighting. It has nothing to do with being male or female. It is the process of taking charge of your life. Following the path of the Dark Warrior won't make you the same as me. Every Dark Warrior is unique. But every true Dark Warrior is on the same path. Let's look more closely at that path.
The Dark Warrior
There are many different archetypes within today's community. But you don't see many examples of the Dark Warrior. And yet I have talked to many who have wondered what it would be like to be a Dark Warrior. I suspect that many people do not access the Dark Warrior Archetype is negative connotations that modern society attaches to the term. Many haven't tried to access the Dark Warrior within because they thought meant becoming an evil, bloodthirsty man-at-arms fighting wars and causing bloodshed. Small wonder, since many of the most barbarous acts in history were committed by people who claim to be warriors. Many equate the Dark Warrior archetype with unbridled rage and aggression. This isn't what being a Dark Warrior is about.
Centuries ago Sun Tzu listed five essential considerations for the warrior: "The five things are the way, the weather, the terrain, the leadership, and discipline." What Sun Tzu refers to here is accepting reality and working with it. This has always been the true Dark Warriors way. The most important aspect of the of a Dark Warrior's perception of reality is honest self-evaluation. "Dishonesty to oneself is bad discipline." I accept my limitations and either make them work for me or do what I can to turn them into advantages. Each person has natural qualities and abilities as well as certain faults and limitations. For every strength, there is a weakness and vice versa.
A Dark warrior recognizes the totality of these characteristics and puts them to use in the most appropriate way. You may be a cook, a teacher, a painter, or whatever other occupation you care to name. Every Dark Warrior is different. "It is necessary to polish your own path." And this is the way it should be. True Dark Warriors are realists. They take what they have got and they use it effectively. As a Dark Warrior, I've taken responsibility for my life. I strive to create my life rather than letting it be determined by my past. What I am is what I have forged with the energy that I have raised and the choices I have made.
Balance
Balance requires you to tune yourself to the natural rhythms of the force. In doing so you maintain your balance of self with your environment, letting you blend in with your surroundings never seeming out of place. Man has two natures, one physical and one spiritual. The physical body lives in the here and now, the spiritual body lives in the there and then on the other side of the veil. Both bodies must be well supported and maintained for the whole person to gain fulfillment. The two bodies are interlined, and at birth, the spiritual supports the physical. Then as the body grows, the prime consciousness moves to the physical body in order to maintain it. However, the spiritual nature of a person should not be left to atrophy, as later, when the physical body begins to fail, the prime consciousness must be ready to return to whence it came with a minimum of trauma.
As there are differences between hot and cold, and light and dark, there are even greater differences between our physical and spiritual bodies. Imagine the great shock when anyone's prime consciousness leaves the light spiritual body and finds itself totally helpless, bogged in a strange, new, heavy, too small, limited, physical body right in the middle of the cold Earth Plane. At this point, the spiritual body must do all it can to support the new physical body and help it make the transition as easily as possible.
Conversely, when the prime consciousness later leaves the tired and worn physical body, it certainly doesn't want to snap back into the bright and light world of spirit, having forgotten all it once knew about that life. The sheep certainly don't want to snap back. That would be like adding insult to injury and suffering the rigors of being an infant on both ends of the cycle. Surely, you can see the point.
True, parents and family will help a person into the physical realm as best they can, and true, those who have gone on before will help us get up and running on the other side, but all that takes time and is uncomfortable, inconvenient, and unnecessary. Therefore a Dark Warrior must attend to both his or her aspects, keeping them in good condition and at the ready for whatever journey may be proffered. A sound, right-thinking mind and a healthy physical body are necessary to achieve maximum success in all endeavors in the here and now and there and then. Keep your spring wound!
Creativity
Only here in life where opposites clash together, can the general level of consciousness be raised. That seems to be man's metaphysical task---which he cannot accomplish without 'mythologizing'. Myth is the natural and indisputable intermediate stage between unconscious and conscious cognition. True, the unconscious knows more than the consciousness does; but it is knowledge of a special sort, knowledge in eternity, usually without reference to the here and now, not couched in the language of intellect. - Carl Jung
Institutions and Traditions may give a sense of permanence to a person's life. They make people comfortable and too often they remove the necessity for people to think. You do a thing because that is the way it has always been done. At the outset, this may have been the result of a well-thought-out scheme, or even the result of trial and error. At one time it may have been functional, and it may still be functional. Life involves change. And that change may make institutions and traditions obsolete. We shouldn't be doing things because they have always been done that way; the Dark Warrior does things a particular way because that way brings results. If the traditional way doesn't work anymore, the Dark Warrior seeks alternatives.
Musashi Put it this way, "This is because in the path of Heiho one cannot be so rigid as to insist that this is the way it has been since ancient times or this is the modern way to do it. The path to victory lies in manipulating the circumstances so that they are to the disadvantage of the opponent."
Sun Bear advised us, "The first step, on your path to power, is to look at the system, all the glitter, glamour, and neon, and say 'I don't believe it.'"
A Dark Warrior must be innovative, objective, and creative. "Victory is not repetitious, but adapts its form endlessly." Throughout the history of warfare one can find examples of armies of superior size being defeated by smaller groups using innovative tactics. Some one tries something that has never been done and the unexpected brings victory. Sun Tzu wrote, "Those skilled in the unorthodox are infinite as the heaven and earth, inexhaustible as the great rivers. When they come to an end they begin again, like the days and months; they die and are reborn like the four seasons."
Be creative, things that work for me may not work for you, but this is as it should be. We are individuals, not clones. Dark Warriors think for themselves, they eliminate useless habits and routines. They are not fettered by dogma. They don't blindly mimic anyone. True Dark warriors have their own personal connection to the force; this is the source of their inspiration. These are the keys to their success.