What constitutes a Jedi

In this modern day - what constitutes the title Jedi?
Is it following certain philosophy's or ways or ideas or...can one just claim to be a Jedi by "sticker" ?
What do yall think?
in a place where we believe in the inherit worth of all , can any one be a Jedi with any level of practice or even no practice at all?

What constitutes any walk of life, a Shaolin monk, a Hindu, Jedi, or Sith?

For me, its about what you put into it, and if the title brings out the best in you and inspires you towards greatness not for the sake of greatness, but for the sake of living up to the title.

Fittingly, those that best represent their Path are those that put the most effort in,but don't consider it effort because they consider it necessary towards embodying their Path.

"an inordinate amount of navel gazing" might suit as an answer.

to steal a thought from something I was going to say in another thread - Jedi pay is quite low, and I don't know how many, if any, organisations are employing Jedi knights for pastoral care, so I would argue, unless you are independently wealthy and can pursue "being a Jedi" in a self-employed sense, then there are very few Jedi, certainly few enough that defining them in terms of qualification is not hugely necessary.

Jediism is a....package of lessons, a school of thought, a framework of philosophies you can apply to your life. Being a Jedi is not really a goal, nor is it something you can complete and tick off.

It's not something you Are, and it's not really something you can prove.
If they enjoyed star wars (or had anything resembling a sense of humour) some of the vegan douchecanoes with "mindfulness" podcasts might call themselves Jedi, but they're generally far too busy being holier than though and being really "in the moment" while they change their kids nappies and updating their blog with banal inspirational quotes to do anything so human as laugh at themselves.

You can't "Become a Jedi" then cry out "Nailed it" and light up a cigar.

I know some people disagree with me, and want there be a qualification that is issued and tested against, but hey, until they break into my house and reply to threads for me, I guess they'll have to live with my (current) view, or try to talk me out of it.

Arisaig wrote: What constitutes any walk of life, a Shaolin monk, a Hindu, Jedi, or Sith?

For me, its about what you put into it, and if the title brings out the best in you and inspires you towards greatness not for the sake of greatness, but for the sake of living up to the title.

Fittingly, those that best represent their Path are those that put the most effort in,but don't consider it effort because they consider it necessary towards embodying their Path.

Living up to the “title “ by who’s definition , if I may ask?

JamesSand wrote: "an inordinate amount of navel gazing" might suit as an answer.

to steal a thought from something I was going to say in another thread - Jedi pay is quite low, and I don't know how many, if any, organisations are employing Jedi knights for pastoral care, so I would argue, unless you are independently wealthy and can pursue "being a Jedi" in a self-employed sense, then there are very few Jedi, certainly few enough that defining them in terms of qualification is not hugely necessary.

Jediism is a....package of lessons, a school of thought, a framework of philosophies you can apply to your life. Being a Jedi is not really a goal, nor is it something you can complete and tick off.

It's not something you Are, and it's not really something you can prove.
If they enjoyed star wars (or had anything resembling a sense of humour) some of the vegan douchecanoes with "mindfulness" podcasts might call themselves Jedi, but they're generally far too busy being holier than though and being really "in the moment" while they change their kids nappies and updating their blog with banal inspirational quotes to do anything so human as laugh at themselves.

You can't "Become a Jedi" then cry out "Nailed it" and light up a cigar.

I know some people disagree with me, and want there be a qualification that is issued and tested against, but hey, until they break into my house and reply to threads for me, I guess they'll have to live with my (current) view, or try to talk me out of it.

So say some one who has read one Jedi comic book or seen one Jedi movie - can they call themselfs Jedi if they choose to?
Can there be difrent Jedi definitions ornis it one - ring - to - rule- them - all? One definition to define define them all ?
Can somemone who has one bumper sticker from Disney world tack it on and call themselfs Jedi ? Do their ideas not count?

Carlos.Martinez3 wrote:

Arisaig wrote: What constitutes any walk of life, a Shaolin monk, a Hindu, Jedi, or Sith?

