I have been away from this blog, and other than "peeking my face in the door" so to speak, every so often just to meet and greet a bit in vague fellowship, I've also been away from the Temple. Of course, at this particular moment I write this, it's all being upgraded and moved to a new server, hopefully to be all up and running within a day or so from now. And now, as I write this, I've been progressively returning to the Land of the Living.
Until recently, I've been neglecting quite a lot of things, but mainly my progress in my studies at the Temple, and upkeep on my blogs, by force of distraction.
I allowed myself to be distracted by things in life which would only suck the life out of me, my emotional and physical health both plummeting like a fat kid on a see-saw.
I actually came very close to death a small few times between the Fall of last year and the Spring of this one. My health had been quite dangerously low, in both an emotional and respiratory sense. My mental state had also suffered greatly, due to extremely regular sleep deprivation (not sleeping until 1am, waking up at 4am for the rest of the day, e-v-e-r-y night), and my depression dove to depths unfathomable, which to this day, still tug at me, tempting me, beckoning that I dive back in.
Many have heard me say before, "The Heart has an inherent sweet-tooth for despair".
People don't understand how for many of us out there, depression can be addicting - not because it's "fun", or "feels good", but because if we aren't in intensely torturous emotional pain, then maybe it's because our hearts have stopped feeling... are we then not alive anymore?? It's really difficult to explain/describe...
The worst part was, much of it all was due to my becoming intertwined with another, long-lost and then found friend from High School, a bi-polar individual, who is just as prone to depression as me... though FAR more self-destructive, constantly mixing psyche-meds with alcohol, taking herself off her meds and on again at her own whims, and hideously suicidal.
I seemed to be helping her, but there's that situation when someone dives into the water to save a drowning person, only to have that one push him under the water in order to catch a breath, killing the one who dove in to save them.
And then there was also the feeling of dread, when someone might say, "don't leave me, or I'll kill myself". Such exact words were not spoken, but other similar ones were, and actions taken.
I had originally thought that our paths had crossed in order to be joined together... but looking back, the situation rather seemed as though like something crouched and poised to pounce upon me at my peril.
Luckily, with the aid of friends, very close friends, I'd even call them family, I survived, and so did my long-lost friend up to this point in time. I had cut off all communication with her quite some time ago now, therefore if she takes her own life for whatever reason, I'll not be that reason.
Anyways, the time had come, I suppose.
When I'd found her, she had been dealing with the constant infidelity of her partner who was terribly abusive, and she, due to an accident, had no use of her legs. Now, after surgeries, and constant moral support, she's made it back to getting around on her own two feet, literally, and out of that house, and that relationship, and is now quite self-empowered and out on her own. There is now no longer any need of me in her life, and may the Force be with her. May she live long and very happily.
She was quite abusive with me, in the end. Abusive, injurious, vindictive, venomous... I became the punching bag for her to punish for all the harm ever done to her by everyone else... it was all very ugly... all the while I just wanted to die. I really did not need that kind of negativity in my life, so I had to peel myself away, carefully, so as not to trigger her into doing anything stupid (I'd be forever destroyed inside, having that on me), and so that I could eventually be safe from it all.
It's been a small few months now. I think I have most of my life back, my Qi, the Force...
Some bits of me have been lost in the shuffle - seems that's always the way...
But I'm glad to be back. Yes, quite happy... and now I can return to the path, from which, I never really truly veered from - just got a little bit... distracted...
We must all, mind well, our course <3
And may the Force, and its Source, be with us all <3
- Tarran ^_^
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
TROUBLE AT THE TEMPLE...
The Jedi Temple Forums are off-line... second day, going on the third... tech is on it, but there are complications... I am chafin' at the bit about whether or not data has been secured or lost... I'm *SO* hoping that I don't have to start the initiate program all over again!! GAAAA!!!!
I'll edit this and write more later as stuff develops...
EDIT; ALL IS BACK ONLINE, AND DATA IS INTACT!! YAY!!
Thank you, Ren, and all the rest of the team!!!!
MTFBWYA!!
- Tarran ^_^
I'll edit this and write more later as stuff develops...
EDIT; ALL IS BACK ONLINE, AND DATA IS INTACT!! YAY!!
Thank you, Ren, and all the rest of the team!!!!
MTFBWYA!!
- Tarran ^_^
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Science Proves The Creator's Existence?
Well, perhaps not in so many words... but in an article posted on Christmas, last year, on the Wall Street Journal's website, by Eric Metaxas, the apparent overwhelming evidence seems to point out that the possibility simply cannot be blindly disregarded. I'll paste it here below, with a link to the main source, both here, and at the end of this post.
