The Block

In the silence,shhhhhhhhhhh! Can you hear it? Silence is one of the BEST teachers, or so they say. Every time I make room for silence, I find only myself on this part of my Journey. I can not lie when there is no one else around me. When I find myself needing to talk to myself, the inside person, I keep silent. What first happens is my brain gets LOUD. Apparently that's common. It can take people years to find the hush in silence. There is a PEACE in silence anyone can find. IF peace is a lie then quiet down and see if you can find... the hush. There, will you find the gems and the treasure you may be seeking that can last over time and sound itself. Think about that this week Modern day Jedi. Get past the noise and bustle and find, the secret place in your path. Call it a place you can use when you need it or a room of ...requirement, but use it when you need. Jedi Meditate. See how those two go together....???????????
Some even make a Journal of SILENCE for a week to a months at times.*HINT HINT
May the FORCE we share be with y'all this week.

"...but it mattered to me."

In my own path, this is one of the strongest statments I can think of. For all we do in our paths, there is a magic that can only be understood by those who experience it first hand. As much as I have studied and learned, the words, "I'm Sorry"-" Thank You" -and "It mattered to me," cut through time, space, and sometimes pain.

Let me share with you...

This place, I cannot express how much it means to me. By this place I mean the Temple Of The Jedi Order. I can see the things I learn here in real life and in practice.
The Temple.
It matters to me.
The things that matter to you... (pause for time to think) ...
Thats where the magics at. That is also where it is for others as well.

Something to think about this week friends and Modern day Jedi.

"...but it mattered to me.." Truly a magic in the FORCE we share.
Pastor Carlos

I forgot what I came to forget!
I remembered what I had forgotten!

There is a time in reflection when we can remember things we forgot. It's true. I was clearing out some things and found some old games and pieces left for forgotten. We brought 'em in and dusted 'em off and took a few things, tokens, the board and money from it and added it to our collection of playable things and archived items.

Some things in life need to be remembered. There is a time before action I was taught and trained called TRIAGE. It is a time before time to think and make ready. To be able to be utilize it, it must be in place.

What does your TRIAGE time or think time or pause time or refrence momnets or breaks or what ever you call it.... What does it look like or do you have one? I can't emphasize to every Modern day Jedi how important it to make the time if you do not, to review or Triage or even just give yourself time. There IS benefit in time. Give it to yourself.
Pastor Carlos

Good morning where ever you are!!!

One of the secrets to being a Jedi today is that you can find your Yoda. Now, think about it, Yoda hit Luke in the head and even had him carry him him. In the Hero's Journey, there is a time when we meet our Elders and when we are intrduced to them. Watch the movies again and notice how every time the young is with the old, they touch. It's a presence thing or interaction that needs to happen. Now, I am not talking sexual by any means, it's a contact thing. Like a hug or a hit on the head. When Luke meets Obi - he had to go through him to find Yoda.
Stories first, people later. Good idea.

You can find our Yoda. You will. There comes a point when we need the actual example. Sometimes we need to be hit in the head a few times to understand. Not always, but it helps. To have that person right there next to ya is the point. To have them. You will find them and you may have to be told sometimes by others.
Example
When I self-reflected on my own love, I found it was short. I found a guy Mr Keller who loved his wife like I wanted to. He was the guy in church who dropped off the offering to the bank. That guy. His example of love lets me understand its POSSIBLE and it WORKS.
Like Vincent said, "the old school stuff". Get to the old school stuff. Find your Yoda. Those examples are out there. More times they are waiting for you. Its like that in every level of learning. I learn from those who can teach me. Find thee the old schoolers. Find the examples that work. Sit with them. Let them hit you in the head. Mr Keller used to make me wash his car every day till I understood I can keep it clean better by maintaining things. Love too! Books and ideas are the beginning. Find inspiration AND someone who can be there with you, it matters. FIND YOUR YODA. They await you. Promise.
Pastor Carlos

I don't really believe in one Yoda, one mentor. I think mentors come into our lives when we need them, for a certain time or a certain topic, and then often our paths diverge. I think that's generally how it works in the real world.

It's a really important distinction for me. I used to very much believe in one mentor, one closest friend forever, one friend group... I believed the movie and tv tropes were realistic. It was so disappointing for me that I didn't have those things. I thought that's how it was supposed to be and that since I couldn't make it happen I must be terribly broken in some way.

