I would like to make the argument that many of us started our Jedi path back in 1977 long before the term Jediism and long before the 2001 census phenomenon, though we may not have thought of it as a Jedi path. For me, my path truly started in 1980 at the release of The Empire Strikes Back with the introduction of Yoda. It was the scenes with Yoda that really stood out to me. There was something about what he said that struck me deeply. I had a record of the movie that I listened to continuously. I knew Yoda was talking to me when he said “all his life as he looked to the future, to the horizon, never his mind on where he was, what he was doing.” A lesson in mindfulness I still struggle with today. I would replay those scenes over and over trying to understand what Yoda meant when he was talking about the force and I knew their was something very spiritual about what I was hearing.
To me Jediism is not a movement, it is a personal path. I am thankful to all of those who organize themselves online and boldly proclaim themselves as Jedi, or Jedist, but with all the efforts to see that Jediism is recognized as a religion and that people are ordained to perform weddings and the organizing of churches and so forth, it just comes down to a personal path that no one has a right to mandate or control.
Whether or not Jediism is a religion or a philosophy is up for debate. I’m not even sure there is much difference between the two. All I can say is that the Jedi path plays an important part in my spiritual practice and it’s recognition by a government is irrelevant. Authority is given, and the more we ask permission, the more our freedoms are given away.
Jediism is, and will continue to be as diverse as any spiritual practice. Many of its practitioners will not be able to see eye to eye on various specifics. If you were to ask what Christianity was, you would get pages and pages of text describing its differing denominations, beliefs and extended minutia, but at its core, it can be summed up in a short sentence. The same can be said for Jediism. To sum it up. Jediism is loosely based on the fictional force users known as the Jedi from the Star Wars franchise. For additional information, see the movies, games, comics and TV shows of the Star Wars franchise and determine for yourself what a real life Jedi should be, because that’s all anyone else has done. There is no pope of Jediism, so you are free to interpret it as you wish. You can agree or disagree with anyone else. Your path is between you and the Force, whatever you perceive that to be.
Jediism truly starts with Joseph Campbell. It is from his work and study in mythology that we understand the common thread between all religions, mythologies, and good story telling. The Monomyth, or The Hero’s Journey connects with each one of us on a deep psychological level. We all desire to travel from an ordinary, mundane existence, go through a transformation adventure and come out a better person. We identify with and are inspired by anyone going through such transitions. This is why we connect with fictional characters so deeply. We see in them what we see in ourselves. We go through this process many times throughout our lives. It’s commonly called personal growth.
We deeply connect with stories such as Star Wars because it follows the Hero’s Journey perfectly, as do many other stories, such as Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix and probably most other wildly popular stories with a large fan base. George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars and the Jedi, was inspired by Joseph Campbell. In fact, Campbell referred to Lucas as his best student. It should be no surprise that the Jedi from a fictional world inspired people to want to become Jedi in the real world. We are all just on our own hero’s journey.
The Mystic Jedi 