Questions

First off, thank you for taking the time to read this!
Hi, I am a current college student who is taking a Sociology of Religion course at my university. One of the assignments is to find a religion that is currently being practiced and research it. In my group I am assigned to:

O Describes a typical day and week for an active member
O Describes typical monthly and yearly religious events (holidays, traditions, rites of passage, etc.)

There are a few other thins I have to do as well. But if any and/or all of you could answer these for me that would be so wonderful! You may also ask me questions if you'd like or add more than just these questions. Describe rituals you may perform, daily tasks you must do, any paraphernalia you need to wear or carry around with you, religious celebrations, or anything else you can think of.

What do you do for your meditations? How long? Is it encourage or required to meditate every day? if not, how often?
During your week, how often do you do things that pertain to your religion?
Are there any celebrations unique to your religion? If so, what is it and what do you do for it? How often?
Does one gender have a responsibility that the other does not?
What do you do to become higher ranked?
Do you have a right of passage?

This would help me out an incredible amount.

Thank you in advance,
Dee

welcome to totjo,

we get many students coming with similar objectives for various classes (sociology,theology,psychology, etc), and as always we enjoy teaching and answering questions so feel free to submit them.

i'm sure many, many, many more members will be by.

we do not need or require any specific paraphernalia, such things could inspire attachment. however we do not forbid such things as they can aid some members in their study, training, and practice.

a good amount of the information can be found in our faq, and in some of the links at the bottom of the site.

many of the other answers you will receive will vary from member to member.

me personally, i'm sort of a minimalist. being ex military i tend to pay more tribute to military related holidays and rituals. it is their sacrifice that allows the freedom of religion that we enjoy.

i can't really describe a "typical" day since each day is unique, however most days contain some form of physical exercise, meditation, and learning...

if you'd like it may be easier to post a list of questions in this thread and they'll most definitely get answers

Dee wrote:
O Describes a typical day and week for an active member

My typical day is not very different because I am a Jedi, however the way I see the world is very different now that I have become a Jedi. In that sense, I guess you could say everything is different.

Dee wrote: O Describes typical monthly and yearly religious events (holidays, traditions, rites of passage, etc.)

The Jedi of this Temple don't have religious events per se, though individuals may celebrate holidays pertaining to their culture and/or another religion (some Jedi do not consider the Jedi path their religious one).

What we do have is monthly reflections. These reflections are usually dichotomies that stretch our understanding of the terms and our ability to find a balance amid the contradictions of life and the universe. One of the clergy will generally write a sermon and perform a service that gives us insight into that particular month's reflection. Throughout the month we are encouraged to reflect, meditate, and contemplate on the theme of the reflection for each month.

Dee wrote: Describe rituals you may perform, daily tasks you must do, any paraphernalia you need to wear or carry around with you, religious celebrations, or anything else you can think of.

The Temple is pretty laid back and is entirely voluntary in every sense of that word. Jediism is also very flexible and allows for individuation of the Jedi path. My path looks very different from another's. I personally have no rituals, daily tasks, or paraphernalia. The way I "practice" my religion is in the way I live my life. I try to embody the Code and the Creed, to recognize the Force in all living beings.

Dee wrote: What do you do for your meditations? How long? Is it encourage or required to meditate every day? if not, how often?

I meditate occasionally. I'd like to do it more regularly, but I'm at a place where if I tried that I'd be forcing myself to do it and that would kind of defeat the purpose. Meditation, for me, usually lasts somewhere between 20-30 minutes depending on how long it takes for the distractions to fade away. Meditation is strongly encouraged, but never a requirement. It is taught as a basic tool for Jedi exploring their path and developing a sense of what their Jedi path looks like, but the funny thing about meditation is that it can't be compelled or it usually just ends up being a nap. :silly:

Dee wrote: During your week, how often do you do things that pertain to your religion?

I probably spend more time than most because I'm administrator for the clergy, but that doesn't really mean much except that I type a lot. Most of my work happens behind the scenes and I'd be happy if nobody really knew I was the one doing it.

Dee wrote: Are there any celebrations unique to your religion? If so, what is it and what do you do for it? How often?

No, although we do try to coordinate with other Jedi institutions to meet up in person. You'd have to ask someone who has attended one of these in the past to get a detailed explanation of what these are like.

Dee wrote: Does one gender have a responsibility that the other does not?

Nope, especially not at this Temple. Everyone has the responsibility to treat each other respectfully in spite of biases about gender.

Dee wrote: What do you do to become higher ranked?

