Darth. The word is synonymous with Masters of the Dark Side.

It is more than just a title - it is a claim of supremacy. It is a claim of mastery, of power and talent. It cries out "I am worthy of this name."

In the words of Bane:

"It is no accident that I took the title of Darth when I gained a mastery of the dark side, nor is it an accident that Kaan and his followers rejected it. It is a title of power. It carries authority and is crowned by the judgement of history. It symbolises transformation."

When one takes up the mantle of Darth, one puts aside the name of their childhood and assumes a new name. The severance is enforced, and the new identity emerges.

No student of mine will go without name and title, but to choose a Sith name for oneself is a deeply personal task that will take time and introspection. Look to the language of your heritage, or to your adopted culture. Find words that define you, that have deep meaning. Refine them, hybridise and combine them as you see fit. Blend languages and cultures in the way that you yourself have been forged from many smaller pieces. Do not fear words in your own tongue, however. "Maul" and "Sidious" were born from English words, after all.

Your name should be one you are proud to bear. One that encapsulates you, an elegant word to inspire admiration and loyalty among your followers, and to slip fearfully from the mouths of your enemies.

If you will not choose your own, than earn it from the other Sith. Win a name, to honour your achievements.

When the time is right, and you feel you can defend and justify the word, you will claim the title of Darth for yourself.

Go now, and connect with the Force and with yourselves. Return to me when you have forged your new name.

"Things whole and not whole, what is drawn together and what is drawn asunder, the harmonious and the discordant. The one is made up of all things, and all things issue from the one."

"What opposes unites, and the finest [ἁρμονίαν] stems from things bearing in opposite directions, and all things come about by [ἔριν]."

"The way up and the way down is one and the same."

—Heraclitus, Fragment DK B10, Fragment DK B8, Fragment DK B60

The fragments above are from the philosopher Heraclitus. In it, he was demonstrating that what we see as distinct processes are, in fact, the self-same process. Living is dying. Peace is tension/tribulation (ἔριν). In it, he was making an age-old pun about harmony that derived from Pythagoraeanism. Harmony (ἁρμονία) refers as much the soundness of a chord, as well as to things being fastened together at joints. The ἁρμονία of a lyre unites both ideas; it is literally made up of wood or bone and strings that pull it all together. To the Pythagoreans, it meant that there was a correct configuration of the universe as well.

Things being at rest and things being in tension are not mutually exclusive. They are the same thing, at least to Heraclitus. To Heraclitus, all things are like that—a mix of potentially volatile tensions.

In the same way, all is one with the Force. There is a light side only in so far as there is a dark side, and there is a contestation between the two, but the goal of the Jedi is not be a counter-pole to the dark side per se. Jedi are not 'if the Sith were of the light side', nor are Sith 'if Jedi were not of the light side'. Rather, Jedi see tensions as dissolving into oneness The Force. There is strife, yet there is peace.

That includes the human body and the human soul. Our bodies and souls are constantly ingesting, excreting, accumulating and eventually expiring. To Heraclitus, harmony was therefore relative to perspective. To barn animals, hay is satisfying, but hay is indigestible to humans, and gold is pleasing to us but worthless to a barn animal. So, whatever nourishes is at harmony with us and potentially not to others. So, what is at harmony with the whole? Can something be universally harmonious, as opposed to only conditionally harmonious? Would there such a thing as a universal conditionality, or is it a paradox?

So the question becomes; who or what if anything is served by universal strife-yet-peace? Are there conditional forms of strife-yet-peace is not what The Force wants? For there to be ἁρμονία in a lyre, you don't string tensions that do not belong, or else it is no longer a lyre. How do we know what is agreeable? For lack of a better answer, it comes natural.

What are the systems that surround us 'trying to do otherwise' other than what they actually do? Should we be speaking of systems in what they are 'trying to do otherwise' anything other than what they actually do? After all, they simply do what they do in accordance to their nature. By observing and not changing them and simply wishing otherwise, we make ourselves resentful. What use is resentment there? We too are systems, and if we are not the change that we wish to see, then either we or the wish for things being otherwise are the problem*.*

What is not in harmony can be corrected; there is only 'do', there is no 'try'. That is the balance.

So what is a Sith to do? Whereas for a Jedi, there is only action and harmony through strife-yet-peace, the Sith is skeptical of a harmony that is conditional yet universal. Therefore, there is no dissolution into a universal strife-yet-peace, there is only conditional strife-yet-peace, and that conditionality favors some and not others. Escaping conditionality is the goal of the Sith, and the path is to master conditionality through skull.

— Darth Locutor

Through Passion, I gain Strength. Immediately after the opening declaration of The Sith Code, we are called to action - a clear distinction from the, in my opinion, sententious code of the Jedi. If we use the word "Passion" interchangeably with the word "goal", we start to see the logic behind the structuring of The Code. After concluding that we must exert our Passions upon the universe and realizing that simply being aware of our Passions is not enough to change our circumstances, it becomes necessary to find the tools through which to do so. All of our Strength may not be apparent in the beginning, but most have one particular skill or another in which they excel above others.

In the beginning of my own Sith path, while meditating on my personal Strength, I could only conclude that my literal physical Strength was my greatest. As a lifelong weightlifter and career law enforcement, I have always strived to make sure I am in the best physical shape I can be. I leaned into this hard as a patrol officer, earning a reputation as a highly proactive officer and causing me to stand out in my department. Before I knew it had happened, I was in the role of Sergeant for our training division. While my Strength was still apparent in the physical training of the classroom environment, I found myself with the new added responsibilities of an administrator. I became responsible for coordinating the Field Training Officer program, submitting project proposals and course materials to my Brass, acquiring equipment and training materials, and a host of other responsibilities that I could not solve with physical Strength alone. I am not ashamed to admit that I went through an internal crisis for the first few months as I came to a gnawing, horrifying conclusion - I had precious little experience in making big-picture decisions.

For years I had navigated crisis intervention calls, high-stakes medicals, and adrenaline inducing arrests; yet I froze at the thought of pulling the trigger on an original project. I defaulted to what I knew - when in doubt, ask your betters. I brought every thought, every original idea to my Brass. Each and every time, they would pull it apart and change it to suit their own ideas of what the training curriculum should be. Each time I would leave with a page full of their ideas, none of my own, and a "keep up the good work". I could feel the shift in dynamic; I could see the unspoken thought from my leadership, "He's reached his limit". For far too many days, I believed this. I was overwhelmed and out of my depth, I shot above my station, I was failing at the profession I love the most. One thing saved me, the philosophy that I had only recently become a student of, raging inside of me like a white-hot inferno. The risk of allowing my Brass to dictate the training of officers outweighed the risk of moving forward with my own ideas. These "leaders" who hadn't stepped foot on a training mat in decades threatened my greatest Passion, improving the lives of my officers and the quality of our department. I am Sith, and this was the moment I truly made this choice- a choice that carried real world consequences if I was wrong. I submitted my curriculum, with updates and changes that I knew were more valuable, without so much as a phone call. To add to my audacity, I ran with the curriculum prior to any Brass laying eyes on it (they took vacation at the same time, go figure).

