What does being a member of the group "Jedi" mean to you?

@Manu

I think you miss my point. Im not asking for a definition or a set of paramaters in a religious context that all "fit into". In fact the very thing im speaking of is the idea that there is no such thing. And yet, even though there is no such thing, there are those that choose to unify themselves under a common term called "jedi". So my questions is, beyond the doctrine and the movies and the subset groups and different individual spiritual paths why is it you choose to assiciate yourself with this group of people and call yourself Jedi? What is it that draws you to this association beyond the individual action and the various doctrines and the disparite beliefs? What is the underlying unifying thing that jedi recognize in each other beyond these things that tells them they are of kindred spirit?

This is actually a really good question. I've been giving it some thought and the only thing that comes to mind is that I seek to better myself continually. I don't expect everyone to agree with my philosophy and find many that do disagree with it here. I don't even expect everyone here to be a fan of Star Wars. I think being a Jedi is, as Proteus said, about living as a hero on our journey. It's about striving to do good in the world and seeking to better ourselves. Being a part of the Jedi community means being able to get along with a diverse group of people and find common ground with them even when we disagree on details.

To me there is a joy to being Jedi. The joys I receive will never be the same as any one else's, and that is ok by me. I enjoy the view of difrent spectrum here. I take the views to my own meditation and give them value and you know what happens for me any way , I'm a little more open minded. It wasn't that I was this great thing or smart person but I simply applied my practice my own Jedi ism in my every day, as I do here. You will rarely see me argue with any one here in the forum and that's never mynownnpersonal focus , but my goal is to build, never rare down. So , being in a community as this with a lot of difrent views and emotions and feelings and egos and all these things we are all working on meet, helps me personally some times to practice what I study . To be a part of a group to me, is a great thing, depending on the intention of the greatness is focuses. My focus is to build and grow so I use every power unity here to.

That is an awesome thought lykeios!! Maybe another piece of the puzzle. We are a diverse group and we all walk a seperate path as we strive to better ourselves in many ways. What better way to do that than to immerse ourselves in the most disparate and diverse set of people we can imaginally find! In that context this temple becomes a training ground for situations and people we will find in real life. Here we are constantly challenged to defend our beliefs and evolve our worldview but in a safe place one step removed from the rigors of real life. It teaches us not only philosophy but it also teaches patience, acceptance and a myriad of other skills among an incredibly diverse group of others who are trying to learn the same things!

Kyrin Wyldstar wrote: So my questions is, beyond the doctrine and the movies and the subset groups and different individual spiritual paths why is it you choose to assiciate yourself with this group of people and call yourself Jedi? What is it that draws you to this association beyond the individual action and the various doctrines and the disparite beliefs? What is the underlying unifying thing that jedi recognize in each other beyond these things that tells them they are of kindred spirit?

I did go a bit off-topic before, didn't I? :laugh:

The point I was trying to make is that the conventional approach towards fitting into a religion is obsolete. Or at the very least, has resulted fruitless to the ones here. So it is precisely that openness to an unconventional, fluid approach that acknowledges a hidden common theme in all paths, that draws us together.

Kyrin Wyldstar wrote: However i still cant decide if all or even most jedi have that same focus or if they are more enamored by the name as you say.

Obviously my experience's are not the sole example of Jedi. And I am not trying to suggest that my experience holds any credence. However....Just recently I have been trying to put together a ohio gathering for 2017, its been a rough process with alot of......politics. Anyways.... After alot of stressful work in an attempt to make it a solid plan, some of us decided to change the name. It was in part an experiment. We changed it from the 2017 Ohio Jedi Gathering to "Adventurer's Guild Double xp Weekend Extravaganza!" We followed the name change up with an explanation as to why we did it...and a promise that NOTHING else at all changed....Just the name. We had a person drop out not even 5 minuets after the change - All because the name "Jedi" was dropped.

I tried something similar in the past. Same codes, same beliefs, same teaching methods, same everything....But instead of Jedi and changed it to "Magi" and the forum/website was "The Jade Tower" Many conversations were had as to why individuals wouldn't join because it wasn't "Jedi" Specific.

Names hold alot of power and sway on peoples choices. Now....thats been changing with alot of the older people of the community who have had time and dirt in "Game" but there is something inspiring and drawing with the name.

Myself, I am trying to figure out how to transition all of my Just Jedi work back into the old "Magi" ideas....its just alot of tedius work haha.

Similarly, a Jedi friend and I have been working on training as "Sages" rather than Jedi, and there is literally zero interest when we talk to people about it.

But, when we came up with the same training program and called it a Grey Jedi training program, people went nuts and we had over 500 likes on FB within a week.

Names are extremely powerful.

Spiritual materialism is a b****.

Connor L. wrote: Spiritual materialism is a b****.

Truth.

...Not Much.

There you go.



My "Jedi Path" Or....whatever...is to me more akin to my local Lions Club and Freemasons, than a lot of what I perceive of the membership here - but I don't like selling fruit cakes for the former, or the dress standards of the latter :lol:


So, to call myself a Member of TotJO doesn't bolster the meaning of being a Jedi to me - but the doctrine here is reasonable, and while I can find what there is to learn from the members here that might have similar interests to me, and maybe I can accidentally persuade some of the members who are a bit more "vague" in their path at the moment to attempt a more purposeful way of living and serve people instead of themselves.




(So...yeah...trying to co-opt someone's fandom to make an army of intellectual moderates with a desire to work for humanity. Agendas. Agendas everywhere)

JamesSand wrote: ...Not Much.

There you go.



My "Jedi Path" Or....whatever...is to me more akin to my local Lions Club and Freemasons, than a lot of what I perceive of the membership here - but I don't like selling fruit cakes for the former, or the dress standards of the latter :lol:


So, to call myself a Member of TotJO doesn't bolster the meaning of being a Jedi to me - but the doctrine here is reasonable, and while I can find what there is to learn from the members here that might have similar interests to me, and maybe I can accidentally persuade some of the members who are a bit more "vague" in their path at the moment to attempt a more purposeful way of living and serve people instead of themselves.




(So...yeah...trying to co-opt someone's fandom to make an army of intellectual moderates with a desire to work for humanity. Agendas. Agendas everywhere)

I love this ! Because its not really about us is it? The Doctrine is a wonderfull guideline , but in the end its ..What can i do for others , thank you for reminding me James