Jedi Calm And Sith Passion Through Real Philosophy: Finding Balance In The Force (Part 2)

Star Wars is fun, but the Force hits harder when you treat it like a map of your own mind. On May the Fourth, we go beyond fandom and use the Jedi and Sith as two competing philosophies of how to live with emotion, power, fear, and desire. If you have ever tried to “stay positive” while feeling something darker underneath, this conversation gives you a clearer way to think about what’s actually happening inside you.

We explore why the Sith can feel weirdly relatable: passion, ambition, individuality, and self determination. Then we connect that to existentialism and the warning baked into the saga: freedom without ethical grounding turns destructive fast. From there we tackle the biggest question behind the entire Star Wars arc, what does “balance” even mean? We argue it’s not about wiping out the dark side, it’s about integration, self awareness, and choosing responsibility over impulse.

That leads us straight into Carl Jung and the shadow, the parts of ourselves we try to hide or suppress. We talk about how growth comes from acknowledging the shadow instead of pretending it doesn’t exist, and how that idea lines up with the Force as a metaphor for the human condition. We also nerd out a bit with lightsaber talk to close things out.

If you enjoy psychology, philosophy, mental health conversations, or you just want Star Wars to feel useful in real life, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who lives in the gray area, and leave us a review wherever you listen.

FIND ME:
My Website: https://motorcityhypnotist.com/podcast
My social media links: 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/motorcityhypnotist/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCjjLNcNvSYzfeX0uHqe3gA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/motorcityhypno
Instagram: motorcityhypno
FREE HYPNOSIS GUIDE
https://detroithypnotist.convertri.com/podcast-free-hypnosis-guide
Please also subscribe to the show and leave a review.
(Stay with me as later in the podcast, I’ll be giving away a free gift to all listeners!)

Change your thinking, change your life!
Laugh hard, run fast, be kind.  
David R. Wright MA, LPC, CHT
The Motor City Hypnotist

Transcript

Cold Open And May The Fourth

SPEAKER_01 0:01

In this episode of the Motor City Hypnotist Podcast, uh, we are finishing up with the force. This is part two in honor of may the fourth be with you. And also we're talking about Star Wars and we're talking about the force and its duality. And and we covered last just just kind of the the the connections the force has to to real philosoph philosophies and spiritual uh organizations and religions, and with your spirit, and with and with yourself. So we're doing this is part two. If you haven't listened to part one, jump back an episode, you can get caught up, or you can listen to it after this one. You'll still get all the information. Please hang in there, folks. We'll be right back.

SPEAKER_04 0:41

This sounds like something for the authorities in Detroit. Well, joke's on you. I'm living to 102. The men dying at the city of Detroit.

SPEAKER_02 0:50

Guys like this can't take over here out of Detroit. Spawn in the hellfire's emotional. Take him to Detroit.

SPEAKER_03 0:59

Detroit!

SPEAKER_04 1:04

Stationed in Drambooing. It's worse than Detroit. We did not have as a unit the confidence that we felt like we needed to beat Detroit. Let's go to Detroit.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

Now you're talking, brother.

SPEAKER_04 1:16

I don't think so. He plays for Detroit now. Do they have many farms in Detroit? Detroit. It's Michigan. I go to school, I know where Detroit is. Get ready for the motor city hypnotist David R. Wright, originating from the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. He has hypnotized thousands of people from all over the United States. David R. Wright has been featured on news outlets all across the country and is the clinical director of an outpatient mental health and hypnosis clinic located just south of Detroit, where he helps people daily using the power of hypnosis. Welcome, the Motor City Hypnotist, David O. Wright.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