Depends on which rank you're referring to. The Temple utilizes ranks for general members and clergy members. Both are a combination of study requirements and time spent at the Temple. That said, the Council votes on rank promotion for general members and the Synod votes on rank promotions for clergy members. It is not simply an automatic thing that someone is promoted. Also, rank holds different significance for different people. I personally would be content without my ranks so long as I could continue to serve people and study as I am now.

Dee wrote: Do you have a right of passage?

I've never referred to them as such (and there are reasons for this), but we have a few. The first is becoming a member of the Temple. The second is completing your Initiate Programme studies. The third is taking the Simple Oath. After completing these a Jedi has been introduced to many concepts and tools which they can use to communicate with other Jedi at the Temple. Completing your apprenticeship and becoming a knight is probably the final "rite of passage" that Jedi typically go through.

The clergy really only have two: promotion to Licensed Minister, making one an official representative of the Temple clergy and a caretaker of the spiritual wellbeing of the Temple. The other is promotion to Deacon, making one a permanent member of the clergy and committing them to a greater responsibility to the congregation of the Temple.

Dee wrote: O Describes a typical day and week for an active member

My life isn't really different because I'm a Jedi, except that I have more responsibilities to others now as a Youth Officer.

Describes typical monthly and yearly religious events (holidays, traditions, rites of passage, etc.)

As Jamie said, we don't really have religious events. We have sermons, some of which are live, although not sure if you would necessarily consider these religious.

Describe rituals you may perform, daily tasks you must do, any paraphernalia you need to wear or carry around with you, religious celebrations, or anything else you can think of.

From the outside you couldn't tell I'm a Jedi. Unlike some I don't wear any jewellery or have any tattoos with our symbol on, I don't wear robes for anything. My personal rituals are rather unconnected to Jediism, though I came to them through personal study here. I have a small room that I use for yoga, that I have a kind of altar set up in. Every day I sit in silence in this room with my candles lit, and in a Quaker kind of tradition, I sit until I feel like some meaning has come to me, and I write it down. I sit until I feel like I have come to some kind of understanding. Sometimes it takes 10 minutes, sometimes longer.

What do you do for your meditations? How long? Is it encourage or required to meditate every day? if not, how often?

I struggle to meditate through traditional methods, I prefer meditation through the movement (mostly yoga)

During your week, how often do you do things that pertain to your religion?

I don't see Jediism as a religion, and as we have no special ceremonies, rituals etc, I don't spend a lot of time doing anything specifically Jedi. Although I try to live generally as close to my idea of a Jedi as I can.

Are there any celebrations unique to your religion? If so, what is it and what do you do for it? How often?

I wouldn't say so.

Does one gender have a responsibility that the other does not?

No. We recognise genders as being equal in value and respect deserved.

What do you do to become higher ranked?
Do you have a right of passage?

The Initiate Programme and Apprenticeships, then the degree scheme, and also passing seminary increase someone's rank. As does being promoted to an office like Councillor (not all offices bestow a higher rank).
I would say probably each part of the journey is a rite of passage in itself.

I purposefully didn't read any of the other responses to this before I typed it so as to not influence my answer. As a result there may be duplicate answers.

Dee wrote: O Describes a typical day and week for an active member

We all lead rather varied lives. I'd say that if there were consitancies they'd be participating in forum discussions on a regular (though not necessarily daily) basis and meditation (although that also can be different for everyone).

Dee wrote: O Describes typical monthly and yearly religious events (holidays, traditions, rites of passage, etc.)

I believe that we used to have a list somewhere of Jedi holidays but they were mostly different ways of viewing currently existing holidays. A lot of what Jedi do is view currently existing things slightly differently.

Dee wrote: Describe rituals you may perform, daily tasks you must do, any paraphernalia you need to wear or carry around with you, religious celebrations, or anything else you can think of.

The most ritualized things that we have here would be our Knighting ceremonies, I believe. They are announced to everyone and then held via the chatroom so that everyone can be there for them. We don't really have required daily tasks, although it is recommended by many members that we meditate and exercise daily. There really isn't any paraphernalia that we require, although I do know of members who like to have certain items with them when they meditate as they feel that those items can help them focus and feel the Force.

Dee wrote: What do you do for your meditations? How long? Is it encourage or required to meditate every day? if not, how often?

Personally I like to sit in a chair (the stereotypical lotus position hurts my back and its hard to concentrate while in pain) and do guided meditations from my phone. I can meditate without them but I'm still newer at meditating so my mind tends to wander if left unchecked. I like to do short meditations at various times of day. After eating lunch is a favorite of mine. I find that it gets me back in balance for the last half of my work day. I try to meditate everyday but it's hard sometimes.

