Posting Star Wars refrences

So, there seems to be talk about weather or not it's acceptable to post about Star Wars.

The two sides- 1. Posting about Star Wars and making Star Wars references makes us look as though we worship Star Wars fictional Jedi. Or that we believe we really have telekinesis powers and carry real lightsabers(movie functionality). This inturn pushes new comers away or provides a bad image to the public.

2. Posting about Star Wars provides a good reference when explaining our beliefs. Quotes from the movie are bennificial to our spirituality as well as other things we take from the movies.

I'm sure there are several shades of gray in between the two, but I'm curious to hear everyone else's thoughts. This is a topic that has came up in a cpl other threads with great responses for bothe ends of this topic.

Ready..... go!

If you quote Aesop's Fables I won't think you believe a turtle talked to a rabbit.

Zero_storm wrote: So, there seems to be talk about weather or not it's acceptable to post about Star Wars.

The two sides- 1. Posting about Star Wars and making Star Wars references makes us look as though we worship Star Wars fictional Jedi. Or that we believe we really have telekinesis powers and carry real lightsabers(movie functionality). This inturn pushes new comers away or provides a bad image to the public.

2. Posting about Star Wars provides a good reference when explaining our beliefs. Quotes from the movie are bennificial to our spirituality as well as other things we take from the movies.

I'm sure there are several shades of gray in between the two, but I'm curious to hear everyone else's thoughts. This is a topic that has came up in a cpl other threads with great responses for bothe ends of this topic.

Ready..... go!

Star Wars has incredibly inciteful quotes that, IMO, have real substance in the religion. If you'll allow me, I made a thread called, "remember your failure at the cave." A quote from Yoda in Empire Strikes Back.

This is a reference to entering the cave, which is about facing our dark side self. What is in there is what we take in with us.

While quoting something fictional might give an obscure impression, the movies, and other quotes outside the star wars realm can have true significance to us.

"Love is just another word for trust." John Bon Jovi.

Quoting something isn't holding from where it came, but how you can use it.

Very true Br.John....I personally think the movies work as a great point of reference. A way to make and idea visual. There has been talk about Jedi robes being foolish, lightsabers being stupid, and even a comment from someone who has been a member here for quite a while stating that they would never publicly admitt to being a Jedi, or a member here, due to fear of ridicule, Or being made fun of for worshiping a movie. Also talk of the temple as a whole being concerned with outward appearance. And one poster was concerned about what me having my robes on and a lightsaber in my profile pic says about me to potential new members. In there mind I don't take Jediism seriously and I'm only looking for a fan site.

That all being said.....I know why I'm here...I know what I believe...I know what's real...and I know what my robes and lightsaber represent to me. I don't need approval or someone to tell me it's ok.

I created this post to see how others felt about the issue. Should we all put up " normal" profile pics and never mention Star Wars again? Or should we all realize what sparked Jediism as a faith, and continue as we are? I don't believe there is a right or wrong Awnser only an opinion on this topic.


My personal opinion

Perhaps we should just drop the whole Jedi thing altogether. *shrugs* It’s a thought. Maybe not a good one. Haha.

It's really a matter of what Star Wars stuff we're posting, the context around it, and where on the forums we're posting it.

For example, Yoda quotes about being luminous beings can make sense in the Jediism forum. Your favorite lightsaber style is less likely to be a good fit for that particular subforum but always fits fine in the miscellaneous Star Wars subforum.

I'm a fan. First and for most I'm a fan. I am grateful for the story telling of some character I can relate to. Even if in a galaxy far far away... or not so far away. I happen to like the idea of Star Wars and the Jedi , I'm a Jedi knight and a minister of the force ... go figure. By my own practice I do not worship any of those ideas. I've never truly been made fun of for my Jedi ism in my real life. I have friends and strangers that ask my how I think the way I do and I am usually the mediator in family disputes and asked for guidance in similar situations because of my " Jedi mentality "

That's the way I've cultivated it. I've planted and groomed and have watered and snipped and fed and what has yielded is truly a Jedi life. Anynome can make their own life taylored to their own choices. Silly limericks or puny wisdom can come from any where ... even cookies I've been told.