What is going on, my friends? It is David Wright, the Motor City Hypnotist. We are back with another episode of the Motor City Hypnotist Podcast. May the force be with you. May the fourth be with you too, Matt. That's Matt Fox, the other voice you hear. I'm a purist. Today is May 4th. Star Wars Celebration Day for all for all of us nerds. If you're not a nerd, don't worry. There's there's content here for you. Don't worry. I'll get it. So let me tell you before we get started, folks, where you can find me. My website is motorcityhypnotist.com. We are just approaching grad season. In fact, the first show is a week from Saturday out in Grand Blanc. So we still have dates open. Not a lot, but a few. So if you're interested in your grad night entertainment, go to my website, motorcity hypnotist.com/slash shows. You can have a quote within minutes and book online within minutes as well. So you get it locked in, have your entertainment set. My social media, Facebook and YouTube are both Motor City Hypnotist, and Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok are all Motor City Hypno. That's H Y P N O. Please. And as we've done, going all the way back to show number one, text the word hypnosis to 313-800-8510. Within a few moments, you will receive a text message with a downloadable PDF. It's a hypnosis guide that I've written. And you'll also get a link to my Google business page. I would appreciate it if you could leave a review there of the podcast or of me if you've seen me in person or of a show, whatever it is, whatever, however you know me. Chances are it's probably from the podcast since you're hearing it here. But yes, definitely leave a leave a review that helps us out. And whatever platform you're listening on, leave a review there also, whether it's iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, whatever it is. That would be fantastic, and I'd really appreciate it. All righty. It is time, Matt. Oh, here we go.

Night Flood Rescue Of 15 Horses

SPEAKER_00 4:12

That's how witness is done.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

All right, hit hit me, coach. All righty. An experienced rancher and his two neighbors recently conducted a harrowing rescue of 15 horses from chest high flood waters in the dead of night. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Who are we talking about? An experienced rancher and his two neighbors. Okay, so three gentlemen. Recently conducted a harrowing rescue of 15 horses from chest high flood waters in the dead of night. Okay. When a stronger than usual Hawaiian wet season dumped disaster level rains on Oahu's normally tranquil north shore, Tyler Smith was the first one on the scene. How did the horses get to Hawaii?

SPEAKER_02 4:58

Oh no, I'm just I'm just kidding. They swam. They swam. Their arms must be really tired. No.

SPEAKER_03 5:07

No! Don't show you.

SPEAKER_02 5:09

So there are there are 15 horses in Hawaii, and there was a more than usual rainfall, which caused a flood.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

Disaster level rains on Oahu's normally tranquil North Shore.

SPEAKER_02 5:20

Okay, so they they rescued 15 Tyler Smith was the first one on scene.

SPEAKER_01 5:25

He's the experienced rancher. Okay. But it was a scene of disaster. And after waiting anxiously for weather developments following a government alert, Smith wasn't going to wait around to see if the already chest high water would reach the chest of the horses in the paddocks of the Dillingham Ranch in Wal ooh Wyalu Wyalu. Wyalua. So that's crazy. W-A-I-L-A-I-A-L-U-A. Walula. Talk like a Hawaiian. Wailua. Walua. All right. Okay, there it is. When I got there, it was something I will never forget. Smith shared. There's nobody there. I drove up into a disaster scene that nobody knows about, starting off alone. He arrived in his pickup truck, and as he drove through the paddock gate and opened the door, the water was already so high it began filling the footwells. Oh boy. He mounted the horse he said he was responsible for and rode her out of the paddock. That's when his neighbors, Kelsey and Levi, arrived in a backhoe to help execute a quick, calm, and effective response in truly harrowing circumstances.

SPEAKER_02 6:33

So Kelsey and Levi came with the rancher, the experienced rancher, right? Yep. And they he said, You and you, you're coming with me, and they did what they did.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

So what what was the next thing that uh Levi and his family do a lot to take care of the ranch? Smith told the told the producer of the dodo, with whom he also shared his story, and with their backhoe, the trio could move through the deeper water without issue. They also rescued a woman, Inga, who was nearby and needed help, and in turn helped them with their rescue. So now they got four people on the rescue. Oh my goodness. They got to the flooded paddock where four of Levi's horses were clustered together on a spit of higher, higher ground. They were surprisingly calm once Levi and Smith arrived with halters. After that, it was just a case of leading them to a place that wasn't flooded. Smith reckoned he walked with the horses a quarter mile and they remained mostly calm for the entire way. Another reporter's notes on the story claimed that just the backhoe's muscle, halters, and sheer willpower, they kept working until 15 horses were out of there, but not before a stallion's fear almost led to panic among the rest of the animals. Later, veterinarians marveled at how all 15 horses came out of the flood without any injuries whatsoever.

