Jedi Lifestyle Practices You Can Adopt to Improve Yourself
There are ways that we all aspire to be as we go through life. We see a character in a movie or meet someone that we idolize, and we think, “Wow, I want to be like that.” For most fans of the Star Wars franchise, the Jedi serve as the pinnacle of goodness and strength.
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Adopting Jedi Practices
The Jedi teachings are those of personal growth, inner strength, peace, and justice. These are all things that we can benefit greatly from once we incorporate them into our lives. However, life is chaotic. So how do you start to achieve strength, inner peace, and balance? How can you start to become a just and self-aware person?
Adopting the Jedi mentality is one of the best ways to set yourself on a path of self-improvement, as well as reducing stress and distractions in your everyday life. There are many ways to be Jedi-like, and you can adopt the beliefs and practices that best suit you to become the person that you want to be.
Before we get started, let’s take a look at the Jedi Code to get a better idea of their mentality.
There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no death, there is the Force.
Mindfulness, Awareness, and Meditation
With more access to knpwledge and the narratives of other peoples’ experiences than ever before (thanks to the glorious internet), the health benefits of mindfulness and meditation are becoming well-known across the globe.
Meditation used to be an ancient practice used only by select groups of people. Now it is more commonplace than ever and you can do it with any amount of time you have available. Remember when Qui-Gon sat down between the laser gates during his duel with Darth Maul? Yeah, he had like 15 seconds and he chose to meditate to prepare himself for the rest of the battle. Sure, he died, but he did it with a clear mind. Something most people probably don’t do.
See if you can find time to meditate. Just a few minutes will work wonders, especially if you can do it every day.
The Jedi believe in consistent meditation practices because our thoughts and feelings can become polluted from all the interactions and events that occur throughout the day. This helps their thoughts stay clear and uncorrupted so that they can live a peaceful and purposeful existence.
Check out this Star Wars themed guided meditation video and try to find others to help you in your meditative journey. They come in all forms. Star Wars, Skyrim, etc. Find the theme that works best for you. After a while you can probably graduate to finding simple and peaceful scenes and audio without the guided voiceover.
Physical Fitness
Have you ever seen a fat Jedi? I didn’t think so. Unless you’ve played The Old Republic Online, in which case you can create a fat Jedi that somehow leaps around like he’s in total touch with his body and the Force. It’s madness.
Anyways, that’s not how it works in the real world in a galaxy far, far away. The Jedi practice physical fitness because it gives them strength to do their duty. A healthy body equals a healthy mind as well, and vice versa. You have to stay in touch with your body and your mind in order to achieve balance in life.
The Jedi are protectors of the helpless, so they must be strong and agile. The health benefits of staying fit include elevated mood, more energy, and an improved immune system. Our bodies are self-healing machines, but they can’t function that way without constant maintenance. So make sure there is some kind of workout regimen tied into your schedule.
Just like meditation, this does not require a ton of time, but it does require effort in order to improve. I believe the best workout is a bodyweight workout. It’s a workout that you don’t even need equipment for. Bodyweight exercises are also a good way to strengthen your Mind-Body Connection, which sounds like a Jedi ideal in itself, but it’s a real thing.
When I think of a Jedi, I think of agility, flexibility, strength, and balance. I think of overall control of the physical body and muscles that can go, instead of just show. Regardless of your size, you can train your body for strength and endurance with workout regimens that use calisthenics and yoga.
Yoga is also more of a meditative practice in itself. So maybe you can knock out two birds with one stone and be efficient (like a Jedi).
Diet
While there is no direct reference that I know of when it comes to the Jedi diet, I doubt they are out there slamming Big Macs and chicken nuggies. It just doesn’t correlate. Science tells us that food can influence our brain and our moods, so it stands to reason that the Jedi eat as clean as they aspire to exist. What might they eat then?
Most Jedi are probably at least vegetarians, if not vegan, since they value all life. Don’t panic, that doesn’t mean you need to go extreme and drastically change your diet, of course. It just means that practicing more moderation with your foods could possibly bring about overall health benefits.
If you’re going to stay physically fit and clear-headed, it’s best to consume more foods that will benefit your body and your mind. There is a lot of evidence that foods that are less acidic and more alkaline have major health benefits. The optimum pH level for human blood is about 7.0, so here is a list of some of the foods that are higher in pH and more alkaline.
When it comes to alkaline foods, raw is best. Cooking food often makes it more acidic.
pH 10.0
- Spinach
- High alkaline ionized water
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Carrots
- Lemons and limes (Try putting them in your water.)
pH 9.0
- Olive oil
- Mangoes
- Most lettuce
- Blueberries
- Peas
pH 8.0
- Apples
- Pineapple
- Wild rice
- Strawberries
- Bananas
Moderation
In conclusion, the Jedi believe in balance. So moderation is a common practice. Be mindful, but don’t forget to plan. Practice fitness, but don’t forget to relax. Eat well, but don’t forget to enjoy foods once in a while that some consider to be unnatural, if that's what you want to do.
This is just an introduction to some of the Jedi practices and ideals that you can benefit from incorporating into your life. I will go more in-depth in Part 2 some time in the future. Will it be a trilogy? Probably.
May The Force Be With You.
Sources: Learn Religions, Nerdist, WebMD, Dragon Door, Frederick Health, Chiropractic Economics
