What is it like to be a Jedi? Interview with Jestor. By Hylianzombie234

By @Hylianzombie234
POSTED: 01 Mar 2013 21:08
CATEGORY: Educational
FEATURED: Yes (@Haruspex)
(Go to comments)

After bloodofgore's blog I looked into Jediism, as I wanted more information. One of bloodofgore's comments directed the people reading it to Temple of the Jedi Order. I looked around the site and got information from the basic pages, and from forums. Then I thought, Well, why would most of the inhabitants of SDK go to this site and read? I also wanted some more information on the religion, since I started thinking about joining the religion, so I posted a thread and two members of the Jedi Council (for that site) plus a senior member replied within an hour, and I managed to get an interview with one of them, Jestor. I'm new to this reviewing thing, so I'm sorry if the questions seem all over the place. Also, I only fixed the spelling errors, other than that, it was copying and pasting, for the most part.

Me:I need time to think of good questions to ask. First off, what is it that real Jedi do?
Jestor: Did you watch star wars? Do you remember how goofy Yoda was when luke met him?

The answers you seek, won't make sense at first...

I will always answer honestly, and to the best of my ability, but, you may not like it...

That said, my first answer would be that depends on the jedi, and the situation....

Me:Now, I am currently 16, and probably most of the people reading this
interview (I hope I didn't forget to tell you this) are most likely
under the age of 18. How does one go about becoming a Jedi when their
under 18? What about over 18? (I do kinda understand this already, but
I just want to put it on here.)
Jestor:lol, you just declare yourself a jedi...

You don't need us for that...

We are not the "law" on becoming a jedi, there are lots of other sites...

And, you don't need them either...

If you live as you think a Jedi would, with the values, and heart, then really you are already a jedi...

TOTJO is a legally registered organization in Texas, in the United States...

By joining TOTJO, we offer the ability for a person to claim, legally, they are jedi... And, a member of a Jedi organization...

Like joining any organization or club, there is "paperwork", but we do not ask for much from under 18‘s...

Becoming a knight, requires training... If becoming a jedi knight is a goal....

Me:Next question: Can Jedi get married? I know, or at least sure, it's
been awhile since I watched a Star Wars movie, Jedi couldn't, but it
could be different.
Jestor:Married? Yep! No problem there...

I think the fictional jedi worried about attachment developing...

We real Jedi discourage attachment, but marriage isn't a problem...

Convential, same sex, whatever... We don't judge...

Me:What is the force to you?
Jestor

verything...

Picture something sitting in a box....

Say a cat, sitting on a rock...

Now, the cat, the rock, the box, and the space inside it are all parts of the Force...

Now take all of that away, and the emptiness that's left?

Yea, that's the Force too...

So... Its everything...

Me:Interesting. In what way do real Jedi use the force?
Jestor:Lol, depends on the Jedi, depends on the situation...

Me:You said that Jedi discourage attachment, why is this? Also, are there
any times where it's fine to have attachments? Like your family or
significant other?
Jestor:Well, if you are fond of something, of course its ok... To a point...

Its actually "unhealthy" attachment that's frowned on...

Such as obsession...

Me:What is the training like to become a Jedi Knight?
Jestor:More strenuous than combing your hair....

Not as difficult as juggling chainsaws...

On a more serious note, it is different for each person...

Currently, we are limited to the mental aspects of training...

Someday, maybe that won't be the case...

Me:I've seen many different ranks on TotJO, what are the names of all of
the Jedi ranks?
Jestor:I call my rank "Bob", he seems to like the more masculine names...

Oh, that's not what you meant, is it?

Temple Member
Novice
Initiate
Apprentice
Knight
Senior Knight
Master Knight
GrandMaster Knight (honorary)

These are TOTJO Jedi ranks, and hold no authority at other sites...

Me:Can Jedi
show their emotions?
Jestor:Sure...

I'm happy, I'm mad, sad, disappointed... All the emotions...

We strive to not let them make our decisions for us....

Use logic and good decision making...

But emotions are a part of us, and good indicators to much we encounter....

Me:I had other questions that I was going to ask you, but I forgot what
they were, so I guess were done here. Thank you for your time, I
really enjoyed interviewing you. Should I put the link to TOTJO for
more information? Or have them look it up themselves?
Jestor:Lol, your call...

