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Why become a Jedi?  This was a question that ran through my mind the first time I’d ever heard of Jediism.  I was a studying psi at the time, and while the areas of energy work and psychic skills were known to me, the idea of trying to become real life Jedi seemed childish to me.  I saw it as no more than fat Star Wars nerds roleplaying, and dismissed it as easily without even bothering to look it up or learn more about it.  To explain my reasons for being a Jedi, I think I should first discuss how and why I went from this to a Jedi.

Years after first hearing of Jediism, after quitting psi training and becoming a staunch atheist and materialist, my life was in shambles.  I had only a part-time job, no car, no high school diploma, lived with my mom, was extremely antisocial, and had no ambitions for the future, was putting forth no effort to improve myself.  My days were filled with playing video games, trolling around on the Internet, and pretending I knew something more about martial arts than how to do a horse stance.  I became an annoyance and an asshole.

While I could have continued this downward spiral for years longer, something interesting happened.  At the gas station where I worked part time, one of the regular truckers began talking to me, trying to convert me to Christianity.  At first I tried to rebuff his arguments with basic philosophy and science, but he was too clever for that.  This man turned out to have a D.D., and before that had studied genetic science.  Over the course of many long discussions, he gradually began to open my eyes to the larger world that I had been ignoring, to basic spiritual truths that I had dismissed as nonexistent.

He eventually challenged me to go back to school, which I did, earning a GED, and then enrolling in college.  I began exploring spirituality, and fixing the shambling wreck that was my life.  I still had no clear-cut goals, though, no base spiritual philosophy to study.  I had long since decided that the major religions weren’t for me:  they were more concerned with religion than spirituality, and I was looking for the latter.  I wanted to develop myself as a human being, rather than merely following some ancient dogma that has little to do with spiritual development.

Then, last October, Jediism came my way again.  I really can’t remember where I heard of it again, but I seriously considered it this time.  I had long been a fan of Star Wars, both the films and expanded universe.  I looked up to the Jedi.  They were strong, calm, serene, and had excellent self-control.  Most of all, they had the spiritual connection to the world that I was looking for, the connection to the Force.  For me, being a Jedi wasn’t about trying to learn to use a lightsaber or to gain force powers, nor was it a way to earn recognition from others.  It was a spiritual philosophy, a path I could follow in life.

This is what I wanted out of Jediism.  It helps me become a better human being.  A better follower, a better leader, a better warrior, a better person all around.  It also allowed me to explore the esoteric with a solid base (the code and creed) as a starting point, but not one filled with robotic dogma that would restrict my studies.

I also admire that the Jedi way is focused on self-improvement:  Jedi are expected to train themselves physically, to become better in control of themselves, calmer and wiser, and to become better people.  In most religions I had observed, there was no push to improve oneself.  You were expected to conform to rituals, say your prayers, and that was it.  There was no higher tier of knowledge and skill to work towards, nothing to strive or train for.  Jedi Realism gives me that.

So, now I train in the Jedi way.  Right now, my main goals are to keep the code in mind, and train every day without fail, to live as a Jedi.  Once I get that consistency down, I’ll work on other things.  Maintaining consistency in training is by far my greatest weakness, and once I’ve overcome it, I have no doubt I’ll make excellent progress towards becoming the Jedi I want to be.