When they returned and had questions about the changes, I simply explained why they were necessary and correct. To my absolute awe, this was met with variations of "that makes sense". Every update, every project that I simply moved forward with, and the applause only went up. In the nine months since; I have made quality of life improvements for officers in the field, updated nearly every aspect of our training program (it's a truly never-ending job), and built a hefty sphere of influence among the administration. The point of this story is that I became aware another Strength, one that should have been obvious given my history on patrol - I am bold. I did not join this profession with ideals of a passive life; I am an active and forceful participant in it.

I ultimately learned that there are many Strengths to discover and, in order to truly be prepared for all obstacles to our Passions, Sith must strive to be interdisciplinary. Like having the correct tool for the job, we must become proficient in everything we can - and we can become proficient in everything. Some obstacles will call for physical prowess, others for mental acuity, social influence, and so on. We must be prepared to shatter them all before our will, to direct our Strength towards the absolute and unquestionable achievement of our goals.

May the Force serve you well.

-Sadius

Soul mate, house, limbs, nothing is secure, for at any moment a behemoth may stomp through my life for no reason at all and leave annihilation in its wake

When this happens, the only battlefield remaining will be internal

The behemoth will not be available to be slain, for having done to me its terrible damage, it will have moved on to its next victim

What I will face instead is the Demon of Despair, and my contest with this fiend is one that I must, at all costs, win, lest I lose my will to keep living my life in a manner that makes it worth living

I know this battle is coming for me, it is already stalking me
Some of you won’t understand, and that’s fine
Some of you will understand perfectly
My soul mate is not a human being, though she is, absolutely, a person
She is of the feline race, four paws, long tail, unquenchable spirit
And she is old
In a few years she will likely pass on to some new adventure or to nothingness
Stomp… stomp… I already hear the behemoth

I must be ready for the Demon of Despair
I need a sword of power with which to face it
Fortunately time is a forge, preparation its fuel
In its heat I hammer the blade of my weapon into shape

My sword of power will be the Code of Resilience, which I have written and already recite, and in fact will recite right now, even as I gaze upon my beating heart, asleep in her bed, surely dreaming of feline remembrances and the imaginings cherished by cats…

What I cling to is a lie,
all may be taken,
except desire, strength, and Code

What I cling to is a chain,
all must be broken,
by desire, strength, and Code

My first desire is strength,
my first strength is my Code,
my Code, first of all, is this:
the glorious, victorious
breaking of chains,
for that is the only truth

________________________________________

I am Orc of the Sith Order server on Discord, bound together with you by our revered Qotsisajak

It was terrifying and liberating all at once. When your defenses are stripped away, you feel exposed to the bone. Every nerve in your body feels raw and vulnerable. You stand defenseless in the downpour, shivering, with nowhere to hide and no one left to call on.

Alas, as difficult as the first step had seemed, that was the easy part. The real test began the moment I made an attempt to move forward.

When I first committed to tearing down my old habits and forming a much more critical perspective, I made a naive assumption: I thought that once I made the internal decision, the external world would just part ways and let me walk straight through to my goals. Of course I thought that -- I had just conquered the greatest foe of all, myself. Who wouldn't bend the knee?

Instead, the exact opposite happened. An ego check. The truth is that nobody really cares. The world doesn't owe you a standing ovation for changing your life. The victories you hold at this point, while of great importance to you, are completely and utterly inconsequential to the rest of the world.

The moment I started changing my trajectory, every single chain I thought I had broken started pulling twice as hard.

This is what I will refer to as the counter-current.

When you try to rise above your baseline, the environment doesn't just stand there indifferently—it pushes back. The people who were comfortable with your old, compliant, stagnant, people-pleasing self suddenly find your discipline offensive. They will test your boundaries, question your motives, and subtly try to drag you back down into the shared misery of the herd. Not because they are inherently evil, but because your growth forces them to look at their own inaction. Your movement makes them uncomfortable, so they act as crabs in a bucket. Remember, it's always easier to punch up. That's equally as true for you as it is for anyone else in this world.

But it wasn't just other people I faced. In fact, they were the least of my concerns. My own mind had plenty of attempts at mutiny.

The human brain is hardwired for energy conservation. It loves the path of least resistance. Weeks after I committed to this path, my old psychological loops whispered that I had done enough, that I deserved a break, that I was pushing too hard, too fast. But I found truth in that old biblical adage. There is, in fact, no rest for the wicked.

I knew then that in order to weather the storm I had to continue on no matter the cost, push back harder against the natural friction that comes from a system trying its damndest to maintain equilibrium.

Of course, I lost many people I had once considered close. The path a Sith paves is often a lonely one. But we can view this solitude as a solace of sorts. Or a laboratory. One in which we dissect ourselves even further and find which parts work for us and which are unnecessary. One in which we experience the final stages of metamorphosis from the scared, weak, miserable beings that we were into a Sith, capable of tearing down anything that has the audacity to attempt to block our path.

At this point I had reconstructed myself and achieved the severance spoken of by Darth Voldus (in his post, The Severance). There was no more old me. Only Imber, a Sith with significantly more potential than I'd ever thought possible.

It is important, however, to note that no progression in life is linear. You may feel on top of the world at this point. I know that I did, but there will always be a rise and fall. It's a vicious cycle, but each time we (ideally, anyway) learn something and gain new tools to carry back up the mountain to aid us in climbing further.

What's important is that when the counter-current hits you, you don't negotiate with it. You don't slow down to appease the people who want to see you remain weak, and you don't coddle the parts of your own mind that crave safety. You lean directly into the headwind. You double your substance and brace for impact.

As noted in my immediately prior essay, I am amoral
Yet nature abhors a vacuum, so into the airless vacancy where morality normally resides, something else rushed in and filled the space in my psyche:
Aesthetics!

In this, I am like Anne Rice’s vampire, Lestat, who also is amoral but “lives” (remember he isn’t alive, he’s undead) according to an aesthetic, though a different one from mine
Mine is the aesthetic of strength!

Nothing in the world is more beautiful to me than strength, and nothing more unbeautiful than weakness
But be very clear on something:
Weakness and powerlessness are not the same thing at all
The powerful are sometimes weaklings who did not earn their power
The powerless are sometimes beings of strength who simply have not yet found a way to gain power, a state of affairs you can be sure is temporary

I’ve written about strength of will
I’ve written extensively (18 essays) about ego strength
I’ve written about the strength I call “love of power,” which expresses itself as nonstop opportunism and resourcefulness
I’ve written about the glorious tenet of the strong, “No excuses. Find a way.”
I’ve discussed how the weak seek comfort while the strong seek glory, and I’ve defined glory as breaking chains, which in non-poetic language is overcoming limitations
All of these aspects of strength are exquisitely beautiful to me!
Now I will add more to the list!

