Meet The Real Jedi Who Devote Their Lives to The Force INSIGHTS

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In 2001, census-takers in the United Kingdom and other commonwealth countries noticed a curious trend: nearly 1% of responders designated their religion as Jedism. The impact of a film released nearly 40 years ago is obvious. It's only a slight exaggeration to say those who love Star Wars do so religiously. But an actual religion? • Many churches practice varying forms of Jedism, but none have more members than the Temple of the Jedi Order. The church has occasional in-person meet-ups, but by and large it exists almost entirely on the Internet. They have malleable doctrines and processes and are well structured, despite its leaders -- yes, a Jedi Council -- being scattershot around the world: France, the UK and even Texas. Like any religion, members of the church have a range of beliefs -- while one approaches it casually, someone else believes they can levitate cars with their mind. • When we asked the Temple to refer us to someone in the process of becoming a Jedi Knight, they gave us the contact information for Alex Bird. My first conversations with him revealed a guy far too rational to fall on the mind control part of the spectrum. Talking more, however, I was struck by just how grounded he was. He works as a behavioral therapist in upstate New York, living with his wife and a son who just celebrated his second birthday. • Everything about him felt normal, minus the inordinate amount of his life devoted to exploring different belief systems. He's spent time in Catholicism, Buddhism and Atheism, and has studied a range of texts, from the Quran to Karl Marx to Ayn Rand. He admits he still carries bits and pieces of each, but no belief system perfectly aligned with reality. Which is to say, his reality: Rational as he is, he believes in more than just the scientific nature of things. • The Temple bridged that spectrum and brought with it an intricate set of values that, when distilled, resemble our perception of a Jedi: violence only when necessary, respect and simplicity. There's an implicit emphasis on impulse control which -- with respect to his job of essentially helping people with traumatic brain injuries re-integrate into society -- means he doesn't compromise many of his values. • The Temple strongly resembles Alex's most recent jaunt in traditional religion: Buddhism. His departure had less to do with its belief system than the lack of a stateside community (he practiced in a monastery in Asia). Because the Temple exists online, Alex is part of a community of open-minded people who encourage discussion and diversity and is also void of the heavy-handedness from his Catholic upbringing. • I was so taken by how honest, well thought out and happy he was that I knew a lot of people would appreciate his world view. I also knew a lot more people would sooner laugh at than listen to someone claiming to be a Jedi Knight. Why did he choose a religion and terminology that's so silly? • (Visit Elite Daily to read this article in its entirety: http://elitedaily.com/life/the-real-j...) • Subscribe now for more videos from Elite Daily: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c... • Check out more INSIGHTS from Elite Daily: • INSIGHTS • Producer: Shawn Hazelett • Director of Photography: Terence MF Thomas Kevin Losani • Camera Operator: Tom O’Neill, Sammy Dane Grace Ferrara • Assistant Editor: Grace Ferrara • Editor: John Stish Kevin Losani • Finishing Editor: Evan Newman • Production Assistant: Zach Frenchman Evan Brenner • Senior Producer: Kevin Losani • Music Courtesy of Extreme Music: • “Soft Place • Written by Philip Kay and Rachel Wood • “Tighten Up • Written by Satnam Ramgotra and Nineoneone • The Power and the Glory • Written by Andrew Brick Johnson • Places People • Written by Christopher Lennertz • Raj Raga • Written by Prithvijaj Lokesh • Hear My Prayer • Written by Henry Purcell • Home Run • Written by Dirty Dick, Carrie Harry and Bart K. Hendrickson • Cross Talk • Written by David Russell Fleming and Joerg Huettner • Strom in a Teacup • Written by Martin Tillmann and Tom Vedvik • Lords of Destiny • Written by Tilmann Sillescu • “Aratta • Written by Nick Phoenix and Thomas Bergersen • “Gloryhunter • Written by Brad Derrick • http://www.elitedaily.com • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EliteDaily/v... • Twitter: / elitedaily • Instagram: / elitedaily • G+: https://plus.google.com/+elitedaily • What is Elite Daily? • We proclaim ourselves to be the voice of Generation-Y and never disappoint. • As the premier online destination for aspiring men and women alike, Elite offers a forum of peer-to-peer interaction in an increasingly digitalized world. • The site consistently delivers diverse content with a fresh, relevant voice that appeals to the divergent perspectives represented within our ADD generation. • For all video inquires contact: VideoContact @ elitedaily.com

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