For I am Jedi

We all wish to follow the ways of the Force and be a Jedi. But what does this truly mean in regards to day to day life? What does being a Jedi and placing your faith in the Will of the Force truly entail? As I am wrapping up Lesson 5 I realized not only was it a refresher in the teachings and Maxims but it was also a moment of reflection and self awareness through the Force. In this moment I deduced several "markers" of living a life that is in tune with the Force, as well as the emotions and concepts that seem to be the root of being a true Jedi. These are only some of the markers that I have had revealed through meditation, self reflection, and reactions to Jedi behavior displayed in society.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall -Seeing the Self and The Self in Others

The first step for any Jedi is to know the self. This is why it is one of the first lessons in the IP. Without truly knowing and accepting oneself the actions, emotions, and perceptions are derived from the Ego. I have listened to Alan Watts' The Book (i have it saved on my phone)and other collections of lectures over and over so that I may look inward and see the reflection of the person I am for what it truly is. This includes my personal flaws so that I may recognize them and overcome them. All Jedi face this mountain of a task. However a Jedi does not judge themselves due to the flaws for it contains 2 consequences. The first is a rooted sense of insecurity and failure which forms a mental and physical obstacle in which to overcome before every goal. If you judge yourself instead of accept yourself it becomes "I can't" or "I couldnt". The second consequence is that it makes one tend to compare to others which is folly. One is not the same as another for we are the many individual leaves that make up the tree of life. By knowing yourself and accepting yourself it generates passivity as well as serenity which allows the Jedi to see without bias or Ego and may perform in harmony and synergy with the rest of the Force. By knowing yourself you understand the perceptions of others easier. It allows you to devote compassion, serenity, and if necessary justice without regards to the Ego. This devotion is a demonstration of a Jedi in tune with the Force and makes their actions morally righteous. This recognition of the self also let's a Jedi keep their Ego and any sense of superiority in check, for in the Force all lives are equal in beauty and importance. Knowing the self allows one to empathize and be aware of their own shortcomings forming compassion. Compassion and synergy towards the Cosmic and Living Force are the instruments of illuminating power a Jedi displays through their day to day life.


Lancelot Had Dents in His ArmorToo -Acting as a Jedi

Through personal reflection we know that we ourselves are not perfect. By acknowledging the Ego and acting contradictory to it, we better ourselves from the mistakes that have been made. By enacting the teachings and especially the Maxims we improve ourselves and by way of cause and effect or influence improve the interconnections within the Force.This demonstrates the marker of personal growth and achievement. This reminded me of the Maxim Nobility: to act with honor and moral fiber. A quote came to mind from the movie The Kingsman : Secret Service. It was said "True nobility lies not in being superior to your peers, but in being superior to your former self." This struck a chord with me. Many of us Jedi have had turning points in our lives that forever altered our perceptions and destinies. For many, including myself, this turning point actually became the motivation or cause of being a Jedi. If I may digress to a personal story, I had my daughter out of wedlock, but her mother and I did care for eachother and decided to try and make a family. We were still teens, and after 3-4 years we hit a rough patch in our relationship. Both of us were unhappy and I through focus and enablement of the Ego, thought I could find happiness elsewhere. So I left the mother of my child to pursue infatuation with my own Ego. It broke her heart and she showed me pictures of us kissing and smiling and stated that I was a fool for not believing that we did indeed love eachother. I moved out, took out a loan and got a fast new car and hit up my old buddies. Within seven hours of obtaining the new car I got into a head on collision. I had truly hit rock bottom within 24 hours of leaving my fiance. But without hesitation or mockery or vengeance my fiance was at my side as I was fortunate enough to survive the wreck and not hurt the other person either. She selflessly catered to my instant fear and selfishness in clinging to the woman whose heart I just broke. She picked me up helped me move on and through being first hand witness to pure compassion,love,and motive realized I had dangerously flirted with what we consider the dark side. A week after the wreck I was looking for a sense of faith that what had occurred had only done so due to my Ego and failure to be understanding and compassionate. I came across the Path of the Jedi and the Ways of the Force (of course I had already loved Star wars but hadn't realized that the Jediism was legitimate faith instead of nerdy indulgement). It has been 4 years since then. I have recognized my errors and overcome the Ego that has driven them. Through faith in the Force and much reflection and meditation I have overcome the flaws that had led me down the wrong path. The woman whose heart I broke while nearly destroying myself is now my wife and both of us discuss the amazing life we have created for eachother. I am devoted to her and love her regardless of disagreements or conflicting perceptions. We recognize that we have truly found selfless love and sacrifice. Through the experience that culminated in the witnessing of pure sacrifice and utterly profound faith and trust in the Force had been recieved. I had become nobler than my former self allowing a state of clarity that allowed me to spot and recognize my Ego and accept it in an effort to better understand myself as well as the perceptions of others. When a Jedi accomplishes this, their actions take the role of Pure Motive, Honesty, Nobility, Justice, and Faith. By being made aware of my former self and the inflation of Ego that had occurred I corrected my path and have recieved in return a complete trust in the Will of the Force.

