The General Definition of Power at TOTJO

While i'm sure most of you that come and go at this Temple have some claim to some level of power, please remember that power as we define it at TOTJO is not measurable, and unless it's posted in the \"Jedi Martial Arts/Physical Fitness\", it's likely not physical power that we're talking about.

And while i'm sure many of us are masters of abilities such as Force lightning and the like, I would just like to make one thing clear.

In alot of posts; alot of the members of this Temple will tell you, or say something like \"Something something something using our power to help other people\" (which is not to be confused with \"something something something dark side\" ).

When we talk about using our power to help other people, we aren't referring to magnificent Force powers. What we mean is that we do what we can to help in any way we can. We don't mean that we lift burning buildings with the Force or anything like that, we mean we use our abilities with our limits in mind to help other people in any way that we can.

And while studying here will open some neat doors to all kinds of senses and abilities that you otherwise will likely never learn, you aren't here to learn magic powers that are to be used for the greater good. And when I say \"we\" i'm often referring to myself, but....

While this might not be my place to post this, I thought it should be said.

MTFBWY-A

:laugh: love the family guy reference...

seriously though those are good points to make. i am quite skeptical of claims to certain abilities(lightning etc), however there are other abilities that through experience and study have been proven valid(to an extent) things like precognition,empathy,clairvoyance,clairaudience,even remote viewing(look into the old military research programs),telekinesis(though i'm somewhat skeptical of this one,there has been some legit research on it)...

as angelus pointed out though what is meant by using our power to help is to simply do whatever we can within our own personal limitations to help others. if you're exceptional at building houses then volunteer once in a while for habitat for humanity....use what you're good at to help others...what your good at is your power....

Power is a wonderful thing that has been abused through its use. I'm a great believer in people acquiring their own power - the confidence to do what they want, the ability to walk tall and be proud of themselves, even being able to accomplish everyday tasks.

Power is like energy, or the Force - it's neither good nor bad but it's what we do with it that makes a difference. Think about the difference between real-life Sith and the movie ones - movie Sith acquired power to subjugate and control others, real Sith acquire power to keep the peace.

Here's an extract from a lesson about power from a shamanic perspective from one of my teachers. I've got the whole lesson as a PDF if anyone wants to go through it - pm me and I'll email it to you (it's got a lot of self-exploration exercises as well as ways to find guides and spirit helpers).

\"Most people in the Western world have an inauthentic relationship to what they take to be power. They do not know what real power is because they have never been taught to recognise it.

For us, power is defined as Cadillacs and country homes, dotcom salaries and Gucci suits. But actually there are huge paradoxes in our beliefs about power, the first of which is that our most ‘successful’ people actually have little of it. Every businessman and woman who has ‘made it’ knows they must give up their lives to their business, working long hours away from their family, interests and passions – away from their humanity, in fact – until they become part of the business itself, just as an engine is part of a car. The further up the corporate ladder they climb, the less life they have, because they are just a ‘cog in the wheel’ themselves. Andrew Carnegie, one of the richest people on Earth, was asked why he continued to work when he had enough money to retire many times over. “I’ve forgotten how to do anything else”, he said.

Those who ‘make it’ may have wealth, status, even ‘celebrity’, but they often have less freedom and genuine power than when they began, and even that may have to be given away to ‘subordinates’ and intermediaries who shield them from reality. Strangely enough, the biggest problem for people in using their power is often the fear of what might happen if they did. We are not used to using our power and have the capacity for doing so largely trained out of us as we grow. \"

Then there are such things as \"Petty Tyrants\", \"energy vampires\" or \"control dramas\" that all seek to take our power from us because the people involved can't seem to connect to all the available energy around us. When we have a good relationship with the Force, we don't need to take it from someone else!

Angelus, this is a great topic for discussion. Do you mind if I reference it in a lesson for the Degree Qualification Scheme?

MTFBWY

the force and powers, I don't know if they have something in common other than the people that handle it.

the force exist, with or without powers

the force is there, everywhere, its the primal energy everything got.
and your power comes, when you can sync with that force, yours, and from your around.

if you develop a \"power\" to call it somehow, good for you, but this is useful only if you can sync.

your physical power, endurance, or any ability you can have, is not as good if you can not be in sync with the force (actually I think that this extra powers, are in you always, but only when you can be one with the living force in everything, you can use it or handle it, theres people doing it without been conscious that are syncing with the force, but they do.

there is no physical training, there is no gym, there is not martial art that give you that, this are tools, and good tools, use it, but they are not a must, to sync with the force. I know people that never trained martial arts, they never even go to the gym, they hate to do physical effort, and anyway, they develop a strong connection with the force, and they become powerful also with some abilities

so right, power, meditation, martial arts, force, are different things, can be combined?, yes, can be, but is not a rule to follow,

the force exist, even without you been conscious of the existence of it
the force act by itself, is like a gravitational field, think our solar system , sun attracting all the other big planets, but also this planets interact with the same gravitational field each other, and also with satellites and every planet keep the orbit, because there is a balance, the force, is like that, its in everything , interacting, doing its own balance, its own sync, and then, you, and you can be part of this chain of interaction, if you like, and if you develop a way to sync with it.

is no more than that, is not less than that, is easy like that, or difficult like that, is up to you.