SPEAKER_02 7:51

All right.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

Smith said that once Levi and Kelsey had finished with their horses, they returned with their backhoe to help their neighbors, pulling cars out that were stuck or picking up those who had climbed onto roofs of their houses. So that's the story. Yeah. It's a flood. Yeah, it's a flood with 15 horses trapped in their in their paddocks. I assume paddock means stables.

SPEAKER_02 8:12

Yeah, it's a it's it's a warehouse, and you've got stalls stalls for each horse, yeah. And there were 15 horses in there, and they saved all 15. Yet one of the stallions freaked out, which may have caused panic across the entire herd of horses. But could have, but it didn't.

SPEAKER_01 8:31

So that's a good thing.

SPEAKER_02 8:32

But he waited until they were chest high.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

All 15 horses rescued, nobody hurt, nobody injured. Good story.

SPEAKER_02 8:40

All right, remember the week for sure. Thank you. There it is.

SPEAKER_00 8:52

That's how winning is done.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

So back to it.

Sith Philosophy And Existentialism

SPEAKER_01 8:58

So this is part two, folks, of the force. We're talking about the force on in honor of may the fourth be with you, or in in real Star Wars terms, may the force be with you. So we talked a little bit about how the force kind of connects to a lot of eastern religions and philosophies, especially we talked about stoicism. We talked about I'm drawing a blank. Give me a second. What are you looking for? I'm just looking for the other Taoism. That that was the other the other approach that that we that we kind of hit on. Yes. So we took we were talking about Jedi and how you know how they suppress emotion and and uh and again use the force. So let's flip over to the to the to the supposedly evil side or the negative side. Let's talk about the Sith.

SPEAKER_02 9:49

Okay, okay. So this is a this is an area that actually intrigues me because they they at the at the bottom of their heart, they tr and with Anakin, yep, at the bottom of his heart, he truly isn't evil. No, but this is what intrigues me about.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

Yes, and so the Sith aligns a lot with with the the theory of existentialism, and we'll get into that. So the Sith embrace passion, ambition, individuality, and some ways that you know all of those things align directly with existentialist philosophy in the idea that individuals create their own meeting and they should act authentically. So, in in I I guess in general, the Sith reject imposed order. They pursue power and self-determination, but in order. And it still had there's still an order. Well, they haven't they have an order, but but but the thing is they they reject the traditional order of things. Okay, if that makes sense. Okay. Here's the here's the catch with Sith, though. Without ethical grounding, that pursuit turns destructive. Well, as we've seen in the movies, freedom without responsibility causes chaos. Okay. So while the Sith represent liberation from constraints or loot or rules or laws, the danger becomes unchecked desire at that point, the seeking of power and and and wealth.

SPEAKER_02 11:25

I'm not sure if you've watched any of the uh new series that dropped with Maul. I have not, right? It really kind of delves into his life after, and spoilers, he's alive, but it dives into his life and his decisions after, like a year after he was supposedly the after the episode three, yeah. Okay, it's a year after episode, correct. Yes, and that's what he is going through in his life. He's on a different planet, he's he's made friends from Mandalore, and he's a gangster.

SPEAKER_01 12:03

So so don't you don't have to give me specifics. I just don't want to answer. Do they answer how he's still alive? No, okay, they don't because you have to watch the clone war. You have to watch the clone wars to know that. Okay, so they do explain it, they do explain it, but not in this series. Okay, he's already fine. I I just want to know if there was an explanation somewhere for that.

