Jedi Spirits
We all remember the first time Luke saw Obi-Wan appear to him. No matter how young, we realized this was special and was not to be taken lightly. After their deaths we see Yoda and Anakin as well after the Alliance's win on Endor. After founding the Jedi Academy, Luke records this message:
"Evidently, the ancient Jedi did not regard such spirits as remarkable or accidental occurences, which suggests that they may have been aware of how to survive death, but it seems that this knowledge became lost or forgotten, possibly more than three thousand years ago. Although some texts indicate that only Jedi Masters could achieve this transition, exceptions such as Jedi Knights Andur Sunrider and Anakin Skywalker indicate that a force-user's title is not so significant. For now, I can only assume that the survival of a Jedi's consciousness beyond death may have something to do with training, as well as with the will of the Force, or with the individual's openness with the Force" (Luke Skywalker, Jedi vs. Sith, p. 85-87).
I do believe that being able to be seen or maintain a consciousness after death depends greatly on the will of the Force and the individual's abilities and connections. We see this with Anakin/Vader as we do see him after death despite his lack of training past the early stages of Knighthood. But, he was The Chosen One. He had a connection no one else could likely understand and so was probably destined to be able to return. We also see that Obi-Wan and Yoda are older when we see them on Endor. Originally.
The reason given for the change was that they thought Anakin should be seen as the last time he was "good". In my opinion, that was about 10 minutes earlier so him being old made sense. The change resulted in a world of backlash from fans and was changed when the originals and prequels were released together remastered.
The first time we are told anything about maintaining consciousness is in Revenge of the Sith. Yoda tells an exiled Obi-Wan that he has training for him and he will teach him how to communicate with Qui-Gon Jinn. We assume that this is how Obi-Wan himself learns to stick around for Luke. We are told in the last few episodes of The Clone Wars series how Yoda comes across the ability. After beginning to hear Qui-Gon's voice, he is led on a quest and discovers Dagobah, a planet that is stronger with the Force than any other Yoda has been on. Along the way he is guided by Qui-Gon and is taught how to maintain his own mind and communicate with others.
Hopefully, Disney has some sweet moments in store for us in the coming movies/ novels. However, Force spirits are not to be taken lightly. In the Star Wars universe, they are strong force-users who have overcome many obstacles in order to appear to those needing their guidance. Taking this concept and simply throwing a random ghost or two in there is unacceptable. If we do see more spirits, they should be meaningful moments to the characters and the audience.
Twitter: @ForceKnowledge
