The Block

Capability - The Force does not ask of our ability, only our availability. In opening to The Force, Its capabilities flow through us. Indeed, clear intention is not enough, Jedi do.

https://www.templeofthejediorder.org/doctrine

Let us start Monday and this week opening a can of worms. 
We are Jedi
We believe in the Force.


One of the things we also share is the fact that we believe that the Force connects all living things and we also believe in the inherent worth of all living things.

The Force does not ask for our ability...

Why is that? Why does the Force not know what I can do? Doesn't the Force know how vital I AM ?  This is said jokingly. 

But this is the very idea that is dangerous and almost menacing.

To be available is to be in the present moment.

Most times, what we think is not what is present.

Humans have a hard time dwelling in the present moment.
We always think about the future or the past.

It takes active practice.

So today, I wish to share this idea, Jedi are not individualist or even individuals. If it is the Force and the understanding we seek, then it is not us or our own understanding we seek.

We do not seek, us.
We do not seek our own way.
We strive to understand our thought, feeling and will. Jedi teaching 5
We strive.
Something happens when we try to learn what humility and selfless is on our own, without aid from the outside.

This day in age, we have heard so many things about doing your own thing or that it is ok to be yourself. It is. I encourage people to understand who they are.

Do you know what is present when you are present?

Do you know the level of love and mercy and hate and pain that is you? Do you understand, you?

What can happen is we begin to try.

There is nothing wrong with our try's.

We have a saying on the farm, no one tries harder than we do. But this is a dangerous thought, really.

9 times out  of ten, I am going to muddle something.

It is ok.

The idea is to take some time to understand what we really do here as Jedi.

"  In opening to The Force, Its capabilities flow through us."
We are Instrumental.

When this word hit my mind, heart and will, it changed me. Instrumental. 

How does one be instrumental to the Force?
Here is where we all enter.
We can have every intention to do "good" or well enough. Our intentions can be helpful even.

But as a living thing connected to everything that lives, my own thoughts, feelings and will are but a small part of the entire flow.
So why is it that we think we know it all and are better suited to understand what, "everybody " needs??
This is a dangerous spot to dwell, when we think we wield the Force. When this happens, it ceases to be the Force, and it becomes a force of our own.

Most days, our clear intention or our own will can become what hinders the natural flow of things
.
Rather than a flow, we can become the obstruction in the flow.
It happens all the time.


To be present is the way to be more than what we think our clear intention is.
What is the selfless path one can take?
Where does sacrifice and bliss enter a Jedi's life? What is sacrifice and bliss?
​Selfless can be described as the quality of thinking more about the needs, happiness, etc. of other people than about your own
It can be - less selfish. Less full of one's ego.

One of the best examples of selfless I have is to take a cup and dump it out. The wanting to fill it is what can be unlearned. We, with a full cup, can be the same as an empty cup. Be with the cup.

Our own ego is the hardest thing to understand.

When we begin to understand this, we can see it.

When we see it, realize it is not the Force.
Know the Force does not want to do what you want. Thankfully, the Force does not want what I want this morning.
It is not as selfish as I am
There is no intention like I have.

My encouragement to every Jedi is to be present. In this moment, you can be instrumental. Or you could just get in the way and call it the Force.
This happens.
Jedi do.
Jedi do what?


Remove your intention and understand it, when you do, you will realize it is not the Force. There will be a quiet silence when this happens. Take it.

To force one's presence or ideas is where we know we do not want to be. To force the Force to our limits is not of the Force. The only way the Force reaches all is some days to remove myself from the equation. Then I am instrumental to those present.

Capability - The Force does not ask of our ability, only our availability. In opening to The Force, it's capabilities flow through us. Indeed, clear intention is not enough, Jedi do.

May the Force be with you all,
Pastor Carlos

Great sermon, thank you. we have a similar hermetic concept - following your true will, or THE WILL - thank you for this master pastor. 
be instrumental 

Discretion - For the Jedi, discretion is the better part of valor. Indeed, agency without discretion comes invariably to a tragic end. True wisdom is found in knowing when to raise the eyebrow, rather than the voice or the sword.
The line comes from Shakespeare’s play, Henry IV Part 1, Act V Scene 4

Good morning Jedi everywhere

May the Force be with you all, wherever you may be.

Today is Monday and the start of a new week for some.

I always recommend, if you like, wake up, have something to drink hot or cold and read in the mornings.

If you pray, I do not, but if you do, morning time is a good time to start off the day.

The beginning of the day is best to start the day.

Start your day how you see fit but do have a place to start.

As Jedi, we do not pray to the Force.

Think, contemplate.


To be in balance, the Jedi practise clarity of mind. Aware that representations of the world can cloud our understanding, the Jedi centre their awareness through the practice of meditation and contemplation.

Teaching 2

Meditation and contemplation is our goal.
You would be foolish to act like a hero if it is going to disadvantage you and it’s better to stop yourself if an action you would like to take is going to hurt you.
There is a warning in the tales we relay to one another.
There is a reason for such elaborate stories and myth we share.
"Master Yoda says I should be mindful of the future" "but not at the expense of the moment."
This is a quote from the Phantom Menace.
It is one of the first lines in the movie.
Discretion is said to be: 
The quality of behaving or speaking in such a way as to avoid causing offense or revealing private information. It has the meaning of acting on one's own authority and judgment.
The freedom to decide what should be done in a particular situation.
This is the better part of valor.
Discernment is the ability to see and understand people, things, or situations clearly and intelligently: an act of perceiving or discerning something 
to distinguish mentally; recognize as distinct or different.
Distinguish the difference.
Discernment can be cultivated.
It can be developed.
It can be practiced by practicing it.

One of my own and a big block in the road is one's path is often the idea of our own discernment.
Find someone you know who can distinguish the differences. 

Here in lays the dilemma of the modern time.
How does one who seeks, find what they need?
How do we find the differences in discernment if we do not know there is ever a need?
We will not.
This is a danger in never asking for aid or help.

ENTER THE MENTOR (Stage right, or left)

One of the things a mentor can help us is to see what is not, us.

They can get us out of our own boxes of thought or trains of flow.

Intentionally. Mentors do this,

Willingly or unknowingly, this is the flow of things often.


We want to be able to see the bigger picture. 
To be able to distinguish the bigger picture.

Often times we seek the "Elixir" from one another. What is the elixir, you have it I know it!

One of the elixirs in life is discernment.

There is a recipe or a formula normally we seek and then, the form is left behind to find exactly what we seek.

We know when understanding is present.

This takes very little practice to notice.

But we can tell when it is present.

Find the honor or the discernment you would like to learn.

One of the symbols of this is our plastic representation of a light saber. The sword.

No weapon or symbol is quite like the sword in a way that it has the standing potential to reveal what type of honor is present, if any.

