Friday, November 6, 2020

Is There a Place for Hatred in a Jedi's Life?

 I'll be continuing with posts on developing awareness/connection/accumulating/etc. the Force soon enough - as for right now, I need to put a few bits into writing that I've been juggling with in my head for a number of years now... sermons for the Temple

 

This here is one of them, and I may either directly send this to those in charge of including it there, or I might rather link them to it here for their perusal and decision to include it. 

 

In which case, it needs to be noted that I am the copyright holder of this text - if the viewer will forgive any seeming rudeness of my small demands here, I need to state that, if accepted as sermon material for the Temple, nothing herein shall be omitted from, nor anything added to, this piece (as it is written below), nor any punctuation or paragraph spacing changed (nor bold, nor italics), nor "misspellings corrected" - as at times I often place such, intentionally, for nuance or added meaning... and also I generally conform to Canada/UK spelling conventions ('honour' instead of 'honor', 'colour' instead of 'color', etc.). If anyone has issues with any of it, I am open to be approached about it - but no changes shall rightfully be made until I have been approached, and an agreement arrived at. 

 

Please do, forgive this, if it may seem rude or overbearing - but it is important <3 


Okay, well - having said all of that, below the line of asterisks ("****") beneath this sentence that you are reading now, is the title and the sermon - I hope you like it ^_^ 


************************************************** 


Is There a Place for Hatred in a Jedi's Life?

Hatred... is there a place for it in the life of a Jedi?  

Anyone might easily gravitate to what many may feel would be the obvious answer; "no".

But the answer may well surprise you. But given meditative thought, you might then agree.

First, let's consider something important; whether we as Jedi, choose to be so as someone who lives according to the Jedi philosophy, or even if we choose to go as far as Jedi Knighthood - either way, and all in between - we strive to be more than the "default settings" person we are from birth, but we become what we make ourselves to be.

We build ourselves, and make ourselves, honing our being to be better. Not in competition with each other, but with our ever-previous selves.

This is important, in relation to this sermon's topic - allow me to make an illustration.

Try to see it as though we are given at birth, some "basic programming" if you will, and also the power, as we grow, to "upgrade" such, as we acquire more experience and wisdom along the way. We continue to prove to be what we shall prove to be.

For example... we might witness some sort of injustice done by one person, against another.

Our inborn "programming" may be triggered to feel, "HEY! THAT IS SO UNFAIR!"

But without the experience of wisdom, we may automatically turn our triggered emotions toward the doer of the bad deed, and see that one as an understandable object of hate, to which we instinctually direct our anger to.

But... do we know all that's to be considered? Was the deed done by accident or on purpose?

If the latter, is it out of any societal allowance for retribution for a previous opposing action? We hardly, if ever, know the whole story...

The point is that this is just like the difference between immaturity and maturity. Now, "immature" sounds like a derogatory term - but it needn't be so. Children are not yet mature, and this is the meaning I make here. 

And many of us are "adults" according to our "life calendar" - but morally and spiritually... are we really as mature as we may have confidence in ourselves to be"?

Children (and even many of we "yet-to-be-fully-matured-adults") lack the experience to deal with upsetting feelings and emotions (to one degree or other), and as a result, can only ever act on them... whereas mature adults have the experience and wisdom to properly deal with such things. 

Note: "Maturity" is a non-finite quality - again, "calendar age" does not define such. In fact, Truly, it is a thing that never *completes* - it is a task that never ends, growing with our ever-increasing experience for ever as long as we shall live. This is a most important, and most forgotten, fact.

Now let's apply this to the above illustration of one being, committing a misdeed to another.

The misdeed is the only *wrong* thing here, when all is said and done.

A thief who steals, causing another to be without what that one needs in life, is a bad thing, yes... but it's never quite so "black-and-white" as this situation being that the thief is evil, and the other is good.

The deed is the thing which shouldn't need to happen.

Behaviour can be rehabilitated/augmented/rerouted/relearned.

In the end, beings are not objects of hate, though their misdeeds may often be.

Going back to "becoming what we make ourselves to be"... our instincts can tell us what is right and what is wrong. Our actions can be determined by what we learn, and how wise we may have become at any given time.

Will we fly off wildly and hate and seek to injure the doer of the deed, or would we more wisely understand that such would only attack the symptom and leave the cause unchecked?

As Jedi, we should strive to understand this... even to better; cultivate a love for what is good, and a hatred for what is bad.

As Jedi we can - and even must - hate injustice. Hate murder. Hate rape. Hate child abuse. Hate racism. Hate any crime.

Crimes... misdeeds... falling short of justice.

We must hate these things.

But not beings.

Some, even many faiths, say words to the effect of, "Hate the sin - but love the sinner", meaning that we should not hate one another, but we should hate the bad things that some do... meanwhile, we should seek to right what's wrong within the hearts of those doing bad things - not condemn them.

