Sentinels: A Discussion for Realists

"This Jedi ferrets out deceit and injustice, bringing it to light." -- Dorak

The Fictional Jedi Sentinel specialized in working amongst the people. Specifically, they served as Guards and Artists, serving to protect the image of the Jedi.

Now how does this translate over to the Jedi Realist Path?

Many in the Jedi community serve in public relations and artistry. It is a service towards perspective, and can be used to choose how things are viewed so those that wish to disrupt our work towards systems of peace cannot do so easily.

Jedi Realists that choose to pursue the Path of the Sentinel spend their time training to protect the image of the Jedi Community. Some choose to be artists, to create beautiful works that reflect what we do. Some choose to be Guards, watching over the various groups and Orders to keep those within safe. They master their emotional selves to ensure they can see the Dark clearly in order to keep it at bay.

We all have a little of the Three Paths within ourselves. How do you pursue the role of a Sentinel?

This is a discussion of the fictional Guardian class, and how it can translate into Jedi Realism/Jediism. We won't be discussing Consulars/Guardians here. For discussion on Guardians go here. For discussion on Consulars go here.

May the Force continue to guide you.

Did they! Oh well then going back to my Guardian reply perhaps its Consulars operating indirectly and Sentinels operating symbolically! That could make more sense.

A thought I had yesterday was in regards to their fictional use as duty titles, it's almost as if each role also could serve different age groups with their unique needs; Consulars teach and protect kids, Guardians aid and protect adults, and Sentinels aid and protect old people - but that is probably because I thought for a second sentinel sounded like centenarian ie people over age 100

But seriously thinking on the fiction I've always viewed them as internal physical security vs Guardian external physical security. Perhaps leaving Consulars as psychological security. Seen as measures of health more practically be it from a systems perspective or one of suffering.

I hope people who actually adhere to any of these particular paths share some more of their insights and opinions!!!!!

Adder wrote: Did they! Oh well then going back to my Guardian reply perhaps its Consulars operating indirectly and Sentinels operating symbolically! That could make more sense.

A thought I had yesterday was in regards to their fictional use as duty titles, it's almost as if each role also could serve different age groups with their unique needs; Consulars teach and protect kids, Guardians aid and protect adults, and Sentinels aid and protect old people - but that is probably because I thought for a second sentinel sounded like centenarian ie people over age 100

But seriously thinking on the fiction I've always viewed them as internal physical security vs Guardian external physical security. Perhaps leaving Consulars as psychological security. Seen as measures of health more practically be it from a systems perspective or one of suffering.

I hope people who actually adhere to any of these particular paths share some more of their insights and opinions!!!!!

Working from my model once again, I connect the Sentinel path with the second line of the Code "There is no Ignorance, there is Knowledge". In addition to the role of artisan and guard, working from Wookieepedia, Sentinels were regularly aids to the authorities in investigating crimes, spies for gathering intelligence and "Shadows" for finding and destroying the influence of the Dark Side. All these goals deal with accepting the world the way it is in this very moment and doing something to change that or discover more about it. Where Consulars look up toward the stars, where Guardians look out at the wind and the serene breeze, Sentinels look down into the depths and plunge in headfirst to combat the Dark Side as it is instantiated in life itself. I connect this pursuit of discovery and acceptance of the world, with the pursuit of Knowledge and the banishment of Ignorance.

Their use of non-Force based abilities always seemed to serve two purposes to me. Firstly, a Sentinel was always conscious of their proximity to the Dark Side. One bad job, one Sith holocron, one nugget of Knowledge lodged in their head in just the wrong way, and they may have lost themselves. It seems practical, as someone all too aware of what a powerful Dark Sider could do, to minimize one's raw destructive potential. Not that that would necessarily have made a fallen Sentinel an easy fix. Secondly, HK-47 once explained that the best way to hunt Force sensitives was to stay well away from the Force. Jedi expected their worst threats to be powerful Force Sensitives; surprising them with a grenade was a particularly effective way of dealing with them. By drawing inspiration from this Forceless style of practice, a Sentinel could minimize their enemies ability to track them, and make best use of this unique brand of ambushing.