So today, I ask all Jedi everywhere, do we have discernment? Do we have the space for it or are we working on it right now? 

Is there someone training us or is it one of our own focuses? Do we strive to understand what we are doing? Do we know anyone who has this certain elixir in life?
Do we, have it?

Can we share it, and will others take it? hmm ?

I hope that this time together pokes your thoughts, feeling and will a bit.

Discretion - For the Jedi, discretion is the better part of valor. Indeed, agency without discretion comes invariably to a tragic end. True wisdom is found in knowing when to raise the eyebrow, rather than the voice or the sword.

Any questions or comments?
Find someone who has what you seek or want to cultivate.
Know what you want to seek.
Discretion is a key idea to the Jedi and to the human being.

How do you tell the difference with everything?

Practice and find those who act differently.
Otherwise, it's just the same thing all the time.
I am here to answer any questions or gripes, complains or just to chat.
Discretion is advised during the holidays. 
May the Force be with you all -
Pastor Carlos

Fairness - The ability to rise above prejudice, all virtue is summed up in fairness. Indeed, lack of fairness is essentially a mark of weakness.

What is fairness?
What is our concept or what we know of fairness? 
To a Jedi, what is fair mean?

Definition: impartial and just, without favoritism or discrimination.

Can we make choices without favoritism or discrimination? Do we know anyone like this? 

Favoritism is defined as the practice of giving unfair preferential treatment to one person or group at the expense of another.

Can/do we recognize and understand the difference between one thing and another?
Presently, we live in a climate where it is easy to bunch things up in smaller groups to keep track of. It is much more common to go with the flow than take the time to understand things.

But this is our reminder.

What is the level of fairness you give?
Can the level of fairness you know presently, be changed?

I can share with you this, I often side or go with the ideas that suite me or I understand well enough. I normally do not go with something I do not understand.
The reminder today is to check what and who we are giving our " FAIR SHARE " to.
What is fair in our own vocabulary and how do we use it?
Do we understand it enough to adjust where we need it?
How do we adjust our own ideas of fairness?
Find example of the fairness you seek.
Can we ever reach a place where everything is fair and without blame or intention?
To every Jedi here today and for those who will be joining later, check what you think is fair.
Is it? Has time passed by and things changed?

Has your idea or level of fairness changed since you first began your journey? Have you developed your own understanding of fairness at all?

Have you taken the time to talk to a mentor about it and better yet, do you know anyone who exhibits this elixir of fairness?

I encourage every Jedi to take the time to contemplate our Maxims. They can begin a train of thought or action that will not be quenched or can grow to ideas we did not know were capable.

As we put these in our thoughts, feelings, and will, they WILL change us. 
Examining our own value of fairness, changes the landscape of our path. It can.
What do you think is fair? Is it? By which standards or who taught you that was fair?
Is fairness always equal? Is it always equal in portion of events?
I know, as a child, I understood that I was under the impression, nothing was fair. I was taught this by my parents and mentors, unaware.
One thing I have learned as a Jedi is that everything is in motion. Nothing is still or stale. Life has a flow, always.
Some days the flow of things can collect or even over accumulate.

This is why it is so important to grow and learn. Ask questions of those who are your mentors.
Think about this, can we give out our thoughts, feeling and will without our self-interest, favoritism or prejudice?

This is where I leave you.
I hope that the idea of our own value of fairness can be developed into so much more than what we know.
Check on your value of fairness.
Have a working understanding of it.
We live in a world and a time where there is so much "I" or ego centered moments in life.
Let us change a few outcomes from what we are prone to seeing and add the Force to things and to our life.
Add the Force to your idea of fairness.
Is what you think fair is, actually without prejudice, self-interest or favoritism?

It is still in the realm of human possibility for me to understand further what true fairness is. Some days, true fairness is NOT what I want to see.
Let us think on these things. Our fairness or what we think is fair in our path, where does that come from? Can we ever develop the ability to develop our own concept of fairness?
If you ever want to chat about your own ideas of fairness, I am here on a DM or here in this space.
Is what we think "fair" is truly fair and to whom or what? Are we in the way to a level of intrusion on the idea of fair?
Something to think about, are we fair as Jedi, as who we are? Wherever we are?
May the Force be with you this week and today
Pastor Carlos

Charity - In brightening everything on which it shines, Charity is love in action. We live on what we are given but build our lives on what we give.
Good day Jedi everywhere
It is time for Monday morning Meditations!

Todays Meditation is the reminder to think on the 15th Maxim. Charity.

Some people translate and define charity.

I found a few definitions, just for the occasion.

Now, I do not do this to define the word or say" This is what it means and nothing else!" NO

This is never the meaning of why I use definitions of words in explanations or conversation.

Definitions are a good starting point.

So that being said, Charity can be an organization set up to provide help and raise money for those in need:

Charity can also mean the voluntary time giving of help, to those in need:

Charity is the voluntary provision of assistance to those in need regardless of value of assistance.

Here is another part of charity as well. Charity can also mean the kindness and tolerance in judging others.

Good day Jedi everywhere!

Charity has a very WIDE range of usage. 

Back in my youth, I thought charity was a "Church Word" and only existed in religion.

Boy was I in for some "learning" and " unlearning."

Guest DaniellaHayes — Today at 6:03 AM
I often quote the "You must unlearn what you have learned" because of similar thoughts


You are so on it! That phrase is one of the hardest things I have had to understand. What is unlearnable and what is not.

What can I adjust or cultivate and into what?

This is a very important question to ask oneself.

Charity - In brightening everything on which it shines, Charity is love in action. We live on what we are given but build our lives on what we give.

 
According to this reminder, there is darkness in the world. There is a very automatic selfishness that exist when we begin this journey. We find it in each of us. We all have it. Charity is a way to see things in this darkness.

Charity is sometimes the focus on  the "not me but others" and the "need of others."

Now, a very clear-cut caution, you can care and give too much.

Compassion fatigue is a very real thing.

It can kill you. No joke.

Guest DaniellaHayes — Today at 6:06 AM
I was about to say, there is a balance there. I work with multiple charity organizations, and I find that I have to remember to take time for myself.


That is a great fire to return to.

I light that fire often

but then, how do we grow charity or the understanding of it?

Why even worry about charity?

Why even worry?

It is the worry part we must be careful of as well.

Worry can lead us into places we may need help out of.

I will tell you, looking out for old "number one" is the opposite of charity.

Charity can come in so many different levels in life.

It does.

It comes from everywhere.

It can come from anywhere

The most explained part I am used to is money so let's get that out of the way. 

A form of charity is to give money or credits where some do not have.

Some pay bills or other things as such. 

Some just flat out give money and say," use it how you see fit."

We have bills as a Temple. We take money. We say thank you.

