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Post by Kyrin Wyldstar on Jun 13, 2018 17:19:47 GMT
Lesson 4: Connections To complete this lesson ('Connections') you can do either the part entitled 'Mindwalk' or the part entitled 'The Field'. You may do both parts if you wish but only completing one part is required for completing the lesson.
*Disclaimer* Do not take this material as literal fact but as a potential explanation for the existence of something that connects and binds the universe.
Mindwalk Please watch the material 'Mindwalk' and write a few paragraphs on your understanding of the content and what the message or purpose of the material is. We strongly suggest you make notes as you go along. Mindwalk - The film 'Mindwalk' is based on the book 'The Turning Point by Fritjof Capra' which is available in text and can be done as an alternative to the film. Fritjof Capra - The Turning Point
The Field Please listen or read the material "The Field by Lynne McTaggart" and write a few paragraphs on your understanding of the content and what the message or purpose of the material is. A chapter by chapter analysis is not required. We strongly suggest you make notes as you go along. Lynne McTaggart - The Field
Lesson 4 – Mindwalk/The Field - Connections
The Field I actually started out with the text of “The Field” for this lesson. However when they started talking about subjects such as homeopathy and water memory as if there were actually any sort of valid scientific evidence for them I ended that read and moved on to Mindwalk. I may return to “The Field” at some point in the future and do a detailed critique of it. However for now I’m seeing it as just so much bunk.
Mindwalk Even though Mindwalk itself was rather incongruous through a lot of the film I am considering it the lesser of the two evils so to speak. The first two thirds of the film were really extraneous to the message of the movie. But at least there were some poignant points threaded throughout.
The film starts out with an introduction to the three main characters. Each one is experiencing disillusionment with the world for various reasons that are explained as the movie progresses. The politician, who has just lost a race for the presidency, feels the world lacks vision. His friend the poet thinks the world is lacking perspective; that everything is geared towards big business and money, even war is this way in his mind. They meet a scientist who can’t understand why the world would use her scientific discoveries for destructive means. They have each had some crisis of faith and have come to an ancient castle in France in search of meaning.
The trio meet at an ancient clock and begin a discussion on how different the world was before the invention of mechanical devices. They discuss Descartes, who came up with the idea that all life is a machine, even the human body. That all things can be reduced to their component parts in the end; that we no longer needed God to explain the universe. It was during these times that life changed for humanity from one of common pursuits to individual pursuits.
The focus on the natural cycles of the world was replaced by the need to follow an artificial march of time in the pursuit of selfish agendas; that we lost our sense of being connected in a trade-off for our freedom and individual pursuits. This is reflected in the political parties of today. They are so polarized to one agenda or another they fail to see the bigger picture. This leaves most of us disillusioned and not caring one way or the other. The individual pursuit of material things has become the focus over the good of humanity.
The problem I had at this point is the movie takes a hypocritical approach by beginning to push an extremely left wing political agenda. They discuss completely outdated social and political issues that have no relevance in today’s world. Although I can accept the concept behind what they are talking about and in my mind replace those outdated subjects with more modern ones.
They talk about socialism and pollution and the ozone layer but the absolute kicker was when they all agreed that government should tax red meat to keep people from consuming so much! Who the hell is anyone else to tell me what to eat or not to eat? This idea of big socialist government ruling over our dietary preferences is just ridiculous and seems in stark contrast to the original message. This section of the movie also ends with a feminist rant to end all rants. She blames men for all the problems of society, war, famine, big business are all the fault of males and if we could just “take a more womanly approach” things would surely get better.
I believe in the power of the feminine spirit but I do not agree that the masculine is the source of all evil. It’s about the balance of both aspects within ourselves that will give us harmony! Even though some may have lost connection to their universe it’s not something they can’t regain in a modern society. We can have modern society and keep that sense of one-ness and we don’t need a monarchical government to enforce those concepts. It’s something that each individual has to come to in order for it to be a natural evolution. It can’t be imposed. It’s something I personally strive for in my own spirituality as a pagan.
The second third of the movie makes a somewhat adequate attempt to explain some of the basics of quantum physics. They begin with Newton and his laws of motion. The point is made that as Newton developed his theories people began to see the universe as ordered and mechanistic. They no longer saw the world as a single living organism.
They move on from there to begin to explain atomic theory. The basic building blocks of the universe are explained. On important concept of this is that most of matter is really just empty space. So the question is asked, “Why don’t we just fall through everything”? The explanation for this is that matter does not really exist; which leads us even deeper down the rabbit hole to quantum mechanics.
Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle states that both the position and the speed of a particle cannot be known at the same time. We only can measure one or the other accurately. This leads us to the concept that a particle is everywhere until it is observed and then it condenses to one state. It is the idea that we create our universe through observation and it is the reason we can measure light as both waves and particles. It is these probability patterns that cause solidity.
In reality these patterns all just actually a form of energy. All these energy packets are interconnected. Each particle in existence constantly has energy flowing in and out of it from the surrounding particles. These energy packets coalesce into groups and make matter. But at the subatomic level what we perceive as separate pieces are actually a continual exchange of energy. At higher scales what we perceive as components are actually an inseparable web of energy relationships.
Finally the last third of the movie returns to a discussion of some of the environmental issues we face as a species. They discuss the destruction of the rain forests and global warming (what they call the green-house effect). The point is made that the problems are so large and intermingled that most people don’t even want think about them. They ask the question, “How do we get people to return to a sense of connectedness not only in our generation but to future generations’? How do we get people to care about these issue and begin to work together to fix them”?
The scientist says that if we continue to look at the world with patriarchal, Cartesian, Newtonian lenses we will continue to miss out on what the world really is. She states that we need a new vision of the world and a more comprehensive and inclusive science to support it. This introduces Systems theory. It is the theory of living systems that places all the ecological concepts discussed in the movie into one comprehensive coherent framework. It is a theory of all living, social and eco systems that would help us get a firmer grasp on the sciences that deal with life.
Instead of concentrating on individual building blocks, Systems Theory concentrates on principles of organization. Instead of cutting things to pieces it looks at entire living systems as a whole. It does not see a tree, for example, as an individual entity but rather as a part of a larger living system. It provides fruit to the animals so they may live and the earth provides nutrients and water to the tree so it may live. All things are interconnected in this way. The universe is a true web of life that connects all things everywhere. We are not individual organisms all fighting alone to survive but a single interconnected entity that lives and breathes as one living system.
We only recognize each other because our individual patterns remain the same for a time. But we are continuously renewing ourselves just as the cells in our body are replaced by new cells. The organisms of the web live and die in a never ending replacement of components that allows the organism to continue to grow and adapt, in effect to evolve. It is the excessive pursuit of growth that was started by concepts such as what Descartes and Newton presented that blinds us to this fact. Instead we need a sustainable society that supports not only ourselves but the next generations to come.
Of course when the challenge was presented to the scientist to take a stand and do something about this issue she politely refuses. It really speaks to the idea that these issues are real and maybe we do need to come back to a harmony and balance with the earth and the universe but we cannot force this on humanity. It is something that is going to have to evolve in us naturally or we will cease to exist as a species. No one has ever said we have any more right to live than any other component of the living system of the universe. If we can’t figure this out we may very well have to become extinct for the good of the web of life. Nature loves us as we are part of it, but she will have no problem exterminating us if we cease to function to the benefit of her body.
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Post by Kyrin Wyldstar on Jun 13, 2018 17:23:18 GMT
Lesson 5: Temple Doctrine For this lesson, read the Jedi Doctrine of Temple of the Jedi Order and complete each of the exercises below. The doctrine can be found at TotJO. • Exercise 1: Explain your understanding of each of the Three Tenets and their relationship to each other. • Exercise 2: Explain your understanding of each line of the Code (either version). • Exercise 3: Explain your understanding of the Creed. • Exercise 4: Explain your understanding of each of the 16 Teachings. • Exercise 5: Explain your understanding of each of the 21 Maxims.