SPEAKER_02 12:23

Yes, but back to your point, he is a he is a Jedi, but he is a Sith Lord, yes, he has force powers, yes, and he uses them for his own gain, and that's the difference between the dark side for their own gain and Jedi's who are not for their own they're they're there for the gain of the human population, right?

What Balance Really Means

SPEAKER_01 12:46

For for the for the masses, for the masses, yes, right. So, really, with the Sith, it's kind of it's philosophically, it's kind of a warning. Self-expression without balance can lead to destruction, and and we see that in the story of Star Wars with Anakin. That that that's ultimately he's you know, he's maimed and and has to wear this suit to be able to live without pain. So oh, he's still in pain. Oh no, he is, yes, yes. So with Star Wars, if you've not seen it, spoiler alert, but the whole idea of the force is bringing balance. They talk about this a lot. He gave an fact in in in episode uh revenge of the Sith, three, um, yeah, three. Uh Obi-Wan even says that he says you were meant to bring balance, not tear it apart, yeah. Not not leave it, right? Not leave it in darkness. That that that was the exact term, right? But he gave it an arm and a leg for it. So, but but then the question is, what is balance? Yes, yeah, I got it. Ding ding. I got it. I it was delayed, I got it. You're good. So, what what what does what does balance mean? How how does that work when you have two sides? But it's that's the big question. That's the gray area. Is it the elimination of the dark side, or is it something more subtle? You can't have one without the other. So, looking at real-world philosophies, balance doesn't mean erasing one side or the other, it means integrating them. It's fine. Most philosophies, when they talk about different sides of things, the emphasis is on integration, that these things are together, they exist, they coexist in you.

SPEAKER_02 14:22

They do, and as but we all have different balances as individuals, yeah. So we have to find where we fit into that puzzle, yeah. Of yes, we want power, yes, we want to you know, sacrifice and we want to forgive. Where where do we stand as individuals right in that?

How Star Wars Got Shaped

SPEAKER_01 14:43

Well, and everybody's different in there, and in one of one of the biggest psychologists in history, Carl Jung, uh younging, young and never uh never psychology. We've never heard of him. We I think we did an episode on Carl Young way back. Yes, we did, but I think we did. I I just it was just clicking with me now. But Carl Jung talks about the shadow and what that is in psychological terms, it's parts of ourselves that we try to suppress. It's it's the part that that we don't want to acknowledge or don't want other people to see. It could be feelings of hate, it could be feelings of wanting to hurt someone, it could be feelings of negativity, just in general. So Young talks about the shadow. Shadow is part of the approach that we have to address when we're when we're talking in a Jungan approach, as far as therapy goes. Okay. So for Young, he says the true growth comes from acknowledging and integrating the shadow, not pretending it doesn't exist. Yeah, so in balance in the force, when we talk about balancing, it's not about destroying the darkness, it's about understanding it, not controlling it, not controlling it necessarily. So the big thing with Star Wars, and and we know it's a movie, it's you know, we could say it's fiction, it's made up, but but most fiction has its roots in reality. I thought that's how they I really thought it was a true story. I thought it was non-true story, yeah. And the galaxy far, far away, but at its core, honestly, it's about the human condition. Yeah, that that really is, and and honestly, most stories are about the human condition.

SPEAKER_02 16:19

And I will go back to my original question back to the last episode. George Lucas, the research in the 70s that was at his disposal, right? I'm really I I just want to understand the research that he put into the storytelling.

SPEAKER_01 16:37

It oh okay, so this could go one of two ways. We could we could look that up, maybe find some information, say, yes, he he did study, he did a lot study of a lot of the different philosophers of the day or of the past, but it could also be, and this would be disappointing. He's like, I didn't look at anything, I just made this shit up.

