Introduction to Mental Training
The mental training of the Jedi path is not exactly the same for everyone. This really does depend on your own aspect of the Jedi way you choice to follow. The first thing anyone wishing to follow the Jedi Path should include is the Jedi Fiction. The books are great for a number of reasons. The first is because they offer entertaining stories and it has been proven to increase ones memory one should read daily. The next reason why the Jedi Fictional books are great is to see how the Jedi order changed from the Guardians of the galaxy and following the Light side of the force, to being all but destroyed then restored by Luke Skywalker and following the Unifying Force concept. The last reason why Jedi Fiction is so important is to find roots of reality mixed into the fictional universe.
Other things to consider are finding the roots of the Jedi as well as the force. Taoism, Buddhism, The Shaolin Monks, Samurai, Hwarang Warriors and other Asian Aspects are hard to miss while researching the Jedi in the real world. As it pertains to the Shaolin Monks and the Hwarang warriors we will discuss them more in the Martial arts section of Jedi Training.
In this section we are also going to list different book, both fictional and non-fictional that you may find useful in your training perhaps these books can shine a light for you when you are surrounded by darkness and confusion along your path.
I provided 2 sections on here that may not seem like Mental Training but I assure you that they are. The Codes of the Jedi and the Tenets of the Jedi are certainly part of Jedi 101 knowledge however each Jedi should be extremely mindful of both and study the true meanings of the codes and the true aspects of the Tenets. Every Jedi should be able to write at least a 3 page paper on each of the Jedi Codes as well as a 1 page report on each of the tenets if they wish to be considered a Jedi Knight in the KS Jedi.
Codes of the Jedi
The Jedi Code
There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no death, there is the Force.
This is the Jedi code used by most who claim the Jedi Path, however of those who can repeat it word for word only a few of them actually understand the Jedi Code. Too often people are quick to say that Jedi should not have emotions, however nothing could be further from the truth. Jedi have emotions we enjoy happiness, joy and love, and we also feel anger, sadness, and depression. The thing that makes the Jedi different is that we do not allow our emotions to rule us. We control our emotions instead of allowing our emotions to control us.
Popular Jedi Code
Jedi are the guardians of peace in the galaxy.
Jedi use their powers to defend and protect, never to attack others.
Jedi respect all life, in any form.
Jedi serve others rather than ruling over them, for the good of the galaxy.
Jedi seek to improve themselves through knowledge and training.
Personally this is the code I prefer the most. It offers a more realistic approach to life for the Jedi Order
Tenets of the Jedi
The Jedi are the guardians of civilization, yet not allow civilization to destroy needlessly.
Jedi respect each other, and all other life forms.
Jedi must put the needs of the community above the needs of individuals.
A Jedi must protect the weak and defenseless.
Jedi must always cooperate in battle or crisis.
A Jedi Master or Jedi Knight must respect their padawan as their padawan trusts and respects them. As a teacher we must recognize that our students will learn by observing us not only by what we tell them. If you want your padawan to be a strong JEDI knight then you must treat them with respect.
A Jedi will not kill an unarmed opponent.
A Jedi will not take revenge.
A Jedi does not cling to the past.
The Jedi do not believe in killing their prisoners.
Pillars of the Jedi
The First Pillar is Knowledge
The Second Pillar is The Force
The Third Pillar is Self-Discipline
Sources of Knowledge
1. Jedi fiction not only the movies, but the books and even the rpg materials can be useful
2. Taoism, Buddhism, Shaolin Monks, Knights, Wicca, Yoga, Martial Art Styles, Reiki, Qigong the references we find in the books and movies are endless to real life sources used in developing the Jedi concepts.
3. The Net, between starwars.com and all the Jedi sites and forums the well of knowledge runs deep. Jedi training is so much easier today then it was years ago, with the age of knowledge upon us we can find information in seconds when it use to take hours of research in the library. Many people have great views and insights on the Jedi Path take advantage of the information out there.
4. Other sources of knowledge. Life is our best teacher, you can see the force in the sunrise or sunset, a hurricane or tornado is also demonstrations of the power of the force.
The Force
1. The essence of life
2. The Great Tao, the Breath of God, the power of the Creator, is just some things that describe the the force is.
Self Discipline
1. Honesty and integrity should be the core values of any Jedi. Be who you say you are and live up to your commitments.
2. Loyalty is extremely important in the Jedi order. We have 3 major types of loyalty. The first is to the force. The force is our guide and our protector there for we need to be loyal to its will first. The next type of loyalty is to the order itself. Just because many of us study at different sites does not mean that we have to fight over which site is better. It is pointless and makes us all look bad. The last type of loyalty is to our family and those in our charge. Your family, friends and those within your sphere of responsibility need to be protected which is one of the reasons why you have choice this path. Do not forsake them.
