Questions that have crossed my mind about Jediism

I had a few questions and forgive if it they are a bit long. xD

1. What are the main goals of Jediism? What is it's view on the Force or is it up to the individual to decide?

2. What are it's views on marriage?

3. Do Jedi here believe in telekinesis? If so, do they practice it? I hear some have practiced or at least have an interest in it. do they believe in any spiritual or mind powers?

4. What are it's views on other religions and can you be both a Jedi and belong to another faith?

5. Do any practice any form of hypnosis? I know real Jedi don't emulate the Jedi from the films in every single way, but aside from telekinesis, it reminds of when the Jedi use the Jedi Mind Trick and how helps get them out of sticky situations.

6. What martial art do Jedi here usually do?

7. What are the views on the afterlife? Is there a specific realm or do they wander as spirits, guiding and watching over others?

8. Are there any physical Jedi temples in any part of the world?

9. If the believe there's a dark side, how does one sense it?

10. How can you tell if someone is strong in the Force?

Hope it wasn't too long. These are questions I and my friends had and wondered if anyone who knew Jediism could help answer these.

1. There aren't any. Particular communities might have statements of missions but evenso, the members individually would often have goals of their own - or not.

2. Jediism has nothing to say on the topic of marriage. Jediist marriage ceremonies are not unheard of, but whether it is a worthwhile insitution, whether it should be at all changed or kept is not something Jediism has particular comments on. Again, individual Jedi might.

3. Not generally speaking. Some believe in that sort of thing, arguably a larger fraction than among the general population, but it is not an intrinsic part of the entirety of Jedi philosophy.

4. At TOTJO the general view is that yes, one can be part of another religion and Jedi simultaneously. This is again, not covered by either the code or the maxims, so I don't think there is a consensus on this.

5. I suppose some do. Some have done it prior to becoming Jedi, others might have started it while being one or even because of being one. It's not required nor explicitly recommended, so it is a purely individual thing and can only on an individual level be said to be tied to Jediism.

6. I don't think we had a poll on that, though it would surprise me if the mix didn't show any sort of pattern. At any rate, martial arts are, again, not a necessary part of the philosophy. Many don't practice any, and some who practice don't do it because of their identity as Jedi.

7. Again, no consensus here. Some believe in specific realms, usually because of other religions they practice or grew up with, others don't believe in an afterlife, still others think of death as the final reunion with the universe that spawned them. None of it is strictly implied by universally accepted doctrine.

8. None that we know of. I suppose some local communities might have marked a place or even a building of gathering but that's as far as I'm willing to speculate.

9. I don't know, ask a wizard. In all seriousness though, if there was a way of identifying what essentially amounts to auras on any reliable level, James Randi would've gotten a million dollars poorer twice over and it wouldn't remain such a laughing stock in the eyes of everybody too young to remember witch hunts.

10. By just making it up, I guess. Again, no actual mechanism to it. See #9.

Before I answer any of the questions I will let you know that pretty much everyone who responds to this will give you a different answer as Jediism is very personal. I would describe it as inclusive, individualistic, personal, open, etc.

1. My goals with Jediism are to become a better person and help others. My view of the Force is that it is an energy field that surrounds and penetrates all things in the universe and binds them together.

2. If you want to get married get married. End of discussion.

3. I've heard of a few that believe in it but there aren't many here, or at least very few that are vocal about it. I've never been convinced that it can be done, but I wouldn't say no to having those kinds of abilities. :laugh:

4. You absolutely can be a Jedi and belong to another religion. Jediism being as personal as it is can be adapted to fit into almost any other religion. I, for instance, still identify as a Christian Jedi.

5. We have discussions about subtle manipulation but nothing close to the Jedi Mind Trick. Usually our discussions about manipulation are about how the media and advertisers are manipulating people. We generally don't encourage that sort of thing.

6. Whichever ones they want if they even want to. I have studied/am studying aikido, kenbujutsu, muay thai kickboxing, bojutsu, sanbo, escrima, Jeet Kun Do, and even Tae Kwan Do (although I don't admit to that often ).

7. That varies as widely as the Jedi here do. One prevailing theory seems to be that our life energy, which is made up of the Force to start with, returns back to the Force and our consciousness as we understand it now ceases to exist. We are then one with the Force in a way that we cannot be now.

8. I don't think so. We talk about it a lot. Usually a new person starts a thread about it every three months or so. Right now we are too spread out to really make a permanent structure worth the time, effort, and money. Maybe someday though.

9. I do not believe that there is a Dark Side of the Force, just a Dark Side of people. The Force simply is, it is not good, it is not bad. People can be good and can be bad, but even that is relative.

