Dark Energy; the Shadow Side of Life

In this day & age, you might have noticed that certain words have evolved, with the times, so to speak. Take the word 'gay' for instance; back in the day, a 'gay' person was happy & carefree: nowadays, it can mean anything from 'stupid' to being a homosexual reference. Somewhat on the other end of the spectrum is the word 'judgement'. Mention being judged to most Christians, even many 'non-religious' people & almost immediately you'll send visions of 'hell-fire & brimstone' dancing through their heads. The word itself, of course, does not necessarily imply anything bad, or wrong; it simply means that a decision, or choice, has been made, for good or ill. 'Judgement', or 'judgment' has come to have a negative connotation! So we come to the word 'dark': thanks in large part to Christianity ( an umbrella term ), most people tend to think of 'evil' or 'nefarious' when this word is used. As the case may be though, the truth is that darkness is simply an area where the light is absent. As when one side of the Earth is in darkness while the other side enjoys the light, it is completely natural; 'cyclical'. Speaking of 'natural'; here is another word that has received 'bad press'! Thanks to the large-scale departure from so-called 'Christian ( puritanistic ) Values', this word is enjoying the positive vibes it has always generated! Anyway; returning to the Dark Side............

Most famously perhaps, quotes from the late-seventies movie 'Star Wars; A New Hope', like "Give yourself to the Dark Side. It is the only way you can save your friends. Yes, your thoughts betray you." have only served, to the religious mind anyway, the notion that dark=bad, or evil. This is not to say that those who open up to their dark side never do what others might call 'evil'; just that the dark, like the light, is part & parcel with our humanity. As the Ego, which is neither good nor bad, Light & Dark, Yin & Yang just ARE & based on our circumstantial choices, prove a necessary constituent to our survival. Our 'Dark Side' is that part of us that might go against what the religious establishment has taught us to stifle. It is often necessary, for our own good, or that of the Collective, to revert to the darker part of our humanity, to do something which institutional religion condemns, which might even go against the grain, personally speaking.

When, therefore, it comes to concepts such as 'Dark Energy'; we should note that this notion is based on, among others, the negative connotations outlined earlier. Energy is simply 'the ability to do'. It is also the building block of the Universe, both micro- & macro-cosmically; if the stars, moons & planets did not have their own energy; Life, especially as we know it, would not exist! If they did not revolve on their axis, if indeed they did not pursue a set course through the heavens, nothing would be as it is, if at all! Along the same lines, 'Dark Matter' is 'a hypothetical form of matter thought to account for approximately 85% of the matter in the universe.' In other words, it is dark simply because the light has not reached it. This could open a can of worms, but the dark side of the moon is dark only because it is in the shadows, much like the Earth in its rotation & orbit is dark on one side, while the other side is flooded with light. Balance of the two, Light & Dark, is necessary to our survival as a race.

The term 'Dark Energy' does indeed imply an imbalance, not only in the observed, but in the observer! In that sense, It is like a mirror. One of my favorite sayings of late is, "We see best in others what we despise in ourselves"! Not only is this true on the other end of the spectrum, it is something I continually remind myself of! 'Dark Energy', then, is not necessarily bad or evil; indeed, we needn't even perceive it as positive or negative, except maybe as a balancing agent. 

According to Google's Oxford Languages dictionary, Dark Energy is 'a theoretical repulsive force that counteracts gravity and causes the universe to expand at an accelerating rate.' In this sense ( macro-cosmic ), that would mean that it is a force that pushes, in human terms, against what constrains or confines us, helping us to reach our full potential. I personally do not believe the Universe is expanding, just that our understanding of It is. So, back to the microcosm ( Us ), our potential to BE is neither greater nor lesser than it ever has been; it's simply our understanding, or realization of it that is/has!

"Balance is Key!" This almost goes without saying ( my 'Dark Side' said I should say it anyway ), but balance is necessary to the survival of Life, not just on Earth, but in the Universe! Without the proper Balance, Life would cease to exist. From a previous post, "Too hot, we burn up; too cold, we freeze to death", etc. ( in other words) This could well open another proverbial 'can', but no Darkness, no Light: though it must be noted that Light can exist without Dark, it also must be noted that without the Dark, we would not recognize the Light! 

Not to get too scientific about it; Light, put very simply, is Energy that is traveling at such a speed ( vibration? ) that it becomes visible to the senses. On the other side of the coin, when Energy vibrates at a lesser frequency, It becomes Dark. When it is blocked by a certain object, such as the Earth or the Moon, it also becomes Dark, being stopped in Its tracks, so to speak; this is also called 'Shadow'.  Perception, in this sense, is Key as well, for a person in Asia is in the dark at the same time that a person in America is blinded by the light. In fact, two people in the same geographical area could be in either Dark or Light, depending on their situation. 

"Does Light exist without Dark?" Surely! "Does Dark exist without Light?" Just as surely. Speaking of a 'can of worms'; this kind of reasoning could lead to questions like, "Why are we ( humans ) here?" "If Light equals Divinity & Dark equals Humanity; why even evolve into ( create? ) Humanity?" Why indeed bring Humanity into the picture if all it does is block the Divine & create Shadows ( Dark )? 'As above, so below'; Balance is Key & the Key to Balance is Realization!

To reiterate; Realization that Imbalance is simply a Perception, strange as it may sound, is the Key to understanding Life! This is not to say, however, that Balance or Imbalance is simply a Perception; like many things, "It is what It is!" We ARE balanced; we are both Dark & Light, though, depending on our choices ( which is what it all comes down to ) we shine like the Sun, or we may end up hiding in the Shadows, like the Dark Side of the Moon. Either way, we should realize that we are Perfect! We might work on our Shadows & endeavor to shine brighter, but even in that, we are only moving in our personal orbit. We are not actually shining brighter; it is only that the other's perception of us has altered so that they receive the Light we've been shining all along!

The Conclusion of the Matter, then, is that we are here to Live! Yes, just as Light & Dark are two sides of the same coin, so Death is a part of Life. In the Great Circle of Life, we are born, we live for a time, then we die. Depending on the circumstances; we may be reborn, but then, after we live for a time, we die again. "Why?", you may ask; That, in a sense, may be called The Great Mystery! Are we here to glorify God, as the Christian would say, or are we here to embody the Love that we are? Whether one believes that we need to bring glory to some Creator or that we are the Masters of our own Destinies, the very Best we can do is to let our let Shine in the Dark!

Namaste' & Blessed Be

Sage Charles