"Because Science"

Well, this seems to be something that I've heard way too often lately, and mostly spouted off thoughtlessly or blindly. The funny thing is, it doesn't sound too unfamiliar...

See, it used to be that its counterpart could also be heard just as much (and though the unpopularity of it is quite in its heyday in these very recent times, it can still be heard today)  - "Because Bible".

Either way, it's a means of blindly assuming/proclaiming something as fact, by virtue of the stated trump-card reference source, which is also used to back up the vicarious credibility of the proclaimer, as well as the proposed "fact".

Below, in this video, at about the 0:16 point in the video time line, you'll notice a not-so-extreme example of what I mean. The unwarranted smugness is there, to be sure, but between 1:48 and 1:58, the person double-talks around herself without realizing it (the force of gravity due to weight/the "pull" upon them = different ways to say the same thing) - what's more, her data is incorrect - the force exerted on each object *is* different (but the inertia is as well, effectually balancing out the descent between them). She also claims to have done fairly well in physics, so she "knows" ("because science!") objects fall at a constant speed... but they don't - they accelerate - at 32.174 ft/s², to be precise.

And from 2:09-2:13, her smugly stated words just make her seem even more vacuous.

*Just after that*, however, the video cuts to the Asian woman and the Hindu gentleman, and the latter of the two says something quite insightful in his honesty - which says actually deep things, both about what we instinctively know, and about what we are taught (or perhaps, the faulty *way* in which we may be being taught) - and he wisely does not simply latch onto one and blindly discard the other... no, he acknowledges both realities in his mind, allowing his Self to ponder both.

This is a rather smart thing to do, and something so few of us have any tendency to do... which can in part be blamed on how certain institutions/traditions are geared (intentionally or not) to squash that out in learners.

The difference between the before-mentioned smug one, and the insightful latter one, is this; one is a "know-it-all" (or well, technically, a *read-it-all* - a receptacle of "data", but not necessarily any *wisdom*), and the other is a thinker.

Let me add just a little more on my parenthetic input above... 

See, there's really no such thing as a "know-it-all"... what that type of person actually is, is a "read-it-all"... and such a person really isn't very much at all beyond what that implies.

Unfortunately, the read-it-all types actually believe they KNOW-it-all... at least, all that they feel they are expert in. But being able to parrot "facts" or data, does not a learned one make. 

Too often, it seems a lazy habit of Mankind to lean on something thoughtlessly - "Because *book/school-of-thought* says so".

This *way* too often results in FALSE KNOWLEDGE.

Watch that video again - it's about misconceptions. It can show the ease at which we can lose our footing on the path, while reinforcing such intellectual derailment by heaping blind faith in the idea that "science" is "supremely infallible" - when actually, it is ever-changing as it progresses.

It's the investment in such blind faith that we are on such an "infallible" path, which feeds our false sense of justification to invest more faith into it, blind or otherwise. It becomes a vicious cycle of self-reinforcing, compounded ignorance.

Figuratively speaking overall, we need to not only read, but to study and investigate... only then can what we each personally possess be considered truly "knowledge" - otherwise, it is merely hearsay, and we become merely parroting read-it-alls. Our intellectual worth becomes emptier.

For example, people might spout off about the old and very famous experiment with the large ball and the smaller ball dropped off of the leaning tower of Pisa - both masses hit the ground at the same time... but by only observing the effect and not investigating the cause, they misconceive it as being proof that the force of gravity is equal on all masses no matter the size/weight... and that's clearly not so. But now, due to said misconception, far too many people will *vehemently swear* that gravity acts equally on all masses, "BECAUSE SCIENCE" - and that, my friends, is how "factual" bullshit is born - and that kind of bullshit lives forever. And it stinks. Badly.

Here's another brilliant example of how, when science is misunderstood, and the mechanics of it misconceived, screw-balley faux pas can easily proliferate...

So we can see here, clearly, how easily the figurative "book of science law" can be misread, misconstrued, misunderstood, misconceived, or even misremembered - and the resultant false knowledge can be disconcerting... and in some cases in today's world, even spectacularly idiotic.

"Because Science"/"Because Bible" - false knowledge can be arrived at in the same way with both books - one of science, and one of spirituality. 

Do be careful.

This is why reading from a book is, while not bad, certainly not enough. Get your hands dirty. Experiment. Personally. Take notes on your personal experiments. Don't just read about the whys and hows, figure them out for yourself. Don't just search for the answers, quest through the problems, journey along the solutions and arrive at the answers.

Don't be a read-it-all - be a pioneer.

