Welcome to the Force Academy Library, a collection of writings about the Force from many perspectives. Our authors range over more than twenty years of this community and represent many, many perspectives. While they are organized by each of the three Aspects of the Force that we have here at the FA, they all deserve thought, regardless of your personal alignments. Browse below, or use the Search entry in the upper right.

Terms of Service

Welcome to the Force Academy website. Please read these terms of service carefully. They contain important information regarding your legal rights, remedies, and obligations, including how the content you provide can be used and how any disputes will be resolved.

1. REVISION DATE

These Terms of Service were last revised on January 25, 2019 

2. ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS

The Force Academy provides this website, including all subdomains under the forceacademy.us domain, to you subject to the following Terms of Service (“TOS”). By registering with or by using the Force Academy site and subdomains (the “Site”), and in exchange for the Force Academy's agreement to provide the Site to you, you agree to be bound by these TOS. 

The TOS may be revised from time to time. We will indicate at the beginning of the TOS when they were last revised. Your continued use of the Site constitutes your agreement to all terms of the most recent TOS.  

You must be at least thirteen (13) years of age to use the Site. Any registration by, use of, or access to the Site by anyone under 13 is unauthorized, unlicensed, and in violation of these TOS. By using the Site, you represent and warrant that you are at least 13 years old.

The Force Academy reserves the right to refuse access to the Site or to any other service or product provided by the Force Academy, without notice, at any time, and for any reason.

3. PROVISION AND MODIFICATION OF SERVICE

The Site includes software, services, and content provided by the Force Academy. However, some of the content of the Site is provided by users who submit or post content on the Site. The Force Academy takes no responsibility for such content. 

You understand and agree that the Site is provided to you on an AS IS and AS AVAILABLE basis. The Force Academy disclaims all responsibility for the availability, timeliness, security, or reliability of the Site or any feature or software included in the Site. The Force Academy also disclaims all responsibility for the acts or omissions of third parties whose services, software, and content may be utilized in connection with the Site. You agree that the Force Academy shall not be liable for any such faults.

The Force Academy reserves the right at any time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Site (or any part thereof) with or without notice. The Site also may be subject to interruptions, caused by the Force Academy or others. You agree that the Force Academy will not be liable for any modification, suspension, interruption, or discontinuance of the Site.

4. REGISTRATION AND ACCOUNT CREATION

Certain features of the Site require you to register and create a user profile (“Profile Page”). As part of the registration process, you will select a member ID (username) and a password. You agree that you will maintain the security of your password, that you will be responsible for all use of your account, and that you will notify the Force Academy immediately of any breach of security or unauthorized use of your account. You agree that you will not register for more than one account, register for an account on behalf of anyone other than yourself, or use another’s account without permission.

5. CONDITIONS ON USE OF THE SITE

The Force Academy grants you permission to access and use the Site as set forth in these TOS, and in exchange you agree as follows:

• You will access and use the Site solely for your own personal use;
• You will not use the Site in any illegal manner or for any illegal purpose, in any other manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Site, or in any manner inconsistent with these TOS;
• You will not defeat or interfere with any security feature of the Site, or attempt to do so;
• You will not alter or modify any content or component of the Site, other than content you have submitted to or posted on the Site;
• You will not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, trade, resell, or exploit, for any commercial purpose, any content, component, or feature of the Site without the prior written permission of the Force Academy, except for content you have submitted to or posted on the Site, or content which you have the prior written permission of the owner to use;
• You will not use any automated system, software, or device to generate and send unsolicited communications to or through the Site; 
• You will not collect or harvest any personally identifiable information, including without limitation account names or email addresses, from the Site, nor use the communication systems provided by the Site for purposes of sending any commercial solicitation;
• You will not upload, post, transmit, share, or otherwise make available any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code designed to interfere with the functionality of or obtain any nonpublic information from any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment; and
• You will not harass or intimidate any other user of the Site. 

6. YOUR CONDUCT AND USE OF THE SITE

You acknowledge that you are solely responsible for the Profile Page (including your name, image or likeness, and biographical information), text, comments, and other content that you post, publish, upload, or display on the Site, or transmit to or share with others using the Site (collectively “User Content”), and for the consequences of posting, publishing, uploading, displaying, or sharing any User Content.

You understand and agree that you are responsible for the privacy settings of any User Content you submit or post on the Site. The Force Academy will not make your email address public, even if you choose to allow other users to contact you through your Profile Page. Your email address will not be considered User Content unless you make it publicly available on the site.

