Mind probe ( Force power ) Mind probe was a powerful ability of the Force that allowed the user to sense or even sift through the thoughts of the victim , seeking useful information . The mind probe was highly invasive and could potentially cause those being to experience great discomfort , to the point of extreme pain , making it useful in torturing subjects that attempted to resist . However , such resistance would be unsuccessful in a being without the power to use the Force . History . After capturing Kanan Jarrus , a Jedi survivor of Order 66 and a rebel , the Grand Inquisitor questioned Jarrus aboard Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin ' s Star Destroyer , the " Sovereign " , used the mind probe ability in an attempt to discover the location of the other rebels , however Jarrus managed to resist the Inquisitor ' s probing . After capturing Ezra Bridger on abandoned Republic medical station , she tried to psychologically break him and to get him to reveal the location of Ahsoka Tano through taunts , threats , and even an attempted mind probe , which only caused Ezra discomfort , while he was able to resist her . Maul demonstrated skill with the ability when discovering the location of Kanan Jarrus ' Jedi holocron and his true name , Caleb Dume , by probing Hera Syndulla ' s mind . He also managed to sense that Obi - Wan Kenobi was protecting someone when he confronted his adversary on Tatooine . Anakin Skywalker himself would later be capable of using the ability as the Sith Lord Darth Vader . He once used the ability to sense conflict within his son , Luke Skywalker , aboard the second Death Star . In the process of sensing his son ' s emotions , Vader was able to discover the existence of Luke ' s twin sister , born to himself and Padmé Amidala . The powerful dark side - wielder Kylo Ren was adept at the mind probe and used it to great effect , with his use of the ability being strong enough to exert physical force on a target with enough effort , either to pinning them down or to hold them up . When seeking the map that would lead to the location of Luke Skywalker , he traveled to the planet Pillio where he probed the mind of Del Meeko and learned that Lor San Tekka had taken the map to Bayora . Sometime later he captured the Resistance pilot Poe Dameron on Jakku after Dameron traveled there to retrieve the portion of the map that Tekka had . While Dameron was resistant to traditional interrogation techniques , he had no power to resist Ren ' s power , which inflicted great pain on Poe , until it was revealed that Dameron had stored the information he sought in the astromech droid BB - 8 , who was on Jakku . Later , Ren captured the scavenger Rey after learning that she had seen the map and subjected her to a mind probe as well . As he sought the information , he discovered other memories , such as her encounters with Han Solo , and taunted her . Rey , however , discovered something new within herself , an ability in the Force . To her surprise , she turned the mind probe ' s effect back upon Ren , learning something of him : that he feared he would never be as powerful as the legendary Darth Vader . Ren , rattled , left her in order to regroup . When Rey was alone with but a single guard , she considered what she had done with Ren ' s mind . Her dawning realization led her to perform a mind trick on the guard .