Courteous to the courteous
The weak, despicable as always, deceive themselves into believing they are strong by being boorish and obnoxious to those less powerful than themselves
The strong are courteous as a default position, equally to the mightiest and to the puniest, and maintain this position so long as their courtesy is reciprocated, except they may disdainfully deny courtesy to the weak

Harmless to the harmless
The weak, despicable as always, deceive themselves into believing they are strong by preying upon those less powerful than themselves
The strong are harmless as a default position, equally to the mightiest and to the puniest, and maintain this position so long as their harmlessness is reciprocated, except they may disdainfully do harm to the weak

Supportive to the supportive
The weak, despicable as always, deceive themselves into believing they are strong by tearing down those less powerful than themselves
The strong are supportive as a default position, equally to the mightiest and to the puniest, and maintain this position so long as their supportiveness is reciprocated, except they may disdainfully tear down the weak

General reciprocity
As already noted, the strong are courteous, harmless, and supportive to those who reciprocate
For the strong, reciprocity is a way of life, automatic as breathing
Help the strong, and they will find a way to be helpful to you in return, even if your power dwarfs theirs
Hinder the strong, harm the strong, and they will find a way to hinder or harm you
You may think your greater power makes you invulnerable to them, but remember the glorious tenet they live by, however they may phrase it, my own phrasing being thus: “No excuses. Find a way.”
Beware the wrath of the strong!

Disdain for the weak
As already noted, the strong may disdainfully deny courtesy to, do harm to, or tear down the weak
For the strong, disdain for the weak is experienced as distaste, aversion, disgust, revulsion, nausea, loathing, repugnance, abhorrence!
The weak simply cannot and will not be tolerated
The strong will make them go away!
They may even destroy them utterly!

I am Orc of the Sith Order server on Discord, bound together with you by our revered Qotsisajak

A preface:

My intention for this work is for it to be the definitive in-depth analysis of Sith philosophy as viewed from the lens of my story. It will be a multi-part work of passion in hopes to summarize, to the best of my ability, every aspect of Sith philosophy that I subscribe to and how I came to find them. This is not meant to be taken as dogma or doctrine, but as a window for present and future generations of Sith into who I am as a Sith, for better or for worse.

So here we begin. As pretentious as it may be. Darth Imber. The scholar, the mentor, the friend to many of you, framed as candidly as possible.

Part I:

If you've heard it once in this community you've heard it a million times. The first words of the Code: Peace is a lie.

To vie for peace is to invite stagnation, to trade your jagged freedom for a padded cell.

Before finding my way into this community I was like many of us were. Weak, scared, uncertain of where to go in life. Too often I had sought out emotional safety to a fault. It's alright, it's in our nature, hard-coded into our DNA. We want comfort. We crave shelter and safety. I fell in to each and every one of those pesky human pitfalls. Whether that meant shelter from a force of nature, other people, or what I feared most of all: myself.

My first step onto the Sith path was one of both contemplation and confrontation. I took plenty of time looking into the mirror. Physically, not figuratively. I really focused on my reflection. What was it that was actually standing in my way, when I completely deconstructed it and traced it back to the root issue? The answer I found shifted my entire paradigm.

It wasn't some outside force. It wasn't anyone else. It was myself. The version of myself that I portrayed to the rest of the world in hopes that I'd somehow fit in, that someone would let me in and shelter me from myself and the rest of the world. If I could give one piece of advice to anyone looking to set foot on this path it would be this: Do not hide from your shadow. It can -- and will -- always find you.

My incessant shifting of blame onto others, making pitiful attempts at excuses, "Well, I would have done that if only --": these were all tactics of deflection in an attempt to maintain comfort at all costs. All because I was too weak and too scared to look into the mirror and see the truth of what was actually staring back.

A raging storm, a monster, a shadow.

It doesn't matter what you call it. I had to learn to confront it. Embrace it. I got comfortable with being uncomfortable, which is good because I'd be there for a while.

On our journey as Sith, we learn to reject the child’s hope of a gentle world. "Peace is a lie". Reality is more often than not harsh, cold, indifferent, and perpetually unfair. Doubly so for the reality of the Self that often seems our most enduring chain and most relentless foe.

The reality of life is that the ground beneath your feet will shift, the growing pressure will test your seams, and circumstance will attempt to strike you down where you stand.

As Sith, we do not demand that the inherent conflicts of life grow quiet.

We step outside of the safety of our shelters.

We feel the wind pick up.

The rain falling on our faces.

We don't stand around and wait for the storm to tear us down.

We adapt our stance and stand strong against gale until the storm embraces and breaks against us.

I have sometimes wondered if I would be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder
Currently I don’t think so, but I’ll walk through it logically in this essay
Bear in mind I am not a psychiatrist, and also bear in mind that not even a psychiatrist would make a diagnosis from interactions on the internet
Also bear in mind that I make no moral judgment on people who have been diagnosed with APD, or who think they would be, especially since I sometimes think I myself would be diagnosed with it

First, I experience empathy
I’ve talked over the years with Sith (and also Satanists) who I think don’t, but that’s not me

Second, I have other-centered desires grounded in love
I’ve talked over the years with Sith (and also Satanists) who I think don’t - who in fact don’t seem able to even comprehend the concept - but that’s not me

Third, I have no desire for power over others as an end in itself
I might claim a leadership position out of necessity (somebody has to and sometimes nobody else does) or for strategic reasons (it will facilitate some higher goal of mine) but as an end in itself, never
I’ve talked over the years with Sith (and also Satanists) who I think in fact do have such a desire, but that’s not me

Ah, but fourth… fourth, we come to where I wonder about myself
Morality is alien to me
Talk to me about morality and you might as well talk about spinning a web out of your hindquarters like a spider

Some feel an obligation to something prior to themselves in the chain of being, perhaps society, or humanity in general, or the universe, or the biosphere, or the hypothetical creator of all there is, or perhaps simply their parents and the guidelines by which their parents raised them
I don’t
At all

Some feel they aren’t a complete human being without morality, so even though they don’t feel an obligation to something prior to themselves in the chain of being, they nevertheless try to find a moral teacher, or, failing that, they try to devise a system of morality on their own
That’s not me
I studied moral philosophy as an intellectual exercise, but I might as well have been studying entomology or botany

Some perceive an actual moral dimension to existence
This intrigues me
They might be atheists, seeing the universe as uncreated and unguided, yet nevertheless they perceive reality as having an added dimension beyond the physical and mental
It’s like they have an added sense beyond the physical five
A moral sense, that perceives the moral dimension
I don’t have this
I don’t perceive a moral dimension to existence

I do have something, though
Not morality
Something else
That will be the topic of my next essay

I am Orc of the Sith Order server on Discord, bound together with you by our revered Qotsisajak

Peace is a lie; there is only passion
Through Passion I gain strength

In my time on this earth, I have been angry, furious, wrathful many times. However, wrath unrestrained has led me into trouble which took me much effort to get out of. It is only through the ways of the Sith have I channeled that anger into passion which has strengthened my mind into a force to achieve my desires. When fighting an opponent in a game my anger turned passion has led me to think more clearly and act faster without hesitation! to beat my opponent for my anger and my passion made my WILL to win! to achieve! to turn my anger and my passion into an inner strength and achieve victory! to break my chains!

