Star Wars’ Force is Qi

Yes, I’m a Star Wars fan. As I sit to write this on May the 4th, I’m wearing a Darth Vader t-shirt, multi-character Star Wars leggings, and R2-D2 socks. I’m not a superfan though. I can’t tell which Stormtrooper helmet goes with which movie, I can’t name the different types of spaceships, and I have never read a Star Wars book. My husband can and has. I have seen all the movies multiple times though, partly because the original ones are nostalgic for me, and partly because of the idea of “the Force.”

When I watched The Last Jedi, I was thrilled by their explanation of what this Force is. 

Luke asks Rey, “What do you know about the Force?” Her answer is, “It’s a power that Jedi have that lets them control people and make things float.” According to the movies, she’s not entirely wrong. But, according to the Jedi and also to reality, she’s wrong. Luke responds:

It’s the energy between all things, a tension, a balance that binds the universe together.

What I saw this in the theatre, I nearly stood up to do a fist pump and shout “Yes!” because I think that’s a decent explanation of Qi, of Yin and Yang, and of the foundation of our Traditional Chinese Medicine philosophies and principles.

Next, Rey tries to feel the Force, and as she does, she voices what she experiences: “The islands, birds. Death and decay…that feeds new life. Warm, cold. Peace, violence.”

It’s Yin and Yang–opposing, but mutually supporting energies–in a continuous exchange, ebb and flow. Energy can become matter or vice versa, according to Einstein’s law of relativity (e=mc²). Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared. And since the speed of light is such a huge number, the formula means that any small amount of matter contains a very large amount of energy. So, you contain a very large amount of energy!

You, essentially, are energy. You are Qi. You are the Force. 

Or, if you prefer another definition of Qi, here’s a funny one from the Urban Dictionary: