The Force
The Force In this lesson you will learn a simple yet effective divination of the force. As well as where the force came from. You will also gain a basic understanding of the different perspectives of the force, as we as what the force does for you and why.
In the book Tao Te Ching you will find the true definition of the mystical all powerful energy field that we affectionately call the force. This book was written a long time ago, but not in a galaxy far, far away. It was written by a man name Leo Tsu, in Asia between 551 – 479bc.
What is Taoism? How does it relate to “the force”?
Taoism means the path or the way. The path of life, or the way of life is the way I like to see it. If you go to china you will find street signs saying “straight Tao” in America in would mean “straight way” As it pertains to the force it means the way of the force. What is the force? The force is best described as the essence of life. It is formless and pure, the basic building blocks that all life came from. For some it’s a ball of energy that was the starter of the big bang theory. The earth is alive filled with Tao form the depts. of the ocean to the peaks of the sky, if you remove Tao the earth would resemble the moon a lifeless rock floating in the sky of a planet. With out Tao life is not possible.
Sensing The Force "Ki" or "Chi"
From within
1. Standing in a natural stance
- Stand with your feet a shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent
- Release tensions from your body as you sway your body gently
- Cease movements and gently close your eyes and breath gently bent
- Focus your attention to your five senses and experience yourself in the nature
2. Qi Sensations in Hands
- Hold your hands together for a while
- Slowly move your hands
- further and closer(Practice until you can sense Qi with your hands a shoulder-width apart (We`ll use this in Step 6))
- Create a ball by moving your hands like kneading
- The sizes of balls are about a golf ball, a baseball and a basketball
3 Qi Sensations in Fingers
- Use your index and middle finger to touch other hand*s palm. Separate slightly and feel Qi.
- as your fingers slightly separate from your palm, move your sword fingers - right and left and circle, and feel the movements of Qi.
- Same as above Practice your thumb and index finger and all five fingers.
- Please practice until you learn how to use these three fingers and sense the movement of Qi
4.Sensations of Qi in different body parts
- Sensing Qi inside and outside of your arms as you separate the arms a few centimeters apart.
- From your chest to your belly
- From your belly to your buttocks
- The outside and inside of your legs.
- Your face and both eyes
- the sides of your head and ears
- Practice until you can sense the different sensations of Qi from certain body parts experiencing exhaustion or pain and other body parts that are normal.
5. Seeing (sensing) Qi
- Rub both of your hands until they become slightly warm
- Separate the hands slowly
- See the tips of your fingers and hands with an unfocused gaze
- Seeing other`s Qi
- When you become able to see your own Qi, let`s practice seeing other`s Qi around their fingers and hands. Once you accomplish this, ask a person to sit by a wall and practice seeing his or her body`s Qi. A key is to see this person`s Qi with an unfocused gaze.
External Qigong Practices
1 .Feeling the Qi-sensations of hands
- Put your hand above a partner's hand
- Put the palm of your right hand above your partner's left hand
- Feel Qi-sensations by moving your hand closer and away Qi-sensations are experienced with different sensations (heat/warmth, tingling, repulsiveness, etc.
2. Point your fingers at your partner's palm
- Point at your partner's palm with Kenshi ("Sword Fingers"; both index and middle fingers)
- Sense the Qi by moving closer and away or turning When you begin to feel Qi-sensations, you will be able to sense movements even with your eyes closed. Bodily Sensations of Qi
- Put a palm of your hands above different bodily locations
- Outside and inside of the partner's arms
- From the partner's chest to abdomen
- From the partner's shoulder to buttocks
- Outside and inside of the partner's legs
- From the partner's head to face
- Put a palm of your hands above the top of a head (Hyakue)
- Put the palm above the top of your partner's head
- Put your palm above your partner's head with images of the lights emitting from your palm.Allow the lights to go through the partner's body all the way to the sole of his or her feet.
- Putting a hand between bodily parts
- Feel Q-sensations on the palm of your hand, which you have practiced
- If you can feel Qi-sensations, put your hand between bodily parts of your partner. Feel Qi-sensations as you move your both hands
3.Qi-sensations of Plants
- Come close to a plant
- With an unfocused gaze, put your hand about one to two inchs above the plant.