You agree that you will not use the Site to post, transmit, or share User Content that you did not create or that you do not have permission to post, transmit, or share. You affirm that you own or have all intellectual property rights (including without limitation copyright and trademark rights), licenses, and permissions to User Content you provide that are needed to use and to authorize the Force Academy to use that User Content in the manner described in these TOS. By submitting or posting User Content, you warrant that it does not infringe any intellectual property rights of another person.

You agree that you will not use the Site to post, transmit, or share child pornography. The use of the Site to publish or transmit child pornography will not be tolerated. If identified, it will be reported to law enforcement authorities, and will result in termination of your account.

You agree that you will not use the Site to post, transmit, or share User Content that is obscene, defamatory, or invasive of the privacy of another person, graphically violent, physically threatening, intended for any illegal purpose, or otherwise inappropriate on a site intended for a general audience. By submitting or posting User Content, you warrant that it is not obscene, defamatory, or invasive of the privacy of any other person, or otherwise illegal.

You understand that the Force Academy does not promise that User Content you submit to or post on the Site will be maintained by the Force Academy. You are solely responsible for creating backup copies of and replacing any User Content you submit to or post on the Site.

You agree that the Force Academy has no responsibility or liability for the deletion of, or the failure to store or to transmit, any User Content or other communications provided on or through the Site. The Force Academy retains the right to create limits on use and storage at its sole discretion, at any time, with or without notice.

You agree that you will not use the Site to promote any product or service on behalf of any person or entity that sells, provides, or offers the product or service.

7. RIGHTS TO AND USE OF THE CONTENT ON THE SITE

Except for User Content, all content and components of the Site (“Force Academy and subdomains”), including without limitation, the software, text, photos, video and audio content, graphics, and features, and all trademarks, service marks, and logos contained therein, are owned by the Force Academy, subject to any copyrights or other intellectual property rights held by others pursuant to law. The Force Academy reserves all rights to the content and any other component of the Site not expressly granted to you by these TOS.

You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the User Content will no longer appear on the Site. The Force Academy does not assert any ownership over your User Content; rather, as between the Force Academy and you, and subject to the rights granted to us in these TOS, you retain full ownership of all of your User Content and any intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights associated with your User Content.

8. OBJECTIONABLE OR INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT

By its very nature, the Site may include offensive, harmful, inaccurate or otherwise offensive or objectionable material. In some cases, the Site may include content that has been mislabeled or is otherwise deceptive. Please use caution and common sense and exercise proper judgment when using ForceAcademy.us. The Force Academy does not endorse, support, represent, or guarantee the truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of any content appearing on the Site at the direction of others. The Force Academy does not endorse any opinions expressed by others on the Site. You acknowledge that any reliance on material appearing on the Site will be at your own risk.

The Force Academy will not routinely review or revise content submitted to or posted on the Site by others. However, the Force Academy may read any such content, and reserves the right to refuse to distribute any such content, to remove any content from the Site, or to edit any content, in its sole discretion.

If you find content appearing on the Site that you believe violates these TOS, or that is offensive or otherwise objectionable, you may inform the Force Academy by either making use of available reporting functionality of the site, or by sending a message to theforce (at) forceacademy (dot) us. Be sure to type “Feedback” in the subject line. The Force Academy will review your message and the content to which you object (assuming it is still on the Site). We may remove the content if, in our judgment, it is inappropriate. However, please understand that deciding whether content is inappropriate is a judgment call, and that the Force Academy is not legally responsible for content that it does not originate. Neither is the Force Academy legally responsible for keeping content that it deems inappropriate off of the Site.

If content you have submitted is not published or is removed, please review these TOS and understand that the value of the Force Academy website is, to a large extent, based on providing an experience that is enlightening, welcoming, and pleasant for the people who use the Site. 

The Force Academy reserves the right to access, read, preserve, and disclose any information it reasonably believes is necessary to do any of the following: (1) satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request; (2) enforce these TOS, including investigation of potential violations hereof; (3) detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security, or technical issues; (4) respond to user support requests; or (5) protect the rights, property, or safety of the Force Academy, its users, or the public. You agree that the Force Academy will not be liable for exercising or failing to exercise any of these rights.

9. USE, PROMOTION, AND DISTRIBUTION OF CONTENT

You understand and agree that you will receive no compensation from the Force Academy for any User Content you submit to or post on the Site.

By submitting User Content to the Force Academy or posting it on the Site, you agree that the Force Academy, in its discretion, may modify your User Content as described in these TOS. The Force Academy will not be responsible for any claims arising from modifications that do not substantially change the meaning of the content, add new and different meanings, or result in the addition of new material that give rise to a claim. 

10. SPONSORS, ADVERTISERS, AND THIRD PARTIES

The Site may contain links to sponsor, advertiser, or other third-party websites that are not owned or controlled by the Force Academy. Inclusion of, linking to, or permitting the use or installation of any third-party site, applications, software, content, or advertising does not imply approval or endorsement thereof by the Force Academy. The Force Academy has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third parties. 

