Welcome to Advanced long term Force use class! I am glad all of you could join us and I am excited to be given the chance to advance your uses of the Force.
So as the title says this is: Advanced long term Force use. If I break this down some it means I will be showing you how to safely have a open connection with the Force for long periods of time, how to appropriately use that connection, and how to acknowledge overloads before they happen, and how to handle one when it does happen. But besides the negatives, I will be throwing a lot of positive usages of this technique, and this will open a door for your creativity to come into play with using the Force.
My name is Kent, and I have been a Jedi for around 9 years now, and an apprentice of Karen Schwob-Ticknor for about 4 to 5 years. And why does a Jedi stay an apprentice for 5 years? Because I wasn’t convinced to go to the next step as a Jedi until I was 100% ready! Still don’t feel ready, and honestly a bit afraid of messing up the title Jedi. But a humble Jedi I will be!
I work in the security field and absolutely love it, protecting, and helping people is certainly a passion for me. I have 3 children and they take up most of my time, but well worth it. And I spend what time I do have left after work, and kids is I work out. Some people can only function after they have their coffee, well I don’t function until I run 2 miles and lift a bunch of heavy things.
Rules I wish we didn’t need them, but they are necessary. As you are all advanced students, I expect you should already know the basics class etiquette by now. I will go over a few of my own personal rules pertaining to this class.
Leave all Star Wars stuff at the door, besides the word “Force” I try to stay away from the movies and shows as much as possible. As, in my opinion, all Jedi Realist should.
I am not your past instructors. My views on the Force may be very different from their views, and I am fine with this. This means that you need to have an open mind and ask questions (during questions times) if maybe you’re not understanding something. I won’t be offended but will not tolerate a debate during this class.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, sick, or just anything you can’t handle before or during this class stop. And once we have a moment I will try and assist you when we get to a stopping point. But you know your limits, and you are the only one that knows how you are feeling.
Be vocal, ask questions, and enjoy!
Our main topic: what is long term Force use? Honestly, it is about as basic as it sounds. Basic, yet advanced because of the risks and strain we put on ourselves by doing so. This is a technique where we will maintain a open connection to the Force, and use it in various way throughout are day to day lives, with the end goal of achieving a longer connection to the Force. We will, with practice, get to a point where you barely realize you have even made that connection at all. You will find with enough practice you will be able to connect almost instantly with the Force.
Also, I must add that my perception of the Force is very much energy based. It is spiritual for me. So, my methods and techniques might seem very familiar to some of you, based off other groups, or previous training.
Questions?
First, I want to go over what we call overloads: what they are, and how to handle one. Overloads will happen, especially when trying to maintain an open connection with the Force for long periods of time.
They can also take place by simply feeling the Force. Maybe you took in too much to quickly. Warning sides of an overload include, but not limited to: headaches, nausea, body aches, muscle spasms, and blurred vision.
The thing is everyone is different and may experience an overload differently, you know yourself better than anyone so if you feel wrong, stop! I will add as well that a side effect from overloading too much and not fixing it can damage your connection to the Force. It has happened to me more than once and it can take awhile to fix that connection.
Now what do you do when you experience an overload? The answer it always the same: GROUND! And ground a lot. Now, at this point, we should all know what grounding is, and how to do it. However, I want to explain grounding and how to do it from my standpoint. But to start we will need to feel the Force so get comfortable.
To begin grounding, I want you to close your eyes. Stop what you are doing and completely focus on your breathing, your heartbeat, and become super aware of yourself. What are you touching, smelling, feeling, hearing? Block all of it out. At this point it should be only you, and the Force. I will give you a minute to do this and we will continue.
I now want you to focus on feeling the Force: this chaotic energy you have flowing through you and around you. Remember to control your breathing, and I want you to now to Focus all that energy, all that Force to your core. And when I say core I mean chest, the center of yourself, or abdominal area. This can be done by allowing it to pass through your hands, feet however you feel comfortable! The end destination is what is important.
Feel it running through you and to your core, you should be able to feel almost a warm sensation inside you, a foreign sort of energy.
Now, I want you to release the Force back to where it came, back to the flowing river of energy that surrounds us. Whether it be from your core to your toes, or to your fingers allow it too to leave you. Let it flow and Push it out. Do not allow it back in, you are releasing only.
Repeat as much as needed, but keep in mind that you will still feel the Force inside you slightly. Seeing as the Force is everywhere and everything, it's impossible to completely drain yourself of it. You simply want it back in normal range. Look at it like a water bottle, you can pour out the water but there are still these tiny droplets left over.
