I was going thru my posts here; as I have been absent of late due to work, home, holidays and preparing for my new career. I noticed my journal had gone amiss.

So let me start again.

Im Mike. My Jedi name is Zanthan Storm. My titles and such are in my signature if you really want to know. I am a Jediist. I am a Christian. My views are altogether rather eclectic.

I became a Jediist because I was searching for something to fill the hole that had been left in my faith. I am a spirital person. I have studied many of the worlds religions and have kept with the one that raised me. Roman catholicism. However, at the loss of Pope John Paul II and my pastor who I had known since birth, I found myself seeking guidence. Those that had replaced my pastor and the late pope did not fill the shoes as I had hoped. There was a hole in my spiritual life and it was very foriegn to me. I set out to find something to fill that hole. It was after I gave up and was randomly searching the internet did I happen apon the Temple.

I was weary of this place, a Real life Jedi temple? Wow. So I joined, filled out the application and started reading. The more I read, the more I saw a simuliarity to the teachings of my family, my pastor and scouts.

I was intrigued and wanted to begin my training ASAP. I began talking Masters and Knights, after a bit I met one that I clicked with. The head of the abrahamic rite. Now Grand Master Neaj Pa Bol or Master Patty.

I am an EMT, I work at a hospital. Patty is a Nurse and her attitude, kindness and wealth of wisdom began to fill the void in my spiritual life.

With each excerise she gave me, though hard at times, I yearned to learn more. Eventually, I was elevated to the rank of Knight. At that time I used my time to explore more writings, revisit religions I had studied in the past to find the connections I had been reading about and find new ones.

I became My Master's Auxillary Bishop, a Jediist priest who assists the Arch-bishop or Cardinal with thier duties and, of course, working with the members when they ask/need it. I liked this job, it is rewarding seeing my efforts bring frustration to some (when I wouldn't reveal answers) and enlightenment to others.

I soon after met my future wife, Mikey, she is a fiery woman of Irish decent that brings Joy to my eyes even now.

I then took an apprentice, my 1st to graduate, Kira. We had been friends for a time and since she asked to learn. I taught her. Only I had the benifet of being in person to train her. I enjoyed it, I think Kira wished I had not imposed such training, as phsyical and mental training are needed.

I became an Archbishop and then later a Master. I enjoyed watching My apprentice succeed in her trials. Such courage had awakened in my apprentice, it is rare, but it appeared.

Soon After I was married, in a kilt. Why you might ask? Because my wife is Irish and im a lil Irish myself.

I mentioned earlier that I am eclectic in my views. I am a Jedi. I was trained as one. As a Jedi, an ititiate or a master, never stops learning. I have read, I have a bit of experience and I have learned that not all life is necessarily good or bad. We all believe in something, or we would not be here. I believe in God. You can call him god, the force, allah, the singularity or many other different names. I think we were put here to live and live well. To be the Best we can, however, one must know themselves before they can do so. I know myself, I am a human man. I am not perfect.

I took the title of Grey Jedi, not because I wish to be dark, but because I see the inherint inperfection in all of us. The capacity to to great good and great evil. I instead of rejecting this, accept it. I will forever aspire to be perfect, to be as Light sided as possible. However, depending on how you believe, there have been only a few in the history of the known universe that have achieved this: A carpenter's son, a prophet, a monk and a few others.

I am a Healer. I believe humans have a vast number of abilities that have yet to be tapped. I don't think we can lift huge things with out minds or the stuff from the movies, but I think that we are all connected by the force. With training, transfer to energy can help with healing, mood and other such things.

I have been trained in some, and will share that with those who wish to learn.

Thats enough for now, if you are reading all of this and made it thru. Well you have a great attention span.

So I am here, I teach on occasion, I will take apprentices who have completed the initiate training and I will have a conversation, give advice and such with anyone who wishes it.

from one point of view we can lift huge things with our minds...the hoist was first conceived within a mind, then built using the minds of others...i definately agree that humans have not reached their full potential yet, only time will tell if we ever truly do....i didn't know about the irish wearing kilts as well as the scots...i myself am german/irish/cheyenne indian. likewise i believe we all have the capacity for great good and great evil...having been down both paths over the course of my life(long complicated story there) i prefer to stick to being a good person in general.

So the holidays have come and gone and thus the world continues along.

Recently I started school again to advance my degree. I enjoy the challenge, however the time constraints continue to be a frustration. Balancing work, school and some semblance of humanity (ie socialization, wife, etc) is difficult. Luckily my wife continues to be awesome. Have I mentioned how thankful I am for her? I am.

Im going to start working on a curriculum for critical thinking skill for Jedi. For we are not just Jedi, but more so in everyday life. I am a Jedi, I am also an EMT, A teacher, a student and a trauma technician; these are all different things I am in life, but I have to use critical thinking skills to better accomplish the tasks I have to do. I have been developing mine for a long time, but for some reason, I never thought of applying it to Jedi.

I have noticed much talk about the darkside in the forums. People getting all up in a huff about defining it. There was a few wise posts though. For my part, I claim that of balance. The Force has no color, no intent besides balance. We choose the use of the force, that is where the dark and light sides appear. We should acknowledge that we are capable of doing both great and terrible things. We are all shades of grey, in history you see very few truly dark or light history. That doesn't mean we should be ignorant of our darker nature, but rather encourage to be the best we can. When we have hiccups, that happens. However, we should accept the consequences and try better next time.

Apparently, my pager just off and I am on call today, so May the Force be With you all.