Atticus

"Listen to the Force - it calls to you."

by Twigga

 I had a friend come to stay at my home recently. She suffers from obsessive compulsive disorders, and to be honest, I was amazed by how many trials she must have overcome in order to get to Belgium from the UK. She was coming on a pilgrimage, to see Gillian Anderson, "Scully" from the X-Files at a local Comic Con. She wanted nothing more than to say "Thank you" to her, for inspiring her as a young girl to get into science. My friend was so focussed on her goal, I'm not sure she realised how many of her fears she had overcome in making that journey.

When we have a goal, and a purpose in mind, it can be much easier for us to overcome our difficulties. But what about those times when it seems our desires are fulfilled, and we have no real goals to speak of? 

Sometimes it can seem as though we are worn out by simply going through the motions of daily living. We're in the position of being well educated, well fed, functioning members of society, with a reliable network of friends. We've "got it made", and yet it still feels as though there is something missing...

Ray had carved out her niche on Jakku. It wasn't an entirely comfortable existence, but she was ready to go back to the grind, even after meeting Han and Chewie and, I think, developing a soft spot for Finn. Maz's words turned out to be very wise though: "Dear child! The longing you seek is not behind you, it is in front of you."

Her task, given in the quote from Maz here in the title, was to open her ears and listen - really listen - to the Force. I think it is our task as Jedi too. Everything is there in the Force, and it can be frightening to share other people's lives. We can be afraid to watch the news, and to hear about the suffering of others for which we personally have no solution. It can be overwhelming to realise the pressure our Earth is under, to sustain our lifestyles. The voices crying out to be heard may be very close to us. It may even be our own voices that we need to hear. 

By listening, we establish a connection, and show solidarity through the suffering. Sometimes we have to strain ourselves to hear that voice, as it is so very quiet. It takes effort. But that effort can help us find the courage to overcome our desires to simply remain on Jakku. We can be inspired to change. I have been surprised by the number of ways in which this act of listening  has been transformative in my own life. It can destroy our fetishes for the rules we have written, about how we, or they, "ought" to be. It can demolish our pride, or eliminate the anger we have felt towards a person we are now coming to better understand. In that close and careful listening, we are also able to bring dignity and respect to the other person, and break the bonds that have been tying them down. 

That connection of friendship can then empower that person to overcome their own problems too. It's hard work, and a long road, but it creates a win-win situation, and I think we can all rejoice in that.

Sighs

by Raxicorico

I walk through the mostly empty hallways of the local mall. I pass by one clothing store after another. The displays show ripped guys in fashionable clothing. Despite how nice the clothes may look, I know there is nothing for my 3XL frame in the stores. I sigh and continue on my journey.

I sit at my desk, slaving away at a thesis that feels like it will never end. The topic of my thesis causes most people’s eyes to glaze over. It is essentially attempting to solve a problem you didn’t know you had with methods most people don’t understand (see the dictionary definition for ‘wizard’). The coworker in the desk next to me receives another phone call from the Discovery Channel as she has become famous for her recent shark footage. I sigh and continue on writing my own unsung contributions to science.

I eat my lunch at a nearby café. I see a couple on a date at a nearby table. They are joking and laughing, even bending over the table for the occasional kiss. It’s sweet to see, but gets me contemplating my own long-distance relationship. About how I’m going to be alone with a pizza and Netflix tonight. I sigh and send a loving text to my partner.

None of these things are particularly unique. They are just part of everyday struggles. Other people will have their own similar struggles. But all of these sighs have one thing in common: They result from the comparison of myself to others. It’s quite easy to do. We are constantly bombarded with messages of “you can’t be happy unless you have *blank*.” My Catholic upbringing reinforced that idea that no matter how hard I tried I was going to be inherently flawed in comparison to an ideal. Then there are petty desires, where you may want to look like someone else or experience the same success as another.

But then I remember: “Jedi are mindful of their thoughts.”

Each of us have our own unique strengths and weaknesses. By constantly comparing ourselves with others, we only serve to highlight our weaknesses and blind us to our strengths. Quite likely the individual you are comparing yourself to is comparing themselves to other people and feeling inadequate in other ways. It’s a vicious cycle that only serves to cause internal conflict. Instead of the constant feeling of inadequacy, it’s best to remember that you excel in your own unique ways. Both the sun and the moon will shine when it is their time.

We start out life as clean slates, ready to mature in unique individuals. And yet the world seems to try to drain us of that potential individuality. To be another member of the masses. People are easier to understand and manipulate if they are essentially sheep. Instead of restraining ourselves, we should go forth and be our unique selves. Add a bit of eccentricity to our lives. Humanity progresses through the accumulation of non-normal thoughts. As a scientist and actually just as a human being, I find it important to every day try to think of new ideas, even if they seem impossible at the time. Sometimes life has a way of making some of those impossible ideas possible.

A Mission Statement

by Atticus

I struggle sometimes to explain what it is that the Clergy are called to do.

