Pastors Journal

This is one of those things I have to read and think a bit more slowly. Wonder about meditations - new ones? Try this. Think of this and try to stay there.... ask these questions ...

The Modern day Jeddist is ...
What do you know about it ? What don’t you know?

The Hero and the Path

We are not a color or a race nor is it a gender or denomination- we are not a name or claim and we arnt alone.

The hero is who the story is about. The subject.

The path is where the Hero is and what is present In the Hero’s life and how they act.

Concerning the term Hero: applying such a term to ones self never adds but can simply give some one a place to start. If anything, the term Hero can help initiate a beginning to what can grow and change and even become more or less that what was begun. The Force can be like that. Jediism can be like that too.

Pastor Carlos

Something to share and think about my Temple.
When I make time - I think on these things. It helps to keep me grounded and on focus as far as my own ministry’s and service to the Temple and the Force. I recommend we as Modern day Jeddist return to such ideas- even if they arnt alike - you can have your own. Mine ain’t special, just relieve to what I do. They are special to me personally but I would love to see other Jeddist have their own set of creeds and meditations to their own glow of Hilt. That’s what I’m here for. Sharing CAN be learning. It is for me at times.

Today is a new day with new people and new moments and connections to make.


Can’t change the past or bring things out that arnt here yet - we are here now!
Let’s do it.
Let’s make today - Today!

a sermon sent from Locksley


“Every criticism, judgment, diagnosis, and expression of anger is the tragic expression of
an unmet need.”
― Marshall Rosenberg, author of Nonviolent Communication
Practicing Anger: A Sermon by Locksley
How often do we become angry and, when we do, what are the most frequent causes? As
Jedi, one of the central principles of the philosophy we aim to practice deals directly with this
topic. “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate.” Of course, just as with fear, the emotion we
broadly categorize as “anger” holds importance and depth which must be understood before the
true importance of Yoda’s warning can become known.
Anger, like all emotions, is not merely confined to subconscious psychology -- the
experience of anger is a holistic one wherein the body is fully involved. Throughout our
evolution, human beings have relied heavily upon their ability to react to danger.
The amygdala, twin almond-shaped portions of our brains, provide the rough starting
ground for all of our emotions. This is important to understand especially with regards to those
extraordinarily strong emotions like anger. Because the amygdala reacts faster than our central
cortex, it serves a vital part of our survival during highly dangerous circumstances where
reaction time is more important than contemplation.
Yet our evolution is too good at its job.
The amygdala fires off warnings even in situations where the danger is not immediate --
or is an entirely different form of danger than can be dealt with through a flight or fight
mechanism. This is where the importance of practice comes into play.
How many of us have felt anger in our lives during a situation where anger proved to be
unhelpful? Who can raise their hand when asked “did you get angry at a loved one in the last
week, month, or year?” Anger overwhelms us when our spouse fails to do the dishes, when a
child ruins a piece of clothing, when the cat pees on the carpet, or when a stranger cuts us off in
traffic -- it forms an ever-present backbone to our lives and need not be attached to larger
dramatic circumstances to impact us in impressive (and generally negative) ways.
It is important to recognize angers prevalence because ignoring it and suppressing it are
not viable tactics for anyone, but even less so for those seeking to follow the philosophy of
Jediism.
For Jedi, reactions in all situations must be free of unconscious reactive responses -- save
those necessary for immediate wellbeing (and, even then, we must train our reactions so that they
match the best that our thinking mind is capable of). If we remain unaware of how anger
manifests itself in our lives, or if we attempt to force it to leave through sheer willpower, we are
destined only for harsh failure. Rather, it must instead be our goal to come to terms with our
anger: to acknowledge it and to understand it; we will only be free from it when we realize that
freedom is not only impossible, it is not even desirable.
Within psychology, anger of all kinds has a very specific point: at its core, no matter the
manifestation of anger, it all stems from some unmet need within the experience of the
individual. Coming to terms with this need, understanding what it is and why it is, must be the
goal of those who which to achieve a “Wu Wei” style experience of emotion. Yet, even this
deeper understanding must be preceded by something even more simple: awareness.
Our goal is to practice the experience of anger -- to become “friends” with the emotion,
in a manner of speaking, and form the sort of close relationship with it wherein we can
understand it and allow it to flow through us without mastering us. To do this, we take account of
those moments when anger arises inside of us. This can be done in the moment of anger, of
course, but will naturally be harder to deal with in these instances until our training has advanced
some way.
The best place to begin our practice is with older sources of anger.
Think back to a point when you were angry -- pick something relatively minor, if you can
-- and meditate upon it until you can picture the whole instance clearly. Then, as you begin to
feel that anger all over again, take notice of the way your body feels -- notice the physiological
changes that the anger brings up. Then, once you’ve noticed how your body responds, ask
yourself the question “what need did I have in that moment which did not get met?”
(Examples include, but are not limited to, the following needs: “acceptance,
consideration, empathy, self-respect, respect, humor, warmth, safety, to be understood, or to
matter).
Part of this process which is vital is the concentration of our awareness solely on our
selves. One of the things anger makes us believe is that we are under attack -- that is, after all, its
purpose, to respond to attacks. And yet, in so many circumstances, this is not actually the case;
we experience a moment in time as if threatened with violence, but in reality that threat is
unlikely to cause of lasting harm (the “threat” may even come from someone we love and deeply
care for). So, when we begin to consider what unmet needs we had during an experience of
anger, it is vital that we concentrate only upon ourselves.
A sure sign that we are letting our anger control us is when thoughts that have to do with
other people arise: “they should have,” “they made me,” “why didn’t they,” “what were they
thinking…” None of these actually have anything to do with our own internal process -- when
we think this way we have fallen into the trap of “me vs. them.” This is not about what the
instigating action is -- the thing that brings anger to us -- it is about the way anger grows within
our own mind, quite separate from the rest of the world.
As with all aspects of the training we do here, there is no easy path to “graduation.” Our
understanding and abilities evolve slowly, as time and circumstance allow. We cannot hope to
better ourselves through mere recitation of Jedi catechisms. Rather, it is applied and continual
practice that proves the path forward, and anger -- just like everything else, responds with time
and patience.

