Post by Jinsei on Jan 18, 2009 14:39:06 GMT -5
I've been considering for some time now how I would go about establishing a Jedi Group of some sort. There are so many things to take into account, because what once seemed like it'd be a simple thing to do, based on the information we had from the three original movies... purposefully leaving out any Expanded Universe material, it seemed that the only thing needed was a belief in the Force, combined with meditation and practice. Neither Obi-Wan, nor Yoda, seemed to practice any form of martial arts on a regular basis, but it was apparent that they did have an ability to defend themselves, even though Obi-Wan was shown to use the "Jedi Mind Trick" to be able to avoid a confrontation. When confrontation was unavoidable, he'd use his lightsaber to disable the person (such as cutting off an arm) and work towards ending it without taking a life or losing his own. It was also shown that when death comes, by being prepared for it we can ascend to a higher level of being and become what's popularly known as a "Force Ghost".
Over the past 10 years or so, people have attempted to establish Jedi Orders over the internet. They get a lot of people to join, who post plenty, but eventually there comes a time where someone lets their authority over a website go to their head and they begin to believe that they're the ultimate authority on the Jedi and begin trying to dictate what goes on, who can and can't be a Jedi, etc. Quite a few of these websites have even tried to force their will upon other websites. Eventually, these sites end up flooded by arguments, which eventually end with all of the members leaving and the site becoming dead or closed. I solidly believe that the problem with them is a combination of things. First, they were usually ran by someone who had a cult leader mentality. The person wanted to gather a group of followers and to be held in high esteem for all of their "wisdom," which was rarely shown but was believed by all to be there. Second, they worked solely on the internet. Not only was the website the primary place of interaction for the members, it was the only place that the particular Jedi Order existed. There wasn't anything offline, aside from members and leaders who were primarily only Jedi when they sat down at their computer. Lastly, they weren't ever really organized, but were looking for a way to become the Jedi Order shown in the prequels, instead of starting with the basics and building from there.
With very little guidance and a lack of decent leaders, these websites became stagnant, which doesn't really help anyone. They'd spend a year talking about "What is a Jedi?" only to wrap up that discussion and move on to the next of "How do we define a Jedi?" Sure, these questions need to be asked in the beginning, but nitpicking the subject to death, until the answers cover everyone or no one, doesn't get anything done.
If I were going to start up my own group, there are a series of things that I'd do to help ensure that it wasn't just another "online group" or anything without some structure. Sure, I started the CO, but that was more with the premise of breaking away from the online Jedi to have time to re-center and re-focus my own thoughts on the Jedi, and to hopefully get back to the core of what I thought the Jedi should be.
The first thing I'd do is find a group of people who had a similar philosophy of the Jedi to my own. This would definitely be geared towards the Jedi, but with a little bit more freedom than the fictional Jedi had in their personal lives. It would focus on living in harmy with the world around us, using wisdom and logic, and helping others. There'd be concentration on meditation and working to always better ourselves physically and mentally, but without demands or restrictions on what those ways could be. It would also look towards the Unifying Force, as well as, the Living Force, but with a Poentium view of them... something along the lines of, "The galaxy has a master plan which is inherently good. There are no dark or light sides of the Force, it's simply used for dark and light purposes. The Force is the pure energy of awareness and consciousness itself, which links sentient and non-sentient things, all space and all time. Use your knowledge of the past and future, but live in the present." (I used the Wookiepedia page on The Force to write that.)
There is always a desire by anyone wanting to call themselves a Jedi and be part of an Order to have some sort of Code to unite behind. Most people tend to go with the four or five line version, which was established by Odan-Urr:
Personally, while I don't think this Code is a bad one, I like the one that was promoted heavily when Episode 1 came out, which was established as having been written by Grand Master Luke Skywalker when he reestablished the Jedi Order; but the Code was used in books based on Episode 1.
A good start to be sure. It's fairly straightforward and easy enough to understand. However, while searching through Wookiepedia, I came across a few more lines that I personally like and would love to include (or at least consider including) in a real world Code, even if modified further than I've modified them...
