- Posts: 4394
Some Questions for the Community
-
Topic Author
- Visitor
-
-
- Visitor
-
16 Feb 2015 15:27 #181610
by
Replied by on topic Some Questions for the Community
Hi there, Chocobo. Just thought I'd add a few thoughts:
How do you follow the Jedi Path?
This one is, perhaps, the most difficult question that you've asked: ultimately are there are way too many different potential answers! For myself, I'm a practicing Jedi Realist, which means I essentially view the path of the Jedi as an ideological one, rather than a religious path. It is a journey of personal Self Development, growing awareness and applying all that is learned to the ideological tenets of our community. It's about growing in a fashion that enables you to handle difficult situations with relative ease, see the world in broader strokes than perhaps you might otherwise (having learned to analyse and reason before responding to a situation), and act towards others in an ethical, respectful manner which takes into consideration their beliefs, tolerances, cultural values etc, rather than seeking to impose any of our own upon them. Ultimately, it's a path of service, not with any specific goal in mind, but rather towards the intent of being a conscientious, reasonable, helpful and supportive human being.
And that's not even necessarily an appropriate pre-amble!
How do you interpret and apply the idea of the force to everyday life?
I tend to view the 'Force' as a simple mechanism of life - in essence, the 'spark' that turns inanimate into animate, creating life in all it's many forms. As far as application goes, well, that's all a question of inference: seeing the presence of this in everyone around you, recognising that you're all connected on some level, and that all your actions therefore have consequences for everyone and everything around you, even when those consequences aren't always obvious. Thus, the only reasonable course of action is to take care of what you do and how you act, such that good rather than harm comes from that. Sadly, it's not as simple as to say "I'll be careful", and requires an awful lot more work behind it!
Where did the Doctrine come from?
No idea. Somebody around here concocted it at some point as a formal statement of ideas, but it's not a Community-wide doctrine, and it certainly wasn't around 10 years ago.
What happens at meetings offline?
It's been a while since I've been to one - my last offline Jedi meeting was the 2004 Jedi Gathering in Ohio, where a large group of us from all over the world met up and spent a weekend together, talking, holding workshops, practising together. I remember Shaun held a Reiki lesson - he was a licensed Reiki Practitioner and Teacher, so he taught us the basics through a few workshops. I stayed in the States for a few weeks after that, meeting up with other Jedi who hadn't been able to make it. Good times
How old is Jediism?
This one's difficult to pin down. The Jedi movement itself has been around for 15-20 years now, but the online community itself has only been around for roughly 18 of those years (if we assume 20 as a reasonable estimte). Jediism as a recognised term has been around for about 15 years, perhaps slightly less time - first time I heard it was when spoken over at JEDI.org, and later built upon by a guy called Jedi Xhaiden, who created a Jediism website that sought to define the terminology that we often still use now.
That said, the idea of Jediism likely extends well beyond that - I wouldn't be too surprised to find that many were inspired by the original Star Wars movie, though The Empire Strikes Back gave much more insight into the Jedi path, so I'd imagine any of the earliest Jedi practitioners probably found their inspiration there!
Is there an original founder of Jediism?
Probably, yes, but damned if anyone knows who that is. I'm certain you'll find one or two claiming to be them, but you'd do well to take that with a grain of salt. I suppose the obvious question arises: does it matter now? The movement's taken on a considerable life of it's own, and while there are many 'founders' floating around (whether genuine or otherwise), your key focus should always be on the lessons, not the teacher. A cult of personality is certainly not something I'd ever hope to see floating around the community again!
How do you follow the Jedi Path?
This one is, perhaps, the most difficult question that you've asked: ultimately are there are way too many different potential answers! For myself, I'm a practicing Jedi Realist, which means I essentially view the path of the Jedi as an ideological one, rather than a religious path. It is a journey of personal Self Development, growing awareness and applying all that is learned to the ideological tenets of our community. It's about growing in a fashion that enables you to handle difficult situations with relative ease, see the world in broader strokes than perhaps you might otherwise (having learned to analyse and reason before responding to a situation), and act towards others in an ethical, respectful manner which takes into consideration their beliefs, tolerances, cultural values etc, rather than seeking to impose any of our own upon them. Ultimately, it's a path of service, not with any specific goal in mind, but rather towards the intent of being a conscientious, reasonable, helpful and supportive human being.
And that's not even necessarily an appropriate pre-amble!
