Written by Kevin Trout for Jedi365.
1. Search Your Own Self First.
Be sure you explore your own motivations, wants, and desires first. Be open and honest with yourself. This is vitally important for tip #3. You need to have a clear understanding of what you are looking for and what you are hoping to get out of it. Again, be honest with yourself and don’t be judgmental about it either. If you are looking for your Qui-Gon Jinn – know that from the beginning.
Having a clear idea of where you are at and what you are looking for is going to put you leaps and bounds ahead of the class. If spiritual wellness and study your main focus? Why or why not? Emotional wellness? Physical? Lightsabers? Robes? What are your motivations with getting involved with the Jedi Community? Heck! Why Jedi at all? Knowing these things, knowing yourself and why you have picked the path will make the whole process not only easier, but much more rewarding as well.
2. Accept Who You Are Now.
It is important that you accept where you are and who you are now. And understand that where you are? That is okay. But before you go trying to become the wisest Jedi Master or even just the most awesomest Jedi Padawan, you need to know and accept your starting point. We all had one, in anything we do. No one is just a master at anything. It takes time, study, experience, and practice. In order to get where you want to be accept where you are at now.
This has a lot to do with self-acceptance and even self-respect. We seek growth because we not only want to be better, but we believe we can be. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be bothering to read this or be pursuing the idea of becoming a Jedi Knight. We seek world-betterment and that starts with self-betterment. The first step is accepting where we are and being willing to grow from there.
3. Know What You Want.
“You don’t know what you ask for, but you ask for more.” – DMX An old quote I like to use to highlight when we are ignorant of our ignorance. As stated in the first tip, you have to have an idea of what you are looking for. A general concept of the direction you want to go in. The things that appeal to you and the philosophies you are hoping to learn about. This will help you to find the perfect Jedi mentor for yourself. Or in some cases help other more knowledgeable Jedi point you in the direction of a Jedi who would be better suited for you.
I have directed many Jedi to websites and mentors that have suited much better than anything I could offer. Their focus and what they were looking to get out of the Path fit well with other Jedi. That is the beauty of our diversity. Like all relationships, there is someone out there that is a good fit for you. The trick is finding them. That trick becomes much more easy when a.) You know what you are looking for and b.) you make use of the resources at your disposal (in this case the plethora of Jedi who will gladly help you find the right mentor).
4. Do Your Research
While you work on 1 through 3, read up on the community. Watch some Jedi videos on youtube. Partake in some email exchanges with known Jedi in the community. Do a google search or five. Engage with Jedi and various groups. Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to get personal (especially with a potential Mentor). A Jedi Mentor will be advising, guiding, and generally boring you to tears with lectures. Make sure that is coming from someone you feel comfortable with. Trust and Communication are key so make sure you aren’t just throwing those at someone who became a Jedi Master the same day they joined the Jedi Community.
When you find that special Jedi who will bury you alive in homework and book assignments – ask around. You have been doing research yes? Inquire with a Jedi or two who’s opinion you have come to respect or at least you feel will give you an honest opinion. Get their thoughts and experiences with said potential Jedi mentor. Regardless of their view or opinion it gives you a better idea of what to expect and how that vibes with what you are looking for. Also a good way to make sure you aren’t in a padawan party – joining twenty other “apprentices”. Training is a time commitment on both sides. A teacher with too many students simply runs out of energy and time.
5. Give It Time.
Do NOT get a Jedi mentor day one. Give It Time. Examine yourself, read some Jedi articles, poke around the community some. Any Day One Mentor is a pure crap shoot. You may get lucky, but more likely than not you are setting yourself up for a bad experience. Any Jedi worth their salt will want to talk with you. Get an idea of who you are and what you are looking for. They are going to have questions. Some of those might be very tough questions. They’ll probably give a day or two to observe. Or trust in another Jedi who may have already put you on hold while they vetted your sincerity and patience. Or merely while they talked with another Jedi about potential Apprenticeship.
Don’t rush. There is no rush. Apprenticeship will take you a couple of years at the quickest. A couple of days or a couple of weeks or a couple of months will not hinder you. In fact it may do the exact opposite and really help you excel as a Jedi Padawan. So don’t rush into anything and don’t push for a Jedi Mentor needlessly. Allow the organic process to unfold as it will. That said – you get nothing by remaining silent and not engaging. So, you know, be a little noisy and a little pushy. Make sure those rusty old Jedi know who you are and what you are looking for. ?
Nice advice. I’ve had a few ask me to mentor and yet, I knew upfront that *I* was not what they were looking for so I had them look to others. And even when I *did* mentor some folks, it only lasted a while since padawans ‘grow up’ (mine were in their 30s!) and need to expand their training beyond what I could offer… which is how it should be.
Exactly! My padawan found me by a referral as well, its a good system.