The nine steps to power

Power in a digital world

From a digital perspective, the entire Star Wars saga is due to the concept of power. But you only know that it consists of a light and a dark side. Obviously, the Jedi represent one side and the Sith the other side. Sometimes these two sides are also called good and evil. However, these polar points of view depend on where you stand right now – the own is then the good and the other would be the evil.

The individual Star Wars episodes are dramatically structured to trace the path of power development. On the subject of power many and great thinkers have already broken their heads. From the ancient philosophers to George Lucas. In the northern Italian Middle Ages it was Niccolò Machiavelli with “The Prince”. Recently, the book “The 48 Laws of Power” by Robert Greene appeared.

In Star Wars, the evolution of power in each episode is as follows:

Episode 1

In the dark threat specifically the fear is treated. In addition, there is the legendary saying of Master Yoda, as the young Anakin is tested by him – “Fear is the path to the dark side – Fear leads to anger – Anger leads to hatred – Hate leads to untold suffering”. The digital reference to these are the four noble truths of Buddhism.

Episode 2

“Power always needs resources.” – This basic statement is true, but the way resources are used depends on the world space in which it is performed. Five such spaces are currently known on our planet Earth – starting with the Hunters over Warriors to Consumers, then to Intelligents and the Spirituals. The resources of spirituals are called spiritual and spiritual beings. Here a loan was made to the good and bad “angels” of the world religions.

Episode 3

The term “power games” is also very common in our time. Games are differentiated in “Finite Games” and “Infinite Games”. The Jesuit professor James P. Carse has written a book about this. In order to gain real power, you should not play finite games because the probability of losing them is 50%.

Episode 4

“You can not do anything.” – although you can swim against the current, but it costs a lot of power and energy. Which one, if you really need them (fight) no longer has. Therefore, the premise is only to do what the zeitgeist allows. Ghost occurs undulating and has valleys and crowns. If you want to build power, then you best bet on the rising flank of the wave. If you are too early, you waste energy and if you are too late, the system is already breaking down.

Episode 5

It is precisely the systems that must be taken into account in connection with the development of power. Systems have been researched very well in the meantime. Starting with Gregory Bateson over Heinz von Förster to Ken Wilber. The latter has developed very practical for each understandable four quadrant models with inside / outside and individually / collectively. In Star Wars, it is the episode “The Empire Strikes Back” where these systemic relationships become very clear and, above all, it shows where power intervenes.

Episode 6

In addition to power, the laser sword is probably the most widely known phenomenon. The fight with swords requires extraordinary physical abilities and, above all, concentration. Already the samurai warriors have recognized this combination and intensively trained the concentration. Concentration is found in the Hindu context – in the yoga tradition. Where yoga is much more than superficially marketed here. Very well founded is the Yoga of Patanjali. This results in an eight-membered guidance that leads to commandment, attitude to life through breathing, concentration to contemplation. The Return of the Jedi Knights is a great way to compare the Yoga Jedi Sith.

Episode 7

The latest episode “The Force Awakens” shows a holistic approach. The term “wholeness” is very often used by “eco-activists”. These meet only a part – namely the environment, which is basically ok, but not holistic. Arthur Köstler already coined the holon in the 60s of the last century. This is an entity that always consists of a wholeness and a divisiveness. In our known biological universe, these would be cells and organs. On the one hand, cells are independent (whole) and on the other hand parts of organs. In “The Awakening of Power”, again, there is the dark side – which is part of the Force – and, conversely, as a whole, the Sith, the Empire and the First Order are parts. The behavior of a single part determines the possibilities of the whole system. Conversely, the whole limits the movement space of the part.

Episode 8 & 9

Star Wars is an excellent visual object for holistic systems. The future episodes 8 & 9 are not yet known about the title and the content. From a power-spiritual point of view, the topics “Genesis” and “The Almighty Nothing” should be treated there. We are already curious how Disney will solve this.

All of this knowledge is due to observation. It uses the space ship Spiritua.Observer, which flies into the Star Wars Galaxy and is installed there as an observer and transmits the corresponding data. The resulting information is subjective and based on systemic and spiritual insights.