Now, as with anything, this too, cannot be dissected into any kind of black/white, concrete, cure-all answer for absolutely everything in life... I'm fairly certain that many reading this might say, "But what if A, B, C, and what of X, Y, Z??" - but such is beyond the scope of this one single sermon, which should only serve as a basic foothold, a guidepost, through all the complexities of life we may find ourselves as Jedi, on any given day.

Use your wisdom, as you go on acquiring more, to be your compass... and May the Force be with you <3




Sunday, June 21, 2020

LONG TIME, NO SEE!!

It's been three long years. Sorry 'bout that, Blogger Blog...

A horribly unwanted and long divorce, two deaths in the family, an operation, trying (with moderate success, so far) to re-establish the relationship between my daughter and I to its former glory, relocating (just down the street, but still HELL ON A FREAKIN' STICK)... all that felgercarb, and a long list of other things which dragged me down, depressing the ever-livin' *HELL* out of me, and so on...

 ...but I've gotten better, got a larger workshop and built quite a better workbench, I'm more at peace now...

I'm typing this to re-poke my toe into these waters, so to speak, so that I can reconnect to the idea of writing in my blog again here, as well as others of mine... and also my journal back at the Temple.

Okay - here's to new beginnings!

May the Force and its Source be with us all, every one! <3

    - Tarran ^_^


Sunday, May 7, 2017

The Force: Part 3, Experiencing/Developing the Field

I should very well have added "UNDERSTANDING" to the title of this post... 

Anyways,...

Today I feel I should post about something which has eluded much of the Western world, mostly due to misrepresentation by "wannabes" (people looking for FAR too easy ways to establish a foothold in credibility before they learn all that needs to be learned, those who acquire mail-order licenses to "teach" Reiki, balding pony-tailed white guys who practice "Tai Qi" publicly in parks for sake of image, etc. - you know what I mean) - cue; soundbite of Keanu Reeves as "Neo", saying, "I know Kung Fu"...

Yeah, I'm a mite snarky about this. Bear with me here just a wee bit...

See, even though "New Agers" (yep, they're still out there) try - even with the best of intentions, though the least of real, hard education on the topic, beyond whatever books they might read from the "New Age", "Occult", "Esoteric" etc. sections of their local book store... they grossly misrepresent the whole concept, knowingly or not, by their (as innocent as they may be), shennanigans.

The reality - particularly known to all out here in Asia - is that the Bio-electromagnetic Field, and the Bio-electromotive Force, ie; Qi/Jing, is a real scientific reality - it's a goddamned real thing, seriously... as it always ever has been, a known and accepted fact for at least 5,000 years.

Allow me to try to explain...

First, perhaps the biggest misconception, is the mental image of this; a martial arts tournament... two fighters face each other... one performs a cyclic, swirling move, projected at his opponent, and without even touching him, his opponent seems to be wildly flung out of the ring by invisible forces. While this has, to one degree or another, actually happened in Asia some few times in the past, the biggest mistake made is when people say, "HE DID THAT WITH HIS QI!!".

The Truth? The happening happened, but the reason why - Qi - well, it's a bit more complicated than that.

Much of the misconceptions that arise from this and other instances, is the difference between alphabetically based languages versus those which use ideograms and ideographic text.

You can fit FAR more meaning(s), nuance(s), etc. in the ideographic writing of China (what the Japanese call "Kanji").

"Qi" (pronounced "chee"), isn't quite the Bio-electromotive Force itself, but it *does* facilitate it.

There are a few other factors involved, Qi being just one among them, but all of those factors being taken as a single concept in speech, is also collectively referred to as "Qi" (and, depending on the ideogram, not incorrectly so), referring to the entirety of the whole phenomenon collectively under that single umbrella term, and therein lies the root of the misconception.

Now... let's all try to think back and remember something we, perhaps all, may be familiar with for one reason or another - perhaps school - where the teacher would take a piece of paper, spread some iron filing dust upon the surface, and then place a bar magnet underneath it, touching the bottom surface.

Time for a visual aid...



Now, as you can see here, the bar magnet is beneath the piece of paper, with the iron filings scattered upon it - the magnetic field interacting with the iron particles causes them all to arrange themselves along the lei lines of the magnetic field, thus rendering the invisible, visible. This is a perfect analogy for Qi in most living beings, particularly human. Imagine that bar in the center is a human being standing upright, and you can see the "Qi" lines surrounding and penetrating him.

The pole ends being at the crown of the head and at the base of his feet, we need to understand this as though like a doughnut, or a torus shape - relatively. This shape obviously isn't round like a donut, unless you could imagine an elongated one (and in truth, a bit egg-shaped) - but the point is that there is a central area of flow... if this human be male, the direction of flow is down in through the crown of the head, through and along the central core, out through the base at the feet, and spreads outward and upward along the outside of this "tubular doughnut", and all turns back in on itself at the crown and continues cycling again... for females, this direction of flow is in the opposite direction; out from the crown, down the outer edge of the shell, coming in together at the base, up through the central core, and out forth from the crown once again, and so on.

