Lesson 6 – Part 3: Cumulative Essay
Original journal entry from August 8, 2025 – Cumulative essay for Lesson 6: Introduction to Meditation. This was my synthesis of why meditation is essential for Jedi — drawing from Qui-Gon’s example, daily recalibration against negative thoughts, doctrine routines, and how it influences beliefs, habits, values, and ultimate destiny.
Meditation should be important to everyone and especially Jedi. The scene where the fictional character Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi chase after Darth Maul in Theed Palace shows how important meditating was for Qui-Gon when he was fighting Darth Maul. Though he lost his life in the end it shows that even within the short amount of time that he had for meditating and strengthening his connection to the Force he was intentional about meditating right then and there. Maybe it was just for him, but it also served as an example for Obi-Wan to see that there is pretty much never a bad time to meditate.
Now, I do want to back up a bit and emphasize that the example models intentional meditation. I personally believe that meditation is a loose enough umbrella term for describing all sorts of ways that people meditate.
One of the things that I’ve grown to keep my eye on is the ANTs, or Automatic Negative Thought(s). As I like to say, “we all meditate all the time” — by focusing our thoughts on various things going on in our lives. For me, this manifests by allowing my thoughts to flow freely, and I can create an emotional environment where I become fearful and anxious over just about anything.
For example, if I’m on a tight budget I might get into the habit of allowing myself to cultivate negative thoughts and feelings about money every time a situation pops up where I have to pay for something. In that case, I would want to counter this negative thinking by speaking a phrase, or even a mantra, that positively reflects the situation about money, instead of focusing on the negative. Maybe saying something like, “the money is coming.” Or telling myself, “I always have the right amount of money for any need that arises.” In that way, I am meditating positively on something that I might have been unintentionally meditating on negatively.
Looking at it from this perspective, it makes it easier for a routine to emerge, where I might intentionally take time five times per day (or more) to focus my thoughts away from the negative and recalibrate myself towards the positive. Meditation is important to me because this constant recalibration reinforces and refines my beliefs, and, “beliefs become thoughts, thoughts become words, words become actions, actions become habits, habits become values, and values determine destiny.”
Reading the doctrine during July really helped me solidify that routine of refocusing each morning and at various times during the day to review the parts that stood out to me. Some days just one or two sentences would follow me throughout the day, while on other days entire paragraphs were on my mind. Contemplating and recontemplating, and seeing where I’m doing well in my life and discerning areas that need improvement. Many days, parts from A Meditation for Jedi would remind me of what I’m bringing into my work environment, into my family life, even into the grocery store. Meditation is important because it affects the way I live.
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: Carlos.Martinez3
Looking back now: This cumulative essay was a strong close to Lesson 6 — showing how meditation isn’t just a technique but a constant, intentional recalibration that shapes beliefs, habits, and destiny. It connected the fictional (Qui-Gon), practical (ANTs countering), and daily (doctrine reminders) into a unified view of why meditation matters.