The Force Is With...Everyone

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Just like Odin gave an eye, Heimdall gave an ear...he's simply a quiet wise god who prefers to keep silent, listen carefully, analyze the situation and then, should he wish, he intervenes. Just like the Jedi Master Yaddle from the Jedi High Counsel in Episode I: according to the Star Wars manual, "Yaddle waits silently during long discussions before giving her only judgment, calm and powerful" I find this a good example of what Heimdall is: A wise god, with excellent perception capabilities, calm, highly responsible and, in a way, father of humankind, just like Odin, Vili and Ve.
--Helio

I would say the Force could be analagous to Wyrd, Fate, Dán, etc., in that it's a force (no pun intended) that pervades all levels of creation, affecting everything without exception. It's neither good nor evil, but simply is.
--Éric

Yes, phrased that way, the Force is like Moira, just like Wyrd, Dan, and so forth (as I understand them). The main difference between the Force and these concepts is that you can't manipulate Fate (to translate the European ideas) or the Tao. At least with the Tao, attunement with it can produce some dramatic results, supposedly. That is, however, not something I have seen said of the European "Forces."
--Calixto

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It was always my impression that the Jedi weren't supposed to fight unless attacked. They used their "magick" for defense, only, which seems to parallel Wicca nicely.
--HazyMahoney

Jedi is more a masculine religion whereas Wicca is more of a feminine religion. Not the same religion but one that would balance each other well.
--Dawnmyshel

Wicca is fundamentally very different from the Jedi idea on several fronts. Wicca is not a Warrior path by any stretch of the imagination. Wicca while being meditative is actually more Dionysian than Apollonian by far. Jedi appear to be Apollonian.
--prometheuspan

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It is not Neo-Pagan in that its not directly nature based, nor is is Paleo-Pagan as it lacks a Polytheistic structure. The closest you can say is that it is pantheistic. On the other hand it is definitely far more Taoist, with strong influences of Chi/Qi, Wu Wei, and so forth, and Cha'an/Zen Buddhism.
--Calixto

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The Force is more or less animism and pantheism. That's the heart and soul actually of Shamanism. If anything, I would call Jedi Warrior shamans. ...Shamans use altered states of consciousness to deal with a subtle level of reality... Jedi use altered states of consciousness to deal with a subtle level of reality called "the force." Jedi are movie shamans with enough mainstream symbology thrown in to make them palatable.
--prometheuspan

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There are some similarities to Zoroastrian Dualism too...although in some ways the Dark Side and Light Side of the Force are more similar to the Ying/Yin v. Yang/Yo dichotomy and "dualism" of Taoism.
--Calixto

It's not my cup of tea, as it's a little too far on the Zoroastrian "good/evil" side.
--Phoenix_Blue

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I always wonder whether the Jedi are actually speaking of God when they talk of the "Force." After all, in Islam God has 99 names, and, for me at least, God is the "Force" that drives my life every day... The principles of the Jedi: devotion to the Force (read: God), honor, discipline, and service for justice, are principles that our world, torn apart by the Dark Side of human nature, is in desperate need of. I hope and pray that I become one of the Muslim "Jedi" of our world today.
--Hesham H.

If you search female jedi on the official star wars site, you should come up with a pic of 2 [women in hijab].

They're not Islamic jedi or anything. I just thought the concept was cool, that women didn't have to wear skimpy clothes to do something. Women can be covered and modest and still go around kicking bad peoples behinds and restoring peace and justice to the galaxy :)
--valpo_girl

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"Yoda" means "The one who knows" in Hebrew... Jews wave the Lulav (light sabre-like weapon made of palm frond) to repel the Dark Side on holiday of Sukkos. ...Journey to true self sometimes leads through the dark side. Judaism is based on Return (Teshuva) as in "return of the Jedi" This is a reference to Darth returning to good, not to Luke coming back from training.
--yonatron

In the original Star Wars Movie, when 3CPO was levitated in the chair (I think by Obiwan) when captured by the Ewoks and treated as someone special, it looked a lot like a Bar Mitzvah!
--Omegame

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The first Star Wars film was clearly proven later to be inspired by and loosely along the lines of the Hindu epic, the Ramayana.
--m_raghavan

The concept of fear as being a driving force (no pun intended) among sentient beings is not a new concept developed by the innovative mind of George Lucas ... Fear is also introduced by a prominent Eastern spirituality author (deceased) by the name of Osho, who said that fear was the opposite of love. Hate is not the opposite of love because hate, as we were so markedly instructed by the great Yoda, derives from anger which in turn derives from fear.
--Xepfi

Just because Star Wars is influenced by Hinduism does not mean you can freely substitute Darth Vader for Siva or Yoda for Lord Jagganath. Would you put Yoda in your mandir?
--vikmas

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Neo-Confucian interpretations of the prime virtue 'jen' (sometimes 'ren') define it as a force that unites all living and non-living things together throughout the cosmos. Wang Yang Ming in particular defined 'jen' in such a way. Does anyone else think there might be aspects of Neo-Confucianism in Lucas' "force"? [Note that] the "Tao" in Confucianism is not the Tao of Taoism - and "jen" is not in any sense a Way or Path. It is the force of human love, benevolence and compassion.
--kungfutzu

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To become a Jedi Master requires spiritual exercise, I'm very pleased with my progess resulting from doing the spiritual exercises presented in Eckankar (including the expansion of consciousness, soul travel, conscious dreaming, the experience of 'oneness'). Becoming a Jedi Master is not for everyone, only those that truly want to dedicate themselves to it.
--shabda

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