The future of the Jedi order

Loudzoo wrote: they are mostly practical questions (how do I post? how do I introduce myself? How do I apply for membership? when can I start the IP? and so on) that are easily answered through the FAQ.

I think there is possibly an issue with the FAQ.

Personally, I found it immensely useful when I joined as it answered most (if not all) of my questions. But many new users either seem unable to find it or can't be bothered to read it or...I don't really know.

For example, I'm not very good at explaining things (as some of you will know ), so when I'm talking to new members and they ask a question that is in the FAQ, I usually give them the link to it and say 'read this', only for them to either completely ignore it or ask another question which, again, is in the FAQ. So I spend half my time copying and pasting from the FAQ into a PM, which seems totally pointless....

I'm not really sure how to fix that issue, maybe I'm just so bad at explaining things that people don't even realise what the link I've posted is for :laugh:

Brick wrote:

Loudzoo wrote: they are mostly practical questions (how do I post? how do I introduce myself? How do I apply for membership? when can I start the IP? and so on) that are easily answered through the FAQ.

I think there is possibly an issue with the FAQ.

Personally, I found it immensely useful when I joined as it answered most (if not all) of my questions. But many new users either seem unable to find it or can't be bothered to read it or...I don't really know.

I think that may be an issue with the people, not the FAQ :evil: :laugh:

I find that I have adopted sort of set positions on these sorts of matters over the years...I don't believe that we need a physical Temple, I don't believe that we need to grow our global numbers/presence, I don't believe that the lack of recognition that we get as a 'serious' religion limits our ability to have a positive effect in the world.

Sometimes I second-guess myself a little on these - have I just convinced myself that they are true because I know that there wont be any significant changes on these fronts in the near future?

Perhaps there is a tempering of expectations involved, an acknowledgement that to get my hopes up about having a global impact, that is taken seriously and underpinned by collaborative physical communities of Jedi, is, at this point in time, little more than a distraction, a fantasy...

Certainly, our wonderful UK meetup last summer (and the more informal occasions on which I have spent time with TOTJO Jedi) illustrated exactly why that fantasy is such a tempting one to indulge in - and made it a little harder to deny the positive effects - both personal and collectively - of face-to-face interaction within our community.

I do worry, though, about whether it is a good thing to want to effect positive change - we all too often see how bad things come about as a result of people trying to force their idea of 'good' onto the world. The idea that we each change the world by simply being more kind, compassionate and loving to the people around us is sometimes a slightly...anticlimactic?...one, but its importance is not to be underestimated. Each of us interacts with a huge number of people and to show them through personal example what Jediism is about - even if we never mention it by name - has the power to inspire a lot of people to think about and hopefully practice the benefits of kindness. That isn't to say that it wouldn't be possible to inspire people in this way through larger-scale, deliberately co-ordinated means, but that organised efforts tend to involve bigger pitfalls with potentially dangerous consequences that can sometimes be hard to forsee amongst the excitement. I despair at the state of the world at the moment and I often wish that we were in a better position to be able to improve things, but many of the scary things that are happening right now have been a result of people trying to do just that...

I've always maintained the belief that Jediism is best lived as an embodiment of Wu Wei, but whilst non-action is a sort of deceptive sounding idea in that it doesn't necessarily mean that nothing is achieved (in fact, it is an explanation of how things are achieved) - I do wonder sometimes whether this is too far the other way in terms of its passiveness (again, the passiveness of Wu Wei being a debatable point but...you know what I mean ).

To what degree should we, specifically as Jedi, be looking to assert ourselves in the world?

tzb wrote: It's a common enough thing that people arrive, and say we need a building to be a legitimate religion. Interestingly those who have been around longer tend to be less bothered about such things. Why is that?

Perhaps because after spending time in this community, one comes to realise we have the only Temple we need. We have a space for us to talk, to train, to be at peace. To meet others on the same path, to practice living the values our belief is founded on.

For me, the place of Jedi is in the world. Out amongst it, meeting people, experiencing things. My true Temple is the universe... the Force is not confined by any four walls. And anyway... show me any other Temple from any other religion. Are the people within it more "sacred", more "spiritual" than those outside it? Often a building becomes a prison. People are "holy" within its walls, one day a week. Hypocrisy is rife in such places.

