The Block

There is a line most of us have . Jedi or not - there exist a place where when we cross it - we know that some point is reached. Some of us , anger pain patience annoyance fun pleasure - can all be their limits. It happens to me not to often but it does happen. So...
What do you do when you reach that point? To be wise is to understand and define these moments as existent and to frequent them , sometimes can give us the ability to have a better understanding rather than just automatic meltdown. When that point is reached here’s a suggestion (only a suggestion) identify it and say “hey ! There it is !found it! Yay!!!!” At that point, the automatic response can change into something other than anger or what we are used to. Some times it’s the people I choose to have present that remind me of my goals and my focus.
From one Jedi to another think about this if you like - when you teach your point - any point - be glad you got the ability to see it and notice it and even maybe —- change the outcome !
May the force be with y’all as we all seek it!
We are never alone - especially in THIS please .

Very thought provoking Master! You often post things that make me think about if I am doing the right thing and whether or not I can continue. You are an inspiration and you always drive me to push forward. This is definitely something to think about.
May the Force be with You Always

And may the Force we both serve seek and find - continue to be with you My jack! Keep living your practice brother !

Tuesday morning I sit with coffee (coffee thanks to my president ) and omlet s and good company. My wife’s got the audio of “teaching meditation” by Alan Wats playing . Truth be told it’s been about two years almost three years now with her IP.
We have talked about it so many times and Our actual practice of meditation is a key thing we even try to pass to the children we have.
Truth of the matter is - our time is full. All our time. Children - dishes - eating - breathing - cleaning- classes - lessons - work - groceries - man , some days we can’t even catch a break to do all the things we like. Some days we won’t have time or the effort or the availability to do things we like. So here’s my encouragement to all you great people here - realize that just because we don’t have time for things doesn’t mean they are not important to us. It’s the very human thing to say sometimes if I’m not directly in it ... It can’t have value and I can’t be satisfied with my involvement. I suffer this many times. The small freedoms I have I have learned and this one I learned from a grouchy old farmer.
“Carl-us- that’s how he said my name - Carlus - I’m a farmer in the winter as much as I am in the summer” think about that for a minute ... and may it help some one out there today.
All my heart my Temple . May the Force be with y’all as we seek it and as we find it !

Ah yes the IP, someday I will finish it, but as life happens some things fall to the back burner, but that doesn't mean they don't matter. Carlos and I discuss temple matters daily and although my presence is rarely seen, my thoughts are frequently with the temple. As far as our discussions in the house have gone, the IP seems silly to me at times because of the rudimentary status of the lessons in comparison to how far I have grown outside of them. It doesn't mean they aren't relevant but it does prove that without direct guidance and structure the Jedi path is available to all who seek it. HAVE A GREAT DAYS GUYS!!

I have to say im not happy with my involvement wish i was here more doin more, and doin lesson in shorter time but it doesnt mean its not important as my self i think about it daily . life does happen i just tell myself i will try tomorrow sometimes it affects me in ways that i get to feeling bad bc i didnt get to do it or i get angry for the same reason or i just tell myself i get to it when i can to keep me from getting frustrated or down .

Some times I remind my loved ones and myself -“ in my best crush voice from finding Nemo - dude - your riding it !!! Your a part of this , remember young Jedi , if it wasn’t for you there would be no us! Be well and may the Force CONTINUE to be with you friend !

smile and nods thank u master as im glad i am a part of . definately took in a moment in where it makes u go hmmm so true ..

One of my favriot people is Mr Fred Rodgers. While watching Mr Rodgers neighborhood with my son, the song - “it’s you I like” came on. He sings it himself. I remember growing up and watching it on a crappy little 1 ft box - at the old home I grew up in. Now , in 2018 we have a blue ray player and a much bigger television. While watching Mr Rogers - the part where he sings - I noticed some thing I never could have growing up - at the end part of the song , thanks to the blue ray - Mr Rogers tears up at the end of the song. That man ... gives us his whole heart some times. Any how, he says something often and since he says it in a book he says it as often as I can frequent it. Smiley face

“If you could only sence how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person. “

The world according to Mister Rogers - important things to remember

What are we as Jedi leaving with the people we meet - touch - we y’all to- what impression do we leave? Cus you know- we will most likely, we will see them again!
May the force be with y’all!

Compassion
What a word . Some choose to live by it and even swear by it others ... well others don’t see it as a priority. In the real world we live in , there is a huge mix of every value and definition of this one simple word. If - what- how- and to what degree we value it is strictly to us as true individuals and as human beings. Even greater is who gets it from us. This week,
As we live and go to work or the store or even just stay home , let’s ask ourselfs - where compassion is and who gets it. Should we shift some ideas around? Can we ? Can we practice a bit more the simple word that can remove ones self so often. ? Maybe ... what’s your definition? Where do you practice ? Do you ?
May the Force be ever with you in your every day Jedi!