Bonus Material Explain your understanding of the Knights Code. The Knights Code A Knight is sworn to valor. His heart knows only virtue; His blade defends the helpless; His word speaks only truth; His Shield shelters the forsaken; His courage gives hope to the despairing; His justice undoes the wicked; His image brings peace; His code breaks the darkness; His legend brings light.
Lesson 5 – Exercise one – Temple Doctrine
Explain your understanding of each of the Three Tenets and their relationship to each other.
When used correctly, the Jedi Tenets allow us to better ourselves and overcome any obstacle. They help us improve the world around us and fulfill our purpose in life as a Jedi.
FOCUS – Is the art of pruning the irrelevant and pouring the best of your mind into what you are doing KNOWLEDGE – Can be acquired by focusing on the task at hand WISDOM – Is the sound application of accrued knowledge and experience through patient, good judgment
A tenet is a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be commonly true by members of an organization, movement, or profession. The Jedi Tenets remind me to a set of tenets that I have personally followed for many years – to know, to dare, to will, to keep silent.
FOCUS For me “Focus” equates to my personal tenets of “To Dare” and “To Will”. We must face the dark and never let it sway us. We need the courage to delve into the unknown in order to grow. Once we take that step we can never stop. We need to adopt the determination to persevere. Nothing of any value comes with ease. This takes attention to detail and dedication which comes from focus.
Focus is a conscious choice we must continue to make as we move forward. Our focus guides us, and it will lead us to success. Without it we will become disorganized and lose the path. Focus is a crucial part of our learning as well as our meditation. Through focus we can melt away spurious data and attack the core of what we are trying to accomplish.
KNOWLEDGE The Jedi tenet of “Knowledge” equates to my personal tenet “To Know”. Knowledge is something that we should always pursue. We need to understand that there is no goal or destination in this pursuit because the knowledge we can obtain is never-ending. In fact in our spiritual journey, this pursuit of knowledge may very well never yield answers. But if we are indeed "to know," then we must constantly be learning, questioning, and increasing our horizons. The first step in this is to come to know ourselves. What do we believe and why do we believe it? Is it because it is something we truly hold to be true or have we simply been told it is true? This must be done before we can know our true path. This includes exploring our own personal mythology. Our stories and the paths we have traveled previously that have brought us to the place we are now are a very important aspect of who we are. It is a constant pursuit to expand ourselves spiritually, mentally, and physically.
WISDOM The tenet of “Wisdom” I think equates to my personal tenet “To Keep Silent”. Our spirituality is a deeply personal thing. As we travel these paths I think we will find that no two person’s beliefs are exactly the same. We are also finite creatures and so the knowledge we gather is useless unless we can pass in on in some fashion to the next generations to come. This is where wisdom comes in. Wisdom for me is the ability to know when and how to pass on knowledge.
But something even deeper than that is having the ability to be comfortable with our own knowledge. It means being able to know the value of and adopt an inner silence. Action speaks louder than words and in our spiritual path in particular it is wisdom that tells us that sometimes to not speak is as necessary as to speak. Many times knowledge can only be conveyed through experience and action is more potent than dialogue.
CYCLIC NATURE These three tenets are interrelated in such a way that to lose one would mean the collapse of all three. They stand as three pillars that uphold a philosophy of life necessary for growth. Each one of these elements leads to the other two in a never ending spiral upwards. It takes wisdom to gain focus and focus to gain knowledge which in turn leads to wisdom.
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Post by Kyrin Wyldstar on Jun 13, 2018 17:27:21 GMT
NOTE: I find both the Code and the Creed rather unsettling. I don’t necessarily agree with either one. So I am going to do exercise two and three together here.
Lesson 5 – Exercise Two – Temple Doctrine
Explain your understanding of each line of the Code (either version).
Emotion, yet Peace. Ignorance, yet Knowledge. Passion, yet Serenity. Chaos, yet Harmony. Death, yet the Force. There is no Emotion, there is Peace.
There is no Ignorance, there is Knowledge. There is no Passion, there is Serenity. There is no Chaos, there is Harmony. There is no Death, there is the Force
A code refers to an ethical or moral set of protocols taught by a religious tradition. I don’t necessarily agree with this code. I don’t feel that we ever need to abandon one aspect of our personality in favor of another. This is the very reason Christianity never set well with me. They have a doctrine of suppressing “lark” emotions they characterize as sinful in favor of “light” emotions they deem worthy and pleasing to God. I am vehemently opposed to this.
We cannot have one side without the other. There is no light without dark, no good without evil and no white without black. Everything in our lives not only needs but requires this balance. I find my peace through emotion, my knowledge through ignorance, my serenity through passion, my harmony through chaos and I find everlasting life through death. I don’t see “The Force” as having a light or a dark side. That is a boundary put on it by men. The Force is energy and energy can be neither good nor bad. It is just energy. It is what we do with that energy that defines it one way or the other.
It is the balance of dark and light that we must strive for. Each side of our personality contrasts and enhances its polar opposite. To deny one is to lose the other. I find a source of power in emotion. It is my ignorance that drives me to knowledge. The pursuit of my passion (bliss) is where I find serenity, and to know chaos is to understand harmony. If I were to adopt a version of this code I think it would be something closer to the following:
Peace, through Emotion Knowledge, through Ignorance Serenity, through Passion Harmony, through Chaos The Force, through Balance
Lesson 5 – Exercise Three – Temple Doctrine
Explain your understanding of the Creed.
I am a Jedi, an instrument of peace; Where there is hatred I shall bring love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, joy.
I am a Jedi. I shall never seek so much to be consoled as to console; To be understood as to understand; To be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. The Force is with me always, for I am a Jedi.
A Creed is a statement of faith or the shared beliefs of a religious community in the form of a fixed formula summarizing core tenets. The very fact that this Creed was adopted from an older Christian prayer, the so-called Prayer of Saint Francis (also known as the Peace Prayer) is testament to the one sided nature of the Creed. It favors the suppression of one half of the dual nature that exists in all creation.
As sentient life forms we should always strive towards the constructive aspects of our duality in all things; to act with compassion and empathy towards all forms of life, no matter how large or small, strong or weak. But we should also live our lives with passion and always pursue the objects of our desires with great lust. This is not to say that we ever have the right to trample another’s freedom to do the same without seeing some consequence of that. Both sides of our nature should be deployed in accordance with temperance, balance and reason. The healthy balance of both sides of our nature is a necessary aspect of our well being.
However we are not perfect beings either and so invariably in life we should expect trespasses to be made against one another from time to time. It is whether those violations come inadvertently or with malice that should dictate our response. If we have inadvertently wronged someone in the passionate pursuit of our goals (or been wronged by another) we should strive to resolve those violations with fair and just means. If we are unwilling to do that, or if we intentionally caused harm, it should be something we carefully contemplated before committing to. To strike from a place of unbounded emotion brings us out of balance and so we need to have a full and complete comprehension of the potential consequences of our actions. Our wrongdoings will only come back to harm us and if we do not rectify this those consequences are something we need to be prepared to accept.
In our lives we will also encounter those that are bent on our destruction. They will want to see harm come to us either out of malice or personal gain. When this happens negotiation is often times fruitless. But instead of turning the other cheek so that it may be smacked as well, we have the right to use any means available to defend ourselves and our own with appropriate means up to and including deadly force. These abilities will come from darker emotions such as anger and hate. Without them we would not have the drive to defend ourselves. The key is to control the emotion and use it to your advantage, not the other way around.
We need to always keep in mind that there is no true black and white. We may perceive ourselves as just and those that come against us as evil, but our enemies will most likely see their situation the same way and we are the evil ones. In the end we should always hope that the spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice will prevail over violence and destruction but we should never condemn those brooding parts of us that give us that counter balance. It is the pain and strife and suffering in life that define us just as much as the joy and comfort.
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Post by Kyrin Wyldstar on Jun 13, 2018 17:28:15 GMT
Lesson 5 – Exercise Four – Temple Doctrine
Explain your understanding of each of the 16 Teachings.
