Meditating on Doctrine: One Pieace at a Time

Day 25: To be understood as to understand.

Forgoing the desire to be understood is another form of sacrifice. This world is not about what you get out of it, it's about the value you add to it. Understanding takes patience. I had a run-in with that recently. I'm currently working on my web development skill set, and I had a project I'd been working on for four days that had me completely stumped as to why it didn't work. Turns out there was one detail of a JavaScript toolset called jQuery that I didn't understand. Once I understood that one detail, it was easy to put the pieces I already had written in the right places to make it work. This is a more mechanical, less personal example, but the same concept is certainly applicable to people as well. Specifically, other people don't need to understand why you're willing to sacrifice your time, or whatever else, to empathize and take the time to understand them. It is in doing so that we protect and enhance their peace, and develop interpersonal artistic unity: a sense of harmony among all parts, creating a sense of wholeness and completion.

Day 26: To be loved as to love.

There are several things I could reiterate here. About Sacrifice, selflessness, living the doctrine. Except that this one is more important than the others. Do not go seeking to be loved, don't follow the Jedi doctrine to gain the approval of others, but rather in doing so, demonstrate your love to others. Love isn't something you feel for people you're close to or share substantial amounts of genetic material with. Very often love can be a choice. Choosing to behave in a way that shows someone they matter, that someone cares about them, that they are important.

Day 27: Fot it is in giving that we receive.

It's easy to be selfish. Why me? Why do I need to sacrifice? Why should it be me who sacrifices? The last few lines of the creed dig into that. It is in giving, that we receive. What do we receive? Look at Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life." The truth is we don't see the benefit of our sacrifice immediately. We might feel some satisfaction at doing something good for another. Do it enough and it certainly adds up. We starting getting a more positive attitude. We feel good. But that's not all we receive. Frank Bailey had dreams, he had goals, and when it came crunch time, he sacrificed that for the little people of Bedford Falls. It's a great illustration of this very concept, and that's a big reason why this movie has endured over generations. Then when he's at the end of his rope, all the rapport he's built, and loyalty he's gained over the years comes back to him in a big way. Every time you sacrifice, every time you give of yourself, you are making a deposit in an account for your future. Whatever you put in it will come back for you. This has been called the principle of sowing and reaping, it's been called karma, but the bottom line is what you put into life, life will come around and give back to you. So even if you don't see something immediately coming your way, other than the pride in doing the right thing, it is in giving that we receive.

Day 28: It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned.

This takes me right back to the issue of grudges. If we don't forgive someone who we perceive has wronged us, it's we who suffer, not them. In the act of pardoning them, we are released from the hold of bitterness.

Day 29: And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

This line speaks to me of sacrifice. Not necessarily physical death, but the giving of our life to others. The modern western perception of sacrifice is one of reluctance, and mourning. If we are to truly serve in many ways, sacrifice is a must. For a service to another to be genuine, it must be a sacrifice. If you pretend to act for the benefit of another, while only thinking about what you get in return, that's not sacrifice. It turns into quid pro quo. When you can make your whole life about opportunities for meaningful sacrifice, all that is gonna come back to you.

I love in Song of Ice and Fire, and I imagine its TV adaptation named after the first book of the series, the phrase Valar Morghulis, Valar Dohaeris. All men must die, all men must serve. And it should be true. Even as we look for ways to prolong our life, even unto immortality, I've always felt that we need to be able to die. We need to die some time. So if that's our end game no matter what, why shouldn't we take risks for the benefit of those around us? Live with Courage, Fearlessness? Those are maxims 5 and 8. If we walk in the knowledge of our own death, that's how we truly live for the time we've got. If we detach ourselves from our physical selves, and seek to walk in the Force, our daily activities become spiritual exercises, rather than physical tedium. Walk thus, and know that the Force is with you, and life will come in such abundance, that it's easy to make the sacrifices.

Day 30: 1. Jedi are in touch with the Force. We are open to spiritual awareness and keep our minds in tune with the beauty of the world. We are forever learning and open our minds to experiences and knowledge of ourselves and others.