\"thats my point of view\"

Let me start by saying, I am merely adding some differing aspects to this discussion, more food for thought. I personally do not like to use the term “Power”. To me, it has a negative connotation to it. Even by its definition it seems to infer control over or manipulation of others.

Power is defined as: The ability or capacity to perform or act effectively, a specific capacity, faculty, or aptitude, Strength or force exerted or capable of being exerted, might, the ability or official capacity to exercise control, a person, group, or nation having great influence or control over others, the might of a nation, political organization, or similar group, forcefulness or effectiveness.

I prefer to say our ability, or potential energy. Every one of us is connected. And we all tap into each other, the force and all that is around us. The level of aptitude for each of us is different, at different times, and at different places. I like to describe it as being in the right place at the right time, you are capable of doing some amazing things that many would consider “powers” or “abilities”.

I do believe that all of us have the potential, again we are connected by the same energy, the force. Our belief, faith, experience, training and guidance allow us to harness the force at different levels to bring fantastic results.

We see examples of this in our lives, Monks who have “iron skin”, amazing ability to endure pain, walk on hot coals, lay on a bed of nails, psychics who predict future events with incredible accuracy, psychic vampires who leech from the people around them, mages, healers, and shaman, all have different attunements to the force that allows them to tap into the force to effect very differing results.

What I have found here at TOTJO, is that we increase each others awareness of the force, which in turn increases our ability with the force.

How we use the force determines the definition whether we are using the “dark side” or “light side”.

Many would define the dark side as manipulating the force for selfish or personal benefits. So would the light side then be defined as manipulating the force for selfless acts, or the benefits of others?

We must each find the balance within ourselves to live with our actions. By my own definition above I could argue that performing a selfless act for the benefit of others is a dark side action. The “personal satisfaction” or “good feeling” I get by performing that selfless act gave me a personal benefit. So if I decide to do selfless acts for the benefit of the “good feeling” I will get then it becomes a dark side act.

But I digress. Another topic for another time.

The force is….

Then there are such things as \"Petty Tyrants\", \"energy vampires\" or \"control dramas\" that all seek to take our power from us because the people involved can't seem to connect to all the available energy around us. When we have a good relationship with the Force, we don't need to take it from someone else!

that was always my theory about ambient vampires, that they couldn't connect to or create energy of their own

I know people that never trained martial arts, they never even go to the gym, they hate to do physical effort, and anyway, they develop a strong connection with the force, and they become powerful also with some abilities

quite true while these tools are useful they are not mandatory, however by combining their usage we can increase our affinity for and ability to wield the force

We see examples of this in our lives, Monks who have “iron skin”, amazing ability to endure pain, walk on hot coals, lay on a bed of nails, psychics who predict future events with incredible accuracy, psychic vampires who leech from the people around them, mages, healers, and shaman, all have different attunements to the force that allows them to tap into the force to effect very differing results.

i didn't think anyone else knew about the iron skin trick,it's something i learned and developed on my own, though have yet to fully master...it goes hand in hand with the ability to tolerate high levels of pain...i've had numerous occassions of deja vu, and they were legitimate ones, cases where i wrote things down in a journal years before they happened....many friends have been creeped out by the accuracy

b.t.w the iron skin thing comes in very handy even if it isn't mastered(i don't remember the last time i ever had a visible bruise), i've spent a few years now trying to figure out how to describe how it works in order to teach it to others....but i'm not as eloquent as i'd like to be

Thanks for your input everyone! Interesting reading and good supplements to the point I was trying to make.

Mark, I don't mind at all! But could you send me a copy of that PDF you mentioned?

When looking at Iron Skin as you call it I have had the book found here at amazon that teaches Iron Shirt Chi Kung ...

http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Shirt-Chi-Kung-I/dp/0935621024/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277342814&sr=8-2

I have also found an eBook that I downloaded and will send to see about adding it to the Library.

nice find....i wouldn't mind reading it...