Or at least, this is the flow of the bio-electromotive force, which runs along the lei lines of one's Qi.

If you notice, the lei lines themselves have no motion whatsoever - and this is a key thing to understand here - the iron filings, once aligned to the lei lines of the field, do not move... there is no motive force. Therefore, the Qi is merely a template of the paths along which the force would flow.

Now, while the Chinese word for the field itself is Qi, the word for the Bio-electromotive Force which runs and flows along the lei lines of this field is Jing.

Of course, to be certain, technically, there can be motion of Qi, but only in changing the shape of the field - which is done in two major ways; rising/falling, and expanding/contracting.

So it can be said that while the practitioner of, say, Yang style T'ai Qi Quan (different schools of the same art tend to have different spellings), sends that opponent flying in the previous sparring illustration mentioned above, he does so by sending a surge of Jing through his field, cycling it along the lei lines, and then expands his field forward, sort of bulging it out, protruding a bit in the opponent's direction - in effect, pushing against his opponent's own bio-electromagnetic field, with his own, and sending his opponent off, very similar to two like-poled magnets repelling each other.

Understand? ^_^

Developing/accumulating this Force is done by focusing upon the natural flow of the field, Qi. Once this has been firmly set in the Mind, focus is drawn towards drawing in more surrounding Force into the Qi field, via the inlet point (at the crown for males, at the feet for females), and forming it into a sphere, about the size of a candle pin bowling ball (the smaller variety ball, you know). This is formed at a point called the Dan Tien.

Where this is in the body is simple to understand - imagine your pelvic bone as though a bowl, and place such a sphere within it. Where it rests, is known as the Dan Tien.

There are techniques which combine breathing and directing of this sphere up and down the core of the field, evenly dispersing collected Jing, but though such is beyond the scope of this post, I will mention a very valuable resource at this post's end, which will give far better information than I ever could.

Eventually, according to the techniques, Jing is collected and condensed within the marrow of your bones - by then, a warm, electrical sensation can be felt.

These are the parts of T'ai Qi Quan, internal form, which are not publicly taught in the West.

In the resource I'll mention below, there are also techniques to go through in order to manipulate the Qi field, flow the Jing force through and along the field, in order to affect things beyond your body - such as the sparring example I've mentioned above in this post (a technique known as "Fa Jing"). 

Certainly, one cannot acquire abilities from reading books - but following manuals, as a martial artist, this can be a very different thing indeed.

Please see this as a valuable manual;

"T'ai Chi Classics (Shambhala Classics)" by Waysun Liao
ISBN-10: 1570627495
ISBN-13: 978-1570627491

Any Google or Amazon search with this data should find it, for anyone out there who may be seeing this post.

Okay, I think that should be all and well and good enough for this here post for now... until next time, May the Force be with you!!

    - Tarran ^_^



Wednesday, January 4, 2017

The Force: Part 2, Detecting the Field

As mentioned in the "Part 1" entry in this series of posts, the Force, as regards the personal component thereof (what many might term their "chi", or "aura"), is best understood in a somewhat more scientific sense, as the "bio-electomagnetic field".

I wrote a little something on this years ago, for a website called "Associated Content", then I later posted it as one of my "notes" on Facebook. I'll use it here, because I was told that it was the best way to describe something that was otherwise nigh indescribable. In the near future, I think I should add an image or two for a visual aid... until then, I hope my textual descriptions suffice. I'll just paste it here below: EDIT: I'VE FINALLY ADDED THE VISUAL AIDS... well, drawings... and not my best work :P lol

*************************************************

"How to See the 'Aura' With the Naked Eye"

So, what is the "aura", anyway? Well, since this article is approaching this subject with an eye towards science, let's look at it as a "bio-electromagnetic field".

Everything living, and even some things we consider non-living, has this aura field to one degree or another. However, since the field and the nature of it may differ and vary in many ways from being to being according to type, or from thing to thing, let's just focus today on the bio-electromagnetic field of human beings.

Why "bio-electromagnetic"? To put it in an inordinately simple way, we are electrical beings, with zillions of minute bioelectrical signals zipping through all our nerves and other pathways in our bodies at any given time. Our brain is the nerve center of all of this, as it tells our hand to pick up something, receives and registers visual and other stimuli, or dreams while sleeping, et cetera. Much like a wire with electricity passing through it, we also, as a result, have an electro-magnetic field about our bodies from the bioelectrical energy coursing through us... thus, a "bio-electromagnetic field". Sort of a largely non-technical way to put it all, but well, there you have it in a nutshell.

It is said that this field affects the air around us, whether through minute vibratory forces or very faint electromagnetic radiation, or by various other means, and there seems to be many schools of thought on this. Keep in mind however that this is a field - an area of effect - and not a substance in and of itself. However, the surrounding  substance (in most cases, the air around us) which is affected by this field is often said to be the aura.