How do you interpret and apply the idea of the force to everyday life?
I tend to view the 'Force' as a simple mechanism of life - in essence, the 'spark' that turns inanimate into animate, creating life in all it's many forms. As far as application goes, well, that's all a question of inference: seeing the presence of this in everyone around you, recognising that you're all connected on some level, and that all your actions therefore have consequences for everyone and everything around you, even when those consequences aren't always obvious. Thus, the only reasonable course of action is to take care of what you do and how you act, such that good rather than harm comes from that. Sadly, it's not as simple as to say "I'll be careful", and requires an awful lot more work behind it!
Where did the Doctrine come from?
No idea. Somebody around here concocted it at some point as a formal statement of ideas, but it's not a Community-wide doctrine, and it certainly wasn't around 10 years ago.
What happens at meetings offline?
It's been a while since I've been to one - my last offline Jedi meeting was the 2004 Jedi Gathering in Ohio, where a large group of us from all over the world met up and spent a weekend together, talking, holding workshops, practising together. I remember Shaun held a Reiki lesson - he was a licensed Reiki Practitioner and Teacher, so he taught us the basics through a few workshops. I stayed in the States for a few weeks after that, meeting up with other Jedi who hadn't been able to make it. Good times
How old is Jediism?
This one's difficult to pin down. The Jedi movement itself has been around for 15-20 years now, but the online community itself has only been around for roughly 18 of those years (if we assume 20 as a reasonable estimte). Jediism as a recognised term has been around for about 15 years, perhaps slightly less time - first time I heard it was when spoken over at JEDI.org, and later built upon by a guy called Jedi Xhaiden, who created a Jediism website that sought to define the terminology that we often still use now.
That said, the idea of Jediism likely extends well beyond that - I wouldn't be too surprised to find that many were inspired by the original Star Wars movie, though The Empire Strikes Back gave much more insight into the Jedi path, so I'd imagine any of the earliest Jedi practitioners probably found their inspiration there!
Is there an original founder of Jediism?
Probably, yes, but damned if anyone knows who that is. I'm certain you'll find one or two claiming to be them, but you'd do well to take that with a grain of salt. I suppose the obvious question arises: does it matter now? The movement's taken on a considerable life of it's own, and while there are many 'founders' floating around (whether genuine or otherwise), your key focus should always be on the lessons, not the teacher. A cult of personality is certainly not something I'd ever hope to see floating around the community again!
Please Log in to join the conversation.
-
- Visitor
-
-
- Visitor
-
-
- Visitor
-
16 Feb 2015 16:07 - 16 Feb 2015 16:12 #181613
by
By being myself. Living life. And using the teachings of Jedi to make good choices in the life I lead.
The Force is energy. I personally don't go out of my way to "Apply" the force into my everyday life because it already IS apart of it Understanding the force and what it is helps me to clean up my lifestyle and live closer to what is already there.
(This is not TotJO centric)
Star Wars....Ultimatly. But due to how George Lucas wrote and presented the Jedi and Force....Many many many religions, faiths, philosophies and beliefs are easily aligned with it. So the "Doctrines" are Vast and Widespread differing between each indavidual. In the end we don't live by Doctrines...but instead by good moral choices.
(This is not TotJO centric)
I am one of the Offline Gathering Event organizers. There are many things that happense our our meetings!! Our polacy is....what the member brings to teach, we host and provide the means. So we have had instructors in martial arts, shamanic practices, meditations, energy work, search and rescue, first aide, survival, arts and crafts, Viking Blots, and the list goes on. If the member wants to teach it. We provide the means to do so (Within reason and time restraints.)
These gatherings are most often held once a year (Although this year there are 2 gatherings and 1 Training Camp planned)
And they are usually held in a nice cabin with Rooms, Beds, Linens, Kitchens, Bathrooms and Food all supplied with the membership fee usually ranging from $150 (Although this years gatherings are a bit more pricey....Jedi Training Camp is only $50 as of right now.)