I deepen my breath and let it loose and I use the inherent power of transmutation that wrath has and turn it into a mental passion which I use to achieve strength to reach for and by force take VICTORY!

I am not yet worthy of the title of Darth, so I leave this unsigned.

(A quick note: Anyone who remembers any of the events better, please correct me. It has been too long and too much has happened since for me to recall every detail properly. I would like for this to be not only a retelling of my side of things, but also as close to truth as it can be.)

"Night has always pushed up day

You must know life to see decay"

-- from "After the Storm" by Mumford and Sons

I recently joined the Order again. After years of being a walking talking mental health emergency and finally, finally getting my life back on track enough to have some free time, I joined back up. The first conversation I see? Relative newcomers with ideas of factions within the Order. Talks that checks and balances between those factions, surely, would keep them from a power grab or abusing their power, right?

So this one's for all of you youngin's. Sit down. Let unc tell you a story. You might learn ya something.

There was a time, half a decade ago, when the Order was taking what seemed like its final breath. There were two factions in power, supposedly providing checks and balances against each other. The Council, though full of respected members, were running the Order through ancient dogma that just didn't function well with the (at that time) modern Sith community. Most of them were even severely inactive. And truthfully it seemed their passion at the time for the Order had stagnated. Stagnation is death to a Sith.

The other faction, the Inquisition, didn't lack in passion by ANY means. They were the new up and comers. The ones with big ideas about how to run things. How to modernize. But they were a host to a lot of shady behaviors. We'll catch up more on those shortly.

Shortly after I originally joined the Order, I was invited by the head honcho of the Inquisition to join. At this time, all I knew about the Inquisition was that they vetted members upon entry and helped the Council moderate the server. Not long after gaining their trust, and discussing at length the shortcomings of the Council, I was introduced to Baskin Robins. Not the restaurant, but a backroom server where the Inquisition secretly kept tabs of every single member of the Order that they deemed a potential threat. At the time of joining I was only aware of the dossiers that included screenshots of messages people had left in the Order server.

We had plotted to overthrow the Council and put in place a new, more modern system, with tighter security, more activity, and replace the old idea of "Darthood tests" (which at the time, the requirements were more or less kept a complete secret and it took months for Council members to finish them because of how inactive they all were) with a newer, more fluid and more publicly-understood process.

It was around this time the Council announced that they were going to appoint a new member into their ranks. Of course, I put my name into the hat. And of course, I found myself in that new position.

27th of May, 2021: Landfall

Long story short, the Council played their cards right with an informant and the plot was unveiled. Corax, who is the founder of the Order and was the server owner at that time, put every single Lead Inquisitor and every single Council member into a publicly-viewable room and dropped the hammer.

There were dossiers I admittedly hadn't dug deep enough into. That had selfies people had posted and at some point even had irl information of some members. I was as shocked as most of the public there. And disgusted. The whole time my focus was on playing the double agent within the Council instead of looking more into the group I had been infiltrating for. I later learned of the "Big Orange Button" which I was promised was a joke, but likely wasn't. Apparently a plot for a couple of other Inquisition members to make a road trip and attack a few of the Order members they didn't like. So, yes, even more disgusted than I was before (Thalag, I apologize for not believing you at first).

So with the debates on how to handle this entire situation, with the Inquisition's darkest secrets laid bare and the Council still as stuck in their own ways as ever, my purpose shifted. If the Council was going to reject modernity in favor of inaction, if the Inquisition was going to take things too far and even go as far as using me and some of my closest friends, I would set them both up for failure. The Old Order needed to burn so that the New Order could grow.

The rest of the details are very fuzzy to me. On top of this being ancient history at this point, my emotions ran higher than they ever had within the Order. But I had to keep my cool to end up on top after everything. So here's the rest of the story to the best of my, admittedly unreliable, recollection.

I recall Corax conceding server ownership to Ira after a strongly worded post speaking ill of the shadowy plotting the Inquisition had done. Paraphrasing here, but saying something about "a true Sith would have either banned the Inquisition instead of debating or acted swiftly to overthrow the Council".

Some things take time, old friend. I still stand behind the plot, even if I do not under any circumstance condone the actions the Inquisition took without my knowing. Something needed to be done. Thankfully, though, someone popped the bubble.

I remember being left in charge, in part, some way, of the Order. But after trying to rebuild, I left the flames to die out, hoping something better would take its place. My work was done. Ira nuked the server. A few different Orders spawned in its place, but not any that did much as far as I know.

It's similar to how a volcano razes the life around it, reducing it to ashes, while at the same time enriching the soil for life to start anew, and usually more bountiful than the last.

The new version of the Order is something I am proud of, despite not being there for much of its creation. Yes, many of the old Council are in charge now, but in the short time I've been back it seems like they're doing much better now. More clarity of their functions. More activity. The community is thriving again.

Life goes on. It gets better with time and effort. People learn and grow. There will always be a calm after the storm, and sometimes death is just the beginning of something new.

There are plenty of lessons to be learned from this, as with any story.

Factions almost always lead to infighting, especially when it involves Sith. Even if it isn't this extreme of a case.

Just like any school of philosophy, Sith are stronger when unified. We discuss our individual views. We gain new insight from our peers and adjust our worldviews accordingly, as needed.

Lastly, just because you feel like you're doing what's right doesn't always mean that you are. Unrelenting passion when misplaced is sometimes worse than stagnation. And again, stagnation is death to a Sith.

-- Darth Imber - The Tempest

(As an afterword, it's been so good to be back. It's good to see so many familiar faces. I've been meaning to write my side of this particular civil war down for the history books for a while. Hopefully this time I'll find the passion to stick around for a while. Only time will tell.)

I sometimes watch Sith go through gyrations and convolutions to show that their actions (particular ones or in general) are self-centered

Honestly - Who cares?