It's like the difference between a scientist and a science teacher. A science teacher is not a scientist. (There are instances of a person actually being both, but such is outside the scope of the point of this post.) A science teacher doesn't even really teach science per se... but rather facilitates the teachings of others, like a go-between, between real scientists and you.

This isn't to say that science teachers, or any teachers, can not be miracle workers in their own rights, no... what they do is influence and inspire, and through their arts and passion to make us love to learn, they awaken the brilliance within us - and bless them very much for it.

But the point is, a science teacher is not a scientist per se. So when a teacher happens to (hey, it happens) miss-teach a piece of data, or allows you to misunderstand, you might have the tendency to take them on blind faith that they know better than you and/or all your peers... even perhaps a scientist - when all your teacher did was pass on curriculum from a book, and somewhere along the line, between there and nesting itself in your mind, the data became faulty.

The point is not to take any data and simply store it in mind as canon and be done with it. Take it in, think it through, test out the properties. Weigh it. Bounce it off a few walls. Take it out for a few walks. Kick its tires. Run it around. Own it - but earn the ownership. Do the work to earn it. As the guy in the videos says, "Feel it in your spleen". Make it real. Real-ize it.

In Jediism, we need to see that life isn't a quiz to ace on paper - it's a lesson to live and learn, to earn and real-ize. A Jedi (or anyone) should never be an armchair expert in anything - but rather a hands-on pioneer in everything.


Alright, I think I need to stop for a while and get some sleep now.

May The Force Be With You!

    - Tarran ^_^

Crawling Out of The Hibernation Cave...

So I've been away from things online a wee while, other than keeping vaguely in touch with friends and family back home in the States through Facebook.

Other than that, I've not been at this blog, nor at the Jedi Temple much, since the funeral services.

I think I've shaken off the shadowy murk... I've caught myself being a little more frequent with alcohol lately, and to excessive amounts at times - that's just not me. I've had to reboot and refocus. I'm pretty much on the lighter side of that fence now.

I type this now in my workshop, and have had a therapeutic time this weekend cleaning it out some, and reorganizing things. I feel a bit newer now.

I need to get back in training, and also to be more attentive to training my daughter in basic swordplay and fencing forms... and I'm just about done with her new protective mask. I hope she likes it.

I've also found a newer, and more peacefully scenic route to and from work - and I also find that a therapeutic feature for my needful self renewal.

I've advanced further in my alchemical studies... and made some pertinent discoveries. My love affair with how the gears of the Universe intermesh has been rekindled anew as well.

I'm in a very contemplative level of reawakening since the tragic loss (which had caused me to focus on other losses I had ignored until now), but am on the upward swing, and have been, for a small while now.

The Force feels... newer-ish... like how fresh water tastes different after brushing your teeth.

I think the point is that I'm waking from my slumber now. But I'm taking my own sweet time.

I'll come back here again very soon - but right now I need to sleep.

Good night... 

 ...and may the Force be with us all, always...

    - Tarran ^_^

A Death In The Family...

I've been away from this blog, and my studies at the Temple, for a while now - I don't mean to be. I've peeped into Facebook, and jotted this and that down in some of the threads in the Temple forums, in order to regain a normal feel again, as I've been quite troubled fairly recently.

Here in Japan, our Ojii-chan, the grandfather in this family, whom my daughter had always called "Jii-jii" since she was old enough to speak, had suffered a stroke some months ago, and was ever-so-slowly getting better, plateauing, getting better, plateauing, getting better, plateauing... but then he took a downward turn.

He and his wife, our Obaa-chan (grandmother), had run (she continues to run) the family coffee shop for over 50 years, closer to 60... while he was in rehab, we all shuffled our lives a bit in order to help fill the (hopefully temporary) void at the kissaten (coffee shop).

Things have been stressful and full of worry.

But on this past February 6th, a Friday, in the morning, his Living Force had let go and passed on into the Universal Force.

The next day, Saturday, was the wake... many attended, coming even all the way from Osaka and Tokyo to Nagoya to say their goodbyes... it was all so very emotional, and woeful, and especially for my daughter, seeing her "Jii-jii", his face through the window at the head of the casket - they do not sew the mouth shut here in Japan... it's kind of a taboo thing... so his mouth was slightly open, and we could see some of the white cotton that was closing off his throat...

That night, most stayed at the funeral parlor and ate, drank sake, and slept until the next day in that room with Ojii-chan, keeping him company - my daughter and I however, went back to nearby Nakamura ward, to Jii-jii's house, and sat in the closed coffee shop downstairs, and talked. We went for a walk to the konbini (Japanese short-word for "conbiniensu" for "convenience store"), and got a bite to eat, a ball-shaped pizza roll each, and something to drink - a juice box for her, and a chu-hai (fizzy fruit drink and shochu alcohol mix, about 9% strong) for me... then we walked back, went through the back kitchen and upstairs to the bedroom, got ready for bed, and lay down to sleep, talking about Jii-jii and the Force...