But before I do, I'd like it to be well understood that, my posting this here, wherever I happen to personally stand on the issue, is not in any way to proclaim that one school of thought is in any fashion the victor over any other in any conceptual arena, since any hard physical proof that would completely tip the balance to one side or the other is yet to be found in either encampment, evolution or creation.
(Let's also not forget that I am not now, nor was I ever, nor will I ever be, a crucifix-wearer... and am often considered a "heathen" by those who do wear it. So, as logical and scientific-minded as I'd like to boast to be, if I seem to show any leanings toward creationism, let's not forget that the "church" did not invent such a concept, nor is their particular flavour of it the sole and only type out there. I am of a Native American tribal mind, like my ancestors before me.)
Now, a disclaimer;
*****************
This is shared here from (source linked both above, and further below), here, under the Fair Use Act, which states that copyright material may, under certain circumstances, be quoted verbatim for purposes such as criticism, news reporting, teaching, and research, without the need for permission from or payment to the copyright holder.
This is here, in my *private*, personal side-journal, which, in whole, is as notes on my education as an initiate following the curriculum as a member of the Temple of the Jedi Order - if there be any dispute as to the use of this article by its original author and/or original publisher, and a desire exists for me to remove it from this private, personal journal, I may be reached at the Temple - my name there, as here, is Tarran.
*****************
Here below, is the article;
******************************
In 1966 Time magazine ran a cover story asking: Is God Dead? Many have accepted the cultural narrative that he’s obsolete—that as science progresses, there is less need for a “God” to explain the universe. Yet it turns out that the rumors of God’s death were premature. More amazing is that the relatively recent case for his existence comes from a surprising place—science itself.
Here’s the story: The same year Time featured the now-famous headline, the astronomer Carl Sagan announced that there were two important criteria for a planet to support life: The right kind of star, and a planet the right distance from that star. Given the roughly octillion—1 followed by 27 zeros—planets in the universe, there should have been about septillion—1 followed by 24 zeros—planets capable of supporting life.
With such spectacular odds, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, a large, expensive collection of private and publicly funded projects launched in the 1960s, was sure to turn up something soon. Scientists listened with a vast radio telescopic network for signals that resembled coded intelligence and were not merely random. But as years passed, the silence from the rest of the universe was deafening. Congress defunded SETI in 1993, but the search continues with private funds. As of 2014, researchers have discovered precisely bubkis—0 followed by nothing.
What happened? As our knowledge of the universe increased, it became clear that there were far more factors necessary for life than Sagan supposed. His two parameters grew to 10 and then 20 and then 50, and so the number of potentially life-supporting planets decreased accordingly. The number dropped to a few thousand planets and kept on plummeting.
Even SETI proponents acknowledged the problem. Peter Schenkel wrote in a 2006 piece for Skeptical Inquirer magazine: “In light of new findings and insights, it seems appropriate to put excessive euphoria to rest . . . . We should quietly admit that the early estimates . . . may no longer be tenable.”
As factors continued to be discovered, the number of possible planets hit zero, and kept going. In other words, the odds turned against any planet in the universe supporting life, including this one. Probability said that even we shouldn’t be here.
Today there are more than 200 known parameters necessary for a planet to support life—every single one of which must be perfectly met, or the whole thing falls apart. Without a massive planet like Jupiter nearby, whose gravity will draw away asteroids, a thousand times as many would hit Earth’s surface. The odds against life in the universe are simply astonishing.
Yet here we are, not only existing, but talking about existing. What can account for it? Can every one of those many parameters have been perfect by accident? At what point is it fair to admit that science suggests that we cannot be the result of random forces? Doesn’t assuming that an intelligence created these perfect conditions require far less faith than believing that a life-sustaining Earth just happened to beat the inconceivable odds to come into being?
There’s more. The fine-tuning necessary for life to exist on a planet is nothing compared with the fine-tuning required for the universe to exist at all. For example, astrophysicists now know that the values of the four fundamental forces—gravity, the electromagnetic force, and the “strong” and “weak” nuclear forces—were determined less than one millionth of a second after the big bang. Alter any one value and the universe could not exist. For instance, if the ratio between the nuclear strong force and the electromagnetic force had been off by the tiniest fraction of the tiniest fraction—by even one part in 100,000,000,000,000,000—then no stars could have ever formed at all.
Feel free to gulp.
