A Jedi Retreat/Temple

If you seek you WILL find , promise

I love the idea of having a garden be your temple! Nothing says meditation and learning like a beautiful garden with a fountain, birds chirping in the trees, and the smell of fresh flowers. It's something that sounds so peaceful. I, myself, use my room as my Temple. A place where I can meditate in a dark area, listen to relaxing meditation music when I learn, and even just take time to just relax.

"You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don’t know what was in the newspapers that morning, you don’t know who your friends are, you don’t know what you owe anybody, you don’t know what anybody owes to you. This is a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. This is the place of creative incubation. At first you may find that nothing happens there. But if you have a sacred place and use it, something eventually will happen." (JC)

Cyan Sarden wrote: "You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don’t know what was in the newspapers that morning, you don’t know who your friends are, you don’t know what you owe anybody, you don’t know what anybody owes to you. This is a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. This is the place of creative incubation. At first you may find that nothing happens there. But if you have a sacred place and use it, something eventually will happen." (JC)

Now THIS is something I subscribe to!

Here here!

Well this'll make me popular with the old guard, :side:

Quickly and off hand to something someone said around page three - In the mountains of Austria there is a small cabin that (in German) has words to the effect of "Hunters Fisherman and other liars gather here"
Now, I'm aware that you can buy these words in any $2 shop to hang on your wall, and I have no idea who said them first, but I still kind of like them. Whether they speak to the tenets of Jediism is debatable, but I would consider having them on the front door )


Anison mentioned in a recent post that there could be 1 of 2 ways a physical temple could come to pass - crowdfunding, or a single wealthy benefactor.

Now, my understanding of Jedi is that, much like the Pirate Lords, they are all flat broke :lol:

and, whilst there are a few members who may have the capital, or already own large tracts of land, what they do is their business and I'm not willing to make any assumptions on their behalf.

HAVING SAID ALL THAT: I am a keen capitalist, and always looking for ways to make more money for my daily money swim.

So I am interested in discussing how a Jedi temple would be financially viable, taking existing laws at face value.

I have *some* knowledge of my local laws as far as rates, stamp duties, tax deductions etc are concerned (I've never bought a church before, so I have no idea about these laws as they apply to charity type organisations, which I might be able to find out with some research and phone calls - on the other hand as far as I know, TotJO has no legal existence in Australia, so it's probably irrelevant)

I'm not too interested in "We could grow Jedi-Corn and sell it at markets!" or "Jedi-Spun Robe online sales", so much as actual math and consideration - (for example) Corn is a very water dependent crop, not to mention the need for customers to actually buy the corn, trucks to transport it, and there's nothing in the doctrine about Jedi being any good at agricultural pursuits anyway.

What would it actually take, one way or another, to make a physical location that can sustain itself financially (another example- if you want it to sustain itself electronically, you'll want $20,000(AUD) for a semi decent offgrid solar system)

Let's assume we have no capital, and all moneys need to be borrowed - so not only does such a venture need to be able to pay it's way going forward, it'll need to have additional revenue to pay off the debt and interest!

Sometime after breakfast I'll actually start making a spreadsheet, but I'm here for ideas on how to make it work (if I had all the good ideas myself I'd be retired by now!)


Edit: I'm actually generally of the opinion that a physical jedi temple is not particularly necessary, so you're preaching to the choir if you want to go down that route - I'm not asking if we *should* have a temple - just that, if we assume the premise that we do want/need one - how to make it work, short of winning the lottery)

So after a bit I had the idea that a cafe might make a good front -

It's a meeting place, the financials for a cafe are fairly straight forward, you can put them pretty much anywhere.

The Managers/Staff don't necessarily have to be fans of Jediism.

That's more or less as far as I got, but at face value it seems sort of sensible - international Jedi Coffee franchise - instant accessible temples the world over :dry:


I had a bit of a look for Charity/ not-for-profit Cafes, and found https://lentilasanything.com/
a bit interesting.


