The Jedi Training Archive
Meditation- 3- Points of Practice

When practicing the Jedi way, the following points may serve as general guidelines to derive maximum benefit from your practice, and keep body, breath, and mind in the state of balance and functional harmony required to attune yourself with the Force.

General Points
Points of Attention for the Body
Points of Attention for the Mind

General Points

  1. Always practice in the three-stage format of warm-up, main practice and cool-down. The warm-up stage balances body, breath, and mind in preparation for the main practice of mobilizing and circulating the Force, and the cool-down stage relaxes your body. If you practice without adequate preliminary preparation, your system will not be properly balanced to work with the Force, and if you fail to take measures to relax your body, you will lose much of the benefits of the exercise.
  2. Make your practice an integral part of your daily routine, and practice regularly. If you only practice sporadically, your system will lose its synchrony with the Force. Only with regular practice will you obtain the cumulative benefits. Even if you only practice for 15 to 20 minutes, as long as you do it daily, you will still realize the benefits, albeit at a slower rate then those who devote more time to practice.
  3. The Jedi way will not immediately correct all problems, especially in an unbalanced lifestyle. It works best when practiced as an integral part of the overall healthcare system. This includes diet, a positive attitude towards life, emotional equilibrium, and other factors that support health and nurture life.
  4. Bring the results of your practice into your daily life. This will gradually solve your problems and integrate all aspects of your life with your practice.

Points of Attention for the Body

  1. The spine is the most important part of the body for Jedi practice. It serves as a conduit for the Force to flow from the lower body to the upper body and brain. It's the central pillar of balance for the entire torso and head, and the conductor of nerve signals from brain to body. For best results in practice, the spine should always be kept erect and in straight alignment with the neck and head, with the buttocks tucked in a bit to reduce the curvature in the lower spin. Try to keep the spine flexible and responsive to synchronized movement with the rest of the body by relaxing the muscles along the spine and keeping the vertebrae evenly aligned. Limbering and loosening the spine is one of the main purposes of the warm-up stage of practice.
  2. The tensest part of the human body is usually the neck and shoulder area. Tension here blocks the free flow of the Force up from the spine into the head. Try to keep the shoulders loose and the neck muscles relaxed throughout a session of Jedi practice, even if that requires you to take a short break and perform one of the shoulder-loosening warm-up exercises.

Points of Attention for the Mind

  1. Turn mental attention and sensory perception inwards. Rather then listening to external sounds, listen to your breath and heart. Don't let external sights and sounds distract your attention during a practice session.
  2. Silence the mind by turning off your internal dialogue. This does not mean the cessation of thoughts and feelings, which continue to appear and dissolve on their own accord. Just stop talking to yourself about particular thoughts, and instead let the stream of consciousness flow naturally in the background of your mind.
  3. Set all problems and worries of daily life aside prior to a practice session. Emotional equilibrium is a basic prerequisite for success in practice, but don't worry if your worries make their way back into your stream of thought. Just don't focus on the thoughts and let the stream of consciousness flow.
  4. Cultivate the right mind for practice. This means having respect and confidence in your practice, but no preconceived notions about it, and no grand expectations regarding results. Often, you'll find benefits that you weren't expecting.
  5. Stay calm throughout your practice sessions, and try to bring that calmness into your daily life afterward. Cultivate calmness as a spiritual virtue, and your control over the Force will increase as a result.

Keep the mind focused on the body and the Force as points of reference throughout a practice session. Inevitably your mind will wander off in thoughts or external distraction, and whenever that happens, body and the Force lose their synchrony. The moment you catch your mind paying attention to something else, simply apply intent to shift attention immediately back to body and the Force. The harmony of the body, mind and the Force is the key to success in the Jedi practices.

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