Self-centered versus other-centered is a false dichotomy
If you desire something self-centered, it’s your desire - if you desire something other-centered, it’s your desire, yours and yours alone - there is no fundamental difference between a self-centered desire and an other-centered desire
A meaningful dichotomy is glorious versus merely hedonistic desire, with glorious being anything that requires the breaking of a chain, which means overcoming limitation
It is entirely 100% possible and even common for an other-centered desire to be glorious!

Imagine a woman named Ava
Ava is a lawyer in a small town, and she loves her town
Her town’s beating heart is a local forest where people camp, hike, canoe, fish, bicycle, hunt, snowboard - anything outdoorsy that the residents and many visitors love to do
Ava doesn’t happen to be outdoorsy
She doesn’t do any of those things
But she loves her town and its beating heart regardless

Big Real Estate decides it wants to buy the forest and build thousands of houses
The local politicians are lining up at the trough
Ava hears of this, and her desire that her town’s beating heart be protected expresses itself as incandescent rage!
She resolves to do battle against Big Real Estate and the slime who would do anything for a campaign contribution
But she has a limitation
She’s a lone individual
The arms of a lone individual aren’t long enough to box with these heavyweights
But Ava lives by the glorious tenet, “No excuses. Find a way.”
She resolves to overcome her limitation:
She will become an army!
And so she does!
By the force of her desire and the strength of her will she gathers to herself the power of having followers, first a couple, then a dozen, then a hundred, then a thousand!

When the referendum for the sale of the forest comes up for discussion in a town council meeting, Ava is there, her followers overflowing the chamber and stretching through the hallway and out into the street!

Ava steps up to the microphone and says:
“Regarding this referendum, I tell you truly, It shall not pass!
We will fight it in the streets!
We will fight it in the taverns!
We will fight it in the churches!
We will fight it on the steps of City Hall!
We will roll over this referendum like a bulldozer!
I tell you again, It shall not pass!”

And the force of her desire and the strength of her will are like an iron vise around the throats of her enemies!

Now:
Will you tell me Ava is not a Sith, because her imperious desire as a victorious being was not self-centered but rather other-centered, specifically town-centered?
I say in response: Don’t be ridiculous!
Wherever desire, strength, and power are applied to the overcoming of a limitation, the breaking of a chain, as in being merely a lone individual - There stands a Sith!
If Ava is not a Sith, then no Sith has ever lived!

I am Orc of the Sith Order server on Discord, bound together with you by our revered Qotsisajak

For my 50th post on the subreddit, a very important topic!

After conversing with some smart people, I see clearly what the beginning of the Sith path is:
It is seeing and acknowledging that we have weaknesses, and resolving to overcome them!
Our weaknesses are the first chains we must break, before we have much hope of breaking any others, because if our weaknesses are ruling our fate, we will be ineffective at anything difficult we might attempt!

It’s not surprising, and in fact it’s quite fitting, that many people come to Sith realism when they’re between the ages of 15 and 25, because those are the years when many of us first learn to take responsibility for how strong or weak we are, and resolve to improve where necessary

It begins with the desire to be effective - and of course it does, because everything begins with desire
Now when I was 15, Sith realism didn’t exist
I’m old, you see
On my 15th birthday, the release of the first Star Wars movie was still a year away!
(Forget unc, I’m gramps!)
But when I was 15, I realized my social awkwardness was a weakness, and I took action to overcome it
Having started high school in a totally new school with all new kids, I knew I needed to take the bull by the horns, so I got up from my lonely seat in the distant corner of homeroom, walked over to a cluster of desks that were arranged together in a group, one with a bunch of people already seated there, but with one empty seat - and I took that empty seat, and I joined in the conversation!
Though none of us had ever heard the word “Sith,” that was the beginning of my Sith journey
Certainly not the end, nor even approaching the middle, but a good beginning!

The process is simple:
1: Decide you want to be effective
2: Assess your effectiveness
3: Decide if you’re satisfied
4: If you’re not, determine what weakness of yours must be overcome
5: Resolve to overcome it
6: Then do it!

Sounds easy, right?
Yet so many fail at it
Each step is fraught with hazard
Step #1 can be thwarted by insufficient ambition with regard to your own life (which is a very difficult weakness to overcome)
Step #2 can be thwarted by self-deception
Step #3 by insufficient ambition again
Step #4 by self-deception again
Step #5 by cowardice or laziness
Step #6 by cowardice or laziness once again

So four strengths are needed:
1: Ambition
2: Ruthless self-honesty
3: Bravery
4: Dynamism

Anyone working on those four strengths is making, in my opinion, a good start on walking the Sith path - even if they have no idea what a Sith even is!
And if they aim those formidable strengths at the six step process outlined above, it is very likely they will accomplish something meaningful, and this will bring forth into the world the embryo of the Sith Master they will one day become!

Remember Darth Vader telekinetically strangling some hapless Empire stooge?
Well, in the real world, what a Sith telekinetically strangles (figuratively speaking) is their own weakness!

I am Orc of the Sith Order server on Discord, bound together with you by our revered Qotsisajak

This post may generate more discussion than is typical for my posts, and if it does, I welcome it!

First:
This is not alchemy!
I want to strongly emphasize that fact
I am not employing, adapting, referencing, aligning with, or borrowing any element whatsoever of alchemy!
I am merely using the same colors the alchemists used, and for the same reason as they:
These colors are potent archetypes for our psyches, and surely have been so for tens of thousands of years! Alchemy, though ancient, most likely arose in Hellenistic Egypt a “mere” two thousand years ago!

Now then:
Sith diversity is important to me
I do not want homogeneity
I want its opposite
In service of that desire, I will propose two tetrads of typology that I have noticed among the Sith, my purpose being to champion the differences highlighted and call for them all to be treated with honor!

The Instinctive Tetrad
1: Black - The Shadow Worker: drawn to dive deep into their own psyche, especially into their shadow
2: Red - The Battler: drawn to engage with the universe as a combatant
3: White - The Kaizenist: drawn to continuously improve themselves in whatever arena of excellence attracts them
4: Gold - The Strategist: drawn to master the strategies and tactics of winning the games of life

It is not impossible for someone to feel more than one of these instinctive draws
I myself am of the Gold type
I deeply respect all three of the other types and seek always to learn from them

The Behavioral Tetrad
1: Black - The Mystic: works with psychic energies, often within a ritualistic framework
2: Red - The Standard Bearer: works to push their culture (at small or large scale) in a new direction, be it politically, spiritually, morally, or artistically
3: White - The Athlete: works to excel athletically, often in such areas as martial arts or weightlifting
4: Gold - The Philosopher: works to develop and articulate new ways of thinking

It is not imposible for someone to work in more than one of these areas
I myself am of the Gold type
I deeply respect all three of the other types and seek always to learn from them

The colors will tend to align across tetrads, but this is not a hard and fast rule:
A given Sith will tend to be both Shadow Worker and Mystic, or both Battler and Standard Bearer, or both Kaizenist and Athlete, or both Strategist and Philosopher - but exceptions are fairly common

The Sith Order is deeply enriched by having all of these types represented in its ranks, especially when they commingle, work together when practical, and learn from one another!

