Lesson 3 – Part 5: The 21 Maxims

Original journal entry from July 13, 2025 – Response to Lesson 3: Introduction to Temple Doctrine (Part 5: The 21 Maxims). This was my full, line-by-line reflection on all 21 Maxims, applying each one to daily life, training, teaching, compassion, and ethical living as a Jedi.


1. Training - The purpose of training is to accommodate error without consequence. It is the key to learning and the Jedi Teachings are hazardous without guided practice. 

It's ok to make mistakes... and learn from them. However, without proper guidance, it is possible to continue making the same mistakes, not learn from them, and make is more difficult to unlearn hazardous behavior. This also reminds me of lightsaber training. It's good to practice with a wooden sword or PVC pipe or something that can simulate the lightsaber first, get comfortable with it and learn all the different routines first, or else with a real lightsaber, making mistakes could cost the person limbs or even their life!

2. Teaching - Love what you teach and love who you teach. Teachers affect eternity - who can tell where their influence stops? The Jedi mentor is there to challenge the learner, but never to pose an obstacle to their progress. 

First, I need to learn and love what I have learned. And people can tell when I love something because I love talking about it. I'll have go to find the exact quote and who said it but I have this, that if you can't teach it in simple terms then you haven't learned or understood it well enough yourself. This implies that you eventually teach what you know. And if I love something that I learned well enough to teach, those whom I teach it to will have a better time learning it. It also needs to be my intent to love those I teach enough to learn the subject well enough so that my students will understand it. I want my students to understand it even better than I do, I want them to surpass me one day and excel at it, becoming masters and teachers of many themselves. I might be gone but I will live on in my students and their students.

3. Discipline - A disciplined mind will lead to peace, an undisciplined mind will lead to suffering. Indeed, for the mind without discipline, the Jedi Way will be impassable. 

Creating a plan and sticking to it is what leads to the desired result. Making unnecessary changes to the plan will lead to chaos. The chaos is what leads to suffering. Some things are meant to be done in order. If I do them out of order it may become impossible to complete something in the future if a previous step was not already completed in the past.

4. Dedication - Inspiration lasts a week, motivation will fade after a month, disciplined dedication lasts a lifetime. The way to do great work is to love what you do and who you work with. 

It is important to develop smaller milestones for larger goals. That way, while inspiration and motivation may fade, through dedication to the goal it can still be accomplished step by step. It is also imperative that if I have a choice to work with someone too choose wisely, choosing someone who is dedicated to the goal in the same way so that we can cheer each other on and keep each other accountable to the plan. Things can be accomplished with greater results when we enjoy the work and enjoy working with the people that are likeminded towards the goal.

5. Meditation - You have a treasure within you. The key to this treasure is meditation. It is not evasion, meditation fosters a serene confluence of the symbolic with the imaginary: reality. To the Jedi with a quiet mind, The Force will be felt and it will inform us. 

It's important to realize that I meditate pretty much all the time. If I'm letting my thoughts wander around negative thoughts, I'm meditating on the negative. If I'm thinking happy thoughts, I'm meditation on the positive. Through intentional meditation I can discern the will of the Force and understand it flows together with my imagination and reality.

6. Clear Intention - The Force follows intentionality. With a quiet mind, we direct our clear intention through the ocean of possibilities and allow The Force to work through us. 

The Force offers possibilities and opportunities that I may not have thought of on my own. By intentionally seeking these possibilities in the Force, it enables me to accomplish them.

7. Balance - When we allow peace, harmony, and balance in our minds, The Force manifests in the world. In art and dream, we may proceed with abandon. In waking life shared with others, we must proceed with balance and discretion. 

As I intentionally seek peace, harmony, and balance in my life, my will and behavior align with the Force. In this way, I can live a carefree life and boldly take chances, being confident that it is aligned with the Force and is meant to be.

8. Humility - Our perpetual trial is humility. We understand our agency is not solely from us, but through us: it is of The Force. In feeling The Force in ourselves, we see it in everyone and everything. 

I can try to gain titles and reputations in my own strength, but as a Jedi, none of these mean anything outside of the Force. As I become aware of the Force flowing through me and partnering with it, I do things that matter, even in everyday tasks. I cannot boast in my own abilities, but rather in the Force.

9. Agency - Jedi are active in the world, acting as people of thought, and thinking like people of action. Be aware that beliefs become thoughts, thoughts become words, words become actions, actions become habits, habits become values, and values determine destiny. 

Through introspection and meditation, I can discern my will and that of the Force. I can discern actionable steps and act with intent, knowing that I have thoroughly thought about what I'm doing. As I think and as I act, I will learn new insights that will influence my thinking and my beliefs. These beliefs will in turn affect my thoughts and my actions which will influence the direction of my life.

10. Capability - The Force does not ask of our ability, only our availability. In opening to The Force, Its capabilities flow through us. Indeed, clear intention is not enough, Jedi do. 

This is similar to the phrase, "faith without works is dead" from the Bible (James 2:14-26), or "show me the money" from the movie Jerry Maguire. I don't just meditate and seek the will of the Force without also having committed to stepping into action on what I perceive.

11. Self-Control - To control intention, the Jedi use The Force to tame the passions. In self-control lies the seed of freedom. We work to control our passions, lest someone exploit us through them. 