Also, consider this; while we cannot see the wind, we can observe its effects as it blows through the leaves of trees. Thus, we can say that we "see the wind blowing". This is somewhat remotely akin to what I mean. But remember, an aura can be said to be both the field itself, as well as the effects within the field. Keeping this well in mind can help you avoid confusion in the future.

It is also said that we can extend our field to some degree or another, and this also is a phenomenon we will be attempting to observe in this how-to article. Now I understand that you probably want to just get right down to seeing this field, but please bear with me as I explain just a couple more details of this operation so that we can see and understand things much more clearly. There needs to be understood another factor or two of just how the eye can register this field (or rather, "to see the action of the tree's leaves being blown about", so to speak) before we can move on.

Inside the eye are many photoreceptor cells of a few types (at the time of this article's writing, a new ganglion type of photoreceptor cell has recently been discovered), two of which are known as "rods" and "cones", due to their shape. These are arranged in a concentric circular fashion within the eye, on the retina, the inner circle being made up of the cones, the outer being the rods. Cone receptors pick up colors, and rod receptors pick up the varying degrees of contrasts of lights and darks. It is these receptors, the rods, which we will be utilizing to view the field.

Now, while the rods are arranged along the outer circle, they do much of their work (but not all of it) in receiving information about what is in our peripheral vision - that which surrounds our main focal point of view. In turn, the main work of the cones (but not all of it) is done mostly within our point of focus. For example, if we are walking down the street on a sunny day in early Autumn and we come across a stop sign on the side of the road, we can look directly at the sign and see that it is red, with the word "STOP" written upon the face of it in big, white letters.

While we focus our sight upon this, within our peripheral vision (that  which surrounds our focal point) we can see to a less-than-focused degree, the trees and houses that are about, while we remain keeping our eyes focused upon the sign itself. We might not be able to discern which branches are attached to which trees, or if the house to our right is indeed a single house with an attached garage or two separate houses,  but we can generally tell which leaves are green (darker) and which are yellow (lighter), and that the white house is something separate and apart from the deep, dark backdrop of the woods behind it.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because the field, and more importantly, that surrounding matter which it affects, does not truly have any color per se - what you will be viewing is a distortion within the field, the area of surrounding matter in which the field has an effect. This can get a bit tricky, but only in understanding this concept. In practice, this is really quite simple. The distortion in the field is just that - merely a distortion in a field. Not a thing in and of itself so much, but an affected area.

That which is viewable therefore, can only really be very faint differences of contrast, much like viewing clear ripples in clear water (or, much like how on a hot summer day, as you gaze into the distance down a paved road, you can see objects on the ground in the distance seeming to be wiggling in the waves of heat rising from the pavement) - you're seeing a distortion of matter (in the aforementioned hot-summer-day case, the air) within the field of view.

But the effect we are trying to visually detect is not so easily noticed as ripples in water, or in waves of rising hot air - such things don't solely rely on contrast receptors, so we can actually stare right at such things and see them quite clearly. But as far as detecting the very faint and hyper-smooth fuzzy distortions we're hoping to catch into view, we need to do a bit of specialized viewing.

As a result, to best see this phenomenon you will need to see it in your periphery... not by staring directly at it, but by directing your eye's focus on that which is perhaps just a half inch away from it, while directing your conscious awareness on the effect just off your point of focus, within your peripheral vision. Do you get what I mean?

The main key point of utmost primary importance here, is that you need to focus your physical eye on one thing, while focusing the "eye of your consciousness" so to speak, on another. Basically, sort of "looking at what you're not looking at".

Okay, now let's get down to the business of preparing our "lab" if you  will, for the conduction of our experiment. There are a few ways to do this, the main two are as follows; either place yourself in a very dimly lit room (almost no light - any light being quite dim), or being in a moderately lit room, with some sort of backdrop to use...  anything which is black, but it absolutely must be non-reflective, like black velvet or something (some have used the open doorway to a deep, dark hallway, or cellar stairs, with a degree of success). Try your hand at both techniques if you like, to find which one is best for you.

The reason for this is basically simple. You want to set up a situation in which you can primarily focus only on contrast, not color.

Now take your hand (it will be easiest if your hand is facing you), and place it in front of you - in the case that you are in a lit room with a black backdrop, have the backdrop be placed well beyond your hand, so that you can see the blackness of it in the distance behind your hand in view. Let this backdrop be large, the larger the better. If you are using the technique of being in a very dimly lit room, it is also preferable to have something darker than your hand beyond it in your field of view.

Now focus your view upon one of your fingertips (again, it will be easier to do this and what will come next, if your palm is facing you). While you are focusing your eye on that fingertip, focus your awareness on the surrounding area - or, some may find it best to focus on the backdrop beyond the fingers, though others find this more difficult - but again, do remember, this is a bit of looking at what you're not looking at.