- Move your hand around the plant
- Feel the Qi from the plant.
Wu Hsing Meditations
Wu Hsing Meditations 5 elements/ 5 material agents (Do not forget, these meditations are for drawing chi necessary for healing, they are not just mind clearing meditation exercises. I will be covering healing practices in a later section that will use the chi your gather from these mediations as well as the other ones posted two weeks ago.)
Water - essential to life - 2/3 of our bodies - Where we spend the first 9 months of our life - Cleans the mind and the body
Benefits of Water Meditation - issues with the kidney, bladder, urinary track and reproduction - those who suffer with fears will find courage Water Meditation - can be done indoors or outdoors - close eyes, draw senses inward - sit comfortably with back straight, relax your body part by part - listen to the sound of water surrounding you, feel it run within you - breath in the energy of water, then exhale energy back into it, breath in power, courage, breath out fear - 10 breath cycles - Focus on the water source for a few minutes - Bring self out of meditative state, rub hands, eyes and tape body from head to toe
Wood
Benefits of Wood Meditation - liver, and anger issues - gain understand of the trees, withstand the other elements of nature, draws life from both the earth and the heavens
Wood Meditation - Find a tree, one that draws your attention, mentally great the tree, and ask if you can share its healing energy, and help remove your negative energy - Sit on the ground crossed legged in front of the tree - Close your eyes, dray your senses inward - Relax your body system by system - Become one with your environment - Inhale energy of the tree, exhale and give the energy back to the tree - Visually the tree offering you healing energy, while removing your negative energy, feel a energy link between you and the tree - Clear your mind for 36 breath cycle count - Rub hands, eyes and tap your body awake when finished - When done with practice you will feel a connection to the tree, if someone breaks off part of the tree, or drives a nail into it, you will feel it. If you can plant a tree and visit it often, when you do connect with the tree, over time you will notice the connection and bond you have.
Earth
Benefits of Earth Meditation - Helps digestive system - Strong Chi Development
Earth Meditation - standing or sitting with your feet touching the floor, barefoot if possible - relax your body from head to toes systematically - become one with the earth - feel earth chi entering your body through the soles of foot as well as your toes - breath in the earth chi, and expel all negativity - 18-36 breath cycles - Run hands, eyes and dust of your body
Fire
Benefits of Fire Meditation - heart, repertory, and circulatory systems - helps people with envy and hatred Fire Meditation - Indoor or outdoor, campfire, or a candle will be necessary - Sit upright, with your back straight - Relax your body systematically - Look into the fire, imagine you are surround by a ring of fire - Watch flames dancing, feel the heat of fire awaken your inner vitality - Imagine yourself absorbing healthy energy of fire, while negative energy leaving your body is consumed by the fire - Keep this state for a few minutes - Rub hands eyes, brush off from head to toe
Metal - basis of all energy types - energy of strength - bedrock of life force - related to lungs and long life - acts as a conductor for the other elements
Benefits of Metal Meditation - repertory issues - good to cast off sadness, depression and grieving Metal Meditation - indoor or outdoor, if indoor try to open a window - sit up with your back straight - visualize a shiny metal mountain in front or your or that you are on top of surrounding you - feel the chi reflecting off of this mountain into yourself - breath in the metal healing chi into your lungs, and expel negative emotions - 9-36 breath cycles - Keep your focus of this mountain for a minute or so after breath cycles - Run hands, and brush down your body
Qigong Meditations
Counting Meditation
- lay on your back
- 4 count breath in, 4 count breath = on cycle
- Start with 25 cycles then progress to 50 ,75 ,100
- On your breath in and out I like to breath in with the concept of knowledge and breath out ignorance. If you decide to use concepts instead of counting in and out to a count of 4 I recommend that your concepts are about he same length to keep your breathing stead.
