Lesson Bank for my Apprentices

Congratulations! You have evidently completed the initiates programme, and now you have done me the honour of choosing me as your training master. Here you will find an index of lessons that I have compiled from my time as an apprentice. Though not all were completed as an apprentice I can assure you that I have personally completed every single one of them as I do not believe in asking you to do anything I would not do myself.

During your time here, I will assign you lessons in a seperate post titled Lessons for {{YOUR_NAME}} in which you must complete and post in the corresponding journal titled as you wish (For example {{YOUR NAME}}'s Apprentice Journal). Each lesson assigned will generally be completed before you are assigned another, unless in some unique cases where they may span a period of time and require you to gather more information before completing it.

You are also encouraged to read other training masters lesson banks, as well as approaching me with anything in particular you may wish to do a lesson around and if there is a way we can create a lesson from it, we will work together to do so.

The main thing is that you enjoy your journey here, I want you to enjoy this developmental experience and truly get the most from it, so lets go dive in the deep end and see what we discover.

The majority of work in this lesson bank is an amalgamation of other Training Masters lessons and a sprinkle of my own, over time I will continue to add my own but I am placing the lessons here as a way to centralise the resource, thank you to all whose lessons I have taken from. I would like to give credit where I can however I know that some lessons are copies of copies and so citing the original creator would not be inherently easy. If you wish to be credited as the creator of the lesson please let me know as I would like to give you the honour you deserve.

The Jedi utility belt

Jedi Knights are charged with providing help and support to those around them. In the fictional Star Wars universe, Jedi are known for carrying lightsabers, but we see a wealth of other equipment (e.g., aquata breathers, grappling spikes, nutrient capsules) have their place in the Jedi's arsenal as well as their famous weapon.  
 
Find something you can keep with you at all times (or nearly all times) during your Apprenticeship, which enable you to better aid those you encounter on your path. Write about what they are and how you hope they'll assist those you meet.  
 
Some non-specific examples:  
 
- Something you carry in your pocket  
- Something you keep in your bag  
- Something you keep in your car  
- Something you keep on your phone  
- Something you wear on your person  
- NOT A WEAPON  
 
Commit to carrying this item and making use of it wherever appropriate. When you use it to help others, write about it in your journal. Remember that tools serve as a bridge between us and the wider force.  
 
Now that covers the physical tools on your Jedi utility belt. Now let’s discuss the non physical. Things like leadership, understanding, empathy, knowledge, faith. These are all tools, and some are more useful than any physical tool can ever be. During the course of your apprenticeship, I hope to help you confidently carry those tools as well. To begin though, I want you to choose one “non physical” tool you already possess, and write a few paragraphs about why you chose it, Ways you wield it in your daily life, and how it can be used to help yourself and others.  
 
Every lesson that follows this one will give you another tool for your belt, so keep that in mind as we continue forward towards your knighthood. This essay should be 500 words minimum to cover both physical and non physical tools, and there is no maximum.

Ambassador

As a Knight, you will represent the Temple of the Jedi Order as an Ambassador. I would like you to share with me how you believe a Knight should conduct themselves in the following three settings. All three assume that you are acting on TOTJOs behalf.

You have been asked to give last rites at a funeral.

You have been asked to give a marriage blessing.

You have been asked to attend a diplomatic dinner to improve relations with a third-party.

In all three, I wish to hear what you might say, and how would you conduct yourself?

With a minimum of 350 words per situation.

As a Man Thinketh

For this lesson I want you to read As a Man Thinketh from the Temple library and then summarise your thoughts in no less than 500 words.

Compassion, Forgiveness, and Empathy

I would like you to reflect upon what those three words mean to you, and how, if it at all, you utilise them.

A brief summary is fine.

I then want you to answer the following questions in an essay of no less than 500 words.

How easy it for you to forgive yourself, or to treat yourself with compassion?
Is vengeance ever justified?
Are there times when forgiveness, compassion, or empathy is not justified?

Discipline
In life, we are often waiting, you waited to find a teaching master, I waited to find you, we wait for our food to cook, our laundry to finish washing, a life time can be spent waiting. For some things it is easy, for others it requires discipline. The most beautiful flowers take time to go from seed to bloom, to take care of them, water  them, nurture them takes discipline.

I want you to pick something you would like to spend no less than 100 days doing that would require discipline, it could be working out, not drinking soda, not eating a particular snack. You are welcome to involve me in this task if you wish, so you do not have to go it alone. Once complete, I want you to write a brief summary of no less than 500 words on why you chose this particular task and what you have learned from it. There is also a channel in the discord server titled 100 days of... that can be used to help keep track of the progress you make.

Expectation
I love a good cheese burger, it is by far my favourite snack. When I go to a particular restaurant, I expect my cheese burger to be made in a particular way that I am used to. I expect a certain level of customer service, and I expect my food to arrive at a particular time.

Expectations are, interesting things to say the least. Because what happens when your expectations are not met? How do you react?

I want you to write an essay of no less than 250 words per sentence about your expectations on the following topics.

What are your expectations of your family and their behaviour towards you?
What are your expectations of yourself and your behaviour?
What are your expectations of myself, as a teaching master?
What are your expectations of the Temple, as a whole?
Lastly, has there ever been a time when your expectations have not been met and how did  you react?

Failure

I want you to reflect upon a time you have failed something, big or small. I want you to share what impact it had on your feelings, on your motivation.

I want you to share about what you learned from that failure, and what you would have done differently had you the opportunity.

I want you to tell me what you think of failure as a concept.

I also want to hear about your thoughts on the idea that failure is a choice.

Minimum word count for this essay is 1,000

I and Thou

For I and Thou , I want you to read the book, and then discuss it with Maître Alexandre Orion.

Following this conversation, detail Buber’s ideas about how to engage in dialogue in an I-Thou relationship as opposed to an I-It relationship.

How might you apply Buber’s ideas to your own discussions? Is it always preferable to engage in discussions as an I-Thou, or does I-It have a place as well?

What did you gain from speaking to Maître Alexandre Orion about it?

Role Model

You're approaching knighthood, and in doing so you must begin to shift your mindset from trainee, to trainer in preparation for not only a potential apprentice you may take on but equally others will look at you as a role model of what knighthood embodies.

With that in mind, it is time to reflect on what you think these responsibilities may be.

There is no word count but please be thorough with the following questions.

How much time will you have to dedicate to your student? Taking into consideration any personal time you may spend with them.

How will you handle any mistakes they may make?

If they make a mistake, who is to blame, them or you?

When they are knighted, whose success is it?

There is no word count, but please do try to give thorough answers, do not fear about writing too much.