You should soon become aware of something... a sort of "ghost image", outlining the surrounding area around your fingers and in between them. But seeing it might startle you into focusing upon it, so remember, don't look directly at it or you may lose sight of it! Maintain your physical eye's focus upon the fingers themselves, but maintain your conscious awareness upon the periphery surrounding them. Got it?

For many, this can be plainly seen right away. For others, it may take a while (most often, this is because they actually do see it, though assume that what they are seeing is not what they seek, but rather the effect of blurry vision, or some other fault of the eye in dim light). But the most important thing here is that you do not strain to see... you need to relax your eyes, and don't try so hard to try so hard. Just let it happen. If it doesn't right away, then don't keep at it for very long. Some people stare and stare and start to see wisps of stringy things and even faint colors - but that is not the field! What that is, is your eyes becoming fatigued. Put away your experiment and come back to it at another time. You shouldn't strain to see this. In fact, to do so would simply guarantee that you never see it. Don't aggressively leap out of your eyes to catch it, but just let it all flow on in.

Alright, we're not done here yet people, so let's move on, shall we? Now that you've begun to see this "ghost image" outlining your form (assuming you've succeeded thus far), let's do something interesting with it. Take both of your hands, palms facing you, and bring your bio-electromagnetic field back into view once again. Have your open palms be pointing their fingers at each other, each finger pointing to the corresponding finger of the other hand - index to index, middle to middle and so on, at about 2 to 3 inches apart from each other. You'll notice that this "stuff" seems to attract itself to itself.



If you can see this all clearly, you will find that there are lines of this colourless, ghostly "stuff" emanating from your fingertips, connecting the fingers of one hand to the fingers of the other hand, which jump across the void from finger to corresponding finger.

Now try slowly pulling your hands apart in distance a little bit. You may notice that these lines are still attached, stretching across the distance, keeping the fingers of one hand connected to those of the other. This is how the field can extend beyond its normal reach sometimes. How far can you pull them apart before the "strings" break?



Okay, now try this; bring your hands closer together, to about 2 to 3 inches apart between fingertips again. Each finger should be pointing towards the corresponding finger of the opposite hand again, just as before. The "strings" between them now seem more dense and vibrant, now that there is less distance to stretch across, yes?

Now bring them to about 4 to 5 inches apart and do this; move your hands slightly, in opposing directions (for example, turn your left hand clockwise while still facing you, and the right hand clockwise as well - so that your fingertips seem to pass each other in opposing directions), so that now your fingers are each pointing to different fingers on the opposing hand - index to middle, middle to ring finger, and so on. You should find that the "strings" have broken off attachment to the previous corresponding fingers and have now re-linked to those fingers which are now the closest to them.



Pretty cool, eh?

I should mention one strange anomaly which sometimes happens for some odd reason or other... it's perfectly natural... but sometimes, the streams between fingers may cross... here's an example of what I mean...






Pretty darned interesting, if you ask me! ^_^




*************************************************

That's pretty much most of the article, save for a bit of meaningless fluff at the end, which I've here omitted.

Watch for a future edit to this here post, in which there should be some images added for visual aid. EDIT: DONE! lol

In the next couple/few posts, we'll gain a better understanding of the Force (our personal portions thereof), by experiencing its effect upon electronic devices, particularly a certain musical instrument which will allow a bit of "bio-feedback", and can help us hone our sense of it all. We'll also be utilizing concepts from internal martial arts such as Qigong and T'ai Qi Quan, understanding the difference between Qi ("chi") and Jing, and how to cultivate, vivify, and manipulate our bio-electomagnetic field.

Until then, may the Force be with you!

    - Tarran ^_^




Tuesday, December 27, 2016

A Mournful Disturbance In The Force...

I had hoped that my next post here would be as I'd promised, continuing the discussion on the topic of my previous post... but alas, we've all suffered a severely terrible loss:

Our sweet princess has drowned in moonlight, strangled by her own bra...

"Remember the white dress I wore all through that film? George came up to me the first day of filming, took one look at the dress and said: 'You can't wear a bra under that dress.'

'OK, I'll bite,' I said. 'Why?' And he said: 'Because ... there's no underwear in space.'

He said it with such conviction. Like he had been to space and looked around and he didn't see any bras or panties anywhere.

He explained. 'You go into space and you become weightless. Then your body expands but your bra doesn't, so you get strangled by your own underwear.'

I think that this would make for a fantastic obituary. I tell my younger friends that no matter how I go, I want it reported that I drowned in moonlight, strangled by my own bra."

Carrie Fisher, in flight to Los Angeles, fifteen minutes before touching down, had suffered a cardiac arrest.

She received CPR on the plane, but when paramedics got to her once the plane had landed, it took them fifteen minutes more to get a pulse.

Once in the hospital ICU, things were starting to look hopeful, and shortly thereafter, her brother had reported her condition to the rest of the hopeful world as being stable... but then, on December 27th, 2016, no matter how tight all of our love could grasp, she suddenly slipped through this world's fingers.