(Suggesting we use https://www.deathwishcoffee.com/ for our warm brews...)

JamesSand wrote: So after a bit I had the idea that a cafe might make a good front -

It's a meeting place, the financials for a cafe are fairly straight forward, you can put them pretty much anywhere.

The Managers/Staff don't necessarily have to be fans of Jediism.

That's more or less as far as I got, but at face value it seems sort of sensible - international Jedi Coffee franchise - instant accessible temples the world over :dry:


I had a bit of a look for Charity/ not-for-profit Cafes, and found https://lentilasanything.com/
a bit interesting.


(Suggesting we use https://www.deathwishcoffee.com/ for our warm brews...)

I really like the idea of something like this. I was visiting a friend recently and stumbled across a 'Pay As You Feel' restaurant in their town that was really nice!

http://saltairecanteen.co.uk/restaurant/

Perhaps we can secretly infiltrate Starbucks and slowly transform them all into Jedi Cafe locations? :evil:

Senan wrote: Perhaps we can secretly infiltrate Starbucks and slowly transform them all into Jedi Cafe locations? :evil:

*Waves hand* You will surrender your franchise. You don't need proof of purchase. You want to go home and rethink your life.

EDIT: Also, I believe we should rename it to Deathstarbucks

YES! Deathstarbucks!

Customer: "I'd like a grande iced mocha frappuccino latte half caf half decaf with non-fat whip and light ice please."

Me: "Don't be too proud of this caffeinated terror you've constructed. The power of the latte is insignificant next to the power of the Force. Your total is $19.95. Please drive through." :laugh:

Senan wrote: YES! Deathstarbucks!

Customer: "I'd like a grande iced mocha frappuccino latte half caf half decaf with non-fat whip and light ice please."

Me: "Don't be too proud of this caffeinated terror you've constructed. The power of the latte is insignificant next to the power of the Force. Your total is $19.95. Please drive through." :laugh:

Your taste buds cannot reflect flavour of this magnitude! Would you like it dark side, or light?

Honestly, pop culture puns like that are essentially a license to print money. (I know that's not the goal)

Honestly, pop culture puns like that are essentially a license to print money. (I know that's not the goal)

I have not got to the lesson in the IP that teaches money is the root of all evil, so I don't see why it can't be a goal


Four of the the top Five institutional share holders in both Disney and Starbucks are the same

The Vanguard Group.(worth 1.8 trillion)
State Street Corporation (worth 245 billion)
FMR, LLC (Wikipedia failed me here)
BlackRock (220 billion)


I don't want to lend any credence to the conspiracy theories - but if we make it Deathstarbucks, those 4 investment organisations are really doubling-down on their profits-per-cup

I am actually shocked this topic has been brought up again... now, Jeffrey I think from the few responses I read... (I didn't read them all and refuse) everyone seems like they're for it but, cannot afford it. I think it was in 2011 or, 2012 I attempted to get one started. I got a few to come it was down at the city hall for awhile and as I recalled a few of them attempted to become members of this temple but, shortly fell away. We held meetings for close to six months and we're talking about renting a place a three bedroom apt. And make it a temple. The first room would be the office for the record keeping, the living room the council chamber, the 2nd room mediation and third for training...it failed. Everyone bailed on me started calling me crazy and never spoke again...lol its hard work to get anybody to commit money, time and resources. A lot of times I was the only one to give anything...it sucked. It am not against it but, it's a lot of work...A LOT OF WORK.

a three bedroom apt. And make it a temple. The first room would be the office for the record keeping, the living room the council chamber, the 2nd room mediation and third for training

This is part of the reason I have not gone for a Pub, yes it may have the rooms etc, but the licencing for the different types of business activity would be costly and frustrating.

The Cafe option doesn't give a "dojo", but that really doesn't bother me, it's a meeting place, and any profits can be used as required by the order.

