JEDI MIND TRICK

I’m continuing to explore the idea that life is an interpretation of my thoughts and feelings—experience springs from choice. Choosing peace requires self-awareness and radical responsibility. Though I’m taking baby steps with plenty of do-overs, I’m encouraged by discoveries that make my heart leap.

The root cause of my experience boils down to mindset. I remind myself that my experience is shaped by what I choose to focus on and the meaning I assign to it. Do I choose survival or invulnerability—fear or Love? This choice ripples through my perception and behavior. My mind decides between two realities: what is divine and impenetrable, or what is mind-made chaos. The latter, always shifting and crashing, reveals that I’m making it up.

I want to invest in what can’t be changed or lost—what always has been and always will be. It’s easy to focus on problems, especially when they manifest in the body. Disease is loud and demanding, using pain and dysfunction to dominate our experience through fear and survival. Yet, beneath this turbulence lies the quiet presence of salvation, always available if we have the insight to look deeper.

My eyes are like film projectors, playing the movie of my mind and keeping the focus on me. As long as that focus remains, it traps me in a closed loop of my own making. Initially, the thought of taking responsibility for what I don’t want made me angry and defensive. It’s easier to blame a raw deal or believe I was dealt a bad hand, but these are just excuses for the meanings I’ve assigned. Like a magnifying mirror that turns a tiny hair on a mole into a porcupine quill, our minds amplify what’s unwanted, making it seem impossible to remove. The only solution is to decide it’s not there.

I’m not suggesting I should retreat into denial or ignore my body’s needs. If my life reflects where I invest my attention, perhaps I should focus on what can’t be taken away from me. Everything happens in my mind. Even when my body signals pain, discomfort, and dysfunction, it’s my mind that pushes me into exasperation. I can choose to flip the mirror and see the whole picture. I can decide to give and receive what is impenetrable.

What if death is merely an illusion of the mind that believes in endings? The mortal predicament often causes scrambling and suffering. Investing everything in this body, destined to fail, is precarious.

A Course in Miracles teaches that Love created us to be like Itself. Love is the only thing that cannot be threatened or changed; its purity is unwavering. Our misery can be compared to a nightmare: we feel alone and scared until we wake up and realize it was just a dream. Can we apply the same perspective to our waking nightmares? Even within the human dichotomy, what if we could choose to awaken and understand that we are held in the immutable truth of our indestructible nature?

What if the way out of the fog that brings us together in our miseries is to lift each other up by holding each other in the highest regard? If we are truly One, healing through right relationship feels more genuine than healing ourselves in isolation. It seems more attainable to project love outward and trust that it will rebound back to us, breaking down the barriers we’ve created to love ourselves. I feel this is the next big step in understanding healing. I’ve been so focused on my own healing and feeling isolated, but now, thanks to A Course in Miracles, I’m realizing it’s not just about me. It’s about how I see myself in relation to others and how I perceive them.

If peace is our inherent right and love is our essence, then every genuine act of love—whether in thought or action—brings us closer to uncovering what we already are, hidden behind the fog of our own making. It often feels easier to see others in their perfect wholeness than to see myself that way. By focusing less on myself and holding others in absolute love, free from judgment, I feel like I’m discovering a crucial piece of the puzzle. It seems like a valuable and worthwhile practice to pursue.

I liken this viewpoint to the way of the Jedi. George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, may have drawn inspiration from a similar place in the galaxy, as the Jedi Code emphasizes focusing on peace and being aware of rash actions driven by dark thoughts. A skilled Jedi becomes aware of triggers that lead to conflict and turmoil and uses the Force, which connects us all, to create a peaceful mindset. This reinforces the way of the Jedi.

Perhaps the Force itself is love. When we look away from it, we create things that break, hurt, and end. The dark force uses every tactic to misdirect us from what cannot be destroyed, making us believe that life happens to us and forces us into an endless battle.

It’s like a Jedi mind trick to use love as the tether to correct the belief in all things that threaten us. We feel threatened because we feel scared, alone, and vulnerable. I find incredible relief in the idea that I can never truly be alone. Every opportunity to connect with another, with my heart open, is not only a chance to heal myself but also to contribute to the healing of others and the world we create.