Keep on reaching

George Takei was asked one time what was the most important life lesson you’ve learned in life so far.

His answer was simple. Keep reaching.
Made me think.
What makes me stop reaching ? What kills that hope or snuffs it to the point of not shining and NOT reaching?
Hope can be cultivated or even better that part of us that reaches for things like something new or we want... wonder. My hope is we never stop reaching forward. My hope is for myself and all Jeddist in today’s world never stop hope. Even with just an ounce of it - even with just a remembrance of hope - it can spark and ignite.
I’ve always looked for another way to say things.

Never stop reaching


https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/nov/16/george-takei-dream-dinner-party-star-trek-colleagues-except-one

It cannot be defined, only described -- and that description is pretty flimsy. We do not need a working definition ; the work is in getting on without one. As it were, we can only define the things we can objectify. The Force cannot be objectified.

Basic phenomenology : "objects" present themselves to "subjects" perceiving them as phenomena. Adder is very prudent in referring to the origins of words rather than how we have been conditioned to make meanings of the things we say. Indeed, if we were to really pay a sincere attention to what we say "normally," according to "normal" usage of language (especially if one speaks but one language), we would find a lot of contradictions.

The 'unbound' (used here as the contrary of 'defined') phenomenon would be unrecognisable because it would be so decontextualised ; the numenon - the thing in-and-of itself is inaccessible to perceiving subjects because it is entirely "other" - or, "not I". That which we recognise (re-cognise - think again) is not that thing in itself but the way in which prior perceptions of related (even if it is only the perceiving subject doing the 'relating') things are re-presented in presently occurring memory events. These representations are not the presentation of the object to the perception of the subject, but the meaning being re-collected by the subject.

Thus, we cannot define the Force for it is non-objective -- the "Eternal Thou" of Martin Buber or the "Infinity" of Emmanuel Levinas . It is not observable as phenomenon for it presents itself only in the In-Between (as in "between you and me" - that sort of 'between'). To perceive the Force is describable only by allegory, not by objective detailing


https://www.templeofthejediorder.org/forum/open-discussions/123169-doctrine-proposal-on-defining-the-force?start=30#346781

My wife can make mead. Mean bottles of mead. Delicious bottles of honey wine with a bit of magic in every drop. It’s good. There’s a prosess to it, naturally. There’s a small piece of equipment we got called a bubbler. It’s a small glass or plastic bulb of water and tube bent in a way that lets air escape - strategically. It got me thinking... my temper is sometime huge. I’m daddy and some times I act like baby. When daddy looses it it’s not small like baby oh no - I’m grown and I still yell and stomp. Yea - but here’s my point, strategic release... helps me in real life. Having a “air lock” or a way to let things slow down a bit... I stomp automatically and lost times it makes me laugh... inside and I’m able to realizes I’m a bit off. Another is to automatically go into a elephant trumpet sound which changes frowns in my house upside down. That one actually worked with my kids AND my wife! Having a bubbler in life can help some - not all but maybe others? Some sing. I’ve seen that. Some hit a mantra ready for such a time as needed. Some return to codes.... we all got some form of help... that keeps us from explosion. I wonder - if we already have them in place .. could we adjust them when we need em? I did. I know others who have. I got the idea from a elder who owned a Boat and Rv rehab station. He would quote scripture the moment he needed his reminder of what he wanted to remember at moment such as those. It was a beautiful thing to see in real life. Some times - I just start tap dancing.. seriously ... until I’m tired or changed my mind. They sound funny or strange but that’s the guy I am - I’ve tried the opposites for myself - I’ve yelled and screamed and lost control in the past only to wish I did something else. Now, ide like not to do that as much so - insert bubbler.
Some mead needs double bubblers. Yea - think about that. Some mixes need more time than others and doubly the bubblers. Two small tank bowls of air.
The bubbler...