To grow closer to the force we need to detach ourselves from our physical existence. Every exercise, every action we take should be done not because of physical requirement, in the realization that whatever driving forces are behind our actions it is really the movements of the Force. A spirit of gratitude, humility, and sacrifice is what I most frequently try to accomplish to maintain my connection to the Force. It is less of a bond, and more of an understanding.

Day 31: Jedi maintain a clear mind; which can be achieved through meditation and contemplation. Our minds can become unduly troubled and concerned with the happenings of the world. We must work on overcoming our individual issues through training and diligence.

Meditation is maxim 15, and training is maxim 16. Both are referenced in this teaching. Why is a clear mind important? The second sentence of this teaching explains why. I have recognized that my own mind can become troubled when I consider the increased amount of automation, and especially AI we see going forward. I've been tempted to despair wondering what exactly it will mean for humankind when we reach technological singularity, but who does that serve exactly? Is there anything I can do about it? No. I can only do the best I can with what I've got. We're not even there yet, so to spend time worrying about it wouldn't serve any purpose. This is why it's important to maintain a clear mind. We can imagine all sorts of horrible outcomes to our everyday actions, and paralyze ourselves with fear of nothing.

We keep from doing that by meditation, and training our minds to move positive things into our lives. Not to dwell on things that we can't control in the first place. We don't need to worry about what we can't do, just worry about what we can do right now.

Day 32: Jedi are aware of future impacts of action and inaction, and of the influence of the past, but live in and focus on the now. We let ourselves flow like water through the events around us. We embrace the ever-changing and fluid world, adapting and changing as it does.

I remember when I first started studying the doctrine, shortly before starting the initiate program, and thought how profound the concept of the impact of inaction is. It's not something we think about, but it's something we see all the time in the U.S. My dad recently had a heart attack. He's ok, but this was the impact of inaction. He quit his job as a welder, and started playing music at local establishments instead. It's less stable income, but he's happier than he's ever been. When he started doing this his exercise routines suffered. Without the structure of a daily routine, his meal habits and dietary choices suffered. He did not actively determine that he was going to try and have a heart attack, but rather didn't consider the impact his inaction would have on his body. I feel like the assumption we make is that if we do nothing, nothing will happen, but that's far from the case. If we do nothing, we pay the price.

So how do we live in the now? We make each moment powerful. Every moment has the potential to be life changing. It can steer our life in a positive direction, and help us grow toward a person who is closer to our best self in the future, or it can leave us suffering the impact of inaction. We consider the past for insight into how to make the present powerful, but dwelling in the future or the past will make the present suffer. Often leading once again to inaction.

Technological growth is a guarantee that the world will change, and fast. Everyone is going to have to adapt eventually, the key to doing this is in the last sentence of this teaching. Embrace the ever-changing world. Change with it. Don't let it slow you, let these changes grow you. Adapt, constantly moving forward into the present.

Day 33: Jedi are wary of attachments, both material and personal. The obsession over possessions and people can create the fear of losing those possessions and relationships, which can cause us to become trapped in a state of depression and loss.

It is disruptive to our peace to lose something we are attached to. Dwelling on things lost in the past chains us there, and keeps us from moving forward, prevents us from growing. I've seen it first and, and striven not to let myself live it as a result.

Day 34: Jedi understand that well being consists of the physical, the mental, and the spiritual. A Jedi trains each to ensure they remain capable of performing their duties to the best of their ability. All of these are interconnected and essential parts of our training to become more harmonious with the Force.

After I went through chemo last year my physical heath had declined, I didn't feel like myself, I was quicker to anger, got frustrated easily. I feel justified in feeling this way. The drugs take a serious toll on your body, but a few months ago I started exercising again. Now I'm in some of the best shape I've ever been in, but I noticed something else. When I started exercising, my mind was on a more even keel. It was easier to feel the Force, and get in a good place emotionally and stay there. Not necessarily doing Yoga, which is supposed to bring your body and spirit into unity, but even mundane, purely physical exercises helped the other parts of my life. There is no one element of these three that's the foundation the others build upon. They really are completely interconnected, and when you build one up, it becomes easier to build up the other two, and as those get built up, it helps you have the mental strength, the fortitude to stay on track building up the one. As we are in harmony with our best selves, so are we in harmony with the Force.