Absolutely. We have had both Knighting ceremonies and Weddings. My first marriage was held at a gathering(This is not TotJO centric)
The Knighting Ceremony at our offline gatherings consists of several processes. (This is not TotJO centric)
1) A respected indavidual or known Knight of gatherings Nominates a member to be Knighted
2) That Nominee is under investigation before the gathering
3) At the Gathering the Nominee under goes a couple of process's. Such as the Laberynth and Evaluation meeting
4) If you are approved to be a Knight you are then given a ceremony in front of the gathered community
**** This Process can be seen in the new American Jedi Documentry......Whenever it is released to the public as it is still being edited****
(This is not TotJO centric)
The Jedi movement started in 1995. To learn more you can view this [ link ]<---GFC history archives
(This is not TotJO centric)
You could say there were two..... Kharis Nightflyer and GEDI. There were others however that were dabbling into the idea before Kharis Nightflyer and GEDI made their moves to make an actual website. These people talked and communicated through chatrooms and Roleplaying rooms before Forums and websites became more common place.
The IP is Temple of the Jedi Order ONLY So someone else will have to answer that....
Same as above This is more directed to Temple of the Jedi Order sooooo I can't answer
Replied by on topic Some Questions for the Community
Off Track/Topic Explosion:Oh my gosh!!! Aslyn!!!!!! :woohoo: *Waves Excitedly* Its Emrys
How do you follow the Jedi Path?
By being myself. Living life. And using the teachings of Jedi to make good choices in the life I lead.
How do you interpret and apply the idea of the force to everyday life?
The Force is energy. I personally don't go out of my way to "Apply" the force into my everyday life because it already IS apart of it
Understanding the force and what it is helps me to clean up my lifestyle and live closer to what is already there.Where did the Doctrine come from?
(This is not TotJO centric)
Star Wars....Ultimatly. But due to how George Lucas wrote and presented the Jedi and Force....Many many many religions, faiths, philosophies and beliefs are easily aligned with it. So the "Doctrines" are Vast and Widespread differing between each indavidual. In the end we don't live by Doctrines...but instead by good moral choices.
What happens at meetings offline?
(This is not TotJO centric)
I am one of the Offline Gathering Event organizers. There are many things that happense our our meetings!! Our polacy is....what the member brings to teach, we host and provide the means. So we have had instructors in martial arts, shamanic practices, meditations, energy work, search and rescue, first aide, survival, arts and crafts, Viking Blots, and the list goes on. If the member wants to teach it. We provide the means to do so (Within reason and time restraints.)
These gatherings are most often held once a year (Although this year there are 2 gatherings and 1 Training Camp planned)
And they are usually held in a nice cabin with Rooms, Beds, Linens, Kitchens, Bathrooms and Food all supplied with the membership fee usually ranging from $150 (Although this years gatherings are a bit more pricey....Jedi Training Camp is only $50 as of right now.)
Are there ceremonies?
Absolutely. We have had both Knighting ceremonies and Weddings. My first marriage was held at a gathering
(This is not TotJO centric)If so what happens at them?
The Knighting Ceremony at our offline gatherings consists of several processes. (This is not TotJO centric)
1) A respected indavidual or known Knight of gatherings Nominates a member to be Knighted
2) That Nominee is under investigation before the gathering
3) At the Gathering the Nominee under goes a couple of process's. Such as the Laberynth and Evaluation meeting
4) If you are approved to be a Knight you are then given a ceremony in front of the gathered community
**** This Process can be seen in the new American Jedi Documentry......Whenever it is released to the public as it is still being edited****
How old is Jediism?
(This is not TotJO centric)
The Jedi movement started in 1995. To learn more you can view this [ link ]<---GFC history archives
Is there an original founder of Jediism?
(This is not TotJO centric)
You could say there were two..... Kharis Nightflyer and GEDI. There were others however that were dabbling into the idea before Kharis Nightflyer and GEDI made their moves to make an actual website. These people talked and communicated through chatrooms and Roleplaying rooms before Forums and websites became more common place.
How did the Initiate Program get developed?
The IP is Temple of the Jedi Order ONLY So someone else will have to answer that....
How do you decide when someone is ready to rise to knight or master?
Same as above
This is more directed to Temple of the Jedi Order sooooo I can't answer
Last edit: 16 Feb 2015 16:12 by .
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- OB1Shinobi
-
- Offline
- Banned
-
- Alethea Thompson
-
- Offline
- User
-
17 Feb 2015 03:00 #181670
by Alethea Thompson
Gather at the River,
Setanaoko Oceana
Replied by Alethea Thompson on topic Some Questions for the Community
How do you follow the Jedi Path?
Long story short- a friend of mine signed me up while I was at a low point in my spiritual journey.
How do you interpret and apply the idea of the force to everyday life?
