Read this top bit if nothing else, this is the 'important' bit.
The clergy is happy to introduce what we are calling "The Jedi Reflections". Each month of the year has been assigned a reflection to encourage all Jedi to contemplate and consider that particular theme. Each first day of the month will host a live service introducing that month's reflection, and clergy are encouraged to incorporate the reflection into their sermons.
It is our hope that these reflections will encourage people to consider them in a variety of interesting and unique ways to help people in understanding the human condition.
These are the reflections:
January - Reflecton: Tradition, yet Originality
February - Reflection: Attachment, yet Freedom
March - Reflection: Despair, yet Hope
April - Reflection: Cowardice, yet Courage
May - Reflection: Ego, yet Humility
June - Reflection: Chaos, yet Harmony
July - Reflection: Corruptibilty, yet Integrity
August - Reflection: Fickleness, yet Discipline
September - Reflection: Iniquity, yet Justice
October - Reflection: Foolishness, yet Wisdom
November - Reflection: Recklessness, yet Responsibility
December - Reflection: Greed, yet Generosity
Some more words on the topic:
Akkarin wrote: The Reflections are dichotomies of, for lack of better terms, 'vices and virtues' human nature. One cannot reduce all the variables of the human experience into 12 dichotomies of vice/virtue, nor insist that these are the most important. These periods encourage reflection, whether that be on a vice and virtue they promote or a vice and virtue not listed. They serve as reminders to the Jedi that we shall never be 'more than' human, which should be embraced not regretted
As reflections on human nature it is important that we remember not only the goals we strive for, but the shortcomings that hold us back, we accept this fact, about all of us, with humility. We should recognise all variations of human nature, we would not wish to forget or reject charateristics which many in society organise their lives by. While these dichotomies are complimentary opposites the limitations of language encourage us to see them broadly, to see the nuances and extended meanings behind each of them and how they have, do and might apply to us in the past, present and future.
Reflect and learn.
tzb wrote: Reflections
"To everything there is a season"
- Ecclesiastes 3:1
- The Byrds, Turn! Turn! Turn!
Our religion is syncretic in nature, meaning it is based in part on existing traditions. The Temple keeps (and often neglects) a calendar of feast days, many of which are drawn from other faiths; but often these religious festivals take their inspiration from broader trends related to the passage of the year. The passage of the seasons is familiar to people the world over, albeit at a six month remove depending on which hemisphere you reside in: the hope and promise of new life in the spring, the heat and light of summer, the autumn harvest, and the cold and dark "death of the year" in winter. Humans live on one planet, and this cycle of seasons is part of us all.
As we move through the months, religious, spiritual and folk festivals remind us of a variety of sentiments and call on us to reflect on a wide range of values and ideas. From New Year and the familiar resolutions to change our ways, through Valentines Day and its emphasis on bonding, ultimately to create life, moving into the stories of hope in both the Easter and Holi festivals of Spring; then on through the year, the courage reflected by both Passover and Vaisakhi, the harmony enshrined by the summer solstice, integrity at Ramadan, Rosh Hashanah and its focus on judgement; and as the Autumn evenings begin to draw in, the celebration of the light of wisdom at Diwali, a recognition of human conflict and our responsibility around Memorial Day, finally into the period of Advent with its focus on generosity. The flow of these festivities is common to us all, whether we choose to join with them or not.
Whether we remember to consider these very human traditions on given days seems less relevant than remembering to reflect on each of them at some point of the year. As such, the Clergy of the Temple have voted to replace the existing and oft-forgotten Feast Day calendar with one based around monthly seasonal Reflections.
These Reflections take their inspiration from the passage of the year described above, and like our Code and Creed are based around apparent dichotomies in human nature. We are all familiar with phrases such as "emotion, yet peace", or "where there is doubt, faith". One reason our values are presented in this way is that we recognise that humans are not perfect. We may be peaceful one day and emotional the next. We do not seek to deny or ignore emotion - just to prioritise and cultivate peace. The Reflections follow this same pattern, and Jedi are asked to consider these related ideas, "sliding scales" or paths, in their own lives.
Rather than repeating the formula of single-date Feast Days which can be missed or forgotten about, we have instead dedicated whole months to particular Reflections - seasons, if you like, for considering particular topics. These encourage Jedi to reflect on specific values relevant to the prevailing moods of the season. The Clergy intend to have services/sermons at the start of each month to introduce the Reflection in question, and invite focus, discussion and meditation on the topics presented in the weeks that follow.
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