Enlightened Entertainment Finding Life Lessons in Movies & Television: "The Rise of Skywalker"
Dr. Sara Frawley
The entire Star Wars saga is engrossed in Buddhist and Taoist teachings. Some of these lessons are more obvious than others, from Rey meditating to connect with the Force to everything Yoda says, ever. But some of the wisdom in the newest episode The Rise of Skywalker is a lot more subtle.
Yin Yang - The Balance in the Universe
Yin and Yang are defined as the two principles, one dark, negative and one light, positive whose interactions influence the destinies of all creatures and things. I have always thought of them as protons (positive) and electrons (negative) because like in chemistry, neither is good or bad. They just exist side by side.
When most people think of Yin Yang they think of the ubiquitous black and white swirls that seem like opposites, but actually interconnect and complement each other. The symbolism of these two principles as black and white are evident throughout all of the Star Wars films. Think of the contrast between Luke’s white robe to the black metallic suit of Darth Vadar and most recently in the costuming of Rey and Kylo Ren/Ben in the newest episode.
In this film, Leia reminds us accepting this concept is the way to enlightenment. “Never be afraid of who you are” she tells Rey. Both Rey and Ben struggle with the concept of good and evil. But as the yin yang symbol reminds us, there is dark in the light and light in the dark. This goes for all things.
Carl Jung stated “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious”. Denying our “darkside” instead of embracing it can create shame and fear in ourselves. These strong emotions can, of course, influence our behavior. We see this most prominently in the reason for Ben’s transition to Kylo Ren. Luke’s ultimately shaming (and the threat of execution) was an obvious instigation of Ben leaning towards the “darkside”.
Some things are stronger than blood.
There’s nothing more complicated than family. Some of us are born into loving families, others are born into toxic environments and some of us are just abandoned on the distant planet Jakku. Whatever your family situation is, as we grow, it is upon ourselves to create our own family. So whether your family is literally the reigning force of the darkside, or just feels like sometimes, it’s ok to break from that dynamic and choose your own tribe.
Stand together, side by side.
The word feminism often makes people cringe so let me first start by defining feminism. A feminist is a person who believes in the economic, political and social equality of women. That’s it. For some odd reason, people think it means women wanting more than equality, or thinking they are better than the opposite sex. Entertainment seems to instigate this idea sometimes (and I’m not just talking about Fox News).
The new wave of feminism isn’t about women all standing together alone but about men and women standing together as equals. Something the Marvel Universe missed the point of as only women stood behind Captain Marvel, aka ‘the ultimate being’, in Avengers: Endgame.
Rey and Ben are each other’s equals. They stood up against Palatine together, as a dyad. We, as humans, must stop standing up for our own selfish equality. We must really start standing up for the equality of everyone and everything everywhere.
“Alone, never have you been.” - Master Yoda
In Rogue One, the blind warrior Chirrut Îmwe repeats to himself "I'm one with the Force. The Force is with me." To me, this was Chirrut Îmwe reminding himself that we are all connected on some basic molecular level. In the Rise of the Skywalker, Rey is also reminded of this by the voices of past Jedis as she struggles with Palpatine’s words that she is alone.
As a Naturopathic Doctor, I promote the concept that we are all connected. This theory helps those I work with who, struggling with sadness and loneliness, to connect with their inner selves. And while some might struggle with this concept, because it sounds too spiritual, you will always have yourself and that’s all that you need.
Courtesy of Quora.com (https://www.quora.com/Who-are-the-voices-of-the-Jedi-in-Star-Wars-Rise-of-Skywalker)
You always have the strength to stand alone.
And that leads to my final lesson, even when you are alone (which you never are - see above) you always have the strength to stand by yourself. This, of course, takes courage and practice for most of us have been discouraged, shamed and bullied into thinking that we are not enough. But those were, and are just lies and projections of the tormentor.
Compassion is the key. Having compassion for yourself can help you: a) forgive those who made you feel like you weren’t worthy; and b) know that you are all that you will ever need.
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Dr. Sara B. Frawley is a chemist, human biology professor and personal holistic doctor. She is the owner of Ground Force Medicine LLC in Wallingford and Cromwell, CT as well as the founder of Ground Force Supplements LLC.
Dr. Frawley uses her medical detective skills to understand the underlying causes of disease. She works with adults with chronic diseases, such as cancer or Lyme utilizing counseling, botanical medicine, anti-inflammatory diets such as the “Blood Type Diet” and through genetic analysis