Multiply that single parameter by all the other necessary conditions, and the odds against the universe existing are so heart-stoppingly astronomical that the notion that it all “just happened” defies common sense. It would be like tossing a coin and having it come up heads 10 quintillion times in a row.
Really?
Fred Hoyle, the astronomer who coined the term “big bang,” said that his atheism was “greatly shaken” at these developments. He later wrote that “a common-sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a super-intellect has monkeyed with the physics, as well as with chemistry and biology . . . . The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question.”
Theoretical physicist Paul Davies has said that “the appearance of design is overwhelming” and Oxford professor Dr. John Lennox has said “the more we get to know about our universe, the more the hypothesis that there is a Creator . . . gains in credibility as the best explanation of why we are here.”
The greatest miracle of all time, without any close seconds, is the universe. It is the miracle of all miracles, one that ineluctably points with the combined brightness of every star to something—or Someone—beyond itself.
******************************
Now, again I say, this is not to hold one concept above another in any sense of "HA-HA"-ism - this isn't any fight, and there is no triumph to be had here... but rather, this is in defence of those who understand this concept, though are ridiculed, and quite unfairly so - most often in ways that smacks of playground bullying, and by those who would have themselves be seen as pillars of education.
Yeah, I'm gonna rant just a wee little mite ^_~ I'll make this quick...
We are not imbeciles... those of us who are NOT swayed by any mountebank clergy class, of whatever religious organization, into thinking anything even remotely illogical or spectacularly idiotic.
Those of us who, no, do NOT believe in some "invisible man in the sky", as so many atheists would jeer... those of us who know such a being would not be invisible per se, nor a man, nor "hiding" or skulking about in any place as provincial as our sky.
No.
This is merely to show, explain, and prove that those of us who do scientifically understand this concept, are NOT some drooling, faerie-tale clinging, clergy-following, quarter-wits, freely ejaculating blind faith in pouring largesse, who clasp their hands over their unenlightened ears against scientific logic, screaming "I'M NOT LISTENING!!"
No... not all of us who accept the possibility of Intelligent Design are like that - those of us who are not so easily lead by those fellow humans who assume a position of being holier than the rest of us, and spoon feed "their flock" illogical crap and call it "manna"... we can and do see that there is scientific logic behind it all.
But I do point to this article as a testament - that those of us who feel that this universe is too huge to not have more intelligence out there, are indeed of sound mind, and that such an idea can and does follow logic... and that we also feel that it's insanely egotistical, to say the least, to think that whoever is out there couldn't possibly be far smarter, far wiser, far more powerful, far more sentient, or yes, even far more than mortal - than we.
That we, carbon-based life forms of Earth, are extremely specialized beings to our environment, this spectacularly provincial world, amid a maddeningly immense universe, and that we are certainly not in any way an assumable representation of what necessarily would ELSE be out there.
That we who understand the concept of Intelligent Design are NOT devoid of logic or reasoning, but we do see a science behind it... a line of followable logic... and that it is not an intellectually unjustifiable position to take a stand in after all. In fact, we take such trusting, fact-based faith in science as being our suit of armour AGAINST ignorance and blind faith.
There are those of us who are Alchemists, whether unaware of the term, or acknowledging of it - and while there are about as many definitions of that word as there are Alchemists, this one fits best for this post right now; Some scientists say that creationism and science are irreconcilable... an Alchemist is a scientist who sees them both reconciled, and in fact having never been separated, nor ever in any need of reconciliation. We do not see "God" as some "invisible man hiding in the clouds" - we see him as a wondrously, supremely logical sentient being, the Grand Architect of the Universe... and as such, The Ultimate Scientist.
And we ponder the arts and techniques and sciences and logical doings of His design, and of the vast teams of celestial "master craftsmen" in His charge.
But most important of all, we do not judge others for not seeing things our way - we do not jeer, we do not poke fun, and we do not scoff or scorn... we are all finding our way around discovery, so sure, it seems logical to suppose we'll all end up in the same knowing in the end - in the mean time, we should strive, all of us, of whatever school of thought... we should all just play nice, yeah?
No more being judgemental, bullyish and/or pigheaded... you astrophysicists and such, and you freaky churchy people either :P lol
(And yes, of course, that goes for me too - ALL of us ^_^)
Remember, no-one of either encampment has physically found the all-telling, quintessential "Holy Grail" just yet... we ALL are "still in school" <3
That's all for this post... to find the article at it's source, please follow this link here.