For me, its about what you put into it, and if the title brings out the best in you and inspires you towards greatness not for the sake of greatness, but for the sake of living up to the title.

Fittingly, those that best represent their Path are those that put the most effort in,but don't consider it effort because they consider it necessary towards embodying their Path.

Living up to the “title “ by who’s definition , if I may ask?

By the definition of a Jedi, the impossible ideal set forward before any of us began following this Path, a title that continues to evolve to this day to fit what is needed in todays day and age.

Some may say that its down to the individual, but the individual will find a way to fall short if given such an option to pick and choose how and when they are Jedi. A Jedi is a Jedi at all times and in all things. Continuing forward towards the ideal set forward through the fiction, to be that unflinching pillar of peace, knowledge, serenity, harmony, and the Force when push comes to shove, not just in fair weather, but when the world conspires to make it as hard as possible to be a Jedi, one must remain a Jedi.

So say some one who has read one Jedi comic book or seen one Jedi movie - can they call themselfs Jedi if they choose to?
Can there be difrent Jedi definitions ornis it one - ring - to - rule- them - all? One definition to define define them all ?
Can somemone who has one bumper sticker from Disney world tack it on and call themselfs Jedi ? Do their ideas not count?

I would say "no" as far as it is relevant to the discussion - Now, acknowledging that I can't stop them calling themselves what they want, I suppose I have to limit myself to Jedi as understood by TotJO, which, as it happens, requires zero exposure to the movies -

Don't get me wrong, I like Star Wars, but thinking that Obiwan Kenobi is cool makes me as much a Jedi as playing Call of Duty makes me a war hero, or reading Lord of the Rings makes me an elf.

I don't have an interest in Jedi as a brand. Call yourself Darth Tedious, I won't bat an eyelid, but that doesn't mean you have any interest in applying (or thinking about) certain philosophies. That's not a judgment statement, I'm not saying you SHOULD be interested in Jediism as a real-world religion, maybe it's a crappy religion. I'm just trying to frame the discussion in "Jedi as a Religion that People Care About" as opposed to "Jedi as a random word people like and use"

It really is a dud bit of nomenclature, and something that is going to bother us for a long time.

Jediism will have "made it" when people can write articles and just write "James is a student of Jediism" and not have to write "James is a student of Jediism (A real world faith based in some part on the teachings that inspired the Jedi characters from a well known movie franchise)"

And the beauty I see of it all is we all have that right to choose.
Thank you so much James for stating your Jedi ism . I have - one more definition thanks to you today! My hope is the force of others ... will some how help me in my ministry when making connections every day in my real life.


So , what else can constitute a Jedi ?

Anyone can and will call themselves Jedi for whatever reason they seem fit, and no one can stop them (except maybe Disney and LucasFilm).

Then these same people will gather in groups, attempt to out-Jedi each other, but because each person uses different criteria to define what a Jedi is, everyone will be left confused, annoyed, and oddly amused.

Once in a while some people will agree on some things, and little groups form, deciding to draw a line, alienating those who think differently and giving birth to a new community. Then you have athe bunch of communities, and a few oldtimers (like Setanaoko) trying to come up with the commonalities between all the major groups and publishing the Jedi Compass. Still, not everyone will agree, and that's fine as long as you don't take yourself too seriously and remember to laugh at yourself while you are taking that new selfie of yourself in that new robe and holding that toy saber.

I hit backspace and my internet explorer went back instead of my text....dang it.


I could just as easily call myself a Guardsman - a follower of the philosophies of Samuel Vimes, or a Witch - an adherent to the faith as set out by Granny Weatherwax (and given the number of nerds who are interested in Jediism, those titles might actually fly to a certain extent)

for the sake of this form, I might refer to myself as a Jedi - someone who had read and adapted the teachings and definitions of Jediism as set out by the Temple of the Jedi Order.

I could be all three if I had to be - A Jedi who utilises headology and enjoys black coffee and breakfast with burnt crunchy bits.