What is the Force? Since Star Wars came out in the 70's the idea of the Force and Jedi Mind tricks and a Jedi Master have become part of the American and indeed the modern human beings Psyche. Joseph Campbell talked about Star Wars as being the great myth for us now. How all the Jedi stuff was extremely Zen, and modern myths really have to take place in space.
Star Wars takes place out there... but it's really about everything happening in here.
I've read a lot of Kung Fu stuff comparing the Force to Chi. For me, Chi was always something very physical or a poetic expression of something physical. It was respiration. It wasn't something outside the body. I mean by myself in my imagination I might think about it as something that permeates the Universe. I still may do that. But I would be uncomfortable having a serious conversation like that with adults. I'd feel more comfortable talking about spirits or God than Chi that way, because when you practice Chi Gung, and you start talking higher plane stuff I feel like there's a higher chance that you might radicalize or go crazy or fanaticalize yourself, especially if there are reasonable looking adults around you agreeing with you.
But when you talk about it as the Force, something you know was made up even though it was sort of "based on" Chi, that's different. You are more free because you know you are in the mythic or fantasy realm, even if you are using martial techniques somewhat grounded in the physical and practical world.
In fact talking about Chi was hard with my son Noah. But reading him Roan Novachez's Star Wars comics was an easier way to talk to him about meditation. Reality has so many hold ups. Myth and Fantasy are just understood intuitively because there is a suspension of disbelief.
But because Star Wars has been around, now a lot of people want to takl about How the Force is really Chi. Let's look at the phrase "May the Force be with you." Do people say that in Buddhist countries? No. Do Kung Fu masters talk about the Chi protecting you? No.
But people in the West (and it's little colonies and offshoots that are not geographically in the West) say God be with you, or Allah be with you.
The Force (and if you believe in the old Chi theory some Martial Arts writers are talking about then Chi too) is actually an elemental God. I mean in China they may talk about Heaven watching over you, but even in that case Heaven has become more personal than the Force. The Force, the universe, destiny, Fate, it's like an elemental God that has been put into the a prime place in life in the Star Wars myths in a way only God or the Holy Spirit (Holy chi as spirit also comes from air just like Chi) is put there in the West, or the Middle East.
But the Force is part of an American Myth... so you don't have to get into all the hold ups that these other archaic traditions can get into. Plus the Myth was created by George Lucas and is owned by Disney so you don't feel beholden to it.
In fact, when Lucas started trying o make the Force more explainable (it's meta chlorians) or even more Abrahamic (Anakin is born from the Force. The Force impregnates his mother) The mystery becomes kind of more lame.
It is have that Force (that you know you made up) and keeping it vague and mysterious, with the powerful John Williams score that really moves you. And have this Force and sword wielding practitioners exist in a world with Ships (Dragons) that spew fire that can destroy planets very far away. It's a nice little mix of Euro and Asian myths put into modern view of the world out in space. Yeah the ideas are awesome and they make a good religion, or myths of reference point.
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