Last week I received this comment:

I agree with you, if I understand correctly, when you say that we must accept and explore (or at least get to know) the monster/beast/dark side within. But don't the Jedi actually try to repress or deny the darker aspects of the self?

There are points in Star Wars where one might say the Jedi favor repression of emotions. Obi-Wan's comment titularly referenced above is one. Also, Yoda's advice to Anakin in the beginning of Episode III comes to mind: Don't mourn the loss of a loved one. Don't even miss them. Uh, yeah sure. That might be possible for Jedi Master Pinocchio over there, but Anakin is a real boy. Not honoring our feelings is as quick a path to the dark side (i.e., genuine suffering) as indulging them and leaving a few dozen Tuskens headless in the Dune Sea. Gratifying his emotions didn't work for Anakin and repression only midwifed his black-hearted days under the helmet.

In my experience, there is a middle road between indulgence of powerful emotions like hatred and anger and out-and-out repression of them. This entails acknowledging and honoring my emotions and finding healthy ways of expressing them. You might be surprised that a Buddhist (dear God, I'm not one of them am I?) would suggest this, but sitting meditation is REALLY helpful in creating space in my life so I am not overwhelmed by emotions, but instead able to handle them lightly and without much strain. It's good to express emotions, but developing the ability to pick how and when I do so (and to do it without repression) is a mighty fine tool in the ol' utility belt. I've forgotten it was there quite a number of times, but I have used it more than that grappling hook thingy.

I'm not exactly sold on the idea that the Jedi say, "Deny the darkness within you, instead think only of pink-maned ponies and ice cream sundaes in a marshmallow forest." The reason why I'm not sold is because they really push the mindfulness thing. "Be mindful of your feelings," Mace told Anakin even before he was accepted into the Jedi Order. To be mindful is to be aware, to acknowledge, to accept-all antonyms for denial. The other reason is because something Obi-Wan told Luke, "Don't give in to hate-that leads to the dark side."

It seems to me so-called dark side qualities like hate and anger can be viewed in two ways: As emotions and as behaviors. The emotion of hate/anger is something felt in the body and the mind. The behavior aspect comes in when we become the hate/anger, acting it out unskillfully through words and deeds. Clearly, the Jedi suggest being mindful of your feelings and I'd say they are talking about the emotional aspect of the feeling. So I don't see any denial or repression there. However, what they are denying is the behavior of the feeling: "Don't give in to hate." In other words, don't let hate overwhelm you so that you act destructively and pass your suffering on to others even while deepening your own pain.

Conversely (I happen to love Converse Chuck Taylors, by the way), the Sith want you to live out that dark side: "...now release your anger. Only your hatred can destroy me." They say indulge, luxuriate yourself in your anger, savor your hate, etc., etc.

You are welcome to do just that, after all Palpatine says hate makes you powerful and you know, he's right. Hatred and anger are very powerful. But here's the deal: indulging in hate and anger makes you stupid too, and clumsy and miserable. Stupid, yes. I don't mean that in a childish name calling sort of way either. Ever listen to yourself when you're angry and spouting off about what you are all keyed up about? I know I sound like a fool. I exaggerate, I generalize, I dredge up some offense committed against me from the third grade. "It's always the same with people like that! It's just like when I was nine and blah, blah, blah." Remember Anakin in the Lars' garage: "It's all Obi-Wan's fault! He's jealous!"

Stupid.

You become clumsy too. Verbally, emotionally, physcially. I was talking to this guy who boxes as a hobby. He says the best way to beat an opponent is to get him angry. As soon as he's angry he takes wild swings and leaves himself open for counterpunches. He acts out his anger and, in a word, becomes unbalanced. Unbalanced-that's what happens when you are consumed by hate, anger, fear, and all the rest. (Even joy can have an unbalancing effect when it becomes frenzied or when you chase after it and deny what this moment really is).

To live in the constant power-realm of anger is miserable. Elevated adrenaline caused by prolonged anger has adverse affects on the heart and arteries. Not to mention a whole slew of other problems I'm sure you're quite aware of.

Between Palpatine's indulgence and (Puritanical?) denial is a balanced place, where we can feel the entirety of our emotions and not get too lathered up either way about them. This balanced, middle place is not a gray area of tepid, dreary calm. It feels, it expresses, it has fun. Best of all it is unburdened by the usual mental chatter and drama that accompanies heavy emotions. It accepts them even when they are ugly and uncomfortable and it takes care of them as though they were pleasant and beautiful. Luke exemplifies this balanced state better than anyone else in Star Wars. He had emotions, his fear overwhelmed him, his hate made him powerful and he acted it out to nearly disastrous results. But he mastered his fear and set his lightsaber aside. Mastery does not mean suppression. It means knowing your emotions so well that you can ride their storm without flinching. In that balanced state Luke declared, "I am a Jedi," and that is why I cannot agree that repression is part of that Order's creed.