I hope my mannerisms isn't the cause for your ending this....

We are all individuals...

If I ask what makes you you, you would be like, " me?"

Being a jedi is a personal journey, and I can only speak for my experience....

My name is Jestor for a reason, because life is entertaining, and I'm loving it....

We are looked at all the time, like bugs u fer microscopes, people trying to figure us out...

I could ask 1000 questions, and never understand what it is like to be you, live like you. See things as you see them...

Its an experience that has to be lived to be understood...

And, few will want to invest their time in it...

Most get bored, lol...

As far as the link, feel free to post it in the General section, or send me a link, and I will post it...

Any more questions, let me know...

Good luck, and enjoy your life's journey...

+2 -2

Jestor
06 Mar 2013 02:43

Whoops..

I didn't finish my thought....

As far as Im concerned, your faith is based in stories of the olden times...

Mine, in what might be...

Im not worried about what was....

IM looking to what might be...

HullBreach
06 Mar 2013 03:41
In reply to Jestor

By the way, Methuselah was supposed to have lived into his 900s before mankind's longevity was shortened to 120 years. I bet when all the young people got around him, he said "When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not."

Jestor
06 Mar 2013 02:36

First, let me say to Bloodofgore, Im no one.. lol...

Im just a guy who digs ditches for a living... My TOTJO rank merely is from commitment to TOTJO...

I made a few assumptions, but just jestor is fine...

@HullBreach,

I applaud your research...

It seems you have means to devices above those of many... I don't know you, and you could be as, uh, confused(?) as you must think I am, lol...

I originally responded because you said we are just fanboys who have taken the love of a fictional story too far... More or less...

Your story of the ark in other countries? Continents? Could very well be...

Creation myths exist in every culture too... And they don't have genesis to fall back on...

HullBreach
06 Mar 2013 03:36
In reply to Jestor

I think it has been a great back and forth discussion that probably drew a sizable audience. I made an open offer probably a year ago for someone representing different religions to write a Q&A blog to clear up any misconceptions about his/her religion. I took on the task of answering questions about Christianity, but no one from the Jewish or Muslim population in this community took me up on the offer. I extend this invitation for you to write a Q&A blog. It will be a more public way to share your beliefs than just comments on an existing.

Jestor
06 Mar 2013 04:33
In reply to HullBreach

It has been a lot of fun, thank you....

Loved the Yoda quote, lol...

Like Christianity, there are many facets to Jediism...

Some feel its not a religion, but a life's path...

I could continue, but won't, since it doesn't matter for this conversation...

I wouldn't mind answering what I could in a q&a, how do I go about it?

HullBreach
06 Mar 2013 12:46
In reply to Jestor

If you look at my blog titled something like "Misconceptions of Christianity", that can give you an idea of the format. When you save the blog, be sure to check mark the "Submit for News" box so that an admin can feature it as a promoted blog.

Jestor
05 Mar 2013 04:01

I hope you realize we are really not too far apart on our beliefs...

You remove the personality, or I add the personality and we are on the same page...

I disagree with Descartes reasoning on God, (are you surprised?)...

For you, God created all of this...

For me, we created all of this... I am an evolution of my parents, who are evolution of their parents, and on, and on....

Then there was primitive man, scientifically proven, and then further back to the few, steps between us and basic animals...

Then further back yet...

We grew from this planet, as vegetables from a garden...

It required no intelligent intervention...

We grew to this point...

And will continue to grow to the next....

I understand where you are coming from, really I do...

I discuss this kinda stuff every day with my Christian co-worker, as well as on the Jedi site...

Its like the tattoo saying... "A tattooed person doesn't care if you are tattooed"

A Jedi doesn't care what you believe, if it helps you....

We don't judge, we don't care...

In the end, you will do as you need to get through your life....

And in the end, evolution will continue...

You might think we are fans, we are nerds...

Im pretty sure the masses were against Jesus and his followers... SOMEHOW, they made more sense to the masses, once everyone figured out what they were really saying...

Im a 5'10“, 250lb black belt who's faith, when ask, sounds a lot like what the fictional Jedi believe...

I don't get teased much, lol...

You are as entitled to your belief, as I am mine...

If you like, please feel free to contact me through the TOTJO website to further discussion... Or don't, lol, this too is fine...

Or, message me here, and we can exchange email...

