Lesson 5 – Part 7: Material Dimension – Tangible Ways to Connect with the Force
Original journal entry from July 27, 2025 – Response to Lesson 5: Introduction to Religion (Part 7: Material Dimension). This was my reflection on the tangible, physical ways I connect with the Force — through objects (lightsaber, vintage wooden stand/ice bowl), daily routines (morning doctrine/Bible reading, walks), and embodied practices (breathing, movement, community synchronicities) — as real, material expressions of spiritual connection.
Of course, lightsabers and the Star Wars movies are definitely some of the first things that come to mind when I’m thinking about the material dimension. Working with a lightsaber does offer an opportunity to learn to sense the Force and discern the direction of its flow. This is to some degree a form of meditation that partners with physical activity while discerning the direction of the flow of the Force. The same goes for meditation, and especially combined with breathing exercises, where I can connect with and feel the Force around me and flowing through me.
There are different things that I can do in isolation to connect to the force, but what I’ve begun to build over the last couple of months is a daily routine in the morning when I am getting ready to go to work. Not only do I spend time with God but especially during this month of July, I have also been reading or listening to the doctrine.
I recently saw this vintage wooden stand at Goodwill that has a mirror and a place for a ceramic bowl and pitcher that I have decided to add to my sacred space and for the stick-my-face-in-a-bowl-of-ice-water-every-morning as part of my daily centering ritual as I get ready for the day. I walk to work nearly every morning, only not on rainy days or when I need to run an errand after work. And then I obviously walk back home. And I to some degree have dreaded walking some days, but I always feel better whenever I do it. This is the same feeling I have with putting my face in ice water. And those walks every morning, even though they are not completely in nature, I am still enjoying the sunrise and the beauty of the environment that I’m walking in. This too helps me connect to the Force. It puts my head in a meditative space, thinking about the doctrine reading that I did in the morning, thinking about what I’ve read in the Bible that day, and thinking about how I might apply those principles to my day.
Another way that I have been learning to connect to the Force is being physically in community with others, even if they don’t share the same beliefs that I do, this is something that I have been getting a better grasp of each day. The Force is still there whether someone believes in it or not. And it is a new way for me of looking at interactions with others and seeing how the Force flows around and through each one of us and everything we do or say. I feel like it manifests itself best when more than one of us are in a conversation we seem to have the same thoughts and keep finishing each other’s sentences. Or when I experience what we might call coincidences or “deja vue.” Personally, I see these things as the Force confirming that I am in the right place at the right time.
Umalohókan
House of Twin Suns
TM: Carlos Martinez
"You don't have to see the whole staircase just to take the first step."
(Signature links to IP Journal, Apprentice Journal, A.div Journal, and Degree Tracker omitted for brevity — these were forum navigation links at the time.)
The following user(s) said Thank You: RosalynJ
Looking back now: This entry rounds out Lesson 5 by focusing on the material/tangible side — everyday objects, physical rituals (ice water, walks, lightsaber work), and how the Force shows up in routine and community moments. It shows how the program helped turn spiritual connection into something felt in the body and daily life.