Dee wrote: During your week, how often do you do things that pertain to your religion?

I visit the site almost everyday and I do my best to keep the doctrine in my heart at all times.

Dee wrote: Are there any celebrations unique to your religion? If so, what is it and what do you do for it? How often?

To my knowledge there are no really uniquely Jedi celebrations. Last week we did have a rather lively discussion about what a Jedi feast might be like. Most of our celebrations and/or ceremonies are derived from others and then tweaked to fit our purpose.

Dee wrote: Does one gender have a responsibility that the other does not?

Definetely not. There are some members that we don't even know the gender of, one of the perks of being a predominitly online community. Jedi are big on equality. We do our best to not treat people differently based on any external charactistic such as race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, or anything really.

Dee wrote: What do you do to become higher ranked?

There is a training program. Currently I'm going through the "Initiate Programme" which, when completed will allow my rank to become that of "Initiate." Then I am eligible to become an "Apprentice" to a teacher. When I've completed that (although I can't speak to what's required there) I can become a "Knight."

Dee wrote: Do you have a right of passage?

I suppose the knighting ceremony could count as that.


I hope that gave you some insight into my view of Jediism, but as I'm sure everyone will tell you, it will be different for everyone. Good luck with your project.

O Describes a typical day and week for an active member

I'm not sure there's anything typical about our time across the board. Nothing that the Temple dictates.

O Describes typical monthly and yearly religious events (holidays, traditions, rites of passage, etc.)

Religious events tend to be drawn from the traditions local to the members, and the companion religions they follow. Although I did find this, I haven't seen it closely followed by everyone:
FAQ: Holy Days

Describe rituals you may perform, daily tasks you must do, any paraphernalia you need to wear or carry around with you, religious celebrations, or anything else you can think of.

These following answers are from me as an individual. Jediism is apart of me as well as everything else that *I* am so take these answers from me as an individual rather than what the Jedi do as a whole.

Daily tasks I chose to do: give respect and honor to the spirits around me.
Paraphernalia I chose to carry/wear: I have a small medicine pouch I carry around with me and I wear a pair of earrings that I made to help connect myself with my power animal. But I can't wear them at work
Religious celebrations: I do some minor personal respects for the season markers. The starts of seasons and the mid-seasons. Otherwise the holidays are more cultural than religious.

What do you do for your meditations? How long? Is it encourage or required to meditate every day? if not, how often?

I have a nice toolbox full of different kinds of meditations that I'll use as I feel I need them or I feel my guides direct me towards but my favorite is doing Shamanic journeys. They last until I'm done but typically 5-10 minutes. Occasionally I'll do something for 15 minutes.

I've been encouraged to meditate by my training master and when I went through the Initiate's Programme, it also had a little bit of meditation study. Although some people do meditate every day, it's up to the individual to decide what is a good schedule for them to follow.

During your week, how often do you do things that pertain to your religion?

Every day. I feel it is important to pay respects to the spirits around me. I can't say I do it EVERY MOMENT of every day but I try to remain mindful of them.

Are there any celebrations unique to your religion? If so, what is it and what do you do for it? How often?

Nope. That's left up to the individual

Does one gender have a responsibility that the other does not?

Nope.

What do you do to become higher ranked?

FAQ: Ranking

Do you have a right of passage?

Uh, kind of. The ranks I guess.

Let me know if you have anymore questions

Well for me its like stirring soup, you work the handle but all the action goes on underneath the surface. So how a day is managed represents the nature of ones path but since we try to be almost the opposite of cloistered, its going to be dictated by external conditions mostly I'd guess. In my quiet moments I can knuckle down and focus on specific topics which help me grow and perhaps develop some new ideas or learning.

What do you do for your meditations? How long?

It varies, mostly forms of yoga to connect to perception of a higher spiritual energy. I originally used periodic calm abiding and compassion meditations (they were always about an hour long) to generate a form of continuous meditation, which I punctuate with emptiness meditations and with deity and structural yogas, much like mandalas.

During your week, how often do you do things that pertain to your religion?

I'm a Forum Moderator so there is that... but otherwise for the physical side, just exercising of the body side of things. Internally its pretty much ongoing as much as possible.

Are there any celebrations unique to your religion? If so, what is it and what do you do for it? How often?

I find astronomical things useful to connect outside of my own routine perception, such as planetary alignments, significant transition points (solstices, equinoxes) and phenomena (eclipses)... not in an astrological sense though (which I have no opinion on). Seeing the Moon is always a celebration for me. Dreaming is also important so I try to view them as internal celebrations. The other more conventional celebrations I tend respect and participate in as well, but they seem more cultural and so less about my Jedi path and more about those who it means a lot too.