To me "the Force" is something that should be used practically. The application I use "the Force" is through soft sciences such as psychology. I do believe in the spiritual aspect, but I use it primarily in the psychological application.
Where did the Doctrine come from?
Doctrine is not something universal in the Jedi Community. The fiction inspired many of us to find the Jedi Path, but some orders rely more heavily on Joseph Campbell's inspiration than on the fiction, and vice-versa. Some strike a balance between the two.
What happens at meetings offline?
I ran a more "regular" offline group than Kit does (Kit's are annual, mine aimed at monthly, but Chicago Jedi has a stronger offline presence than any other group out there- also Arizona Jedi is run by a guy from here named Plokoon ). Heartland Jedi (the group I helped run) does community service by being members of a Search and Rescue group which employs K9s out of West Kentucky. Chicago Jedi does charity work by putting on skits for kids at charity events, as well as help maintain a local Japanese Garden. Chicago Jedi has more training opportunities regarding the spiritual aspect than Heartland Jedi did. For Heartland, there were "big" events or there was a more "one-on-one" session (sometimes training, sometimes personal development) that took place with regards to the spiritual aspect. We also, on occasion, worked with sword work using it as a fun means of teaching practical skills to help in real physical combat (three of the members of the group have backgrounds as US Army Military Police).
Are there ceremonies?
It depends on where you go. A good number of orders do not have ceremonies like what you might find in other religious groups. There are some that have created ceremonies for "big" events (knighting, weddings, funeral, trials) though. What the offline groups have done, however, is bring in ceremonies from other cultures. This isn't meant to integrate the ceremonies as being Jedi, but rather a tool used to both teach spiritual wisdom and to help bridge understanding and a love for the idea of coexisting with other cultural groups.
If so what happens at them?
Depends on the ceremony.
How old is Jediism?
If you go with the "official" starting point as being Kharis Nightflyer's Praxeum, you could say it was December 1995 (so 20 years). But if you are looking for a date after that things really solidified, well it's anywhere between 17-20 years. What I can tell you for sure is that the Jedi Community was going pretty strong before the 2001 census.
Is there an original founder of Jediism?
No, unless you want to say it was Kharis Nightflyer. But really, he wasn't the one that did a majority of the work to get the ball rolling. That was a combination of many people, ForceMaster Andy Watson, Streen, Xhaiden, Jared Avery Michaels, these people are just the beginning. The community is STILL growing in it's spiritual evolution (and not regarding numbers, I mean the spiritual wisdom that is being developed) through names you can find on this very forum- Akkarin, Westcli, Desolous, Brenna and many more. Out in the broader community you have people like Paladin Carl, William Kaede, Chrissie H, the list keeps going. These past 20 years are part of the foundation for who we as a community are. Some of us have been around longer than others, but there isn't a single person in that chain that is more important than the others working to improve upon what it means to be on the Jedi Path.
I had a couple of questions as well from looking around the site? As I am only a student here, I cannot speak on it's behalf, but I can attest to my home forum where I developed the current program in place.
How did the Initiate Program get developed?
We have a similar concept at my order, it was developed after years (I've been in the Jedi Community since 2002, and around the entirety of it since 2009) of searching for the similarities of what made the Jedi Community "Jedi" rather than any other belief system. After attempts to bring the community together under a unified system, I took up a new idea that the Jedi Community came up with to define the similarities we all possessed called the Jedi Compass. Someone took this document around to all the orders and asked everyone if they could make the document broad enough that it still adhered completely to their idea of what a Jedi should strive to build within themselves. Right now, there is a project to turn the Jedi Compass into a book that has contributions from all the Jedi Orders around today and to have it published before the end of the year. My order and Institute for Jedi Realists studies also developed our introductory programs based on the Jedi Compass.
How do you decide when someone is ready to rise to knight or master?
For the orders I am a part of, it takes someone that demonstrates the ability to pass on the Jedi Path to others, while also living by the Jedi Path. To us, the honorific isn't knight or master, but rather "Jedi"- that is the title we strive for. Knight and Master are merely positions of responsibility to the community to be held. That is not the case with all orders, though.
A Jedi Knight has to demonstrate that they understand the ethics, discipline and integrity of a Jedi, and they have to maintain such otherwise they will have the knight/master title revoked.
Long story short- a friend of mine signed me up while I was at a low point in my spiritual journey.
