Dejmazyck, Apprenticeship, TheDude, 2022

Good Timezone,

I am pleased to announce the Apprentice Dejmazyck and Sr. Knight TheDude have agreed to an apprenticeship together. Please join me in congratulating them

Congratulations Dejmazyck, long road so far. Have a great time with TheDude!

Congratulations!

My most heartfelt congratulations Dejmazyck! TheDude is an amazing teacher! You are in great hands. May the Force guide your path!

What a match, I look forward to what you both bring to the Temple. Congrats !!! What a great time to be Jedi. Good luck and enjoy the time. Thank y'all both for your continued commitment to this place and to your own paths. Lead the way! We are in your wake.

Reading Assignment: Man’s Search For Meaning 

It is not just disappointing, but absolutely heartbreaking to see what man will put another man through. I can’t say that I know what it’s like to be Jewish and go through this situation. I do know what it’s like to live in bondage. I know what it’s like to have to be made feel less than a human. To be made to feel like less than an animal. In the book where he describes the store house they were cramped into where there wasn’t enough room to even lay down reminded me of the bull pen I was in for two days in a hold over with the nick name “Castle Gray Skull”. This holding pen had a mixture smell of urin, feces, and vomit. The cold stone floors, cold stone walls, and 1 cold stone bench that was already taken by a man that’s been in here for weeks. 40 or so men packed in with 1 toilet to share between us all. I luckily was able to get my hands on a roll of toilet paper to use as a pillow for days. When you don’t have much you value the small things so much more. So for Viktor I definitely understand and relate to having so little, and making the best with so little and cherishing the small things. When he spoke about the world outside of the bar wire fence didn’t seem to even exist, and time was a paradoxical warp. I could see grass on the other side of the barbwire, but it felt like anything past that fence it would take a rocket ship to reach. Anything out there would take a world moving power to get me there. Days would feel like months, and months felt like years. When I was in solitary confinement the minutes then absolutely felt like hours. The mind would turn in on itself as if it was a never ending ouroboros of torture. “He who has a why to live for, can bare any how.” In horrible circumstances, even with all your humanity stripped away there is still something that can be gained from this. Viktor learned that those who hold on the hope and purpose were the ones who would survive, those who lost all hope would soon lose their life in the concentration camps. We are unable to change certain circumstances and situations we have no choice but to change our outlook and most of all change ourselves. There was a portion of my incarceration where I felt like I went through hell, was the most enlightening part of my life. My suffering was brought on by my own choices. There were absolutely atrocious things I had to witness in prison. I witnessed murder and killings of the most harshest sort. I met people who were career assassins, who were haunted by the lost spirits of all the slain victims on their conscience returning in their dreams and nightmares. Conmen who knew nothing but working another person. Men so deep into darkness that their hearts froze over, and only thing that made sense was to spread their misery to anyone around them. Sharks that smelled blood of any person that showed weakness, ready to be devoured at a moments notice. So finding hope in a hopeless place was hard for people, suicides were a regular thing. I can relate to when you see a man break, and you can see it in their eyes. The windows to the soul showed that some men were already dead. Mr. Frankl nails an aspect of humanity on the head, that being human kindness can be found in all groups. In that same the worst of humankind can be found in the groups as well. I myself have come across guards who would go out of their way to dehumanize us, to beat, and or abuse us mentally and physically. Then others who saw you as a person that was going through a situation what you presented is what was accepted. Quoting Viktor “There are only two races of man in this world. The race of the decent man and the race If the indecent man.” He found decent people that ran the concentration camps, and I know that’s a hard thing to even comprehend. Even among the worst of the worst I too found decent, highly intelligent, and extremely insightful men. One in particular names Legree would have agreed completely with Viktor’s point of view when it came to holding on to hope that you will be free. Legree was in prison for his first offense, which was selling drugs, and he had a life sentence to complete. He once told me that he knew he would be free one day because he had hope and to never let that go, after that you truly will be in prison forever. The prison of your mind. I remember watching a bill being passed on CSPAN. Politicians coming together to fix an unjust law he had been stuck under since he was 18 years old. Here he was soon to be 50 and was now a free man. That next morning as sun rose we saw him off he said it “I held onto faith and hope and now I’m free you all will be too just hold on, and find the good and take it with you.” I held those words and I pass it on always, to learn from those hard times and just hang on because sunshine is coming! It can’t rain all the time! 