:P

If I keep pretending it's a real thing....

JamesSand wrote: The Cafe option doesn't give a "dojo"...

This got me thinking about the many many hours of planning and consideration I've given to opening my own dojo. It's easy to dream about the end goal of having a shiny building with droves of people queuing to get in, or even a franchise with several shiny buildings, but the fundamental truth I've come to realise (and the reason I haven't opened any doors yet) is that this is backwards thinking. To be successful, whether a dojo or a temple, you first need the people and then the building.

The most fiscally responsible way to create a temple would be to boot-leg it. In essence, arrange the regular meeting of Jedi to do what Jedi do wherever you can find space cheap or free: walking meditations through the woods, physical training at a local running track, etc. and then find a way to raise money from it - perhaps a nominal fee for a meditation class or group training class. Once the funds have grown, and more so the number of participants, the money could be spent renting a local community hall for activities until, again growing the number of participants, the income stream becomes sufficient to support a permanent premises to be exclusively a temple. Doing it this way also aids in determining the optimum location for a physical temple as natural attrition will show what areas cannot sustain the cost of operating one.

Of course, it may not sit well with some to charge a fee to teach something we see as beneficial, such as basic physical training or meditation, but the harsh reality is that in our (western at least) society, you need a viable business model for longevity. If I could teach martial arts without charging a fee I would, but bills have to be paid.

Not that I mean for this to detract from the dream of a physical temple, but I sometimes wonder whether these conversations are more about being part of a temple or simply having a temple.

That's my 2 cents, although I think there have been enough 2 cents contributed that we probably could buy a temple by now.

perhaps a nominal fee for a meditation class or group training class

A 5 day spirit experience in the Australian outback (complete with fasting and sleep deprivation) runs at over $1000.

So, there's money to be had in selling...well lies, but let's call them wisdom building adventures.

There's a buddhist temple somewhere that makes ends meet by renting out rooms.

Edit: http://www.australianbuddhisthistory.com/index.php/Quang_Duc_Buddhist_Temple
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Quang-Duc-Buddhist-Temple/208480862502346


I can't find any mention of them renting rooms, but it has been many years since I was there, so they may have stopped the practice.

It all just depends on where you at. Making ends meet and keeping a place self sustained is easy enough. The problem is the start up.

Here in michigan Ren Faire's, Re-enactments, Shooting Ranges, Survival and all around "We need a peace of property we can easily rent for group activities" is very common here. A retreat that caters to all of those group interests would not only suite the Jedi lifestyle but be self sustaining......

But unless I win the lottery to buy up and prep such a place.....Its not happening

Trisskar wrote: It all just depends on where you at. Making ends meet and keeping a place self sustained is easy enough. The problem is the start up.

Here in michigan Ren Faire's, Re-enactments, Shooting Ranges, Survival and all around "We need a peace of property we can easily rent for group activities" is very common here. A retreat that caters to all of those group interests would not only suite the Jedi lifestyle but be self sustaining......

But unless I win the lottery to buy up and prep such a place.....Its not happening

I would love a Jedi day here in Michigan.

JLSpinner wrote:

Trisskar wrote: It all just depends on where you at. Making ends meet and keeping a place self sustained is easy enough. The problem is the start up.

Here in michigan Ren Faire's, Re-enactments, Shooting Ranges, Survival and all around "We need a peace of property we can easily rent for group activities" is very common here. A retreat that caters to all of those group interests would not only suite the Jedi lifestyle but be self sustaining......

But unless I win the lottery to buy up and prep such a place.....Its not happening

I would love a Jedi day here in Michigan.

There is going to be a Michigan Gathering https://trisskar9.wixsite.com/jedigatherings/mi-9-22-24-2017

And here is the TOTJO thread about it - https://www.templeofthejediorder.org/forum/Offline-activities/118039-non-totjo-centric-michigan-jedi-gathering-9-22-24-2017