So, with the establishment of a Philosophy and a Code, I'd move on to developing the "Declaration of Faith". I've used the one found at the Universal Life Church as a guideline, but modified it to fit myself more closely and likely wouldn't be the final version I used in any official capacity:
With that accomplished I'd develop a name that represents the founding group as well as the Code. Simply claiming the title of "Jedi" and slapping something additional onto it, like Academy, Order, Council, etc. is just asking for others to come and stir up trouble on any website, because it makes it appear that you're claiming that your way is the only way and that everyone can either follow you or not be a Jedi. This is one of the reasons that I came up with the term "Consithian Order" and later changed it to "Wizards of the Force"... neither of these hint at being the end all to the Jedi, yet could very easily be modeled after the Jedi but with a real world purpose. Icarus once asked me why I didn't want to turn the Consithian Order into an actual Order, and I didn't have an answer for her other than, "I don't want to." In truth, that wasn't the complete truth. My answer should have been, "I don't want to until the time is right or until I have a better understanding of how an Order should be formed." Whem coming up with the name, it should fairly accurately represent the founders of the group. If there were five founder, who were all followers of Jesus, then the name could show that and further separate the group from looking like they're trying to take over the whole of the Jedi. For example, "Jedi for Jesus", an ancronym, like Jim's "Jehovah Emmanual Deus Illuminati", or my own concept of "Orthodox Jedi Church".
There's always the standard questions that need to be asked of the founding group about the goals... What do we want to teach? What do we want to learn? What or who do we want to help? Would we want to have 501(c) (3), non-profit status as a church, or stay an independent group? Do we want to allow individual groups to establish their own goals, can they build on our own, or do they have to abide by them specifically? Stuff along those lines. These goals should be as clear and detailed as possible, but not out of the realm of being accomplished... such as:
Next, there should be a Symbol. Just as with the name and the Code, it should represent the founding group. If the founders were all followers of Christ, then working something into the symbol that combined the Jedi Symbol and the Cross would work out fairly easily. If they wanted to move away from the symbol of the Cross, then there's always other choices, like a White Dove. The symbol that represents a group is generally something that stands out and can be easily recognized, it's also something that can be used on physical objects, like patches, stickers, jewelry, etc. which can be carried out into the real world and away from the internet. CafePress.com offers a print on demand service, where anyone can open a store, but the company has to charge a minimal amount when someone orders an item. The store owner can add on as much as they want above the minimum, if they want to make a profit.
At this point we're still working within the confines of the founders. So, we need to decide exactly how someone can join. Do they simply log onto the website and are instantly members, or should there be a vote to decide that? Personally, I like the idea of an individual group being able to decide for themselves who is and isn't a member. However, I also like the idea of a central group being able to decide who is and isn't an official group. Sort of like the Chapter idea at the Jedi Resource Center. Though, I believe that since the Founding Members are the ones who were responsible for the creation of the group, then they should automatically be the "Council." If one person steps down, then the "Council" should be able to vote on their own members. This is actually the way that it was done at Jediism, and I didn't have a problem with them choosing their own members, because it's the easiest way to ensure a continuity from the original members and their ideals, without getting the membership to vote on the new members, who may not come anywhere close to representing the original goals. A lot of people tend to have a problem with this setup and the usual complaint is, "I didn't vote for them!" well, that's why the group doesn't seek to represent all Jedi, just their particular branch of it. If someone doesn't like what's being done, they can simply leave. No big deal.
Once a Philosophy, a Code, a Declaration of Faith, a Name, Goals, a Symbol and a Council have been chosen and work together with people standing behind them, I'd build a website that showed what that Order stood for, that provides a discussion forum for people to talk. Luckily, we've already got both of these, even though they're both provided free and need some work. Neither the website, nor the forum, should be the only place that anyone interacts. It should be an online foundation that's used to communicate and share information with others. They should both be used to "flaunt" what the Order has done to help others... to help the world itself.
Then, I'd want the Council to establish that the members should actually be doing something to help others. I've provided links to websites that you can "Click to Donate" in which a sponsor will donate a certain amount of something for every time you click. In my opinion, clicking these things is fairly easy and can be done everyday, and are as valid as any other form of charitable giving, because in the end something good is being done. The website should be setup that so members report their monthly totals for giving to charity and it's tallied up and posted on the site. That way, when others look at the site, they can see that something is actually being done to help people, animals, etc. If a member does something offline that's not associated with the internet, but has helped someone else... feeding the homeless, saving a dog, saving someone, etc. then they should be encouraged to tell others by posting it at the discussion forum and by telling the Council or Site Admin. That way word gets out which can be used as an example to inspire others to do good works.
