TOPIC: The Imperishable Gem

Moderators: Phortis Nespin, Wescli Wardest

Daily Gem -- Mar 28th, 2012 28 Mar 2012 03:06 #54601

(Submitted by Jedi Apprentice Psyddhattha)

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

- Confucius
The following user(s) said Thank You: Jestor, Jacen solo, Psyddhattha

Daily Gem -- Mar 29th, 2012 29 Mar 2012 02:12 #54661

(Submitted by Jedi Knight Akkarin)

Liberty is not the means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end.

- Lord Acton
The following user(s) said Thank You: Akkarin, Psyddhattha, Proteus

Daily Gem -- Mar 30th, 2012 30 Mar 2012 02:10 #54731

(Submitted by Jedi Apprentice Viskhard)

He who lives without discipline dies without honor.

- Icelandic Proverb
The following user(s) said Thank You: Jacen solo, Psyddhattha, Locksley

Daily Gem -- Apr 1st, 2012 01 Apr 2012 11:59 #54867

(Submitted by Jedi Knight Akkarin)

Woe to him whose good name is more to him than goodness.

– Herman Melville, Moby Dick
The following user(s) said Thank You: Akkarin

The Imperishable Gem -- Apr 10th, 2012 10 Apr 2012 05:55 #55836

(Submitted by Senior Jedi Knight Akkarin)

" 'You're waiting for a train. A train that'll take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you. But you can't know for sure. Yet it doesn't matter. Now, tell me why?'

" 'Because you'll be together!' "

- Cobb to Mal - Inception (2010).
The following user(s) said Thank You: Akkarin, Adhara, Reliah

The Imperishable Gem -- Apr 11th, 2012 11 Apr 2012 04:46 #55941

(Submitted by Jedi Apprentice Adder)

Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.

- Lao Tzu
The following user(s) said Thank You: Akkarin, Adder, Wescli Wardest, Jacen solo

The Imperishable Gem -- Apr 13th, 2012 13 Apr 2012 05:01 #56158

Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, but TODAY is Friday the 13th!

- Unknown

The Imperishable Gem -- Apr 14th, 2012 14 Apr 2012 18:47 #56267

No, this is not the beginning of a new chapter in my life; this is the beginning of a new book! That first book is already closed, ended, and tossed into the seas; this new book is newly opened, has just begun! Look, it is the first page! And it is a beautiful one!

- C. JoyBell C.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Akkarin, Kimla Daalm

The Imperishable Gem -- Apr 16th, 2012 16 Apr 2012 00:47 #56387

The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters.

- Francisco Goya
The following user(s) said Thank You: Locksley

The Imperishable Gem -- Apr 17th, 2012 17 Apr 2012 03:00 #56546

We can only appreciate the miracle of a sunrise if we have waited in the darkness.

