The Chinese called one of the energies in the body, Chi and they insisted that a well person would have the Chi flowing around the physical body, while an unwell person would have blocked Chi.
In Western society, very few people can even feel the Chi at all, let alone have the Chi flow freely around the body. Those who practise Eastern martial arts, such as Tai Chi, which employs animal movements to strengthen and move the Chi around the body, are therefore much more likely to have such energy flows.
Having said that, given the standard Western diet, there is little chance of a modern practitioner of Tai Chi, attaining to the higher levels of harnessing such energy as the great Chinese adepts of old.
Likewise, both Taoism and Westerners practised alchemy, which was the Golden Art capable of drawing on vast reserves of energy, once one understood the metaphysics involved.
We use the terms Yin and Yang freely in the West, without always realising precisely what these terms involve. Western alchemy shared an identical concept, but given the abstruse terminology in alchemy, it is convenient to use the Chinese terms as the basis for understanding how energy in the Chi, can be integrated within the mind and its capacity to embrace metaphysics.
Metaphysics, by the way, is what is beyond the physical state. Einstein revealed how E = MC squared, thus energy is the same as mass times the speed of light, times itself. Energy therefore involves the interaction between material mass and the very high speed of the cosmos. Energy is therefore animating material life, so that if it is blocked, as the Chinese suggested, it creates malaise.
As for Yin and Yang, an imbalance in these will create further problems. Yin is feminine receptive lunar, the dark womb, while Yang is masculine, active solar, the penetrative phallus. The Chinese say that ideally, we should have two thirds Yin to one third Yang, and curiously that is precisely the ratio we find on the surface of Mother Earth, of two thirds ocean and one third dry land. However in modern Western culture, it is Yang that dominates. This creates over active stress, racing thoughts in the mind and physical turmoil.
By activating the Chi and circulating it, we can calm the thoughts and relax.
Once the thoughts are no longer dominant in the mind, we can create a space in which energy can be generated by the mind during meditation. The concentration of the mind is increased and that in turn aids us to find inner peace from the stresses and strains of modern life.
The Chinese state that the Chi is centred in the navel or belly button, which is the last umbilical cord connection point as we left our mother's womb. This is the charging point for energy in the body. Native American 'shamans', would focus on the constellation of the Severn Sisters or Pleiades, to charge this navel area. For this, it is simply the mind which connects with these stars and the energy will then flow, even though the distance appears impossibly large, but remember Einstein's equation and in metaphysics there is no limit to the time and distance of the mind. I should also point out, that one of this tiny cluster of stars, was called Electra in Greek, meaning amber and therefore is electro-magnetically charged.
In order to calm the thoughts, which are racing out of control and will not easily give up their hold on the mind, meditation and relaxation are crucial. With practise, it is possible to slow these thoughts and eventually to remove the thoughts altogether. The Chinese say these thoughts are rooted in the shoulders, so relaxing and massaging the shoulders and neck are very effective.
Through deep breathing of pure air, we draw the energy from the breath down to the navel and attempt to gently warm that area. Anybody who is good at visualisation, should be able to feel this after some practise. Purifying the body especially through fasting, makes it much easier, as well as burning incense, saunas and vigorous exercise. Meditation at a sacred site, or a place that makes us feel peaceful, will also allow the Chi to flow more readily. Wherever we block the Chi in the body, is where we need to work on, through our diet and breathing practises.
All this is much easier for younger people who have not been so stressed by the modern world, but anyone who is persistent, can eventually circulate the energy around the body and especially up the spine via the central nervous system to calm the mind. If we love the opposite sex, we can draw on their energy, as they can on ours, to the mutual benefit of both. The practise of Tantric sex employs such loving energy to enliven the spirits of both partners. As we were born in love, so should our energy be composed and enhanced by divine love.
From then on, we are into metaphysics, for which the conception of the mind is crucial. For this is the key to harnessing the energy to benefit our troubled world around us, but more on this elsewhere......
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