This forum is cumbersome, and unfamiliar, and is not very smart phone friendly...

And I carry this phone, like a Jedi carries his/her lightsaber...

Or a Christian his bible...

And as it is so I am taking my leave from this great conversation...

Thank you to Hylianzombie, and you, Hullbreach, for reading my words,and taking time out of your lives to converse with me...

May the Force be with You....

HullBreach
03 Mar 2013 14:18

I'm sorry, but I can't take this seriously when it purports to be a religion from a movie saga and its "official" membership differs by website. Plus, you ask questions about specific aspects of the Jedi Order from the movies, and this person scoffs at those and says that you can really do whatever you want. To me, it sounds little more like an attempt for Star Wars fanatics to just obsess over the movies to the point that they get government recognition for their club membership.

Don't take this as a bashing of a religion - since I have been on the forefront of standing up for religious beliefs of others so many times in this community. A bunch of movie fans making websites and starting petitions with the government, then living their lives however they please does not qualify as a religion.

To be a religion, one has to strive to follow a set of rules that were put forth in a Holy book. Members of that religious group try their hardest to live their lives a certain way.

The Jedis of Star Wars follow many beliefs that mirror Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinoism, Christianity, and probably others, that are blended into a religion that's a great for a fantasy movie saga but does not extend beyond that saga. One can follow philosophies of the Jedi (of which there are many great ones), but that still does not make it a religion.

Jestor
04 Mar 2013 01:31
In reply to HullBreach

Why does it require a Holy Book?

Why not many? We pull our wisdom from many books, and many sources....

Many of us, fell from Christianity... I used to tell folks I was agnostic...

I believe there is something out there... Something unifying... That unites us all...

Like the "Force" in the SW movies...

Then I found the Jedi Community on-line...

IM not an Asian, was not raised in tjose beliefs... But I am a 4th degree martial artist...

I believe in the "chi", or "ki", or wjatever you choose to call it...

I do not feel it is God, which adds the personality to it...

But I believe it flows through all things...

Most of us actually know very little of the fiction... Couldn't care less...

We follow personal codes of ethics, and try to weigh those values with, and against, others values...

We believe is something, we call it "the force" so it has a name...

It is a geeky nod to love of movies... I've seen "Pulp Fiction", and "The Sound of Music", and, I don't wanna kill people, nor become a nun and tale care of kids...

Because you don't understand it, you mock it...

No worries, it happens....

HullBreach
04 Mar 2013 12:50
In reply to Jestor

This is a serious question, so don't take it as mocking:

If this is a new-age (I think that's the correct term.) religion that borrows material from existing ones, then why is it named and modeled on the religion from a fantasy movie saga?

I just can't get around the thought of a manufactured religion. Being a Christian myself, I often hear people claim all sorts of fallacies of Christianity, but when they are challenged to prove that the religion was manufactured, these who held animosity always become Christians themselves after what they find. I'm not talking about doing simple searches online for anti-Christian websites, either; I'm referring to seriously digging through historical documentation and consulting scholars - research that can take months.

Now with Jedism, one can easily trace is right back to George Lucas' creation of a fantasy realm within a small spiral galaxy about 20 parsecs in diameter. He borrowed from religions to make for a good storyline, but its really no different than the much maligned Scientology, which originated from a series of L. Ron Hubbard science-fiction novels that borrowed from elements of other religions.

I realize that it's human nature to search for meaning to existence. We all have that sort of seed planted in our souls, essences, life forces, or what have you. I just cannot get past this idea of the origin of Jedism.

Do you have memorable religious experiences? I'm talking about those times when you just feel at peace when turmoil is around you. Have you been given the strength of will to overcome an obstacle that you could not have overcome alone? My most recent example is when I held my dead son in my arms, emotionally broken at the loss, but soon at peace, knowing that I would be with him, again, one day. That peace is what Christianity is to me, though the peace of the Holy Spirit.

Jestor
04 Mar 2013 18:58
In reply to HullBreach

Yes...

I grew up Catholic... I understand what you mean...

This wasnt an easy transition for me, to say there was no god felt very blasphemous to me in the beginning...

The problem as Christianity waspresented to me, and is to so many still practicing, is that they apply a personality to this mysterious "force"...

I am sorry to hear of your son... And no, I have not had that exact situation...