How lucky we are that our Temple is with us, wherever we are. Both the shared space of this website, and the internal halls of our imagination and our practice. If a building, somewhere was such a great idea, it would have been built by now. But there is a distinction between Jedi and those on other paths. For us, the true place where our sermons are granted and ceremonies conducted is the wide vista of our world.

So... no physical Temple for me. I find more Jedi "religious presence" in any forest than in any building.

hello my friend, i belive is important to have a place where all jedi can go and seek guidance with masters face to face insted online, but that is a step i blieve is very far yet. I just wanted to the jedi order to be recognized, maybe some of us prefere a more spiritual guidance and don't care about recognition of the order, others may prefere a more phisical world, in star wars we have jedi guardians (more active jedi, guardians of the republic), had jedi consular ( spiritual jedi like yoda) and sentinel jedi (jedi security of the temple and spies), maybe its the same here

Varell wrote: I just wanted to the jedi order to be recognized

A. How? :huh: We are already a legally registered entity in the US....

B. Why?

What we do doesn't hinge on anyone's recognition but our own. We can be all we want to be, right now. Many of us are. We don't have to wait to see our name on some plaque somewhere for that.

tzb wrote: What we do doesn't hinge on anyone's recognition but our own. We can be all we want to be, right now. Many of us are. We don't have to wait to see our name on some plaque somewhere for that.

You are interpreting me wrong, i dont want recognition to me, but to the order... I dont want fame or to mecome a brand mark, but a symbol of hope, maybe its just my dream and i must return to reality, forgive me...

I think I follow you - I'm not sure you follow me, and please forgive me for not being clearer

I don't believe we do need to become anything "as a brand", as however you look at what you're describing (and despite your protestation that it's not your intent), it's that. TOTJO the building, TOTJO the "recognised entity". TOTJO the brand.

I believe that we are more powerful and potent as individuals, than as a homogeneous organisation only as weak as its least committed member, which the world can uniformly discount, discredit, disregard. We are better off as individual agents amidst our communities, than as a single group who, in one place, or in one governing body, or in one annual meeting standardise our approach, "sync our watches" and do the same thing as everyone else.

For me, that's not what Jediism or TOTJO is.

I believe this Temple is a space for us, as wildly and meaningfully different people with a few common ideas, to come together in, and not a front to unite along. I believe we do far more good by being excellent examples of the ideals this Temple promotes individually, than we would falling back on "the community" to act, speak or think for us. There is more to be gained by allowing us to be the best versions of ourselves, rather than expecting each of us to model ourselves towards becoming some imagined "Jedi Jesus", so long as how we go about that doesn't contradict the guiding ideals of this Temple.

Individuality and promoting individual good is something I have learned a great deal about since joining this Temple. Take for example the difference between planning for months to become a charity, vs donating some soup to a food bank or volunteering at a homeless shelter. One does good and can be achieved today, by an individual. The other is a noble cause, too, but it is a secondary cause, only there to support the first. I think it's something people overlook in the model set by the Star Wars films - the autonomy of Jedi is one of their greatest strengths, and something we would be wise to emulate - at least, so far as I see it.

And, of course, this means you are welcome to disagree with my opinions on these matters this is one perspective. As I say - one of our real strengths is our capacity as a group to allow for and accept the perspectives of others who walk similar paths.

Well, you def share a common interest with many of the people here. I realized that one way to spread Jediism is to be sure that i am applying the principles. If I apply the principles and commit to bettering myself, The possibilty of it spreading into my Home, community and the world is increased. I guess "making it real" is only a by product of sincerely applying the principles to our lives. I trust you you benefit from the sudies here.

I liken this place to the Northern and Eastern Gates of Shaolin...it is more about spiritual development than physical(though we DO have a forum for that). This being a realm of the heart and mind, the site fulfills those needs(for me at least). Obviously, I go out and research things on my own and there are plenty of resources for that...everywhere, really.

If you need a physical Temple I suggest you start with your own body. Learn its in and outs. Find the flaws, the advantages. Build it up, take care of it.

If you need the physical presence of other Jedi, well, there are TONS of gatherings, every year and nothing stopping you from putting one together yourself.