The Internet went into a craze Monday night after a new trailer for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” debuted during ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast. In fact, some said it even broke the Internet.
The trailer showed some old favorite Star Wars characters, new heroes and villains, and a wide range of explosions and excitement that Star Wars fans have surely become accustomed to.
But the trailer also offered a message that some could consider to be religious.
In the trailer, the narrator, who is not revealed, says, “The Force — it’s calling to you. Just let it in.”
This concept may sound familiar to believers, who often struggle to let God, a religious deity or faith in general, take control of their lives, since it requires believers to let go of their control — a process best-selling author Margaret Paul, Ph.D., called “Letting God” in an article for The Huffington Post.
“The big challenge in letting go and letting God is in letting go of control,” Paul wrote. “We all have many, many layers of different kinds of controlling behaviors. We can't just let them go because often we don't even know we are being closed and controlling.”
To let God — or a religious deity or higher power, like The Force in the Star Wars films — in, believers should focus less on controlling their lives, and more on caring for others and being mindful of their feelings, Paul wrote.
“By being on the path of mindfulness about your own feelings, behavior and intent, you can slowly heal the addiction to control,” Paul wrote. “The less often your intent is to control, the more often your heart will be open to learning and the more you will naturally experience your higher guidance.”
Star Wars fans will remember that Obi-Wan Kenobi instructed Luke Skywalker to trust and be mindful of his feelings, too, in the original Star Wars film, and only then would he receive strength from a higher power — The Force.
This is why the concept of letting God, or The Force, in is one of the many beliefs of the actual Jedi religion, Jediism, a religion that’s often practiced overseas in Europe.
As the Temple of the Jedi Order’s doctrine explains, believers in the Jedi way — of which there is about .7 percent in the UK, according to BBC — have to trust in the way of The Force and allow it into their hearts, minds and souls in order to receive its blessings.
“Although the ways of The Force may seem strange at times, a Jedi always knows their place and their role within it,” the website says.
Those who practice Jediism will often meditate to help them become more mindful of The Force and its powers, the website said.
“Through regular meditation a Jedi examines their motivations, and are certain that they are not allowing emotion, ignorance, or passion to intrude upon them,” according to the doctrine. “Meditation can be used by a Jedi to improve their mindfulness, focus or patience.”
But trusting your feelings when it comes to God may not always be the best practice. Christianity Today’s Dawson McAllister explained that feelings are fleeting, and they can sometimes fool you. Rather, it’s important to trust the facts about your faith — that you’ve always believed in God and that you always will, McAllister wrote.
“Let me begin by saying that you can't always trust your feelings because feelings have nothing to do with the facts of God's word. Feelings come, feelings go,” he wrote. “And feelings can fool you. Trust the facts, not your feelings.”
Still, feelings can show you when you’re not close to God, or struggle to let your faith in, McAllister wrote. In those cases, it’s important to trust your feelings because they will put you on a better path toward receiving blessings from your higher power, McAllister wrote.
Like the Star Wars trailer suggests, when your faith calls to you, you must trust your feelings to let it in.
“Sometimes our feelings are a pretty good indication of where we are spiritually,” McAllister wrote. “Our feelings might be trying to tell us we've sinned against God, or that we've put our relationship with God on the back burner. If either is the case, it's time to listen to your feelings.”
For more on Star Wars:
New trailer for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” hints at the importance of family
What the new Star Wars casting says about women and race
‘Star Wars’ finds space at Disneyland, Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida
Herb Scribner is a writer for Deseret News National. Send him an email at hscribner@deseretdigital.com or follow him on Twitter @herbscribner.