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Entry: 36
Subject: Baran Do sages & philosophy.
Status: Canon & fanon.
Capsule:
from wookiepedia
Baran Do sages meditating


"Thousands of years before the Kel Dors joined the Galactic Republic, they developed their own Force tradition—the Baran Do, practitioners of which were called Sages. Since their inception, the Baran Do acted as advisors and seers to the leaders of Kel Dor society. Initially, the Sages used the Force to amplify their natural senses, allowing them to detect dangerous weather phenomena in advance, saving the lives of countless Kel Dors by warning of impending natural disasters. However, as the Baran Do began to spend more time meditating on the nature of the Force, they found they could see into the future, and they became all the more valuable to Kel Dor society by preventing wars and stopping catastrophes long in advance. This led to many Sages taking government positions and acting in a more official role."

This tradition died out nearly entirely once the Kel Dors joined the Republic. The adepts that came from the Kel Dor population that would have added to the Sage's ranks were instead taken off planet to be trained by the Jedi. Their tradition fell to the wayside and was almost forgotten thus saving them from the number of Jedi purges during the Republic's history. Once the Old Republic collapsed the Sages regained their ranks and practices and rebuilt their tradition. After the Galactic civil war the Sages and the New Jedi Order worked in collaboration with the Baran Do rather than stealing their potential students from them.

The philosophy:
from wikipedia

"Baran Do philosophy and methodology centered on finding inner peace and calm, and growing closer to the Force by heeding it. The Sages counseled against rash action, and spent a great deal of time in meditation, contemplating the mysteries of the Force. Many confused the Sages' emphasis on meditation and contemplation for apathy or a reluctance to act, but in actuality they were merely waiting for the precise, perfect moment to act, as dictated by the Force."

Fanon portion:

The interest in meditation came from the concept that one can gain a closeness to the force by realizing the purity of the self as force energy and nothing else. They meditate and distance themselves from their egos and their physical desires in order to realize that their physical selves are disposable and only exist on a second and lesser level of existence. The higher existence being oneness with the force itself, the closest relationship one can possibly have to the force.
.

This higher existence is only capable of being reached if the Individual reaching for it realizes his/her complete lack of ego, and has discovered through meditation and contemplation their way into the force itself without exactly dying. This higher existence allows the individual to be one with the force much like a force ghost would be, yet still physically alive and capable of teaching those around them the path.

The Baran Do never truely touched the dark side of the force within all of their years of experience, they simply believed in a single entity, a unified force, that would be capable of enabling a poor minded individual just as much as it would a good minded individual. Similar to potentium theories there was no light there was no dark, the polarity was an illusion all within the mind of the individual.

To them the darkest an individual could get was simply self destructive by hampering the long and tedious process of reaching the higher existence. By not committing good deeds and generating the good merit as the force guides, they set back their selfless connection to the force and their reach of the euphoric higher existence becomes more distant. Rarely were there ever Baran Do that were capable of using the force against another being as a Dark Jedi might. this might be due to the fact that the Baran Do emphasize inner peace and calm, but also because they have a very limited knowledge of wielding the force as a tool.

The Baran Do also believe in the salvation of all sentient beings is possible, salvation being the potential to gain that level of higher existence. Even if that individual is not force sensitive nor shows a great deal of potential, eventually in a line of significant lives the soul, or the force energy of that individual will gain enough good merit to become force sensitive and then be capable of achieving the higher existence through the Baran Do tradition.

Hmm... we could use some more Canon entries.

Entry: 38
Subject: Jedi Orthodox philosophy, or the study of the light side.
Status: Canon
Capsule:
From Wookiepedia:

"The light side of the Force was concerned with the ideals of good, benevolence, and healing. Followers of the light side strove to live in harmony with the world around them, acting out of wisdom and logic rather than anger and hasty judgment. In order to achieve harmony with the light side of the Force, its practitioners would often meditate to clear themselves of emotion; particularly negative emotions such as aggression, anger, and hatred, since these were thought to bring on acceptance of the dark side.

The largest group of proponents and teachers of the light side were the Jedi Order, who strove to maintain peace and justice throughout the galaxy.
The Jedi and others referred to two sides of the Force, a dark side and a light side. The dark side was not made up of specific "parts" or "abilities" of the Force: the dark and light sides of the Force existed inside of the life form which used it, made from their emotions. A follower of the light side tried to live in harmony with those around him. Mutual trust, respect, and the ability to form alliances gave the Jedi their distinct advantage over the Sith. In contrast, a follower of the dark side was only interested in him- or herself. To strike down a living creature with the Force out of anger, fear or another emotion was of the dark side. To refrain and clear one's self of these emotions was of the light side. Use of the dark side of the Force was forbidden within the Jedi Order, and was strictly considered the domain of the Sith.