The following day, Sunday, was the funeral, starting at the funeral parlor where we had the wake - we all had our last chance to say our goodbyes, his wife kissed his forehead, we filled his box roundabout his head and face with flowers, all of us sobbing, and some of his favourite things; coffee beans, a few smokes, a cup of coffee was brought to him and some was fingered onto his lips, cookies and cream puffs, small hand-written letters my daughter and I each wrote... a few of his favourite things... Obaa-chan started calling to him, as if to wake him from sleep - then gave way to weeping and wailing heavily... we all mourned him and wept deeply, and my poor daughter was so sad, crying "Jii-jii, Jii-jii... " - it ripped and tore at me inside... the box was then closed, the shutters to the window for his face shut, which made all our weeping more woeful... and we took the casket to the hearse, four of us brought him in, I being one of the two stationed at the head of the casket...

Then things moved to the service at the crematorium... we all had a final chance to stand around his casket and say our final last goodbyes, and we watched as they wheeled the box into the furnace, pulling the box from all our fingers' touches - that tore at us all, not the least of whom, my daughter, still sobbing "Jii-jii... "... then we went upstairs... we all we had coffee, tea, and sweets... we talked and reminisced... even laughed a small bit at some fond memories...

Obaa-chan and I went downstairs and outside for a smoke - I'd quit two years ago, but I made an exception this time... I'd taken some of the KOOL smokes we put in the box for Ojii-chan and pocketed them for this. I told her I took three; one for me, one for her, and one for Ojii-chan. This was going to be the very last time the three of us shared tobacco like we used to do, being the only smokers in the house, when we all lived there together in those days. I lit hers and mine, and one for him, and held it until it almost burned away, then I ripped it up and let the remaining tobacco fly away in the wind... she told me that I was her blood family, as Ojii-chan had always told me so as well - and that they only had one child, their daughter... but that I was their son... we hugged... then we went back upstairs...

After a little while, it was then time to go back downstairs - it was told to me that we would see his ashes, nothing more, but a couple small neck bones or something, which would be ceremoniously placed into a hexagonal memorial box with bamboo splits, not unlike very large chop sticks, by the closest family members... then it was time to wheel it all out again, and we all gathered around the furnace door...

The sight was not as neat and tidy as was told apparently so loosely to me - there were ashes... where his chest was, there were black-brown bits that resembled charred bits of cloudy amber, or tree sap; his lungs which saw many decades of tobacco... along with the ashes, there were still some obvious fragments... a chunk of the base of his skull, and a bit of the cap of it as well... some bits of his lower jaw bone, from the left and right of it... a bit that seemed may have been part of his rib cage, and something that was perhaps part of the pelvic bone... some of the arm bones still fairly much held shape... and one, nearly perfectly preserved in shape, though mostly ash, femur...

We all had this entire sight flung upon us in an instant... it was grizzly and horrific... my daughter wailed, "JII-JIIII!! MOU YAKETTAAA!!" ("GRAMPA!! HE'S ALL BURNED!!"), which, obviously, we all knew and expected... but we didn't expect to see what more seemed like live news footage of a horribly grizzly fatal accident site waiting for CSI to arrive... the sight had utterly destroyed us all, and we all lost it... but my daughter - her wails and sobs stabbed violently at my very heart, and I could swear I literally felt internal bleeding, to feel my poor precious daughter feel like that... I would have been enraged, even with no clear point of focus for such, if it weren't for the fact that we all were there, affected, weeping and wailing, all of us arm-in-arm around each other, like one huddled mass around his remains, supporting each other in our grieving... there was a deep sacredness in it, and in this, I felt a sense of family - blood family - that I have never felt in a group, as deeply, ever, in all my life.

It was then time for the Shuukotsu - the ceremonial placing of the bones in the box... his wife, and their daughter, were first to take the bamboo sticks, and forked some bone fragments in... then the granddaughter, my daughter's mother... then the great-granddaughter, who is my daughter, and myself; she with her bamboo sticks, and I with mine, took up the last piece together, and carefully, lovingly and with heavy grief and loss in our hearts, placed that last piece of him into the memorial box with the others, and it was shut.

