February 26th is coming up!
At 1:27am (Eastern Standard Time), January 26th 2010, The Order of Ashla reopened its e-doors from a year long revitalization effort. From the time of its inception, The Order of Ashla Knights was known then as The “Jedi” Order of Ashla Knights…an on-line Jedi discussion and training community.
Once a truth th is learned it can not be unlearned. Always allow the truth to guide your way. – Ashla Knights Axiom of Light # 99
So Why the change?
Well the change is what truly makes this anniversary Special. You see in the months prior to the decision to renovate, refit and revitalize the Order of Ashla Knights; the myriad of trials brought forth from the many years of walking the Jedi path began to manifest an uncomfortable truth that made instructing the Jedi Way difficult for the Masters. In our individual ways, each Master was coming to the same realization and eerily at that same time.
First: The Jedi Code is not as flexible as one has been taught to believe. In fact it’s quite the opposite…it’s conditional and quite restrictive and absolute. It is because of this many have had, and continue to have problems applying the Jedi Way to their daily lives. An ideology and/or philosophy must have a core and certainties by way of tenet and doctrine to nurture that core, but those tenets and doctrine must also be flexible and free flowing so one can continue to grow and develop.
Second: Besides being conditional, restrictive and absolute, the philosophy and practice of the Jedi Way is incomplete thus making it inadequate to address the intricacies of life. The Jedi Way is an amalgamation of aspects from several mainstream religions, idealistic constructs and philosophical disciplines. In other words it is much like philosophical DNA that has gaps. There is a firm structure, two strands of nucleotides and several bonds linking them, but many bonds crucial to the structure’s existence and function are missing.
Third: The word Jedi along with the Jedi code, Jedi tenet and what specific aspects of the Jedi doctrine that are know are owned and copyright protected by the movie maker who created them and made them famous in his space opera movies. For a considerable fee, permission to use these words and terms can be attained but with conditions and restrictions and only in the realm of non-profit, non-religious fandom.
How can one grow as an Order never- mind as individuals within a philosophical construct such as this? Well before we answer that let’s regress a bit. A significant yet ironic aspect that would lead to the eventual realization of the truth described above came not from the challenges of incorporating the Jedi philosophy in our daily lives, but from our duties as Jedi Way instructors.
During the creation of Ashla Knights I realized we would be working with an incomplete philosophical construct and therefore spiritual, philosophical and ideological specifics in our doctrine would be subjective. Like the incomplete DNA example I spoke of earlier, while preserving the philosophical structure already in place, I chose to bridge the strands with bonds based in reality. I did this by going back to many of the sources the creator of the archetype drew from and this helped solidify and sustain our core interpretation and understanding. For our Order this worked quite well and as Jedi Instructors we were able to effectively challenge our students by provoking new insight into their current interpretations and understandings of the Jedi Way. This along with calling attention to their passions and motivation in regards to Knighthood, many were able to arrive at an inner realization that they had either come from a faith, philosophy or ideology that was truly right for them, or from their exploration into the Jedi Way had discovered a new faith, philosophy or discipline more suited to their spiritual development and personal betterment.
Of the numerous students who came and went over the years, a good many withdrew from our academy not out of failure to complete the curriculum and attain Knighthood, but because through our Jedi Way curriculum they either found the right path, or discovered the True North toward the right path. Welcoming successful students into our ranks as Knights is always a wonderful thing, but helping students find their own path even if that path is not the path of Ashla is just as wonderful.
Yet as we helped our students see truth; little by little our students were helping us to see truth as well. Speaking from my own experience; at first the essence of this truth was subtle, I could sense something amiss but it was almost illusive. But due to events and happenings taking place in my life at the time, I found myself at the precipice…facing out into the far beyond with little foundation underneath me. Back then things were happening fast but also in sequence. Amidst events in play, we as an Order had arrived at a time and place where our potential for growth was in conflict with what we believed and practiced. I remember feeling as if I were sitting on a bench at an empty train station trying to decide whether to ignore or reject truth’s reality and board the train that would take me back to the comfort of familiarity, or accept truth’s reality and board the train that would take me into the unknown. After all the soul searching and the conversations with the Masters which as I mentioned previously, had revealed a consensus of insight that could not be denied or ignored. In that moment, a Jedi maxim echoed in my mind…“we take what we are given”. Truth had revealed its reality and we needed to accept it and move forward. The decision to move forward which meant removing ourselves and our Order from the Jedi Way had been made and in a matter of a moment a circle had been completed, a spiritual and philosophical journey of exploration and discovery had been concluded. Feeling both heartbroken and joyful, I sat in my chair alone and in silence as I mentally said the good-bye in that way that only tears can express. After all the years I had studied, practiced and instructed it was at this moment the Jedi Code truly resonated with in me.
Ashla Knights has been back; standing firm upon its own philosophical foundation there is a tangible feeling of spiritual vastness that is immeasurable and unmistakable. It is as if one is standing on the bow of a ship gazing out into a magnificent, expansive ocean. For me, now there is a constant feeling of hopefulness that is indescribable, as if sailing this great and open spiritual sea will manifest great inner peace as I experience my dreams and wishes come to pass.
As I reflect on the great accomplishments our Order has realized, I also take note of the unfortunate reality our departure from the Jedi Way has caused such as the considerable exodus of members and sadly, some of our Knights. We must all follow our own paths and do what we feel is right, but I can not deny the overwhelming joy of having so many of our most senior and respect members return. I remember the excitement of sending out the email notification that we were live and I certainly remember making the first forum post last January. Seeing so many of our friends…really our family return and post, I admit I was overwhelmed with emotion.
While we lost many of our friends and family we/I have had the pleasure of meeting so many new personalities and interesting points of view. Also, the release of the Jedi Way has undeniably removed much of the philosophical ambiguity, ideological pettiness and nastiness that has so prominently been the catalyst of confusion and conflict with in the on-line communities that it almost makes me wonder why it took so long for us to make this change.
While we still have the occasional passionate debate and spirited argument and these will always remain, it just feels so good to have a deeper level of discussion with a higher quality of interaction. I guess in summary I’m so happy and so pleased with all that has transpired in this first year of our new evolution that I want to thank you, our members for making this a wonderful place.
You our membership is what makes this first anniversary such a special one!
