What was your reason for becoming a Jedi

I thought I would start a discussion, preferably non-judgmental, remember we all have different perspectives and no reason is \"wrong\"

Personally I was looking for a path that fit my beliefs, I was a bit agnostic confused and my path had taken me to Taoism, the Tao De Ching and had me looking at star wars and wishing that the Jedi existed so that my beliefs would match up better, and I found the Temple here which allowed me to explore ALL the beliefs without judgement or discrimination.

I had a rough path getting to that spot (everything from staying on pagan communes to attending Catholic and Mormon Churches), but thats another story that I'll leave for somewhere else.

How about the rest of you?

Long history of unanswered questions. Or not answered to my satisfaction, where I Could not grasp what my influences were trying to tell me about God and religion. I was brought up Catholic and Baptist... my folks made me choose one, I went Catholic.

I am of the Pure Land Rite. I do not feel that life was the design of an intelligent being. When I questioned what was taught to me, either the explanations were unsatisfing, or was told \"figure it out\", and, \"try harder\".....etc...

After 40 years, I found TOTJO. I too longed for the movie Jedi POV to be a real thing. (Not all the theatrics, moving things with mind.. blah, blah.) But the monk-like brotherhood of peaceful, peacekeepers. Respectful, and aware that all living creatures have an affect on, and are dependent upon, one another.

I joined facebook last fall, and listed my religious and political views as Jedi.

I found TOTJO about 6 months later. I am now in month.... 3? I think...

Enough blathering on my part.... Next?

When I was a kid I remember my dedication to Christian religion. At one point I wanted to be a nun and live my whole life in a monastery and people remember about me as they do with the saints. Yeah somehow funny when I look back in my past. Since I know myself I wanted to find only the good and fight against the evil but ... only here, at the Jedi Temple I understood that a wise person thinks in shades of gray and there is not only black or white.

I did studies regarding religions and none of them appeared to satisfy me. I have seen the Star Wars trilogy. All in one day Few days later with the same movie in mind i opened my google thing and wrote \"I want to be a Jedi\" And I reached here.

But the reason for which I am still here and want to continue on this path is because I finally found that place where I can speak free and no one puts religion behind a big sign labeled \"Taboo\". Here I can question anything and everything and ask for advice and guidance.

Because I believe in the force, in the same way described in the movie (almost)
Because religions can be different, good, or so, but if you believe in the force, and you follow the Jedi Path, you become a better person, it don't matter what.

so I truly identified myself as a Jedi ( even when I'm was not here), Here what we found is a way to become,better, to share, to learn, vows , codes, and a path to, make what I feel... more real

become important, because alone, you can be only a movie fan (for others), but here you are around equals

To be honest I never heard of the Jedi Temple till about a week ago. I have studied pieces of many other religions, and have taken a keen interest in christianity. Not from a belief point of view by any means just to study.
After awhile I heard mention of a Jedi religion I used my good friend google and found a few sites (all of which where out for nothing but the coin in my pocket) except this one, I read what I could and joined up ever since then the more I read on the ideals and belief of TOTJO the more I find they match my own.
hence I am here and learning

I come from a Church of England family that weren't very devout with the exception of my Methodist preacher uncle!

Having explored most major world religions, I began my shamanic path 14 years ago. Since then I have continued to learn and absorb whichever elements of belief felt right. So you could say I'm eclectic Pagan (mainly shamanic, Taoist and Celtic Pagan with a sprinkling of buddhism, hinduism and a few other interesting traditions!)

I was always more drawn to the fundamental truths behind all religions than to the individual practices that kept them apart so Jediism (as a living, adapting syncretistic faith) was a natural progression and a way for me to recognise all aspect of my spirituality under one cohesive banner.