The love of things can be a hindrance, and money is one thing everyone gets preached at in media or in religion and even the news.

Money money money money

ok - so give money to those who do not have it.

There is a common and general " Don't be greedy" that is around everyone most time. Most time.

But this is a good reminder as well, don't be greedy.

This is from my own reflections, but this is what I was spoon fed and thought charity was:
Giving money to people, places or originations that have a current need or a way to pay. To fit a bill. To pay the debt you do not owe.

Yes, this is part but only one part. Charity can also mean our actions with each other in our thoughts, feelings and will.


Give accommodation in these three spaces of your life for charity.

Apply and see how charity can change the way we think, feel and even "will" things.

Watch how it changes entire worlds and circles of influences.

Your circles. 

Watch how it changes your world.

Be carful, such things bring about change. If you are not ready, don't do it.

I will give a quick example.

Applying charity to each other can change the dynamic of things.

Where are the dark spots in our path?

One of the lights that can be given is, well, charity.

Check your proverbial "charity light."

Is it on? Does it work? Is it even functioning?

Charity is the volunteered provisions we give to one another.

There are dark places and even unknown places in life.

We all have them

Shed some light, some actual light.

Charity - In brightening everything on which it shines. Charity is love in action. We live on what we are given but build our lives on what we give.

Ever wonder what "light" we can shine? This is one of the lights we can shine.

And it is not limited to just currency.

Give charity in your thought.

Give charity in your feelings.

Give charity to your will.

Give charity to each other.

Charity moves mountains and life's when we give it to one another and null the judgments between us.

Thank you for the time to share a Maxim.

Guest DaniellaHayes — Today at 6:25 AM
Thank you for your thoughts on this. It's a good thing to remember. 
When you mentioned other ways for charity, my first thought was time and energy. I volunteer with a group that gives clothes, food, and hygiene products to homeless people. I also work with one where we do minor car repairs for people who can't afford them. Stuff like lights and fluid top offs.
In both of those I don't give money, I only volunteer my time and energy.

Master Rev. Carlos (Pastor) — Today at 6:26 AM
Nice, I will tell you the truth. If it were not for some ones mercy or charity some days, I would have been found myself without a paddle and up a creek so many times.

Charity can be a glue for humanity.

Guest DaniellaHayes — Today at 6:29 AM
I do find that it's easy to get lost in the work and forget to balance things, and burnout is a thing. Sometimes though it's easy to tip the balance scales too far in the other direction. It takes time to get better at balancing.

Master Rev. Carlos (Pastor) — Today at 6:31 AM
When everything is in motion, balance can be difficult to maintain. Which balance is the one you need? Which is the one we are currently in need of time with? This is why reflection is needed. This is why it is important to know who your mentors are as well.

To find one who has the elixir of charity is not a easy task.

I am grateful for those who take the time for these things and to be able to express them.

Guest DaniellaHayes —
I am too. I have been helped plenty, and I like to help where I can.

Master Rev. Carlos (Pastor) — 
The hope is that I can give charity as freely as I can give money.

The hope is we all have some degree of charity in us and not just in the money part.

I am an old restaurant owner and an old bartender, I tip. It comes with all the math.

Thats not what I am talking about.

It is the seeing of the need.

AND what to do with that "need."

If we are not careful, it can drain and tear down as much as it can build up.

There is a healthy degree of charity we can find.

We can maintain healthy levels and degrees of these things as well.

My encouragement today, on a Monday, is to know what level you are at in your own understanding of charity.

Where does it take you and what do you shine when you shine THIS light on others?

Without charity, there is darkness, think about that.

May the Force be with you all today and this week. I am here all day via DM if you have a need or invitations to a party or a dance.

Pastor Carlos

Good day Jedi everywhere

Compassion - Via compassion, The Force exhibits its true power. In seeking peace for others we practice compassion, in seeking peace for ourselves we practice compassion.

Good day Jedi everywhere

Todays chit chat or meditation is on COMPASSION 

Compassion - Via compassion, The Force exhibits its true power. In seeking peace for others we practice compassion, in seeking peace for ourselves we practice compassion.

Compassion seems to be the focus lately in the news and the world or better yet, the lack of it.

Compassion is a complex construct that involves cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components. It involves recognizing suffering in others (or us) and feeling motivated to alleviate that suffering

Compassion acknowledges the indifference to charitable appeals on behalf of those who are suffering, experienced as a result of the frequency or number of such appeals. Compassion fatigue is a form of stress or tension that arises from frequent contact with traumatized people, where we become preoccupied with the suffering or pain of others. It describes the physical, emotional, and psychological impact of helping others, often through experiences of stress or trauma.

We can care so much that we can become indifferent to what is present.

Why doesn't compassion come automatically? Does it? If compassion comes automatically, where does it come or stem from?

Where does this want to help everyone come from?

Upon reflection, I have found my own thoughts of compassion come from what others have preached and taught me. 

We are often led by example and knowing this, I encourage every Jedi to examine your theory or practice of compassion.


Who or what is our example of compassion with the Force?

Where do we find examples of the compassion we are talking about?

Do you know anyone who ACTS with compassion? For that matter and for reflections, do we know anyone without compassion? What are the levels that exist with compassion?

So, my recommendation for meditation this Monday is this- find compassion in your path. Identify it. Are we lacking compassion? What are the levels that it exists? 

Is our compassion for one another or is it wanting attention from one another?

Compassion fatigue is a form of stress or tension that arises from frequent contact with traumatized people, where we become preoccupied with the suffering or pain of others. It describes the physical, emotional, and psychological impact of helping others, often through experiences of stress or trauma.

This is very real and can even harm those who do not take notice.

You can care too much. Everyone says just give a hoot but I say, give a hoot about what you care about.

Take time for those things and check to see if you are being blinded or begin to show signs of compassion fatigue


**   If you think you need professional help, by all means please seek professional help. Thats is what they are for and if you have need, seek them out. We are not professional caretakers in any compacity here, just volunteers. If you need help, seek it out.

Help and therapy is out there.

What is the cost of caring? Ever think about this?
Caring cost.

Do you know what it cost?

For those who like videos and TED talks ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-4m35Gixno&t=13s
YouTube
TEDx Talks
Compassion Fatigue: What is it and do you have it? | Juliette Watt ...

Compassion Fatigue: What is it and do you have it? | Juliette Watt | TEDxFargo - YouTube


"You will start to take on some of the symptoms as if they were your own."

This is a huge warning for us as humans. We can care for one another.

So, I hope, with this reminder, Compassion - Via compassion, The Force exhibits its true power. In seeking peace for others we practice compassion, in seeking peace for ourselves we practice compassion.


If you have a need, PLEASE feel free to hit me up or DM me if you have any questions comments or concerns. It is important to understand our own levels of care and concern for one another.