Luminous Beings Are We - Believing and Trusting in the Force

When the first two markers have been acknowledged as a personal achievement a Jedi then becomes fully devout and trusting in the Will of the Force. A passive serenity is instilled in the Jedi for they know all is as the Force wills it and that their perceptions and abilities are to be used as a guiding light and influence to those who are in need. This gives a Jedi an aura of strength compassion and faith that is incapable of being diminished or tainted. A Jedi that demonstrates their complete faith as well as the virtues and Maxims in society allows others to behold the wonders of the Force and strive for the example given. This creates not only an opportunity for others to find their path in the ways of the Jedi but also a series of connections that are at its root harmonious with life and their own personal faith or perceptions. Laying your faith within the Force allows a Jedi to effortlessly act free of the Ego and perform any teaching, virtue, and Maxim that is required to benefit the synergy between the Living Force and the Cosmic Force.

As Johnny Cash said I'll Meet You Further On Up the Road--Carrying the Force from day to day

So as Jedi we continue to move forward. We know there are always new lessons to be learned and new experiences to bestow wisdom. We must focus on the here and now so we may see ourselves for who we are and better ourselves so that we enact our faith just as tenaciously as we enact our motives and connections as positive influences to ourselves and others. We must be forgiving in the our own shortcomings as well as those in others for a fault is merely an understanding not yet gained. We must show uncorruptable compassion especially when it is met with aggression for this is within ourselves to spread the light that is the Force as we attempt to harmonize with the synergy of others. As we harmonize the Ego is put on display as truth so that when compassion is still the outcome, a sacrifice made of utter love and morally righteousness is freely endowed upon those we connect with. In doing so we as Jedi feel ourselves One with the Force and true bliss is obtained. We have all heard the phrase "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering" And it is a warning as true as playing with fire can get you burned. But my perceptions, experiences that had me lay witness to the might of the Force, and my sincerely unbreakable faith the Force shall guide me has led me to a concept that provides the opposite end of the spectrum within one's Ego about the nature of the Force. And so I shall leave you with this:
"A willingness to see is a step to understand.
A willingness to understand is a step to compassion.
A willingness for compassion is a step to sacrifice.
A willingness to sacrifice is a step to bliss!"

For I am a Jedi the Force shall be my guide. May you find your own sense of understanding that shall concrete a permanent faith in the Force gifting you with serenity.
May the Force be with you!

Forgive me for not remembering everything I just read, but one statement jumped out at me:

The first step for any Jedi is to know the self.

Bruce Lee said that ALL knowledge is self knowledge. To expand on your idea, I'd say that every step in learning is about coming to know who you really are, not just the first. Heck, at the risk of sounding like I'm bragging, I've been doing this a long time, and I'm still learning who I am. Just this week I made a big realization about my identity, so that kind of stuff never stops.

One might say it is the end-all and be-all of the Jedi life: self-discovery.

To echo Streen, I think the Hermetic aphorism "As above, so below" ties into this nicely:

The significance of the quote 'As above, so below' is that it is believed to hold the key to all mysteries. All systems of magic are claimed to function by this formula. "'That which is above is the same as that which is below'...Macrocosmos is the same as microcosmos. The universe is the same as God, God is the same as man, man is the same as the cell, the cell is the same as the atom, the atom is the same as...and so on, ad infinitum."

Manu wrote: To echo Streen, I think the Hermetic aphorism "As above, so below" ties into this nicely:

The significance of the quote 'As above, so below' is that it is believed to hold the key to all mysteries. All systems of magic are claimed to function by this formula. "'That which is above is the same as that which is below'...Macrocosmos is the same as microcosmos. The universe is the same as God, God is the same as man, man is the same as the cell, the cell is the same as the atom, the atom is the same as...and so on, ad infinitum."

Maybe even a slightly Jedi tweak..."As within, so without"? To recognize the interdependence and influence between our self and our surrounding environment?

I couldnt agree more. As we continue our personal journeys and the efforts to synchronize with the Foce around us new and impossible revelations as well as opportunities reveal themselves as we further adapt our perceptions to focus and devote our full existense. By understanding the fact that the universe and the interconnections within become a singular river we better learn how to not just follow the current but become a part of it to flow ceaselessly.

For the quote "As above so below" (which was a terrific movie btw) You instilled the concept that we influence eachother for better or worse.As you said we better our understanding of others by better understanding ourselves. We don't like a feature of something and we try to become the opposite. Or we idolize something and try to embody it within ourselves. On the subject of the Ego Freud wrote when we don't like a characteristic in another it's because we see a similarity within ourselves.

As Jedi we strive to further our knowledge and wisdom through experiences and the self realizations they cause. As I child I watched the movie IT and it instilled a phobia of clowns that lasted until exactly last night. My wife has been reading the novel and desired to watch the original film. Despite my fear I bought it for her and even suggested we watch it last night so that I may at least understand my childhood to adulthood phobia. As I watched it as an adult my mind didn't focus on the horror of Pennywise but instead the message delivered by the group of people trying to stop him. As a child I only saw the scary clown and the horror he wrought. As an adult it became a plot that depicted the strength recieved through self belief as well as the power in courage of others when unwavering can conquer fear itself (Pennywise the Clown). By the middle of the movie when they all return to hunt him down again it became a revelation to me that Penywise (embodiment of fear itself) actually FEARED THEIR COURAGE AND SENSE OF FELLOWSHIP. And now waking this morning I have no more phobia of clowns because I not only stopped to really take in the message of the plot but fully understand its gravity as well as legitimacy. As a Jedi I will hopefully continue to open myself to perceptions that allow me to either obtain personal growth or allow others to open their hearts and minds. Thank you all for the guidance.


On a side note : Streen I absolutly love your signature!!