If this confusion happened for me, it probably happens for others. So just in case one of those others reads this: it's ok not to have one be all end all mentor. Or friend. Or social circle. Or even significant other. People come and go in our lives and that's ok. That's good. That's healthy.

https://youtu.be/6fek6iJlm8s

Alexandre Orion wrote: https://youtu.be/6fek6iJlm8s

...We have what they grow beyond... Is one of more favriot quotes from this movie. To me, thats a hope that the learn never shuts off and keeps on. I do like the way its set. Just me but a mere thank you wouldnt be worth it on this one. Thank You Alex for sharing. The family got to see it too!

The role model is a very important thing in our life from a young age, some time it can be a bad one too. This can help us decide what kind of person we want to be. Some of my role models are my Dad, my Grand mother and grand dad on the same side. My Dad for exemple taught me the basic gentleman habits: when you come into a shop, let say the baker say: hello "madam et monsieur" do i have to translate ? hold the door to let people in, help someone in need to carry their bag (specially older people, pregnant women) He taught me through his action not to get angry quickly, to be strong emotionally, to be fair all the trait that i ve been trying to live by until now and that i m trying to transmit to my kids. My Grand parents gave me the model of the couple of pigeons who loved each other until death. My grand mother fell hill with cancer and she survived longer than the doctors thought she would or could, but my grand dad could not take it and he died of a brain aneurism caused by the pain and stress seing his wife suffer. Grand ma told us all that now that her love has gone she can not go on or hold on anymore, so she died shortly after. So i learned about manners, code of conduits and i learned about love. Not to forget , i learned about strength. Seing my grand mother fighting this way against a terrible disease, she never let her self go or complained about it. Every time we visited her in hospital she was always dressed, makeup on and always had good words for everyone of us. She was a fighter. I ve an other life long exemple, m y sister who died at age eleven of leukaemia, she insisted that my parent have an other child knowing that she was dying and she loved me that much that i still feel it until now. I was 3 when she died, i owe her my life and she is the reason why i never let my self down even at the worse of it.
May the force be with you all

The Character block

In the seek and the search for our own values and reflections, I offer this. SEEK Character.
There is nothing more potent and powerful than good character. It can span Sects, ideas, books and even paths and ways.

Growing up, I watched the Jedi act like Knights on the silver screen. The idea that we can do this regardless of claim, blew my mind. There are many stories of people with great character in paticularly bad places. The biblical Joseph and the Tales from the Arabian nights come to mind come to mind first. The ability to have a good measure or a good count can be a very useful thing. Vader could do these great things ...just like Ani except he was well, on that side. Same credentials and application, just different allegiance. Character is on all sides. Some can even say character begets itself. Watch the movies again, your favriots and notice paticulary your favorite Jedi and why...could it be their character? Its every where and anywhere.
Seek out character and you won't leave empty handed...you may change the color of your Saber...


Happy seeking,
Pastor Carlos

This is a picture of our family's duck nest. Freckles is a strange bird. She will lay her egg on a wierd cycle that gives us two eggs a day. We have caught her walking and laying at the same time. Some days she has time to make a nest and some days the other birds and life keeps her busy. One of the neat things about this particular nest is that she has built it from leaves to hide the eggs. This process takes time and understanding. With the kids I got, it takes some patience too. After a few weeks, the nest begins to become raised and I can tell you, as comfy as a pillow. The time and dedication it takes some days, reminds me of the labors of study and the self-reflective path some of us are on.

In nature, things are made. For those who do not have the opportunity to instantly recieve what it is they need, it can always be made. So too is the Hero's Journey some days. Remember that when we study and when we learn things from one another, its like leaves, one at a time some times. If you see the picture, there is a porcelain egg there with the real one. After a while she, our duck, will be able to do the entire process without fail but untill then and until the hawks and danger pass, there will always be the nest in the making.

Our hearts and lives are often our "nests' or our places of return. Remembering that things worth having are sometimes buit, can remind us of the duck who toils daily to sit every day, sometimes twice for eggs and safety.
Take some time to think on this, time, it depends on you some days. What you making today? This past week? Since you have been here? What does your nest look like in your heart and mind?

Something to think about this week friends and Jedi
Pastor Carlos