Recently we took a climate survey here at the Temple.  As a result, we learned that many of our members and guests aren’t completely certain what the Clergy are, much less what we do.  And I learned that I have trouble putting what it is that I do into words.

We are called to serve as spiritual guides for those seeking to walk the Jedi Path.  We are charged with a responsibility for the spiritual well-being of our members and guests.  No two of us see our mission the same way.

But I have trouble journaling about what my ministry looks like.  It’s always there, whether I’m parenting or playing music, practicing law or working retail, teaching or learning.

How in the world do you describe something that just is?

A friend suggested that perhaps what I need is a mission statement.  As a body, we in the Clergy have been mulling that over for years now.  As a new Minister, I once wrote a mission statement for my personal ministry.  It talked about service, and tolerance, and meeting people exactly where they are.  It had a nice turn of phrase or two.

I threw it out.

Tolerance, understanding, service – those things are important.  But they’re not the mission statement.  Not the real one, anyway.

And I came to realize that the reason it is so hard to describe what I do as a minister is that I never know exactly what I’ll be called on to do as a minister.

So I start with the things I do know.

I believe that as a Jedi, I am called upon to make love and compassion the constant, the central animating principle that informs everything else I might do.  Each small action, done with compassion, influences the world, whether we can see its effect or not.  This I believe.

I believe that as a member of the Clergy, I am called upon to cultivate empathy.  It’s not enough to listen.  We have to listen with the intention to remove the distance between us and another, to put ourselves in the metaphorical shoes of the person with whom we are interacting.  We have to listen with the intention to truly understand, as best we can.  This I believe.

Compassion should make us willing to practice empathy.  Empathy in turn fuels our compassion.

Compassion.

Empathy.

. . . and then it feels like there should be a third thing, doesn’t it?  These kinds of things come in threes.  It should be a really good thing that sums up the action that derives from the practice of the first two.  A single word would be good; that would make it snappy, impactful.

But I just can’t find a single word that fits.  All that important stuff about service, and tolerance, and understanding, caring for the spiritual well-being of others, serving as a spiritual guide, trying to improve the world through uncounted tiny acts of compassion -- how do you put all that into a single word?

The reason it is so hard to describe what I do as a minister is that I never know exactly what I’ll be called on to do as a minister.  What that looks like from moment to moment is doing whatever the moment requires:

It might be just a smile and a positive vibe.It might be a heartfelt expression of gratitude, showing another that you recognize the divine in them even if others don’t.

It might be listening without judgment, an empathetic ear, a shoulder upon which to lean or cry.

It might be an insightful question that helps another examine what they are doing or feeling.

Or it might just be being there, being available and reliably so, for what my friend Twigga calls “allowing people to be ‘people-y’ on you.”

Just as the moment requires.

So:

Compassion.

Empathy.

And that elusive third word that means, “Appropriate act, TBD.”

That’s the mission statement.

No, But I Have a Good Idea…
By Senan

Movies and other fictional sources can be a great source of wisdom. Our faith, Jediism, is quite obviously influenced by the Star Wars saga, which in turn finds its influences in fictional sources including Kurosawa’s "The Hidden Fortress". Characters like Yoda and Darth Vader find their geneses in the Tao Te Ching and the Bushido Code, respectively. These movies and characters have become an avenue for conveying timeless wisdom, and this was done on purpose. Sometimes, though, this wisdom comes from unexpected or unconventional places.

Today, I’d like to share some wisdom from one such unconventional source. In 1999, Director Kevin Smith released a film titled "Dogma", an irreverent and controversial comedy about the follies of modern religion. It was the latest in his series of films featuring his popular characters Jay and Silent Bob, but this one was a bit different from the other movies in the franchise. The story focuses on the character Bethany Sloane, a Catholic who has lost faith in the church and in her God, but finds herself tapped by Heavenly forces to save the universe from a couple of rogue angels bent on using a loophole in Catholic dogma to prove God wrong and thus destroy all existence. As the story moves along, it becomes clear that the goal of the film is to point out the danger of dogmatic belief in comparison to flexible ideas.

As we follow Bethany, portrayed by actress Linda Fiorentino, we are introduced to a number of characters including the Metatron (the voice of God), Rufus (the thirteenth and forgotten Apostle of Jesus Christ), Serendipity (a Muse who inspires artists), and a friend of Bethany’s named Liz who is witness to Bethany’s crisis of faith. Each of these characters manages to offer profound wisdom that we can apply to our own Paths as Jedi, even when it is disguised as clever or witty dialogue. I’d like to share a few examples that stood out among the others.

I’ll start with Liz, played by Janeane Garofalo, who tries to help our main character gain some perspective and better understand why people sometimes lose faith in their church or God as they grow older. She does so by sharing some advice she received from a priest during her own crisis of faith.

Liz: "He said that faith is like a glass of water. When you're young, the glass is small, and it's easy to fill up. But the older you get, the bigger the glass gets, and the same amount of liquid doesn't fill it anymore. Periodically, the glass has to be refilled."

