BECOMING ONE WITH THE FORCE

BECOMING ONE WITH THE FORCE

With the recent release of the next movie (prequel) in the Star Wars franchise, Rogue One, along with the sudden unexpected death of actress Carrie Fisher, most known for her role as Princess Leia, I have seen many Memes, tributes and discussions about her “becoming one with the force.”

Now I don't have any idea what kind of person Carrie Fisher really was in her off-screen life, but it got me thinking about (as a Star Wars fan myself)“What does it really means to become One with the Force?” – At least in terms of real life application?

Here are some thoughts I came up with:

1. There really is a true "Force" that we can tap into.  But it's not what the Star Wars universe portrays it to be.

The only true source of "force" or power is "The Power of God."  To many who are non-religious such a power may seem as mysterious, science-fiction and foreign of a concept as the force is in the Star wars movies.  But to those who are willing to study its principles and apply them in their lives - It is a real power which truly does flow through us and affects everything around us.  But to learn how to recognize and use that power or force in our lives, we need to understand how it really works.

2. A basic key to understanding that power or force, comes from first realizing who we truly are.

We must recognize that we are first and foremost, children of a loving Heavenly Father.  We are far more than just an organized bunch of cellular clusters passing through a temporary existence.  We are eternal beings, children of God, who are on a temporary mortal journey in which we experience opposition, struggles, setbacks and challenges - which are opportunities for us to learn, grow, and to become through our own choice, more like the Divine Being from which we came.  This knowledge gives us the proper foundation and perspective in which to view the world around us and our place in it in its true frame of mind.

3. Because of that divine heritage, we must face the fact that there may be certain things in our lives which are out of order with the true spiritual nature of our existence.  Inner demons or sins, so to speak, which we must come to recognize and deal with if we are to progress beyond them and become something spiritually greater.

All of us carry some form of sins, imperfections within us.  Perhaps they are a result of our environment, being raised in a broken home, suffering from physical or emotional maladies. But likely most of our problems are the result of clinging to the darkness and sins that are within each of us.  If we truly want to have the power of God in our lives, we must honestly come to recognize it, confront it, and rid it out of our lives.  This can only happen through the process of true, heartfelt, honest and sincere REPENTANCE.

4. To accomplish this task of repentance and change, most of us need the assistance, advice and support of leaders, mentors and friends.

We tend to need that honest, outside guidance and influence to see beyond our own limited perspective and vision.  Speaking of friends - make sure you surround yourself with TRUE FRIENDS and NOT Accomplices.  An accomplice will go with you down the wrong path and may even be cheering you on in a destructive attitude or behavior, which will end up getting you into trouble in the end.

A true friend is someone who will be by your side, watching out for your best interest, and who isn't afraid to tell you what they really think you need to hear, or if your situation truly stinks like an old trash compactor, but will stand by you and help you through even the toughest situations, no matter what, until you can come out through the other side of it alright.

5. Life can be a real struggle and difficult battle.  Sometimes, in the midst of that fight, we need to pause and connect with the power or force from which we draw our strength.

This means that often, at different times of the day or throughout the week, we may need to stop with all the chaos of what is going on, and take the time to get down on our knees, meditate, pray, and regain the needed internal rest and composure that the daily grind and business of life tends to force out of us if we are not careful.

Prayer is one of the most direct means of putting ourselves into contact with God and His power on a regular basis.  This mindfulness and reflective state is so easily and often neglected, but is also the most simple and powerful way to bring the Forces of Good and Light back into our life if we take the time to do it regularly.

6. We must make the effort to get our of our comfort zone and put into practice spiritual teachings and truths we know in our lives.

Making these types of internal changes can be difficult, and indeed they are purposely designed to be difficult, so that they aren't just easy surface observances, but so that they affect deep and permanent changes in who we are and what we are capable of.

