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For US Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Dial: 988 

For US Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Dial: 988 

Beauty of Change. Ephemeral Art! 

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWjrYxpzYYiWbirdS7OX80QMFhLpAFjBJ&si=1DOQ9iriRMCaOZQP 

(A Discussion With: Miles Robinson)

People want to talk about wealth and enrichment when it comes to money, but not necessarily when it comes to a spiritual aspect or perspective. How might one want to enrich their lives? Possessions, Esthetics, Money? What’s the value in that other than bragging rights, one’s own ego, or when flaunting it for attention? Value and Wealth can be gained by how we grow spiritually, and growing, seeing things as more than just an outlook of monetary wealth. People want to look at things from the perspective of what one doesn’t have. When finding other ways to enrich our lives, we find deeper meaning, putting those other things aside and finding that deeper perspective in things. 

The simplest person can be full of wealth from spiritual growth and personal wealth rather than anything that can be gained materially or monetarily. That person can still gain from being productive and having a mindset of self-development to be the best person they could be, and that can give them value, enrichment, and wealth from that granted that they’re spending time with others. Also helping enrich both themselves and others just from the joy of doing that with the simpler part of life, with the experience, and who they’re with. But if they’re lacking all that, isn’t it just an action? Wouldn’t they be spiritually poor if they’re not getting what they need spiritually from that, and if they’re not, they’re not fulfilling a human need of purpose and socialization that helps us with spiritual and personal wellbeing. Sure some people have expensive hobbies, and they enjoy and appreciate it but an expensive hobby isn’t necessary for fulfilling those needs, but if the care and appreciation for the finer details and whatever encompasses the purpose and meaning behind that expensive hobby… it has value for you. But if the experience doesn’t hold any value to you, what’s the worth of it? 

If we grow spiritually in our hobbies, this can be so much more. If someone is spiritually and emotionally in a good place in life, that’s a good place to be, and if a hobby helps you in that, all the better. You’re life has value and enrichment from that once that’s gained. What hobbies do you find valuable and may hold this meaning and purpose for you? Are there any groups that help you have a positive fulfillment of the human need to socialize and be around people? (Clubs for hobbies, friend groups, spiritual communities, community centers, classes or communities for physical fitness… or wherever else you may find it). If not, take some time to do something, maybe an event, club, or class, or one of the other things listed that will allow you to do something you’d like to do and write about it. 

Value is what we hold dear, it’s the things that are important to us. If we grow as a person, and spiritually grow, and find that meaning… our lives will be enriched because of it. But that takes investment and time. 

Experience, personal knowledge, personal growth, spiritual growth… if we’re not finding a sense of value, purpose, enrichment, goal, or meaning from it… It doesn’t have meaning to us. It’s quite possible that we could lose value, purpose, enrichment, goal, or meaning from our outlook on life, and in that, our ethics and morals could lose meaning and worth. 

In a sense, the person who comes from nothing could have a value in what they’ve gained, and the person who comes from a broken past finds value in something greater. Both find value in what they’ve worked towards and the process of it. If it wasn’t for being in the chaos and wanting something better than where they were at, they might have never tried to find something better. Growth gave them value and wealth in that journey. We can’t forget where we came from. 

What really has meaning to you? What has value? Where are you finding that wealth? Where do you have that enriching life? Are you walking around truly in a good place with yourself in those aspects, are you working on it, or are you only pretending to be doing well with this? And if you’re working on it, how are you working to improve in those areas? 

Seeing the world as only corrupt is a perspective that can take away from one’s outlook on life. 

Think about where you are… what might you hold dear? What truly means something to you? Where is your life actually enriched? Where are you finding value? 

Student speaker: Yuli Genzer

A discussion on the attainment and pursuit of ultimate power and how that ultimately corrupts.

There’s a legend in Chinese Mythology that if a koi fish swims up a waterfall, it’ll become a dragon. Looking at what this entails for our own lives, what must we do to swim up that waterfall? What do we need to come to face to find it in ourselves to be able to swim up that waterfall? Reflection? Introspection? Tenacity?

Some koi may not ever have the desire to become dragons… they remain koi fish their whole lives without ever taking up the challenge to swim up that waterfall.

Think of the waterfall as the adversities in life… what must we do and what does it take to swim up that waterfall? In the koi fish is the potential to become a dragon. To take on the title of a dragon, one must embody what a dragon is.

What about what gets us up that waterfall? Might it be the choices we make? What about what pushes us to do it? Waterfalls are difficult to swim up, everyone has some waterfall they have to climb up in one way or another. Think of something difficult in life, how did you get up that waterfall, how did you address it? The koi must have the strength to find within them that leap of faith, and what is it they’ll discover in that time of climbing that waterfall? Strength, understanding, and experience are required to gain the strength to become the dragon.

Is one ready to swim up a waterfall? Not everyone is… we don’t see dragons very often. We have mountains to climb, a different referance but the same topic. What must one do and face with climbing a mountain?

