May the 4th Be With You!

Hello, Star Wars fans, and May the 4th be with you! For those of you who don't know, today is Star Wars Day. So, it's time for another Star Wars post!

So, I sat at my computer for a few minutes facing writer's block until I came up with the idea for what to write on this post. I'm going to talk about the Force. It is May the 4th, after all.

What is the Force?
Not know what the Force is, do you? Read carefully and understand, you must. Do or do not. There is no try.
The Force is a mysterious power that moves all things, unifies all things, defines all things, does all things. It's "an energy field created by all living things". Some people believe it is sentient, classifying it as a god. You can do all sorts of useful things with the Force.

What can you do with the Force?
1. Enhance natural, physical, and mental abilities - e.g., doing a "Force jump" to slow what would otherwise be a dangerous fall. This also includes enhanced speed and reflexes.
2. Increase accuracy - How did Luke blow up the Death Star? Yes, he used torpedos, but that's not the answer I'm looking for. How did he get them into such a small space? I mean, that'd have to be a really lucky shot. "Use the Force, Luke." And there's your answer.
3. Telekinesis/levitation - I play French Horn, and I can't even count the number of times I've joked with my friends that I wished I could use the Force to carry my instrument. I'd say telekinesis is the coolest thing you can do with the Force.
4. Telepathy - Okay, actually telepathy might be cooler. Communicating with your mind is just awesome! Too bad it doesn't exist in real life.
5. Hypnosis - "These are not the droids you are looking for."

Yeah, I know, two photos in one post is a lot, but I couldn't resist.

6. Enhance empathy
7. See the future
8. Become a Force Ghost (also called a Force Spirit) - Both Yoda and Obi-wan Kenobi learned this difficult skill to become a ghost through the power of the Force and thus live forever, so they could keep teaching their pupils.
9. Do better in a lightsaber combat
10. Force choke/Force lighting (dark side only) - These are both ways of killing people and thus are limited to the dark side of the Force.

The light side vs the dark side
The light side = good, and the dark side = bad. We all know that. But let's be a little more specific.

The light side
Used by jedis, this is the good side of the Force. It is for peaceful purposes only. The light side of the force is typically associated with kindness, compassion, selflessness, and other good qualities.

The dark side
This is the side used by siths, who are typically just jedis gone bad. This is the evil side of the Force. As might be expected, it is the exact opposite of the light side. It is often associated with anger, fear, lust, jealousy, and hate. You must beware of crossing over to the dark side, as it will corrupt you completely. There are many ways/reasons to go to the dark side. Yoda says that "The fear of loss is a path to the dark side." People who use it claim that the dark side is stronger, insisting that the light side is far too weak and thus they must join the dark side.

Okay, clearly I should have made a slideshow. Oh, well.

A disturbance in the Force

Sometimes, people (most notably, Obi-wan Kenobi) sense a disturbance in the Force. This occurs when there is widespread suffering or death, or when a jedi or sith is near.

How to use the Force

Okay, that's all great. But how do you use the Force? Well, sadly, you probably can't. Even if you existed in the Star Wars universe, you'd have to be born Force-sensitive to be able to use the Force. But that doesn't mean you can't pretend. In the world of roleplaying and fanfiction, anything is possible.

I'm not promoting Volkswagen, I just like this commercial.