What we choose is to us. I choose to live and study a knightly type of life and by demonstrations of actual applications and actual practice. Robes and sabers are fine for those who choose them- even I have a plastic saber or two.
What you place over your head to identify and how and what you say and show your intentions ( the color and how you use your saber) that's to you . I don't have my home decorated completely with fan art and Star Wars stuff, doesn't mean I don't have it ... as much as I also have Tolkien and c s Lewis and issac a and many others that help shape what I am. Balance is always needed ... in your fan dom too . Aka your life. Happy seeking

If its just referencing the franchise, then blah, best to be limited to humour or the 'Star Wars' sections otherwise it can get a bit much since we are mostly fans and it doesnt take much to set us off
But using the franchise to reference relevant concepts is fine by me anywhere anytime, everywhere, everytime!!

For me it's like this.....lightsabers.....not a weapon of a space warrior monk. Reason - there's no such thing in real life. But I do I have one...for what it represents. The hilt and blade color also represent different things to me. Training with it and the way I move it around also has meaning to me....as I've said before though ....I'm a grown up and realize that it's not a gun or a badge for me to wear around like a police officer does. My robes.....the colors have meaning .....as well as the material...even the way it's layered....all have meaning and thought put into it....that being said...my robes get worn Mabye 5 times a year....and one of those are Halloween...the others arnt out in public....and I would never see it like a uniform....again it's what it represents to me, I train in my yard in them when I'm having a struggle in my life....I even wear a "kyber" crystal around my neck to remind me of certain things.

Can anyone tell me what tom cruse's black shirt means in the mission impossible movies? Or why froto baggins wears a brown vest? No you can't, because they don't have meaning. No one has written that froto wears a brown vest due to his love of nature or his struggle with friendships, it's just a brown vest. However, all elements of the Jedi in Star Wars have been defined, everything has a meaning to the fictional Jedi. It one of the things about the fictional Jedi that has inspired our faith.

Things are easier to explain to others if you can create a common visualization.....poor wording I know....here's an example. Someone who has known me for several years has noticed lately that I seem calmer and more in control than she's seen me in a long time. I showed her the crystal around my neck and explained it to her. I told her it represents a purple kyber crystal that the fictional Jedi use in there lightsabers. Then explained how mace windu had a purple one. And how in fiction, he mastered a form of lightsaber combat that required a lot of self control and so on and so on. So wearing it reminds me to always have self control. This woman had never even seen any of the movies except for rouge 1. But imeadatly she got the reference and asked me where I had got it. I got a phone call yesterday informing me that her green one had just arrived. I've been on a natural high for two days now, knowing that my silly Star Wars reference, and wearing a "kyber" crystal around my neck, is going to influence her in a positive way for a long time to come.

If someone can post a picture of yoda on the wall here and someone in need sees it, that silly picture of a fictional character saying somthing wise could have very real world effects on that person. And they can relate to it because it's a character they know.

The other side of this is that I hate to see a newbie show up rambling about what planet there from and how there ready to lay down there life as master qui gon did. I've even seen one guy who swore a blood oath in the temple on corosaunt. There does need to be a separation of the real and the fictional, and in my opinion it's not mentally healthy for people to introduce them selves as being from another planet, or to be posting in the forums that anyone who calls themselves a Jedi should be willing to lay down there lives to fight the evil in the world. That's NOT what TotJO is for. To me,bthis is a temple for bettering myself, so that I can positively affect the world around me.

Just my opinion

Connor L. wrote: Perhaps we should just drop the whole Jedi thing altogether. *shrugs* It’s a thought. Maybe not a good one. Haha.

While I can totally appreciate this comment as stating, it's not faith in the Jedi but faith in the Force. However putting a name to the faith is a fact of the movies, we'll never really get past that argument.

Maybe if we present star wars like the ten commandments or any of the movies about Christ. They are simply an adaptation of what we believe and not that we believe because of the movies.

I'm as much a fan of the movies as the next one but they had no bearing on my involvement in the religion, other than something that made sense. While there could be plenty of reluctance to proclaiming yourself a Jedi, which should be no different from saying Christian, Muslim, Hindu or what have you. It is simply the name that best identifies with the religion.

I actually like the idea of Jedi robes being my everyday attire. And if only the name had been used prior to any adaptation to the screens it would hardly ever be noted as fandom instead of religion.