Post by Spark on Jan 10, 2007 22:52:43 GMT -5
Alright, well, this is more properly my intro and bio I think than what I posted in the introduction forum. I'd rather put the detail here, in this forum:
Name: Spark Vallen
Real name: Catherine
Age: 29
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Blue
Height: 5'6"
Affiliation: Ashla Knights / Force Academy
Rank: Jedi Knight
My journey began in 1987 when I was nine years old. That summer, I had watched The Empire Strikes Back on HBO and was WOWed by the film. I found a paperback of A New Hope at a garage sale and read it cover-to-cover and was just overwhelmed at how much sense Old Ben Kenobi made to me even at that age! Friends rented A New Hope on VHS for me and we watched it at a sleep-over; I swear I never blinked through it and then I made them re-watch it with me as I strive to find all this understanding.
I was fortunate to gain a family friend in my childhood who was very into metaphysical topics and from Ginger, I had the validation to know that what I was picking up on in the Star Wars films wasn't so "out there." Ginger gave me a book on creative visualization meditation which I still own and helped open my mind to this spiritual yearning that I had, but that had gone untouched since my family was never into religion or spirituality. So, there I was, a kid on this inward adventure of believing herself to be a Jedi-in-training.
I kept it serious and quiet into my teens and went geeky when they started releasing the EU books by Zahn, Anderson and the rest of them in the 90s. To learn the Jedi Code! I memorized it, took it to heart and began another phase of my training, I believed. It was until 1999 that I found forceacademy.com on a lark, doing a lycos search for "jedi training sites" and found it after finding several RP sites. I registered as "Spark Vallen" because I'd written a (dumb) cross-over short story back in 1995 with a Jedi Apprentice character I'd named Spark Vallen. I had thought that a fitting handle since I didn't want to use my old Disney-inspired "Ms. Frollo" when registering on a Jedi site. Haha!
I trained under JediKnight G after joining July 21, 1999 and was knighted in mid-November 1999. It was a turbulent journey at the FA as a lot of hell in my personal life bled onto the boards, I'll admit. I trained many, was trained by many, served as the newsletter director, the training director, an instructor (Jedi Code studies, Empathy and Communication (there and at JRA)) and the head of the Council for a brief time. I've been there and taken leaves several times, and presently I am a ranked Knight, though somewhat absentee more often than not.
Along the way, I joined The Jedi Organization (JEDI) in 2000 and the host of sites that had sprung up on ezboard.com. I think I participated just about everywhere, for good or ill.
It was an interesting ride. I learned of Jediism, joined that, became an instructor after completing training and later a Council person. I didn't last a long time there because of differences in ideologies and because of offline issues that were problematic.
Offline, I'd taken a course on one's psychic self-development in 2001 run by a local spiritual warrior. It was a great weekend and I bonded with several of the women from the course. We started meeting monthly at our homes to meditate, work on healing, psychometry and learn about various topics. After a couple years though, the group fizzled out for several reasons. It was fun while it lasted because it gave me that additional context like Ginger had early in my life.
I found Ashla Knights in 2005 following more offline turbulence. Master Thompson and Travis' site was a safe haven for me to start re-exploring my Jedi site which I had somewhat abandoned earlier that year. In 2006, I completed my re-training and now, I've taken on an advisory role there which suits me fine. I've also returned to the FA this year but without any formal duties short of reading and posting at this point.
Several times, I've tried to completely leave but I always have this feeling that there is more I am suposed to DO! And so, I return. I've only had one Jedi Gathering experience and that was the informal gathering of AdonaMara, Moonshadow, Aslyn and me at my job and then my backyard for an afternoon of juggling and hanging out.
I'm rather introverted without a keyboard in front of me, so I tend to sit and listen more than ever speaking when I'm in an offline social setting.
That's all!
Name: Spark Vallen
Real name: Catherine
Age: 29
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Blue
Height: 5'6"
Affiliation: Ashla Knights / Force Academy
Rank: Jedi Knight
My journey began in 1987 when I was nine years old. That summer, I had watched The Empire Strikes Back on HBO and was WOWed by the film. I found a paperback of A New Hope at a garage sale and read it cover-to-cover and was just overwhelmed at how much sense Old Ben Kenobi made to me even at that age! Friends rented A New Hope on VHS for me and we watched it at a sleep-over; I swear I never blinked through it and then I made them re-watch it with me as I strive to find all this understanding.
I was fortunate to gain a family friend in my childhood who was very into metaphysical topics and from Ginger, I had the validation to know that what I was picking up on in the Star Wars films wasn't so "out there." Ginger gave me a book on creative visualization meditation which I still own and helped open my mind to this spiritual yearning that I had, but that had gone untouched since my family was never into religion or spirituality. So, there I was, a kid on this inward adventure of believing herself to be a Jedi-in-training.
I kept it serious and quiet into my teens and went geeky when they started releasing the EU books by Zahn, Anderson and the rest of them in the 90s. To learn the Jedi Code! I memorized it, took it to heart and began another phase of my training, I believed. It was until 1999 that I found forceacademy.com on a lark, doing a lycos search for "jedi training sites" and found it after finding several RP sites. I registered as "Spark Vallen" because I'd written a (dumb) cross-over short story back in 1995 with a Jedi Apprentice character I'd named Spark Vallen. I had thought that a fitting handle since I didn't want to use my old Disney-inspired "Ms. Frollo" when registering on a Jedi site. Haha!
I trained under JediKnight G after joining July 21, 1999 and was knighted in mid-November 1999. It was a turbulent journey at the FA as a lot of hell in my personal life bled onto the boards, I'll admit. I trained many, was trained by many, served as the newsletter director, the training director, an instructor (Jedi Code studies, Empathy and Communication (there and at JRA)) and the head of the Council for a brief time. I've been there and taken leaves several times, and presently I am a ranked Knight, though somewhat absentee more often than not.
Along the way, I joined The Jedi Organization (JEDI) in 2000 and the host of sites that had sprung up on ezboard.com. I think I participated just about everywhere, for good or ill.
It was an interesting ride. I learned of Jediism, joined that, became an instructor after completing training and later a Council person. I didn't last a long time there because of differences in ideologies and because of offline issues that were problematic. Offline, I'd taken a course on one's psychic self-development in 2001 run by a local spiritual warrior. It was a great weekend and I bonded with several of the women from the course. We started meeting monthly at our homes to meditate, work on healing, psychometry and learn about various topics. After a couple years though, the group fizzled out for several reasons. It was fun while it lasted because it gave me that additional context like Ginger had early in my life.
I found Ashla Knights in 2005 following more offline turbulence. Master Thompson and Travis' site was a safe haven for me to start re-exploring my Jedi site which I had somewhat abandoned earlier that year. In 2006, I completed my re-training and now, I've taken on an advisory role there which suits me fine. I've also returned to the FA this year but without any formal duties short of reading and posting at this point.
Several times, I've tried to completely leave but I always have this feeling that there is more I am suposed to DO! And so, I return. I've only had one Jedi Gathering experience and that was the informal gathering of AdonaMara, Moonshadow, Aslyn and me at my job and then my backyard for an afternoon of juggling and hanging out.
I'm rather introverted without a keyboard in front of me, so I tend to sit and listen more than ever speaking when I'm in an offline social setting.That's all!