To me the 16 teachings are a set of religious “rules” that are established by the Order to give a Jedi guidelines so that one may begin to establish a specified set of controls over their behaviors or morality. These behaviors, taken from the teachings, are deemed to be in accordance with Jedi belief. In effect they are directions on how a Jedi should strive to live his life. However, any time we try to quantify the indwelling of the divine within, it will fall short. Instead we need to consider the teachings not as hard and fast rules but as benchmarks that we explore to awaken our spirituality within.
Once awake we spend a lifetime developing that spirituality. The teachings are only the starting point of this. On the surface they are but simple lines of text. But we must consider them to be more than that. We need to learn to take each one deeper and begin to peel the layers away; to find the never ending nuances of divine wisdom hidden deep within. We will spend our entire lifetimes in this pursuit. This never ceasing study combined with the combined experiences of our lives will lead us to deeper and deeper revelation and in turn a deeper connection with the Force.
The teachings try to put us in touch with the idea of always being aware of our surroundings, never taking anything for granted. We need to follow the cycles of nature and be in harmony with our universe and the energy that flows throughout. This includes all other forms of life that make up the force itself. We should never let our minds be clouded by shallow or subversive thinking. Instead we need to always strive to see the good in all things and give others the benefit of the doubt. We should never let ourselves become ridged, intolerant or inflexible in any situation.
We need to continually develop all aspects of our being from the physical body to our mental faculties to our spiritual wellbeing and development. We should spend time each day in pursuit of each of these things through meditation, physical activity, eating correctly and having a thirst for new knowledge and experience. We should put our skills to productive and meaningful use but never be prideful of our accomplishments. Instead we need to exercise restraint and apply wisdom to all things.
In all aspects of our life we must understand that we are not running a race. There is no finish line and we do not get a reward for completing something before another. We need to adopt an attitude of patience and perseverance in all things and strive for honesty and integrity in all things we do. This includes our connection with other life. We need to maintain an empathetic nature and be gentle, kind and caring with a great attention to detail in all things.
This is not to say we should ever become obsessed with things. We need to keep a clear head and pace ourselves in life. We must also understand that this life is a temporary thing and one day we, as all others, must move on. This is not an end but a transformation to a new existence in the Force. We should morn for those that pass before us but we should never let that lead to anger depression and fear. We need to accept that we are mortal and imperfect creatures. We should always be humble in this and take responsibility and maintain integrity in our actions. But we should never be ashamed of who we are. We need to celebrate that fact that we are perfect in our imperfections.
I think the only teaching I find particularly troubling is teaching 4. I feel that to be wary of our emotions or to deny them will lead to fear quicker than if we embrace them, which is what I think this teaching implies somewhat. I think there should be a 17th teaching that speaks of balance in all things. We should have no restriction of attachments, especially emotional ones but if we understand the balance of nature and the cyclic upward spiraling of life we should not develop obsessions over these things.
We need to understand that death is not the end but simply a transformation from one form to another. This is just another part of the spiral. If we truly grasp this concept and accept it into our lives there is no need to be wary of our attachment. I think it is through love that we find true strength and to dampen that is to deny ourselves a power that has potentially no bounds.
Fear and loss and pain are a part of life. We cannot ignore those things. In face it is from pain that some of our greatest triumphs will spring. However if we are not taught or prepared to deal with those aspects of life, they can lead to unbounded fear. It is important that we be instilled with the idea of maintaining a balance in all things. This will prepare us to balance and utilize the darker aspects of ourselves just as much as the light ones.
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Post by Kyrin Wyldstar on Jun 13, 2018 17:29:17 GMT
Lesson 5 – Exercise Five – Temple Doctrine
Explain your understanding of each of the 21 Maxims
A Maxim is a short, concise statement expressing a general truth, rule of conduct or principle of action designed to inspire an individual or a group. In effect a Maxim is a guide for living. You can find Maxims in most spiritual organizations. Some of the most famous ones are the Christian “Golden Rule” or the Wiccan, “Harm none, do as ye will”. While I agree with the spirit of the maxims presented in the Jedi Doctrine, the more I contemplate them the more I wonder if they can be consolidated somewhat.
Basically our goal in all aspects of our lives is to live an altruistic or selflessness life. As Jedi we strive to always facilitate an external peace as much as we are able from a necessitated internal quietness. This is the principle and practice of exhibiting empathy and compassion for others and truly doing what needs to be done to enhance the welfare of others and ourselves. However we can easily get sidetracked in this effort through an overabundance of rules or imperatives. I have seen this before with other groups. They feel the need to create a rule for every situation they encounter and after a time it gets to the point of unworkability. The meaning of the message is replaced with the dogma of text.
The problem lies in the potential for divergence between different maxims. We live in a subjective world where there are no absolutes. And if we don’t see the spirit of what the maxims are trying to convey we will try to take each of our encounters on a case by case basis and evaluate exactly which maxims will apply to the situation. But in many instances we will find we have to break one maxim to fulfill another. When we see these conflicts it can lead to the creation of new maxims to resolve the conflicts. In the end what we end up with is either a set of maxims that are either too vague, can be considered conflicting or too detailed and they become ineffectual in practical use.
It is important that we understand this and not fall into the trap replacing the intent with the doctrine. We need to look beyond the surface of the maxims and seek out their deeper and hidden message. Each of the maxims works individually and as a whole and so we should not see them as 21 separate entities to be discerned individually. Instead, like life, we need to see them as distinct manifestations of a deeper single paradigm that we ascribe our lives to. For me personally I think a more concise summary of all the maxims in a single line or two would best describe my understanding of them. The following is a modification of a personal maxim I have held for many years and I think it fits here.
As a Jedi, in so much as I am able; I will seek the greater happiness for myself and especially for others in all encounters. I shall refuse to tolerate intolerance. I will never forgo a chance to benefit earth kind in any form. I will respect life and the earth with humbleness and an inner peace at all times. I dedicate myself to this and I expect the same in return.
What this means to me is that in each situation I need to use a variety of faculties including my intelligence, intuition and wisdom to assess events and make the most informed decision as possible that will illicit the greatest good not only for myself but more-so for all others involved. I should always do this in humble service to myself and all life on this planet. I will maintain an inner peace and pick my battles carefully. I will always try for a peaceful solution but never be afraid to fight, even die, if there is no other choice. I shall live by these protocols and I expect the same returned to me and to others around me.
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Post by Kyrin Wyldstar on Jun 13, 2018 17:33:20 GMT
Lesson 6: World Religions For this lesson, you are to research and write an essay for each of the listed world religions/world views. You must include what you think are the central philosophies and beliefs of each one as well as the varying types of liturgy that appear within them. You may write your essay on a particular part or sect of one of the world religions/world views rather than the whole if you prefer. You can use whatever sources you wish, but please make sure those sources are accurate and please include a bibliography telling us where you obtained the information. The most common place for a bibliography is at the end.