Traditional Jedi were keen to keep the Force "in balance". They attempted to achieve this by destroying the Sith and denying the dark side—essentially "keeping balance" by restoring the Force to its natural state, as they viewed the dark side as "corruption". This involved the purging of negative emotions such as aggression, anger, and hatred, since they could easily bring on acceptance of the dark side. In contrast, positive emotions such as compassion and courage nurtured the light side of the Force. The Jedi Code compared such feelings and provided insight into the ethical use of the Force.

Passion was considered dangerous, as it could lead to strong emotions that could unbalance the Jedi and lead them to the Dark Side. Love was, curiously enough, seen as something both Jedi and Sith avoided. While the Jedi espoused a broad, all-encompassing, self-sacrificing love for all beings, love for another being—romance, a possessive love by nature—was shunned. Possession of all types was shunned in the post-Ruusan Reformation era Jedi Order, the only exception being a Jedi's lightsaber. The Jedi viewed love as a danger best left untouched. While the passion that came with love could lead to hatred and anger—as Anakin Skywalker demonstrated in becoming a Sith because of his love for Padmé Amidala; it could also lead to pity, self-sacrifice and compassion, emotions the Sith did not see as beneficial, as demonstrated by Darth Vader in sacrificing himself to save his son from the Emperor at the end of his life.

One might speculate that this indicates that love was the true binding factor between the light and the dark. Neither the Jedi nor the Sith accepted the views of the other, however.

It seems most Jedi were proponents for the Unifying Force, wherein they focused on the past, present, and future as a whole (however, visions of the future were of particular significance in the conservative Jedi mindset), ignoring primary use of the Living Force. Voices for the latter espoused a philosophy of "live for the moment" and heavily relied on their instincts. This viewpoint might have allowed the Jedi Order to stave off the conflict that gave rise to the Galactic Empire, as its members lost themselves in looking forward rather than analyzing the unfolding events before them.

The organizational goal of the Jedi Order was to maintain peace and justice in the galaxy."

entry: 39
subject: The Potentium, Unified Force and Other Gray Jedi Theories.
Status:Canon
Capsule:

from Wookiepedia

"The Potentium view of the Force, considered heresy by Old Republic Jedi, held that the Force and the galaxy in general were given a master plan which was inherently good, and that there was no dark or light side to the Force. Also, Luke Skywalker stated in his days as Master that "the Force doesn't flow from us, but through us", which strongly suggests that it is the Force that creates life and not the other way around. Never passing beyond the Padawan level and refusing to become a Jedi Knight, Jolee Bindo saw "everything gray" and left the Order, allowing emotion to guide his actions. Leor Hal and his followers were expelled by the Jedi for their belief in the Potentium in 132 BBY. This view gained greater acceptance under the New Republic, mostly due to the influence of Vergere, a surviving Jedi from the days of the Old Republic."

Gray seems to be a very broad standard for a great deal of different philosophies and theories. Generally when one refers to a Force user as a Gray Jedi generally they are referring to a Force user that adheres to the Potentium or Unified theories rather than the orthodox, polar philosophies of the Jedi and the Sith. Which is truly a term that wildly under describes the very specific differences between different theories.

Many philosophies exist within this base theory that explains the evidence of the apparent dark and light sides, but argues that these polar sides are in fact illusions created from various other origins and are not innate 'polar sides' to the force itself. Ussualy these origins are theorized to be from within the force user. Whether it be through an addiction to passion, a philosophical attachment to 'innate' morals etc.

Potentium philosophy:
from wookiepedia:

"Counter to millennia of Jedi teachings, the followers of Potentium claimed that there was no inherent evil in viewing the Force. They claimed that what others called the light side was actually just the Force itself, which is inherently good. This was backed up by the fact that Ashla, the ancient name of the Force, came later to describe the light side. What others therefore called the dark side was a perversion of the Force, twisted by those who used it. Believers of Potentium said that the potential for light and dark sides resided in the user, not the Force itself. They also thought that the Jedi Masters refused to believe in the Potentium view because it would mean the Jedi weren't needed to fight evil, for evil would not exist. And since there was no dark side, there were no dark side actions or Force techniques; in effect any action, good or evil, could be performed without risk as long as the intent wasn't evil."

Another such Potentium theory stated that the polarity was nothing more than an illusionary manifestation within the force caused by the force user themselves. that the darkside did not exist within the force but within the force user whom perverted the ultimate good of the force to cause bad things to happen.

Another Potentium theory such as that of Jedi Master Phanius, who looked to consequence and morality as relative. Basically that what one individual might consider as evil was in fact good to another and visa versa. Therefore nothing could truly be absolutely evil, and nothing could be absolutely good. This leads one to consider the possibility that all actions are neither good nor bad, and thus it is not bad to commit them.