It also helped that I was born 20 days after Episode IV was released and grew up with the SW films. From an early age, the ideals of the movie Jedi were ingrained in my psyche and I aspired to be the same. Jediism is, of course, the practical, real-life equivalent of such ideals so I have finally found my spiritual home.

mine is a bit long winded and somewhat tragic at points, but like all clouds there are silver linings.

the quest for answers began when i was about 7 or 8, i had a really rough childhood, for the first 3 years of school i had a bully that would beat me up twice a day everyday. like many bullied children i began acting out both at school and home, with a step father on cocaine and a mother on amphetamines it's safe to say the punishments were...a tad extreme....all the pain and suffering inflicted on me, i wanted others to feel, so like many children in those conditions i began killing animals...not because i hated them, but because i wanted someone,anyone,anything to feel my pain. i began with small animals and gradually moved up the chart, sometimes using their bodies as marionettes....disturbing, i know.... one day i killed a rather resilient frog and stared into it's eyes as it died, i felt a hollowness from it and to be honest the feeling scared me, so i set out to find answers. i tried nearly every religion there was...eventually martial arts led me to zen, which was close...

by 13 i had found someone that was a jedi, and he began training me....i trained with him for 3 years before my family moved...fortunately i had found my answer....when i joined the navy i had the luck of running into other jedi when i was stationed on guam, we did alot of training together for the 2 years i was there...then in 98 when working at compusa i had met 2 more jedi...by 2000 we had all fallen out of touch(they joined the army)...

it wasn't until about a year ago i was working on a book when i decided to look up at the tv, and saw a news report on the tesco incident, i went to their site and wasn't really impressed with what i saw....so i simply typed in temple of the jedi order into my browser....and was brought here...not really surprised by it....i joined up and read a lot of the material and liked what i saw...after a couple of weeks of standing in the shadows reading and observing i stepped forward and made myself known.

now, while i do know that i have a lot of negative actions in my past to atone for, i like to think of myself as standing in the darkness in order to guide others from it.

I choose to be a jedi long before I even knew that there was a religious gathering. Just like most people claim, I discovered an interest in the Star Wars movies. My only difference is that instead of wishing that jedi were real, I took it upon myself to pursue the practice of being a real-world jedi. No I didn't go to conventions dressed up in robes and a lightsaber trying to move stuff with my mind, but I adapted the Jedi Code into my Christian faith and began to see that it made my faith in Christ stronger. Even while serving in the Army National Guard, I saw a real benefit to maintaining my daily walk in Christ. I understand that like the in movies the path of the Jedi is difficult for most, especially those who have seen alot of life and have attained alot of wealth and popularity. Just like in Buddhism, the hardest part of becoming a Jedi is releasing your unhealthy desires, cravings, and attachments. This step is a daily process so nobody should be discouraged when it doesn't happen overnight. I can vouch for quite a few people when I say that the path of Jedi is not for everyone, only those who are willing to let go of self-satisfaction and pursue a higher way of living should become a Jedi. Another point I would like to add is that Jedi should seek ways to promote peaceful resolutions and defend others from violence, like military service or police service-after all the The Jedi Code of the New Republic emphasizes that policy, especially with the first two tenants.

I choose to be a jedi long before I even knew that there was a religious gathering. Just like most people claim, I discovered an interest in the Star Wars movies. My only difference is that instead of wishing that jedi were real, I took it upon myself to pursue the practice of being a real-world jedi. No I didn't go to conventions dressed up in robes and a lightsaber trying to move stuff with my mind, but I adapted the Jedi Code into my Christian faith and began to see that it made my faith in Christ stronger. Even while serving in the Army National Guard, I saw a real benefit to maintaining my daily walk in Christ. I understand that like the in movies the path of the Jedi is difficult for most, especially those who have seen alot of life and have attained alot of wealth and popularity. Just like in Buddhism, the hardest part of becoming a Jedi is releasing your unhealthy desires, cravings, and attachments. This step is a daily process so nobody should be discouraged when it doesn't happen overnight. I can vouch for quite a few people when I say that the path of Jedi is not for everyone, only those who are willing to let go of self-satisfaction and pursue a higher way of living should become a Jedi. Another point I would like to add is that Jedi should seek ways to promote peaceful resolutions and defend others from violence, like military service or police service-after all the The Jedi Code of the New Republic emphasizes that policy, especially with the first two tenants.

My decision to become Jedi actually came after a long and winding path of spiritual study, that started with Christianity, went through magick and the occult, and gnostic thinking. This eventually coalesced into a almost Taoist-like belief system, which was more or less like Jediism. Then, BAM! Here I was.

One of the reasons I became Jedi was that it fit my beliefs and ideas garnered via independent study. I also became Jedi to have a framework in which to work to improve myself physically, mentally, and spiritually, and a brotherhood that shared those goals and ideals.