Abdominal Breathing
- sit cross legged with your back straight
- hold your left palm over your abs, and your right palm over your left
- follow your breath
- see and feel the heavenly chi/ living force enter your body and cycle through, and watch the negative energy leave your body (Focus on feeling the energy in your abs circulating throughout your body)
- this can be done in a sitting, standing or laying position
3rd Eye Meditation
- sit in Lotus, Half Lotus or on your knees
- sit with your back straight and your hands resting on your knees
- bring attention to in-between your eye brows
- focus thoughts on specific event and keep focus
- with practice you may feel a warming sensation in the 3rd eye area
- I personally use this meditation before practice, belt test and competitions the most and sometimes in the start of the day. It helps me to see the things I would like them to be and helps to enforce the power of positive thinking
Affirmations
- sit in cross leg position
- close eyes and relax the body
- focus on 3rd eye are, steady breath and clear your mind
- repeat affirmation quietly to yourself 5 times
- repeat affirmation in your mind 5 times
- see yourself actually achieving the event in your mind
Examples
I am a Jedi, Strong with the force. For a visual I personally use the Anakin becoming a Jedi knight as seen in the clone wars cartoon. I try to imagine how e felt when the council lit their light sabers around him, and Yoda officially Knighted him into the order. Or the scene in the Jedi order books were Luke knighted Jania and her group of padawans.
I am a Healer, shining with healing chi! I see myself as bright energy in a dark room with chi entering my 3rd eye, flowing through the 3 Dan Tians and then out of my palms to those arround me.
3 Dan Tians Meditation
Dan = essence of energy,
Tians = area for essence of energy
- see and feel heavenly chi enter through your upper Dan Tians (3rd eye)
- feel it filter through middle Dan Tain (solar plexes)
- fill up lower Dan Tian(Chi spot, ¼ inch below your navel)
- feel the energy cycle through your body and out of your palms, or to the area that is need of healing energy
Lessons from Taoism Chapters 51 and 5
Tao Te Ching chapter 51 part 2
The Tao give birth to all things
Nourishes them, maintains them,
Cares for them, comforts them, and protects them
Creating without possessing
Act without expecting
Guides without interfering.
That is why the love of the Tao
It's in the very nature of things.
In Star Wars A New Hope Master Kenobi described this very same thing to a young Master Skywalker. When Luke asked Master Kenobi what the force was at Master Kenobi’s house, before gaining his fathers light saber. Master Kenobi did not explain it in the same poetic fashion, but the themes and exsamples where indeed the same. Take a look at that scene in the movie with this knowledge.
What does the force do again?
Gives us life
Protects us from danger
Gives us strength
Loans us its power to assist us in our lives as we train and protect those who need our assistance.
This is not just a 1977 Star Wars fiction ideal, it is as old as 2500 or so years ago.
Tao Te Ching chapter 5 part 1
The Tao does not take sides
It gives birth to both good and evil
The master does not take sides
He welcomes both saints and sinners.
Many Jedi can not come to grips with this concept. There seem to be 3 different perspectives on the force (light dark and unifying) the force can shine light through any darkness, like the sun in the sky generates light for the system the Tao shines for the universe. The Tao can cover any sunlight. The moon can eclipse the sun, which is a truly beautiful site.
Often I hear many Jedi speak of the yin yang concept. The yin yang was a way for man to describe the great Tao. The used there perspective on the Tao and cane up with the theory of opposites. When you look at a yin yang you must notice the spot of white in the black and so on. A yin yang is in constant movement it does not stand still it keeps circling itself. The Yin Yang does not stand for good and evil, never has, never will. We are all yin yangs. We carry the duality with us at all time, we have some traits more dominant then others, we are never all yins or all yang. I have listed a few exsamples of each for you.
Yin Yang Relationships
Softness/ Hardness
Passivity/ Active
Famine/ Masculine
Darkness/ Brightness
Negative/ Positive
Conclusions
In mans pursuit in these perspectives we overlook the obvious answer. The force simple is. It is formless, side less, it is balance within itself. The force is greater then all our understanding.
As a Jedi we listen to the guidance of the force. It will call to you when you mind is ready. What we do with this calling is our choice. The force can only guide us to our path; it will not walk our path.
1. The force is the essence of life, without it we would all perish.
2. The force gives us strength wisdom, compassion, courage, as well as understanding and guidance.
3. The force only offers guidance, it shows you the path what you do is up to you.
4. The force is pure and balanced. It does not need us to try balance it, it does it well enough on its own.
Lesson questions
1. What does the force mean to you?
2. How can we feel the force?
3. Give an exsamples of when you felt the force calling to you.