- Unknown
Latest Posts Comments Articles
    • Curious about your jedi-ness (Last post by Brenna)
    • Alex, Daniel, Wes, Thank you. Thats probably exactly what I needed to hear. Obviously the way Im approaching this is whats tripping me up. Reliah, I think you and I have an awful lot in common :P
    • The mentality of "fighting" for peace (Last post by Adder)
    • Quote: morality is subjective and not universal, who is to decide what is moral, and what by what right or privilege are they to do so. I feel this is used as an excuse way too much. For me good and bad are not baseless subjective assessments - we aren't philosophical idea's posting on forums, we are biological systems which seem to share a concept of pleasure and pain (in various different system modalitites). I think that there is the primary baseline in the human (living?) experience which exists as probably the root duality. If anyone has ever experienced outright bliss then you'll know everything is good, even if its bad, because everything is pleasure.... even pain. Pain exists because it's a foundation of our body to determine healthy behavior in an external environment. Healthy means to promote longer life (not pleasure). These then can be externalized to represent the system and expressed in terms/amounts of 1. creating pain in another, and 2. limiting ones freedom's to exist as an individual biological system. Note that does not mean pain is always bad, because sometimes it is required to increase health which seems to indicate point 2 takes priority over point 1. Perspective is important, but so is awareness and promotion of those basic elements which to me constitute what the United Nation's tries to define as human rights. Then the next level up from the individual perspective is personal relationships, local relationships and non-local relationships. It is in these relationships that morals, ethics and law's tend to emerge as necessary because people operate as individuals and a system to allow some concept of balance between individual basic imperatives needs to be in place to stop conflict. The complexity becomes staggering as the number of participants increases, and so we get a trillion shades of white as just many reasons for them to be called a trillion shades of black!!! For me that's a foundation for assessing concepts like morality to link back and promote those individual parameters of subjective good and bad. The difficulty arises in the complexity of the factors at play in a decision. I do not think those factors are open to individual interpretation as much as people like to think - as people are not able to engage in the complexity very much. They are only acting on the limited set of decisions before them. This to me says there is room in all peoples decisions to act morally, to know good from bad. If you cannot tell the difference then find out more information. Often times the best course of action is not judgmental but diplomatic, because de-escalting a cycles of judgment allows room for knowledge to be better gathered, contextualized and integrated into decision making. I'd say there is no good reason to be bad 'at the same level'. People often use different levels of complexity to find reason's to negatively assess a more personal level, and thus create a sense of justification. To top it all off, this assumes both mental rationality and no duty of authority, such as determining concepts like justice - that is another layer of complexity on top of complexity!!! For me this is where focus, knowledge and wisdom come into play. Focusing on comparable levels of complexity in causality, having knowledge to understand your own reality in more accurate terms with a functioning and engaged empathy, and the wisdom to determine the most accurate 'best' action. To me this is a big part of being a Jedi. Not perhaps about being right or the best, but trying to promote it within oneself and others. Fighting for peace is about stopping (in the least harmful way possible) people who are trying to force that above mentioned concept of 'dark'. Firstly 'fighting' is the application of an authority granted by some community so we are talking about systems of judgement which should be structured to be moral (Laws of War etc). When it gets to that point of directly impacting the root duality of pleasure/pain and freedom/disease in terms of fighting someone, such as assassination then it really is a finite point which whilst ideally very removed (LOTS of other options attempted before this point) then it starts to reach a point where they are either being executed for something they did (condition A ) or assassinated for something they might do (condition B ). I think condition A is unnecessary, an ineffective punishment and ignores the potential for new information to change the assessment; and condition B to be, at best, a quantitative decision on the likeleehood of an individual to undertake a particular course of action. In reality this assessment is almost impossible!? In reality I'd guess condition B is inappropriate and a failure to let the situation get to the point (where the target was in a position to take that course of action.....), so at that point it might become the duty of that person to assume the failure of the system promotes the decision making to themselves, and therefore they would have to take the shot given the authority granted by the people under threat by that person and the fact they are there pointing some weapon at what must therefore be a likely threat - but that is right at the tip of the spear in a worst case scenario and most all others would revert back to de-escalation of violence, finding out information.. basically calming and controlling the situation by removing a capacity for harm. I've written too much to make sense anymore - anyone who got this far needs a few of them cookie's!!!
