What brought you here?

Well it was kind of spur of the moment...

When I was much younger...like 12 or 13 or something, I was really into Star Wars, and I saw the Jedi as something to aspire to...noble, fearless, compassionate, disciplined...

I desperately wanted to be that kind of person, and I spent a few months trying to live by Jedi ideals...looked up something to do with real-life Jedi on the internet, and found what must have been a very early Jediism site. I don't remember what it was, but it had oaths/vows that you were supposed to say out loud if you wanted to pledge yourself to the Jedi path, similar to our Simple Oath...

But I couldn't bring myself to do it, because I am not one to make a promise that I can't keep, and although I very much would have meant it at the time, I recognised that as a 12 year old I couldn't possibly know whether I would manage to keep the commitment or whether it was just a passing phase...

So then, I mostly forgot all about the whole Jedi thing.

And then, nearly 10 years later, I randomly found myself unintentionally reminiscing about finding that site and thinking that now...NOW I would be ready to take the vow and pledge my commitment to the path, if only the site still existed...

So I went back to my trusty Google, put in Jediism, found a whole load of sites, and went about choosing the one that I felt was the best fit for me...

I spent a couple of days doing nothing but observing various sites as a non-registered user, and decided that TOTJO 'won' on all counts...friendliness, activity, training programme, doctrine...

And lo and behold, here I am :laugh:

I was raised in a Mormon family and really believed it...until I didn't. I agreed with a lot of the stances they took on taking care of yourself and others, eating right etc, but the dogma was real hard to swallow after awhile, especially when I found out it wasn't any more real then they made it. I was amazed, though, by the spiritual feeling I got from them. I was amazed more when I found that same feeling in people of other faiths, equally sure of their own correctness. It dawned on me that if all of it was bull with the exception of the feeling itself, I thought I could believe in what ever I wanted as long as I was serious about it it would be just as good. My only other rule was that whatever I choose it should be fun so I don't let it fall by the wayside. I've always had trouble with long term commitment, you see. So I picked Star Wars, because it was fun and had an element of spirituality and went looking. I found the this site and a few others. I downloaded the lectures and loved them and everyone seems so smart and open minded. I have not been able to let u guys go since then.

I was writing a paper for philosophy class and had the tv on, my dog stepped on the remote and it went to cnn...I was too busy to change it back...then I had a crink in my neck and looked up, at that moment they were displaying the story about the "tesco incident"...so I typed "jedi temple" into the browser and found my way here...I lurked for a few months, staying mainly because I liked what I was reading and noticed how similar in thinking one particular member was...he eventually trained me (after a short time under br.john)...and so here I am still...

I am a mormon myself. However I still believe in the Force. I believe they coincide. I actually found this site before i was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I believe in the teachings with all my heart. However alot of the teachings here and well as in the church echo one another. There is alot to take in and there is obviously more to learn about ourselves, the world, the universe, our reality, and about the rest of the unknown. I believe that all things are bound to one another. I am a jedi mormon, or mormon jedi. Doesn't matter how you put it.

Star Wars. Specifically, Knights of the Old Republic (the XBOX game).

And i've been a reasonably present temple-goer/dedicated follower of the path for over five years now (don't let the registration date on my profile fool you ).

I am a huge Star Wars nerd. Video games, comic books, novels, bedsheets, posters, Legos, and everything else you can imagine. I have always felt a connection to the ideals of the Jedi presented in the films. I have also always been very interested in religious communities without ever really finding one that I felt I belonged to. I just like talking about religion and spirituality with people from all faiths. I decided that I was going to practice the ideals of the Jedi in the movies and apply them to my own life. I had no idea that there were communities of people already doing this. I searched for Jedi online in the hopes that maybe someone had made a list of the ideals of the Jedi in the movies. Finding this temple was so much more than I had hoped for. It has been a wonderful experience ever since.

I've been a big star wars fan since I was about 6 when my dad sat me down and made me watch the tapes as part of my cultural education (yes, im serious!) and from very young decided that the force was real. Although I never really talked about it because lets face it,I like not being in a straitjacket.

But what lead me to the Temple was the same thing that leads me anywhere. I was following the trail of a piece of music that I had been obsessing over. Music for me is like myth, it sign posts where Im supposed to be going. I believe its a vehicle for my instincts.

Well, I was star wars fan since I was a kid, then I became part of a youth leadership group and found that rites and vows were a great way to have a sense of belonging and to actually imprint on someone's spirit the will to be better and transform his environment. This group was based on a hierarchical structure and yo had to pass different test and trails to advance to the next level. When I entered the circle of guy who manged the group (around 100 people) there were more rites and symbols, prayers and other stuff like this: and i realized we were actually some kind of jedis that followed a code of conduct and were worried to help others and make the difference with every single and small action. Then i became part of the nationwide group management (around 6000 people) and realized that service was my vocation. Today I try to apply all this learning in my work and daily life, with my wife and kids.
Well, but this was about how i came here, somewhere maybe like 8 years ago i found a webpage, I am not sure it was this one, and saw that there was this structure and rites to follow with a philosophy of life and a path, so decided i wanted to join, but i din't have time to do the studies so I left it for later. A few month ago I decided that there was no better time than now, so here i am. I like challenges and this is one, besides is a discipline exercise because it is difficult for me to follow an authority so, well, I am trying to become Jedi.

I think my story is somewhat interesting.

Star Wars was my first nerd-passion. Episode I was the first film I'd ever seen in a cinema, at the ripe old age of 4. It was love at first sight. I played with lightsabers, watched the VHS tapes until they wouldn't play anymore, etc., etc. This has nothing to do with why I'm here or how I got here.

I was sitting in bed with my computer in my room around 4am one December night (morning?). I had been playing video games, listening to music; just teen stuff, I guess. I was on StumbleUpon, which is like an Improbability Drive for the internet (any 42 fans tonight?), and reading something about chess strategy, I believe. I clicked "Stumble" again, and bam, Temple of the Jedi Order. I just thought "Cool. I'm definitely not going to sleep yet, so I might as well check it out." I had heard of Jedi as a religious group before, but never given it much thought. I started reading things here and they were making sense to me, so I joined. That turned out to be a good decision; I've grown and learned a lot thanks to this Temple. Most importantly, I've learned how to be happy.

You could say my finding the Temple was luck or chance, but I prefer to think of it as the will of the Force.

I see my lifes journey like a long winding path up a mountain. I became thirsty and found a spring.