The Force
There are three subgroups into which we categorise the Force in order to make it
a little easier to swallow, as it were. Since this is such a huge topic, it's
necessary to make some small points like this in order to enable a student to
understand the Force and the way in which it affects the Universe and, indeed,
everything contained therein. There are three categories here, going from least
to most:
Personal Force --> Living Force --> Unified Force
Personal Force
The Personal or Individual Force is the life energy contained within the body of
any organism at any singular point in time - if you will, it is the energy you
require to continue to survive and be maintained in a physical (and more than
likely, a psychological) state of existence. Every individual has their own
personal energy, which is in itself the smallest division of life energy within
the Universe. Essentially, this is Personal Force.
Now, Personal Force, as a general rule, does not remain the same throughout the
existence of an individual. Like Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide, it is exchanged and
converted constantly with the energy around you - if your body is injured, life
energy is used to repair your cells (to a certain extent at least), but, if you
remember the first law of Thermodynamics, this energy is converted, not
destroyed. As you use energy and convert it, clearly the energy you have used
needs to be replaced in that the energy you have used is no longer within your
individual system. It has passed outside of yourself into the environment around
you, in various forms. Essentially, then, this energy will be replaced from an
external source, that which we call the Living Force. I'll come back to that
momentarily.
The most important academic observation made about Personal Force is that it is
at this stage and this one alone that we find and can identify the beginnings of
an apparent duality to the Force. Since this energy is in itself contained
within your system, it is the most impressionable of all forms of life energy -
and you impress upon this through your thoughts and through your emotions. Since,
however, this energy does not remain contained within your body permanently,
this becomes the most basic and natural form of individual energy projection -
wherein that as energy that was maintained as Personal Force within your body
leaves it, the impressions you have made upon it will begin to effect the energy
flow around you. This is agreed upon by almost every single Vitalist theory -
but if you have time, I recommend you read James Redfield's Celestine Prophecy
for more on how such energy affects the world around you as a result of
individual impressions upon it.
In order to give this further consideration, however, we need to consider the
next form of the Force - the Living Force.
Living Force
The Living Force is the sum of all the personal Force in existence. Though they
are of course all one and the same thing in the macroscopic view, we break it
down into these two in order to work both on the effects individuals can have on
the Force, and the ways in which you can apply a use of the Force. Hence, we
tend to consider the Personal Force as being the most basic and normative of
applicative systems, since it is easier to manipulate your own personal energies
than to manipulate energy across a wider spectrum.
It is here where we find an overall picture of the so-called duality of the
Force. Since people leave their own positive and/or negative impressions upon
their individual energies, when this is collected together in sum total, you
inevitably get positive energy, negative energy and neutral energy. Here we find
the Light and the Dark sides – but these are not as major as they seem. Though
both do have their influences, since a person surrounded by negative energy will
inevitably absorb some of it themselves, which creates a change in their own
physical and psychological make-up – and such is the effect of the duality.
However, the influences created by these impressions on the Force are not as
profound as they would seem – the affect they have on any individual is done by
choice as opposed to by being ‘corrupted’ or some such term. With control, and a
little self-discipline, people can learn to ascertain the influences of living
force energy, and therefore to make their own choices regarding it’s influence.
On a base level, it is of course possible that the Living Force can affect a
person based on positive or negative impressions, but at the level of the
Unifying Force, good and evil, positive and negative become irrelevant. If you
act as a student of the Living Force, the aspects are more your forte. Still, in
order to give you more of an idea as to how this relates, I first ought to talk
about the Unifying Force.
Unifying Force
The Unifying Force, also Unified or Universal Force, is the universal level of
the Force. It is the sum of the Living Force – that which exists as the sum of
all life energy in existence at any one point in time, and all the other forms
of energy in the Universe. Since forms of energy change from one to another with
extreme ease, it seems logical that all forms are connected in some way. And
this is the Unifying Force – Life Energy as it fits alongside all other energies.
Here, the Force becomes neutral. There is no good, no evil. No positive, no
negative. And, above all, the Unifying Force is completely timeless. It
encompasses all states, all forms, all energies. It is, essentially, the
underlying system of the Universe. That might sound a little preposterous, but
if you think about it, energy is required to perform every single process or
function of the Universe. For a star to engage in nuclear fusion, for planets to
orbit around those stars – all of these processes require energy. And since
energy cannot be destroyed, only converted, the Unifying Force is, logically, a
force of the Universe.
However, the ramifications of this particular observation serve to create
significant problems for many Jedi Realists, certainly on an ethical level. The
Unifying Force has no sides, and thus in itself has no particular basis upon
which one following it can necessarily adhere to – with the Living Force, where
it is possible to extrapolate dualistic concepts like Good and Evil if you are
that way inclined, you are granted a basis of action by the definitions produced
as a result of such concepts – within the Unifying Force, such a thing is not
possible. Allow me to elaborate on this a little further.
At the level of Personal Force, the influence of that particular energy on an
individual is literally the result of their actions, not the possible cause or
influence upon which their actions are based. An individual may use their energy
as they see fit, and they create impressions upon their own personal energy
based upon their thoughts and feelings – the results of their actions and
reactions to the world around them. As a result, we may consider the Personal
Force to be the singular domain of the individual – it is the individual who
influences it, directs it and uses it for their purposes.
As we move on to the Living Force, we come across the point wherein the energy
is capable of affecting the actions of an individual. The impressions generated
by the positive and negative thoughts and feelings of an individual at the level
of the Personal Force become more manifest as these individual quantities of
personal energy are collated as the Living Force. While it is true to say that
the energy of an individual is under their control, it is not logical to suggest
that this energy can have no exerted effect upon anyone else since, as I’ve
already maintained, the personal energy of an individual is not restricted to
their own bodies, but is constantly changed and shared with all life as part of
the Living Force.
As a result of the positive and negative influences on the Living Force’s
collective energies, it is possible to see a dualistic system emerging – we have
the basic level of positive and negative, from which people can extrapolate Good
and Evil, and similar such ideas which maintain the dual position.
What is Jedi?
The word jedi in itself means "bringer of light". Think about it for a little.
From this meaning one with clear understanidng can derive the rest of the jedi
ideals.
Jedi live a life dedicated to self-improvement( of mind, body and spirit),
discovery of the energies of the universe, and being a bringer of light. It
means to be a physical guardian and caretaker. It also means to maintain good
natured energy within and without.
This is the basics of being a jedi.
Further on we follow a certain manner in our endeavors. This manner has been
crystallized in a code like form called Jedi Creed. It is the ideals of jedi.
Thus it descibes the "how?' of the basics of jedi:
Emotion yet peace
Knowledge not ignorancy
Wisdom not fanaticism
Harmony not chaos
Passion yet serenity
Detachment not obsession
Positive not negative
Silence not chatter
Freedom not indulgence
The Force not illusion
To read about what it all means see to Jedi Creed. The Creed you see here is
just one way to write the jedi ideals down.
Everything else in our lives flows from these jedi ideals which each jedi has
written into one form of code or other.
From this code comes another one which can be said to be a code of conduct or
simply
Jedi Code
Jedi are guardians of peace
Jedi use their powers to defend and protect
Jedi respect all life in any form
Jedi serve others rather than ruling over them, for the good of all.
Jedi seek to improve themselves through knowledge and training.
It is also a collection of ideals and thus describes even further the way of
jedi
Compiled by Jedi Simon Foundation. Jediway Multiversal
Language Research Department.
Learn, Practice, Be. May the Force be with you. Things can only get better.