Jedi Studies

There are people in the world who actually embraced the philosophies first presented by George Lucas in his Star Wars movies. Lucas never intended for it to start a religious philosophy, and in fact the movement really took off a few years ago as a kind of joke-turned-serious. But in studying the philosophies of the Jedi, I’ve come to a few realizations about what I believe, many of which are reflected in the Jedi way.

• Symbiosis is the act of living in balance and harmony with all things, in all places. A Jedi in the films was as “at home” in the wilderness as in the cities. The Jedi understood the concept of interdependence, and lived it fully.
• Jedi also understood the need for legacies. This was why the requirement of apprenticeship was necessary: legacies are a way to ensure that ideas are continued and continue to develop long after one’s own death.
• The Jedi as a whole practiced martial arts for the health of mind and body. Martial arts are about 75% mental, and 75% physical (yes, there is overlap where it’s both, and it still comes out to 100%). The parts where no physical portion is present are philosophical (about 25%). And in the middle of this philosophy, objective critical thinking was taught.
• There is the Force, which in a way is like God: it is the source of all life, and it surrounds all living things, connecting them to the universe. This concept is similar also to the Tao. One of the possible translations of Tao is actually “Force", though the most direct translation is “Way”. I’m sure Lucas thought about this very carefully.

There are other things that I find interesting and even captivating.

But one thing that the modern-day Jedi adherents are adamant about: they don’t claim to have control of the Force in the way that the movies do (thus, no psychic powers), nor do they claim to have light sabers. And they don’t run around in movie costumes repeating lines like “You want to go home and rethink your life” or something else from the movies. They carefully avoid the cynical trappings of their movie origins (and fully admit to the origin being the deep philosophies of these films), and are serious about developing the Jedi philosophy.

Because they’re careful not to make false claims, I think they’re worth checking out. The Institute for Jedi Realist Studies seems to be a great place to start. Google is sure to be a source for other sites.

I guess I’m a Jedi Realist. Wow, who’d have thunk it?