How have you applied this knowledge to the Jedi Path and/or how do you plan to?

What example are you setting within the becoming when it comes to Knighthood? One of the responsibilities of a Knight is holding yourself accountable for where you’re not following through and addressing it. The principles we live by and the codes play a part in this. Recognition can be a part of being a knight, but in solely seeking the recognition, what does one actually gain? When one becomes a Knight they must ask themselves if they’re willing to stick to the principles and character of a Knight.

If you’re a Knight, did you think about knowing your motives and reasons for becoming a Knight in the first place? What was your reason for stepping up to that role you’ve taken on?

The character of a Knight involves leadership and that means one has to make hard decisions. Discomfort can play a part in this, and taking on that role, not everyone’s going to like what you have to say. Knights uphold character and integrity, and to leave that behind after obtaining the title means you’re no longer living the life of a Knight. It is the continuous growth and learning, the mistakes and adversities we face in gaining more knowledge.

Don’t become a Knight for false humility in becoming a Knight just to show off and not actually live by it. Don’t point out a title to point out justifications for your behavior, show you’re a Knight by action -not by becoming defensive in your words and falling back on your title to prove something, and if you do something wrong, take accountability for your actions. In being a Knight, you continuously learn and look at what’s difficult to face in continuous growth. Accountability is important for understanding ourselves and our part in what we do and helps develop character, practicing compassion and empathy in this is important.

Knights are representations of the training they’ve undergone, those who’ve trained them, and the broader Jedi community. In this, respect in action, and integrity and character in how we carry on that legacy are necessary. The titles are given because people have seen that “this is going to be a quality Knight,” but a Knight should make a consistent effort in upholding being a Knight and holding to their principles.

How willing have you been, or are you in accepting those roles?

There are unwanted things that we do unknowingly. When we have the examples set in front of us, growing up, home environments, and crowds we’re a part of… don’t let us say what we need to say due to upbringing. We keep finding ourselves in situations with people, where when we need to speak up we don’t have the courage because in the past we were told to not say anything repetitively. It’s become an ingrained thought, behavior, and practice. How we express ourselves, might respond, or carry conditioned behaviors throughout our lives. We keep repeating this cycle of doing things we don’t understand, and it can harm our lives in ways we didn’t want in the first place. Acknowledging this is the hardest step, but where acknowledging that learned or conditioned behavior and being conflicted in what we should do in that… and then we say nothing and regret. The moment we recognize what we need to do is where the work starts.

This can be many things… how we talk to or manipulate people, or maybe what we say and how, or habits we pick up. Over time we’ll discover things about ourselves that we’ve been avoiding.

Discomfort, and avoiding letting go of what we’re holding onto thinking it’s a part of ourselves. Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable could be something different from what we know and what’s better for us. How can we stop residing only in what’s comfortable and avoid letting go? How can we step away from things that are keeping us from moving forward in what we do? The Sith codes mention breaking the chains that bind, have you ever thought that those chains were the things that held us back from improving, the making of excuses instead of becoming more powerful over what controlled us? This is in solving our own problems and doing the work, not in the search for power and chaos.

How can passions to help others blind us, and steer us away from our principles? Having good principles initially, and staying grounded in that… how can being ambitious in our efforts cause us to lose sight of that? If our mission drives us in what we’re doing and we get caught up in that, leaving our principles behind, we can get tied up in it, and become something we were fighting not to become. How can losing objectivity obscure us from keeping to our principles? How can self-honesty keep us from falling into this?

How can we lead by example through actions rather than speech?

Hidden agendas and misleading people can turn away people from the Jedi community. Passion in some ways is a good thing, but it can also corrupt us. People who have their principles in order, and their character with their morals and ethics with good intentions… there can be times that individuals can get corrupted and take advantage of individuals who are highly trusting. What is the difference between teaching on principles -vs- ideologies? What harm can be caused by a teaching of ideologies, and how can the intentions and passions of the people behind such teachings drive this?

We listed quotes anonymously to respect the privacy of those who responded to our original post.

"By cultivating inner character, people could influence events but still accord with the greater of the Tao. Thus, the inner-outer dichotomy was involved. This school of thought and practice became later known as Taoism." -The Tao of Zen by Ray Grigg.

Reflection:

How does inner character affect our outer action and decisions?

How are the principle and moral aspects of character (the things you hold yourself to) influenced by your understanding of the Jedi Path?

How does our understanding of morality affect the inner and outer representation of self?

How can we find ourselves in discomfort? Why would an aversion to discomfort be detrimental to growth? How can self-realization come of discomfort? How can our attitudes about discomfort help with self-realization? How are idealisms and external pressures resistant to our internal self-realizations, discomfort, and acceptance of that? How can change and growth be hard to accept?