What we need and what we give.

It is my hope that we take time for ideas like this.

Know your limits, Jedi have limits.

When those limits are reached, what then?

Teaching 12 reminds us that unconditional love and compassion are central in the life of the Jedi. Where imbalance arises, we bring only so much love, pardon, faith, hope, clarity, and joy as is necessary to restore the dynamic equilibrium in our phenomenal environment.

There are imbalances in LOVE - PARDON - FAITH - HOPE - CLARITY and JOY.

When we find these, take some time to understand them.

Ask around.

Ask a mentor.

Compassion is something we can understand much more than just blindly.

May the Force be with you all this week.
Pastor Carlos 

Thank you pastor, compassion flows not only from the recognition of suffering but from the strength to act with love and balance.
'The great compassion knows no bounds, for it flows like water, meeting the needs of all.' - Guanyin saying according to the internets

In caring, remember to replenish your own wellspring!

If at any time anyone has questions, comments or concerns, feel free to join in.

Monday Morning Meditations can be a time you can plant new seeds in new spaces

Here is one for all of us.

Empathetic Joy - The necessary counterbalance to compassion, empathetic joy prevents the waters of compassion from draining away. We aim to feel the joy of others just as keenly as their pain.

The Empathy Joy hypothesis states that people who help others in need, experience positive feelings associated with the altruistic behavior.

Helping others is a reward in itself because it brings happiness and joy when committing a helping behavior

Empathic joy is a term that refers to feeling joy or happiness as someone else experiences it. It is characterized by empathy and involves understanding and sharing the joy of others.

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. It involves vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another.

This is where the video goes

What empathy is and is not | Empathy vs. Sympathy | Marshall Rosenberg - YouTube


YouTube
Giraffe NVC
What empathy is and is not | Empathy vs. Sympathy | Marshall Rosenberg


Modern Phycology reminds us when expressing sympathy and empathy, it's important to be heartfelt and truthful.

This is where we find the differences between most many things. Are things done heartfelt and truthful?

There are times we can act that are not heartfelt and truthful.

Here lies the dilly. Here is where we can find conflict.

Can we act without condemnation or justification toward one another and everything?

Can we be free from our own condemnation?

Free from our own justification?

We can become this or strive for the understanding. It actually happens.

Often. Still. Today.

Reflection can give space for how to understand which is which and do we understand these things better.

Understanding these things, without our own judgment and condemnation present, there lies the heartfelt and truthful.

Will we ever reach that point?

The result of such things, cultivates a flow of learning and understanding that is given to us in this present moment. Yes.

After all that, there is a joy that comes from all of this present. We can share in it. The focus can often be this experience and that is what can infect it.

We can often try to " force "the moment. Pun intended.


Do not.

This is what I share with you today. Do not try to make these moments happen. When this happens, we lose the organic, central, flow we share. We can lose what comes next. 

When we understand more, we become instrumental to the flow of the Force. We do not wield it as some would say but it does flow THROUGH us but is not us.

"We aim to feel the joy of others just as keenly as their pain."

Schadenfreude is the experience of pleasure, joy, or self-satisfaction that comes from learning of or witnessing the troubles, failures, pain, suffering, or humiliation of another.

This is not what I am talking about.

This is the counterattack for what we mean here or what is contrary.

It is easy and for some, very automatic at times to revel in others misfortune. I used to do it all the time.

This is what I want to warn every Jedi about.

" As, on the one hand, it is certain that we all address some such request to the state, and, on the other hand, it is a well-established fact that the state cannot procure satisfaction for some without adding to the labor of others, while awaiting another definition of the state, I believe myself entitled to give my own here. Who knows if it will not carry off the prize? Here it is: The state is the great fictitious entity by which everyone seeks to live at the expense of everyone else." 

Frédéric Bastiat 

You cannot live at the expense of others too long.

Finding pleasure in another person’s good fortune is what social scientists call “freudenfreude,” a term (inspired by the German word for “joy”) that describes the bliss we feel when someone else succeeds, even if it doesn’t directly involve us.

This is what is also available.

This is very real and can very easily be spoiled by aggression, rivalry and even our sense of justice.

Today, take the time to see that there is a difference in how and why we do things. It is important to take time to understand these things.

" If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than you are now." ― Albert Einstein

Empathetic Joy - The necessary counterbalance to compassion, empathetic joy prevents the waters of compassion from draining away. We aim to feel the joy of others just as keenly as their pain.

It is time

Good day Jedi everywhere and Happy Monday

As you start your week, I hope you are well, and this time can be used to grow something new or water an old thought.

Maxim 18 De-escalation - Between uncontrolled escalation and passivity, there is a demanding path of responsibility that we follow. Whenever we perceive monsters, we should see to it we do not become monsters ourselves.

De-escalation

Here are a few definitions so we are on the same page.    De-escalate: reduce the intensity of (a conflict or potentially violent situation

De-escalation refers to the process of reducing the intensity of a conflict or potentially volatile situation. It is aimed at calmly communicating with an agitated person to understand, manage, and resolve their concerns, preventing escalation into more aggressive or harmful actions

The idea here is to decrease conflict or undo the actions that will lead to more or intensify the situation.

Is this so hard to understand and why is that?

For me, after reflection, I noticed that my initial reactions and what I was raised or trained to do was not de-escalation but more of a escalation of conflict and events.

I did the opposite of what was reminded here we can experience. In this action, I pressed and tried to overdo things to find some sort of control.

The more I try to control things, the less I realize I have control over things.

This is a very real reminder that we do not just let the wheel of life go or give it up to someone else. We can change a few of these things we have been taught and have learned. Here are three good ways to pay attention to this.

Present yourself as non-threatening. 

This one breaks me daily.

One of the biggest things I had to work on for my own path was to look like I was no longer the problem. Present yourself as not a threat. This does a number on a person. Most times we do not see ourselves as the threat or as the one who instigates things most time. I was always taught to be the "go getter" or the trend setter. The exact opposite can be done.

This takes practice to do and identify.

Practice listening better. 

From experience, most time the reason things escalate is because I do not or did not understand what was present and it is my interpretation that can change the course and flow of actions.

We can change the tones of our spaces. Oh yes. This is the reminder. We can be very instrumental at this point in time. Take a class or two on listening, they have those. We could all use better listening skills. Find and build them.

Be aware of your surroundings.


There are days where some energy cannot be matched. There are some days where we invite things in our life's by where we go or who or what we frequent. Be aware of this. Strife does come and exist.

Have the effort and space to see it and understand it. Where do you go and who do you hang around as far as where things in our path get more worry some or troubling?

Here are three areas we can watch and cultivate.

Somedays we want to not take things too far or to any extreme. Some days, we want to find peace and better environments. Find them or cultivate them. Be the change you want to see, and I promise you, you will not be the same.

