By Daniel M. Jones and Theresa Cheung
Jediism is a new philosophy supporting the idea of one all-powerful life energy Force that connects all living things in the universe together. Only by balancing our self-awareness with unity awareness in the Force can we find ourselves and discover our meaning and purpose. Jediists believe we are all interconnected and one with the universal life Force.
The Force exists within and all around us and in every living being. If you are struggling to understand the concept of the Force think in terms spirit or consciousness. Think of the part of you that thinks, feels, loves and dreams and is somehow separate from your body. It is the part of you that may or may not survive death depending on your beliefs. All belief systems and religions are welcome within Jediism, including atheists. Jediism encourages respect, compassion, kindness, acceptance and tolerance regardless of culture, religion, gender, sexual and racial identity and background.
The Force has a light and a dark side. The light side is all that is loving, compassionate and wise and the dark side the polar opposite. Jediists always seek the light in everyone and everything.
Jediism is a digital philosophy. Followers embrace technology and regard the internet as an absolutely essential tool for spreading the word and connecting like-minded individuals. This means it can be practised with the application of online technologies alone and requires no physical church or place of meeting for followers. Having said that many Jediists do also engage in real life meets, ceremonies and gatherings where cloaks and lightsabers can be worn but ritual and clothing requirements are certainly not mandatory.
Self-help is fundamental for all Jediists, and the movement offers applied living techniques to encourage personal growth and development, but at its absolute core Jediism is about helping others. A Jediist strives to remain in a constant state of calm alertness so that he or she can protect the vulnerable and defenceless at all times.
Perhaps, the only prerequisite to learn the way of the Jediist is intelligence. Not intelligence as defined by school grades, degrees, book learning or the use of complicated words, but the intelligence to understand that the meaning of life is to learn. In other words, curiosity. A lot of people don’t understand this definition of intelligence so in my book I talk about my beginning now to help redefine any conditioned thinking about intelligence you may have – or as Master Yoda says to Luke in The Empire Strikes Back, ‘Unlearn what you have learned you must.’ Intelligence is the desire to learn and expand the mind. It is knowing that you are always capable of being and achieving more. It is knowing that you are here on this planet to learn and to evolve. A Jediist has limitless potential and is forever learning about the world around him or her, searching for meaning and understanding there, and at the same time looking within themselves to awaken to higher and more advanced levels of awareness and insight.
Intelligence is making smart choices, starting with your thoughts. It is creating good vibrations by choosing positive and peaceful thoughts and following that up with positive and peaceful action. What you spend your day thinking about will directly shape your life, so invest your time and energy into your dreams not your fears.
The teachings of Jediism are clearly outlined in Become the Force: 9 Lesson on How to Live as a Jediist Master. Each of the nine chapters in the book contains a teaching on the Force gathered from a variety of different sources followed by practical guidelines that can easily be incorporated into daily life. Making a commitment to those suggestions is essential, otherwise this book is nothing but ideas and words. Too many people get stuck in the “thinking about it†stage but never find the courage or the discipline to do anything about their grand ideas. A Jediist has courage; a Jediist has self-discipline; and a Jediist will also live or embody what they believe. If you are to evolve into a Jediist you must move from theory to action as soon as possible. You must be and do. There is no “I could†or “I might.â€
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Daniel M. Jones aka Morda Hehol is a philosopher, scientist and musician. In 2007 he founded the Church of Jediism at the age of twenty-one, a move which garnered immediate fame. He has since been featured by many national and international newspapers and broadcasters, including Time Magazine, BBC, Good Morning America and ITN. Daniel has a degree in Chemistry from the University of Bangor, Wales and is a member of pop punk band Straight Jacket Legends, whose debut album was big in Japan. Daniel runs Aspie World YouTube Channel, a chronicle of living with Aspergers, following his diagnosis in 2013. For more information please visit:
www.becometheforce.com<http://www.becometheforce.com>
Theresa Cheung was born into a family of spiritualists and has a Masters in Theology and English from King’s College, Cambridge. She has sold almost half a million books and encyclopaedias about the psychic world, the afterlife and personal transformation over twenty years. Her spiritual books Heaven Called My Name (Piatkus 2016) and An Angel Healed Me (Simon & Schuster 2010) became Sunday Times Top 10 bestsellers and have been translated into thirty languages. For more information please visit www.theresacheung.com<http://www.theresacheung.com> or follow her on Facebook @TheresaCheungAuthor
Become the Force: 9 Lessons on How to Live as a Jediist Master by Daniel M. Jones & Theresa Cheung (published by Watkins Publishing Ltd, 16th November, 2017) is available to buy online and from all good bookstores.