I'm Finished!
If you have completed all of the exercises in the Initiates Programme then congratulations! You now need to inform an Intake Officer by sending them a Private Message telling them that you have finished all of the required exercises.
Once that is done they will inform the Knights and your journal will be read through and checked. If anything is missing or they feel you can expand on something they will ask you to do so, assuming this has not already been requested beforehand in your journal.
Once the Knights are satisfied, you will be added to the list of eligible Initiates awaiting Apprenticeship and your rank will be changed from Novice to Initiate to denote your status (assuming you wish to undergo formal training).
Patience
Patience is a lesson in and of itself. If you wish to continue training then it is very possible that you will have to wait a while before you get taken on as an Apprentice; it is possible that this time could take several months.
We do not live in a monastery and the Training Masters have other commitments so cannot spend their entire time training and teaching at the Temple. There are also more Initiates than available Training Masters so it is possible that you will have to wait until an Apprentice becomes knighted or ends their apprenticeship (if they decide that Jediism is not the path for them).
During this time we encourage you to remain active and to talk to different members. This could include begining Seminary Training within our clergy, doing some of the additional bonus exercises within the Initiates Programme, pursuing your own studies and posting your findings in your journal, and you can just take part in the many numerous debates and discussions that happen in the Temple which could include starting some of your own. A Training Master is unlikely to consider you as an Apprentice if you have not logged in for several months so activity is key.
If you do leave after completing the Initiates Programme then you can return at any time at the same rank and continue on your studies or be taken as an Apprentice like normal.
Final Remarks
We hope you enjoyed the material and learning you found within the Initiates Programme and we wish you good fortune in whatever endeavour you choose to undertake!
May The Force be with you, Always
… in « Real Life »
Without getting too deep into the consciousness debate, consider a couple of simple questions :
Are you real ?
Are you alive ?
One would suppose that you are, but the questions seem valid. You are reading these words, you are understanding them, contemplating what I'm telling you and wondering at this point where I'm going with all this. You may be having a wonderful day or a day from Hell ; you may be in Love or lonely. You are feeling well, healthy & strong or perhaps tired and a bit worn out. Perhaps you feel as though you are coming down with something. You are experiencing some sort of mental and emotional state. You have, or had, a mother and father and a family experience of some sort. You have lived for presumably a certain number of years during which you have had some sort of education (scholastic, cultural and possibly religious) which has led you to think and feel how you do about the people and event with and within which you interact.
And then, somehow, you found our Temple … Now, you're reading this (and of course, I don't when “now” is – but you do). And you're finding this and other things you read here enlightening, entertaining or utter rubbish. But you're having some sort of feelings and thought about it. Even if this allows you the choice to ignore it completely ...
Of course, I'm just supposing – for this is going out from my personal contemplating, through my typing it into a machine which will then transmit it to the Temple of the Jedi Order site on the internet. I'm writing it to you, and believe that you are real living people. I do not know how you are feeling, what you are thinking, what sort of day you've had or how your emotional, mental or physical state is – nor for that matter when you'll be reading this, if you will read it or how you will respond to it.
But, is that because this is not Real Life ? Are you real ? Are you alive ? I feel that I am, and I'm talking (writing though it may be) to you as very earnestly and sincerely as if we were all together in the same space and time.
So, without going into too much detail about what reality is, should we respect what we’ve learnt about how we ourselves make it by how we think and believe about it, let’s now consider the point of the present message :
We often make the distinction between On-line Life and Real Life. Why ? What is the difference ? As we have just pointed out, when we communicate something in our community here, we know reasonably well that it will be received by others, a few or many, all of which are real, living people – all of whom have thoughts, feelings, good days and days which just suck, and a variety of emotional, mental and physical conditions which change … Every one of us has the need to connect to people who share our fundamental beliefs. In most cases, this is how we all came to be here.
Does the simple fact that it has an internet support make it less of a real community ? In these days, one can do most shopping on-line, from groceries to computers and car parts. Pay for these things on-line from an on-line bank bank account. Many universities offer for-credit online courses. There are on-line casinos where one can just as on-line easily empty those on-line bank bank accounts, and of course we all know of E-bay and Amazon …
So, if I order my groceries on-line and pay for them on-line, am I only virtually nourished at dinnertime ? If I buy a book from Amazon (even if it is a Kindle download), would I be only virtually reading ? If I were to take an on-line course, am I only virtually educated ? When we declare our tax forms on-line, don’t we still have to pay real taxes ?
Thus, how is an on-line spiritual community any less real than any of these other very real yet on-line establishments ? I don't know how you feel about it, but I would say : “Not really.”
One may say : “But one must be careful on the internet ! There are so many dishonest and perverse people on-line ! I don't even really know these people !” As though there aren't dishonest and perverse people in our own local communities ? And do we really know most of the people we come into contact with, face-to-face, on a daily basis on any given pavement ? In restaurants, pubs, at parties and even in churches even if we've 'seen them around of months or years?
We have a beautiful institution here, in the Temple of the Jedi Order. When one has been here only a little while, become involved in conversations – be they forum debates (disputes, as they sometimes turn out), in chat, in the 'unofficial' Skype channel, Google + or even by e-mail and telephone, it becomes more clear that these people are as real as any one may meet in any place in the universe. The essential element herein is that we have a set of principles by which we live as best we can ; our Code, our Creed and our Teachings are honest ones. We care about other people – wherever they may happen to live. Our Temple is not just a hobby. Or at least it shouldn't be …
We are real people, with real bodies somewhere, with families and friends, with jobs (or not), with needs, desires, confidence, worry, doubt, triumphs and failures, who come together in real community for a real living faith. We are fortunate to live in such a time where no matter where we are in the World, we can be together. One could even say that we are more of a real community because we are on-line.
We are a real community of real caring people. We are real Jedi.
Que la Force soit avec nous tous …
Respectfully submitted,
Alexandre Orion
29 mai 2013
The Offices for which the Oath of Office must be taken can be found here.
There are many positions of responsibility that require both dedication and trust from those who choose to fulfil the duties prescribed to them. Because of this we ask all those in such positions to take the Oath of Office below under these conditions. The Oath does not have to be made publicly though a record of it being taken will be kept by the Council.
Any and all officers are expected to take this oath and be held accountable for their actions if they breach its terms. Officers agree to the conditions of the Oath when they agree to take on the responsibilities of their office, as such officers will be held accountable to the terms of this Oath irrespective of whether there is a record of them taking it.
Oath of Office:
"I, [insert legal name], do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of [insert title of office], honor my responsibilities, and will, to the best of my ability and with the greatest commitment, serve the Temple of the Jedi Order and its interests."
1. A "Questionable Application" is defined as:
A. An "Application" which lists criminal convictions.
B. Any "Application" the "Application Processor" feels the Council must be advised of.
C. Any "Application" filled by an "Applicant" whom a Councillor feels the Council must be advised of.
2. Processing of a "Questionable Application"
A. The "Application Processor" must bring a "Questionable Application" before the Council.
B. If no objection is made by a Councillor within 7 days, the "Application" is no longer deemed a "Questionable Application".
C. If objections are voiced, a "Questionable Application" is deemed invalid until the council decides otherwise.