Her Living Force has left us all to join with the Universal Force.

Carrie Fisher was a heroic force of her very own.

Her portrayal of her most famous, most constructively influential role, has served - and shall ever serve - as a source of inspiration to countless people, to myself, and to my daughter.

She showed men and boys that women and girls needn't turn masculine to outperform them in courage, tenacity, leadership, stamina and strength of spirit, and she showed women and girls the same.

Deed Doer.

Princess.

War General.

In the eyes of many, Lady Knight.

And let's not forget, in Heart of Hearts, Jedi.


In memoriam, pencilled freehand by a friend 
and fellow Jedi from the Temple, Zenchi. 
He and his artwork can be found 
via this link ----> @Zenchi66 


This Good Human Being portrayed many roles, yes... but it cannot be argued that her role in the Star Wars mythos was the most well known, well portrayed, well received, inspiring, influential, constructive, on many levels even emulated in the hearts of youthful beings everywhere, and yes, very, very dearly loved.

Fare thee well, Lady Carrie Fisher...

Fare thee well, sweet Princess Leia...

We shall forever keep you in our hearts, being warmed by the Force you've emanated into our lives' growth and vitality.

I hope you know how much we all have loved you so, and shall ever love you still...

 ...thank you, so very, very much...

 ...and may the Force be with you, always <3 ;_; <3


Saturday, December 17, 2016

The Force: Part 1, An Overview of its Aspects

The Hindus called it "Prana"...

In Tibet, "Akasha"...

Some of the ancients called it "Æther"...

Occultists call it the "Aura"...

In China, "Qi/Jing", and "Qigong"... 

In Japan, "Ki"...

Western Alchemists know it by all these names, as well as by terms such as "Quintessence", "Prima Materia", and "First Matter"...

Those who prefer to use a more modern, somewhat scientific terminology, often tend to use terms such as "UEF", or "Universal Energy Field", or the "Bio-electromagnetic Field", and "Bio-electromotive Force".

One writer, who sought to draw from all the world's lores on the topic, in order to sort of "universalize" this concept, chose a fairly generic, though now apparently iconic term, "The Force".

It's a fairly obvious benefit to have a single term for all to understand, and perhaps identify with, in his works of fiction - which he created for those of most (if not all) faiths worldwide to relate to, in order to rekindle the inner spark of curiosity within them, towards life's higher mysteries, teachings, parables, lessons, paths of virtue, and overall general spirit(uality).

******* 

But before I write further on this, I should jot a few words down here on a certain important matter...

Now, while there be those who believe in the existence of (by whatever term) "the Force", they generally tend to fall into two groups. There are those who see it as both a physical phenomenon as well as a philosophical concept, both equally as binding and unifying of all life as each other... and there are those who only see it as a philosophical idea.

That's fine. To each, their own.

It might though, unsettle or even pain one, to see another wilfully lock eyes shut to the ineffable beauty of something that has been known as undeniable fact to so many beings for countless aeons... but that affords no right, for those who see, to pry open, by cunning or by force, the eyes of those who choose to remain blind.

But it is not the only disturbing thing, such pain of seeing someone choosing not to see... rather, it is admittedly more so, the feeling of being (necessarily by circumstance of their denial of reality) invalidated - even seen as archaic, non-scientific, superstitious, of inferior intelligence, worthy of pity, deserving of ridicule and disdain, etc. - if one is seen by them as being among those who know and understand these subtler sciences - which they may refuse to see as anything other than utterly ridiculous.

THIS... as frustratingly unfair a feeling as this can be, must not be allowed to fester within us. It makes no difference how one who chooses wilful ignorance would judge us. They just don't know, and, in fact, insist upon not doing so.

Just let it go

In turn, this should *NEVER* be seen by us as any reason or justification to judge them, either - we shouldn't see them as inferior, stupid, not as far along the path as we, or any of the like.

If we must settle our minds upon what to think of these peers, these fellows of the Human Family, these relatives of ours, then let it be enough to see that they are on a path, as we all are, which continues on.

That all of us, whoever we are, are wrong about a great many things until we find out truths along the path, which we use to right ourselves... and just rest on the knowledge that they, like we all, will find theirs - in their own time - and be done with it.

We do not need validation in these matters by anyone or anything, aside from by the Force, and it's Source.

But I've digressed far enough...

*******

The Force (as regards the physical phenomenon), and it's aspects, can be explained/described using any of the ancient terms above, but also with the terminology of modern science. In particular, the branch which deals with the Grand Unified Theory. This deals with something today's modern science terms the Superforce, or rather, to a much larger degree, those forces which, at or around the time of the Big Bang, had branched forth into becoming the Four Forces.

