JEDI MEDITATIONS Zen and the Art of Being a Jedi SOURCE: Suite 101 A long time ago, in a galaxy

far, far away, there were great menguardians of freedom and justicewho were in touch with nature. These men were known as Jedi, and they had a deep understanding of how the world really works. A Jedi is not a Buddha. But many of the practices and concepts that are part of their art can be found in the Buddhas teachings. In developing Star Wars, George Lucas has drawn on many religions, myths, and cultural practices from all parts of planet Earth. As we will soon see, the roots of the Jedi can be found in Asia. Clear Your Mind In Star Wars, we often hear Jedi masters, such as Yoda and Qui-Gon, telling their pupils to clear their minds or to "let go." This is one of the most basic principles in Buddhism. Through the act of meditation, those who want to touch the Buddha are encouraged to clear their minds of all thought and to become aware of the moment. This can be done through breathing meditation. When beginning breathing meditation, it is helpful to count from 1 to 10. This helps you clear your mind of other thoughts and pulls you into the moment. Once you are in the moment, the next thing is to be "mindful." This means that you are aware of what you are doing, of your body, of the moment. Breathing meditation was actually seen being practiced by Qui-Gon in The Phantom Menace. Near the end of the film, during the climactic battle with Darth Maul, the two become caught in a corridor of doors that open and close, apparently on a timer. As they approach the final door, Darth Maul gets through but Qui-Gon doesnt. Instead of yelling at or

taunting Darth Maul through the force field, Qui-Gon simply kneels, closes his eyes, and breathes calmly. He is quieting his mind and collecting himself. He is truly in the moment. There's No Time Like the Present One of the problems that we all face in the modern world is that we are always dwelling on the future and the past. Our lives are so hectic that we are always being pulled in many directions at once. We get so caught up in what happened at work last Wednesday or what we are having for dinner tomorrow night when the guests come over that we forget to be aware of the moment. For us, the flow of time is very real and we are locked into a vicious cycle of birth and death, beginning and ending. We dwell so heavily on these first and last moments that we forget to live in the hereand-now. The Buddha taught that these are only concepts, not true reality. What we believe is reality is subjectiveit is what we make it. To be caught up in concepts is to be out-of-touch with the moment. If you are concerned with concepts, theories, and ideas, you cant see the true nature of things. Seeing the true nature of things is one of the keys to being Jedi. Abandoning preconceptions, avoiding being caught up in past and future, and focusing on the present are all things that Jedi masters teach their apprentices. At the beginning of The Phantom Menace, when Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are in the meeting room aboard the trade federation vessel, Obi-Wan begins thinking about things yet to come. Qui-Gon tells him to keep his mind focused on the here-and-now. In response, Obi-Wan says, "But master Yoda says that I should be mindful of the future." Qui-Gon replies, "Yes, but not at the expense of the present." He is teaching his student to be aware and mindful. In Buddhism, this known as Right Mindfulness.

The Circle of Life Ever since the first film, Star Wars: A New Hope, it has been taught that everything in the universe is interconnected. The details of how this works have changed with the development of the series, but the basic principle has stayed the same. I titled this section "The Circle of Life," but when we speak of interconnectedness, both in Star Wars and Buddhism, we speak not only of living things but of nonliving things as well. In A New Hope, Obi-Wan taught Luke that if he let go of his thoughts he could "hear" the Force speaking to him, guiding him. He said that this is because everything is connected through the Force. Later, in The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda teaches Luke of the interconnectedness of all things, that Luke and the rock are one in the same. Finally, in The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon finds himself explaining this principle to young Anakin. This is where Lucas changed the concept a bit. In the first three films, the Force was presented as a mysterious power that simply flowed through the universe. But in The Phantom Menace it is presented as the result of a symbiotic relationship between living things and microscopic organisms called medichlorines that reside in all living cells. But regardless of this change in position on Lucass part, the concept remains the same. We are all part of one another. Everything in existence is interdependent on everything else. Everything contains everything else. A flower, for example, contains not only flower elements like a stem and petals, but also stardust, the earth, and the gardener. In Buddhism, this interconnectedness of all things is known as Second Dharma Seal. As Qui-Gon explains this to Anakin, he says that these micro-organisms speak to us and tell us the will of the Force. When Anakin says that he doesnt really understand, Qui-Gon encourages him by saying, "When you learn to

quiet your mind, you will hear them speaking to you." Again, this returns us to Right Mindfulness and being aware of and in touch with the moment. Hate Leads to Suffering If you had to sum up the goal of Buddhism in just four words it would be "the elimination of suffering." The purpose of the practices taught by the BuddhaThe Four Noble Truths and The Noble Eightfold Path (Right View, Right Thinking, Right Mindfulness, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Diligence, Right Concentration, Right Livelihood)is ultimately to identify, come to terms with, and eliminate suffering. Suffering can be caused by many things. The desire for something you cant have can cause you to suffer. A physical ailment can cause you to suffer. Exposure to things that can water the seeds of fear and hate that we all posses can cause you to suffer. In order to achieve nirvana, you must identify and eliminate all suffering. Nirvana is, in fact, the elimination of not only all suffering but also all concepts, all thought. In The Phantom Menace, when Anakin faces the Jedi Council, Yoda questions him about his mother. "Afraid to lose her, I think," he says. Anakin responds by saying, "What does that have to do with anything?" To this Yoda replies, "Everything! Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering I sense much fear in you." What Yoda was telling him is that being controlled by fear makes it impossible to eliminate suffering and find happiness. The Jedi are aware of this and, because of the danger posed by the "dark side" of the Force, they identify and train Jedi soon after birth, before they have time to know fear, anger, or hate. As we already know, Anakin