Does one gender have a responsibility that the other does not?

No. For me, Jediism transcends concepts like gender, sex, race, or even species!!! I tend to view all life as equal in spirit, but that has some practical problems when it comes to other species of life... while its obvious not all things are equal in capabilities - I don't think we should define someones responsibilities based just on their capabilities, as Jediism is much more about growth and creativity wherever that might be found.

What do you do to become higher ranked?

If your active within the various systems here then the systems can recognize this and provide you opportunities to extend that activity to better help others. I'm not sure rank offers any benefit though to self but it can help other know a little about the person, as its just an indication of progress, commitment and often duties here.

Do you have a right of passage?

The Temple has levels of commitment. When I joined it was an Oath to 'be' a 'Jedi' as loosely outlined by the doctrine but open to the individual variations, and later a Vow to be a representation of the doctrine and Temple, as a Temple 'Knight'.

But saying that, all this is just my own path and in my opinion of course!!! Good luck with your assignment.

Thank you for your participation, guys! It is much appreciated. And if you think of anything else, feel free to add to it.

Hello Dee...

Questions like these always makes me laugh, like we are sideshow attractions because of our beliefs... Like we need to be analyzed to be understood and accepted, lol... "Bugs under glass for observation"... I cant help but think about this, every time questions get dropped on us...

When these 'questionnaires' do happen, it is nice to take the time to re-evaluate our reasons... Re-question our stances, and look inside oursleves...

I wish more would answer these things, and give themselves (the person answering) the thoughtfulness they need/deserve... Perhaps they do, I dont always post on these, lol... But, I do read and examine my beliefs...

My turn...

I may come across as a smart ass, but I promise I am smiling as I say this...

Dee wrote: O Describes a typical day and week for an active member

Describe the active day for you, as a student...

I get up, get dressed, and go to work...

Weekends, I dont work, lol...

I try to notice every minute that passes... Every NOW that I experience...

Yea, thats pretty much it...

Enjoying the journey...

O Describes typical monthly and yearly religious events (holidays, traditions, rites of passage, etc.)

My family are not Jedi, therefore, personally I dont celebrate anything but the moment to moment I am in...

But, my family does enjoy the traditional holidays and such, and I do enjoy get togethers, so it works out well for us all, lol... Im not some jerk who demands that everyone respects my beliefs, that shows little respect for others, lol...

Describe rituals you may perform, daily tasks you must do, any paraphernalia you need to wear or carry around with you, religious celebrations, or anything else you can think of.

None... I am a pretty boring Jedi, unless you get me to talking about something, lol...

Then my [strike]weirdness[/strike], er, uh, talkativeness comes out... lol...

What do you do for your meditations? How long? Is it encourage or required to meditate every day? if not, how often?

Depends on why I am meditating...

I feel like I am in a pretty constant state of meditation...

But, I will sometimes do the tradidional style, just to practice it, but usually only 5-15 minutes...

No requirements set by TOTJO... But folks may have personal goals...

During your week, how often do you do things that pertain to your religion?

Every moment...

Paying attention is constant...

Are there any celebrations unique to your religion? If so, what is it and what do you do for it? How often?

Eh, there have been attempts at holidays... But not too concrete yet, lol...

Our group has ceremonies for Knighthoods and Ordinations, but thats it...

Does one gender have a responsibility that the other does not?

lol, no... How silly...

What do you do to become higher ranked?

Try not to look too stupid, try hard...

Rank is stupid, but necessary, lol...

Do you have a right of passage?

Yes, we call it training though...

This would help me out an incredible amount.

Sure it will... And you are welcome....

The only other way to understand it is to live it, and that takes more time than you have available for an assignment...

But, to be quite honest, you (anyone) will never fully understand what it is like by only asking questions...

Its the whole "walk a mile in my shoes" thing...

I could not understand being an adult student such as yourself, as I stopped the traditional schooling after high school...

You might think you know, but, when you become, you realize... Tricky stuff, life is, lol...

Jestor,

Thank you for your response. And yes, belonging to a religion myself, I realize that to understand the full spectrum of the religion, beliefs, and reasons we do what we do and believe what we believe, we would have to experience it in fullness. I do appreciate you being open and blunt with your response. I do hope you realize that I am not trying to offend or in any way bring Jediism down. Simply trying to understand even a little bit of it and share that knowledge with my fellow classmates.

Please, if you have anything else to share, do.
Thank you!