Try De-escalation. Try to undo a few "automatics" in our paths.

It takes practice. Be a bringer of things, like someone who understand when things are needed. We need more of those type of people. Those who can bring joy, pardon, faith, hope and light because it is present.

This present, changes the world not making things more intense or even more extreme.

This is how we change the world.

De-escalation - Between uncontrolled escalation and passivity, there is a demanding path of responsibility that we follow. Whenever we perceive monsters, we should see to it we do not become monsters ourselves.

By not becoming like everything or everyone else.

Any questions, comment or concerns? I am here all day.

May the Force be with you all this week and happy holidays to those who observe them this season.

Good day Jedi everywhere and May the Force be with you all today and wherever you may be.

War

We are at a time in our life's where we may see many more days of fighting and maybe even much more war on a larger scale. This can be frightening. Times seem out of control. 

I have come to a conclusion in my life. Because there is violence in the world, there is violence in me.

Is it possible to irradicate violence in me?

Most of us accept this life of violence and hurt as the normal. 
What we see and hear and what is frequent, often gets the "normal" tag in our everyday.

After living though war and rumors of war, we have built barriers between us for fear of harm or hurt to our own being and each other.

Can you see it in you?

Can you see it in me?

Take time with me to un-condition your mind today.

The Creed
I am a Jedi, an instrument of peace;

Where there is hatred I shall bring love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.

I am a Jedi.

I shall never seek so much to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

The Force is with me always, for I am a Jedi.

Say it today.

Remind yourself of what we share.

This is our Creed. Our statement of beliefs.

In it, it tells us many secrets. One of them is how to remind ourselves of what we believe.

To be instrumental, we are reminded that where we find things like hatred, injury, doubt, despair, darkness and sadness, which exist, we must be the keepers of things like love, pardon, faith, hope, light and joy.

There is a peace when one keeps things like these handy. Today's reminder is that of our Creed.

In this world of war and rumors of war, what is the opposite of that?

This list is not subject to just what we understand. Some days, we may not understand how keeping pardon handy or keeping an extra measure of what is suggested can make any difference. During this season, here is our reminder of what we hold dear and what connects us.

Take time to understand more.
There are things and those we do not.

Take time to love more. 
There are those in our path who are unlovable. That is where love is needed.

Take time to give more.
We are naturally born and taught to think about our own being. Give some space. Give to those in need or to the takers.

Take time to give pardon where it is needed.
This means finding where it hurts or where the attention is needed. Those who need pardon are the ones who have offended us.


Tired of the random or general hate?

Tired of all the hurt, harm and injury?

Tired of all the doubt out there for everything?

Tired of all the despair?

Tired of all the darkness and sadness?

Be the one who has what is needed when it is needed.

This will take practice because no one deed, or one action is ever the same. Every act is connected in so many ways, we may never see the end result of some things. The impact truly does travel further than we can reach most days when we release it.

This is the seed of what we do. Our Creed can be our seed. No one can ever tell us what the end result is, but I will tell you this, adding things like this can change everything we know and are told is normal.

During this time of season, Brother John our founder, will pardon or forgive some one of something, sometimes without telling others. If you are aware of this, it no longer comes as a surprise around this season.

Sit and think and see where things are needed this season. What is needed? Give the space of thinking on these things and for the space to develop our own being.

Our CREED.  What can we do as people?

Remember we have reminders.

One of the best reminders I can give one is this, the hero often forgets. Holidays are no exception. Remind yourself of what connects us.

Remember your Creed this holiday and during times of war. The time is upon us.

I hope this helps.

May the Force be with you all this season, whatever season it finds you in.

Pastor Carlos

The Holidays have a common theme. This is for those with the holiday blues.
 
The psychology of Christmas is rooted in our innate need for social connections, emotional attachment to holiday traditions, and the positive feelings and behaviors associated with the season, including altruism, goodwill, and generosity. 

Like any other holiday or idea, after so many years you can loose sight of many original ideas. The holidays have become a mindset for some. I like to remind Jedi and everyone when all seems lost or you get a bit on the isolated feeling during the holiday's, remember why they are. If you get lost, return to the original idea(s). Here are a few ideas during these holiday times that may help. 

(Check the lights)
Make new connections or work on the old ones that need our attention.
Revisit old traditions and make new ones. Check on lost loves or old ones and friends. Some relationships need a dusting. Fire them back up. Some may need to be exactly where they are.

(Check your perspective)
Reflect for the year. Actually review the year and see what is what or in this case, what was what. What has actually happened this season? The holiday can be for reflection as well. How did we get to the place we are at now in life?

(Find your season)
There are so many things that can be available during the season, I will give you examples. Some have a tree they return to. Some have a place they return to during the holidays. For some it is food or the time off.
Music tends to join humans in a common way to stop and listen more. There is a magic in the music. Revisiting people you have lost touch with seems to be one of many hallmarks of the season. 

(Explore more)
 Pick a reason to connect again at the end of the year. Make plans but let them be open and ready for what a new year will bring. There is a benefit to being prepared but do understand life can and will change as life ebbs and flows. How do our seasons ebb and flow?

(Accountability) 
Do this for yourself. Who or what are you accountable for this season? If you are not the one who has any task or responsibility, grab one or aid some one who struggles. See (Check the Lights.) Break the effort to become a part of things unknowingly. Try being accountable this season to something or some one if you are not already. Become a part of your circle. Lift your circle of connections up.

(Start it this next year) 
Make a plan for the year. See how much you can get done. Sometimes just having an itinerary can get things in a forward motion. Write down what plans you have this year or in the next years to come.
 Organizational reflection is the practice of taking time away from the daily routine of business to evaluate past actions, generate knowledge based on those evaluations, and create action plans for implementing that knowledge. It involves contemplation of tacit knowledge, explicit knowledge, and experiences to create new information, knowledge, and ideas that can be used to address challenges. 

(Be generous) 
Generate goodwill. This is the most hardest for a selfish person like me. What does true generosity look like and would we recognize it if we saw it in action? Do we understand it enough to have a working knowledge of it and a way to encourage others to do so? Not in monetary value, give in a generous manner what is in our Code. It is the hope to give without the hope of receiving. It  is kind of like mixing the soup. Just give it a stir.

The seasons come with the idea of the selfless. What version are we developing during this season? Are we fatigued, exhausted or at our limit with the holidays? Is there rest in the holidays? 

Take some to think about what this season is for you and for those around you. The holiday seasons are not joyful and triumphant for everyone. There are a few things we can do to beat the holiday blues. You are not alone. Reach out to those who are present. 

May the Force be with you all this holiday season

Pastor Carlos


 

Let us begin

Good day and good time zone Temple of the Jedi Order and Discord-ers

Today is DECEMBER 30 th which means it is just a few hours (59 hours) and the turn of the year will begin.