Love and light to you all, and May the Force Be With You... Always <3
- Tarran ^_^
But before I do, I'd like it to be well understood that, my posting this here, wherever I happen to personally stand on the issue, is not in any way to proclaim that one school of thought is in any fashion the victor over any other in any conceptual arena, since any hard physical proof that would completely tip the balance to one side or the other is yet to be found in either encampment, evolution or creation.
(Let's also not forget that I am not now, nor was I ever, nor will I ever be, a crucifix-wearer... and am often considered a "heathen" by those who do wear it. So, as logical and scientific-minded as I'd like to boast to be, if I seem to show any leanings toward creationism, let's not forget that the "church" did not invent such a concept, nor is their particular flavour of it the sole and only type out there. I am of a Native American tribal mind, like my ancestors before me.)
Now, a disclaimer;
*****************
This is shared here from (source linked both above, and further below), here, under the Fair Use Act, which states that copyright material may, under certain circumstances, be quoted verbatim for purposes such as criticism, news reporting, teaching, and research, without the need for permission from or payment to the copyright holder.
This is here, in my *private*, personal side-journal, which, in whole, is as notes on my education as an initiate following the curriculum as a member of the Temple of the Jedi Order - if there be any dispute as to the use of this article by its original author and/or original publisher, and a desire exists for me to remove it from this private, personal journal, I may be reached at the Temple - my name there, as here, is Tarran.
*****************
Here below, is the article;
******************************
In 1966 Time magazine ran a cover story asking: Is God Dead? Many have accepted the cultural narrative that he’s obsolete—that as science progresses, there is less need for a “God” to explain the universe. Yet it turns out that the rumors of God’s death were premature. More amazing is that the relatively recent case for his existence comes from a surprising place—science itself.
Here’s the story: The same year Time featured the now-famous headline, the astronomer Carl Sagan announced that there were two important criteria for a planet to support life: The right kind of star, and a planet the right distance from that star. Given the roughly octillion—1 followed by 27 zeros—planets in the universe, there should have been about septillion—1 followed by 24 zeros—planets capable of supporting life.
With such spectacular odds, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, a large, expensive collection of private and publicly funded projects launched in the 1960s, was sure to turn up something soon. Scientists listened with a vast radio telescopic network for signals that resembled coded intelligence and were not merely random. But as years passed, the silence from the rest of the universe was deafening. Congress defunded SETI in 1993, but the search continues with private funds. As of 2014, researchers have discovered precisely bubkis—0 followed by nothing.
What happened? As our knowledge of the universe increased, it became clear that there were far more factors necessary for life than Sagan supposed. His two parameters grew to 10 and then 20 and then 50, and so the number of potentially life-supporting planets decreased accordingly. The number dropped to a few thousand planets and kept on plummeting.
Even SETI proponents acknowledged the problem. Peter Schenkel wrote in a 2006 piece for Skeptical Inquirer magazine: “In light of new findings and insights, it seems appropriate to put excessive euphoria to rest . . . . We should quietly admit that the early estimates . . . may no longer be tenable.”
As factors continued to be discovered, the number of possible planets hit zero, and kept going. In other words, the odds turned against any planet in the universe supporting life, including this one. Probability said that even we shouldn’t be here.
Today there are more than 200 known parameters necessary for a planet to support life—every single one of which must be perfectly met, or the whole thing falls apart. Without a massive planet like Jupiter nearby, whose gravity will draw away asteroids, a thousand times as many would hit Earth’s surface. The odds against life in the universe are simply astonishing.
Yet here we are, not only existing, but talking about existing. What can account for it? Can every one of those many parameters have been perfect by accident? At what point is it fair to admit that science suggests that we cannot be the result of random forces? Doesn’t assuming that an intelligence created these perfect conditions require far less faith than believing that a life-sustaining Earth just happened to beat the inconceivable odds to come into being?
There’s more. The fine-tuning necessary for life to exist on a planet is nothing compared with the fine-tuning required for the universe to exist at all. For example, astrophysicists now know that the values of the four fundamental forces—gravity, the electromagnetic force, and the “strong” and “weak” nuclear forces—were determined less than one millionth of a second after the big bang. Alter any one value and the universe could not exist. For instance, if the ratio between the nuclear strong force and the electromagnetic force had been off by the tiniest fraction of the tiniest fraction—by even one part in 100,000,000,000,000,000—then no stars could have ever formed at all.
Feel free to gulp.
Multiply that single parameter by all the other necessary conditions, and the odds against the universe existing are so heart-stoppingly astronomical that the notion that it all “just happened” defies common sense. It would be like tossing a coin and having it come up heads 10 quintillion times in a row.
Really?