ultimately will allow his fear to get the best of him and lead him to the dark side. Conclusion A Jedi is not a Buddha. There are many aspects of the Jedi that are mystical and supernaturalthe ability to move objects with the mind or the ability to see things before they happen, for example. These are not principles or teachings of Buddhism. It is not the aim of this article to convince you that the Jedi are space Buddhists. But many elements of Buddhism have been incorporated into the Jedi, and it is very interesting to see how this aspect of Lucass sci-fi epic relates to our earthly culture. The aforementioned examples are merely a sampling of Buddhist principles that appear in Star Wars. There are many others. If you are so inclined, I invite you to learn more about Buddhism and explore its connection with Star Wars on your own. Please click here to view a list of suggested reading and continue to explore Zen and the Art of Being Jedi. May the Force be with you, always.

More headlines at www.mindpowernews.com This is a technique I use in my meditations. It may be of aid to someone. The Force is about energy and vibration. In meditation a Jedi can use the Force to channel energy through the body, mind, and spirit. To learn how to control the Force is to learn to summon and direct that energy at will. First a clearing is done. We sometimes hold negatives within ourselves and never really learn how to deal with them. Express them, let them out, by self acknowledgment of their existence.

Sit in a relaxed position. Slow your breathing as you take deep breaths. If the purpose of the exercise is to empower yourself then say how you feel about your lack of power. "I feel so tired, I don't want to do anything." "I have no energy." "I feel lost and not in control of anything." "I cannot feel the Force." "I will never be able to feel the full power of the Force flowing through me." Continue letting out all the negative stuff related to your goal until you feel you have stated them all. Then reverse and clear the negative energy you have brought forth by stating positive affirmations. "I am now and forever being energized by the Force." "The Force flows through me." "I am now at one with the Living Force." "I feel great." "I can do anything I put my mind to now." "I feel the Force." "I am energized and I feel great." "I am at one with the Force." The important thing is to make up your own statements. You don't have to write them down or anything as they should be spontaneous statements that flow from the moment. If you want visualize the Force as light flowing through you as you make the positive statements and repeat them. There is no set time limit, as the exercise is over when you feel it is over. This meditation has worked for me on many occasions. I usually run for an hour on the treadmill, Sometimes I don't

feel I have the energy to do the entire hour. This is the exercise I use to tap into the energy that is the Force and this allows me to finish my run. This meditation is very flexible and can be applied to healing, performance issues before a test, or just about anything. If you have any questions feel free to ask. MTFBWY Attach file: meditation.jpg (4.49 KB)

I give this to my new appentices as their first lesson and also posted the information at TOTJO for general use. I figured I'd share it with my extended family here at TOTJF as well. I hop someone gets some benefit from it. This was, by far, one of the first and hardest lessons I ever had to learn when my master first started instructing me in the ways of the Force. When those words came from his mouth I looked at him like a dog does when it cocks its head in contemplation. When I asked why it was important he replied with one word, Focus. If your mind is racing with the events of the day, yesterday, what you have to do tomorrow or next week or whenever, how are you going to focus on the Living Force? If your mind is too busy wrapping its self around the things we spend way too much time dwelling on, how are you going to be able to respond properly to flow of the Force or even the attacks of the negative (Dark Side)? What about when you try to

meditate? Will you have a successful session if you cant break yourself free from the concerns of the world? We have to quiet our minds. There is no way around this. We have to block out the random thoughts that catch and take control of our focus. We, as Jedi, are not meant to be like ships blown where ever the wind wants to take us. We need the ability to focus ourselves at a moments notice. If we do not have the ability to quiet our minds, we can not focus. We will be drawn off task. Quieting the mind is one of the first lessons I give an apprentice. It is an invaluable lesson. I was taught a technique taken from a book by Rosemary Altea called, You Own the Power, in chapter one, Releasing Stress and Finding Peace, that I will use quotes from while explaining this to you. Sit cross legged on the floor or if need be, in a chair at a table in a quiet place with little to no distractions. Place a lit candle in front of you. concentrate on the flame, and fill your sight and mind with the light, color, and shape of the flame. Let go of all the random thoughts about what you have to do or have done. Focus on the flame. It should be all that matters at that point and time. If you have ever looked directly at a light bulb or the sun and then closed your eyes, you can still see the image in the dark of your minds eye. That is what you want to achieve by focusing on the flame before you. Close your eyes and try to retain the image of the flame in your minds eye. Hold on to the image of the flame for as long as you can. When you feel the image fading, open your eyes, concentrate again on the candle flame for a few seconds, then close your eyes and once again retain, if you can, the image of the flame in your minds eye. The idea here is to fill your mind full of light, so full of the candle flame that there is no room for another single thought. Let go of the thoughts of whats for lunch, whats on TV

tonight, and such. Quiet your mind. Focus only on the flame. It will not be easy. Most find it extremely difficult at first. You have to discipline yourself and not give up. This is a task that requires patience. Some of you, after a while, may be able to visualize the flame without use of a candle. Some may find the exercise easy to do with your eyes open, although closing your eyes is better, as it avoids any external distractions. You will find yourself able to focus more readily after just a few times of using this meditation and be able to block out the distracters life throws our way. When anger stirs, see the flame, take control your emotions. If fear tries to grip you, use the light of the flame to push away the darkness that is looming over you. As life starts to overwhelm you, focus on the flame, quiet your mind, and with new vision, handle the situation that is laid before you.