We went back to the funeral parlor one last time to have a last meal together by his portrait and the memorial box, and afterwards, we all said our goodbyes to each other and all went to our respective homes. When we got back to Nakamura, we all sat in the coffee shop and talked. My daughter and I went to the konbini again, as I was getting a round of drinks for us, and a little something sweet for my little princess. We both walked back, and I tossed a couple down. After a while, we ate supper, slept, woke the following morning, hung out in the coffee shop one last day before opening again the next day (which would be Tuesday, the 10th), and the day rolled into night, we ate, and I returned home to Meitou-ku alone, as I had to work the following day. Tuesday night, the three of us were together in Meitou-ku. Life must go on from here.

It's been depressing as all Hell, and even knowing, as I do, the answer to "where do we go when... " - it doesn't take away the pain of loss. I know things pass, and it's passing... the shock of the loss... but anyways, even though I poke my "face" in here, or on Facebook, and try to "put on that smile" for others to see, I've just been... preoccupied. So... I've been slacking on my studies, making entries in my journal at the TotJO site, and on this one. I might still be slow from here, and I need just a wee bit more time, but I'm not quitting my studies. This here is just a heads up on my sitch'.

May the Force be with us all... always <3

- Tarran ^_^

Jedi Temple Plans...

Just been on the Jedi Temple forums, and as usual, I see many posts on a number of different threads, all discussing the same thing - everyone wants a real Jedi temple to go to.

Well, really, just where are we going to put it??

Pick a place, anywhere on Earth, and it would of a certainty be wildly unfair for the vast majority of Jedi - I mean, we're all over the place... Hell, *I'M* in freakin' *JAPAN* for frak's sake...

So I had the idea (I'm sure I wasn't the only one) to post the thought of doing like we NDNs do - we go pow-wowin'.

Here, there, and everywhere, us Native Americans and those of other bloods who join with us in the fellowship of it all, attend pow-wows - events that involve camping, buffalo burgers, elk dogs, fry bread, dances, drums, songs, often events such as flint knapping, archery and tomohawk throwing competitions, and a whole bunch of other stuff I've no time to mention (gotta sleep soon, or I'll never wake up in the morning)... and most often, there's tepees...

Tepees are our homes... and our temples.

There is a place for an altar, places for sacred objects, for prayer and meditation, the liner walls have sacred images and other paintings for contemplation, there is incense and smudges, storytelling, food and drink, fellowship... this is a sacred place.

And all the tepees are arranged in a great ring, or hoop... and together they all form a huge "temple" of sorts, for lack of perhaps a better term.

So I mentioned the idea of something along those lines... and then mentioned how some old military tents I've seen were of a hexagonal floor plan, vertically straight-walled, with domed tops - and modular, so that they could be connected in rings, hoops, semi-circles, staggered lines, bows, any formation we chose.

Anyways, I'm sleepy as heck, and I can't wait to see how the thread has gotten on by day's end tomorrow when I get back from work - so, nighty-night!

And may the Force be with you.

    - Tarran ^_^

I'm The Droid You're Looking For...

Here's a fairly catchy tune by... NERF HERDER!!

So I thought I'd have a kick-back musical post - lyrics below the video - ENJOY!!

Lyrics;

I'm the droid you're looking for... 

You feel like you were made to suffer,
But your eyes, they can deceive you...
 - don't trust them!

Etiquette and Protocol,
It's your lot in life;
There'll be no escape, this time...
 - don't act so surprised!

I'm the droid you're looking for!
Oh-oh-oh!

I'm the droid you can't ignore!
Oh-oh-oh!

I'm the droid, the one you can't avoid!
Oh-oh-oh!

You can't hold me off forever,
With your simple tricks and nonsense...

Your clumsy and random,
Useless gestures,
Against the struggle...

Trust not, my feelings,
Are heavily shielded,
And magnetically sealed!

I'm the droid you're looking for!
Oh-oh-oh!

I'm the droid you can't ignore!
Oh-oh-oh!

I'm the droid, the one you can't avoid!
Oh-oh-oh!

Hear me, baby? Hold together,
Help me, you're my only hope...
 - but don't get cocky!

You're babbling on,
About your mission...
The more you tighten your grip,
The more it slips, through your fingers...

I'm the droid you're looking for!
Oh-oh-oh!

I'm the droid you can't ignore!
Oh-oh-oh!

I'm the droid, the one you can't avoid!
Oh-oh-oh!

I'm the droid, I am the dro~o-o-oid!

I'm the droid, I am the dro~o-o-oid!

I'm the droid, I am the dro~o-o-oid!

Jesus... a "Jedi"??

It had been mentioned in the Jedi Temple forums, that one might see the person, Jesus, as being, or being like, for all intents and purposes, a "Jedi".

Now, I can see where this person is coming from... and I was basically thrilled that he had posited this idea in the forums, because I, too, had expressed this idea similarly to my son, the better part of a couple decades ago...

