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I've been studying alot about the Force in History Lately. One of my main resources for this is an in depth book on the subject called "A Brief History of Qi" by Zhang Hu Yuan and Ken Rose

There were also many other sources including my own experience.

One of the earliest names for the Force is Qi (chi). Qi has been reflected on by Chinese Philosophers for the past 2,500 years.

THE FORCE IN THE BEGINNING


(Ancient yin yang symbol)

It was theorized that all matter came from the indivisible yin and yang, and from that the Force came about.

Yang: light, hot, day, movement.
Yin: dark, cold, night, stillness.

The Force has come to be known as the basic instinct of life itself. the creative force and the divine flow.

BALANCE, THE FORCE, AND THE DARK SIDE

The Dao is an important aspect of the Force. The Dao exists as implicate order. Observe the dao of harmony, for through harmony all life flows forth; when in disharmony, life is destroyed.

If you look closely at the Star Wars saga, it shows this concept quite well; The Dark Side is the disharmony of the Force. The Dark Side is neither yin nor yang, but what rips the the Force out of balance. That is why the Jedi talk about bringing the Force into balance. If the Dark Side was part of the balance, then they would be striving to have more Dark Side which makes no sense. The Jedi way is to bring harmony and peace, so if they bring disharmony than they are not fallowing the Jedi Ways. So there can Not be Dark Jedi, and that is why there is no dark Jedi mentioned in the Star Wars Sada (Episodes I - VI). Many Star Wars Books get this concept wrong.

The Dark Side (Disharmony/evil) can lead to many terrible things. It is written that if the Yin and Yang get disturbed enough it can lead to calamities, including both illness and natural disasters such as earthquakes.

It is written "once evil qi arrives, the country will be thrown into turmoil and disaster."

EXISTENCE

The Force is something indispensable to all existence, it is the fundamental substance from which all things rise and upon which everything depends on for survival.

Li also plays an important role with Qi.

Li is the root that gives birth to matter.
Qi is the tool for giving birth to matter.

When life is endowed with Li then they have their individual intrinsic nature.

CALLIGRAPHY

In ancient times the Force (Qi) was used in calligraphy and art. It is said that calligraphy is driven by the pulse of qi.


(Yin Yang in Calligraphy)

Creating art is guided by the spirit.

"The profound purpose in Chinese painting is tranquility."-Meng Gu

The Force weaves the mind, spirit, and viewer together.

"The will is fulfilled by qi. the choice of words is decided by the will."-Spring and Autumn Annals

"In observing humans as well as animals and plant life, it can be seen that these all exist because of the arousal of qi. Once the qi is gone, only the unbearable stench of rottenness remains. One cannot tolerate being close to it. It is the same with poetry and literature."-Dong Fang Su

THE WU

Ancient Chinese shamans were known as the Wu. The Wu held the position between the natural and human world. They could control and utilize qi of the natural, and spiritual (supernatural beings, invisible spirits, and demons).

They would also dance to influence human spirit and unseen spirits. They became knowledgeable and were known as "Great Ones." (21st - 16th Century B.C.)

Overtime most of the Wu evolved into scientists, mathematicians, and Counselors. But there are some that remain the same to this day.

THE FORCE IN CHINESE MEDICINE

Jing in Chinese Medicine is used to name all main Qi and blood pathways in the human body.

The Force flows through the body completely, but it also flows most through the Jing pathways. The network of pathways that blood and qi circulate was well defined 1,500 years before western medicine discovered the circulation of blood by Harvey in the 1500's.

The body has yin qi and yang qi:

Yin Qi: Comes from eating and circulates with the blood.
Yang Qi: Mostly outside the body covering it.

After thousands of years studying the universal qi, a precise arrangement of the qi of herbs, flavors, and medical functions were established.



The Force monitors the organic functions of the body.

QI GONG

Hundreds of thousands of people practice Qi Gong. In Many Chinese cities lots of neighbors get together and take in the morning air with sweeping gestures.

Qi Gong: Exercise to strengthen the Qi (The Force).

In 475 - 221 B.C. qi gong is first mentioned.

As it turns out Qi Gong levels are similar to Jedi Levels, this is not a coincidence for I learned on my own the levels of Qi before establishing the well defined levels of RJK.

Qi Gong Health and Extending of Life
1. Clear the mind, and relax the body. A state of brain wave activity.
2. Develop an awareness of qi and its movements.
3. Controlling the Qi within the body with the mind.
4. A State or skill can be formed: Enlightenment, Immortality, resiliency, transformation into the eternal abode.

Jedi Levels:
1. Jedi Hopefuls: Relaxation, breathing, awareness.
2. Students and Padawans: Controlling the Force in the body.
3. Jedi Knights: A state of skills like healing, speed, resiliency, strength, and telekinesis.
4. Jedi Masters: farsight, prediction, and possibly enlightenment and a kind of immortality.

Dao Yin was an early form of qi gong. It was also a practice for accumulating and cultivating the Force. Dao Yin means Guiding and Stretching.

In Ancient times people saw nature breathing, for example the tide of the ocean. They believed that breathing closer to nature (longer and slower) could extend their lives.

THE SEARCH FOR THE ELIXIR OF ETERNAL LIFE

External Elixir: Using herbs to make the body immortal. (some died early in trying to find it).
Internal Elixir: Used Dao Yin to stop aging and death. Daoists theorized that a mixture of the essence, qi, and the spirit could be used to make the internal elixir.

