Jedi Code - Part 1
Humans are born with emotions and the knowledge that they can be applied. When a baby is distressed, he will cry out, knowing (subconsciously) that help will arrive. Using emotions as a step in understanding our world and expressing them is a part of who we are. Then, at some point, we find the Jedi path. How do we reconcile our emotional triggers and tools with the phrase, "There is no emotion ~ there is peace"? To explore this first line of the Jedi Code, I'm gong to look at emotions and how they affect us, and the idea of the individual as one with the Force as it pertains to emotional well-being.
We experience a variety of emotions - happiness, joy, sadness, anger, fear, wonder, love, terror, calm, awe, hurt, fatigue. and more. Jedi feel these emotions as they go through the daily experiences. Just as non-Jedi, our bodies do react to emotions, even in just feeling them, let alone acting up them. When one feels happiness or joy, the body responds by producing certain chemicals that promote health and well-being. Conversely, feeling fear or anger brings a bodily reaction that harms our cells and leads to physical illnesses. Bio-chemically speaking, though we may feel all of our emotions, some certainly have a healthier effect on us.
Where we're not necessarily able to control whether or not we feel emotions initially, it is within a Jedi's domain to exercise emotional responsibility. The reason for this control works at the individual and "global" level. As feeling an emotion affects our body, so does acting/reacting from an emotional standpoint. When one acts from a point of view of love, or joy, the body produces endorphins that boost the body's immune system and promotes further well-being. When one acts from anger, the body reacts by giving an emotional high too, but the long-term effect is detrimental to the body. From my own experiences, I used to play pool a lot. I also lost at pool 99% of the time. Missed shots. Early on, I would "experiment" with my emotional reaction and the result it would have on the game. When I acted on the game from anger, I would make a shot more often then not. Yet, I would find that those feelings of anger/aggression carried with me into my conversations, driving home, etc. When I approached my losing games with joy in the face of losing, I found that I would also make the shots and my later actions in conversation, driving, etc also occurred with joy/happiness intact. Regardless, I found that I still lost at pool; one cannot substitute pure practice and skill! Globally speaking, any empath will tell you that people project their emotional energy like beacons. One "clutters" the Force and other people when one does not control emotional reactions.
Thinking of the saying, "Will this [issue] matter in 100 years?" may be a good way to approach the Jedi way, Force connections and emotions. We as people feel emotions. As Jedi, we seek to act with emotions that are healthy and serve the greatest good. These are peaceful states of being that work in harmony with the Force. Another way of saying this is: at the micro level (base humanity), there is emotion. At the macro level (spiritual heighteness), there is peace, not emotion. As a Jedi attains a deep connection to the Force, he IS the Force and finds that "There is no emotion ~ There is peace."