Viewing Assignment: The Philosophy of Kreia

As soon as I saw the YouTube picture for this video I laughed with enjoyment. I loved this video and have watched it at least 4 times over the past few years on my Jedi Journey. So to watch it again as an assignment was definitely a treat. Kreia does not claim to be a Jedi nor does she claim to be a Sith. For her these titles break the galaxy into light and dark. Knights of The Old Republic games are two of the best Star Wars games when it comes to building lore and philosophy of Jedi, Sith, and the Force. There are parts of Kreia I believe in then then are some that I can’t see. To start, In the lesson of strength she advocates that you can not relay on others for strength. Your strength has to come from you and only you. Example the controversial choice of helping or not helping the homeless man on Nar Shadaa. She wants to impress upon you that you should always use your power in its proper place. Sometimes by helping someone you are only aiding them in the short term but setting them up for failure in the long term. The old adage of giving a man a fish or teaching a man to fish. These are ripples that affect more than you can possibly know. By helping someone you are taking the opportunity and struggle from that person to overcome. You will be cheapening their victory and never allowing this person to see that they must find themselves on the do or die grounds. There is also her view of manipulation, as long as manipulation is used to further your goals then it is useful. Example, Kreia praises the exile if he manipulates the refugees into giving up and aiding the exchange in the end. Which also draws out the Jedi they were seeking anyway. You achieved your goals by moving others as pawns and you hardly had to lift a finger. Use weaker beings to add to your strength, “the predator and prey relationship the strong feeding on the weak”. Kreia even manipulates the exile to reach her own goals and ends. Even the killing of the Jedi Masters at the conclave, she feels that in the end of these Masters live the order will be rebuilt, but with the same failings of the past. The Jedi would not grow from the mistakes they made they would continue a cycle and never understand why. When it comes to Kreia and her philosophy and if they can or could work in the real world. If one is familiar with Robert Green and his books, also The Prince Machiavelli. Then one would know that things such as manipulate or be manipulated is a possible thing. There is many instances in history where such has been done and to this day, if you want to use proxy wars as an example it still happens even now. This is something that will never change in history the predator and prey relationship will always be part of human existence until the end of time. If you give of yourself to each and every person that is in “need” you will be stretched thin and will be used up, and in the end have nothing. There has to be a balance when giving helping hands, there is also knowing the difference between giving a hand out and giving a hand up. This lesson is one that most don’t understand. When the question of building and relaying on inner strength to succeed, I stand here today due to more that I have gained through my own struggles than that has been handed to me. Those hardships I had to come through on my own, I am glad for not receiving aid at my lowest points. I found what was needed inside of me all along, so when a challenge comes I already know that I have no choice, but to succeed. I must and will succeed because I have done to much to fail, I hope others find this aswell.

Viewing Assignment: 33 Strategies Of War
Strategy number 2

Do not fight the last war.
I am a very competitive person, I love to play games, sports, and anything involving strategy I am all in. I feel the way to grow is to pit yourself against another to be able to be against another’s mind and thoughts in real time. I am big into dueling as well. To this point I have dueled many Jedi and I am always training for the next duel, the next battle. So far I have found one that we always seem to have a draw, never a clear victory to each side. He nor I use the same tactics each time so we are never able to build on a pattern for the other. When there is Jedi gatherings I usually see someone I have already beat, even then! I am never fighting the same battle from the past, today is today and I have to let go how I one last time. Always grow. To me one of the greatest examples of this is in modern times where the United States seems to keep fighting the last war. This may be a controversial subject but, it must be touched on. The Vietnam War was a disaster, due to America still fighting the conventional style of the previous major war. Then came the Afghan war all those years for everything to be lost in such a short time.

Strategy 13
Know your Enemy

“Know thyself and know thy rival”. For a while my counter part, the Wellness Director was my absolute rival. As the Dementia Care Director we were supposed to always be working together as a team. That view point and option fell apart very early. She was always out to try to make me look bad, more so make me look incompetent. I played the humble role, I didn’t want to seem the aggressor. I needed time to show her weaknesses and vulnerabilities to everyone. I watched her, I studied, I learned. Then began to put my pieces in the right places. It took months of planning and now the power is in my court. For the past months she has had no choice, but to end our “rivalry” and come to me as an ally. To propose we work together towards a common goal. Her weakness is her inability to communicate with people. She lacks the skills of a professional leader. I had what she needed. The hearts and minds of the subordinates. With the hearts and minds also came loyalty which she lost due to her lack of integrity, and loyalty to the team. I lead from the trenches not from behind a desk. You can’t defeat an enemy if you don’t know them, if you don’t know their motivations, and especially if you are not aware of where their power comes from. Cut them off and they will crumble. You must just be patient.

Strategy 1
Declare War on your Enemies

Most people will take this sentence at face value and not dig deeper into this sentence. This does not mean to go all or nothing against those who oppose you. I do not have external enemies but I do have the internal enemies just like every other person. You must declare against the internal things opposing you such as your emotions and ego. For me I have to declare war on myself regularly. By discipline and dedication you must keep training and keep fighting any doubts you have by overcoming new challenges as often as possible. I train mind, body, and spirit and put them against challenges often! My enemy main enemy is stagnation. If I gave in, I would not be here in The Temple of The Jedi Order

Logic Assignment: Using Syllogisms
8 Syllogisms

All reptiles are vertebrates, snakes are reptiles, therefore all snakes are vertebrates.

Not all 18 wheelers can be driven by truckers, truckers have to have a CDL, therefore not every CDL is equivalent

Some comedians are funny people , some funny people are not comedians. Therefore some comedians are not funny.

Not all babies are cute, though all adults have been babies, so you could have be ugly your whole life.

If a person exercises, they will tend to eat better, when they eat better they will be healthier. So exercising leads to a healthier life.