At this time, I would like to give 30+ simple yet worthy self-reflective questions for this year.  I use these often. I hope they can be of use to you in the near future.

PLEASE FEEL FREE to take YOUR LIBERTY and post those reflective questions that have helped you develop who you are today. I would love a whole wall of questions to think about this year. I will post all of them in this Mondays Morning meditation on site after all is said and done.

Self-reflection in psychology is the process of examining our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to gain insights into our inner workings.

The more we can understand who we are, the better off we will be.

With these, they are just bookmarks or dog ears to things, like reminders.

Apply them as you see fit.

What was accomplished this year? 
By whom?
How?

What challenges were present?

Did any habits present themselves this year? 

Are we in the same place we were last year?

What was unexpected this year?

Are there "stretch marks" or pains from spiritual growth or development in our path? Is there evidence of change?

What did you read out loud and to yourself? What did you read this year?

Did you give any books away?

Did you write something new?

What are we developing as we develop?

What keeps us in the interconnectedness of humanity?

Where do our compassions and passions lay?

Did we find inner peace or any level of mindfulness at all this year?

What did we do with it?

How did we apply our own Doctrine and Philosophy to our ordinary life's?

What was considered stressful or easy this year past?

Where do you see yourself this coming next year?

Was I in my "comfort zone" all year?

Where did I find myself the most vulnerable this year?

What all actually happened this past year? What were the significant things that happened?

Where was the love?

Where was the Pardon?

Where was our Faith?

What was our light?

Where was our joy?

Did we give more than we got?

What balance DID we find this year?


Apply these as needed where they are needed. These questions still have me in a place of learning and vulnerability.

Now, none of the Clergy are Health care professionals. None of us are here standing as paid people, we are all volunteers. What I share is often from my own path and what I have found from others here in the Temple. In no way is any advice intended to be taken as therapy or even medical advice. Please seek out those who are qualified and professionals if you ever have a need.

I am available here or on site for those who need contact. Be safe and remember there is no "them," just you and me. May the Force be with you all this turning of the year.
Pastor Carlos

https://youtu.be/quhcyPpCaSk?si=Dy-m9B_2z2zFkDdy

For those who like Ted Talks, here is one for you.
At any time, these are not our videos and can expire and change at any time. Not our site, not our stuff.
Good day Jedi everywhere
We have a Creed
I want to remind every Jedi of it and its importance. 

I am a Jedi, an instrument of peace;

Where there is hatred I shall bring love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.

I am a Jedi.

I shall never seek so much to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

The Force is with me always, for I am a Jedi.

We are reminded that we can be different this year. Any year, really.
How did last year end? Did it end the way you thought it would?
Here are a few ways to find what you need this year.

Ask yourself questions about what you want and why.

Keep a journal of your thoughts and feelings.

Set goals and monitor your progress.

Ask others for feedback about you.

Reminisce on your past self.

Exercise and meditate to nourish your mind.

Practice gratitude.

These seem simple enough, but you see, they are not.

Master Rev. Carlos (Pastor) — Today at 6:05 AM
Without mentors or even guides, how will we know any different from the past? How will we ever see anything else but what we see?
Albert Einstein famously said, "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." AND  "If you only do what you can do, you can never be more than what you are now."

Here are 9 reflection points that come from the Creed.

What of love this year?
Pardon, was it given this year and how?
What of my faith this year?
What of my own hope?
What is my own light?
Where does my joy come from?
Did I console or get consoled more?
Did I understand or need more understanding?
Did I practice pardoning others as well as myself?

These types of questions change and grow. I have been asking myself these questions for over 10 years. The mediation and contemplation results yield new things. Every year. They have adjusted me.

Mentors help us see what we do not by offering a safe space to discuss fears, frustrations, and failures without judgment. They become cheerleaders and confidants, helping build resilience, self-confidence, and a sense of belonging. There are levels they come in. The outside influence is what we need.

This year, find those who can give you that "Alarm clock moment."

Find those in your path that can AID you.

" Mentorship is something you do for yourself, with the help of other people"  Doug Steward. 

This year can be different if you like.

This is the list from the video. It is not our video, and it is not our site nor do we endorse any views and is subject to expiration and rules as their site dictates.
Here are the 5 1/2 mentors mentioned.

World view mentor
Street view mentor
Time machine mentor
Stealth mentor
Categorical mentor
Anti mentor


May the Force be wth you all
Pastor Carlos

Good morning, Jedi everywhere.

I do hope that this year is off to a good start for those who pay attention to things like that.

This year is starting off like most.

So much to see and hear in the news and online, there can be a constant barrage of violence and war. What do we as Jedi do about this?

What can we do?

Is the violence out there or in here? I point to our hearts for this one. (edited)

I want to encourage every Jedi present and represented here to take some time to realize what side YOU are on. Where are YOUR attentions?
Where does your fear, doubt and worry go? 

This is taken from different places from the "Freedom from the Known" by Jiddu Knrishnamurti Chapter 6

"Fear, pleasure, sorrow, thought are all interrelated. Can we go to the root of violence and be free from it? For many centuries, man has been violent religions have tried to tame him throughout the world and none of them success.  Violence is not merely killing another. It is violence when we use a sharp word, when we make a gesture to brush away a person, when we obey because there is fear." 

I want to give this to the Temple this morning.

Jedi comprehend that we are beings of thought, feeling, and will, who flourish within the Force through self-aware action and lifelong learning.
Teaching 5

This week plant new seeds.

Speak less sharp to each other. Give mercy in your words and speech.

Do not brush our own circle of people off. Bring them in.

Identify our own fears.

The climate is war and rumors of wars but that is a constant thing in the ordinary world. What is not ordinary is developing and taking time to understand which are our thoughts, feeling and will.

When we change how we react, there is where development can happen. There is where we change the world, by changing our reactions.

Calm the flow that is present. Teaching 9: The Jedi maintain integrity, our individuated wholeness. We practise to foster the awareness of our interconnection with all other phenomena, thus ensuring authenticity in our interactions with others and our capacity to accept our limitations and those in interaction with us. 

.....foster the awareness...

To rid this world of fear, pleasure and sorrow, understand your own. Take the time for it.

Understand what is present.

" We do condemn it, though we do justify it. Therefore, I am saying, stop for the time being condemning it or justifying it. "

Jiddu Knrishnamurti

May the Force be with you all this week,
Pastor Carlos

Good Monday Jedi everywhere. This Monday I want to give you one word. This week's word is VALOR! My wife has a Facebook page for the farm. One of the random videos she shows me, is a guy dressed up yelling "HAMMER!" all the time. It brings me a small ounce of the giggles. I give you this word today in its place, valor. VALOR! Why is it so important? If you are like me, the memory of a Knights Code comes to mind. But here is a question for reflection, why is valor important? Why is a Knight, sworn to valor?