Everyone has emotions, everyone has passions. Through self-control, I keep myself from taking rash action based on my emotions. Living in harmony with the Force, I can align my passions with the will of the Force, then my actions are driven by the will of the Force. Knowing that I am acting on the will of the Force, I am at peace with my actions. To act on every emotion, I give up control and allow someone else to dictate my actions.

12. Discretion - For the Jedi, discretion is the better part of valor. Indeed, agency without discretion comes invariably to a tragic end. True wisdom is found in knowing when to raise the eyebrow, rather than the voice or the sword. 

I have the freedom to decide when to act or not to act, and what action to take. It would be foolish to apply the same rules to every situation, but rather to decide on a case by case basis. Raising the sword or the voice may determine an outcome that is not be reversible, while raising the eyebrow says, "we need to talk," which has a better chance of finding a diplomatic solution.

13. Integrity - Taking the right action even when nobody's watching, integrity is easier kept than recovered. There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity. 

This reminds me of the old, "you're in the middle of the desert at an intersection of roads that go on for miles without anything or anyone in sight, would you stop at a stop sign at that intersection?" Or the "if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to heard it, did it make a sound?" My scientific brain says yes. Just because no one heard it doesn't mean it didn't make a sound. And therein lies my answer to the stop sign. Yes, I would stop. Not because someone is there to see me or because another car is approaching the intersection but because it's a stop sign. I stop at a stop sign.

14. Fairness - The ability to rise above prejudice, all virtue is summed up in fairness. Indeed, lack of fairness is essentially a mark of weakness. 

Without fairness, the rules can be bent and shifted any which way I desire. Without fairness, anyone can move the goal posts and no one can reach the goal. The same standard I apply to others must be applied to myself. Fairness is treating everyone equally, not dependent on traits that are outside of others' control.

15. Charity - In brightening everything on which it shines, Charity is love in action. We live on what we are given but build our lives on what we give. 

As I live in harmony with the Force, I am also be generous, I will offer help support to those in need. In order to give and be generous, I need to receive also for I cannot give something I have not received. However, those around me and those whom I have given to from my time and my resources will remember me for the way I lived in this way.

16. Compassion - Via compassion, The Force exhibits its true power. In seeking peace for others we practice compassion, in seeking peace for ourselves we practice compassion. 

When I see someone suffering, I am moved with compassion to alleviate the pain. But it is equally necessary to move with compassion in my own life. There is a saying, "You are your own worst critic." The same compassion that I display towards others must be displayed towards myself. When I have peace, I can bring peace to others.

17. Empathetic Joy - The necessary counterbalance to compassion, empathetic joy prevents the waters of compassion from draining away. We aim to feel the joy of others just as keenly as their pain. 

When I share in others' pain, I can also share in their joy when the pain is alleviated. Problems that don't seem to get resolved make it harder to believe that a solution is even possible. Finding joy in even the smallest victories gives fuel to pushing towards resolving even the most difficult problems.

18. De-escalation - Between uncontrolled escalation and passivity, there is a demanding path of responsibility that we follow. Whenever we perceive monsters we should see to it we do not become monsters ourselves. 

In every conflict, the goal should be finding a peaceful solution. But before this can be achieved, emotions and passions need to be tamed. Emotional responses will lead to rash decisions and out-of-control actions. Do not engage when emotions are running high, do not act in anger. Or else we may become monsters in our actions.

19. Valor - True valor lies between cowardice and rashness. It is a delicate skill, those having it never knowing for sure until the trial comes. In any case, valor that struggles is better than recklessness that thrives. 

A good habit is to determine how I will act in a given situation. Know what to do before the opportunity presents itself to act. Without this determination, there is a higher likelihood that I will panic and act rashly. It is equally beneficial to proceed with caution rather than recklessly doing things without thinking. It reminds me of my training with using the fire extinguisher — when is the best time to learn how to use it? Before a fire!

20. Honor - Acting with honor through The Force preserves peace. Always remember: if peace cannot be maintained with honor, it is no longer peace. 

This reminds me of how world leaders say they use deterrence to maintain peace. Is it really peace though or are they maintaining peace through fear? Peace through fear is not peace, it is inaction out of fear of negative consequences. I act honorably by living in balance with the Force. I build mutual respect by acting with integrity and fairness. Peace is preserved through mutual respect. We honor each other through respectable living and treating each other well.

21. Decency - Through decency, we render happenings tolerable. Decency is not derived through faith but precedes it. If decency could be easily found in reality, would we have need of myth? 

Decency is developed through mutual agreement on what is acceptable. When all parties agree on the same standards, and as long as we all live by those standards, we can live in peace. However, life teaches us that not everyone wants to agree to the same standards, not everyone wants to live by the same rules. Some want to have privileges over others and use others as a means to get ahead. Myth shows us both what is the ideal and what is the reality. We will always need myth to show us what can be achieved.

Umalohókan

House of Twin Suns
TM: Carlos Martinez

"You don't have to see the whole staircase just to take the first step."

(Signature links to IP Journal, Apprentice Journal, A.div Journal, and Degree Tracker omitted for brevity — these were forum navigation links at the time.)

The following user(s) said Thank You: RosalynJ, Griffin


Looking back now: This entry was one of the longest and most thorough in the early series — walking through every single maxim with practical examples and personal application. It felt like the full integration of Lesson 3, turning doctrine into a lived way of being.