Another concept adopted by Phanius was known as solipsism; Basically the belief that no single thing can be absolutely certain to exist, this applies both to moral standards but also physical existence. It is not absolutely certain to me that you (the reader) truly exists, it is not absolutely certain that I exist to you. There is not even absolute proof to show that anything exists entirely, even ourselves. All of what we experience as sentient beings to be reality is quite possibly an elaborate illusion (similar to the matrix). This of course leads one to believe that perhaps there is no consequence to committing 'crimes' upon another person because that other person might not even exist. Thus there is no real consequence to committing the crime.

Unifying Philosophy:

Unifiying theory might also be justified simply as a force user that walks a line, that avoids the restrictions of dogmatic Orthodox but also understands and values morality, thus rejecting the philosophies of the Dark side but still capable of taking advantage of using 'Dark side techniques'. Thus also paying attention more to the force as a universal whole rather than two halves of a whole in conflict. Unified theory tends to press the notion that destiny is determined by the Force itself, and that free will is simply an illusion that maintains sentience and consciousness. This might explain how individuals might have the power to see into the future using the force. Also this might explain the fulfillment of certain prophecies such as the birth of the chosen one, or the returning of the 'Sithari' (If you consider Anakin to be the 'Sithari')

Many 'Gray Jedi' fell out of these philosophies, whether they still considered themselves neither dark nor light they in fact became one or the other; revealing how entirely difficult it would be to maintain a lifestyle living in true neutrality.

Entry:42
Subject:The insidious Force
Status: Canon
Capsule:
from wookiepedia:

"Darth Traya, a female Sith during the Old Sith Wars, believed the Force to be akin to some sort of deceptively sinister, indifferent god. She pointed to the numerous wars fought by countless Force users, as proof that the Force cared nothing for the lives it consumed, so long as balance was achieved. This philosophy emphasizes the belief that neither the light nor dark side is truly superior to the other, and that if people were to be truly free, the Force must be eliminated from the galaxy. This was generally a very unpopular theory with both the Sith and the Jedi, and its practice likely disappeared entirely with Traya's death."

This theory also assumes that the force was neither innately light nor dark, but a single universal Force (sentient or not), unbiased and indifferent to any action carried out by it's use. As a force user you could with every ounce of your being choose to use the force to kill off an entire planet of innocent people. If you had a connection powerful enough, the force would allow you the means to commit such a heinous act, just the easily as if you called upon it to save the lives of an entire planet.

Obviously, if one believes that the force is not in conflict with itself between the light and the dark, then it is easy to see it as a universal entity that allows the ageless conflict between the sith and the jedi to continue to wreak havoc across the galaxy without prejudice. Thus the Force shows us that it is indifferent and 'insidious' as it dose not care for the suffering of the living, nor the destruction it brings upon them.

This insidious force is, in its indifference, ultimately destructive and evil, thus it must be destroyed before all life in the galaxy is destroyed.

As Kraia had witnessed, it is possible to wound the force, and it is also possible for life to continue without the force. The Jedi Exile is a prime example of this. thus it is possible to kill the force, and keep the majority of life within the galaxy alive.

i agree insidious force is too short, but im not sure how to make it longer. what if i consolidated it with some other 'alternative philosophies' like the humorous force, and something else?... actually i have made it longer, but you let me know if you want humorous force in there and i will.

as to the potentium, i did have the basic ideals of the potentium theories in there, and the post isnt really about gray jedi, just the other philosophies that justified potentium theory. I wanted to exemplify Phanneous' theories because his ideas kind of broke the mold of your average potentium jedi. He is considered one of the fore fathers of the movement so i think his philosophies fit in there pretty well. And the post is supposed to be about both Potentium and Unified force philo. in one post. since they are so similar. and pretty much most, if not all gray jedi find themselves in one of the two catigories. ill go back in and reiterate the more passive Potentium theories, and maybe just include "and other gray jedi philosophies" in the subject header.

Im not sure if i have the time or the energy to write about both the Jedi and the Sith all together.... on wookiepedia it takes up a really long page for each. besides the posts aren't about the Jedi or the Sith its about the philosophies of how they justify their faith exclusively to their respective polar sides in the force.

as to the living force, since the lesser force basically is the living force i figure ill just consolidate them into one big post.

dose that sound better?

i just thought that maybe if i posted that stuff in there more people might be inclined to think more deeply about their character's own philosophy. maybe they could get a little creative on their own and create something even more specific than what i have posted.

Entries Needed
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Jedi
Sith
Grey Jedi
DLT-15 Blaster Rfile
E-11 Blaster Rifle
DC-17 Hand Blaster
TIE-series (T.I.E., TIE Fighter, TIE Interceptor, TIE Avenger, etc.)

Entries I'm Working On
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The Imperial Army
Null-class ARC Trooper
Imperial Army Deployment
Imperial Army Rank
Cloning