This is one tiny moment in the film, but it is an important one. This explanation of faith lays the foundation for Bethany’s Hero’s Journey. Her calling is to save all of existence, but in doing so she will also be refilling her glass and restoring her faith. She is reluctant in the beginning, as many heroes are, but this conversation gives her mission a context. Her faith is being tested, and it takes these extraordinary events to provide enough substance to see her glass full again.

Soon after, when Bethany is conversing with the seraph Metatron, the voice of God portrayed by Alan Rickman, he informs her that she is the Last Scion. Put simply, she is the last living relative of Jesus Christ and the only person capable of saving the world. She is obviously quite overwhelmed by this, and the resulting conversation reveals a great bit of wisdom that can be drawn from the story of Jesus.

Bethany: "I don't want this, it's too big."

Metatron: "That's what Jesus said. Yes, I had to tell him. And you can imagine how that hurt the Father - not to be able to tell the Son Himself because one word from His lips would destroy the boy's frail human form? So I was forced to deliver the news to a scared child who wanted nothing more than to play with other children. I had to tell this little boy that He was God's only Son, and that it meant a life of persecution and eventual crucifixion at the hands of the very people He came to enlighten and redeem. He begged me to take it back, as if I could. He begged me to make it all not true. And I'll let you in on something, Bethany, this is something I've never told anyone before... If I had the power, I would have."

This one brief interaction reveals a side of Jesus Christ that most don’t often consider. Even as the Son of God, Jesus was still a human being susceptible to fear and doubt. We learn that perhaps the closest to perfection any human being has ever come still came with the inherent human flaws we all have. Jesus was able to overcome the fear and doubt, and we see in Dogma that Bethany is able to overcome them as well. It is an inspiring message that we can apply to our own lives when we encounter something that seems overwhelming.

We also learn a bit more about Jesus from his forgotten Thirteenth Apostle, Rufus, played by actor and comedian Chris Rock. His dialogue sheds a lot of light on the way modern religion, specifically Catholicism, has twisted the original teachings of Jesus Christ. He shares this wisdom with Bethany to help her understand her role in saving the world. These are just two examples of the wisdom we can take from Rufus.

When speaking of the rogue angels Bartleby (Ben Affleck) and Loki (Matt Damon) and how they are using Catholic Dogma to defy the word of God, Rufus explains religion this way.

Rufus: People die for it, people kill for it. The whole of existence is in jeopardy right now, because of the Catholic belief structure, regarding this plenary indulgence bulls**t. Bartlteby and Loki, whether they know it or not, are exploiting that belief. And if they're successful, you and me, all of this, ends in a heartbeat. All over a belief.

And later he speaks to Bethany about religion in general and how modern belief structures have lost the original message of Jesus.

Rufus: He still digs humanity, but it bothers Him to see the s**t that gets carried out in His name - wars, bigotry, televangelism. But especially the factioning of all the religions. He said humanity took a good idea and, like always, built a belief structure on it.

Bethany: Having beliefs isn't good?

Rufus: I think it's better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier...

The artistic Muse Serendipity, played by Salma Hayek, adds to this wisdom as she explains to Bethany why she believes that humanity has failed in its efforts to find a religion that works for everybody.

Serendipity: When are you people going to learn? It's not about who's right or wrong. No denomination's nailed it yet, because they're all too self-righteous to realize that it doesn't matter what you have faith in, just that you have faith. Your hearts are in the right place, but your brains gotta to wake up.

Serendipity and Rufus are both stating quite directly that modern religion has become so wrapped up in defending beliefs and being right that they have lost the original ideas contained in the teachings. The myth has become more important than the message. The lessons are lost in the dogma. Naming one’s faith has taken precedent over simply having faith.

So, what can we learn from "Dogma" as Jedi? For starters, we can see the danger of over reliance on mythology when defining our faith. While we take on the mantle of “Jedi”, we must always be aware that the Star Wars story is not our foundation. It is the ideas contained within that we gain our wisdom from. It is the lessons to be learned from watching the growth of the fictional characters that we need to focus on. It is discovering the influences and messages behind the mythology that is most important.

We can also learn a little something about faith. As Jedi, many of us proclaim to have faith in the Force. Some others maintain a faith in God or gods alongside Jediism. There are also Jedi who put their faith in science and logic. Regardless of where we may place our faith, what we learn from "Dogma" is that it is important to have faith in something. Even if it is only in our fellow human beings, we need to include faith in our lives. It provides meaning and context to a life that would otherwise be random and chaotic.

These lessons can be summed up in one final interaction between Bethany and Rufus at the conclusion of the film. As Rufus and the angels are returning to Heaven with God, portrayed by none other than Alanis Morissette, Rufus asks one more time if Bethany’s faith has been restored.

Rufus: Are you saying you believe?

Bethany: No. But I have a good idea.