Mei walked over to a bench and picked up a small box that was resting on the surface. Putting it on the floor in front of him, he sat down, cross-legged and indicated Lilla did the same.
“One of the challenges of learning this ability is the fear factor. To learn to put up a barrier, you have to learn to repel things. Things that would otherwise hit you.” Mei put his hand in the box and pulled out some sponge balls. “These won’t hurt and so are an ideal starting point.”
“The second is that our eyes deceive us, which I know I’ve said before. But moreover, they lead us to act in a way that is not conducive to learning. The moment you see a ball heading your way, you tense up – even if it is a soft one. Hence this.” Mei now took out a simple blindfold. “Pop this on.”
Lilla did so and felt oddly at ease straight away. She often meditated in the dark – she found it a perfect way to connect with the Force and so, without prompting, she found herself naturally sinking into a meditative state.
“In time, this needs to become instinctive, but for now, it’s a good way to learn the discipline.”
Mei allowed Lilla to relax further before he continued.
“As with any use of the Force, it begins with you connecting, which I sense you have already done. Next you need to imagine the Force is a barrier, stopping any harm coming to you. Then you have to push that barrier out of your body. Unless you are able to manipulate it, it will naturally form a sphere.”
Lilla concentrated on what Mei had said, but found the attention counter-productive. So she relaxed once more and simply told the Force what she wanted to happen. She imagined a suit of armour that covered her head to toe. She had no idea if it was working, but next she imagined this suit was being filled with air from the inside and so expanded to form a bubble – in this case a bubble of the Force.
“Good,” Mei said, which suggested to Lilla that she’d been successful.
As she awaited Mei’s next move, her Force Sense told her that a ball was being gently lobbed in her direction. This shifted her concentration and the Force barrier dissipated, allowing the ball to land softly on her nose.
Rubbing her nose more out of loss of pride than discomfort, Lilla sighed audibly before nodding. “I know, I know. Believe and multi-task.”