World Religions: • Part 1 - Abrahamism • Part 2 - Atheism • Part 3 - Buddhism • Part 4 - Hinduism • Part 5 - Paganism
Bonus Material • J. Kornfield - Beginner's Guide to Buddhism • S. Hastings, P. Rosenberg - God Wants You Dead
Central philosophies and beliefs Varying types of liturgy Lesson 6 – Exercise One – World ReligionsAbrahamismThere are three major branches of the Abrahamic religions (also called Semitic religions). These are Judaism – founded in the 1st millennium, Christianity – founded in 1st century AD and Islam – founded in 7th century AD. They are monotheistic religions of West Asian origin. The spiritual traditions can trace their origin back to a common source; a man named Abraham. Christianity is the largest Abrahamic faith, with 33% of the world's population, Islam is second with 21%, and Judaism has 0.2%. All followers of an Abrahamic religion believe in the one God who is the creator of the universe and called Yahweh, God or Allah respectively. Yahweh is the Ground Force of the universe, Universal Subconscious Mind, Infinite Intelligence, Ultimate Justice, Divine Providence and final Arbiter. Even though each sect all follows the same God the separate religions of Christianity and Islam have a different central deity figurehead. Those are Jesus and Muhammad respectively. The Jewish faith descended from Isaac, son of Abraham by his wife Sarah. The Muslims faith evolved from the descendants of Ishmael, son of Abraham by his hand maiden Hagar. The Christians spiritually descended from Jesus who came from the lineage of David who in turn came from the descendants of Abraham. The God Yahweh is an abbreviation of a longer name, "Yahweh Sabaoth." which means, "He who musters armies." Yahweh was an ancient Hebrew war God and he was originally identified as the military leader of the tribe. Because of this he is depicted a blood thirsty and savage throughout the Bible, which is the primary book of holy scriptures that these religions hold sacred along with the Koran. These three religions differ in their rituals, ceremonies, and observances as well. Those of Jewish faith follow the Torah, while Christians follow the New Testament of the bible and the followers of Islam hold the Quran as a central sacred holy book. All three religions believe that their respective books were inspired and written by God. Followers of Judaism hold Saturday as their holy Sabbath day. Jews are to pray on a daily basis. Rabbis conduct services in a temple and direct their congregations through various holy festivals throughout the year. Muslims consider their holy spaces known as mosques not so much as sanctified but more as gathering places. They feel at one with their God in any places and typically pray three times a day at morning, noon and evening. They do not use sacramental wines or wafer or other such props. Christians hold Sundays as the day of rest times a day. Christians use consecrated wine and bread for Communion and holy water and incense. A typical service includes a time of worship through song and prayer before a scriptural reading. Bibliographyen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abrahamic_religionsabrahamism.blogspot.com/2005/03/abrahamic-faith.htmlwww.jesusneverexisted.com/brutal.htmwww.abrahamism.org/
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Post by Kyrin Wyldstar on Jun 13, 2018 17:34:33 GMT
Lesson 6 – Exercise Two – World ReligionsAtheismAtheism is not a belief system, or a religion nor is it a world view. It is simply a stance on a single issue. One commonly used correlation between atheism being a religions stance or not is "If atheism is a religion, then abstinence is a sexual position." Atheism is not a disbelief in gods or a denial of gods; it is a lack of belief in gods. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities. The term "atheism" originated from the Greek word “atheos” which means "without god(s)". the term was originally used as a pejorative term applied to those thought to reject the gods worshiped by the rest of society. Arguments for atheism range from the philosophical to social Rationales, a lack of empirical evidence to the rejection of concepts that cannot be falsified. In practical atheism individuals live as if there are no gods and explain natural phenomena without references to any deities. The existence of gods is not rejected, but is deemed unnecessary or useless. They expose that Gods neither provide purpose to life, nor influence everyday life. A form of practical atheism is methodological naturalism which is concerned not with claims about what exists but with methods of learning what nature is. Theoretical atheism on the other hand explicitly posits arguments against the existence of gods, responding to common theistic arguments such as the argument from design or Pascal's Wager. Surprisingly enough, Atheism is acceptable within some religious and spiritual belief systems. These could include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and some Neo-pagan movements. In fact in my own personal path as an Aporetic Witch I do not ascribe to an external separate Deity. Many forms of Atheism ascribe philosophies usually explained with religion to a higher absolute, that absolute being humanity itself. Issues such as the origination of morals come from humanities ability for empathy and compassion. This also leaves him ultimately responsible for his every action. At one time Atheists were relegated to the shadows for fear of retribution or scorn. But in modern times atheism has become something to be celebrated. It is something that is being explored more and more today by pioneers of the new atheist movement such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett and Sam Harris; colloquially known as the Four Horsemen of the NON-Apocalypse. These atheist writers have advocated the view that "religion should not simply be tolerated but should be countered, criticized, and exposed by rational argument wherever its influence arises." In the United States there has been as much as a 5% increase in self-reported atheism from 2005 to 2012. In addition there has been a larger drop in those who self-identified as "religious" which is down by 13%. A study noted positive correlations between levels of education and secularism, including atheism, in America. According to evolutionary psychologist Nigel Barber, atheism blossoms in places where most people feel economically secure. Bibliographyen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheismatheists.org/activism/resources/what-is-atheism
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Post by Kyrin Wyldstar on Jun 13, 2018 17:37:31 GMT
Lesson 6 – Exercise Three – World Religions Buddhism Buddhism is a nontheistic religion or philosophy that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha, commonly known as the Buddha which means enlightened one. He is described as an awakened or enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end their suffering through the elimination of ignorance and craving. Buddhists believe that this is accomplished through the direct understanding (understanding possessed by a Buddha regarding the true nature of things) and perception of dependent origination (Which states that all dharmas ("things") arise in dependence upon other dharmas: "if this exists, that exists; if this ceases to exist, that also ceases to exist." This is applied to dukkha (suffering)) and the Four Noble Truths (an expression of the principle of dependent origination. They explain the arising of dukkha, which is dependently originated, and the cessation of dukkha, by removing the causes). Two and sometimes three major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized: • Theravada - The School of the Elders - the ultimate goal is the attainment of the sublime state of Nirvana (The imperturbable stillness of mind after the fires of desire, aversion, and delusion have been finally extinguished) achieved by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path thus escaping what is seen as a cycle of suffering and rebirth. • Mahayana - The Great Vehicle - Includes Zen - aspires to Buddhahood via the bodhisattva (anyone who, motivated by great compassion, has generated bodhicitta or enlightened mind) path, a state wherein one remains in this cycle to help other beings reach awakening • Vajrayana - Teachings from Indian siddhas is sometimes seen as a third branch and sometimes as a part of Mahayana. Buddhism denies a creator deity and posits that mundane deities such as Mahabrahma are misperceived to be a Creator. The foundations of Buddhist tradition and practice are the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings), and the Sangha (the community). Taking "refuge in the triple gem" has traditionally been a declaration and commitment to being on the Buddhist path, and in general distinguishes a Buddhist from a non-Buddhist. Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhārtha Gautama, Shakyamuni, or simply the Buddha, was a sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. Gautama, a noble born prince, ventured beyond the palace several times despite his father’s rule forbidding it. In a series of encounters, known in Buddhist literature as the four sights, he learned of the suffering of ordinary people, encountering an old man, a sick man, a corpse and, finally, an ascetic holy man, apparently content and at peace with the world. These experiences prompted Gautama to abandon royal life and take up a spiritual quest. He tested himself in many ways and in his search he discovered what Buddhists call the Middle Way, a path of moderation between the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. Gautama was now determined to complete his spiritual quest. At the age of 35, he famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree now called the Bodhi Tree in the town of Bodh Gaya and vowed not to rise before achieving enlightenment. After many days, he finally destroyed the fetters of his mind, thereby liberating himself from the cycle of suffering and rebirth, and arose as a fully enlightened being. The concept of liberation (nirvāṇa)—the goal of the Buddhist path—is closely related to overcoming ignorance (avidyā), a fundamental misunderstanding or mis-perception of the nature of reality. In awakening to the true nature of the self and all phenomena one develops dispassion for the objects of clinging, and is liberated from suffering (dukkha) and the cycle of incessant rebirths (saṃsāra). To this end, the Buddha recommended viewing things as characterized by the three marks of existence. The Three Marks of Existence are impermanence, suffering, and not-self. • Impermanence - Everything we can experience through our senses is made up of parts, and its existence is dependent on external conditions. Things are constantly coming into being, and ceasing to be. Since nothing lasts, there is no inherent or fixed nature to any