How do you interpret and apply the idea of the force to everyday life?
To me "the Force" is something that should be used practically. The application I use "the Force" is through soft sciences such as psychology. I do believe in the spiritual aspect, but I use it primarily in the psychological application.
Where did the Doctrine come from?
Doctrine is not something universal in the Jedi Community. The fiction inspired many of us to find the Jedi Path, but some orders rely more heavily on Joseph Campbell's inspiration than on the fiction, and vice-versa. Some strike a balance between the two.
What happens at meetings offline?
I ran a more "regular" offline group than Kit does (Kit's are annual, mine aimed at monthly, but Chicago Jedi has a stronger offline presence than any other group out there- also Arizona Jedi is run by a guy from here named Plokoon
). Heartland Jedi (the group I helped run) does community service by being members of a Search and Rescue group which employs K9s out of West Kentucky. Chicago Jedi does charity work by putting on skits for kids at charity events, as well as help maintain a local Japanese Garden. Chicago Jedi has more training opportunities regarding the spiritual aspect than Heartland Jedi did. For Heartland, there were "big" events or there was a more "one-on-one" session (sometimes training, sometimes personal development) that took place with regards to the spiritual aspect. We also, on occasion, worked with sword work using it as a fun means of teaching practical skills to help in real physical combat (three of the members of the group have backgrounds as US Army Military Police).Are there ceremonies?
It depends on where you go. A good number of orders do not have ceremonies like what you might find in other religious groups. There are some that have created ceremonies for "big" events (knighting, weddings, funeral, trials) though. What the offline groups have done, however, is bring in ceremonies from other cultures. This isn't meant to integrate the ceremonies as being Jedi, but rather a tool used to both teach spiritual wisdom and to help bridge understanding and a love for the idea of coexisting with other cultural groups.
If so what happens at them?
Depends on the ceremony.
How old is Jediism?
If you go with the "official" starting point as being Kharis Nightflyer's Praxeum, you could say it was December 1995 (so 20 years). But if you are looking for a date after that things really solidified, well it's anywhere between 17-20 years. What I can tell you for sure is that the Jedi Community was going pretty strong before the 2001 census.
Is there an original founder of Jediism?
No, unless you want to say it was Kharis Nightflyer. But really, he wasn't the one that did a majority of the work to get the ball rolling. That was a combination of many people, ForceMaster Andy Watson, Streen, Xhaiden, Jared Avery Michaels, these people are just the beginning. The community is STILL growing in it's spiritual evolution (and not regarding numbers, I mean the spiritual wisdom that is being developed) through names you can find on this very forum- Akkarin, Westcli, Desolous, Brenna and many more. Out in the broader community you have people like Paladin Carl, William Kaede, Chrissie H, the list keeps going. These past 20 years are part of the foundation for who we as a community are. Some of us have been around longer than others, but there isn't a single person in that chain that is more important than the others working to improve upon what it means to be on the Jedi Path.
I had a couple of questions as well from looking around the site? As I am only a student here, I cannot speak on it's behalf, but I can attest to my home forum where I developed the current program in place.
How did the Initiate Program get developed?
We have a similar concept at my order, it was developed after years (I've been in the Jedi Community since 2002, and around the entirety of it since 2009) of searching for the similarities of what made the Jedi Community "Jedi" rather than any other belief system. After attempts to bring the community together under a unified system, I took up a new idea that the Jedi Community came up with to define the similarities we all possessed called the Jedi Compass. Someone took this document around to all the orders and asked everyone if they could make the document broad enough that it still adhered completely to their idea of what a Jedi should strive to build within themselves. Right now, there is a project to turn the Jedi Compass into a book that has contributions from all the Jedi Orders around today and to have it published before the end of the year. My order and Institute for Jedi Realists studies also developed our introductory programs based on the Jedi Compass.
How do you decide when someone is ready to rise to knight or master?
For the orders I am a part of, it takes someone that demonstrates the ability to pass on the Jedi Path to others, while also living by the Jedi Path. To us, the honorific isn't knight or master, but rather "Jedi"- that is the title we strive for. Knight and Master are merely positions of responsibility to the community to be held. That is not the case with all orders, though.
A Jedi Knight has to demonstrate that they understand the ethics, discipline and integrity of a Jedi, and they have to maintain such otherwise they will have the knight/master title revoked.
Gather at the River,
Setanaoko Oceana
Please Log in to join the conversation.