I think its about Balance , how do you balance Compassion and what Compassion are we talking about here ?

It was my understanding there are a few sorts of Empathy ,

Emotional Empathy ( which i think is meant with compassion? )
Emotional Empathy is good when we can readily understand and feel other people's emotions. We need some of that when we are in caring professions And with friends and loved ones. The big downside of this sort of empathy is that we get too involved and overwhelmed by other people's emotions and can not offer the help they need. We then are too compassionate. We get over-emotional. As a result we are unhelpful in helping others overcome their emotions. We drag each other down so to say. We can only help other people cope , when we can cope

Cognitive empathy is often considered as under-emotional. It involves to little feeling and too much logic. It can be perceived as un-caring and is only effective in very threatening circumstances that involve great reliance on numbers and statistics. In the book World War Z there are some good examples of how leaders had to calculate who would live and who would not. To many this is not even emphatic.

Finding the Balance
The third one is Compassionate empathy, we can find the right balance between logic and emotion.We can feel another beings pain and express the right amount of sympathy. But we can also manage our own emotions and apply the right amount of reason and logic to the situation so we can be of service. We make better decisions and support the being in a way that benefits him. So it's not so much about excellent self control as just about being a good Jedi , putting the other person first without endangering oneself ( that is to prefer but sometimes not possible) It's about finding the balance between one's own emotions and what will help the being being able to help himself About being caring but not over caring , about logic but not seem uncaring.

Great definitions. Which do you use ?! Which do you practice?
In many religions and ideas as well as paths there are many different ways to practice compassion and the selfless .
We can as a human over care which results in deluting the “care tank” if you will. Draining it . How we care and when and to whom is strictly to us ! Good to hear from a good student ! Hope all is well ... serenity ! May the force be with you , still!

Overal i practise the third one , Compassionate Empathy , for me i try to keep a little distance as i tend to go in head first , but this way i balance reason and empathy. There hardly is a descision that cannot wait for you to gather your thoughts and provide the right help and advice.

The diffrence
The diffrence between every one else and us is as simple as ... us. The diffrence in every other life in this world is that yours belongs to you . In case you need to read or hear it then I would gladly say - no life is in better hands than the one it’s in today- yours . I don’t know you personally - I don’t walk the dog with you - I don’t go to the store with you - and I don’t hold your hand ( some days I wish I could )
So this week as you work and play and live remember - I believe in you and there is no one more qualified to live the beautiful song of life than you !
I’m old - so old , I remember the Rocky movies. Watched em all. Even the new one. So - there’s a time when Rocky is getting beat down. (As always ) and he’s remembering - he’s getting beat. As he remembers he tries to get up ( as always) and he can’t - then that grouchy ol pesky ol trainer Mickeys voice comes to - get up - cuz Mickey loves ya ! He finds the strength in a simple memory of some one in his life pushing him and caring. We all got those . Some one who didn’t stop on us. Remember them and find the strength to keep going. A loved ones voice can charge any wall or tackle and day. If you need it - I’ll say it for you ! Come one Jedi - you can do it - don’t quit ! Don’t stop and if ya fall - well, dust it off and get back up!
All my heart my Temple !
Get up - cuz staying down does nothing ! I still believe in this place and in its people - that’s you !

Jim Carrey said one time - “ there’s a lot of things wrong with the world , but if you watch the news, that’s not the world; that’s a condensed version of everything negative that’s happening. If you look around the television set , things are pretty peaceful, and people treat each other well.”
I’m not anti anything with this statement. I personally keep us with the drama as much as possible and is as I see responsible enough but I also add a one for one.
For every sad thing I add a good thing. For every good thing I add a sad thing. My own personal balance is like that. I’m not saying at all to try it but what I am saying is this - how many sad things or stressful things or hatful things did you see today ? This week? You choose to put em there right ? So , can we as modern day Jeddist who can make time for news and internet - also make time for meditation and other things of our choosing? Like - an extra 5 to sit and chat with a loved one and remind them - we are still on their side ?
IDE love to see that headline —
This just in “Jedi all over the world simply stopped and looked at their loved ones and reminded them they loved them - in other news ...” yea prolly won’t make the headlines but guess what it will do? That’s right - start a ripple of something different ! Not in the entire world either but right next to you. Share the force close ! See what happens ! Something to think about this week as we read and view and hear about all the crazy things happening around the globe. Force find us all! As we seek and serve and share it !

