The Force (Jedi Renaissance)

"Well, the Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi

The Force was a metaphysical, binding, and ubiquitous power that held enormous importance for both the Jedi and Sith monastic orders. Depending on the faith or order the Force was viewed in many different aspects, including but not limited to the light side, the dark side, the Unifying Force, and the Living Force. The first two aspects were concerned with the moral compass of the Force, as manifested by the conduct and emotions of living creatures who were themselves part of the fabric of the Force. The light side of the Force was the facet aligned with compassion, selflessness, self-knowledge and enlightenment, healing, mercy and benevolence, while the dark side of the Force was the element aligned with hatred, fear, covetousness, anger, aggression, jealousy and malevolence. The latter two aspects were defined by prominent Jedi philosophies: The Unifying Force essentially embraced space and time in its entirety while the Living Force dealt with the energy of living things. Though the Force was categorized in this way, there were no specific abilities or powers that were only usable by a follower of a particular path of the Force; the Force partially existed inside the life forms that used it, and drew energy from their emotions. In the strain of thinking that coupled light and dark, some teachings taught that the light and dark were in need of balancing. The early Je'daii and late Jedi Orders focused on this Balance, believing that both darkness and light had a place in the Order's members' hearts.

Some beings, particularly the Sith, believed that the dark side of the Force was more powerful than the light, though it was possible that the dark side was just more tempting to those who used or desired to use it. Though the Force was thought to flow through every living thing, its power could only be harnessed by beings described as Force-sensitive. This Force-sensitivity was correlated with, and sometimes attributed to, a high count of internal microorganisms called midi-chlorians that were found in a Force-sensitive's blood: the higher the count, the greater the being's potential Force ability, though there were some exceptions to this rule. Force-sensitive beings were able to tap into the Force to perform acts of great skill and agility as well as control and shape the world around them. Sometimes this ability was described as having a strong Force "aura".