object or experience. because things are impermanent, attachment to them is futile and leads to suffering. • Suffering - often translated as "suffering", its philosophical meaning is more analogous to "disquietude" as in the condition of being disturbed. Buddhism seeks to be neither pessimistic nor optimistic, but realistic. • Not-self - Upon careful examination, one finds that no phenomenon is really "I" or "mine"; these concepts are in fact constructed by the mind. By analyzing the constantly changing physical and mental constituents (skandhas) of a person or object, the practitioner comes to the conclusion that neither the respective parts nor the person as a whole comprise a self. Devotion is an important part of the practice of most Buddhists. Devotional practices include bowing, offerings, pilgrimage, and chanting. In Pure Land Buddhism, devotion to the Buddha Amitabha is the main practice. In Nichiren Buddhism, devotion to the Lotus Sutra is the main practice. Buddhism traditionally incorporates states of meditative absorption. Religious knowledge or "vision" was indicated as a result of practice both within and outside of the Buddhist fold. The Buddhist texts are probably the earliest describing meditation techniques. They describe meditative practices and states that existed before the Buddha as well as those first developed within Buddhism Buddhism is not a religion as such; it does not propose an external God. It does not seek to replace a person’s existing religious beliefs, only to supplement them. The Buddha, in all likelihood, would rather his followers describe themselves simply as Followers of The Way. Bibliographyen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhismen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayanaen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Zenen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmaen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhien.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prat%C4%ABtyasamutp%C4%81daen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_textsbook – the essence of Buddhism – David Tuffley
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Post by Kyrin Wyldstar on Jun 13, 2018 17:39:20 GMT
Lesson 6 – Exercise Four – World ReligionsHinduismHinduism has been called the "oldest religion" in the world. Some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma or The Eternal Law" and consider it beyond human origins. Scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings (ahimsa), patience, forbearance, self-restraint and compassion. Prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Puruṣārthas, the proper goals or aims of human life. These are Dharma (ethics/duties), Artha (prosperity/work), Kama (emotions/sexuality) and Moksha (liberation/freedom). Hindu practices include rituals such as puja (worship) and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals, and occasional pilgrimages. Some Hindus leave their social world and material possessions, then engage in lifelong Sannyasa (ascetic practices) to achieve moksha. Concepts such as karma (action, intent and consequences), samsara (cycle of rebirth), and the various Yogas (paths or practices to attain moksha) are also included. Most forms of Hinduism are henotheistic religions. They recognize a single deity, and view other Gods and Goddesses as manifestations or aspects of that supreme God. It differs from monotheistic religions in that it does not have a single founder, a specific theological system, a single holy text, a single system of morality or a central religious authority. Many Hindus are devoted followers of Shiva or Vishnu, whom they regard as the only true God, while others look inward to the divine Self (atman). But most recognize the existence of Brahman, the unifying principle and Supreme Reality behind all that is. Most Hindus respect the authority of the Vedas (a collection of ancient sacred texts) and the Brahmans (the priestly class), but some reject one of both of these authorities. Hindu religious life might take the form of devotion to God or gods, the duties of family life, or concentrated meditation. The first sacred writings of Hinduism, which date to about 1200 BCE, were primarily concerned with the ritual sacrifices associated with numerous gods who represented forces of nature. Over the centuries these beliefs evolved and around 500 BCE, several new belief systems sprouted from Hinduism, most significantly Buddhism and Jainism. Hindus believe that the universe undergoes endless cycles of creation, preservation and dissolution and that karma, the law of cause and effect by which each individual creates his own destiny by his thoughts, words and deeds. Hindus believe that the soul reincarnates, evolving through many births until all karmas have been resolved, and moksha, liberation from the cycle of rebirth, is attained. Not a single soul will be deprived of this destiny. They feel that an enlightened master, or satguru, is essential to know the Transcendent and that all life is sacred, to be loved and revered. Teachings include the concept that no religion is the only way to salvation above all others, but that all genuine paths are facets of God's Light, deserving tolerance and understanding.
Bibliographyen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduismwww.religioustolerance.org/hinduism.htmwww.religionfacts.com/hinduismwww.himalayanacademy.com/readlearn/basics/nine-beliefs
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Post by Kyrin Wyldstar on Jun 13, 2018 17:42:13 GMT
Lesson 6 – Exercise Five – World Religions PaganismFor this exercise I have decided to do a report on Cherokee Spirituality. I have an ancestry that includes some Cherokee and the Cherokee spirituality has always been a big part of my life. I was also asked to redo this lesson because of this decision so part two of this lesson is the redo.The Cherokee path is a metaphor for the way people live. It’s about life choices people make depending on a path they choose. One of the most common symbols talked about is the White Path. This is the path of peace, honesty, integrity, justice and honor. White is the color of something clean and Cherokee refer to this path as “The Way”. It has to do with living in a way that requires effort and leaves a clean path behind as well as one you walk ahead. This is the “right” way to live. Cherokee also have a red path which is a path of war and a black path which is a path of death. Cherokee believe in the concept of reciprocity. When someone helps you, you try to help them back. When someone comes to you in need of something you give them what you can. As long as it does not make your life or their lives worse you’re supposed to help them. These ways were given to the Cherokee by God shortly after they were created. In the beginning Cherokee did not have a need for spirituality. Instead the people had it within them to live right, think right and do right. But over the generations the people fell short of that and so they were given traditions, ways to live or instructions; teachings given from the Divine. These traditions have been renewed over and over as the generations passed. Stories evolved and changed, new ones were created but the underlying thread of these traditions remains the same. The Cherokee spirituality is not something that is driven by events but instead something to be lived on a daily basis. However that is not to say Cherokee do not have special days of celebrations or spiritual symbols they hold in high regard. The ceremonial ground is one such holy place. It allows the people to come together as a community and rejoice together with the same idea and the same purpose to share in celebration. These times are designed to give them strength until they can see one another again. The fire is an important spiritual symbol. When the community comes together around the fire they become one body and the fire becomes their heart. It is the foundation of the body and a central point of focus for prayer and dance. When and individual or community is going through a hardship or even a celebration such as a birth in the family the ceremonial fire is light to help support that event. These medicine fires can be built at home as well to help focus your efforts or prayers. This fire is to bring people together and is to be used only to pray with, never to warm yourself or to cook anything on etc. Water is another important spiritual symbol. The going to water ceremony is one of the most sacred. Cherokee go to water whenever the need arises to cleanse themselves. The best times are times of natural transitions such as dawn, dusk or just after midnight. As you wash off you say prayers. Through the process of cleansing yourself physically in a sacred manner you also cleanse yourself spiritually. This also gives Cherokee the strength to help others when they need it. Tobacco is also a powerful symbol for the Cherokee. It along with water is an item commonly used in healing ceremonies as well as a vehicle to carry prayers to God. Alcohol is another thing that can be used for healing purposes. Cherokee will make their own alcohol mixed with herbs and use it for medicine. Because of this, tobacco and alcohol are sacred things and are only supposed to be used in a sacred way, never abused or used for pleasure. Cherokee take great care to respect all nature. Anything has the potential to be medicine and so we must be very diligent and careful in how we treat the things around us. If A Cherokee is cut they should go through a cleansing ceremony as blood is considered a powerful symbol as well. During a females menstrual cycle they will participate in personal or family ceremonies but many times are not allowed to participate in group ceremonies. This is not because they are considered unclean but that their medicine is so powerful during that time that their participation will over power the rest of the ceremony. Because of that there are ceremonies just for women during that time. This goes for when they are pregnant as well. In fact when the female is pregnant the husband is considered pregnant as well. Women of the tribe are something sacred and cherished. The men don’t decide what the women do and the ancestral line is passed down through the matriarchal path. There are several festivals performed each year with the fire as the central focus that center on the farming and hunting calendars. Over the centuries as the Cherokee were forced to conform to white ways many of these have been “put away”. However they have not been forgotten and now attempts are being made to revitalize some of them. One Example of this is the Osi Lodge, or Sweat lodge ceremony. Cherokee believe these ceremonies are most powerful when spoken in their native tongue. This is how the rituals were given to them and it’s how they were meant to be performed. They feel it ties them to reality in a different way that English