 19. Valour - True valour lies between cowardice and rashness. It is a delicate skill, those having it never knowing for sure until the trial comes. In any case, valor that struggles is better than recklessness that thrives.

 In psychology, valor can refer to a moral, social, or aesthetic principle accepted by an individual or society as a guide to what is good, desirable, or important.

In some countries, during crisis in peace or war, each act of valor worthy, is honored with a physical medal or award. 

Where does the application actually apply for us?

The act of valor is a term used to describe strength of mind or spirit that enables a person to encounter danger with firmness. It is synonymous with courage or bravery, especially in battle or in crisis. 

Jedi teaching 11: Jedi practice living in universal compassion, understanding the phenomena of our environment. We cultivate a particular sensitivity to when feelings of fear, anger, hatred, and aggression germinate within us. These emotions are among our limitations as incarnated, organic beings. We bring to these feelings hope, pardon, and love in equal measure to bring us back into balance with the movement of the Force.  

What parts are worth the efforts? Here is where we can notice where our attention can change things.

We bring hope, pardon, and love in equal measure to bring us back into balance with the movement of the Force.  Here is where we can focus valor.
Apply  what you know and understand, where hope is needed. Use it then. Use it when pardon is needed or when love and compassion is needed or missing. Add a dash of valor to this area of our time and effort and see if results differ. 

In the present moment, would you recognize when the feelings of fear, anger , hatred and aggression begin in us? To combat them, I give you the reminder of valor. Grow your understanding of it as often as you can. Speak to someone about it. This is worth the time and effort, every time. Study the subject of valor for 18 minutes a day for one year. This will change you. 

What valorous acts can a Jedi do?  It is Knightly to bring hope, pardon and love,  in equal measure. Equal and never one-sided. Do we know what is just enough or what will bring everything back? That is worth the time to understand. It took me years to figure out that simple reactions are worth understanding and developing. 

What is equal measure then? This is worth understanding more and more each day. 

Find time to think on things like this. Give it the space. Here is our reminder.

    19. Valour - True valour lies between cowardice and rashness. It is a delicate skill, those having it never knowing for sure until the trial comes. In any case, valour that struggles is better than recklessness that thrives.

May the Force be with you 
Pastor Carlos 
 

Development

Yes, development is a noun. According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, development is defined as "the steady growth of something so that it becomes more advanced, stronger, etc.". Development can also refer to the process of coming into existence or of creating something new or more advanced. 

The field of developmental psychology explores the physical, cognitive, emotional, and social changes that happen as people age. Psychologists strive to understand and explain how and why people change throughout life.

Now, can one develop without a mentor. The answer is yes. 

There is saying I have found in my studies.

Il faut cultiver notre jardin, “We must cultivate our garden.” Voltaire

There is a automatic idea out there that can focus on me, myself and I as first propriety. This is a very closed circuit of thought. This garden only yields what is planted and its usually selfish and ego centric. The idea is to find those who have the elixirs of life. The experience of moving and advancing forward from a unattended mental and life garden to something more organized and reliable. Most time we are looking for things other than those just naturally made.

Mentors give us the sight beyond our own sight. I will be the first person to tell you that mentors have made quite the significant change in my life. The ability to see beyond a few things was more than a warning but a forward motion to create so much more than just reaction, it created the space for what was needed to understand more. We are reminded as Jedi, there is always a bigger fish. Someone will have gone through the path I am about to embark or have the elixirs that they have found during those times that can aid our development. We only have our mentors for a limited amount of time. In every saga and every story, the mentor is the reminder and the hope you remember that time is limited, and seasons come and go. It is done in a manner of ways. 

Mentors encourage growth in one's path. Personally, or professionally, mentors can create a flow of growth than can be beneficial. Here are a few things to identify if someone is a mentor in your path. 


Mentors serve as a source of knowledge.

Mentors help with setting goals.

Mentors serve as accountability to one other. 

Mentors offer encouragement and growth. 

Mentors remind about the importance of the connection we share. 

Mentors listen. 

Mentors are trusted.

Mentors challenge what we know.

Mentors give you time you would not give yourself. They give you your past or some part we were missing. 


Understand why THIS union exist.

Mentors matter. 

There are ways the mentor reaches the mentee; would you recognize them? 

Identification is good. Being able to identify things without judgment or condemnation can be difficult but it takes practice. Learn this from someone who knows how, who holds THAT elixir. Why is there this mentorship and WHAT is it mentoring? WHY? 

There is an understanding that I hope most mentors have. The level at which we "do things for others" can become crippling or freeing. One of the ideas of a mentor can be to release the person to accomplish things on their own. This is where we can get really tired really fast. Here is where compassion fatigue can start kicking. 

There is a hope that mentees go further than the mentor can take them and learn more than we can teach them.
Yoda reminds us that as Jedi and as mentors" We are what they grow beyond." 

I do hope you grow beyond me and beyond what we share. 
Are some people in your path, more than just friends or acquaintances? Is the connection we share much more valuable that just mere passing? 

This week, I give you, our mentors. With these types of ideas, are you a mentor or is someone mentoring you? 

What is the significance of our connections? Why do we meet here? 
Find out for yourself. Take some time to think about what we do here and why. 

May the Force be with you. 
Pastor Carlos 



 

  20. Honour - Acting with honour through The Force preserves peace. Always remember: if peace cannot be maintained with honour, it is no longer peace.
We all have some definition of honor and a working understanding of it.

 Definitions: 
High respect; great esteem:
"His portrait hangs in the place of honor"
Adherence to what is right or to a conventional standard of conduct.

As a verb, honor means a regard or to treat someone with admiration and respect.
Show great respect for someone or something, especially in public.
Hold in honor or high respect, revere.
Treat with honor; give honor or distinction to.
Keep to the terms of an agreement or treaty.

Honor is a measure of the quality of a person, including personal ethics, e.g., honesty, compassion, valor, and chivalry. Honor lies at the core of who we are and aspire to be.

 It is an abstract concept entailing a perceived quality of worthiness and respectability that affects both the social standing and the self-evaluation of an individual or of institutions such as a family, school, regiment, or nation. Accordingly, individuals (or institutions) are assigned worth and stature based on the harmony of their actions with a specific code of honour, and with the moral code of the society at large.

In phycology it is said that Honor is an abstract concept that includes personal, individual values (“ethos”) as well as norms of social interaction (“code of behavior”). Honor is a measure of the quality of a person, including personal ethics, e.g., honesty, compassion, valor, and chivalry.

Where is the honor Jedi hold or have? Where is our honor at? What does it entail and encompass?

https://www.templeofthejediorder.org/doctrine


This is a reminder. They may sound familiar.