10. That depends on what strong with the Force means. If you mean another Jedi then you might be able to "sense" it, but mostly it comes from watching.

1. What are the main goals of Jediism? What is it's view on the Force or is it up to the individual to decide?
to become a better person. that varies from person to person

2. What are it's views on marriage?
there is no official view, do what makes you happy. the only challenge comes from attachment..

3. Do Jedi here believe in telekinesis? If so, do they practice it? I hear some have practiced or at least have an interest in it. do they believe in any spiritual or mind powers?
some do some don't....some are more willing to take that "leap of faith", others only believe or are interested in what is quantifiable...

4. What are it's views on other religions and can you be both a Jedi and belong to another faith?
yes...

5. Do any practice any form of hypnosis? I know real Jedi don't emulate the Jedi from the films in every single way, but aside from telekinesis, it reminds of when the Jedi use the Jedi Mind Trick and how helps get them out of sticky situations.
i'm sure some may...there are many ways of doing "the jedi mind trick"...it's just a form of manipulation...diplomats do it all the time, negotiators, teachers, con men...all use mind tricks...

6. What martial art do Jedi here usually do?
some study no martial art, some study various ones...it's up to the individual...

7. What are the views on the afterlife? Is there a specific realm or do they wander as spirits, guiding and watching over others?
it varies depending upon the individual's perspectives...personally i think some stick around after death, others move on...

8. Are there any physical Jedi temples in any part of the world?
none that i know of, although there are plenty of dreams of making it a reality

9. If the believe there's a dark side, how does one sense it?
by knowing yourself...when you know yourself you can feel when the dark side is present within you...if you have good observational skills you'll be able to tell when it is present in others as well

10. How can you tell if someone is strong in the Force?
observation, and understanding....

That's pretty cool. It's good to get a general idea of what lots of the believe even though it's a very individualistic path. I heard people talked of making Jedi Temples. I think that'd be cool as it'd be a place to study, meditate and practice martial arts and abilities. I would personally like to see one but it would take some money and time. I will try and build one if I win the lottery!

These are personal opinions, and subject to change

1. What are the main goals of Jediism? What is it's view on the Force or is it up to the individual to decide?
In both inner and outer domains of existence within ones environment; self improvement, manifestation of wisdom/happiness and desire to help others find the same.

2. What are it's views on marriage?
Same as everything else probably, to be mindful of it and work towards improving it for all involved.

3. Do Jedi here believe in telekinesis? If so, do they practice it? I hear some have practiced or at least have an interest in it. do they believe in any spiritual or mind powers?
Some might.

4. What are it's views on other religions and can you be both a Jedi and belong to another faith?
Yes.

5. Do any practice any form of hypnosis? I know real Jedi don't emulate the Jedi from the films in every single way, but aside from telekinesis, it reminds of when the Jedi use the Jedi Mind Trick and how helps get them out of sticky situations.
Some might, but that is a slippery slope. Non-verbal communication and suggestion is a less direct way to try and influence someone rather then trying to actually hypnotize them, but IMO that stuff is just in the movies and not really practical beyond being tools to better understand and communicate with others.

6. What martial art do Jedi here usually do?
None here as its a legal issue with liability etc AFAIK, so its an individual thing, as it probably should be - to suit an individual and ones circumstances.

7. What are the views on the afterlife? Is there a specific realm or do they wander as spirits, guiding and watching over others?
Open to interpretation, but many associate death as an illusion of cessation which masks a transformation, transference, or revelation of a hidden nature which might live on after death.

8. Are there any physical Jedi temples in any part of the world?
It's often said the temple is within, or the temple is actual perception itself such that wherever you are it is seen as sacred by its embodied 'Force', and failing that ones home can be a more practical temple... but none that I know of in the context of dedicated physical structure designed and run to support Jediism specifically.

9. If the believe there's a dark side, how does one sense it?
It's impact beyond ones self. We all can struggle inside with problems, but its how they are expressed which really determines how others will perceive ones nature in this regard - just because its more tangible and has consequences.

10. How can you tell if someone is strong in the Force?
The measure of compassion IMO. It's easy being 'bad' and breaking rules is just cheating because you cant succeed within the rules.

Good answers for sure. Does anyone know which country has the highest amount of Jedi like USA, England, ect.

Going by the members of this forum, probably the US followed by the UK...

A better question might be where is the highest concentration of Jedi. If the US has way more Jedi than England does but we're all spread out it doesn't mean much in comparison.

Goken wrote: A better question might be where is the highest concentration of Jedi. If the US has way more Jedi than England does but we're all spread out it doesn't mean much in comparison.

Well I only asked which country had more Jedi but ok. I guess no one would know which has the highest concentration of Jedi. I would figure it'd be one of the English cities.