for example. Even though the language is considered a base of the ceremony each community or family or even an individual may customize certain traditions or ceremonies in a way that works for them. There are right ways and wrong ways to perform these but there are probably more right ways than any one person could ever learn. It’s hard to say there is a wrong way because it really has to do with that person or groups connection with the creator, the people around them and their environment – the plants and animals, earth itself and even the spirits. Each must find that path for themselves. Cherokee avoid killing things unless necessary. However hunting was a necessary part of life and so there are purification ceremonies done before and after hunting. Cherokee were also farmers and corn was one of their major crops each year at the first harvest none were allowed to partake of the first years corn harvest until all the members of the community could eat at the same time. Other Cherokee symbols include the 7 pointed star which represents the 7 Cherokee clans. Also the sacred colors of red, white, black, yellow and green represent The Cherokee traditionally recognize seven directions, to encompass a fully-dimensional world instead of one-dimensional. In addition to the four cardinal directions (east, north, west and south), there are: up (above), down (below) and center (which is where you are). The colors are red, blue, black and white (sometimes yellow). Stories are an important part of Cherokee spirituality. Stories are used as a means of correction. Children were taught through stories. Some of these stories are part of the Cherokee epics such as how the people came from the a great sea turtle that is an island connected to the heavens by the 4 cardinal points or the story of how spider went and retrieved fire for the people. Other stories are tribe or family stories that range from stories of talking animals to just stories from the elders past. Cherokee use these stories as instruction to the younger generation vs just telling them directly what they should do or are expected to do or not do. The children are expected to figure out the story. Most Cherokee believe in an afterlife. Some interpretations of what that afterlife entails range from the idea that if you lived a good life here you will have a good afterlife. They don’t view heaven as streets paved with gold but rather a giant dance. At death we join our ancestors in that great never ending dance. It’s an eternal time of celebration and feasting and communion. Others say that you just unite with the universe. Even though many rituals are common across all the Cherokee people what you find is that the interpretation of those rituals and ceremonies varies greatly. Cherokee spirituality has evolved to be broad enough to incorporate a wide variation of beliefs but at the same time allows anyone to come to the ceremonial fire and celebrate and pray together. Bibliography NONE - This was pulled from my own personal experience. Paganism (Part II)Paganism is a term that developed among the Christian community of southern Europe during late antiquity to describe religions other than their own, Judaism, or Islam–the three Abrahamic religions. It was commonly used in a derogatory sense until it was re-adopted as a self-descriptor by members of various artistic groups inspired by the ancient world. In the 20th century, it came to be applied as a self-description by practitioners of contemporary pagan, or neo-pagan, religious movements. While paganism is often considered to exclude monotheism and to express a worldview that is pantheistic, polytheistic, or animistic, there are some monotheistic and even atheist pagans. Modern knowledge of old pagan religions comes from several sources, including: anthropological field research records, the evidence of archaeological artifacts, and the historical accounts of ancient writers regarding cultures known to the classical world. Before the rise of monotheistic religions, most people practiced some type of polytheism. Many of these religions started to die out, and eventually they became extinct. In some cases, elements of polytheistic belief systems continued to exist in folklore. Modern Paganism, or Neopaganism, can include reconstructed religions such as the Cultus Deorum Romanorum, Hellenic polytheism, Slavic Neopaganism, Celtic reconstructionist paganism, or Germanic Neopaganism, as well as modern eclectic traditions such as Wicca and its many offshoots, and Discordianism. Pagan beliefs may include concepts such as Polytheism, a plurality of divine beings, which may or may not be considered aspects of an underlying unity, Divine Nature - a concept of the divinity of Nature, which they view as a manifestation of the divine, not as the "fallen" creation found in Dualistic cosmology, the Sacred feminine as "the female divine principle" identified as "the Goddess" beside or in place of the male divine principle as expressed in the Abrahamic God. Also in modern times, "Heathen" and "Heathenry" are increasingly used to refer to those branches of Neopaganism inspired by the pre-Christian religions of the Germanic, Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon peoples. Pagans may be trained in particular traditions or they may follow their own inspiration. Paganism is not dogmatic. Pagans pursue their own vision of the Divine as a direct and personal experience. While some Pagans insist that mythologies from different cultures should not be mixed in the pursuit of spiritual practice, many others freely integrate myths from around the world into their rituals and devotions. This practice is known as "eclectic" Paganism, and results in a uniquely colorful celebration of various gods and goddesses from all corners of the earth. Thus, it is possible to attend a Wiccan circle where the Hawaiian Goddess Pele is venerated alongside the Roman God Vulcan, or an eclectic Pagan gathering in which the Cherokee Goddess Selu is invoked along with the Irish God Lugh. Unlike religions where a sacred text (such as the Bible, the Quran, or the Bhagavadgita) is accepted by adherents as a source of authority, Pagan communities generally not only have no sacred text, but often are suspicious of the very idea of "scripture." Ancient Pagan sacred sites, like Stonehenge in England or Newgrange in Ireland, often have an astronomical orientation, with key features of the site oriented toward specific dates of the year. For example, Stonehenge is oriented toward the sunrise of the summer solstice, while the doorway of Newgrange is oriented toward sunrise of the winter solstice. Sites like these suggest not only a high degree of astronomical and architectural sophistication among ancient Pagans, but also imply that the dates like the solstices may have had ritual significance to their cultures. Sacred time within Wicca is established by the cycles of the sun and the moon. Lunar cycles occur every 29 to 30 days, while a solar cycle occurs over the course of a year. The key events in a lunar cycle include the new moon and the full moon. Many Wiccan solitaries and groups perform rituals on the nights of the new and full moons, seeing those dates as particularly propitious for venerating the goddess as identified with the moon. Most expressions of Paganism are magical - which is to say, they promote the use of individual or communal ritual practices to effect personal and environmental change, particularly changes in consciousness. Rooted in pre-modern magical practices (where rituals were seen as creating direct physical change in the environment), Pagans often have a more sophisticated understanding of magic and ritual, following Dion Fortune's definition of "magic" as "the art of changing consciousness at will. All in all Paganism encompasses a rich and diverse set of beliefs, practices and world views that will vary from practitioner to practitioner. Bibliographyen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paganismwww.paganfederation.org/what-is-paganism/www.patheos.com/Library/Paganism
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Post by Kyrin Wyldstar on Jun 13, 2018 17:45:02 GMT
Lesson 7: Personal Tools For this lesson, please complete the exercises below and give a bibliography of any sources that you used in your research. • Exercise 1: What is the meaning and importance of 'didactics'? • Exercise 2: What is the meaning and importance of 'semantics'? • Exercise 3: What is the meaning and importance of 'etiquette'? (both in the physical world and in written form)Lesson 7 – Exercise One – Personal ToolsWhat is the meaning and importance of 'didactics'?Didactics is a theory of teaching, and in a wider sense, a theory and practical application of teaching and learning. In demarcation from "mathetics" (the science of learning), didactics refers only to the science of teaching. A didactic method is a teaching method that follows a consistent scientific approach or educational style to engage the student's mind. This theory might be contrasted with open learning, also known as experiential learning, in which people can learn by themselves, in an unstructured manner, on topics of interest. The theory of didactic learning methods focuses on the baseline knowledge students possess and seeks to improve upon and convey this information. It also refers to the foundation or starting point in a lesson plan, where the overall goal is knowledge. A teacher or educator functions in this role as an authoritative figure, but also as both a guide and a resource for students. The Oxford dictionary merely defines didactics as a particularly moral instruction. Didactic method provides students with the required theoretical knowledge. It is an effective method used to teach students who are unable to organize their work and depend on the teachers for instructions. It is also used to teach basic skills of reading and writing. The teacher or the literate is the source of knowledge and the knowledge is transmitted to the students through didactic method. Functions of the Didactic method include a cognitive function designed to understand and learn basic concepts, a formative-educative function designed to develop skills, behavior and abilities, an instrumental function designed to achieve educational objectives, and a normative function which helps to achieve productive learning and attain required results. Though didactic method has been given importance in several schools, it does not satisfy the needs and interests of all the students. It is tedious for the students to listen to the lectures. There is minimum interaction between the students and the teachers. Learning which also involves in motivating the students to develop an interest towards the subject may not be satisfied through this teaching method. It is a monologue process and experience of the students does not have a significant role in