I was doing some research and came across something random that I found to be rather surprising. There are people in the real world who follow the teachings of the Jedi from the Star Wars movies. Curious about why someone would believe something that was so obviously made up I decided to do some research and find how much 'truth' the religion may hold, since in my experience I have found that nearly every religion has at least an ounce of truth.
What I found surprised me even more. The religion, if modified, makes sense. It is more about self-improvement and benefiting from the teachings then actually believing in the Force, but even the Force can be believed in if you consider that the Force refers to Energy, the kind of Energy many people on this site use when casting spells. Every thing, living or non-living, is made of Energy and that Energy is what the Force refers to.
So, I decided if the teachings of the Jedi can benefit some people then the teachings of something so similar to many beliefs found on this site may benefit us as well. I have made a shorter list of what I found on these sites (broke down the long definitions into shorter ones) and have brought them here for you.
1) Feel, don't think. Follow your instincts.
2) Do not dwell on the past nor worry about the future, rather you should focus on the present.
3) Everyone can feel the Energy flowing around them. Focus on it, accept it's presence, and try to make realizing it a second nature for yourself.
4) A clear mind is a powerful mind. Rid yourself of anger, frustration, and think with your mind rather then your heart.
5) Patience is a virtue. The more patient you are, the wiser you may become.
6) By saving someone you may save yourself. Consider the guilt you may feel if your lack of compassion caused the death of another, and if you can save the less fortunate then do so.
7) Anger, fear, aggression, hate, all are natural Human emotions, but are also negative feelings that can lead to suffering. Learning to block them out or to deal with them properly will bring many benefits in various ways.
8) Physical fitness can actually lead to better Energy Manipulation. Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, the Martial Arts, jogging, swimming, biking, etc. All are excellent ways to both stay fit and relax.
9) There are no accidents, no mistakes, everything happens for a reason.
10) Learn to let go. Everything must come to an end at some point in time, if it ends before you do it is often better to accept the change then to try to fight it.
I hope this helps some of you. I'll be doing more research and if I find anything worth sharing I'll post that too.
lol, may the 'Force' be with you. :)
I am so glad to see this here, thak you for posting it! :)
I have always believed in the force and was mocked for it here at one time. Someone mockingly even referred to me as Jedi Master KTS. Just for the use of the word younglings. Which is defined as any young creature and since we are all young compared to the oldest tree here on earth at about 4500 years it applies to us all.
I can tell you that I do think as all but two of these and I can tell you that meditation combined with yoga was worked wonders for my energy fields. Namastae
The Force is defined as the Living Energy around us, the micro-particles that make up all things. Anyone who says that all things are made of Energy and then says that the Force is not real contradicts their first statement. It is not properly called the Force, but that is what the Force is defined as.
As for 'younglings', I use that word too. It's not Jedi-specific, it's an English word that simply isn't used very often.
"LingKongJin is the Chinese martial arts of using projected Chi to knock down your opponent, which was adapted by Lucas by showing Jedi knocking down warrior droids by using the Force.
Giang Hu and Shen Gong teaches the concentrated chi weightless leaps that the ancient Chinese Wuxia Pian knights reportedly used. The knights were not entirely airborne and had to push off of buildings and the ground to give thrust to their weightless, gliding leap. This was adapted by Lucas by showing Jedi using Force to achieve the weightless leap while in combat.
Lucas also gave them psychic skills like ESP, Telepathy, Telekinesis, Clairvoyance, etc. Mix all of these martial and psychic skills together and you have a powerful combination that we know as Jedi. Jedi using the Force was equivalent to oriental warriors using Chi, Ki, or Qi. To the Jedi the Force was like Chi, but Chi with other Higher Power attributes."
So yeah, I think the Force is based primarily on the same Energy types that we all believe in. It's just another name for the same thing, but rather then being used by an ancient culture; the word 'Force' was used by a director in Hollywood and later used by many Star Wars fans.
