Jedi Training: Cultivating the Mind through the Lens of Star Wars

Star Wars films and TV shows pivot around the balance between light and dark, good and evil. After studying the Force and mastering themselves, Jedi knights serve others with compassion and maintain peace and justice in the galaxy. In Star Wars: A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi teaches Luke that the Force is “an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us.” The Jedi are born more sensitive to the Force and trained from a very young age, but that doesn't mean that the rest of us can't also connect with what, as Rey reminds us, "has always been there."  

Although we may not be able to manipulate objects, can we become real-life “Jedis”, by controlling our minds and bringing balance to our lives? 

As Darth Vader requests in The Empire Strikes Back, “We would be honored if you would join us.” Come explore themes of Jedi training through quotes and video clips from the films along with short meditation exercises from film dialogue. DRBU Professor Lauren Bausch will lead the discussion.

Professor Bausch has a PhD in Sanskrit from the Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies at UC Berkeley. She specializes in Vedic and early Buddhist philosophy. A multi-dimensional intellectual, Lauren also enjoys applying the same rigorous thinking and analysis to popular culture. Check out an article she wrote on meditation and Netflix.