learning. bibliographyen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didactic_method4liberty.eu/why-is-didactics-unimportant-at-colleges-and-universities/encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Didactics Lesson 7 – Exercise Two – Personal ToolsWhat is the meaning and importance of 'semantics'?Semantics is the branch of linguistics and logic concerned with meaning. There are a number of branches and sub-branches of semantics, including formal semantics, which studies the logical aspects of meaning, such as sense, reference, implication, and logical form, lexical semantics, which studies word meanings and word relations, and conceptual semantics, which studies the cognitive structure of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, like words, phrases, signs, and symbols, and what they stand for. In linguistics, semantics is the subfield that is devoted to the study of meaning, as inherent at the levels of words, phrases, sentences, and larger units of discourse. The study of semantics is also closely linked to the subjects of representation, reference and denotation. The basic study of semantics is oriented to the examination of the meaning of signs, and the study of relations between different linguistic units and compounds. The language can be a natural language, such as English or Navajo, or an artificial language, like a computer programming language. Meaning in natural languages is mainly studied by linguists. In fact, semantics is one of the main branches of contemporary linguistics. Theoretical computer scientists and logicians think about artificial languages. In some areas of computer science, these divisions are crossed. In machine translation, for instance, computer scientists may want to relate natural language texts to abstract representations of their meanings; to do this, they have to design artificial languages for representing meanings. Bibliographyen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semanticsweb.eecs.umich.edu/~rthomaso/documents/general/what-is-semantics.htmlLesson 7 – Exercise Three – Personal Tools What is the meaning and importance of 'etiquette'? (both in the physical world and in written form)Etiquette is defined as a set of conventional requirements as to social behavior; proprieties of conduct as established in any class or community or for any occasion. It also means A prescribed or accepted code of usage in matters of ceremony, as at a court or in official or other formal observances. Finally it is defined as the code of ethical behavior regarding professional practice or action among the members of a profession in their dealings with each other. The latter could mean either in a social construct or in written form. In short etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group. Manners is a term usually preceded by the word good or bad to indicate whether or not a behavior is socially acceptable. Every culture adheres to a different set of manners, although a lot of manners are cross‐culturally common. Manners are a subset of social norms which are informally enforced through self-regulation and social policing and publicly performed. They enable human ‘ultrasociality’ by imposing self-restraint and compromise on regular, everyday actions. Charles Darwin analyzed the remarkable universality of facial responses to disgust, shame and other complex emotions.] Having identified the same behavior in young infants and blind individuals he concluded that these responses are not learned but innate. According to Val Curtis, the development of these responses was concomitant with the development of manners behavior. For Curtis, manners play an evolutionary role in the prevention of disease. This assumes that those who were hygienic, polite to others and most able to benefit from their membership within a cultural group, stand the best chance of survival and reproduction. When it comes to the written word it is too easy to type out an email or a post with very little thought going into the style of communication. It should be noted that people do pay attention to the style of your writing and your tone. Many times careless writing can seem more like text messages with someone that you are overly comfortable with; however in public forums or when writing in blogs or a book for example this would not be the case. It’s important to maintain a certain level of more formal etiquette in those instances. This will keep misunderstandings to a minimum. Bibliographydictionary.reference.com/browse/etiquetteen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etiquetteblog.openviewpartners.com/the-written-word-the-importance-of-email-etiquette/
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Post by Kyrin Wyldstar on Jun 13, 2018 18:41:40 GMT
Lesson 8: Jediism Essays Please write an essay on the subjects listed below and try to make these answers personal by adding something of ‘you’ in there. The questions in each essay are not intended to be answered as they are presented; they are provided as 'prompts' to help guide your thoughts and inspire new ones. Each essay has a minimum of 400 words. (Details of each lesson is contained in the individual lesson content)
Essay 1: Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis Essay 2: Free Will Essay 3: Trials and Tribulations Essay 4: Jediism to You Essay 5: The Force Essay 6: The Force and Jediism Essay 7: A Healthy Body and Mind Essay 8: Cult, the Word Essay 9: Letting Go of the Past Essay 10: The Sword
Lesson 8 – Essay 1 – Jediism Essays
Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis It can be said that there are 3 aspects of any discussion: thesis, antithesis and synthesis. What are the meanings of the words thesis, antithesis and synthesis? What’s the importance of synthesis for a Jedi? Can you think of an example you’ve experienced or heard of where synthesis has been important?
The triad of Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis, also known as the dialectical method, is usually described in the following way. A Thesis is an intellectual proposition, An Antithesis is simply the negation of the original Thesis or a reaction to the proposition, finally the Synthesis solves the conflict between the Thesis and Antithesis by reconciling their common truths and forming a new Thesis, starting the process over. Basically this is a process of presenting an idea, explaining possible objections to it, and then summing up the conclusions in favor of a new Thesis.
The purpose of the dialectic method of reasoning is the resolution of disagreements through rational discussion and ultimately, the search for truth. It is based upon four concepts. One - everything is transient and finite or otherwise existing in the medium of time. Two - everything is composed of contradictions or opposing forces. Three - gradual changes lead to crises, turning points when one force overcomes its opponent force. Four – this change is helical or a spiral upwards vs a flat circle overwriting itself.
In contrast to these concepts is debate which is presenting an argument for a position in a formal discussion that is contentious, argumentative and wrought with strife or controversy. When one compares the different approaches of these concepts it becomes obvious that a format of the Triad would be a preferred method of discussion. It facilitates a cooperative interaction that seems to have the ability to lead to a consensus that is agreed upon by all parties involved. That new Synthesis would be a melding of the original Thesis and Antithesis but also new ideas. That combination is done in a mutually cooperative way that leads to a closer approximation to the actual truth of the issue.
In contrast to this debate seems to be an invasive wrestling for control of a concept or issue. One party is trying to force the other to their point of view. This will lead to entrenched points of view and does not allow for the evolution of the idea. It only serves to lead the parties in a never ending circle without any vehicle to get off the merry go round and consider higher or different concepts; to in fact evolve their ideas and accept the possibility that some third concept might be the actual truth of a matter. It seems a much more desirable approach to exploring the truth to a matter is the Triad for a Jedi. It leads to cooperation and teamwork vs contention and posturing.
I think we use these concepts way more than any of us realize. Let’s take something as simple as a human individual. We are a Synthesis of mind and body. The body is an autonomous entity that is driven by instinct while the mind contains our higher intellect and our consciousness. The body wants what it wants but the mind understands that this is not actually the best way to really get what is best for both. As a thinking being we must interact with other forms of life and employ concepts like sharing and manners to get by. It is the Synthesis of needs, wants and desires that is checked with social interactions that allows us to exist as a member of our species.
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Post by Kyrin Wyldstar on Jun 13, 2018 18:42:28 GMT
Lesson 8 – Essay 2 – Jediism Essays
Free Will There are many different views about the nature of free will and whether we have any free will at all and each comes with different moral and social issues. Do you believe in free will? Do you believe that we all have a destiny? Can we escape it/change it? What moral and social issues do you think this view might cause? Does it matter whether we have free will or not?
Free will is just like anything else in our existence. It is based on the duality of the reality we experience. What this means is that we have free will, just not absolute free will. Absolute free will is the capacity for an entity to make any choice in which the outcome has not been determined by past events. Instead what we experience is objective free will; the ability to choose between different possible courses of action within the framework of our existence. We are not always free to make these choices without the influence of past events. For example, no matter what choices we make in our lives we will never escape the destiny of our own death.
So for me free will is a double edged sword. We do have an objective free will in this life but it is framed by an outlying determinism that cannot be denied or escaped. There are several factors that we must balance in our lives. On the one hand we have the laws and forces of the universe itself that created us. We are also subject to our own evolution and mental states as well. We are the product of these natural forces of physics, genetics and instinct. We cannot deny the course of our lives that those aspects of our makeup take us on. However we also possess an emergent property of these things called a consciousness. It is our ability to reason and understand our own mortality that allows us to step outside this automaton like state and make choices for ourselves.