    • Feminism (Last post by Star Forge)
    • Quote: As I was trying to tell Adder in chat, it is impossible to attain equal right only by granting more rights to one group. group A must acquire all of group B's rights, and groups B must acquire all of groups A's rights. Feminism is exclusively about giving women additional rights. by definition, i mean, the NAME ITSELF is sexist. If you wish to explain and give me examples of how feminism has helped men get the rights that women have, I'm all ears. And for the record, the very reason I despise feminism is because I believe in equal rights, duties and privileges, and not in discrimination or segregation. feminists lobby for legislation that gives women and women only additional rights or privileges. Why is "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women" not called "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Gender Discrimination"? I'll tell you why: because men aren't protected from discrimination. And this is the UN. I'm surprisingly agreeing wholeheartedly with Ren. Being as I am TOTJO's resident A-hole, I'm gonna state the uncomfortable facts and leave it up to the admins/mods to decide whether or not it stays up. The motivation behind feminism is the same motivation behind all "anti-discrimination" (see: reverse discrimination) politics, which is guilt. In the Western World, we are more than familiar with the concept of white guilt. It is what has produced the affirmative action programs here in the US that have devastated African-American communities. It is what is behind the unfettered immigration problems faced by many European nations. It is something that former empires, like Britain and France, can't seem to live down, no matter how much they sacrifice, apologize and beat themselves up. The prevailing attitude toward women throughout history is perhaps the biggest shame upon the human race. There have been a few exceptions, for instance, pre-Christian Ireland and Mycenaean Greece, but the entire world, until fairly recently, has been traditionally and historically uniform in relegating women to the back seat of society. We all have a moral duty to make sure that this does not happen again. However, as the example with white guilt shows, reverse discrimination does nothing, and causes a whole load of new problems. I was denied a job opportunity in the CIA for being white. My friend, who is a professor, is denied further opportunities and tenure because he is white, straight, and not disabled. The ANC government in South Africa is allowing a near-genocide of white South Africans and nobody knows or cares. When I hear some libtard bitch about "white privilege" "male privilege" or "straight privilege," I always feel a bit of amusement along with the burning anger they cause in me, because I, not him/her, am the one with near-useless knees from long nights and copious injuries in the warehouse and maybe two hours of sleep before classes, and I am a white heterosexual male, while the libtard aggressor is often a beneficiary of reverse discrimination. If they said half the crap to me in real life that they say online, they would be seriously injured. So I prefer white girls, or I personally find gay sex gross. That apparently makes me a card-carrying member of the NSDAP The early feminists had a point, because it was during a time where there were substantial legal and societal obstacles for women's progress in life and ambitions. That was taken care of. There will always be some small remnant of discrimination, whether it be gender, racial, or religious, but now it's more reduced to personal prejudice than to real, tangible problems that affect society. Long story short, feminists need to just shut up about imaginary problems. We have real stuff to worry about.
    • Losing or have we already lost it? (Last post by Rickie The Grey)
    • Interesting thought, hase tec made it easy for humans not to think as much? It certainly seems like some people don't think enough. Not thinking much must weaken the brain like an unused muscle grows wear.
    • A thought I had concerning Irish music (Last post by Star Forge)
    • I'm a big fan of Irish music. I listen to it incessantly, I go to pubs to hear it played live, and my own band is a blend of black metal and Irish folk (by way of our utilization of mandolin, tin whistle, and bodhran). I also know that I am not alone in this. Irish folk music has gained a worldwide following and respect that no other genre has managed to do. I have a lot of time to think of the answers to such questions during my dull job, so here's my theory. Irish music, while being 100% Irish in its origins and instrumentation, does not use many Irish instruments. The guitar is, for the most part Spanish in origin. The mandolin is Italian. The banjo is American, more specifically, African-American. The tin whistle is of English origin. The accordion and concertina share a mixed Anglo-German origin. The violin is Italian. The bodhran, while having an Irish name, but is of disputed origin. That just about leaves only the Uilleann pipes, which are Irish. Now I'm not meaning to preach and liberal bullcrap "let's all come together" stuff, but I think that it's interesting that such a diverse array of instruments are used in Irish music, with the music itself still being unmistakably Irish and not diluted. Anybody else have any thoughts on this?