By now, it should be established that there is a Philosophy, a Code, a Declaration of Faith, a Name, Goals, a Symbol, a Council, a Website, a Discussion Forum, and that the members are actually doing something productive. Where a lot of groups tend to run into trouble is when they begin to establish required training methods. Some people want to focus on the Force, others more on physical training such as martial arts, etc. Personally, I'd love to see a group that refers back to their Code when offering suggestions for training. If someone were to look at the Code above, then the main requirement could be that they "seek to improve themselves through knowledge and training" which is fairly loose, but is easily determined when talking to someone about their training. If they do absolutely no physical training... of which I'm currently guilty of... then they're not improving themselves physically. If they don't expand their knowledge by studying or reading, then they're not improving themselves intellectually. Rather than condemn a person for this, we should still allow them to be a member, but encourage them to work harder on self-improvement.
With all of the above established, it would then be time to actually start working on things that make a church a church or a religion a religion... it's all in the details. Marriage Ceremonies, Funeral Ceremonies, Blessings, Baptisms, Other Ceremonies, etc. Things that each group can take out and do in the real world, to make the Order a real thing, instead of being based solely online. Members who create new ways or methods of doing something, should be encouraged to share that information with everyone else, that way it spreads beyond just a small group of people and to the rest of the Order.
Over the past 10 years or so, people have attempted to establish Jedi Orders over the internet. They get a lot of people to join, who post plenty, but eventually there comes a time where someone lets their authority over a website go to their head and they begin to believe that they're the ultimate authority on the Jedi and begin trying to dictate what goes on, who can and can't be a Jedi, etc. Quite a few of these websites have even tried to force their will upon other websites. Eventually, these sites end up flooded by arguments, which eventually end with all of the members leaving and the site becoming dead or closed. I solidly believe that the problem with them is a combination of things. First, they were usually ran by someone who had a cult leader mentality. The person wanted to gather a group of followers and to be held in high esteem for all of their "wisdom," which was rarely shown but was believed by all to be there. Second, they worked solely on the internet. Not only was the website the primary place of interaction for the members, it was the only place that the particular Jedi Order existed. There wasn't anything offline, aside from members and leaders who were primarily only Jedi when they sat down at their computer. Lastly, they weren't ever really organized, but were looking for a way to become the Jedi Order shown in the prequels, instead of starting with the basics and building from there.
With very little guidance and a lack of decent leaders, these websites became stagnant, which doesn't really help anyone. They'd spend a year talking about "What is a Jedi?" only to wrap up that discussion and move on to the next of "How do we define a Jedi?" Sure, these questions need to be asked in the beginning, but nitpicking the subject to death, until the answers cover everyone or no one, doesn't get anything done.
If I were going to start up my own group, there are a series of things that I'd do to help ensure that it wasn't just another "online group" or anything without some structure. Sure, I started the CO, but that was more with the premise of breaking away from the online Jedi to have time to re-center and re-focus my own thoughts on the Jedi, and to hopefully get back to the core of what I thought the Jedi should be.
The first thing I'd do is find a group of people who had a similar philosophy of the Jedi to my own. This would definitely be geared towards the Jedi, but with a little bit more freedom than the fictional Jedi had in their personal lives. It would focus on living in harmy with the world around us, using wisdom and logic, and helping others. There'd be concentration on meditation and working to always better ourselves physically and mentally, but without demands or restrictions on what those ways could be. It would also look towards the Unifying Force, as well as, the Living Force, but with a Poentium view of them... something along the lines of, "The galaxy has a master plan which is inherently good. There are no dark or light sides of the Force, it's simply used for dark and light purposes. The Force is the pure energy of awareness and consciousness itself, which links sentient and non-sentient things, all space and all time. Use your knowledge of the past and future, but live in the present." (I used the Wookiepedia page on The Force to write that.)
There is always a desire by anyone wanting to call themselves a Jedi and be part of an Order to have some sort of Code to unite behind. Most people tend to go with the four or five line version, which was established by Odan-Urr:
- There is no emotion, there is peace.