3. Physical Fitness
4. Yes people it takes self discipline to wake up and go work out every day. (Trust me I know) As Jedi we need to be in the best shape as possible, you never know what type of obstacle you may need to overcome. Not to mention the health benefits of proper nutrition and exercise. Being in proper physical condition makes you healthier and able to enjoy a more for filled life. No one is saying that you need to be able to bench press a SUV we are only talking about general fitness levels. Speak with your doctor or a personal trainer about your current fitness and diet program, and see what you can do to live a healthier life.
5. Much like the gym the dojo is essential to a Jedi. If you can not defend yourself how could you ever expect to help anyone else should the need come up. You will never be able to defend yourself by seeing it in movies. The simplest kick or punch takes hours of practice. Anyone can just toss out strikes, but to know where to hit and how hard to end conflict the best way is a skill that takes time to learn. The faster you can end a physical conflict, the better the chances of walking away with little damage to yourself as well as your attacker. Other things you will learn in self defense are great ethics and person qualities you can use in any aspect of your life. This such as dedication, effort, and self determination will take you far in the dojo, school, and the work place or anywhere else you can think of.
The 3 basic Pillers where from the wiki site, however they used the 3 words, I added the rest of it.
Jedi Fiction
I am not gong to be listing all the Star Wars books here, for a full lest of them go to http://starwars.com/.
The Jedi Academy Trilogy
1. Jedi Search
2. Dark Apprentice
3. Champions of the Force
I Jedi(Covers Jedi academy through one Jedi's perspective)
Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy
1. Before the Storm
2. Shield of Lies
3. Shield of Lies
The New JEDI Order
1. Victor Prime
2. Dark Tide 1 Onslaught
3. Dark Tide 2 Ruin
4. Agents of Chaos 1 Hero trail
5. Agents of Chaos 2 Jedi Eclipse
6. Balance Point
7. Recovery
8. Edge of Victory 1 Conquest
9. Edge of Victory 2 Rebirth
10. Star by Star
11. Dark Journey
12. Enemy Lines
13. Rebel Dream
14. Rebel Stand
15. Traitor
16. Destiny's Way
17. Yiesia *ebook
18. Force Heretic 1 Remnant
19. Force Heretic 2 Refugee
20. Force Heretic 3 Reunion
21. The Final Prophecy
22. The Unifying Force
5 Years after the NJO books
1. The Joiner King
2. The Unseen Queen
3. The Swarm War
Legacy of the Force
1. Betrayal
2. Bloodlines
3. Tempest
4. Exile
5. Sacrifice
6. Inferno
7. Fury
8. Revelation
9. Invincible
The Extended universe is the name given to the Star Wars books that take part after the movies. Anyone who wishes to call themselves a Jedi need to not just read but also study. Yes these books are fictional however they pertain a wealth of information that we can apply in the real world. Through the books we learn how to be Jedi, as well as the resources used in the writing of the books. Concepts such as Taoism, Zen Buddhism, The relationship to the Shaolin Monks, Hwarang warriors and even yoga are presented in the extended universe books.
There are plenty of other star wars books, but these are the ones that focus on the New Jedi Order. Currently they are working on a Fate of the Jedi set that will have 9 books total.
A number of people seem to believe that this list of books may be a bit extreme however the sooner you start reading the books on the list the sooner you will finish. If for some reason that you can not get to read all the books then you can also pick them up as audio books. The audio books do edit parts from the books for time reasons however they are better then nothing. My wife and I down loaded every book you see here from audible.com an audio book website that I highly recommend. We listen to these books and others at work to let our minds learn while working. I am also currently planning to listen to all the audio books that are listed here from Oct. 31st 2009 to Dec 21st 2009. I am also going to take notes on quotes or lessons from the books for lectures on this website.
Non-fictional Book to Consider
Dharma of Star Wars
This book is more about Buddhism then about Star Wars it has some good material about Buddhism and how it relates to the Jedi way.
Forza the samurai sword workout.
It is written by a woman named Haria Montagnani. This book is more or an exercise routine with a sword that really works your arms and chest areas. Do not let that mislead you. If you take what this book has to offer it will teach you the basics of sword fighting skills. You learn books, strikes and some foot work. If you have the money or resources available to learn sword fighting then take classes they are always best, however if nothing else I would go through this book and learn the basics.
Tao Te Ching
You can actually get this free on the net, if you can not find it send me an email and I will send you my copy from the net. It’s not the best version, however it would be free. Some of us see the force through Taoism, others do not, what others think really is not important it is what you think or feel, or what the force draws you to that is important.
Meditations the complete guide
Patricia Moraghan and Eleanor G Dierek
Some of the areas it covers.
