Exercise 8, Questions 5 & 6

Olaaa!

I am working through my essays, and I have put these two off till the end. It's a little confusing to me as to why the two are broken up. If I were to start with either one, I would first have to give my thought on the Force- and it asks for this by itself as question 5 and then as a whole new question to relate it to Jediism in another question. It seems redundant.

When asking about the Force, find it very hard to separate it from the Jedi/Jediism context with which it belongs. So by asking two different questions, I am a little confused as to how TOTJO views it's relationship with the Force. Does TOTJO exist independently of the Force, or is it the foundational stone with which an Order is built?

And if so, can I address both questions under one response?

In Light,
J. Barger

Think about it as #5 asking you what The Force is, and #6 asking you what that actually means for a Jedi...

I agree, on second reading, those questions can seem a little odd with their similarity...

Exercise 5 is asking you what your personal connection with the Force is. We want to know if and in what way(s) you have experienced it and the part that it plays in your life (as a human being, rather than as a Jedi).

Exercise 6 is asking how it relates to Jediism (as in, your perception of what it means to be a Jedi), which is not something that you are required to cover in #5.

With regards to TOTJO's stance on the Force - the Force is the basis of the religious aspect of this Church. It is largely our belief in the Force (in the same way that Christians believe in a God) that allows us to see ourselves as religious. However, not everyone here necessarily believes in the Force yet they still gain much from being here. So, I guess that it is indeed one of the foundations of TOTJO - but there are also many other foundations, and the part that each plays very much depends on what the individual is hoping to gain from their time here. Bear in mind that is not the answer to exercise 6 as TOTJO and Jediism are not the same thing...

In answer to your final question - you will need to do the two exercises separately. When you complete the IP each exercise needs to be checked and verified, and it will really confuse matters if exercises are combined.

Hope that helps!

Try having a read through what other people have put in their journals, might give you some idea of what to write (but don't plagarise of course! lol)