The Field, and Lynn McTaggert

Mareeka, the temple endorses it by having it on the site as part of a requirement to progress in the organization.


It's like having required reading to be confirmed in the Catholic church. It's a decent assumption that what you read has bearing on the religion.

So while this may simply be something to ponder, there should at the very least be a disclaimer- but I have to say, I have no better conception of what people might think the Force is than when I first got here, even with the IP. So something similar to what Gisteron suggested would be extremely welcome.

The IP materials are not doctrine, nor are there any claims that they are.

Just because I use Tide laundry detergent doesnt mean I like, endorse, dislike, or don't support Nascar.

May you enjoy the experience of your journey here.

I've been particularly opposed to the inclusion of that thing during my years on the council, but the evil witch has her supporters here. It's sad to see some of the newer knights believe that the IP content is somehow at the core of jedi teachings when it really isn't.

http://www.templeofthejediorder.org/sermons/2073-what-is-a-basic-teaching

What is a Basic Teaching?

Good evening to everyone who joins us here today.

This sermon will focus more on the aspects of the above question as they relate to basic teaching materials.

What is considered at the Temple as being the most ‘basic’ part of our religious teaching is probably expressed the most completely in our Doctrine.

The Doctrine is the heart of our Temple. Now how does it teach us?

Well the answer is that it doesn’t. It can inform people what Jedi at this temple believe and understand but it doesn’t give them the experience of what those Jedi believe and understand.

This is probably all well and good because if it did let me assure you, it would be hundreds of thousands of words long…

That is because we do not use the Doctrine as a teaching resource by itself. You begin exploring the teaching resources in the Initiates Programme and further in your Apprenticeship and further still when you realise you’ve done all that and still don’t understand it all!

The Doctrine could best be thought of as bullet point form for learning, for what is in the Doctrine is also in the materials we use to teach here. They are not separate; they are one and the same. The only real difference being that each piece of teaching material talks about perhaps only one or two parts of the doctrine –going into each at length.

Any material out there can be used to teach us something, whether it is a lesson learned or simply an example of what not to do. We are familiar with the works of Watts and Campbell, but there are countless other books, myths and even pieces of artwork that all make us think. If it makes us think then we can learn from it.

Our doctrine is knowledge, understanding it is wisdom. Without the materials we use to understand what it means, our doctrine is nothing more than an intellectual curiosity.

Our creed, the one on our doctrine page, was adapted from the ‘Peace Prayer’ of St Francis of Assisi.

I think it is fitting tonight that we use a different creed, adapted too from another prayer. This alternative is based on the Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr.

As we have not said it before there is no need to respond, you may simply read and consider each line as it presents itself to you.


I am a Jedi:
I accept the things I cannot change;
I have courage to change the things I can;
I have wisdom to know the difference.
I am a Jedi:
I live in the present;
I enjoy one moment at a time;
I accept hardships as a pathway to peace;
I take this world as it is, not as I would have it;
I am a Jedi:
I trust The Force;
In doing so things become right;
In doing so I am content;
Forever in our everlasting life.
You are a Jedi.
May The Force be with you, always.

Akkarin, at least part of that sermon is misleading, if not blatantly false.

The Doctrine could best be thought of as bullet point form for learning, for what is in the Doctrine is also in the materials we use to teach here. They are not separate; they are one and the same. The only real difference being that each piece of teaching material talks about perhaps only one or two parts of the doctrine –going into each at length.

As I pointed out in my first post, Lynn McTaggert and her writings- all of them- go against the Jedi Doctrine as laid out on the Doctrine page. She is a fear mongering fraud and profiteer.

If it is a test, then fine, it should be couched as such.

Otherwise, it should be gotten rid of. It is contradictory with actual Jedi teaching.

All of them? One should not deal in absolutes.

I am in no way a fan of McTaggart. I had not heard of her until I started reading The Field, but from what I have read, she is one of a long line that pray on the hopes, fears, and delusions of people in order to get their money.

But you know what? I am still reading the book. I actually enjoyed the first part of the book, until I started seeing all the wild leaps of logic. It is clear to me why this should be included in the IP. It is a possible scientific explanation of what the Force is. It may not be correct, but it is certainly fun to think about.

I have found that many who vehemently oppose The Field, are doing so because they either oppose who she is as a person, or because they have little faith in the readers to be able to tell that her conclusions are basically dressed up opinions. She does not claim to be a scientist, and she acknowledges that the concepts that she is dealing with are difficult to present (outside of an advanced knowledge of mathematics). She oversimplifies and draws wholly erroneous conclusions from very small amounts of data. She is not perfect, and neither is her book.

Nevertheless, I can still read this book, and accept what she says for what it is... opinion. And as we all know, opinions are like assholes, and so on.

So let me also vote for the sentiment that you should copy your OP in your journal and call it a day. You obviously know about the subject, and have made up your mind on it, and that was the assignment.

Gisteron wrote: Rather than testing people for their critical thinking skills...how about introducing people to critical thinking instead?

This, exactly. If I were re-organizing the IP, I'd add in some modules on critical thinking and logic (and "God Wants You Dead" as non-optional material) before ever introducing Watts or Campbell, simply because it helps one to better understand their own worldview, and discuss it with others in a sane, rational, consistent fashion, rather than the shouting and talking-over-one-another and disagreement on glosses and meanings that usually occur anytime two people in the Temple disagree.

Ren wrote: I've been particularly opposed to the inclusion of that thing during my years on the council, but the evil witch has her supporters here. It's sad to see some of the newer knights believe that the IP content is somehow at the core of jedi teachings when it really isn't.

Love it or hate it (I choose the latter, personally), "The Field" is a very important way to close out Exercise 4 as it currently stands. It introduces some interesting points, and mistakenly hides them behind a misunderstanding of science. This combination of aspects is a very educational one, and I think it should remain, even though it's composed of 85% fecal matter.

Furthermore, I'm going to build a couchfort neighboring Gisteron's pillow fortress, because I personally think that if the IP has nothing to do with core Jedi teachings, it needs to be utterly replaced by things that are core Jedi teachings. There is no sense having an introductory course that functions as a test if it doesn't also provide foundational material necessary to the continuing of training. If the IP serves no purpose but as a grand test of who does and doesn't "belong" here, why not just pose a simple question at the gate and turn away all those who answer foolishly? If the IP teaches nothing, it is the same process, but requiring much more effort, and returning greater frustration.

I dont think its a test of ones character, but an opportunity to show ones character.

The IP I think should appeal to a wide range of people at an entry level and as stated it is not dogma, but again this is important to see where people are at in regards to how they observe, interpret and choose how and what to assimilate as knowledge. The Journal gives us that personal space to feel free to express ourselves a little more freely to explore this more openly then perhaps usually.

I do not see the program as a training pipeline of skill acquisition, to see it like that I think is misunderstanding the program, but there is not wrong or right answer as such - instead just a way to get more out of it IMO.

I would add a drug component to it. Add Some terrence mckenna to help understand that what we experience with emotion is drug fueled.

I think a reading of physics and the zero point field would be better than her book. Honestly I feel like the topics should make you feel like you know nothing. Perhaps if I hadnt known about campbell I would feel that way. Just my opinion.

I agree with Steamboat.

It isn't stated that it isn't dogma -anywhere-, so how are you supposed to know that? People don't respond to journals much, and without having made this thread, I would never have known that the Jedi temple doesn't officially endorse The Field.

I like the idea that critical thinking and other things that can help you discover your path be in there, rather than psuedo-scientific mumbo jumbo.