In the News: I am A Jedi

Some of you may have seen this already, but this article led me to join this website and take the first step into the Jedi journey.

It's an article about a Jedi in the UK, take a look, short and sweet.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/may/08/i-am-a-jedi-experience

M

Interesting article, thanks!! He is a bit of a trend setter isnt he :lol:

I noticed this and it made me reflect;
"I have been surprised at how accepting the local authorities and police have been. It was their idea that I register my lightsaber as a religious item, allowing me to carry it with me at all times."

I don't carry one but if I did I'd like it to have some functional role. The best I've been able to come up with to integrate it into practise as a spiritual item is;
body - sparring/training
mind - blade movement understood in mathematical terms
soul - hilt represents material world and blade represents non-physical, where it translates across to things like kundalini and any relationship between the spinal cord and spiritual central channels.

And finally to justify its persistence in companionship - as a totem to connect dreaming and waking awareness.

He seems a little loopy, but relatively harmless, and what he's doing is making him happy and providing him with meaning - it's all good.

Someone from some Jedi group posted down in the comments though, and made me intensely dislike him [the poster] in about two sentences. :dry:

In reply to the sword comment. The Sikh religion and community can legally carry their swords in public in England, so why not a Jedi. Plus, if the local Police recognize a lightsaber as a religious weapon, surely this can only help the Jediism religion and community.

The Sikh's religious doctrine requires them to keep a blade on them at all times (it's written in their doctrine) because there was a time when they had to be ready to defend themselves against extremist Muslims. What the Sikh's are allowed should have no bearing on what a modern day religion should be allowed. Unless a Jedi can reasonable justify a reason to carry a weapon or wear a hood in an establishment that is strongly opposed to such, any political ploy to make a move for something like open carrying of a sword should be shot down by the government.

I see it that he's wearing his lightsaber as more of a decoration, and the police probably registered it because they see it as a plastic toy, and more to do with his faith than a political ploy to carry an unsheathed weapon. I've been talking with him a little bit online too. Hope to understand a little more directly from him.

Yea it's hardly anymore a weapon then an umbrella, but does non-attachment extend to symbols in this circumstance? I'm unsure... I don't see a need to use a symbol for others in that regard, but perhaps a symbol to remind oneself - especially in the early stages of forming a solid path. It's not very discrete though

Good on him but, its making him happy!!!

just out of curiosity would for example if I chose to carry a bokken instead of plastic lightsaber would it still count as a part of jediism ? . Note that for me the bokken could possibly in extremely unlikely circumstances be used in self defense ( my life is really not that dangerous).

Alethea Thompson wrote: The Sikh's religious doctrine requires them to keep a blade on them at all times (it's written in their doctrine) because there was a time when they had to be ready to defend themselves against extremist Muslims. What the Sikh's are allowed should have no bearing on what a modern day religion should be allowed.

Why, exactly, not?

efuller18 wrote: just out of curiosity would for example if I chose to carry a bokken instead of plastic lightsaber would it still count as a part of jediism ? . Note that for me the bokken could possibly in extremely unlikely circumstances be used in self defense ( my life is really not that dangerous).

Carrying a lightsaber isn't an official part of Jediism... some people just choose to.