What’s the difference between holding expectations and standards, and being self-critical? Understanding our mistakes can aid in our self-realizations, and help us address and realize who we’re becoming. How can a change in attitude affect this? How can letting discomfort be a teacher be a difficult process?

Acceptance is the realization of a need for change but doesn’t mean one has to agree with or tolerate everything. How can accepting who we’ve become in our self-realizations aid in our growth?

We start out as one way, and through learning, adapting, and changing, we end up becoming something else. How we understand, see things, and respond… changes. We get into uncomfortable situations, and in that, we learn more and grow.

When we think we’re solid, and we think we’re good with our morals and principles… things come up that with our human nature and we veer off…

Also, what about the things we work really hard to get away from and we slip a bit?

How about the little things that get us distracted from where we need to be?

Sometimes in life we fall short of living up to our principles and we can learn from the experience...

When we might need to learn something but we thought we had learned about everything...

How can the part of the Jedi code that mentions ignorance and knowledge play into this?

Accountability and knowing our motives without justifying them, personal responsibility, character, and acknowledgment play a part in Integrity. Doing what we say we’re going to do and supporting that, how does keeping to your word play a part in our character? In change, how does integrity play a part? How does hypocrisy in setting standards for others but lacking in yourself affect our presentation of character? How do our morals and ethics play a part in our standards? How does admitting what we’ve done in humility and honesty show character and integrity and how do justifications get in the way of this? How does just seeking personal gain get in the way of integrity? How does weighing out morals, principles, and ethics play a part in integrity? How can the inner and outer dichotomy (relatable or opposing aspects of such) affect our character and integrity? How does holding to our values and what we’re attempting to live up to affect our outward character and integrity spiritually? How do character and integrity affect how people see us and our groups? How does our inward development, affect the outward presentation of integrity? How does being straightforward in what we’re doing show integrity? How is integrity displayed in action?

How does the imperfection of mistakes become a beautiful thing, and allow for opportunities, and how does integrity become a part of this? Define good leadership and explain how leadership plays a part in integrity.

How can challenging our thoughts help us in growth? How can holding to truths hinder us in growth?

How can things we hold onto prevent us from progressing? How can habits on how we live play a part in this?

Where do our behavior, thoughts, and behaviors that we’re attempting or trying to stand with come from? Ourselves, others, or to sell an idea? What can drive this?

How do attitudes affect our behavior and thought?

Letting go of familiar things can be a struggle, the things that entangle us to the point where we are kept from succeeding or growing… holding us back… how can recognizing these things help us in growth?

How does living a life by what we want people to see or believe affect us in how we mask who we actually are? Being around people with similar ideologies can be an influence in how we act, behave or our identity in how we see ourselves, how can recognizing our part in this, what we are giving, receiving, and the harm associated with this affect how we weigh out if this is beneficial or not? How can what we’ve grown accustomed to influence this and our growth?

How can expectations be formed in what's familiar and what we're searching for and affect our actions around others?

What’s your understanding of morals? How does comfort play into our idea on what is right morally?

When we look at the big picture of what’s right and the individual perspectives of what’s thought of as fair for particular people… Good right and correct may not always weigh fairly. Might there be a compromise and would that be the right decision for a given situation? Our morals lead us and help us in weighing out and making the right decisions.

If a decision on the correct moral action benefits us and a situation, how can it be the wrong decision?

What’s your understanding of a crossroads?

What's your understanding of the relationship between compassion and stepping back?

The deeply human challenge of letting go — not in the superficial sense of pretending not to care, but in the profound psychological and spiritual sense of truly releasing attachment and emotional entanglement. 

How we often cling to things — past relationships, dreams, regrets, or wounds — give us identity, meaning, and we have a tendency to fear the unknown. Letting go isn’t about indifference; it’s about understanding that clinging creates suffering, while acceptance opens us to peace.

True letting go is born not from sudden detachment, but from understanding, mourning, and eventually forgiving — ourselves and others. It’s about moving forward without denying the importance of what was, but no longer being ruled by it.

To feel deeply, and then to release, trusting that we are not betraying the past by moving forward — we are honoring it, and ourselves.

Philosophical Perspective

What am I currently holding onto that no longer serves my journey? How does clinging to the past interfere with my ability to live mindfully in the present? In what ways can I honor what I’ve lost without being ruled by grief, regret, or anger? Am I willing to forgive — not for others, but to free myself from the prison of resentment? What does peace feel like to me? What would I need to release in order to access more of it?

From the Lens of Wisdom Traditions

What attachments are causing me distress? 

Flow like water; resistance creates suffering. Where in my life am I resisting the natural flow of change? Can I learn to trust the unfolding path?

We control only our responses, not external events. What am I trying to control that lies outside my influence? How might acceptance empower me?

How can I honor my emotions while choosing actions guided by wisdom rather than reaction?

Letting go is not forgetting, but releasing control. Acceptance over resistance leads to clarity.