- There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
- There is no passion, there is serenity.
- (There is no chaos, there is harmony.)(*)
- There is no death, there is the Force.
-The Jedi Code (Based on the meditations of Odan-Urr)
Personally, while I don't think this Code is a bad one, I like the one that was promoted heavily when Episode 1 came out, which was established as having been written by Grand Master Luke Skywalker when he reestablished the Jedi Order; but the Code was used in books based on Episode 1.
- Jedi are the guardians of peace in the galaxy.
- Jedi use their powers to defend and to protect.
- Jedi respect all life, in any form.
- Jedi serve others rather than ruling over them, for the good of the galaxy.
- Jedi seek to improve themselves through knowledge and training.
A good start to be sure. It's fairly straightforward and easy enough to understand. However, while searching through Wookiepedia, I came across a few more lines that I personally like and would love to include (or at least consider including) in a real world Code, even if modified further than I've modified them...
- Jedi use the Force for knowledge and defense, never for aggression or personal gain.
- Jedi respect each other, and all other life forms.
- Jedi must put the needs of the community above the needs of individuals.
- Jedi protect the weak and defenseless from evil.
- Jedi must always cooperate in battle or crisis.
- Jedi do show self-reliance.
- Jedi do not kill an unarmed opponent.
- Jedi do not take revenge.
- Jedi do not cling to the past.
- Jedi do not kill their prisoners.
So, with the establishment of a Philosophy and a Code, I'd move on to developing the "Declaration of Faith". I've used the one found at the Universal Life Church as a guideline, but modified it to fit myself more closely and likely wouldn't be the final version I used in any official capacity:
We believe in God, the Force, and respect the power of Prayer.
We also respect and value those who do not believe in God and
those who get their answers through means other than prayer.
We believe that all should be useful citizens, do meaningful work,
to encourage and help others find their purpose and achieve a
healthy self-image. We believe in allowing individual
responsibility for spiritual growth.
We respect the Constitution of the United States of America.
We also respect the governments of the other peaceful nations
in which some of our members may reside.
We also respect and value those who do not believe in God and
those who get their answers through means other than prayer.
We believe that all should be useful citizens, do meaningful work,
to encourage and help others find their purpose and achieve a
healthy self-image. We believe in allowing individual
responsibility for spiritual growth.
We respect the Constitution of the United States of America.
We also respect the governments of the other peaceful nations
in which some of our members may reside.
With that accomplished I'd develop a name that represents the founding group as well as the Code. Simply claiming the title of "Jedi" and slapping something additional onto it, like Academy, Order, Council, etc. is just asking for others to come and stir up trouble on any website, because it makes it appear that you're claiming that your way is the only way and that everyone can either follow you or not be a Jedi. This is one of the reasons that I came up with the term "Consithian Order" and later changed it to "Wizards of the Force"... neither of these hint at being the end all to the Jedi, yet could very easily be modeled after the Jedi but with a real world purpose. Icarus once asked me why I didn't want to turn the Consithian Order into an actual Order, and I didn't have an answer for her other than, "I don't want to." In truth, that wasn't the complete truth. My answer should have been, "I don't want to until the time is right or until I have a better understanding of how an Order should be formed." Whem coming up with the name, it should fairly accurately represent the founders of the group. If there were five founder, who were all followers of Jesus, then the name could show that and further separate the group from looking like they're trying to take over the whole of the Jedi. For example, "Jedi for Jesus", an ancronym, like Jim's "Jehovah Emmanual Deus Illuminati", or my own concept of "Orthodox Jedi Church".
There's always the standard questions that need to be asked of the founding group about the goals... What do we want to teach? What do we want to learn? What or who do we want to help? Would we want to have 501(c) (3), non-profit status as a church, or stay an independent group? Do we want to allow individual groups to establish their own goals, can they build on our own, or do they have to abide by them specifically? Stuff along those lines. These goals should be as clear and detailed as possible, but not out of the realm of being accomplished... such as:
Our main purpose is to help any and all who seek to learn the spiritual path of the Orthodox Jedi Church, regardless of race, gender, background or other church affliliations. We are devoted to the gathering and sharing of knowledge, resources and information that will help others in their quest to live the life of a Jedi and to spread a message of peace and love to the world.
