Wake Up, The Matrix has you!

Some recent threads here about the evolution of Jediism and where it might be going got me to thinking about some of the different paths I have followed over the years and about how I perceive the Jedi path in general. I started thinking about things like that that have impassioned my over the years. It was at this point that I began thinking about the Matrix Trilogy. When this trilogy came out I was obsessed with it. I watched the movies over and over. I read everything about it I could as well as its underlying philosophies. I debated its subtle nuances on post boards for hours on end. I even wrote a 35 page synopsis and set of theories including my own philosophical doctrine surrounding its teachings during that time.

My own experience reminded me of stories I had heard on how jediism got started. On a whim I googled Matrixism and low and behold some hits actually came up! There is a budding religion called Matrixism. As a comparison, Star Wars came out in 1977. The Matrix first came out in 1999. It was approximately 20 years later that the first stirrings of Jediism began to emerge but for Matrixism this only took about 5 years, first appearing in 2005. Matrixism is based on Christian Gnosticism, Buddhism, Hinduism, the teachings of `Abdu'l-Bahá, and philosophical texts such as Simulacra and Simulation. Some other points about Matrixism include:

• Sacrament is given through the use of the “Red Pill” (a psychedelic) which evokes a “hacking of the code” of reality.
• The movies are Matrixism’s sacred texts
• The symbol for Matrixism is the Kanji figure for red.
• Followers adhere to the “Path of the One”. (Can anyone say Hero’s Journey?)
• It has 4 main tenets
o Belief in a masonic prophesy of the one, who will bring balance (Maybe to the Force? )
o Use of psychedelic drugs as sacrament
o A perception that reality is multi-layered and semi-subjective
o Adherence to the principles of at least one of the worlds major religions until the one returns.

I did a search on this board for references to Matrixism and in the entire history of this board found only two references to it. So I was curious what you think about this new religion as compared to Jediism? Even though it is much newer than Jediism does it hold as much merit or have enough potential to evolve? Why or why not?

”TheDude” wrote: It’s also no mistake that modern times should be the origin point of religions such as Jediism, Matrixism, Dudeism, or many other isms

”Akkarin” wrote: Lots of ideas that are presented are interesting. Matrixism is 'interesting' but delving into such subject matters should be purely out of some philosophically curious goal, because such subjects, while 'interesting', have no practical basis in reality beyond further teaching of the subject lol

I don't know much about Matrixism.

But I can say that back when I started in Jediism, the Matrix was in full popularity and the Matrix was used ALOT in Jedi studies, practice and debates. There was a great impact and influence back then....Which died over the years.

The thing about Jediism and any other religion really is that there really is no difference. It is just practiced with different twists and steps.

Dune. Was another impacting fiction that walked beside Jediism for a short time.

I've referenced the Matrix movies a number of times in my responses to Apprentice assignments. I especially drew parallels to the modern study of String Theory and Supersymmetry. The idea of an underlying binary or mathematical foundation for the universe similar to the Matrix is also addressed in the BBC series The Code.

One also cannot ignore the obvious Hero's Journey that Neo is on, and the parallels of many characters in the movies to characters in the Bible and other religious texts. Cypher is clearly meant to be Judas.

I personally do not believe Jediism and Matrixism stand independently of one another, but instead use different terminology to describe the same phenomenon and experiences of being human and seeking understanding. I'm not sure I would be on board for the psychedelic practices, but otherwise I could certainly see incorporating most of Matrixism into my Path as a Jedi.

For me it just comes down to preference, and I was a Star Wars nerd before I was a Matrix geek

I actually analyzed The Matrix movies in my IP. I think it might be a more structured in representing the Hero's Journey than Star Wars.

I did not know about Matrixism, though.

I read somewhere that it's also a metaphor for the Wachowski sisters (formerly brothers) transformation from male to female.

I'm a bit of a Matrix nut as well, I actually lived in Sydney when they filmed it (where they filmed it) so it was like a movie about me haha. As a path I think its too abrupt, but I think it has a lot of useful context to a gradual path and as such falls within my Jedi path. Altering perception is pretty full on, but I reckon has potential.

