A long time ago - in a galaxy far, far away.
Well - you all know how the saying goes, don’t you.
But whether it’s the depiction of a solemn, beige cloaked Jedi monk floating off the edge
of a cliff in perfectly serene meditation - or an ominously armoured pale skinned cyborg
shooting lighting out of their fingertips just for the fun of it - our culture has been
fascinated by that uniquely awesome cosmic concept of bending the will of physics and
metaphysical matter by sheer force of will alone.
But what if there was something more to it?
What if Star Wars was on to something, and the Force *was* actually Real? -- or, more
importantly - what if it already is?
Hello internet - what’s going on and welcome back to the most inquisitive channel on YouTube
- Life’s Biggest Questions.
As per usual, I’ll be your disembodied floating voice Jack Finch - as today, we curiously
ask the question - What If The Force Was Real?
Roll the clip.
For the curious amongst you, that clip was of course - from Star Wars The Empire Strikes
Back - because - come on, this is a Star Wars video.
And we’re not quite ready to start laying on the whole midichlorian thing - hopefully
we can have some fun first before we get into that whole debacle.
Well for those of you that don’t know, and hey, not everyone is clued in about the most
successful science fiction movie franchise ever created - Star Wars first crept onto
the silver screen in 1977 - with Star Wars - A New Hope - written and directed by George
Lucas, breathing life into an entire galaxy filled with wookies, droids - smugglers, moisture
farmers, Sarlacc pits, evil empires, rebel alliances - and of course, the lightsaber
swooshing Jedi and Sith Orders.
Since it’s cinematic debut, the Star Wars franchise has spawned 9 films spanning over
four decades, as well as countless books, graphic novels, animated series and video
games - that have gradually rounded out an entire fictional universe - all pinned together
by one, iconic cosmic - well, Force.
It’s The Force, guys.
Well, as my guy Obi-Wan says -- the Force is what gives a Jedi (or a Sith) his (or her)
power.
It’s an energy field created by all living things.
It surrounds us and penetrates us - it binds the galaxy together - and it also gives it’s
wielder the power to do awesome stuff - like this.
Well, depending on your life choices anyway.
Hey, I can’t discriminate - you can’t have a Jedi without a Sith, after all.
And believe it or not, there have been many, many more interpretations of the Force throughout
the Star Wars franchise, not just the Jedi and Sith Orders.
There’s the Dagoyan Order, the Nightsisters of Dathomir - The Church of the Force, the
Guardians of the Whills - the Lasat Mystics, the Frangawl Cult - the Chiss.
And whilst their interpretations have varying levels of implications, all of them have one
thing in common.
These little guys.
Midichlorians.
And although they’re not exactly the most popular deus ex machina - we can’t talk
about the Force without first addressing it’s literal lifeblood.
As the late, great Qui-Gon Jinn explained - without midi-chlorians life could not exist.
They are microscopic, intelligent life forms that reside within the cells of all living
organisms - forming a symbiotic relationship with their hosts.
For those that had a certain biologically sensitive disposition to these organisms - they
bestowed on their hosts the ability to commune with The Force itself to varying degrees of
power.
For some, like Master Yoda - his relationship with The Force and his knowledge toward the
nature of midi-chlorians led to him attaining the power of preserving his consciousness
indefinitely after death.
For others - like Darth Plagueis the Wise - his mastery of midi-chlorians allowed him
to influence the Force in order to create life itself.
And in the case of the young Anakin Skywalker and his unassuming mother Shmi - midi-chlorians
just so happened to demonstrate their incomprehensible power, with an immaculate conception - which
is no small feat, may I add - and Anakin was birthed from the cosmos without a father.
Literally.
Midi-chlorians were just like - yo, you got a baby now.
Deal with it.
Oh, and also, he’s the Chosen One of Jedi prophecy - and he’s meant to bring balance
to the Force.
If only he had the high ground.
Oops.
Conceptually though, the nature of midi-chlorians aren’t exactly difficult to hypothetically
apply to our own existence - are they?
In most cases, various cultures and religions have attempted to explain - that *thing* - that
concept of cosmic manipulation and universal manifestation - through both prayer and arduous
practice - but perhaps the most similar human depiction of the Force - is a little thing
known as Chi.
Chi is an incredibly important concept in many Eastern philosophies - and has been written
and studied for over ten thousand years - ranging from China, Japan, India - to the Pacific
Islands and South America.
It makes up the majority of Chinese folk religion - and forms the basis of Daoism.
In essence, it is the culmination and collection of a universal, physical energy - that binds
all living things together, and gives those that have mastery of it the ability to perform
incredible physical and mental feats.
Hm.
Kind of sounds familiar, right?
Chi is comprised from the duality of yin - and yang - the female and the male, positive and
negative electromagnetic energies that flow through every living thing in creation, centring
around an eternal balance.
Both of these sides - the Yin and the Yang - are often depicted as the Light and Dark
opposing concentrations of lifeforce energy.
Hm.
That also kind of sounds familiar, right?
Almost like they could be the Jedi… or the Sith.
Well, the point is - chi is often utilized in many different metaphysically defying ancient
practices - most notably in martial arts such as Aikido and the Chinese study of Wushu.
And when we really boil it down, the eternal study of this chi phenomena has led to some
incredible Force-esque feats.
In 2009 - an Australian martial artist named Anthony Kelly demonstrated his astute proficiency
at channeling his chi by catching 33 arrows out of thin air - with his bare hands - live
on television.
Eh.. and he didn’t even have a lightsaber.
Then there’s this guy, ancient Kung Fu grandmaster Zhou Ting-Jue - a Chi practitioner that possesses
the ability to channel intense heat through the palms of his hands to such a level that
he can boil a cup of water just by holding it.
Allegedly, anyway - but he’s even been captured doing so during a study on thermal cameras.
Then there’s this lady - Zhang Tingting, a Chinese kung-fu artist that had exemplified
her connection to chi energy - through none other than her hair.
In fact - she’d grown her hair to such a cosmic force that she managed to pull six
cars 50 meters through Beijing - with them all attached to her ponytail.
Yeah.
Then she shaved it off, became a Nun - and scientists are studying her hair like - I
wonder where all the midichlorians are.
That’s the thing though guys, isn’t it?
The concept of the Force is very much a real thing.
Be it Chi - or qi - or Universal Energy - life, Gaia - God - or an entire pantheon of gods.
It always has been, and it’s comprised the cosmic fabric of our reality for thousands
of years - just waiting to be discovered and tempered into some form of manipulative energy
that humanoids can harness to find their way across the universe - guiding them omnipotently
through its symbiotic sway.
It’s exciting, isn’t it?
Hey, I mean - we don’t have lightsabers just yet - but maybe one day, in a galaxy,
far, far away - we will.
Well - there we have it, our some-what answer to What If The Force Was Real - what do you
guys think?
Do you see it the same way?
Let us know your thoughts down in the comment box below.
While you’re on that mental thread of thought - if you’ve got any particular burning Life’s
Biggest Question that you just can’t keep to yourself - then please, speak your mind
freely and we’ll see what we can do.
You know we love a challenge though.
On that note folks, that’s unfortunately all we’ve got time for in today’s video
- cheers for sticking around all the way until the end.
If you were a fan of this video, make sure to hit that thumbs up button - as well as
that subscribe bell, and I’ll be seeing you in the next one.
As per usual, I’ve been your disembodied floating voice Jack Finch - you’ve been
watching Life’s Biggest Questions - and until next time, you take it easy.