Hi, I'm Locksley! Ask me Anything.

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It occurred to me that people might not know me that well despite how long I've been with the Temple. This is entirely due to how infrequently I usually post in the main areas of the Temple, as well as the fact that I don't enjoy real time chat as much as the slower-format message system. However, I'd like to get to know all'y'all and for you to know me, so that's the purpose of this thread: making yours truly visible to the community! I will bump every once in a while.
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Hi Locksley! What made you want to become a Jedi Knight here at the temple, rather than just "be Jedi" out there in the non-digital world?

Hello Locksley . Hope your day goes well and finds you strong in your faith.

Q: red or blue ? Which pill would you take?

What is your fav cinematic myth and why?

When did you realize - where were you when you realized Jedi ism was for you ?

What is your fav myth in general - literary and why? Does it ever change ?

Thanks for your time !

All my heart to you Locksly !

Hi Locksley! What made you want to become a Jedi Knight here at the temple, rather than just "be Jedi" out there in the non-digital world?

In a certain sense, I did end up concentrating more on my non-digital training. I realized, somewhere along the way, that the work I was doing within the Temple needed to be mirrored outside of the Temple -- I needed to be putting real work into the whole of my life, not just what I did here. I figured that "being a Knight" as my definition had it, would probably take a lot more than the time required by the Temple. I've always been relatively good at sliding through academic requirements and I didn't want my work here to be like that -- I wanted it to mean something. There were also points where I became disillusioned with elements of the Temple, and found myself even more concentrated in my outer work.

So, returning to your question: one of the main reasons I've stayed here is because the things I've been introduced to here have helped the whole of my life. When not "actively participating" in the Temple life online, I was reading books assigned by my first Teaching Master, or practicing meditation with my zen group, or learning about conflict resolution by dealing with troubled friends, or delving into the internal world with the help of a psychologist -- I was always working, and a lot of that work included nuggets from my time here. But, why a Knight, specifically? I'd say that the largest piece of the answer would be that I experienced the impact that having someone like that in your life could have -- both Edan and Carlos have helped me to realize certain specific things about myself; they helped me walk the world in slightly new ways. I might not be quite the same person, right now, if it wasn't for their input. I knew, from early on, that I wanted to be able to offer that to someone else. I also knew that I would need to gather a large amount of real-life experience on my own internal journey before I would feel comfortable trying to act as a guide for someone else (hence the reason why so much of my activities have, actually, been concentrated off-site). We all need a little help in our lives -- none of us is an island -- and my hope is that my understanding of what it means to be Jedi can be a positive offering for someone who (like I did back when I first joined, and repeatedly since then) needs a helping hand.

Thanks for the question!

Q: red or blue ? Which pill would you take?

That's such a great question! Taking the red pill, I'd give up so many sweet and wonderful parts of this brilliant illusion. Taking the red pill means opening myself up to the harsh world of reality. The blue pill, ignorance and bliss, has a draw (and who can know what we would wish for after we took it, like Cypher, who hated reality). But, in the end... I'd have to take it. How could I not? I'd need to know, to live and die authentically, even if that does mean pain. And, outside the world of the film, I feel like my life has been one long series of red pills. I'm always seeking the red pill.

What is your fav cinematic myth and why?

Myth, specifically? Hmm... Star Wars is absolutely up there. The way it handles the journey of both individual and society is powerful and has moved my life in tremendous ways. I'd add Babylon 5 to the mix, which is steeped in deep mythological meaning. The Matrix, too, is something I've found incredibly formative and powerful -- it speaks to my often-distressed soul. The recent film, Annihilation, was a very powerful connection point for some of my internal archetypes; it broke down some walls that had long been standing in my way. Dune -- the 1984 David Lynch film, has had a powerful impact on me throughout my life as well.

When did you realize - where were you when you realized Jedi ism was for you ?

When I realized that the suffix "-ism" makes the most sense, linguistically. There's no singular moment for this -- rather, there are lots and lots of little moments scattered throughout the last six years. A recent one was just last month. I was having an MRI done for a mysterious pain in my knee that won't go away. The lab felt hostile, the waiting room had been crowded and too-close; everything was feeling weighted and intense, and the combination of the magnetic BEEP-C-CK-CK-C-CREAK-B-Bk-Bk-BEEP made by the machine, and the steady THWMP,THWMPA, THWMP, THWMPA made by the machine's very loud cooling system was bringing my anxiety to a head. I found myself reciting the Jedi code in much the same way I might have recited a koan, and that brought me back into myself in a very soft and wonderful way. It seemed like a clear sign post pointing down the path I was walking.

What is your fav myth in general - literary and why? Does it ever change ?

Ha, I just asked Alexandre this, recently. Part of his answer is mine too -- because it's all of ours. Our myths are alive within us acting on us and through us in ways which we are often consciously unaware. In fact, simply being aware can alter the way the myth exists, as if our unconscious thoughts where subatomic particles made definite through observation. In terms of which mythic story I like the most? Well, being partial to Norse mythology, I'll say that I find the myth of Ragnarok, itself, to be fascinating. Neil Gaiman's recent translation is one of my favorites, too. Also, there's a Celtic myth called Lochlann's Son that really draws me, too (I actually feel called toward a lot of the Celtic myths).

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Thanks for those questions!

Thank You for answering

Whats the strangest thing you have eaten?
And why did you?
Lol

elizabeth wrote: Whats the strangest thing you have eaten?
And why did you?
Lol

Oooh, this is good! Well... it would probably have to be this time when I was about six years old. I have this memory of looking down at the windowsill in the front room of our house at the time. Daylight was gently floating through the window, catching streamers of dust in the air. The windowsill pain was white -- the wooden structure of the window a light, periwinkle blue. There was an ant crawling across the white landscape of that windowsill. I remember thinking "I wonder what that tastes like."

It was spicy.

Lol. Thanks for asking!

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― Bertrand Russell
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For you , what’s the best part about being a modern day Jedi ?

Hi, Carlos! Thanks for asking this.

I'll lead by saying that "modern-day Jedi," is, in itself, such an interesting phrase. Clearly, Jedi and Jediism has only been around for a very limited time -- making it, by definition, modern. There are, certainly, people and groups in history which embody pieces of what I see Jediism doing. It is possible to pick out these figures and say that they appear to be "Jedi" in one way or another. However, I think that what I like most is that Jediism is a specific product of its time; Jediism is a pastiche of older traditions and various concurrent thoughtforms but through this syncretism it manages to be its own thing... or, at least, it manages to have the potential of being its own thing -- it tends, in my mind, toward a certain Selfhood of belief and action which is original (insofar as anything can be original). It is a product of its era and it seems to fill a hole in the world which nothing else quite fits. Without delving too-deep down the rabbit hole of postmodernism, I would say that I love the way Jediism combines so many of the ancient mythic archetypes into a singular pattern for action and thought.

Even more personally, pulling back from the more esoteric philosophizing... the best part of being a Jedi is that it reminds me to (A) believe (I'll explain in a second), (B ) have a good time, and (C) honor my desire to help uplift the world (and myself along with it).

The "Believe" part is what I'll elucidate. I'll do it through a quote:

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Shepherd Book: Only one thing's gonna walk you through this, Mal. Belief.

Malcolm Reynolds: You know I always look to you for counsel. But sermons make me sleepy, Shepherd. I ain't looking for help from on high. That's a long wait for a train don't come.

Shepherd Book: When I talk about belief, why do you always assume I'm talking about God?

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