When a person changes their perspective on life positively, they will begin to appreciate all aspects of the situations they get in to. Then they will feel they have a higher quality of life. Changing your perspective will grant you higher quality of life.

If I get my hair wet it’s ruined! I’m going to bring a umbrella with me. There’s a 50/50 chance it could rain today. It rained.

All orchids are flowers, flowers need care to survive, so orchids need care to survive.

This was harder than I thought it would be just trying to make them different from the one before so to not just A,B,C,1,2,3

Dark Side Studies Essay

I read through the Grand Book of the Sith with great excitement and intrigue. I had a hard time choosing which person I wanted to do my assignment on. After rereading the entire book I settled on Darth Moor as my chosen Sith to study. I am a huge fan of Aesops’s fables. I’m a fan of any and all fables. I read fables to my children when it’s their bed time. After each fable I ask all three of my children what they learned from the story. The beautiful thing about fables is depending on your experience in life you could see a completely different perspective than someone else. I believe a person will retain the story and the lesson of the story, because of the way the story is built and told. Darth Moors fable about the wolf denying his nature is another take on one of Aesops fables I know very well. I would like to ask Darth Moor if this story was something that was passed down in oral tradition in his culture or did he create this himself. The similarities of the story hold true where as there is a wolf who denies who he truly is and what the true nature of his being truly is. To the point that the wolf starts to act like sheep where they deny their hunger and feed on grass every meal to blend in with the sheep. Then the wolf also makes the baaing and bleeting sounds of sheep. Where the stories differ is in Aesop’s fables the wolf kept denying to the wolf pack until he was banished, then denied to all the different types of sheep and lambs until he was accepted. The wolf was accepted until the rams attacked the wolf until he was a bloody pulp and then the wolf had no choice but to fight back and he ripped the rams apart, and as the lead ram was having his last breaths he said to the wolf “I was right…You’re not a sheep”. The wolf replied “No, I have the soul of a sheep, but I can defend myself, for I have the strength and power of a wolf.” In Darth Moors version the wolf was shaking till the end to to keep himself in check and deny his true nature. Darth Moor was touching on that we as humans have the strength and power to be able to tear apart those who are going to choose to be forever sheep. Society a framed for people to just be docile sheep, if you are too much of a wolf and stand out there is a problem with that. You have to assimilate to a degree, but you can never deny that you are a wolf and that many of these others are sheep. Some, a small some have the potential to let the wolf come out, but they are afraid. You can’t be afraid to let the sheep know you stand out and dare I say you are above them. I am not a Sith, but I do study Sith teachings. One of my greatest Jedi friends and mentors is a Former Sith Lord. He once told me I would make a great Sith, and that some of the best Jedi would make great Sith. I do believe even as a Jedi that you have to know that you are special, not just special, but that you stand out. Even if you stand out you have to keep improving yourself and you can not limit yourself to the things you could achieve or accomplish. That mindset has to come from your core that you are meant to grow and sometimes you grow past and larger than others. Darth Moor doubles down on needing to work with in societies parameters. One would be a fool to think that you can just be pure darkness and let it show to all people. You would never accomplish anything and you would never gain power. Darth Moor also talks about “Ranking”. This in particular caught my attention because in the Jedi community that is something that is not talked about ever. I am not talking about “Apprentice, Knight, or Master” ranking system. Ranking of yourself to other men or women and having them on a scale. If you are a listener of the late image consultant Kevin Samuels he goes into great detail how this is a real thing. A pecking order of the world and where you think you are compared to what you really are. Pecking order of are you a high value man or a high value woman. For example, if you are a guy and you are wondering why you are not getting on dates with women then you are ranking low due to factors such as: Your appearance, your weight, your income level, your soft skills and EQ. If you are not always working on self improvement daily then that’s what you will always be, near the bottom of the “left overs” or the undesirable. If you are desires then it would be with a person of lower rank usually. Darth Moor is correct that social interaction is a game. It’s a game from day one and it takes skill to master and win this game. If you have a high EQ your doors for success open so much easier. Understanding people, their motives, their emotions, and their thoughts you will know how to get where you need to be. I will speak for myself right now, my interpersonal skills are above average. I can go in any situation and talk and gain from it. What is even more interesting is that, I assumed due to the way society seems sometimes that my life and my ability to walk into settings and just coast off my sociability would be harder being that I transitioned. I learned in the 6 months that if you have confidence, social skills, conversational intelligence, and emotional intelligence my life actually got easier. I have to also admit that even as I am my looks are still appealing because I am in great shape. People tend to talk to a person that is in shape and has good looks completely different. There indeed is a hierarchy and there always was since the time of cave men and women. Even animals would rather mate with a higher rank or the alpha of the opposite sex. Life is a game, and if you are not leveling up in this game how do you expect to win? That to me is not just a Sith teaching that is a Jedi essentiality as well if you are not progressing then what are we doing on the Jedi Path. I do believe that in the future my Jedi path will take me into the realm of studying the Sith path. I will always be a Jedi, but I know that I have a Swiss Army knife mentality. With that I should study all aspects, all views, and even that of the Force.