Here is a list of things we can do to create the honor we share.

The first and foremost service a Jedi performs is devotion to our learning.
The Jedi seek to return balance to that which has become tumultuous.
The Jedi cultivate empathy with others.
The Jedi practise living in universal compassion, understanding the phenomena of our environment. 
The Jedi maintain integrity, our individuated wholeness.
The Jedi practise patience.
The Jedi foster an acceptance of limitations.
The Jedi practise humility
Jedi comprehend that we are beings of thought, feeling, and will, who flourish within the Force through self-aware action and lifelong learning.  
Jedi practise non-attachment,
Jedi maintain a clarity of awareness that all events are interconnected
The Jedi practise clarity of mind.
Jedi feel the Force.

Did you recognize them? Here is where our honor can be built or had. How we do these things can be the flavor of life. This week, if you are looking for different type of honor, seek no further. There is honor in what we do here, but we must find it and share the elixirs of life with one another. 
May the Force be with you all. 
Pastor Carlos

Doctrine
 

May the Force be with you - wherever you may be this morning.

Decency - Through decency, we render happenings tolerable. Decency is not derived through faith but precedes it. If decency could be easily found in reality, would we have need of myth?

Decency follows accepted moral standards and can show respect for others.

Decency can be honest, polite behavior that follows accepted moral standards and shows respect for others.

It is the quality or state of being decent and propriety. Psychology suggests that empathy, honesty, and humility are just the surface traits of a truly decent character.

Here is where we can meet. Here is one of many things we share. Our level of decency can vary depending on how much time we have given this idea.

Here are a few ideas I want to share with you on this Monday Morning.

The idea of decency comes from the use or application of what we know. This is the way for many things in development. We are limited to how much of the subject we know.

For this, I remind Jedi to be aware and make an attempt to rid your findings of judgement or condemnation. Just identify.

What do you truly know about decency? What levels of decency exist and are you aware of any? Where does your own idea of decency come from? It is my hope that we grow in understanding together. Here is a small list of ideas to better understand this very subject.

* Be aware of your surroundings.
* Give empathy space and time to sink in. Practice.
* Give Pardon.
* Let go of a few things
* Be reliable. Be faithful. It finds favor.
* Be kind and show kindness.
* Understand the present limitations, but understand they are also not constant.
* Develop your Being.

In the action, we can find the connection.

The Jedi realise that all phenomena, including that of life itself, arise from and dissolve back into the cycles of creation and renewal of the Force. We are aware of the interconnectedness and the continuum of all phenomena, that unconditional love and compassion are central to us, and that is real, but so is pain. When we must bear witness to the dissolution of those we care for in our and their limited, incarnated, organic capacity, we must extend our compassion, our faith, and our comprehension to re-balance that which we otherwise would feel as loss. The Force only creates and renews, it does not deprive.

This is something to think about this week.

Decency - Through decency, we render happenings tolerable. Decency is not derived through faith but precedes it. If decency could be easily found in reality, would we have need of myth?
 

Good morning, Jedi everywhere
It is almost time.
Here is a small video by Arnold Schwarzenegger - the actor, politician and grandpa.


MOTIVATIONAL VIDEO: SLEEP FASTER BY ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

Time management.
Good day Jedi everywhere. Today I would like to share with you some time-on-time management. 
I give you these two definitions on time management to think about.


Time management is the process of planning and exercising conscious control of time spent on specific activities—especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency and productivity.


Time management is the ability to plan and control how someone spends the hours in a day to effectively accomplish their goals. It involves organizing and allocating time to promote mental well-being, reduce stress, and balance responsibilities, self-care, and leisure time.




Every one of us can admit, we could benefit from better time management.
This is ok. It is ok if you are not ok at time management. Over time we can get used to the habits and the practices and think that THEY are time management. 
Here are ways I manage my time.
* Wake up early.
This one gets everyone, every time but there are RESULTS that come with this sacrifice.
Every time
* Read in the morning. Make time to read in the morning or learn.
Time spent reading never goes waisted.
If you practice or study something for 18 minutes a day, you will become more efficient at whatever task you choose or subject in ONE YEAR.

* Meditate or contemplate on the present moment.

In that moment, I realize some things are not quite as effective as some. Here is where I would like to give you a bit of an " elixir " or recipe to create a more time conscious manner.

* Find out what actually waste your time.
Find your habits and practices.
What things are you doing that fall under that category?
What is a waste of time to you? Why are you doing it still?

* What tasks can be taken by others?
Currently, there are not enough hours in the day to do everything I would like. Let us examine what all we do. Is everything the same priority?
These are questions we can ask and find out what is actually going on.

The more we understand about our own being, the more we can see what us is and what is the Force.

I hope this can " stir the pot " a bit for our own value of time management.

May the Force be with you,
Pastor Carlos

I am available all day via DM here.

One time management practice I can recommend is to be present.

One of the things I remind others is to be present.

What does this mean? What does it mean to be present?

Why is it important?

It is natural for humans to thing on things tomorrow or in the past. We all do it.

I do it.

Think about it. What are the things you are thinking about in the future?

What things do you think about in the past that have happened?

Thinking about these things is not good or bad. This is what we do if we don't develop anything else. 

I can share with you some of the practices and things I have found as I myself, practice to be present.

One of the things I ask myself is, am I currently in the present moment? Am I thinking about tomorrow or yesterday?

It is at this point when my brain lights the bottle rocket of reaction and thought.  My brain takes off. In my own response, I ask what I can do or think or bring to the mental table.

This initial reaction is worth taming. It is worth the time to understand its origins and its direction. That initial response to asking myself to sit still and the action of it taking off, is worth understanding.

Where do we go when we go into the present moment? To the future or to the past? This is what I would like to share with you this week.

Where do your thoughts, feelings and will go when your presence is requested?

Practice being present.

Dwell on the tasks at hand.

It does take practice and dedication. Find out.

Firsthand.

I hope our time together is never waisted.

One of the things that has drastically changed my path as a Jedi is to be able to dwell in the present moment.

That rarely means never think about things or contemplate.

We are reminded to do these things often.

"Far from being a detached state, nonattachment is something that arises when we are truly present and not caught up in the automatic process of fixating on things being better or worse than what they are at any given moment." Definition of Non-Attachment in psychology. 

Jedi Teaching 3 and 4

Jedi maintain a clarity of awareness that all events are interconnected. The balance of the Force is a flowing continuum; it flows around us and through us, allowing us to adapt to change arising in its eternal cycles of creation and renewal.

Jedi practise non-attachment, maintaining an awareness that the cycles of creativity and renewal in the Force give rise to phenomena as others pass away.

Be present Jedi.

Do or do not, there is no try. 

Be present.

May the Force be with you all this week.

Pastor Carlos