The force (In my opinion)

Hello all,
Well in my time around the Jedi community I’ve came across three views of the force. I’d like to talk a little about these views and share my own view of the force as well.

One holds that the force can be divided in to light and dark sides, this seems to me to be based on the movies more so then the others. In this view the force is very \"Black and white\" having clearly defined sides. Black equaling dark and white equaling light of course. In this view actions, as people, are seen as either good or evil, Sith or Jedi. No evil action is seen as being connected to a good one and vise versa.

The second view is to divide the force in to different aspects. The first of these is the living force. This is the force generated by all living things in the universe. It's the force that the Jedi tap in to and allow to flow through them, or at least that seems to be the general consensus among sites. As has been said, \"Life creates it, makes it grow........Luminous beings we are, not these cruse clumps of matter \"
Then there's the cosmic force. This force represents space and time and is what binds the galaxy together. This is the energy responsible for keep the planets moving, suns burning, and so on.
the last is the unifying force. This can be seen as the \"Glue\" that holds it all together. It keeps the cosmic force and living force in balance and harmony. It's energy exists on the molecular level throughout all matter, \"unifying\" everything in the Universe. It's what connects all things in the universe to everything else. \"Feel the force between you, me, the rock, the tree........even the ship\"

The final one, and the one I personally ascribe to, is that it's all the same force. Everything is a part of the primal force of creation. We are all created from the same stuff, the tree, the rock, the sky, space itself in all it's vastness is a part of you and you a part of it. Everything is connected, all actions, all sorrow, all joy, because we are all bound by this force to absolutely everything else in the universe. It flows though all things because it IS all things. We are, and everything else around us, in constant contact with it because it is us and everything is it.

The ultimate goal as far as I see it is an awakening to the fact that the enlightenment we sought was within us all along. There was never an external force to learn to use or take in because as we awaken we see that all things stem from inside of us. No proof of being one with the force is needed because all things stem from the same primal force of creation, so in their essence all things are from the force and therefore connected to it as they are a part of it.
There's no force outside yourself that your taking in and manipulating to your will.

You ARE your will. From the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad we learn \"As a person acts, so he becomes in life. So we are said to be what our desire is. As our desire is, so is our will. As our will is, so are our acts. As we act, so we become\" And further \"Those that realize the self enter into the peace that brings complete self control and perfect patience. They see themselves in everyone and everyone in themselves\" So union with the force comes not from any external study of it but from a deep study of the self.

In knowing who we truly are inside we begin to see our \"Connectedness\" to everything around us and come to the realization that we are not separate beings in bags of skin but are connected to everything and everyone we see and hear. The tree, the flower, the rain, the rock, the mountain, the distant star, the blackest space, the howling wind, the small bird, the fierce Lion, the unknown life in the universe, the depth of the ocean, the person sitting next to you, all are an expression of the same force of creation and therefore a part of you as you are a part of them. This is the Force, at least to me.

Yours in the mystery,
~Merin~

Very good, i agree with your points, it was a nice sum up of all the versions of the force. i have to tend to agree with your point of view that the force is all inside us.
however, i think there is logic to divide it to light and dark, but i don't belive the force itslef is light and dark. i think it's where you take it.