Force sense

By Jedi Knight/Jedi Teacher Jonathan Tapp

Much of defense is being prepared. In this aspect, the Jedi has a powerful ally; the Force. Through the Force, the Jedi can sense objects, friends, foes, and danger. This is an essential skill and one every Jedi should try to master as early as possible.

To start, you need to familiarize yourself to what matter "feels" like through the Force if you have not already done that in your training. Sit cross-legged on the floor with some object in front of you--I recommend a lit candle. Summon the Force and feel it around you. Now feel the object. Some may feel it as an edie in the river of the Force; to others, the object may suddenly achieve a new level of 'existance'. Others may feel the object as radiating waves. These are all good starting points; try to work until you feel the object in the Force like you would in your hand.

Now move the object while you are still feeling it. Feel how it glides through the Force and what the Force does around it. If you can do this, you are well on your way.

Now for an exercise. For this you will need some kind of ball; either a tennis ball or a baseball or some other ball about that size. Ideally, you would be sitting on a carpet for this exercise so you cannot track the object by sound. Close your eyes and throw the ball in a random direction, but use just enough force so that it lands within your reach. Now reach out and feel the ball. Remember that the ball exists in three dimensions; not two. You need to find it on the X, Y, and Z axes. Now open your eyes and see if you are correct. As you progress in skill, you can try picking up the ball without opening your eyes. When you acieve this, you are ready for the next steps.

It is time to put this to use. Sometime when you are out, be it in a store or a restaurant or wherever, reach out with the Force as you walk along. Feel the people around you. It may help to envision the Force as a sort of 'cube' of energy surrounding you and those around you. First feel the Force near you. Then extend your reach out through the cube. Try and feel where the people are behind you. Try and anticipate moves. If you can drive, this is also a good time to test it. See if you can't pick out who's about to cut you off. Not only is this a good test, but it can make you a much safer and much more confident driver.

Keep practicing like above until you can not only sense people around you, but sense what they are carrying. Then sense what is in their pockets/purse/wallet. Then sense what they look like. Finally, try and identify them by their aura. If you see someone you know, reach out with the Force and feel their Force 'signature'. If you can do all of these, you have learned the skill.

The sense skill may progress through different stages. Early on, you may just feel blobs in the Force. Later, you may be able to feel shapes but not identify objects or mass. Eventually, those shapes will gain mass to you and you will be able to identify them. Then you will be able to read each object's signature as well as people's signatures.