SPEAKER_02 16:55

You're not but that would be disappointing, it would because it would it wouldn't it wouldn't have a basis and like but you know the research that he put into the story itself, he wrote all these stories, all six episodes, but he didn't have the technology to tell one, two, and three. He started with four, five and section, four, five, and six, because he knew he didn't have the technology to tell one, two, and three the story.

SPEAKER_01 17:18

So I will give him this episodes because because again, he came up with it, he had he had the imagination to write this and to do it. And you know, his wife saved him because she re-edited the whole first episode four, uh New Hope. Okay, the film he was going to put out there is not what we saw. Oh, really? His wife said, No, this doesn't flow, it doesn't feel right. She re-edited the whole film.

SPEAKER_02 17:43

So Mrs. Lucas, Jedi Master, came down and said, No, you won't be a Sith Lord, you're going to just for an example.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

I'll give you a quick example, and you can find this online. The the the George Lucas cut of New Hope. Okay. And the whole first 20 minutes are Luke with his buddy on Tatooine talking about the Empire and how they hate it and how they want to get out of this crappy place. But it didn't drive the story further. I see, I didn't I didn't know that existed until just now. Yes, so take a look. It's interesting.

SPEAKER_02 18:14

I will as much as Star Wars that I feel I know, I did not know that. Yes, yeah, but to my original thought was he I hope he did all this research about Taoism and stoicism. Yeah, I would hope so to create this universe of light side, dark side. But as the decades have passed, he's been able to tell a more deep story. And now we have David Fallone who has taken the universe and expanded upon it, yes, tremendously. He was he he was just cutting video, could cut in film at one point, and Lucas, I guess, saw something in him and said, You are a really good storyteller of what you're doing. Tell me more about what you think. This, you know, these characters you can see what he did when given free reign with the Mandalorian.

SPEAKER_01 19:08

Yes, he did.

SPEAKER_02 19:09

Yeah, Favro and Faloni. Favro and Falone, yes, they they've really changed the whole concept of what star the Star Wars universe is. Absolutely. I'm curious to see where it's gonna go, but at its roots, they have to make sure that they stay to they have they have to stay true to the roots of the Star Wars universe, yes, and the force.

The Force As A Life Metaphor

SPEAKER_01 19:29

And and I will say, in general, even if you're not a Star Wars fan, you've probably seen other films, other TV shows, other books that carry the same sort of of feeling. Yeah, this good versus evil, this inner battle between light and dark, that this this this recognition of of your faults.

SPEAKER_02 19:51

You know what you you know what you just said, God and the devil.

SPEAKER_01 19:54

Yeah, it it the this has been a no, this has been a lifelong, this is world-long story of good, good and evil. That that's your story, yes. And and really with with the force in Star Wars, it really reflects human beings struggles with control, chaos, emotion, selflessness. And maybe that's why it resonates with people. Maybe maybe it's just they see something or they feel something, and it's like, yeah, I struggle with this, this, this dichotomy or these differences in myself. And honestly, I would say in general, I would I would say the force is a metaphor, it's a metaphor of what's happening inside all of us. That that we're trying to find our own place, we're trying to figure out what you know. Of course, we don't we don't want the bad qualities, but everybody has them. It that it's it's a human being, you have good and bad in you, and and it just where where you fall on that spectrum is is a big uh it's a big challenge sometimes, especially if you're trying to to move towards a better life or or a better self. And yes, you might have these these negative things that that bring you down or that you turn to. I mean again, and we if we get into just practical things, drugs, alcohol, you know, other things that that you cope with, but but that's that's not resolving the issue. So here's the whole thing the the force, we can use that as a as the metaphor for human condition and say that good and bad exist in all of us. The problem is when the bad overrides the good, and you're not able to, I guess, manage that or harness that or pull it back, that becomes a challenge. And and just being aware of it, I think, is the big thing. Right. So in conclusion, yes, the the force kind of exists, it exists in every one of us. We all have light and dark sides. But where but where do you exist within that plane of well, yeah, existing? I mean, are you in and if if you want to even break it into Percentages and say okay it's one to a hundred. Are you 50 good bad? Are you 70 bad good? Yeah, I mean okay, so trying to evaluate that.