    • Favourites (Last post by RoystonDA)
    • I've got a friend who is a massive Doctor Who fan and keeps making lists of his top 10 favourites of anything. I.E. Episode, Doctor, Tardis control room, score, villain, Master, planet etc. Well I wanted to see what other people thought were their favourites in Star Wars were. 1. Favourite character. 2. Favourite Episode 3. Favourite Lightsaber duel 4. Favourite music 5. Favourite Sith Lord (Expanded Universe included) ----- 1. Darth Vader. Reason being is that because he has the most tortured story in all of fiction. He devoted his life to a man he loathed and longed for a family or any compassion from another person and everytime he got close it was taken from him. 2. Episode V obviously, need I go on? 3. Luke Vs Vader in Episode VI, although Obi-Wan Vs Vader in Episode III is a close second. They both have extremely powerful consequences and meaning behind both. 4. Anakin's Betrayal OR Love Pldge And The Areana. The first was used for Order 66 and the latter had the second half used for the storm on the Jedi Temple which was one of the most badass scenes in the saga. 5. Darth Krayt. Not even sure why yet. I've started reading a load of books that's including him, so I'll soon find out why he fascinates me.
    • Trans (Last post by Metsu Desal)
    • Quote: I think the problem with the posts on this thread is that none of you are transgender, so you can't possibly understand what it feels like. How do you know who is transgender and who is not? Do you have some kind of Trandar? I used to believe I had transgender issues but that was resolved when I got my head straight, I even joined TOTJO the first time as a "transgender" but after getting some clarity on my self and clearing my head of issues I came to a realization I wouldn't be happy if I had gone through with it and it would have been a mistake. I have met loads of transgender folk from all ages and races and I can honestly say the majority NOT ALL have had some major psychological issues the major one being depression.
    • Jedi Sentinel Findings (Last post by Abhaya Budhil)
    • I think that when you are stepping in to help someone, especially if one or more people involved is being violent, you have to weigh the situation and remember to protect yourself. If you feel the situation would be physically dangerous for you, it is best to call the authorities and not step in yourself. If you get injured as well as the original person facing violence, you are no longer of any help to anyone, and you will only take time and care away from the person who originally needed help when the violence started. However, if you think you can intervene without getting injured or without being injured to the point of not being any help and just being in the way, then by all means do so.
    • Balance? (Last post by Daniel L.)
    • "As above, so below: as below, so above." "Nothing rests: everything has poles, everything moves, everything vibrates." "Everything is Dual: everything has poles: everything has its pair opposites." -The Kybalion Just a few lines from the Kybalion. Balance doesn't always have to be exact. Some times a little good can undo a lot of bad. A lot of water can drown you but with out it you'll die. A boat can float in water but it can also sink in it too.
    • Jedi Council? (Last post by Alexandre Orion)
    • When I had been here for a two or three months, I was wondering about inter-community behaviour. It seemed that there were a lot of people from here doing things in other groups (pardon me please, for I still find something distasteful about calling them "sites") ; people from other groups here and several from here talking about other Jedi communities in which they were taking part. I also had looked over a few of the others, without any particular inspired interest. Then again, it took me a while to join our Temple as well. Anyway -- I wondered if it were not perhaps commonplace to roam around the Jedi groups. Perhaps this was how intra-faith cooperation worked .... I wouldn't know, I'm not an internaute to that degree. So, I asked Br. John. He just told me that it wasn't particularly encouraged, but not taboo either. But that answered my question. Since that day, I haven't gone anywhere else. We have a Temple and it is home. When others come here to visit, I'm friendly, yet get a little steamed when one tries to impose on us something from elsewhere - proposing is fine, insisting is not. Our Temple is well organised ; we have guidelines, yet quite a lot of liberty also ...
    • Hero's Journey comically explained (Last post by Hadi Apollos)
    • For those who find the explanation of the Hero's Journey to be boring, let Mario and Fafa from Glove and Boots, along with Fafa's totally-legit-and-not-involved-with-the-Mafia-at-all cousin Johnny T, take a shot at it :P
    • Oh Ewan McGregor... (Last post by Hadi Apollos)
    • I'm not even gay and my undies hit the floor :P And no, that's not a look-alike. That's him goofing around on set. Looks like it was the scene where they were following Duku (the carrier, Padme in her white clothing off to the side..........I really need a life, lol).

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