But when my father passed, under some questionable circumstances, I felt peace knowing I wasnt loking at him, I was looking at the shell of him... That which carried his body... The physical representation of him...

I dont remember if I have stated this, but I am 42, I am not a child who took this on a whim...

I have considered this since the SW movies came out... Most of us have something of an eastern belief system, only donot understand their beliefs either...

All religion is man-made... There is an evolution of religion, and of everything...

First, primitive man figured there was a god of the flower, the buffalo, the water, sky, grass, rain, snow...

Then, they condensed it... Well, Thor is the God of the Sky, Posieden of the water.... Zues, being the father of all gods...

Then, they combined the gods into one god...

Now, we are removing the personality from it...

I feel at peace all the time... I am in the 'now' of the world... And feel connected to each of my brothers and sister...

Where as you call him your Holy Father...

I say simply "The Force"...

I felt alone in my thinking for years... Thinking something was wrong with me... Because my family could believein God, butI just cant see it...

Well, I can, for them, but it wasnt a good fit for myself...

I understand you dont 'get it'...

Thats ok, we are not trying to 'sell' it...

People come to us everyday, as they flock from the mainstream religions because unflexibility in their belief systems...

How many of your fellow church goers do you agree with right down the line?

All the way, from the front of the bible to the end?

Few I would venture to guess...

So, if you do not all agree, right down the party line, are you all the same kind of Christians?

Just a question... No offence is meant by me either...

I just enjoy the conversations...

HullBreach
04 Mar 2013 20:22
In reply to Jestor

The reason I see an intelligence behind the universe, rather than an interconnected Force, has to do with a series of philosophical proofs that start with older arguments by Rene Descartes and St. Thomas Aquinas and end with modern astronomers and other scientific minds. The simplest is "Cogito ergo sum." (I think; therefore, I am.) The idea of a conscious mind that cannot be explained through science alone leads my thoughts down the path to an idea that a conscious mind cannot come into existence without a conscious mind already existing. When I start thinking of that statement in recursion, I realize that humanity is not advanced enough to comprehend infinity, so there must be something with immensely more intelligence than we have. That plants the seed.

Going from there, I think about how we came to be. Science explains this through many theories - the most accepted being the Big Bang. So, how did the matter and energy come into existence that led to the Big Bang? Many scientific laws, including Thermodynamics and various conservation laws say that something must have existed before the Big Bang, yet Hubble's discoveries and recent dark matter theories contradict the idea of a Big Crunch or Bang-Bang universe that repeats cycles, plus the time dilation from the Big Bang would show a logarithmic increase in the speed of time, as the universe expands, meaning time once had no speed. How can the flow of existence start from nothing? That leads me to believe that something existed before the Big Bang, outside of our time continuum. One can keep the recursive logic on that before realizing that, again, humanity cannot grasp infinity, so I am led to believe that something or Someone existed before the universe.

After racking my brain on these thoughts and the infinitesimally small probability of the universe having the right balance of parameters for planets to even form, then another infinitesimally small probability of life forming on a planet, then an infinitesimally small probability of complex chemical reactions of life leading to sentient intelligence, I step toward the religious aspect of a Creator.

As I said in my previous comment, any time I hear of someone try to disprove Christianity, the individual becomes a Christian, so my personal faith is strong with that realization. There are roughly 2 billion Christians in the world, when you subtract out non-practicing ones to just focus on those with strong religious beliefs, you can probably halve that. Of the 1 billion, there are probably close to 1 billion different beliefs, concerning issues like evolution, the great flood, prophecies, etc. The core belief is all that matters, though:

Humanity has a dual nature of the spiritual and the physical that are always at war inside the mind. The physical nature is a sinful nature, and God cannot stand this nature, yet chose to give free will to mankind. With his grace, he chose to send a Savior to die and go to Hell for the sins of mankind to spiritually wash them away. In 3 days, the Savior rose from the dead, free of those sins, and ascended to Heaven. Any who have faith in the Savior and repent of their sins are reborn anew and seen as righteous in God's eyes for eternal afterlife in Heaven.

Those who are not Christians may overlook this premise, but those who are Christians see this and have an overwhelming peace through the difficulties of life. It does not mean life is going to be perfect; it just means that believers don't have to endure the trials alone.

What is it like to be a Jedi? Interview with Jestor.

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