Your correspondence or dealings with, or participation in promotions of, sponsors, advertisers, or other third parties found on or through the Site, are solely between you and such third parties. You agree that the Force Academy shall not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of any such dealings or as the result of the presence of such sponsors, third parties, or advertisers on the Site.

11. PRIVACY

As a condition of using the Site, you agree to the terms of the Force Academy Privacy Policy, which may be updated from time to time, as expressed in the most recent version that exists at the time of your use. You agree that the Force Academy may access or disclose your personal information, including the content of your communications, if we are required to do so in order to comply with any valid legal process or governmental request (such as a court order, search warrant, subpoena, civil discovery request, or statutory authorization), or as otherwise provided in these TOS or the Force Academy Privacy Policy.

12. COPYRIGHT

The Force Academy respects the intellectual property rights of others. We prohibit users from uploading, posting, or otherwise transmitting materials that violate the intellectual property rights of others. When we receive notification of alleged copyright infringement that complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512, the “DMCA”), we promptly remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing material. We also terminate the accounts of repeat infringers. 

If you are a copyright owner or an agent thereof and you believe that any content on the Site infringes upon your copyrights, you may submit a notice by following the directions on our Copyright Policy page.

13. TERMINATION

You may terminate your use of or participation in the Site at any time. Promptly after your termination, we will remove your Profile Page. However, comments or other content you have submitted to or posted on the Site may remain there. In addition, the rights granted to the Force Academy with respect to User Content or other information you have submitted to the Force Academy or posted on the Site will survive the termination of your use or participation.

The Force Academy may, in its sole discretion, terminate your account, delete your profile and any content or information that you have posted on the Site, and/or prohibit you from using or accessing the Site, at any time, with or without notice, for any reason, including but not limited to violation of these TOS.

14. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT:

YOUR USE OF THE SITE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SITE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. THE FORCE ACADEMY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT.

In particular, and without limitation, the Force Academy makes no warranty that (1) the Site will meet your requirements; (2) the Site will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error free; (3) the results that may be obtained from the use of the Site will be accurate or reliable; (4) the quality of any products, services, information, or other material purchased or obtained by you through the Site will meet your expectations; (5) any errors in the contents or components of the Site will be corrected; or (6) that the Site is free of viruses or other harmful components.

No advice or information, oral or written, obtained by you from the Force Academy shall create any warranty not expressly stated in these TOS.

15. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THE FORCE ACADEMY SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF IT HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM THE USE OF OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE SITE. 

In particular, and without limitation, the Force Academy will have no liability for damages arising from (1) accessing, downloading, or otherwise obtaining any content or component of the Site, even if it results in the inadvertent transfer of harmful computer code, such as viruses, malware, or spyware; (2) unauthorized access to or disclosure or alteration of your transmissions or data; (3) statements or conduct of any third party on the Site; or (4) as otherwise provided in these TOS.

16. EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY AND DAMAGES MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

17. INDEMNIFICATION

You agree to hold harmless and indemnify the Force Academy, and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, and employees from and against any third-party claim arising from or in any way related to your use of the Site, including any liability or expense arising from all claims, losses, damages (actual and consequential), suits, judgments, litigation costs, and attorneys’ fees, of every kind and nature. The Force Academy will make reasonable efforts to provide you with written notice of any such claim, suit or action, but the failure of the Force Academy to provide such notice will not relieve you of these obligations.

Privacy Policy

The Force Academy provides the forceacademy.us and subdomains to you subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy. By registering with or using the ForceAcademy.us site and any subdomain (the "Site"), you accept and agree to this Privacy Policy.

We respect your privacy. We use information provided by you primarily to deliver items you request, such as notifications or email newsletters. You may always opt out of receiving these communications through settings available in various parts of the site.

Upon request, we provide our users with access to any personally identifiable information that we maintain about them. Users may correct this information or have themselves removed from any list of users or subscribers that we may share with others by contacting us at theforce (at) forceacademy (dot) us.

1. CHANGES TO PRIVACY POLICY AND REVISION DATE

This Privacy Policy may change from time to time. The Revision Date below will show you when the Privacy Policy was last revised. By continuing to use this Site, you agree to all terms of the most recent version of this Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy was last revised on January 25, 2019.

2. CONTENT YOU SUBMIT

The Site allows you to submit and post content ("User Content"). User Content that you submit to the Force Academy or post on the Site, including any personal information included in your User Content, is accessible according to the privacy settings available through the software of the site, and may be seen, collected, and used by others.

