FRONTIER SCIENCE/SOCIAL CHANGE

by Paul Von Ward

"The 'Force' in Star Wars is Real!"

The Star Wars' popularity results from, beyond its archetypal appeal and special effects, truths that deeply resonate with all audiences. Viewers just know they, too, possess something of the "force" within themselves. They believe they have Luke's "Jedi wisdom" to discern the shades of grey in a Darth Vader. And they are right; science now tells us everyone has direct access to all "wisdom" and can draw on the "force" known by researchers as subtle energies or energeia. So, how much of the Star Wars' human science is real and how did George Lucas know it?

Artists like Lucas frequently are ahead of scientists in uncovering the realities of the universe. Remember the 1870's book Around the World in Eighty Days; Jules Verne's imagined balloon voyage finally happened this year in less than one-fourth his predicted time. The question is not whether such artists know something ahead of other humans, but why and how.

Many scientists now believe they have found the why in the existence of what physicists call the non-local (universal) field of consciousness or noumena. People can "know" something before it has been directly or physically demonstrated to them because each person's consciousness is embedded in the noumena: The "universal field of knowing" that appears to contain the knowledge and experience of all conscious beings. (Hence, all species of beings in Star Wars understand and communicate, in their own ways, the same basic knowledge.)

How does a particular human, like Lucas, access the noumena? Each mind (local consciousness field) engages in a reciprocal yin/yang flow with universal consciousness. The local human mind maintains its integrity by the yang expression (one polarity) of its own identity, setting up fluctuating boundaries between itself and the whole. (Leia forcefully expresses this boundary to evade probes of her conscious knowledge of the rebel base location. People resist hypnosis the same way.) Learning from the whole requires the yin receptivity (opposite polarity) of inner senses paralleling the five physical senses. Humans receive information through these senses when they relax their boundaries, as in listening to the muse or daydreaming. (Vader could not clairvoyantly locate the stolen Death Star plans because his yang energy was dominant at that moment.) Artists like Lucas practice this more than most, but all of us have the inner senses available to tap into the noumena.

The Star Wars' concept of "Jedi knowing" is rooted in the reality of the noumena. Through their inner senses, the Jedi (and all other conscious beings) communicate with each other and the whole through the informational noumena. (When Jedi sense other beings, the reciprocal nature of consciousness means if those beings were alert they could sense the Jedi in return.) The Star Wars' subtle energy "force" that "surrounds and penetrates us and binds us together" is real and can be concentrated and used in martial arts and psychokinetic acts.

This "force" is known around the world by at least 52 labels, including chi, ki, prana, orgone, manna, ether, biofield, and zero-point energy. Obi-Wan-Kenobi was incorrect when he said the "force" is created by all living beings. The reverse appears to be true: Matter and energy are formed from the subtle energy by conscious intent. Science labels the intermediate or subtle body created by conscious intent a morphogenic field (like the ghostly beings who counsel Luke). It is correct for Master Yoda to say "the force is always with you," even though it cannot maintain one's material existence forever. As in Star Wars, the scientific evidence indicates individual consciousness and its subtle energy field survive this incarnation.

The inner senses are the means through which one being perceives the presence of another, as in Skywalker feeling the presence of Vader on the Death Star. Anyone can potentially sense any other (as in remote viewing), but it is easier where the subtle energy connection is stronger (when beings are related or share some kind of emotional bond). But the inner senses perceive more than just the presence of another. Lucas received specific ideas from the noumena, and his character Vader does the same when he telepathically learns the existence of Luke's twin sister Leia by reading his thoughts.

The Jedi idea that one already knows the wisdom one needs is also a reality of the noumenal/inner sense interaction. The mind of conscious beings is not totally shaped by external forces as conventional science has taught us. All self-aware beings recognize they are part of a larger whole, with an inherent grasp of what is good for all. Only perceived powerful beings, controlling the focus of personal experience, can convince them to ignore that inner wisdom. This means people turn to the "dark" only under painful or pleasurable extremes. Therefore, efforts to "force people to do the right thing" end up with the opposite effect. (Criminal justice and school experts should take heed.)

With the "force" (application of conscious intent to the subtle energy field) Obi-Wan, Luke, and Vader could move others, override the minds of unthinking guards, and make lethal use of a light saber. In the scientific laboratory actions such as these are known as psychokinesis, hypnosis, and pushing chi. Milder versions of them can be activated by almost any experimenter's conscious efforts. Highly trained or spontaneously energized people replicate them in much stronger forms. Science and human practice will one day catch up with Lucas' noumenal insights.

One clarification is needed: Comments like Luke's "the force is strong in the family" and Leia saying "I can feel it" imply the force resides only in certain groups, but science shows it is not limited to one species, race, or family. Every conscious being is a potential Jedi knight. The Emperor, Lord Vader, Obi-Wan, and Luke were scripted to choose either the "dark" or the "light." Scientist Wilhelm Reich labeled the former orgone force "dor" and the latter "or." In real life each person must consciously seek balance between these positive and negative polarities.

Copyright 1999
Paul Von Ward
All Rights Reserved