The Matrix always struck me to represent our awakening from our minds. The ego, as we call it, is our machine world. Our Matrix. When we break free it is an entirely new experience. Freedom doesn't come cheap or easy though.

JLSpinner wrote: The Matrix always struck me to represent our awakening from our minds. The ego, as we call it, is our machine world. Our Matrix. When we break free it is an entirely new experience. Freedom doesn't come cheap or easy though.

I see it more as embracing one's true will (which, sure, does involve "unlearning" the ego). The break from the machine is similar to Luke Skywalker in Episode 6 refusing to kill Darth Vader and laying down his sword. It is illogical, and at that point he becomes neither a potential replacement to Vader nor an agent of the Rebellion. He simply comes to terms with who he truly is.

Similarly, Neo breaks free from everyone's expectation, from crude logic, when he continues to fight Agent Smith. This is evidenced in how Smith insists on an answer to why does he keep on fighting, to which Neo answers: "because I choose to".

The Matrix is an allegory for the mental/ego conditioning of the constructs of human society and what it takes to realize the grasp it has on each of us, as well as how one's paradigm of the entire world changes once that realization is established.

Neo and Mr Smith represent two polar aspects of the human experience (much like in Star Wars with Luke and Vader), one which is the self that is immersed in the conditioning (Mr Smith being born from the Matrix, and Vader being more machine than man), and the self that is able to separately become aware of it (Neo, and Luke, who both must unlearn what they have learned).

So it sounds like many of us have found a great deal of meaning in many of the great sci fi operas. I wonder if Jediism will eventually evolve beyond its roots of Star Wars to begin to fully incorporate much of this new mythology into its teachings. It seems that with the birth of modern movie media and the internet a rebirth of ancient philosophical teachings has also taken place by re-exploring them in a Science fiction context.

Movies like Star Wars and Star Trek are but a very few in this. We also have the Matrix and Dune as Trisskar mentioned but those are just the tip of the iceberg. Think about movies such as Blade Runner, 2001 A Space Odyssey, Battlestar Galactica, Alien's franchise, even movies like Dark City which is a retelling of Platos Cave could be included. This is not to mention the myriad of great novels out there!

I'm reminded of some of the writing I did on the Matrix in this. I wrote that everything in the universe is bound by a living breathing life force. That life force is like a great ocean representing a single entity as well as an infinite number of individual entities at the same time. Each drop of the ocean is an individual entity unto itself while at the same time part of the whole of the oceanic life force binding the universe together. It is made up of one universal substance but that substance can take many forms representing different layers of this most basic reality. Any figure that is an outward appearance beyond this reality is just a representation or "simulation" of this basic, abstract universal truth. The Matrix eloquently depicts this circle of life that is seen in every aspect of nature. Life going from abstract through the levels of reality to pure simulation and back again to pure basic truth.

To me that just sounds like another description of what Jedi call "The Force". As I look back through my other writings over the Decades I see similar themes again and again but all through different contexts. I have always innately known of "The Force" and have spent a lifetime searching for its mysteries in countless attempts to explain this incomprehensible core of our reality. Jediism is just the most recent evolution of that.

Do you think this new "Religion" called Jediism will maybe eventually evolve to not only include but embrace all philosophical Sci Fi into its "sacred texts" as modern day mythologies of ancient philosophical ponderings? Maybe even under a different name. The term Jediism might be replaced with something more encompassing that describes this phenomena of incorporating great works of philosophical science fiction into a spiritual path or following. I have hinted at this in some of my apprentice writings in relation to my personal path. I think its a fascinating concept to explore - a place where titles and names like "Jedi" or "The Force" become meaningless and concepts alone become the focus.

I know that I also think a lot about things like Lord of the Rings and the Avatar TV series. One of the great things about Jediism, to me, is that while we use the terminology of one place we allow ourselves to be inspired by practically anything.