SPEAKER_02 22:09

But I I I've talked about the gray area a few times. The gray area exists between 40 and 60. Yep. Yep. That's the gray area.

unknown 22:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:19

In in my mind. So yeah. And that's where that's where I feel I exist. I'm like, I might be sometimes, you know, 45% on that scale. I might sometimes on the situation, I might be in the 55% of that scale. That's that's that gray area that you that you act in as a human being to forgive someone or to understand where somebody else is. Or if you are on a power trip, don't let it go too far.

Lightsaber Talk And Closing

SPEAKER_01 22:47

Well, that that's the big one. And again, that that's when we look back at Star Wars. That's what happened with Anakin. He he was but but here's the thing, and and I and I want to preface this and say his turn came from fear. That that's where it started. The fear of losing fear of losing his his his love. Padme. Yes. So everybody has gone, everybody has gone through that feeling. And and and I guess you have to ask, like, how do I handle negative influences in my life? How do I react to those? Do I react negatively? Do I react positively? And that's sometimes just self-evaluation and inventory, right? To kind of realize where you're at. Even though this is a made-up thing, it actually exists in all of us. So so for you, I would say, you know, focus on the positives, focus on the improvements, focus on the things that make you feel good. Yes, you have these other things that are negative, but we don't have to stay there. We don't have to sit with those and and take that to heart. We can say, Yeah, there's some bad things, but I but I can work on those and I can I can be on this side for the most part in doing well or doing better or doing good. So, David, let me ask you the question. Yeah, what color is your lightsaber? Purple for Mace Windu? Yeah, I just because it's an unusual one. And and in honor of May the Fourth be with you, I have my lightsaber with me. There you go. You guys can see that.

SPEAKER_02 24:10

Unfortunately, it's not charged. So I if it was charged, what would happen? It would go so would a light come out of it? Oh man.

SPEAKER_01 24:19

There they they did include a stick with it. Okay, all right. It it just doesn't make sense to put that in.

SPEAKER_02 24:24

It just makes noise.

SPEAKER_01 24:25

It does make the noise, though. And and if you move it, you'll get the do you do you know where the noise came from for the lightsaber? There's a telephone line, I think, or or a cable.

SPEAKER_02 24:34

No, no, the cable was for the phaser or the or the lasers. Right. The sign for lightsabers came from a microphone, a live mic walking behind a television. And when it walked by, it was a live microphone and went over. It picked up the feedback. I picked up the feedback and it went. That's where the sound for the lightsaber came from was feedback from a live mic on the back of a TV.

SPEAKER_01 25:00

Yeah, I know that with the lasers or the the yeah, the I I guess the the lasers, phasers would be Star Trek, but the lasers, it was it was the tapping of that cable on the line. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:14

Yeah, but lightsabers, they have they have that different sound, and they would they would just move it, you know, that live mic around a speaker, and it was that was the feedback. Nice, fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 25:22

There you go. All right, folks. That is our that is our episode. The force may the force be with you on this May 4th, may the fourth be with you as well, and with your spirit, and wherever you're at, whatever darker light, let's let's just move over to the light a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 25:37

The the light, the the light side will give you a path to forgiveness. Uh-huh. The dark side will give you a path to understanding the light side, understanding it.

SPEAKER_01 25:49

But there's some challenges. There's challenges, yes, absolutely. Yes, yeah. Alrighty, folks. That is our show. Wow. Join us next Monday. We'll be here, same time, same bat channel, eight o'clock Eastern Standard Time on Facebook, Motor City Hypnotist Facebook page, Facebook Live. You can see it there.

SPEAKER_03 26:04

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 26:05

In the meantime, change your thinking, change your life, laugh hard, run fast, be kind. We'll see you next time.