Fred Hoyle, the astronomer who coined the term “big bang,” said that his atheism was “greatly shaken” at these developments. He later wrote that “a common-sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a super-intellect has monkeyed with the physics, as well as with chemistry and biology . . . . The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question.”
Theoretical physicist Paul Davies has said that “the appearance of design is overwhelming” and Oxford professor Dr. John Lennox has said “the more we get to know about our universe, the more the hypothesis that there is a Creator . . . gains in credibility as the best explanation of why we are here.”
The greatest miracle of all time, without any close seconds, is the universe. It is the miracle of all miracles, one that ineluctably points with the combined brightness of every star to something—or Someone—beyond itself.
******************************
Now, again I say, this is not to hold one concept above another in any sense of "HA-HA"-ism - this isn't any fight, and there is no triumph to be had here... but rather, this is in defence of those who understand this concept, though are ridiculed, and quite unfairly so - most often in ways that smacks of playground bullying, and by those who would have themselves be seen as pillars of education.
Yeah, I'm gonna rant just a wee little mite ^_~ I'll make this quick...
We are not imbeciles... those of us who are NOT swayed by any mountebank clergy class, of whatever religious organization, into thinking anything even remotely illogical or spectacularly idiotic.
Those of us who, no, do NOT believe in some "invisible man in the sky", as so many atheists would jeer... those of us who know such a being would not be invisible per se, nor a man, nor "hiding" or skulking about in any place as provincial as our sky.
No.
This is merely to show, explain, and prove that those of us who do scientifically understand this concept, are NOT some drooling, faerie-tale clinging, clergy-following, quarter-wits, freely ejaculating blind faith in pouring largesse, who clasp their hands over their unenlightened ears against scientific logic, screaming "I'M NOT LISTENING!!"
No... not all of us who accept the possibility of Intelligent Design are like that - those of us who are not so easily lead by those fellow humans who assume a position of being holier than the rest of us, and spoon feed "their flock" illogical crap and call it "manna"... we can and do see that there is scientific logic behind it all.
But I do point to this article as a testament - that those of us who feel that this universe is too huge to not have more intelligence out there, are indeed of sound mind, and that such an idea can and does follow logic... and that we also feel that it's insanely egotistical, to say the least, to think that whoever is out there couldn't possibly be far smarter, far wiser, far more powerful, far more sentient, or yes, even far more than mortal - than we.
That we, carbon-based life forms of Earth, are extremely specialized beings to our environment, this spectacularly provincial world, amid a maddeningly immense universe, and that we are certainly not in any way an assumable representation of what necessarily would ELSE be out there.
That we who understand the concept of Intelligent Design are NOT devoid of logic or reasoning, but we do see a science behind it... a line of followable logic... and that it is not an intellectually unjustifiable position to take a stand in after all. In fact, we take such trusting, fact-based faith in science as being our suit of armour AGAINST ignorance and blind faith.
There are those of us who are Alchemists, whether unaware of the term, or acknowledging of it - and while there are about as many definitions of that word as there are Alchemists, this one fits best for this post right now; Some scientists say that creationism and science are irreconcilable... an Alchemist is a scientist who sees them both reconciled, and in fact having never been separated, nor ever in any need of reconciliation. We do not see "God" as some "invisible man hiding in the clouds" - we see him as a wondrously, supremely logical sentient being, the Grand Architect of the Universe... and as such, The Ultimate Scientist.
And we ponder the arts and techniques and sciences and logical doings of His design, and of the vast teams of celestial "master craftsmen" in His charge.
But most important of all, we do not judge others for not seeing things our way - we do not jeer, we do not poke fun, and we do not scoff or scorn... we are all finding our way around discovery, so sure, it seems logical to suppose we'll all end up in the same knowing in the end - in the mean time, we should strive, all of us, of whatever school of thought... we should all just play nice, yeah?
No more being judgemental, bullyish and/or pigheaded... you astrophysicists and such, and you freaky churchy people either :P lol
(And yes, of course, that goes for me too - ALL of us ^_^)
Remember, no-one of either encampment has physically found the all-telling, quintessential "Holy Grail" just yet... we ALL are "still in school" <3
That's all for this post... to find the article at it's source, please follow this link here.
Love and light to you all, and May the Force Be With You... Always <3
- Tarran ^_^
Thursday, March 26, 2015
"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 ^_^
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 ^_^
Sunday, March 15, 2015
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 ^_^
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 ^_^
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
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 ^_^
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 ^_^
Monday, February 2, 2015
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 ^_^
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 ^_^
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