One sure thing is that God doesn't want us to be comfortable with where we currently are.   He is always pleased with the progress we make and the righteous path we are trying to walk, but He will also always show us other ways to improve, become closer to Him and His power and force in our lives.  So don't get discouraged if you are constantly able to see further areas of improvement in your life.  Just recognize that it is another opportunity for you to work at becoming more At One with His force in your life.  Accept the challenge, put in the work and consistent effort that is necessary.  The end "Jedi-like" result will always be worth it!

7. You must learn to act in Faith, not out of Fear.  Those who have seen "Rogue One" most likely remember when the blind Chirrut Imwe walks out into the midst of a bunch of Stroomtroopers, with nothing but his stick, while saying, "I fear nothing, for all is as the Force wills it."

Life itself is a walk of faith.  We are all spiritually blind to some degree, or at least go through life, "seeing through a glass darkly."  We must learn to trust in the knowledge that God loves us and has our best interest at heart.  We may not always know why the battles of life are raging around us, or what the ultimate outcome of those struggles will be, but with FAITH and TRUST in Him, we can learn to move forward with confidence and faith into that unknown future, without being limited by fear and doubts.

8. You don't have to be one of a select few of the higher Jedi order (or Priesthood leadership of the Church) in order to draw upon the powers of the Lord to be victorious in life's battles.

The Lord loves each and every one of His children, and will pour out His blessings to everyone who seeks to follow His ways, apply His Grace regularly, and ask for His assistance.  His promise is that He will always provide sufficient for our needs as we strive to become one with His will and purposes, whether we are of the Jedi order or simply an average person who trusts and relies upon Him.

9. There may not be Jedi temples of learning and training, but God has given us something even better - REAL temples of worship where we can go to learn things of a higher order, be endowed with real Power and learn how to better gain access to the forces of light and good that are available to us.

Perhaps the simplest and best way to understand what these temples are all about can be conveyed for the purposes of this post in the following short videos:

Temples are truly places of not only worship, but of learning how to better access the true powers of Heaven and Force for good in our lives.

10.  There is such a thing as a light saber - or at least a saber of light!  Let me explain with the following analogy:

Imagine the game of American football.  Players take the field dressed from head to toe in protective equipment - from the cleats on their feet, specialized padding all over their bodies, and even specially designed helmet on their heads.

Can you imagine being handed the ball during a football game, dressed only in a pair of flip-flops, shorts and a tee-shirt, and having any success of not getting injured while trying to run through a fully organized and suited up defense?!  It would be insane to consider such an attempt.

Yet consider that even when they are fully dressed in protective padding, the best and most successful ball carriers are still going to take some hard hits and devastating tackles through the course of the game.  That's not because they don't have skill, but just because the opposing forces in the game are also very well equipped and trained to stop you.

Now imagine if a skilled, and fully suited running back was headed down the field, but he was not only wearing his protective pads, BUT ALSO CARRYING A LIGHT-SABER!

Carrying such an awesome weapon would not only cause the defenders to hesitate in trying to tackle him, but would also allow the ball carrier to more easily slice and dice his was through whatever the opposition was throwing at him.

Now lets take this analogy into real-life spiritual terms.  We have all heard of "Putting on the Whole Armor of God" as found in Ephesians 6: 10-18.  But notice that in addition to all the pieces of protective armor the Lord is promising to provide us, He is also giving us an Offensive weapon, "The Sword of the Spirit."

This sword of light, or Light-Saber, is a truly magnificent and effective weapon, which if properly used, can help us navigate much more easily through the opposing forces of life.

Consider when the police encounter an armed criminal.  With weapons drawn, they issue the command, "drop your weapon!"  That is because they know that if they can disarm the person, they will be much safer and easier to handle.

The same goes true for us in a sense.  If the adversary can get us to become distracted in how we live, and through sin or neglect, get us to put down the sword of the Spirit, then he has much greater success as gaining control over us in our lives.  We must always be vigilant to live in a way so that the Spirit of God can be with us as a sword of truth and light to help guide us through the forces trying to keep us from reaching the goal line.