The Four Forces of the Grand Unified Theory, in order of strongest to weakest, are;

Strong Nuclear Force

Weak Nuclear Force

Electromagnetic Force

Gravitational Force

These Four Forces, and their interplay with their root from which they all sprang, the Superforce, make up what is largely regarded in Jediism as the "Universal Force" - that from which all mortal life is risen from, and returns to upon death.

Now, I should point out... all of the ancient terms mentioned at the beginning of this post are terms to describe the biological phenomenon which largely and most often deals primarily with the Electromagnetic Force - or, more precisely, Bio-electromagnetic fields, and the Bio-electromotive force, as well as their interactions with other electromagnetic fields/forces, whether biologically living, or not.

This state would be what is largely regarded in Jediism as the "Living Force", that which binds and unifies all mortal life forms in the universe while alive, until such a time when death would return them and their essences to the Universal Force.

These forces are tangible, observable, measurable, and to a certain extent, able to be manipulated.

See, there is a science to all this... and if there wasn't, then how could it be?

There is logic and reason to the Force. We merely need to familiarize ourselves with the laws of physics along which these forces run.

We are electrical beings. Our brains run on, and use, bio-electricity. This has long been well known as scientific fact. And just as when electricity runs along a wire, a magnetic field winds around it as a result (allowing for wonderful things like induction, for example), our own wiring, our nervous system and all else which our brain communicates with, also creates such fields.

Whether we are speaking, walking, running, or reaching out and grabbing a glass of water to drink from... such bio-electricity runs along the wiring of our nerves, telling what our brains want our muscles and such to do. Along all these neuro-pathways, our personal field is generated, enough that can even be photographed using special equipment - or even detected with the trained eye...

 ...and that will be the subject of my next post.


Until then, may the Force be with us, every one - always <3

    - Tarran ^_^






Sunday, December 4, 2016

Jedi Symbolism and the TotJO Star



It has come to my attention that I should probably include among my many notes here on my studies in the "TotJO" (Temple of the Jedi Order), the symbolism of, both, the Order's emblem, and my own personal spin on it, which I use as my graphic moniker (that is, my profile icon) in the Temple, and on this here, my "notebook" blog (Holy run-on sentence, Batman!).

First, I'll place the image of the Order's emblem here, below...



Now, to explain the symbolism...

First off, we have the five-pointed star, in five segments. This is to represent the five parts of the Jedi Code, which is as follows;

Emotion, yet Peace.

Ignorance, yet Knowledge.

Passion, yet Serenity.

Chaos, yet Harmony.

Death, yet the Force.

Next, we have the sixteen-pointed star within, which is to represent the sixteen teachings of the Jedi religion/philosophy/chivalric order. They are as follows;

1. Be in harmonious touch with the Force. This is done by being open to spiritual awareness and in keeping our minds in tune with the beauty of the world. To maintain a state conducive to learning, with our minds open to experiences and knowledge, of ourselves as well as others.

2. Maintain clarity of mind. This may be accomplished 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.

3. We must be ever aware of the future impacts of our actions, and inactions... and while remaining keenly aware of the influence of the past, strive to live in, and focus upon, the Here and Now. We must allow ourselves to flow, as though like water, through the events which happen around us. We embrace the ever changing and fluid world, adapting and changing along with it.

4. Be wary of attachments, both material and personal. The obsession over possessions and people creates the fear of losing those possessions and relationships which can cause ourselves to be trapped in a state of depression and loss. We need not shun attachments per se, as how can a parent not be emotionally attached to a child? But we must never allow such feelings to rule over us, and rob us of control over situations which require a mind at peace. Possession can lead to obsession, and then we become possessed. Through fear of loss, we can lose our Selves.

5. Understand that wellness needs to be maintained in the physical, emotional, mental, moral, and spiritual - all aspects of yourself. Each aspect must be trained well in order to ensure that we remain capable of performing our duties to the best of our abilities. All of these are interconnected and essential parts of our training in becoming more harmonious with the Force.

6. Use knowledge and skills to the best of your ability. Knowledge by itself is nothing - utilizing it, applying it to one's life, is wisdom. Never use knowledge and/or skill to boast or be prideful. We must remain mindful of the ego and mindful of our actions, exercising wisdom... and humility.

7. We must understand/acknowledge/accept our limitations. We recognise, and take responsibility, for our failures and develop/cultivate a level of modesty about them. We respect the right for others to disagree and understand that they themselves are not perfect, just as we ourselves are not.

8. Always exercise patience. We work on training ourselves not to precipitate events around us. We know that becoming a Knight is a long and difficult process, and requires rigorous dedication, diligence, and commitment. We must train ourselves to act with insightful deliberation, and a conscientious state of calmness.

9. Always maintain integrity. We must be authentic to what we believe, and be open, honest and true to our purpose and our minds. We must take courage to remove all masks in order to reveal our nobleness of heart. We do not hide from fear of damage to our ego, because we know that our hearts cannot truly be blemished from the words and actions of others, but only by our own misdeeds.