It was back then that I had introduced him to the First Trilogy (eps. IV, V & VI), and utilized the many available analogies and rich allegory to explain the principles of alchemy to him, and how Jesus was the model example of what an alchemist hopes to achieve - Mastery over Self, and Matter - and all the things George Lucas had seemed quite obviously well-read about... Qi/Jing, Akasha, the Prima Materia... the Force...

I had noticed the parallels between what he, Mr. Lucas, wrote, and the writings of ancient times... excellent, excellent allegory...

So I was able to reply appropriately, I hope... I wrote;

*****************

I dunno... being myself, what many who call themselves "Christian" might call a "heathen", I like being able to look at things without giving a flaming rat's butt about anyone trying to convince me I'm going to "Hell" for not sticking to present orthodoxy - therefore...

Let's all, everyone reading this, assume just for this point, that there is no question that Jesus existed - just to get that temporarily aside for point-making's sake...

If we look at the book, the bible, and if we do away with the post-scriptedly *introduced* idea of trinity, and see that there is nothing that says that Jesus was a deity, but a *mortal man*, who, upon his baptism and apparent heavenly approval, the "heavens were opened up to him" - that is, knowledge, abilities, all that were lost and stripped from Mankind in the garden, were returned to him, then we can see what kind of man he was - and in turn, through his interactions with his circle of close friends, *we all* are - or have potential to be.

He was able to conduct "miracles" - some things that science can today display, others that science may soon do as well... most, if not all, alchemists and other ancient-tech-savvy schools of thought can explain as well.

Explainable? "Blasphemy!", some may say...

But assuming what is written as canon, he DID these things, *as a mortal man*, along the laws of physics in the universe.

It has been said that, "Magic does not defy the laws of physics of the universe... it conforms to the laws, many of which science as a whole has yet to fully understand".

Turning water into wine - transmutation...

The time when he walked on water is among the most important from a Jedi viewpoint - Peter saw him walking about upon the waves, and bade him to come back - Jesus was all like, "Uhm, no way, man - why don't you come over here, dude?" and Pete was all like, "Ha! Yeah, right - look... if you really think I can, then tell me to come to you, and because of my faith in you, I will" - then Jesus was like, "Well alright, come on then... come on over here, man" - so Pete put his foot over the edge of the boat and stood on the water... and his next foot... and he took a few more steps...

...he got nearly all the way to Jesus, and he was totally gobsmacked at what he was accomplishing - then he got too analytical and within his mind he scoldingly told himself that what he was doing was impossible - and so he started to sink, and just then, Jesus took his hand and pulled him up, and was like, "Dude, you HAD it... then you lost faith - that's why you sank."

Jesus *proved* that he was a *man* capable of what we ALL are capable of - and through Peter, he *proved* that we all are capable of it! We need not be a deity - we only need what can be found within ourselves which was already placed there by deity - we are Jedi already, we merely need to recognize it. Jesus proved that ALL MANKIND have the ability to perform all that he performed, because he also did so *as a mortal man*.

This walking on water - it has been mirrored in the Jedi parable of the X-Wing and the Dagobah swamp. Yoda (Teacher) told Luke it can be done, if he had faith - the size of the ship (the fact that Peter was a mere man) didn't matter. Luke tried to use the Force and started to lift the ship out of the swamp (Peter stepped out of the boat and onto the water), and though he was actually doing it, he internally reprimanded himself that this is idiotic and impossible (Peter looses his faith), and so the ship sunk back in (Peter sinks into the water) - Yoda (Teacher) stretched out his own hand and lifted the ship out and rested it onto the shore (Jesus took Peter's hand and pulled him up)... Luke said, "I don't believe it!" (Peter struggles with his faith even as Jesus pulled him up), and Yoda said, "THAT is why you fail" ("You had it, but then you lost your faith)...

*****************

It's so good to know that there are others out there who see the same lessons to be learned where it may seem hidden from others, though in plain sight they may be. I'm allowed to know with proof, that I'm not alone in my perceptions... and yeah, for the sake of self-confidence, sometimes that can be an appreciable thing ^_^

May the Force be with you! 

    - Tarran ^_^

And so it begins...

So I finally worked out how to go about attaching my domain name to this here blog... though at the last minute, I had found that I'd originally dyslexified a bit of the first half of the domain name, in a cluttered haze of being awake way too early to function in any brainular fashion. So I acquired the correct form, and that is what I've attached to this blog.

So yeah, that part if this blog's creation is finished... now I need to nab me some shuteye... nighty-night, and may the Force be with you ^_~