Next, there should be a Symbol. Just as with the name and the Code, it should represent the founding group. If the founders were all followers of Christ, then working something into the symbol that combined the Jedi Symbol and the Cross would work out fairly easily. If they wanted to move away from the symbol of the Cross, then there's always other choices, like a White Dove. The symbol that represents a group is generally something that stands out and can be easily recognized, it's also something that can be used on physical objects, like patches, stickers, jewelry, etc. which can be carried out into the real world and away from the internet. CafePress.com offers a print on demand service, where anyone can open a store, but the company has to charge a minimal amount when someone orders an item. The store owner can add on as much as they want above the minimum, if they want to make a profit.
At this point we're still working within the confines of the founders. So, we need to decide exactly how someone can join. Do they simply log onto the website and are instantly members, or should there be a vote to decide that? Personally, I like the idea of an individual group being able to decide for themselves who is and isn't a member. However, I also like the idea of a central group being able to decide who is and isn't an official group. Sort of like the Chapter idea at the Jedi Resource Center. Though, I believe that since the Founding Members are the ones who were responsible for the creation of the group, then they should automatically be the "Council." If one person steps down, then the "Council" should be able to vote on their own members. This is actually the way that it was done at Jediism, and I didn't have a problem with them choosing their own members, because it's the easiest way to ensure a continuity from the original members and their ideals, without getting the membership to vote on the new members, who may not come anywhere close to representing the original goals. A lot of people tend to have a problem with this setup and the usual complaint is, "I didn't vote for them!" well, that's why the group doesn't seek to represent all Jedi, just their particular branch of it. If someone doesn't like what's being done, they can simply leave. No big deal.
Once a Philosophy, a Code, a Declaration of Faith, a Name, Goals, a Symbol and a Council have been chosen and work together with people standing behind them, I'd build a website that showed what that Order stood for, that provides a discussion forum for people to talk. Luckily, we've already got both of these, even though they're both provided free and need some work. Neither the website, nor the forum, should be the only place that anyone interacts. It should be an online foundation that's used to communicate and share information with others. They should both be used to "flaunt" what the Order has done to help others... to help the world itself.
Then, I'd want the Council to establish that the members should actually be doing something to help others. I've provided links to websites that you can "Click to Donate" in which a sponsor will donate a certain amount of something for every time you click. In my opinion, clicking these things is fairly easy and can be done everyday, and are as valid as any other form of charitable giving, because in the end something good is being done. The website should be setup that so members report their monthly totals for giving to charity and it's tallied up and posted on the site. That way, when others look at the site, they can see that something is actually being done to help people, animals, etc. If a member does something offline that's not associated with the internet, but has helped someone else... feeding the homeless, saving a dog, saving someone, etc. then they should be encouraged to tell others by posting it at the discussion forum and by telling the Council or Site Admin. That way word gets out which can be used as an example to inspire others to do good works.
By now, it should be established that there is a Philosophy, a Code, a Declaration of Faith, a Name, Goals, a Symbol, a Council, a Website, a Discussion Forum, and that the members are actually doing something productive. Where a lot of groups tend to run into trouble is when they begin to establish required training methods. Some people want to focus on the Force, others more on physical training such as martial arts, etc. Personally, I'd love to see a group that refers back to their Code when offering suggestions for training. If someone were to look at the Code above, then the main requirement could be that they "seek to improve themselves through knowledge and training" which is fairly loose, but is easily determined when talking to someone about their training. If they do absolutely no physical training... of which I'm currently guilty of... then they're not improving themselves physically. If they don't expand their knowledge by studying or reading, then they're not improving themselves intellectually. Rather than condemn a person for this, we should still allow them to be a member, but encourage them to work harder on self-improvement.
With all of the above established, it would then be time to actually start working on things that make a church a church or a religion a religion... it's all in the details. Marriage Ceremonies, Funeral Ceremonies, Blessings, Baptisms, Other Ceremonies, etc. Things that each group can take out and do in the real world, to make the Order a real thing, instead of being based solely online. Members who create new ways or methods of doing something, should be encouraged to share that information with everyone else, that way it spreads beyond just a small group of people and to the rest of the Order.