Shamanism
Yoga
Buddhism
Zen Taoism
Tai Chi and Qigong
Meditation in everyday life And lots more, LOTS MORE All of the sections also have references for other books related to that section as well as internet links for more knowledge. All the yoga links I listed in the yoga section came from this book. This book has been one of the key resources I have used for both my November and December lessons on Jedi Healers. Again of all the books I have touched on so far this book is a must have for any Jedi's research library.
Taoism for Dummies
Incase you have not noticed I love the for dummies books. They are great and anyone can understand them (I would guess that is where the name came from) this covers a lot of things from History to tradition to Taoism in the movies. There is an interesting 3 page section on Taoism in Stars focusing arround SW1 and Qui Gon. (The book came out a few months after the movie so they used the movie to generate a few bucks for the book I think)
Simple Taoism
Sorry this book is on loan to someone else so I can not remember who wrote it. This book has the basics of Taoism history and important names that every Taoist should know. It also has a very interesting meditation section as well as Taoist mental and healing ideas and concepts to practice at home. This book really is a good read, and will not take long for anyone to finish, it is by no means an everything guide to Taoism, it covers the basics and just a bit more.
Martial Arts for Dummies
I picked this one up for this site, hence the martial arts section on this site. This is a great book to learn the basics of several styles of martial arts. It has several different styles, their history, strength and weaknesses, and other basic information. Again it is not incredibly indebt on the styles, but it will help you to understand what is what in martial arts land, and help you to find the path that best fits you. If nothing else like Karate basics it explains the difference between what types of Dojos you should look for and run away from. This book really is good for experience martial artist, it can answer some of the questions you may have about other styles that you know your master will beat you down for asking.
Karate Basics
Karate Basics is a book is published through Tuttle Martial arts and is written by Rboin Rilly, It really is a good book for people who want to learn martial arts but want to do some research to know exactly what they are going to be getting themselves into. It has pics and step by step directions on hand strikes, kick, knees, elbows and basic blocks. It has a bit on karate history and takes you through on of the basic forms. One of the better parts of the book is it has some tips on finding a dojo, what to look for, and when you need to run from a dojo. If you are already an experienced martial artist this is not a book for you.
Other books under this company are
Taekwondo Basics
Aikido Basics
Yoga Basics
Kungfu Basics
Jeet Kune Do Basics.
All of these books can be found a boarders books store and the best part you can read most of the book in the store in about 30 minutes. Again these books only talk about the basics of the art and are great things to read when trying to figure out what style of martial arts you want to take.
365 Tao
This is a great book for everyone. Its starts off with a word of the day, fallowed by a Poem, then a short explanation or story. This book was published back in 1998 and I still use it on a regular basis. It’s funny if you write down your meditation thoughts you can see how you change and evolve over the years.
Bow to Life
This is a 365 book that has great thoughts for mediation through a martial arts perspective. I found this book about a week ago and I really love it. I posted a example of this book in I believe the Jedi Lore Section
State of the Art Tae Kwon Do
This is a great book if you want to start taking self defense but can not afford the classes. It covers Kicks, hand strikes, blocks, foot work, some fun drills to use, training tips for getting into good shape, and if offers the poomse or forms(Set patterns used by martial arts systems as a why of practice and respect for the art. Many Martial art systems use the poomse on rank tests.
The Complete Idiots Guide to Kick Boxing
This is a wonderful book. It covers the basics of kicks, strikes, and combinations, as well as foot work drills, and workouts that will get you pumped up and toned if you are dedicated to them.
Cosmic Taoist Healing
I am training to become a Jedi healer and this book has lots of great information in it. Reiki for daily people
Mental Training of the Jedi
As you can see I did not post my own views of mental training here. I did this so each jedi can do research on their own so they will be able to think for themselves. As Jedi while in traditional education were were taught what to think and how to think, however for jedi it is time to apply the skills taught in high school and start thinking for themselves. I have never forced my students to accept my views and I challenge them to be able to support their own views. I did this so they would think for themselves and hold to their beliefs. On the internet it is common for internet thugs to try to force others believe what they believe and when questioned they were never able to come up with anything factual. Sadly some site admins have went as far as banning people from internet sites for not agreeing with them or accepting the site admins because it was accept the admin beliefs or be banned.
I will suggest however that any perspective jedi to learn and understand the basics of spiritual paths and of religions. I have had issues with people of certain religions posting part truths of their religions to force the Jedi path to fit into them, however anyone with a basic understanding of those religions could certainly see the full story not the narrow minded views of the internet bully. Don't believe in made up gods just because other's do it. Always use your own thoughts, unclouded by others'. If someone tell you that God exists but can't gather up any sort of proof of him, how realistic is it then this God exists? Meditate on things like this. Try to see through the shrouding veils in our lives.