In summary, if we truly have the desire in our hearts to "Become One with the Force" or have as our mantra, "I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me."  Then we must live, act and progress in a pattern that allows us to be changed and become one with that Force and power of God, which truly does exist in all around us.

In fact, that relationship of achieving a state of "At-One-Ment" through the atonement is something they also desire to have with us, as the Lord stated in John 17: 21-23 when he prayed:

"That they may be one; as thou Father, are in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us... that they may be one, even as we are one.... I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one..."

MAY WE ALL BECOME ONE WITH THE FORCE, AND MAY THE FORCE BE WITH US, ALWAYS!

As Plain as the Nose on Your Face

As Plain As The Nose On Your Face

            No, it’s okay… I’ll admit it.  I’ve got a bit of a big nose!  Not the huge bulbous kind that

looks like a tennis ball with nostrils, but the longer skinny kind, with a narrow bridge which is crooked and tilted off a bit towards the right side.  If I were to literally comply with the age old advice to “Follow your nose”, my journey would be a large clockwise circle which could be measured by the exact degree to which my nasal septum deviates.  Trauma will do that to a nose…especially multiple traumatic events.

            Although I am sure there were many blunt force episodes to the most forward part of my face over the years, I can remember three specific events which I will recount today.

            The first happened in sixth grade PE class at the old Washington Elementary school on Main Street, which has long since been torn down.  On this particularly fine day, our class was engaged in an epic and ruthless game of dodge ball.  Now when you are a young, not yet developed 6^th grader, you can only grasp and throw a big 11” rubber dodge ball with limited force and control, and typically don’t inflict or receive much damage.  But amongst the collection of rubber balls in the gym closet at Washington Elementary, were a hand full of smaller 6” diameter globes of death we referred to as “cherry bombs”!  When inflated with enough PSI, these small projectiles packed a bit of a sting when hurled with accuracy.  Lucky for us, our puny pre-pubescent arms didn’t pack much of a punch.

            But on this particular day, we had encouraged our teacher, Mr. Erickson to join in our battle to the death, in thoughts that it would be fun to peg our teacher with balls and have it be legal and acceptable.  After all, how else could a kid get back at the man who docked you a few points on your last spelling test?

            The problem was that although he was a bigger target, he could also throw a lot harder than we could. I remember being engaged in brutal combat, and bending down to pick up a large ball rolling near my feet, while unbeknownst to me, at the same time, Mr. Erickson was hurling a tightly pressurized cherry bomb at someone standing several feet behind me.  As I arose to search for my next victim, my hands occupied holding the ball I had just retrieved; I stood up directly into the line of fire.  I remember my face feeling intense burning numbness, and I think I might have felt the tip of my nose briefly bounce off the back of my skull as it compressed inward and then exploded back outward with a great burst of blood.  My lips stung and my eyes spurted tears as warm, red liquid gushed over my chin and I staggered sideways out of bounds and my nose now slanted slightly askew.

            Nasal deviation #2 happened a few years later while playing football. Back at that time in Junior High, I was playing fullback and linebacker (these were the days before I grew into a sluggish offensive lineman). During the course of play, one of my chin strap snaps had come loose. It was right before halftime and during one of the final plays before the quarter ended I had a significant collision with an opposing player.  I can’t remember now if I was running with the ball and getting tackled or if I was making a tackle on someone else, but during the collision, the chin strap of my helmet came completely loose and my helmet was jammed forcefully downward, with the top edge of my helmet breaking my nose flat and once again, slightly off to the right.

            A humorous side story to this event was that after having halftime of the game to staunch the bleeding from my nose, our team was kicking off to begin the second half.  While running down the field full speed on the kickoff, an opposing player stepped in front of me to block my progress.  As we impacted an enormous amount of coagulated blood and snot which had filled my nasal cavity during halftime, was ejected out through my broken nose, bypassing my face mask and splattering all over the chest of the opposing player!  I remember the look of shock and horror on his face as he looked down at his jersey after the play.  Unhurt and now breathing better, I laughed and ran off, but I am sure that over the years since he has exaggerated the story, and not knowing of my previous injury, has told his kids of the time that he hit a player so hard he literally knocked his brains out.