Gunna log this one on the time stamp .

Hello human

An idea to which if you just saw others as simple or in their simplest for - human - maybe we could get along better or dare I say- civil.
Hello human - not a new consent but clearly a new way to see the old ideas!
Waves at at all Jedi in the temple —- hello huamans ! Lol

A Jedi s “esprit de corps”

One of the hardest things for a modern day Jeddist - I’ve found - is a balance of “espirt de corps”
*** n.
A common spirit of comradeship, enthusiasm, and devotion to a cause among the members of a group.

In a group as jeddist, we are told to seek and search for each one of us, that we have the human right to choose that which we like and wish to practice and study and share... which makes us as diffrent as a fingerprint. So - how - with such a device as Jedi ism - a very able thing to make one - individual beyond understanding - can we have a camaraderie?
Can we as Jedi - be the same different ?
That seems to be the age long question to every human being hu?
Find the connections- find the common - find the harmony - seek it - if you seek fault , your gunna find volumes and very quickly be tired of your revelation. Try somthimg new - happy seeking and may the Force be with you this week!

Today
This next 24 hrs
Right meow
What you got- today ?

My brain sometimes (most times) rushes ahead of me often.
I’m reminded of a Jedi who said “keep your concentration here and now, where it belongs."
Then my brain , like Ob1says “: "But I should be mindful of the future."
Then of course comes - “but not at the expense of the moment “
This is a choice . We don’t have to. We don’t have to think or plan or do anything nor do we have to think about now. ... but if the quality of now is to be had at a greater Volume , and it can if you choose to- I suggest ( reading The power of the now by Tolle) thinking about that choice. Once you make it , stick to it .
Then , remember what Qui-Gon-Jinn (actually George Lucas) and so many others say about the now - “be totally present” as E Tolle says - right here - right now - Brad Paisley says “welcome to the future. “ If we choose them let’s remember right now - here we are , find a song- a saying - a show - a book- anything that can help with your focus - you don’t and may not need a lot of reminders - but it helps !
May the Force be with y’all today ! Right —- meow, where you stand !

“The sculpture produces the beautiful statue by chipping away such parts of re marble block as are not needed”
Elbert Hubbard

San Saba Tx - the best big little town there is - or so they say. I met a man named Jack MacEntire - to the world he’s know as chainsaw Jack.
I saw him at a fair competition bbq thing - it’s hard to tell really what it was as most things of that sort in Texas have the same themes and they all Kinna seem the same after you have frequented them so often. Open pavilions with vendors food music - you get the picture - so there he is just smiling away. He has these huge ... huge totems and wood statues there... bears pigs - people - beautifully carved by his chainsaw. All done by hand- all done by him. My wife at the time asked him if he could make a lighthouse to which he said “for a hundred bucks I can carve the moon out of cedar if you like .” He wasn’t joking - dude takes his chainsaw and measures with the saw three lengths and motions to us - “ this tall?” She nods and he “nips” the end stands it up and stares at the trunk. It takes him about 8 minuets on dead walking around the thing to which he pulls on his chainsaw and begins . “ waaaaaaaaaaaa!” Says the chainsaw at a fairly loud roar- slips of cedar peel off like butter off a knife. There stands a hunk of wood ready to be sculpted. He looks at us and says - that’s the light house . It didn’t look like a light house yet - but it had the shape ... cone like mass of a thing- he switches saws to a smaller one and begins a higher pitched wee- that’s when the chink begins to form. There begins to take shape the top and the round ness of the lighthouse - the patterns and roughness begin to form. The third swipe was a much smaller than all the last saws and that was the finishing touches on it - tahh daaa- we had a solid cedar lighthouse for our yard.

Later I payed him and thanked him. It’s funny but what he saw and what we saw were way difrent till the end. It’s the sculpture who can see the end result - now. Einstein said roughly - some of us are time travelers when it comes to character - we act now - what we hope for later.
Character can have that type of effect . We act now what we hope for later. All the while being today what hope results for the future. It’s a prosess and often tedious. It takes practice and sometime it takes failure. Here we encourage and in our 16 teachings, it’s evident that character - can be attained as well as changed added or even learned if one applys to it.
This week - we have the opertunity here as well as in real life to be our own sculptors.

What ya making ??

Im taking a foul mouthed, recovering alcoholic, martial arts practicing, skater, flunkie/barely get by young man and carving him into someone who might help put some sense, knowledge and love in the minds that will be the voices of the future. I'm trying anyway We can judge it once it's done and six feet deep .