A Jedi's Life is Simple

Jediism is not a 100% carbon copy of the Jedi in star wars, being a Jedi there is not the same as being a Jedi here in the real world, here at this temple, here in any capacity really. It seems there are a number of our member's who have been caught up in their passions, caught up in end-game goals and missions so to speak they are forgetting about the journey itself.

A Jedi's Life is Simple. Do you remember the time you first came to this temple, or to any of the Jedi communities? When you first found Jediism and started studying, the first time you really meditated and connected for the first time on a spiritual level? Did politics matter then? did goals matter then? did plans of where you wanted to be in 20 years mattered then? Hopefully not. At some point in training you should have or will have hopefully covered some idea's of living in the now. Letting go of attachments, ore most importantly covering some of the very basics of the doctrine, or even the very simple Jedi code, "Passion, yet Peace".

I personally believe in more of the taoist side of Jediism personally, so if anyone is curious where all this stems from. I remember at one point in my studies a discussion of a river between...I think 3 people. One person looked at the river and said, this river is important, we can use it for so many things, cleaning clothes, cooking, drinking, with a lot of effort we can use it for mills, redirect it for plumbing, use it to send waste down and back out to the ocean, maybe create a pond or a lake by use of a dam, fish the crap out of it for food when we can. Another person looked at this river and considered the first man's thoughts and said, what about the wildlife, how they use it for their water, their food supply, the villages and other communities that live down river, what about if it runs out, if there is a drought, if we change the water's flow to make a pond or a dam or anything else what will happen down the path? The third man looked at the river and said nothing for awhile, then spoke up and said look at that river, at how beautiful it is.

We spend too much time wondering about what could happen, planning for way down the road, what could be, what couldn't be, too focused on agenda's and goals, and too focused to the point we have blinders on to all else that is going on around us. We have forgotten what it is to be Jedi to ourselves, to connect with meditation, to connect with what's around us, and what we have now. We jump to conclusions, we act on poor assumptions, we react too quickly to things we don't understand without taking the time to sit down and look at the river for what it really is. We judge too quickly, we defend ourselves too quickly, we don't sit down and take the time needed because we feel we don't have any. We are too attached to our ego's, too attached to our pride, too attached to our desires, none of which are Jedi beliefs or traits here.

I urge our membership to take an hour sometime this week, review the very first posts in your first journal, what it felt like when you first joined the community, remember what it was like the first time you truly meditated. Some of our member will remember it like it was yesterday, well because it might have been yesterday, but some of our older membership up to and including knights and Councillors, it has been quite a long while. We should all find time to reconnect to our beliefs in the force, for what it is, in the now, to remember who we are and what we believe in, and why we are here.

A Jedi's life can be simple, if you let go, and if you let it be.

Thanks for this post. This plays right into where I'm at right now on my "path." Starting from the beginning (though not starting over, really). Looking back. Reflecting. Taking stock. Seeing things as they are. All of that.

I recently went through and re-completed my entire IP as a reflective exercise. It was one of the best exercises I've ever done. I'd recommend to anyone to take the time to reflect on how far you've come

Tellahane wrote: One person looked at the river and said, this river is important, we can use it for so many things, cleaning clothes, cooking, drinking, with a lot of effort we can use it for mills, redirect it for plumbing, use it to send waste down and back out to the ocean, maybe create a pond or a lake by use of a dam, fish the crap out of it for food when we can. Another person looked at this river and considered the first man's thoughts and said, what about the wildlife, how they use it for their water, their food supply, the villages and other communities that live down river, what about if it runs out, if there is a drought, if we change the water's flow to make a pond or a dam or anything else what will happen down the path? The third man looked at the river and said nothing for awhile, then spoke up and said look at that river, at how beautiful it is.

All three of those people add value with their point of view. And certainly, western society seems dead set on promoting the view of the first man and tolerating the second, while dissing altogether the third, so your reminder is definitely valuable.

It comes back to the whole issue of balance.

It's easy to be too focused on the future, or the past, and we see that often in people..... busy chasing their tails, or wound up in knots about past wrongdoings.... but I'd say its also easy to be too focused on the present - depending on what defines 'too much'. I think that is the purpose of 'retreats' to allow pure focus on the present 'now' in a safe and supported environment to shield oneself from the realities of a changing dynamic environment. But what differentiates Jedi to me is that engaged mindset, even if one is not actively engaged in action. As I don't think things like asceticism are a necessity to this path, and are instead a valuable functional approach ie a tool, a very useful one at that - not a symbol to be draped in as the path. So for me I'd certainly agree with the balanced approach, and define simplicity as efficiency in traversing focus across future, present and past focus - whatever makes it easier and more effective to find both time 'and' meaning in constructive ways. Otherwise we focus too much on the shape of time or too much on the infinite iterations of meaning, when I'd say the Force is the merging of them into connection, which in turn represents its strength, and how it binds the galaxy together