Written by Katie Mock
Meditation is a practice common to most philosophical or spiritual paths. Whether it is the common image of Buddhist or Hindu meditation, or the Christian or Muslim practice of reflective prayers, or even the non-religious practice of self-reflection and relaxation, all Jedi practice a form of it.
Meditation is meant to unclutter and calm our minds, and help us look at ourselves, our problems, and the world around us with objectivity and clarity. As the Jedi Code says, “There is no emotion; there is peace”. When we can learn to clear our minds of extraneous detail and emotion, we can act, (not react) and view our lives and problems objectively, which is the first step to improving them. No matter your spiritual or religious leanings (or lack thereof), most Jedi practice a simple form of meditation that I will go over here. For some of you this will be a great review of the basics, and for others it may be your first time meditating: this method works for both.
Make yourself comfortable, whether that means sitting on a chair or the floor, standing, or lying down. Try to have your spine in a natural position (no slouching or twisting). Close your eyes, or if you wish to keep them open keep them unfocused. Let the tension drain out of your body, especially in the back and shoulders.
Take a deep breath in, feeling your lungs and belly expand as your diaphragm pulls air in, feeling the coolness of your breath on the inside of your nose. Exhale slowly, feeling your body relax as the warmer air exits your nose or mouth. Repeat as many times as you like.
Your thoughts will wander, this is perfectly normal and expected. Don’t stress about it, just casually bring your attention back to the physical sensation of your breath. Do this as long as you want to or feel like. Set a timer, or do it free-form. As you practice more, it becomes easier to meditate for longer periods of time. Especially with a regular practice, you should start to feel more alert, calm, and bright, with better focus and emotional stability, although most people feel better even after the first time.
There are many many apps to help you meditate, but the one I use most often, especially when I am feeling too fidgety and distracted to focus well, is calm.com. Just a little nature white noise and a timer.
How do you meditate? Did you like this exercise? Do you think meditation is important for a Jedi?
I’m brand new to meditation. I read through this section, the “meditation series” last night, and thought I’d try some basic stuff. Not sure I’m doing it right without any face to face instruction, but I downloaded and a simple nature sounds app that has a timer on it. I put my earbuds in, sat comfortably on the floor, and just took long deep breaths in and out. I attempted to remember the Jedi Code (new to that too.), but it was too distracting trying to remember it. Once I have it memorized, it should work. But today, with every breath I drew in, I just repeated, “I AM ONE WITH THE FORCE,” and when I exhaled, ” AND THE FORCE IS WITH ME.” Man, that first 5 minutes flew by so fast once I focused. So, I did it again.
That sounds like a fantastic first meditation session! Rinse and repeat until it’s second nature, and enjoy experimenting with it. (That’s also one of my favorite starwarsy mantras to meditate with as well!)