So there's a lot of fiction there, more than my other two posts. What can be drawn from it?
- A Sentinel draws their praxis from the pursuit of Knowledge, developing their facility with the Force to Sense and learn about phenomena and people in the world
- Sentinels are spontaneous, unorthodox and creative in their practice
- Sentinels are particularly interested in doing combat with the Dark Side as it is in the universe right now, rather than on an ideological or purely spiritual platform
- Further elaborating on this by drawing from the Sentinels title, a Sentinel's prime mode of practice is to watch, wait and respond
- Sentinels are subtle, and use their techniques most efficiently when able to hide themselves

Personally, I see a Sentinels role as having less to do with protecting the image of the Order(s), and more to do with being a pragmatic rhetorician. Their goal is to protect all people from the Dark Side, to make them aware of it within themselves, to provide the seeds of new ideas that allow someones views to change. They construct, destruct and reconstruct ideas in as many ways as they can think of, using all the forms of communication at their disposal (thus why they are linked to the role of the artisan), to provide everyone with the stimulus they need to live good lives. I see them as the Jedi Activist, using their subtlety to splice our ideas, our community wisdom, into whatever part of life they might be focused on. They sprinkle a little Kyber into every ideology they come across without being seen. I didn't mention above, but the Sentinels were also Jedi Recruiters, finding new Force Sensitives to join the Order. I think this best elucidates their public relations role; they're not necessarily out there to boost our reputation. They're out there to feed our work into the soil, to let our work sprout up far and wide.

PS. It's difficult to talk about Sentinels in a way that doesn't make them sound like sleeper agents!

Was Revan a Sentinel?

I'm guessing that Revan was a sentinel. He was skilled in droid repair and ship piloting, and from what KOTOR 2 says about him, during the war he was more of a strategist than a front-line fighter. It might be possible that he was a consular given his study of uncommon force powers, but his quick recognition and utilization of the star forge suggests to me that he was a sentinel. I can say that I'm almost certain that he wasn't a guardian!

So here goes Kobos on a rambling session.......again. I don't often like putting things into boxes or labels but Shepard's response made me think. I guess I could be put in this box.

I often sit gathering information in the background. Building rough maps of situations. I do this to see where best to insert what influence I have and how to apply that. There is always a sort of self service in that (I'm a human), however, by doing so it gives me a better chance at bringing light into a dark situation. Timing is almost always crucial in many situations I am involved in. This often means I do need to sit back in the "dark" (probably better put out of sight) so to speak. I have to know of both sides and all the uses of each in order to predict what direction things will move.

There is a lot of ideological statements made around me that though they may be important have little use in fixing the general situations that need attention. One should see both sides of those ideologies inorder to apply them right? Better yet it can be vital to simply drop the ideology for action. After all is said and done when action comes strictly from ideology no matter what it has no logical conclusion in the real only a predicted ideological goal. these goals are often missed by miles when the only action is ideological based. Another point on this line is that strict adherence to one ideology (even one with the best intentions) leaves one blind to the many ways to the reality of things. it serves as a point of division which eventually leads to discrimination. This leads to fear and half truths, fear to anger, anger to hatred. I hate to say it but simply look all around you it's there. However, behind it sits the light of the human heart on both sides of any conflict.

It should be a sentinel's mission to safe guard this light and to bring it to bear when the time is right. To stop the traps that are set by our own minds.

Just my 2 cents.

On a side note I particularly like the story of Revan because I relate. I spent a lot of time fighting on the dark-side falling into my own sense of superiority. That change can be made forced or not.

Much Love,
Kobos

Shepherd wrote: Personally, I see a Sentinels role as having less to do with protecting the image of the Order(s), and more to do with being a pragmatic rhetorician. Their goal is to protect all people from the Dark Side, to make them aware of it within themselves, to provide the seeds of new ideas that allow someones views to change.

This is like the story of my life. This is what I've always felt driven and guided to do. I think this is why certain topics just hit different for me.