The Force Explained

Br. John,

I don't think he means "stop" as in "never to continue", but rather plateaued, paused, or sticking on a point...

Ariane (edit to fix, phone autocorrect to Arkansas, lol) , if I'm wrong, of course correct me....

But, if I'm right, take solace in the knowledge we all plateau out on points through the IP and then one day pick things back up, or start over...

Continuously, there are members here cycling the IP.. I am one too, lol...

If you are striving to move forward, and cannot, skip ahead for a few lessons, if you are enjoying where you are at, becareful to not hold yourself from advancing...

That too has happened, sadly, some of my favorite people here are "stuck"......

Ariane,

In the comment about the discovery that you are protective of your beliefs and that makes you ignorant and bigoted . .

Am hearing a statement of humility about what that protection does with failure to self examine?

I guess I am saying that I did not hear self attack in that statement?

Dear Ariane,
Who say that being a Jedi is easier than being Christian?
I don't feel the IP strip my belief of God.
But it make a new perspective of view.
A perspective of all.
In fact we are better to fearful God and be fearless of the Force.
I dont see God like a person also but more like the Force.
Just one the Father and the other the Mother. We are their kids. There different Kings & Lords, but not different gods.

Ariane,
It sounds to me like you are engaging in some deep and rather serious examinations of your beliefs, and that is a good thing. It can be frightening and it can be difficult when you uncover questions and feelings you did not know were there beneath the surface. Take your time and really think about what you are experiencing.

We who call ourselves Jedi often speak of being "in tune" or "listening" to the Force. Sometimes this will lead us down paths we are afraid of. Sometimes it will take us to places that make us uncomfortable for a bit. Often it will lead us to discover things about ourselves, good or bad, that we did not recognize before. This is how we grow. As we focus on these challenges and seek knowledge and understanding, we become wise so that we may recognize when the Force is guiding us and we learn to listen. It is a task that is never complete, but one we all encounter along the path everyday.

as was pointed out you're not the first (and certainly not the last) person to get "stuck" doing the ip...we have members that have taken 4 years or longer to do the ip. sometimes we need time to process, shed fears, adapt, and grow...everyone moves through the process at different speeds, everyone has different levels of comprehension. this is what makes each of us unique.

Nothing good needs a threat of violence to be promoted. Nothing true needs a threat to be believed either. Or, for that matter, a bribe. To me, a god that comes along and says "Hmm, that's a very nice soul you have there... Would be a pity if something bad happened to it, wouldn't it?" is not only completely unattractive, but repulsive, if anything. And it isn't a god who does that. It is people. And they do it to children such that when the children grow up, deeply ingrained, traumatic fear holds back their critical faculties. To hold back is quite precisely what the entire fear-tactic is designed to do and it sometimes is surprising how many religions use that, all the while claiming authority on morality.

As somebody who holds that religions, to some extent or another, are not only false but indeed unintentionally bad for people at best and positively wicked at worst, your story is tempting in how it offers ammunition for such a case, and I apologize for taking advantage of you in that way.

Some here will say and have already that the IP encourages deep thought and inquiry. Given how all it asks is to give your thoughts and how most of the thoughts people post barely ever get adressed or cross-examined, that statement may be a debatable one. It is safer to say that they encourage some degree of self-reflection and obviously the kind of Christianity you grew up in might not have and that is what you are now struggling with. I for one no longer hold that the IP, at least not as it was back when I did it, is intellectually challenging or spiritually engaging unless one specifically sets out to make it so for oneself. I don't think that to tell you that it is perfectly normal to struggle with it is very helpful. It may be, but I dare say that you wouldn't, had you not been raised to be genuinely frightened of independent free thought. The problem you are having is, as you make it seem, anyway, one with your former religion, not with the materials presented here.

Knew I more about the attributes of the god you were raised to worship I might estimate whether it could actually be real; though if indeed it is, I think that instead of living a life on my knees for it, just so I come to the glorious magical place where I could go on living forever on my knees, I would rather die on my feet, having followed my own thoughts and conscience to the best of my ability, and be tormented until the end of times, all the while knowing just how much I am morally superior to the evil ghost who made me that offer he thought I can't refuse in the first place.

I know I'm not that helpful either. Those are some heavy chains to break and there isn't one easy recipe for all, unfortunately.