10. It must be well striven for, that all of our actions have a positive effect... for no matter the scale of action, whatever we do affects the world. Even if it be as seemingly insignificant as to put a candy wrapper in your pocket until a proper receptacle is reached, as opposed to casting it upon the ground. Nothing done has no effect. In this way, whatever a Knight may do, may have a positive effect on bettering the world with every action, however great or small.

11. We must be ever mindful of our thoughts. Strive to recognize the beauty in all others. Provide help to those who come seeking it. Through our benevolent actions, we may strengthen not only ourselves, but also our communities. A Knight acts without prejudice.

12. We must understand and remember that love and compassion are of central importance to our lives. We must love and care for each other as we must love and care for ourselves; by doing this we envelop all life in the positivity of our actions and thoughts. In this way, we strive to be providers and beacons of hope.

13. We must cultivate empathy. To achieve this, we need to view things from another’s perspective, making us more sensitive listeners. We must provide the confidence people need while they express/discuss their difficulties, and we share our learning with those who would welcome the benefit of such. In doing this, we strive to help create a more harmonious society.

14. We are, foremost, guardians of peace. We must never shrink from helping all those that are in need, in whatever form, to the best of our ability. We recognise that sometimes providing help requires courage in the face of adversity, but we also understand that conflict is resolved through peace, understanding, and harmony. However much we may fancy ourselves "Warriors of the Light", however true that may be in Heart, for one or another or all, we are *FIRSTLY* Guardians of Peace.

15. We understand the concept of eternal life through the Force. We do not become overly obsessed in mourning those who pass, becoming sickened with grief and dying of loss. We may grieve at their passing, yes, even perhaps much... but we do for a time, and it ends... and we find contentment and rest in the knowledge that they will forever be a part of the Force, and thus indeed, always ever a part of us. Science teaches that neither matter nor energy is ever truly destroyed - "everything goes somewhere".

16. We are to make a commitment to our cause, and to Humanity. Our ideals, philosophies, and practices define the belief of Jediism, and we take action on this path for self-improvement, as well as to help others. We are both the witnesses and protectors of the Jedi way, by the practice of our convictions, and the sincerity of our actions.


There now - that was a lovely bit of reading, wasn't it? ^_~

Now on to the final bit, the white-on-black colour scheme. This is primarily to signify a light in darkness, a beacon in the shadow, and the coexistence of Light and Darkness.

And now, for my personal spin on it all, which does include all that is represented above, plus a small bit more. First, I'll place the image here, below...






First off, just as I have mentioned above, this holds the very same original sybolisms in the original emblem itself (the colours I've put together in it are all part of light), but also include those of an alchemical meaning;

If we go in evoking fashion around the points (to draw a unicursal five-pointed star, in a clockwise direction), starting and ending with white, we get;

Green, Blue, Yellow, Red, White.

These correspond to the philosophical elements, in order, from the most "solid" to the most "rarified";

Green-Earth,
Blue-Water,
Yellow-Air,
Red-Fire,
White-Spirit.

These, in turn, represent states of matter - again, from the more "solid" to the more "rarified";

Green-Earth-Solid,
Blue-Water-Liquid,
Yellow-Air-Gas,
Red-Fire-Plasma,
White-Spirit-Aether (Akasha/Qi/etc.).

These, in turn, correspond to the Four Forces and the "Superforce" from which they are all said to spring forth from, in Grand Unified Theory taught in particle physics. From the "weaker", lower frequency forces to the "stronger", higher frequency forces, we have;

Green-Earth-Solid-Gravitational Force,
Blue-Water-Liquid-Electromagnetic Force,
Yellow-Air-Gas-Weak Nuclear Force,
Red-Fire-Plasma-Strong Nuclear Force,
White-Spirit-Aether-Superforce (GUT - Grand Unified Theory).

Being Native American from Plains (Siksika-Blackfoot) and Woodland (Mohawk/Oji-Cree) tribal groups, I'd also found it interesting that, if you remove the green, you have the four colours of the Plains tribes' medicine wheel;

White - North, from where the cold winter winds come,
Yellow - East, from where the Sun rises every morning,
Red - South, the direction the dead are said to begin their journey towards,
Blue (interchangeable with Black) - West, where the Thunder Beings live.

But if you take away the blue instead, then you have the four colours of the Woodland tribes' medicine wheel;

White - Winter,
Yellow - Spring,
Green - Summer,
Red - Autumn.

(Depending on tribe, different colour/season correspondences may be used.)

But yes, the circle even in this here is very important, too - and in this case, even the extended background;

The Black is the darkness which we may find surrounding our lights, but that it doesn't totally consume the Brown, representing the Good Earth we walk upon, shows that much of the darkness, we bring with ourselves - after all, we all cast our own shadows ^_~


There - I think that'll all do rather nicely... I think that's the end of this post!


May the Force be with you, always <3

    - Tarran ^_^