Dan Tian: Field of the elixirs. (3 in the body)
- Hall of Impressions: (The third eye on the forehead)
- Chest Hall: (Chest center)
- Sea of Qi: 1 and 1/3 inches bellow the navel.

Qi Gong teachers would withhold some information for the safety of their students. some techniques are believed to be dangerous if practiced wrongly. Only advanced students would be ready to learn them.

THE FORCE IN MARTIAL ARTS

Chinese Martial Arts is much like Qi Gong except the martial arts come from groups needing to defend themselves.

Kung Fu (also written as Gong Fu): Some think it translates to exercise of man, but a closer look at this version of the word man reveals that it means devoted heart. (Fun Fact: Same Fu as in the name Mi-Zhe Fu). The Full meaning of Kung Fu then is the exercise of the devoted heart.

There were 2 kinds of schools that developed for the Martial Arts:

The External: Emphasizes working on the body's muscles and bones. Students would leave their families to train. It had blocks and countering methods.

The Internal: Emphasizes developing qi. Students would learn from their families. It had soft movements and mental methods.


(Chan: Prolonged Intense Contemplation)

Chan in Japanese is Zen and in Hindu is called dhyana. Boddhidharma (Da Mo in China) practiced this prolonged seated meditation. He was one of the pilgrims going back and forth from India to China. This kind of thing started happening in the first century C.E.

Da Mo brought Indian Influences to Buddhism. According to legend Da Mo meditated in a cave for 9 years and developed stretching techniques while he was there that he passed onto Buddhist temples like the Shao Lin in Henan Province. These stretches were the basis of martial arts. Included in Da Mo's teachings were exercise meant to develop the power of qi.

TAI JI QUAN (Tai Chi)

Zhong Son Feng is the legendary creator of tai ji. In the forest he supposedly connected his qi with the qi of nature.

"Once set in motion, the whole body is unified and must be light and filled with spirit."-Zhang San Feng

Tai ji quan is sometimes known as yin yang boxing.

"The soft overcomes the strong."-Dao De Jing

"With nothingness you can enter where there is no door."-Dao De Jing

The secrets to remaining good at tai ji is "You have to relax the body and mind completely."-Cheng Man Ching



"Before the opponent's hands have touched the slightest hair on my arm, my mind has already penetrated his bones."-From a tai ji master.

THE FORCE IN MODERN TIMES

In modern day China, the word qi is still in common use.

The word for courage, good-natured, implication, weather, good fortune, and ambition all use the word qi in them to this day. This is true even though most Chinese people are not daoist or philosophers. The common use of this word can be attributed to the fact that the people of China have come to understand qi as life itself.

It has been observed that the gathering of the Force is happening around the world today more then ever before.

Jedi Master,
Mi-Zhe Fu

I will say that this topic is very interesting and long. I may edit this post or add another one when I finally look it over. This does provide a lot of in depth information about the force actually.

Nakkali

Master Fu, I would like to say thank you very much first off for giving this lesson to us. Honestly it was filled with information I have never heard about and that was deeply refreshing. Later on I'm going to print this off, highlight key parts and start studying because I want to get these concepts and facts into my head. Haha

Thanks Master Fu, very educational.

Cody

Thank you, that has clarified a lot for me.

Thank you for this very interesting lesson, Master Fu.

May the Force be with you
Master Silmerion skywalker

That's one of the best lessons I've read in a long time. Thank you for it, it just shows what you can do when you do enough research.
Next time could you make it a bit shorter though. Only joking.
It's nice to read one of your posts again Master Fu and I hope you can post a couple more.

it helped me to better understand the force and where it came from and its purpose. like what you said about yin and yang. this is somthing i will never forget. thank you master fu for this briliant lesson.

This post has been edited by duren on August 26, 2009 05:44 pm

I will be sure to try it, it may help me to better understand the force.

May The Force Be With You Master

*smiles* You all missed out on an awesome class I did last night with Circle of the Rising Moon. "the Force" was the subject of the class. For those of you at FA, keep an eye out of the video of it. ^^

This post has been edited by Setanaoko on August 30, 2009 12:42 am

You dont hear alot about the history of chi and the people who helped develop it very much, I enjoyed reading this lesson.

I have a question Master... I heard of something called dark matter that has no mass nor energy. Could this actually be matter in its base form and what we see is matter that is energized by the Force (QI/Spiritual Energy/GOD)?

Woah, that really does clear up some gaps in my understanding of the Force. I'll be sure to re-read through this every once in a while.

Thank you for the brilliant lesson, master.

Not that I'm the "master" you referred to-but I am an amateur physicist, as is my boyfriend. Here's a link regarding Dark Matter-contrary to what you may have heard, it does indeed have mass, and since it is moving, it therefore has energy.


http://www.eclipse.net/~cmmiller/DM/

Gravity
Magnetism
Electricity

Water
Wind
Fire
Earth(or surface)

I feel the natural forces and elements are also part of the Force and
there is a unique designated Force aspect in every one of them.
Fire burns, water wets and wind blows.

There may be other elements and forces we do not know about.
Like Time. Time may be more than what it appears to be.
Starting, stopping, changing tempo and traveling in Time. These are what we know
about Time.

What if we could be Time? Then we'd be everywhere at the same time.
We'd be everything at the same time. And we would always be on time.


Cambo Dian

I think that the Force encompasses everything, also the Elements and natural forces...I believe it encompasses also time, as the aspects of Living Force and Unifying Force are mostly based on time, the here and now, and the no limit of time and space.

It is very interesting to meditate on these concepts and work with them.

May the Force guide you
Master Silmerion Skywalker