WHAT IS JEDIISM?

Hello all! I am doing a research paper (again) on Jediism and would like to ask a few questions. Upon doing previous research I have noticed that this religion differs in perspective between different people. I'd like to know, in your opinion, what exactly is the force and how can one get in touch with it or "use the force"? How does one become a Jedi and how does one live their life as a Jedi? What is your purpose in the world as a Jedi? What do you believe will happen when you die?

Me personally-
Belief in "the Force": I believe it is what science refers to as "Energy", we can see the effects of it, but cannot see energy itself. It has a variety of things it can accomplish, and some of those things we do not know or understand. It is both mundane and can be spiritual. It has not sentience, but instead divine forces run on it, and can control it, but they are merely part of it. It is a tool that is the very reason that life can and does exist. Everything we do and/or can do is based on the use of "the Force". As such, you don't get in touch with it, you are always using it. It's more a matter of learning how diversely you can use it, and that takes a variety of forms depending on your goals.

Becoming a Jedi: by deciding to live the Jedi Path to it's fullest, consistently evolving as you move forward in life in accordance with the Jedi Path.

What is my purpose? The Force does not give one purpose, a deity can if you choose to follow one, but ultimately we decide on our own purpose. The Jedi Path can help you find a purpose. As such, the purpose I have chosen is to help build stronger American Citizens.

Afterlife: It doesn't matter what happens. I suspect there is an afterlife, I suspect it is very diverse from hell to heaven to something in-between (ghosts) depending upon the circumstances. What I do know, is that to live your life based on what is going to happen in the afterlife is an insincere reason to live up a life that helps people. In order to be a good Jedi, I believe you need to be genuinely concerned with helping others, not with satisfying some God. As such, despite being a Christian, I made peace a long time ago that if God ends up disliking my siding with making others lives better, I'll be happy to make the trade of helping others here over going to Heaven.

To me the Force is rather like it was described in Star Wars. It is an energy field. It surrounds us and penetrates us and binds the universe together. It comes from us and we come from it. To be "in touch" with it I meditate to quite my mind. Just noticing things like the feeling of the breeze, the smell of the rain, the sound of the animals, the heat of the sun, all make me feel connected to the Force. I don't particularly believe that we can "use" the Force like they do in the movies. We can't use telekinesis, we can't do the "Jedi Mind Trick," and we can't jump super high.

To become a Jedi...well...that's really tough to describe. To me it's like becoming Christian or becoming Muslim. You read about, you like what you read, you decide to follow that path, you are it. I was a Jedi as soon as I dedicated myself to following the Jedi path, I chose to follow the path as laid out by the Temple of The Jedi Order. I equally recognize Jedi who choose to follow the path as laid out by other groups. Who am I to tell them that they're not Jedi?

To live your life as a Jedi one has to allow one thought to guide their actions, we are all connected. If I keep that in mind at all times it allows me to live my life as a Jedi as I see it. Alan Watts had an interesting idea about treating everyone as though we are connected. He said that you should treat other people the way you treat your own arm. It is an extension of you and so is everyone else.

My purpose as a Jedi is to live as a Jedi such as I described above. It's almost a paradox that our purpose in life is each other. If no other living thing existed we wouldn't have a purpose so we wouldn't need to exist, but because one living thing exists then others must also exist.

When we die we return to the state we were in before we were born. We are an expression of the Force. Concentrated Force if you will. When we die we simply re-disperse into the Force.

Like you said, it can be pretty different for each Jedi. Those are just my opinions.

Well those are pretty big questions. I feel like saying asking the question is starting down the Jedi path, but have a moment to throw some thoughts out about my own view at the moment....

As guided by the Doctrine, but importantly without trying to dictate to some external reality, I tend to keep it as the conceptualized attributes around actual or imagined phenomena, which meet the criteria of increased accessibility to data about the phenomena and its relationships, to enable improved mental focus, faster and more empathetic decision making, and increased self awareness and self control (logic, analysis). This then allows me to integrate self into cognitive modelling and simulation more easily (imagination, intuition), to derive improvements in contemplation more generally.

But that is just how I rationalize it. It's more practical for me, in terms of conscious focus, to view it as a metaphysical pneuma or fundamental energy of 'all things', for which our senses form a partial perception of what might more really exist.

So what ends up happening then is I create a matrix extending as a dimension of mind from all things, for my mind to populate with extra information to allow better decision making and applied action. Such that it's easier to catch an older fatter fish with the nice taste with your net if you can see it swimming amongst the smaller young or yucky tasting ones - if the water is clear and not muddy. By contrast normal perception would be like just sticking your net in and taking what you get, and having to spend time discarding the stuff you don't want or eating something less then ideal.

So then this applies inwards to self and outwards to non-self. If some external reality did exist which was accessible like the Force in the fiction, then I have chosen to assume it's accessibility is through the mind and body being in a tuned and resonant state in the same way as above. I don't subscribe to some people being born with it and some not, but am happy to accept some people might be able to grasp it easier perhaps. Basically though I think it comes down to training, self discipline, and commitment over time to genuine practise.

So then a Jedi to me would be someone working towards or at that practise, and the purpose being to better contribute to the world.

Death is interesting in this regard, as it contrasts everything we've ever known to exist since it is literally the cessation of existence (as we know it). In the same way as above types of afterlife can be imagined, and some may resonate with different types of actual experiences, but even then its not known until its not known.

To facilitate the broader practises of my Jediism, I do facilitate conditional application of belief over the Force as not merely being a mental projection, but actually as something in existence. In that regard death, amongst other things, then can be considered to interact with my existence in ways beyond which science has managed to measure and therefore topics like the afterlife can be held as a tool to address concepts like death. I don't need proof to use this type of belief, but as a result understand the limitations of belief in this way to differentiate them what are called delusions. That is a terrible word to end on, so to the question of how does one get in touch with it!?

For me that is best handled by parts of the vast body of practises in Eastern religious and spiritual traditions and philosophies. Modern psychotherapy and other spiritual traditions also work in this regard to evolve the mind so that the brain can develop better, and physical health then also becomes incorporated as the subconscious is recruited as an ally instead of a foe (this means learning about the body in more and more detail, developing fitness and generally being better at being health). Inner awareness is often easier to manifest progress, so after that it becomes (IMO) more about application or refinement and transformation of self as outlined earlier in my response.

Everyone starts from a unique position though, so the entry to path is individual, and not only that but 'practical' interpretation of the Force most likely changes depending on which path and what part of that particular path someone is on! So asking the question itself might be integral to being on the Jedi path.

So getting started I think can include things like finding more balance in ones life to generate some stability in practise. When the Force is within a Jedi its this which allows the Jedi to be in a position to relate outwards and manifestly grow, thrive, contribute and lift others, and vice versa. In this way everyone is a potential Jedi IMO, and its just the collection of best practises in living - taking in all sources of information and discovery about it, and using it, moving forward through time.

But don't quote me, what is really important is what does it mean to you :lol:

what exactly is the force and how can one get in touch with it or "use the force"?

it's energy...bio-electrical, bio-chemical, electro-magnetic, etc....we're born in touch with it, we use it continuously whether we know it or not...we can of course learn to manipulate it...

How does one become a Jedi and how does one live their life as a Jedi?

one simply chooses to or not to....living as a jedi involves compassion, and respect...

What is your purpose in the world as a Jedi?

that is different for each jedi, and it is something each jedi has to discover for themself. for some it may be to protect, for others, healing...some teach....

What do you believe will happen when you die?

the energy that comprises my existence will be released from my form and returned to the collective to be redistributed...