Some Thoughts on Chi – 1/3/22

Our bodies are made up from Yin Chi from the energy of the earth, Yang Chi from the heavens including the sun, Prenatal Chi that is the Chi we get from our parents and, if you so believe, God. This Prenatal Chi is predominantly Yin or Yang and determines our sex.

This Prenatal Chi is limited in quantity, sort of like a trust fund. If we are careful with this “trust fund” we will have lots to spend when we need it, especially when we get older.

Blood and Chi are the fundamental circulating energies in the body. Blood is formed by combining Chi energy from food, Prenatal Chi, and Chi in the air. It circulates through the heart, arteries, capillaries, and veins. The arterial blood carries nutriments, oxygen, and nutritious Chi to all the body cells. Venous blood is that which has given up its nutrition and oxygen to the tissues and returns to the heart through the veins carrying carbon dioxide that will be eliminated through the lungs.

Blood and Chi flow together through the body in parallel channels. Chi is the force that moves the blood, giving it energy and power. It is said that “when the Chi moves, the blood flows; if the Chi stagnates, the blood congeals.”

You can see, if you can relate to this theory, the importance of Chi in relation to the health of the body. All cells need blood and the nutrients that it provides and all cells need to rid themselves of the waste products of metabolism. Chi is the driving force to accomplish this.

Now we come to the role of Tai Chi Chuan. The major purpose of Tai Chi is to train the mind to consciously move the energy around the body to bring health and healing to all cells, as well as to transmute the lower, denser Chi into a higher, finer form that can be used for transformation of the higher self. As Chi moves faster, it lightens, moving upward. As it moves upward it charges up the energy centers (chakras) causing a transformation of this energy into a finer and finer substance until, when it reaches the top of the head, it has returned to its original primal force and there is an explosion which results in a rebirth as an enlightened being.

The limited Self which was concerned with survival and reproduction gets replaced with the higher Self which is concerned with the furthering of man’s possible evolution. We are in the process of making steam out of ice, an oak tree out of a seed, a human out of various forms of Chi. It is like being able to raise our consciousness enough to be able to see all at the same time instead of just a small portion. Instead of being down in the valley, we sit at the top of the highest mountain and from there we can clearly see in all directions.

Even if your aspirations don’t reach that high, there are many benefits from being able to work with your own energy in a conscious manner. If you stay open and feel your inner self, I’m sure you will feel something moving inside your body. That will give you the incentive to carry on to investigate the possibility of alternative ideas of life and health.

Don’t forget that thoughts are Chi, just as a rock is Chi. Your thoughts can be dense and slow moving or quick and creative. The better you feel, the more open you are, the more frequent your inspirations. Let go and allow yourself to really be who you are now without holding on to the past. Be Here Now, as Ram Das was always teaching, and allow the universal energy to run through you. Tai Chi Chuan can help.