"That place… is strong with the dark side of the Force. A domain of evil it is. In you must go."
"What's in there?"
"Only what you take with you."
―Yoda and Luke Skywalker
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Concept art of Luke Skywalker entering the gnarltree which housed the Dark Side Cave for The Empire Strikes Back.
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Anyone at least moderately familiar with the Star Wars saga will recognize the passage above as the prelude to Luke's confrontation with a spectre of himself in the guise of Darth Vader.
Yoda cryptically informed Luke beforehand, however, that there would be in the cave 'only what you take with you.' The chilling deduction can be only that Luke himself had manifested the Sith Lord out of his own fears and expectations. Though a bit fantastical, this is a fairly accurate metaphor for what I believe we all do in our own lives everyday. Some days more dramatically than others.
Every individual has their own unique niche of existence in which he or she builds a subjective reality. A reality constructed from a lifetime of experiences, social interactions, thoughts, ideas, memories and misconceptions. Everything we say and do, every decision and judgement we make, stems from within us. A set of principles derived from Toltec Shamanism, popularly known as the Four Agreements, is largely based on this concept, most specifically that which says, “never take anything personally,” because what others say or do is merely a projection of their own reality. No matter how we or any other external stimuli may have prompted a person to act, they do so as a manifestation of their own internal attitudes.
I’ve discovered that this is often considered the most difficult of the Agreements to integrate into one’s life and, for some people, difficult even to fully comprehend. Personally, however, this philosophy resonated with me immediately and has come to hold value and meaning in multiple aspects of my life. Utilizing this perspective to examine how you interact with the world can be enlightening and liberating. Understanding how you manifest your own reality can be empowering and sobering.
When Luke entered that cave on Dagobah, he plunged into the darkest depths of his own subconscious and lashed out against his shadow aspect. Delving deeper into the mythology of what has been dubbed ‘The Dark Side Cave,’ it is revealed that this place is saturated with Dark Force energies so powerful it evokes, vividly and specifically, the deepest fears, doubts and dark secrets within a person. Bwiti, a west African practice uses a hallucinogenic plant called iboga in rituals meant to serve as a baptismal rebirth. There are several cultures which use psychadelics for this same purpose but iboga, in particular, is known to lead the initiate on a journey through their buried fears, guilts and regrets. Shamans and Jedi know this is a necessary phase of personal growth.(the first minute or so in the video below presents information about iboga)
(the following video provides more about the ritual and preparation)
(the final video concludes the subject's experience. though the audio is ok, the video is unfortunately corrupted)
Projection, according to modern teachings of psychology, is a mechanism by which a person’s undesired thoughts, memories and emotions are subconsciously denied but then ascribed externally to other people or sources. This is most often recognized as placing blame on others for our own failings or finding a particular fault in people which is actually the fault we most fear in ourselves, or fear to have revealed. Thus even when subconsciously directing shadow feelings outward we inevitably manifest them into our own reality.
My fascination of this subject isn’t (entirely) based on any interest in dredging up the Sith Lord inside of me, descending into a shamanic journey on dangerous hallucinogens or submitting to analysis by long gone founders of psychotherapy. It mainly comes out of the enriched perspective it has provided me of people I interact with everyday. I am better equipped to recognize where my reality extends an influence to others, where others’ realities meet mine and merge to complement or conflict.
This has also given me a personal refuge I so greatly value as an introvert and a highly sensitive person. A refuge from other people’s projections and any other unwanted parts of their realities. When I write, I want to be able to explore the possibilities of my imagination unfettered. I wish to make no excuses or apologies for where my path may wander. I appreciate an exchange of ideas, a genuine interest, but there is a point at which I hold no obligation to further explain myself, justify my point of view or play devil’s advocate. I may lay down my musings here in html for others to see and to ponder, just as any artist may do with various media, baring their works to unknowable perceptions, but this is still my journey. This is my space. Visitors will take what they may and I will do the same.
All these concepts fit together in my head forming the central idea for my blog's title. Whether I've conveyed my thoughts accurately I really can't know. I've chosen to leave readers with a link to a story about the Dark Side Cave, a fan fiction story about doubt, fear, regret and about calm, resolve and hope. A story about how ultimately we can chose what to take with us.
Only What You Take With You (a star wars fan fiction)
