The Forever Student

There are many things we come together under. I call them banners often. It is the banner of Jedi we all have. We all raise it. But here is where certainty and cinema can be very binary. As a Cinema Jedi, the Padawan braid is removed as a symbol of rank, tradition and ceremony. As Jedi, I want to remind everyone, we never stop learning. We can continue to learn and grow. Do not mentally cut your learner’s braid. Our Doctrine is full of reminders that we never stop learning. 

There is a peace to be found in study, I have learned. As a forever student, there is a glow or a vibe we can share as a similar focus. A room full of people willing to be there is quite a place to be. When two people turn on the want to understand, things happen. I call it magic. I have seen the effects. I am a product of them. Many are. We share the ability to learn. We share the ability to strive to understand our thoughts, feelings and our own will. We can all share this banner. We do. 

Learn.

Find out how you learn. Take time to find new ways. Take the time to think. Thinking makes you dangerous. Become dangerous. Study and develop or cultivate you. There is such a thing as planned procrastination. Student syndrome can happen. There are times in our development when we must and can graduate from our current understanding of authority. We never stop learning. We never stop becoming the forever student. 
We often become too sure of ourselves. Especially the longer we live. I give you this idea to remember. If you can be anything, be the one who seeks understanding and be present. 

There is a time or a funk I can get into when I think I am full. You know what I am talking about. Right after I finish reading a book is the worst. I think I am Google itself. Just ask me anything. I have stopped using this phrase. There is a haughtiness that comes with what we do. Yea. Why lie. In self-reflection, you find out everything. You do not understand it all at the same time, but over time, we notice things. It is a good feeling to validate a few things Jedi. Self-reflection can validate many things; some you may not be ready for. Our level of understanding changes and grows. So too can our understanding of our own ego. I challenge everyone to take an ego class or do some study on the human ego. Find out what dwells inside and why. Gain understanding. 

Practice non-attachment. Here is where it can count and can change what is found. Here is where you can change seeds, by planting something different. In our learning, practice non-Ado. Practice maintaining an awareness that the cycles of creativity and renewal in the Force give rise to phenomena as others pass away. Become a part of that ebb and flow. There is a level of humility to it. There are a few things you will have to unlearn. I did. Our own passions and zeal are something anyone can work on at any time in their lives.

When I get in this state of pride, I stop learning. 

I stop reading. 

I stop doing lessons. 

I stop listening. 

These are signs to me that I am no longer in student or in a learning mode. Understand yours. As Pastor, I am subject to lessons from my own peers. I get lessons from Knights and even from others outside the Temple. Beginning a farm, the library is essential. I have books and directions on everything I need handy. As a father, my read out loud section is always a mess. No complaints here. There are so many facets of life we fill it can be hard to distinguish which paths need what. By being present, we can become a part of the flow of life. We can be distracted by so many things or mentally absent. The idea is to strive for understanding. Do not stop learning. Keep cultivating your thought, feeling and will. Too much is always too much. How we distinguish what is too much is worth the time. Take the time to learn. Take time outs as well.
Compassion fatigue is real. We can care too much. Endless student syndrome is real as well. That can become a rut as well. As humans, anything we do can become a rut or become an obstacle. Be wary of attachment. With knowledge and time often comes understanding. Give the time for it to metamorphosize into something new.

We learn new things every day. This is natural. Not everything is for the present moment. Try accepting things more than tolerating them. It is less to remember and more in the present moment. Our tolerance is rarely a fair value because it's always from our own view and has its limits. "The Jedi foster an acceptance of limitations. To change the world is to change our perceptions of and perspectives towards it. Indeed, we are capable of amazing acts, especially when we rely on the flow of the Force."

Tolerance is not true acceptance.

Accept your limits. Accept your learning limits. Understand them. 

The Jedi foster an acceptance of limitations. 

Foster acceptance for your limitations. Understand how you learn and accept it. 

Become the forever student. Do not stop learning.

May the Force be with you,
Pastor Carlos