Now, some people find this easier to do when they are touching the ground (thus why they call it grounding) and using their fingers. Here is the thing; using this advanced technique of long term feeling the Force, you may not have that option when you feel an overload coming on. Routine of feeling the Force, or grounding is something you will have to break in order to use this technique safely, and confidently. So, practice grounding through your feet, or maybe through your hands without touching anything. It can be done, and it is the same technique either way.
Another method for breaking up excessive energy is passing over, or through large bodies of water preferably moving. That’s why showers are so good at helping us regain some level of control (Thanks Otori for the tip)
Questions.
Now the reason you are here: to create and maintain a long connection to the Force.
I simply want you to start your normal routine of feeling the Force, whether it be sitting in a dark room or quiet space, music, meditation. I will wait a few moments and then we will start.
Now, close your eyes and focus on your breathing, slow and steady. Breathe in and I want you to slowly breathe out as if a long sigh. Do this about three times or until you are completely invested in this rhythm of breathing. Also I understand you will need to open your eyes in order to see these messages and that’s fine but try to just focus on he screen and nothing else when you do.
Forget all that is around and you and keep your breathing the same, Now, you should start focusing on your heartbeat. Feel and hear the rhythm of your heart. Don’t try and control your heartbeat but just feel it.
Take one more big breath in, and another long sigh out. At this point you are open to the Force, you should only be feeling what’s inside you, and the Force flowing around you, like a river. Sounds should be muffled or non exsistant and this is normal.
You are in the middle of the river, as the waters rush around you, and over you. Slowly take another deep breath in and a long breath out.
I want you to open your hands and focus on your palms, feel the Force washing over them, feel that energy wanting to be let in.
Slowly allow it to flow through your palms, up your arms, into your core, down to your legs, and through your toes.
Be aware of how much you are letting in, feel this energy. The Force inside you is building up and flowing through you. You have now become part of this river. And I would like for you to sit for a moment and get used to this feeling. Your mind should remain as blank as possible. Just sit, and enjoy the flow of the Force. I will give you a min, remember only slow movements but remain sitting please. If you feel like you are losing this connection, there is nothing wrong with starting over, but do not push yourself too hard. This should be a calming experience.
Now for the weird part, open your eyes continue your breathing, continue to feel the Force around you. Remain part of the flow. If done right you should feel an excitement, almost a surge of energy. Sounds will be amplified, your other Force techniques may be kicking in such as sensing, or even Empathy. These feelings may be a little bit more intense. You must maintain control of the flow or the Force through you. The Force is energy and knows no bounds. However, you have boundaries and must regulate what you can handle.
I want you to slowly start to move, maybe even stand up. Feel how different everything is. At first, you will almost feel like you’re in a trance, as if you are in two different places at once. This is fine, control your breathing and keep feeling this flow of the Force.
I want you to start off slow but, try and do an everyday task. This can be as simple as just walking, or as complicated as doing a puzzle, or as mundane as brushing your teeth, maybe even a light workout. Try to forget that you are still connected to the Force, which I understand will be hard to do considering I have been telling you to focus on feeling this flow of the Force. But practice and time will bring you balance of this, and eventually you won’t even realize at all you even connected to the Force.
I will give you all about 15 min of doing this, meanwhile feel free to ask questions.
Now it’s been around 15 min and we should all be back. I want you to all sit down for a moment and once again focus on your connection, began your breathing again and once again focus feeling the river running through you. As I have explained at the beginning of the lesson you need to Ground. I understand you may be feeling greedy, almost annoyed of letting go of this connection and it is completely normal. As Humans we tend to not want to give up anything that makes us feel better, and stronger.
But, as Jedi, we must always remember that too much of a good thing can have some of the most serious consequences. Do not worry, the Force isn’t going anywhere. It will always be there with you, weather you are feeling it or not. Ground and please ask questions if you are having any issues.
Thank you for attending my lesson, do not be afraid to try different things with this. Be creative, and practice often.
I will note that I have been practicing this technique for several years now and had very little guidance on it besides what I had learned through my lessons with my Master. It will take time to get the hang of it, don’t push yourself, have patience and ask questions! This is a technique you will not perfect over night, but with enough determination and practice you will be doing this without even realizing it is happening.
And I am always up for hearing about your experiences with this technique through the Jedi Praxeum FB page. No matter if it is tomorrow or 3 years from now, let me know!
Thank you all for your time. End Class!