The Site may also allow you to send messages to other users. While the content of such messages will not be publicly displayed on the Site, the Force Academy has no ability to control how the content of messages sent to other users is used or disseminated. You should assume that anything you put into an message to another user may become public.

3. HOW WE USE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

We use your email address for administrative purposes (such as notifying you of changes to the Site or customer service). We do not give access to email addresses to third parties for any purpose.

4. SITE USAGE INFORMATION: COLLECTION AND USE BY THE FOUNDATION

The Site uses cookies. (A cookie is a small amount of data—sent to your browser from a web server and stored on your computer’s hard drive—that may be accessed when you use a website.) Cookies are used primarily as follows: (1) to store information so that you will not have to reenter it during your visit or the next time you visit the Site; (2) to track usage throughout the Site (e.g., tracking where traffic comes from, how traffic flows within the Site, etc.); (3) to monitor aggregate metrics, such as the total number of visitors, pages viewed, etc. Most web browsers are initially set up to accept cookies, but you can reset your web browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, certain features of the Site may not work if you delete or disable cookies.

In addition, when you visit the Site, some basic technical information may be collected by us or by a third party that provides us with Site usage information, including your IP address, domain name (e.g., whether you logged on from AOL.com or WhiteHouse.gov), referral data (e.g., the address of the last website you visited prior to clicking through to the Site), and browser and platform type (e.g., a Firefox browser on a Macintosh platform).

We will not disclose personally identifiable information about you, except to the degree that you disclose it through your comments or Profile Page, or as provided in this Privacy Policy, or with your permission.

5. USAGE INFORMATION: USE BY THIRD PARTIES

The Site may also contain links to sponsor, advertiser, or other third-party websites that are not owned or controlled by the Force Academy. We have no control over, and we assume no responsibility for, the conduct, practices, or privacy policies of others. You should review the privacy policies of the companies who operate those websites.

7. INFORMATION REGARDING DONORS

When you make a donation, you may provide us with your name, physical address, and email address. You may also provide credit card account information. 

The Force Academy does not retain or use any credit card or other financial account information. That information is conveyed to third-party payment services, and is used only to clear the payment for your donation. When sending or receiving credit card information, we automatically direct users to a secure transaction server. 

When you donate, we use the information you provide to process your donation. Online donations made to Force Academy are processed by PayPal. We do not share your name, address, email address, or any other personally identifiable information about your donation with anyone else.

7. PROMOTIONS AND SURVEYS

From time to time, we may sponsor promotions, contests, surveys, or other events which require the collection, processing, and storage of individual contact information (e.g. your name or email address) and demographic information (e.g., your age) to be used for the event.

Demographic information may be compiled and reported or shared in the aggregate with others, but no personal details that can be linked to specific individuals will be provided. We will not release personally identifiable contact or demographic information to any third party.

8. CHILDREN’S PRIVACY

Protecting the privacy of young children is important to us. For that reason, we do not collect or maintain information at our Site from those we know are younger than 13, and no part of our Site is designed to attract anyone younger than 13. If you are younger than 13, you should not submit or post any personal information on our Site.

9. DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We will not use or disclose your personal information (personally identifiable data such as your name, email address, password, and the content of your communications) except: (1) as described in our Terms of Service or this Privacy Policy; (2) after obtaining your permission to a specific use or disclosure; (3) if we are required to do so in order to comply with any valid legal process or governmental request (such as a court order, a search warrant, a subpoena, a civil discovery request, or a statutory requirement); or (4) as otherwise required by law.

10. ASKING QUESTIONS, MAKING CHANGES, OR OPTING OUT

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or about our privacy practices, or if you want to review and correct any personal information we may have about you, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., with "Privacy" in the subject line. 

The Force Academy (FA) was founded in 1998 and it’s one of the first online communities of its kind. We are a collaborative community initiative that studies the philosophy and real world application of the Force. This is a philosophical and educational effort, aimed at learning from the Force and Jedi Realist contemplation, and not in merely roleplaying the fiction.

The Aspects

The FA is home to many students of the Force, who mainly align with one of three Aspects:

• Light – Sometimes known as the traditional Jedi archetype
• Dark – Sometimes known as the Dark Jedi archetype
• Shadow – An aspect unique to this community

Each Aspect emphasizes different methods, tools and approaches to the Force, which result in a variety of spiritual paths for both the Community and the Individual. We welcome those who choose to follow one of the three Aspects as well as those who prefer an alternative road, regardless of any religious, cultural, or ethnic background.

Browse and Learn

We offer a variety of reading material in our Library and you will find those articles and more in the links along the top of each page.

Stay and Become

If you like what  you read here and want to join our community, create a login here and join our Community and see how far you can go.