Because of our sentience we have the ability to direct what individual paths we will pursue as we follow our deterministic course. We have the ability to override our programming and decide the details of who we become. This is not always an easy choice however. We have a tendency to let our programming take over and just glide through life oblivious to our environment. It takes the first choice to make hard decisions for ourselves that puts us on the road to free will in our lives. This is the balance that we must strive for; the balance of determinism vs free will, “programming” vs choice. We should never let either side rule the other.
I see the progression of our lives as a puzzle that we assemble as we follow the course of time. We can never leave the puzzle but we can decide what pieces we will interact with. As we follow our path the road behind us is the assembled components of the pieces we chose. They create a cohesive path that can never again be disassembled. They are forever set in our past. Before us are an endless number of pieces that we need to choose and assemble in our present that allow us to continue in our lives. Some pieces are very close. These are the most likely possibilities for the future of our lives and they are often times most in line with our “programming”. These pieces are the easiest for us to reach and represent easy choices in our lives.
However we are not required to take these easily accessible pieces. Instead we can reach for something farther away and harder to achieve. These could be anything from deciding to change who we are emotionally or physically or taking on a new challenge in our lives. We need to always have an eye on these farther away pieces. These are the difficult things in our lives that we choose to take on and conquer. When these aspects of free will are properly chosen through balance with our deterministic side we can actually find strengths in our programming to help us achieve amazing goals in life. This allows us to create our own fate.
The future is not set. There is no fate but what we make for our self in this life. Ultimately we are each responsible for our own morality, actions and station in life. What consequences emerge from those choices are our own. If we chose to be a bad or lazy person we will be treated as such but no one owes us anything nor do we owe anything to anyone else. The karma we chose dictates how we are received.
It all comes down to the idea that we have no control over our ultimate destiny nor do we have much control over our biological or empirical programming but we do have a great deal of control over the details of our lives and how we chose to utilize those programmed aspects of our personality. We must accept the idea that we are a product of our duality, both nature and environment and we need to constantly strive to balance those aspects of ourselves just as we must balance all aspects of our dual character.
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Post by Kyrin Wyldstar on Jun 13, 2018 18:43:23 GMT
Lesson 8 – Essay 3 – Jediism Essays
Trials and Tribulations Your life is a collection of unique and personal experiences. Some of those will be good and some will be bad, but all of them you have had to face in some way to be here today. What stands out in your life as a challenge? What has changed you? What’s something that’s made you what you are? Can you think of a trial or tribulation that has helped define you? How did you get through it? What did it change? Are you a better person because of it? Have you moved on from it…?
I think that if you do not feel challenged in your life in most of the things you do you are doing it wrong. We should constantly strive for growth in all aspects of our lives. Sometimes that means taking the harder road in life and other times that means accepting the consequences of our actions or dealing with a blow life has put before us vs ignoring it. The challenges I have faced in my life are too many to name. In all aspects of my life I try to take the road less traveled, the road that is steeper or rockier. It is by doing this that we force ourselves to grow.
In high school I always challenged myself to take the more complex classes. This set me apart from my friends who always took easier classes. After high school I joined the toughest military service I could find - The United States Marine Corps. I spent 10 years in the military and those years gave me confidence, training and life experience beyond measure. It forever changed who I was. After I got out of the military I went to college. I had always been fascinated with Astronomy so I picked one of the most challenging curriculums possible – Astrophysics. I am still working on completing that today. It has been a massive challenge for me but it is one that I have never nor will never give up on. The perseverance I learned in the Marines has given me that stamina to carry on.
The loss of my mother to cancer was a challenge in life that I did not seek out but nonetheless was faced with. When I found out she was diagnosed I dropped everything to go to her and do anything I could to help her out. If we do not make family and friendships a priority in life there is not much else to live for. They are the true treasures in life, not material things. I spent a great deal of time finding her the best facilities in the country to help her and took her to those places and stayed by her side the entire way. Unfortunately there was not much to be done and I had to face the fact that it was time for her to go. When we face the transition of loved ones from one life to the next it is important to realize that time is just a part of life we will all face one day. We need to be able to let them go. When someone is ready to cross over it is actually crueler to keep them here than to let them pass. We must all come this idea.
My spiritual journey is another area where I have faced great trials and tribulations. I have always sought out the answers to life and for the most part been frustrated with the answers I received. However that has not stopped me from searching. For decades I traveled the deserts of Christianity in search of truth, only to find none. My path faltered over those years but never stopped. Eventually I came to understand a deeper meaning to life than I could have ever imagined in an earth based spirituality. I immersed myself in that and dedicated myself to learn everything I could about myself and my reality. That journey continues today in my pursuit of Jediism.
All of these things I would never consider “bad”. They are just life and if we do not realize that not only the good things, the joy, in our lives but also the bad things, the pain, in our lives serve to shape and mold us to who we are equally. If we do not take the truth of this and balance it in our lives we will become lost. No matter how painful life can be sometimes in is a necessary part of who we are and if we face those times with the correct attitude we will always emerge out the other side as a better person.
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Post by Kyrin Wyldstar on Jun 13, 2018 22:41:14 GMT
Lesson 8 – Essay 4 – Jediism Essays
Jediism to You There are numerous Jedi in the world and each has their own views on Jediism. If someone was to come up to you in the street and ask you ‘What IS the Jedi path? What IS Jediism?’ How would you respond? What would be the first, most important, few things you would tell them and make sure they knew? What IS the Jedi Path and Jediism to you?
Jediism is an order and subsequent community of like-minded individuals that share a common dedication to a set of beliefs and principles as laid out in a collection of writings deemed sacred by the followers of that association. These writings, known collectively as the Jedi Code, describe the basic core beliefs of the Jedi order. The most important of these beliefs is the idea that all things in existence share a common connection. This connection includes everything from the smallest insect to the largest galaxy. It does not matter the nature of the object, all things in existence share this underlying connection.
An individual Jedi’s beliefs and resulting description of the nature of this connection will vary. One Jedi may describe it in mystical terms as an underlying esoteric energy field that binds all things in the universe together. Another may describe it in terms of quantum physics as the essence of the fabric of space time. However the details of these individual descriptions are less important than the idea that all Jedi agree this field exists and that it is a transcendent and incomprehensible phenomenon that any attempt to describe in human terms would doom itself to ultimate failure. This field, colloquially known as “The Force”, is beyond human description and can only be interpreted through direct experience.
It is the Jedi’s belief in “The Force” that defines how he lives his life. This too is a thing of individual customization based on the details of the individual Jedi’s particular beliefs about the nature of ‘The Force”. Some see the force as Deity and ascribe their lives to follow that in like manner, believing that “The Force” has the ability to “grant” them favor or guide their choices in life. Some see “The Force” as having a dark side and a light side that equates to light emotions such as joy and being at peace or dark emotions such as rage and lust. Others see the force simply as a form of energy that an individual chooses to utilize toward either a light or dark or even a balanced intent.
No matter the individual belief of the nature of “The Force” all Jedi understand and agree that this connection of all things carries the consequences of their actions. Because of this, every choice, every action or in-action, good or bad, in their lives is not only a choice that affects others but also affects that individual. This is because in the end we are all one in the same. There is no pure evil in the world, nor is there pure good but actions made with malevolence, malice or ill intent will be returned in kind to us through our connection in “The Force”. Since Jedi hold this belief they must understand and accept the consequence that any negative action they perpetrate will be revisited back on them.
Jedi also hold all life in high regard as part of their “Code”. Because of this they strive to take a positive and balanced approach to every situation. As much as possible, Jedi endeavor to never rush into any conflict nor make snap decisions in any situation. Instead Jedi strive for patience and careful contemplation of every decision they are faced with. The goal in this is to allow the Jedi to arrive at the most beneficial course of action for all individuals and forms of life involved in any situation. Basically Jedi follow this “Jedi Code” set before them in a constant effort towards self-improvement as well as the betterment of all life. Jedi strive to “be better” and “know better” through selflessness, meditation and the never ending pursuit of knowledge. This process brings the Jedi the ultimate goal of ever increasing wisdom.
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