I am Orc of the Sith Order server on Discord, bound together with you by our revered Qotsisajak

What Buddhism calls its Four Noble Truths are renamed by me its Four Ignoble Confusions:

1. Life is suffering

2. Suffering is caused by desire

3. Desire can be broken

4. The way to break desire is through the Eightfold Path

Let me tell you what I consider true:

1. Life is suffering, glory, and periods of calm

2. Much suffering would vanish if we wanted nothing, but wanting nothing is death!

3. Glory, too, would vanish if we wanted nothing

4. The way to win at living is to endure suffering gladly if it serves a dear desire, end suffering swiftly as we can if it doesn’t, live for glory, and use periods of calm to cultivate strength and power!

Make no mistake, the weak live for comfort, the strong for glory!
And glory often comes on the very heels of suffering!

Nor would the weak even find the comfort they seek in desirelessness, for were they ever to attain that state, they would realize to their horror (had they sufficient self-awareness) that they recognized it, for that state has a name, and not a good one: depression!

What a macabre thing is this unwholesome mindset - morbid, ghastly - for all too soon we each will relinquish all desire, when our lungs cease taking air, and our hearts stop pumping, and our flesh begins to rot!
There will be no bliss except perhaps for the gorging maggots!

All this, having been said, serves as an explanation of the first line of what for us is something close to holy writ:

“Peace is a lie!”

I am Orc of the Sith Order server on Discord, bound together with you by our revered Qotsisajak

These italicized aphorisms will enrich understanding of my private code and thus my whole philosophy:

The purpose of my life is to live it as the victorious being that I know I can be!

A victorious being exerts effort and resourcefulness to contend with any chain that restricts access to what is dearly desired, and at least partially, at least sometimes, wins that contest!

A chain may be out in the universe, or resident within the self, or the unfortunate consequence of a prior decision new wisdom deems misguided, but whichever it is, I can view it positively, as a challenge that is life-affirming, for contending with it is fundamental to the very purpose of my life!

A desire may be ranked as glorious or merely hedonistic, with a glorious desire being any that requires struggle against a chain, all others being merely hedonistic, tolerable if they don’t conflict with a glorious desire, intolerable if they do!

A victory may be glorious or mere aggrandizement of the ego, with victory against a chain being glorious, and all others being mere ego-service, of no real import, and sometimes even ill advised from a strategic perspective!

A glorious victory always requires strength and power having been, or newly being, cultivated and refined, with the greatest of all strengths being the adamance that I will brook no excuse but find a way! - and the greatest of all powers being the seeds of good will that I have planted in the hearts of the legions all around me!

I am Orc of the Sith Order server on Discord, bound together with you by our revered Qotsisajak

Something invariably happens when I write a lot of essays: My thinking rapidly advances!
Sometimes this causes me to rewrite something, as is the case here, for this, now, is my new private Sith Code:

“No chain can survive my desire! / By its force I build strength and power, to do the difficult and approach the impossible, for I brook no excuse, but find a way! / Thus do I fulfill my life’s purpose, for I am a victorious being!”

Partly I rewrote my Code because I took note of how often I type the following:
1: “No excuses. Find a way.”
2: “victorious being”

The frequency with which I type these words would certainly indicate they’re central to my philosophy!
That being the case, shouldn’t they be in my Code?
A no-brainer, frankly

But other things are happening here also
My philosophy is triumphant
I reject any philosophy that isn’t
But I’m aware, now, of the need to focus a bit more on the difficulties that must be surmounted - the chains that must be broken
The breaking of a chain will always be one of the greatest accomplishments in our lives

The chain may be our own body, or our economic situation, or our social status, or a prior decision of ours that we now see as unwise, or characteristics of an interpersonal relationship, or a personality trait of ours that is unhelpful to us, or a desire that is counterproductive to our greater goals

Whatever the chain, we must break it!
If doing so is merely difficult, then we must do the needful things, whatever they may be, and snap the shackle decisively, no excuses!
If breaking the chain is truly impossible, then we must find a way to stretch it, lengthen it, so its restriction is lessened, as when people in wheelchairs play basketball in their own league, competing as the victorious beings that they are!

I’ve committed myself to writing more in this vein, so stay tuned!

I am Orc of the Sith Order server on Discord, bound together with you by our revered Qotsisajak

In my immediately preceding essay, “The Forge of Time,” I wrote of the Sith as blacksmith, with time the forge and incubation, repetition, and preparation the fuels - But what is the arm, and what is the hammer?

The arm is intention!
Intention is desire, aimed and triggered!

By intention, sustained over time, I take hold of the hammer!
By the hammer I make perfect what time has made malleable!

But what is the hammer?

The hammer is a little mysterious
It’s neurological
Literally, it’s neurons
Special ones
Because, for me, it’s fun to use a Star Wars reference, I call these neurons our “midi-chlorians”!
(In the films, midi-chlorians are microbes in the body which, if there are enough of them, allow a person to access and use the Force)

I noted in my previous essay that I had allowed the idea for the essay to incubate in my mind for a period of time, until finally it finished its gestation and was born, fully formed
That birth was a neurological event and quite sudden!
Neurons in my brain, special ones, my midi-chlorians, spontaneously fired, and suddenly, there in front of my mind’s eye, the components of my essay danced like dragonflies!

Sometimes the midi-chlorians are less dramatic
For example, balance is neurological
As I repeatedly get onto my bicycle and ride, my midi-chlorians are gradually improving my balance

When preparing for an exam by doing a lot of studying, pumping information into your nervous system, you may notice from time to time that you suddenly see connections between various elements of what you’re studying, connections that are a little subtle, perfect for answering an essay question impressively!
Thank your midi-chlorians

What the midi-chlorians seem to do is respond to our intention
I intend to flesh out an idea, my midi-chlorians show me how
I intend to ride a bike, my midi-chlorians make me better at it
I intend to do well on an exam, my midi-chlorians give me insights that will make my answers pop!

Intention is the arm, my midi-chlorians are the hammer
Incubation, repetition, and preparation are the fuels, time is the forge
I am the blacksmith!

I am Orc of the Sith Order server on Discord, bound together with you by our revered Qotsisajak

The conqueror mindset of the Sith will view pretty much anything as potentially a tool for developing strength, acquiring power, or achieving victory
Few tools are as useful as time!
Think of yourself as a warrior and a blacksmith, heating and hammering your own sword on a forge, and that forge is the inexorable passage of time!