            The third traumatic blow to my protruding proboscis occurred on a dark and quiet night.  I was in high school and my room was in the deep, dark recesses of the basement.  Awakening from a sound sleep, I realized I needed to use the bathroom.  Not wanting to awaken my brother, who was still fast asleep, by turning on a light, I arose and made my way toward the door.  Now at night, in a basement with no windows or lights on other than a minuscule fraction of light reflected around several corners and down a flight of stairs, I was pretty blind as I staggered forward.  I recalled that we had left our bedroom door partially open and I didn’t want to run into it, so I plodded ahead waving my arms back and forth in front of me like a lurching zombie or Frankenstein monster for several slow, cautious seconds.  Mentally calculating that I surely had passed the doorway at this point, my bladder reported that I needed to quicken my pace to the designated objective.

            Lowering my hands partially to my sides, I strode ahead out into what I expected to be the hallway.  Imagine my sniffer’s surprise when I thumped fully unguarded and face first into the edge of the open door.  Although it wasn't at high speed, in my sleepy stupor it might have well been a stiff boxers jab to the face. Once again the blood flowed from my nasal orifices, albeit off to the aforementioned right angle.

            Now all these years later, I am reminded of such events every time I look into the mirror or try to take a deep breath through my deviated septum. So what can I possibly glean from these traumatic events and their ever-present facial reminder?

            From the dodge ball episode, I learned to be ever vigilant and never take your eyes off the potential spiritual attack of the Adversary.  I am reminded of the story in the Old Testament in Judges, chapter 7 when Gideon is instructed of the Lord to select only 300 soldiers for his army to fight against the Midianites.  The sign he was given to know which men to select was to have the men come and drink from the river.  Most lowered their heads to drink with their mouths to the water or knelt down and bent forward. But those few who kept their head up and alert to potential threats from the enemy as they used their hands to raise the water to their lips were those chosen and worthy to fight for the Lord… and they were victorious, despite their small numbers, in their battle against a Midianite army which was “without number”. I think the Lord would have all of us be ever vigilant and alert against the numberless temptations and spiritual attacks which might be thrown at us at any moment if we aren’t paying attention.

            My football fracture indicates that we must make every effort to ensure that we are properly clad in the armor of God (See Ephesians 6:10-18), including the helmet of salvation.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness… Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”  Most likely, most of us tend to run around in the competitive game of life with pieces of our armor loose or missing, and when we encounter those collisions which mortality throws in our path, we suffer the unprotected consequences and pain.  When properly and securely padded in my football gear, I experienced many violent collisions without incident, but when we have chinks in our armor we are all vulnerable.

            In my darkened basement bedroom, I collided with an obstacle that I knew was there and thought I was prepared to handle, but just when I thought I was in control of the situation and knew my bearings, I became overly confident in my ability to negotiate the darkness safely without the simple assistance light could have provided.  Lowering my guard and lacking clear vision, I slammed face first into something I could have easily avoided.  In life, if not careful, we can all fall victim to overconfidence in our own ability to do things on our own.  We fail to take the effort to do those things that will shed a more clear light onto our surroundings and give us clear vision to avoid the pitfalls and stumbling blocks which are strewn along our path.  Thinking we can negotiate the darkness on our own, without the light and help the Lord has to offer us, we will undoubtedly experience some unnecessary hard knocks.

            The good news is that, despite the short term blood, sweat and tears we spiritually suffer, that the Lord helps us to heal our wounds, learn and keep moving forward.   As I look at my crooked nasal reflection, I am glad that he has left me a small reminder of these lessons learned, so that hopefully I can avoid repeating them again in the years to come.

            Happy days, friends!  Remember to keep your armor secure, your guard up and stay in the light!