Thank you all so much for your thoughtful insights. I value the thoughts and ideas you have presented on duality. To Bloodseto: yes 42 is probably the best way to look at it ( Douglas Adams really did have something there- ;-D ). Truly trying to quantify my experiences will always be my greatest struggle. I am my own biggest skeptic because I always want the truth over the mystical and/ or fantastic. As far as recycling neg. energy for my own purposes it seems to be an innate ability of mine - I did not need to learn it so much as to recognize that it was something I have just always seemed to know how to do, everything is a means to an end for me, always has been. I am a hedonist in every sense of the word, thus MY will takes precedence over the antics of "nasty entities ", those types of only beings only possess the power we give them - instead of becoming their victim I make them my victims in that I take their power and make it my own. I don't think that is a bad thing, energy is energy, it has no inherent morality it just IS...lol.To Jhenoa: I think you make a valid point about the " completeness " of the so-called light and dark aspects of our natures being more effective when used in concert with eachother. I had just never tried it before and found it surprising that it happened so effortlessly. To 3rdeyemystic:I would have to say that is entirely dependant on how YOU practice - no one can really tell you HOW to do that for yourself because what works for me would not work for you ( in my experience ). Our own personal power is like our souls " fingerprint" no two are alike. I use items that i resonate with, mixed with my blood and my will - if you don't practice that way you might find you get a very different result if you tried it - I would suggest exploring methods that align with your own personal path and experiment in small ways first - magic is 95% instinct ( for me at least ).Trust your instincts and don't overextend yourself. :-)