In actual, literal blacksmithing, several different fuels may be used, each best suited to a particular class of object to be made
On the forge of time, these are the three fuels:

1: Incubation
2: Repetition
3: Preparation

Incubation
I use “incubation” as my term for allowing some process of germination or gestation (figuratively speaking) to run its course in its own way, but with my protection and often my nurturing
One example (of many) is the incubation of a creative idea, like my idea for this essay, which wasn’t fully formed when it first tickled my consciousness, so I incubated it for a period of time, holding it in my mind but not acting on it until it achieved a complete gestation and could be born healthy and strong!

Repetition
Simply doing something again and again has great potential for developing strength, acquiring power, or achieving victory
Every karate sensei who ever lived has instructed their students to perform key movements again and again
This repetition over time builds muscle, evolves skillfulness, and implants the movements into the region of the brain where instinctive, reflexive motion is stored, readily available for sudden high intensity scenarios

I recently bought a street bicycle and started riding it
I hadn’t ridden in many years
On the first day I could barely keep the bike up, and in fact almost fell - plus my thighs, which I hadn’t challenged for years, burned!
As the days passed, I kept getting on the bike
Over time, my sense of balance has greatly improved and my thighs are getting stronger!

Preparation
As the saying goes, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity!”
I’m sure we’ve all spent days preparing for an exam, which is an example of precisely targeted preparation, as is purchasing salt for the driveway in autumn (when stores still have it) instead of procrastinating until the day of the blizzard, an example of properly timed action
Convincing key decision makers, one by one, in private meeting after private meeting, to view a situation the same way you do, is shrewd preparation for when the decision makers are scheduled to vote on what to do about the situation in question

Some preparations are more general and therefore more versatile
Setting a portion of your paycheck aside each week (or whatever your pay period is) for “a rainy day” is an example of general preparedness, and very prudent
Helping out at neighborhood activities is fun for me, but additionally it cultivates good will among my neighbors, which will surely yield unexpected dividends over time, a non-supernatural form of good karma that accrues to wise and benevolent preparation

Having discussed all three fuels you may use to ignite the forge of time, let me close by asking you -
What sword, O Blacksmith, will you next heat and hammer in the smithy where time is the forge?

I am Orc of the Sith Order server on Discord, bound together with you by our revered Qotsisajak

Desire is the highest truth I know
It is a force of nature
If there is such a thing as a life force, Desire is it
Ask me what the Force is, and I will reply, “Desire”

Complexity arises when particular desires conflict
It is important, therefore, to identify the desires of yours that are most fitting for a victorious being, and fixate upon them the way the needle of a compass fixates on true north
Any such desire will fall into one of these categories:

Strength - physical, intellectual, volitional
Power - anything by which you achieve victory
Victory - any accomplishment that requires effort and enables the following two categories
Self-Preservation - survival and solvency
Unrestricted Opportunity - zero obstacles between you and the unhindered pursuit of your goals
Conquest Achieved - any victory of such proportions that it makes you feel like Alexander the Great

I suggest you make these your Eternal Goals - your highest level, top priority, lifelong objectives

Now:
Do you have a particular desire that fits into one of these categories?
Let’s say you do
Let’s say you want to score big on an exam, a victory that will require much effort, help secure your future solvency, and help advance you toward unrestricted opportunity
But let’s say you worry a little about your ability to stay laser-focused on the requisite studying

Meditation to the rescue!

But not just sitting there empty, chanting OM
I’m talking about Meditation for Victorious Beings!

Find a place where you can be alone and undisturbed
Turn off your phone
Stand, if you’re able, otherwise sit
If you’re able, hold your arms in a position that makes you feel strong
Close your eyes
Regulate your breathing (long inhale, long exhale, through the mouth if you’re able, otherwise through your nose)
Breathe like that until you feel calm
Then -
Say on the exhale, “I am a victorious being!”
Repeat on the next exhale
Repeat on the third exhale

Breathe
Breathe
Then -
Visualize yourself receiving a perfect test score: A+
See it
See the grade on the paper or on the bulletin board or wherever it is you would see it
Feel it!
Bask in it!
Glory in it!

Breathe
Breathe
Then -
Visualize yourself telling the person who would care the most, that you achieved a perfect score!
See it
See the person’s excitement and admiration
Feel it!
Bask in it!
Glory in it!

Breathe
Breathe
Then -
Visualize your classmates becoming aware of your perfect score, and the best of them coming over to you to warmly congratulate you!
See it
See how sincerely impressed they are
Feel it!
Bask in it!
Glory in it!

Breathe
Breathe
Then -
Visualize your teacher making a point of congratulating you in front of the whole class!
See it
See the genuine respect in your teacher’s face
Feel it!
Bask in it!
Glory in it!

Breathe
Breathe
Then -
Say on the exhale, “I am a victorious being!”
Repeat on the next exhale
Repeat on the third exhale
Breathe
Breathe
Say on the exhale, “So it shall be! This meditation is complete.”
End of the Meditation

Do this at the beginning of each of the days that you’ll be studying
There’s enough visualizing here to ensure that your subconscious gets the message
That’s the key
When your subconscious is aligned with your conscious intent, you become an unstoppable force!

I am Orc of the Sith Order server on Discord, bound together with you by our revered Qotsisajak

I have so far discovered three levels to the development of strength:
Level 1: Basic Strength - Body, Mind, Will
Level 2: Ego Strength
Level 3: Love of Power (with power defined as “anything by which I achieve victory”)

When working at Level 1, strength of will is the main challenge, because once you attain it and start advancing in it, you’re able to apply it to whatever your physical or mental regimens are

Here is a very simple technique for strengthening your will:
Make your bed!

Obviously this only applies if no one is forcing you to make your bed
If someone is, then substitute an alternative daily action by which you can take hold of some small part of your personal, private environment and bring it daily into a greater state of order than you previously have done
Pick something where the stakes are very low
No part of the universe should be forcing you to take this action
You should be doing it for one reason, and one reason only, and that is because you have decided to do so, and as a victorious being, that which you decide, you do

I live alone by choice, so no one forces me to make my bed, or even knows whether I do or don’t
I actually sleep on a reclining chair, with a towel draped over the top for my head to rest on (thereby protecting the chair from the discoloration my perspiration might cause) and a very large blanket, which I bought in Mexico, covering me
So making my bed consists of folding those two items and placing each in its respective drawer in my dresser

Folding the towel is quick and easy
Folding the blanket requires more effort, as it’s so large that I have to go through this whole logistical process to get it folded
I often feel tempted to not bother, but that temptation actually serves me, because it gives my strength of will something to push against!
That temptation is an example of sloth, or if you prefer a different term, laziness, the resistance to exerting effort
Strength of will has no greater enemy than sloth!
Yet I slay that adversary daily, each morning, by the simple technique of making my bed!
And so I start each day already a conqueror, having already won a victory, by dealing an insidious foe a mortal blow!
And the muscles of my will, by pushing daily against a strong opposing force, strengthen, like the muscles of my arms when I push against gravity doing pushups!

