I Just Wanna Be a Jedi

Written by Kevin Trout

Recently I have changed a lot of things in my life. Certain projects I am involved with have really given me a grasp of what I want to strive for. It wasn’t until these projects forced me to be open and honest with basically strangers that I realized how much I had been hiding my aspirations. Now I am not going to pretend they aren’t silly. Say what you will about the viability of the Jedi Path, it still sounds strange to say I want to be a Jedi and instructor of the Jedi Way. We are talking about terminology that originates with a fictional order created for an entertainment franchise. Of course that hasn’t stopped me for the past two decades, but recent changes and really allowed me to talk about the Jedi Path openly and freely. With family members, with friends, and with other people who simply enjoy the fandom that Star Wars has created. And being able to embrace my path has really given me fresh perspectives from those close to me. This has really helped my motivation in being an example. I still hold that saying, I want to be a Jedi or even I am a Jedi is still silly sounding. But I fully believe that one day it will not be and even if it does, that it will mean something more than Star Wars.

There are plenty of personal wellness paths out there. The biggest trends I see nowadays are not even related to any sort of spiritual label, but simply in living a healthy and productive life. Spiritually tends to be a by-product of these paths. Something magical and greater than the self is discovered in the pursuit of personal well-being. And the expression of that is found in seeking Happiness and wanting to share that happiness. Finding and embracing joy in all the aspects of life. Those that have these general interests of well-being and use social media have seen this the most. The amount of mental, emotional, and even spiritual messages that get mixed in with fitblrs (for example) shows the interconnected aspects of these topics. Lifting and muscle building may be the goal, but soon it is realized that it takes a full commitment of the body, mind, and soul. It becomes a lifestyle and affects every aspects of life. It requires one to change how they approach life.

This is no different for the Jedi Path. It is a lifestyle. It takes over and affects all aspects of our lives. The Jedi Circle (one of those recent changes I was mentioning) lists the Five Axioms as Physical, Emotional, Intellectual, Social, and Spiritual Well-Being. This is because Jedi acknowledge that these things are all connected. To neglect one is to damage the other(s). You have to get your mind right to succeed. This is about knowledge, this is about emotional content, this is about goal-setting, and it is about execution of your plan. In pursuit of becoming a Jedi you realize you cannot give half effort. If you do give half effort you end up realizing that you are missing out on something important and that you have to make a choice. This is either when people move on or come up with some absurd excuse like Grey Jedi. Few truly embrace the Path and simply give it their all. And that is because it does require openness beyond the net. Like any other path you cannot truly grow within it by practicing in the dark. You have to be able to dedicate the time to it.

The point of this post funny enough and the reason for the picture was because of this change in my life I have been forced to relearn the Jedi Path. I changed the Jedi Circle which means I have to commit a whole new format to memory. More than that I have to workout precisely how to manifest the concepts in my daily life.  Now I’d rather just be a wise old Jedi who has over two decades of study and experience under his belt. The truth is however closer to that I have 20 years of basically what not to do under my belt. The process, knowledge, and materials I have available now are just way more useful and beneficial than when I started back in the mid-90’s. The lifestyle has been beneficial to me, but I know it can be even more so. Which requires me to be the student once more.

So. Starting next week I’ll be examining the Jedi Circle piece by piece. Seeking to really delve into each topic. Keep the basics close to heart. I think I’ll seek to devote a week per subject. Which will drag out this re-training session to 25 weeks. Plus I’ll need to give time afterward to the process of bring them all together. A new journey begins. *sigh* Have I mentioned how I just want to be a Jedi and not do all this study and application stuff?

I just wanna be a Jedi was originally published on Jedi Living 365