The internet is an information (and dis-information) dissemination tool. It is a means of mass interactive communication -- nothing more. Here at home, we have a actual library containing many of the same volumes exposed in the LIbrary 'on site'. Naturally, we refer to most of information on line because it is more easily accessible by doing a quick text search than to comb through several books, but we have the comprehensive text and all the 'more contextually bound' information, we've got the book (and sometimes "books" when the same author develops her/his thought over several works ...)

"Jediism" is neither on-line nor "in groups" no more than Judaism or Islam are not merely "on-line" or "in groups". Religion is not an institution - albeit it has been "institutionalised" thus undermining its psycho-social effectiveness. Whether it is "Jediism" or any other 'system' (we'll come back to that) of feeling-thought (religion is one of our reconciliation methods between these two closely associated activities) of ethos/logos management, it is not going to work if it is not first "in" the person who already is feeling the germ of the 'religious experience' (the feeling that there is something greater than oneself, timeless, not singular-not multiple). We tend to get distracted by "whats" and "hows" - from "self-help" to "psychology" to "social cliques" to "charity associations" to "political parties" to ... well, et cetera - and thus continue looking because what we find stops working.

Whatever "-ism" one chooses to engage with, on has to realise that it is an internal, bodily "feeling" (like hunger or fatigue) that instinct makes us 'rationalise' into something we can grapple onto for a re-presentational "truth". We like certainty (the question about whether Jediism being basically "on the internet" or in real-life groups) and the "real-life" (bodies coming together in unity) groups shows this clearly) and rationalise truth-value ("truth" has the same Indo-European language root as 'true' and 'trust') feeling as a bodily, vital stimulus.

It is therefore neither "on the internet" nor in real-life (sic) before it is something in Thou first. Jediism is merely one of the thousands of avenues for exploring how particularly contextualised "beliefs" can be lived in the real-life. There is no other life but the real one... it is how much of that inherent reality we can reveal.



Today by Alex
https://www.templeofthejediorder.org/forum/Jediism/123380-is-jediism-basically-on-the-internet-do-you-participate-in-real-life-groups#347990

"There are many who would take my time; I shun them. There are some who share my time; I am entertained by them. There are precious few who contribute to my time; I cherish them.”
― Anton Szandor LaVey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9u-TITxwoM

I like Kevin Bacon. Ive never NOT liked his movies and some of his causes. This is one of those videos that just - got me

In the movie SOLO directed by Ron Howard there is a statement ill create a lesson with and thats when Han says somthing to the effect of, "dont leave me ill catch up - " then they say TAKE HIM TO THE BEAST. Han looks around and says "wait theres a beast, no one said anything about a beast." turns out its Chewie his buddy and long time
life buddy and pal and mechanic and heartbeat at times. We know the saga.

Its funny how the BEAST in things can turn to be your very own friend or even other side when ya DONT kill it or slay it, watch how others - use it. Watch how Kevin uses his beast. lol
He even says it his beast. kinna cool

On Jediism

Jediism is a gate over whose threshold one passes over to reach spiritual destinations yet unknown. It is an affirmation of and an invitation to seek wisdom. It is syncretic in that it is a combination of wisdom traditions where each seeker combines various spiritual disciplines and so constructs her or his own form of Jediism. Jediism as practiced by TotJO has gathered together some general ethical practices for the common good but for the most part we construct our own vision of Jediism.

Where one seeks and what one assembles to construct one’s own spirituality is an expression of our common shared Jedi mythos. Attempting to find source materials discussing Jedi Zen or Jedi Christianity or Jedi Pantheism is to remain fixed at the gate admiring the imagery of the threshold rather that crossing over and leaving it behind. So, leave behind the desire to find some Jedi interpretation of Zen and simply study Zen. You are now the world’s foremost Jedi Zen interpreter and you will find an extensive library awaiting your research.
....
Jediism as imagined in the Star Wars universe is a gate to deeper spiritual traditions, a threshold over which one must pass in order to discover that deeper spirituality which lies beyond. The Star Wars genre is a wondrous children’s story but it’s fascinating power is merely a place along the way to those spiritual disciplines that are the authentic path of Jediism. It’s a good place to start. It is not a destination.

https://www.templeofthejediorder.org/forum/Eastern-studies/123656-zen-and-the-jedi-path#351601