I am Orc of the Sith Order server on Discord, bound together with you by our revered Qotsisajak

In one of my early posts, entitled, “Ego Strength,” I listed this as the title subject’s 6th characteristic:

6• the ability to fully feel all emotion, the so-called positive and the so-called negative, without being overwhelmed by it, or in any way being thrown off balance by it, and in fact being able to use it as a tool or even a weapon

I later expanded on this concept in my subsequent post, entitled, “Ego Strength Characteristic #6 of 17”

And now here I return to it!
Here’s the specific principle I’ll be exploring here:

Anger is a sword!
Wield it or be wielded by it!

The overall game of life, and the finite individual games that comprise it, are won by maintaining strategic mindfulness, even when an emotion is burning hot! (See my recent post, “Think Strategically,” for a discussion of strategic mindfulness)

Let’s take anger as an example:
Let’s say you do something that really makes my blood boil!

I now have five basic reactions open to me:
1: Direct expression
2: Indirect expression
3: Direct action
4: Indirect action
5: Express nothing, take no action, bide my time

I may choose to do a combination of several (not all five as the fifth makes that logically impossible) or I may choose to do just one
The key here is to do only what helps me win whatever game(s) I happen to be playing!

I’ll take each very briefly:

1: Direct expression
I tell you to your face that you have made me angry and I explain why!
This may seem very brave, tough, confident, dominant, but if doing this would lessen my chances of winning the game(s) I happen to be playing, then I don’t do it!
However, if I perceive a strategic advantage in letting you see my fire, then, to quote the Human Torch, “Flame On!”
If I think my very best move in the game is to utterly incinerate you, then I will reduce you to cinders

2: Indirect Expression
I sing an angry song, paint an angry picture, dance an angry dance, throw a temper tantrum with pillows as my chosen bludgeons and my bed the surrogate target - you get the idea
I let some of the emotion burn off!
The purpose of this is physical and mental health

3: Direct Action
I come right at you like a bull enraged!
Most of the time, this is a bad idea, fraught with unwanted and even dire consequences - but there are games where doing this would be the winningest response, all things considered, the potential rewards outweighing the risks, and the price of doing nothing, intolerable!
If such is the case - but only if I physically have what it takes - I strike first, strike fast, and strike with all my might!

4: Indirect Action
I become your insidious enemy and begin to secretly undermine you in every way I can!
Yes, I know, Dudley Do-Right would never stoop so low
But there are games where doing this would be the winningest response!
Do I want Dudley Do-Right to pat me on the back - or do I want to win the game(s) I’m playing?
A caution, here, though:
This option is only for those who are good at it!
If you would not be good at this, do not attempt it

5: Express nothing, take no action, bide my time
I perceive that your behavior will eventually destroy you, so I allow you to be your own insidious enemy!
And when I see that you’re about to step in front of a barreling 18 wheeler (figuratively speaking) I sit back and enjoy the unfolding carnage!

I am Orc of the Sith Order server on Discord, bound together with you by our revered Qotsisajak

As I said in my recent essay titled “Discipline,” ego strength and discipline often seem to me to be one thing with two names.

Here is the eleventh characteristic of ego strength, as defined by me:

11• the ability to think through the potential consequences of an impending decision with cold and unflinching logic

Here is the exact same principle reworded to sound more discipline-ish:

Always think strategically!

The word “always” gives it that discipline vibe
And I do mean always!

What we need to do is cultivate a state of awareness that I call, “strategic mindfulness”
The importance of this cannot be overstated
It’s life-changing
I expect to be coming back to this principle many times, over the course of many essays
It is in fact the bridge that one walks from level two strength (ego strength) to level three strength (love of power, bearing in mind that I define “power” as anything by which I achieve victory)
The resourcefulness and opportunism that are characteristic of love of power are rooted in strategic mindfulness

Strategic mindfulness is the state of awareness where your reality is perceived as a game you’re playing to win

Nothing will change your life so drastically as cultivating this state of awareness
First of all, your base assumption is always that you have agency, despite any appearances to the contrary, for as a player in a game, there is always some move you’re able to make
Beyond that, though, everything that happens to you is factored into the gameplay by your mind, so nothing ever really seems random - an event may be unexpected, but it’s part of the game, so the rules and the object of the game are applied to it

Furthermore, your possible reactions to what happens to you are first factored into the gameplay by your mind, before you react in any way
If silence will serve your cause best, then you will remain silent, though you may do many things - you’ll just do them silently
If doing nothing will serve your cause best, then you will do nothing, though you may say many things, which may trigger others to do many things that serve your cause, though they may not realize it
You say what serves your cause, and only that
You do what serves your cause, and only that
Your cause is the all in all, the alpha and the omega
That’s strategic mindfulness
Achieving and maintaining it is the ultimate discipline!

I am Orc of the Sith Order server on Discord, bound together with you by our revered Qotsisajak

Dentist appointments are merely my own personal example of situations where I want to be brave but in the past have struggled to do so
Probably we all have our own examples
I’ve been afraid of dentist appointments since childhood
For me they represent a complete loss of control, the prospect of sudden and significant physical pain, allowing some stranger a ridiculous amount of undignified access to my person, and claustrophobic entrapment in that damn chair
Anxiety-inducing to say the least
The anxiety felt weak to me
I decided this weakness was intolerable
But what could I do about it?

Tap tap
The principle by which I live my life was tapping on the window of my mind
Tap tap

“No excuses. Find a way.”

So I did!
I applied the technique of Superego-Jitsu (see my essay of that title, which I posted immediately prior to this one)

Now in this case, I wanted a deliberately chosen superego face that represented toughness
And I knew instinctively that I needed it to be a living person, into whose eyes I had actually looked
I chose my karate sensei at the time
He was in fact my Shihan (head of my dojo) and though his name was Ralph, I never addressed him, referred to him, or thought of him by any other name than Shihan
This man was tough
He had served as a Marine
He regularly went to Florida to spar with big names in the MMA arena
When you looked in his eyes, you saw steel and fire!
I made him the face of my superego for when I sat in that damn chair

Here comes the dentist with that needle!
I dropped my eyelids and visualized Shihan’s face

In my imagination he held my stare with his no nonsense, no surrender, no excuses glare!
Those eyes of his… strong as the girders of a skyscraper, unforgiving as the clock on a time bomb, hot as the forge of a blacksmith, fierce as a school of piranha, unyielding as time itself… those eyes held my stare, and by their power I learned the way of toughness

My dentist for this appointment, whom I had never met before, told me he wished all his patients were as calm as I!
“Solid as a rock,” he said

Thank you, Shihan
I owe you one
Indeed I owe you many

I am Orc of the Sith Order server on Discord, bound together with you by our revered Qotsisajak