Qi

If we bring the palms of our hands very close together, without actually letting them touch, we feel a kind of warmth - with perhaps a flowing or electrical or magnetic quality to it. What we're feeling is what in Taoism is called qi (also spelled "chi"). As Dr. Zhi Gang Sha points out in this video demonstration, the source of the qi we feel between our palms is cellular vibration. The cells in our body are in continual movement, expanding and contracting as they convert matter into energy, and energy into matter. In this understanding, the membrane of each cell can be seen as functioning in much the same way as the equal sign of Einstein's famous equation e=mc-squared. The "e" in this equation, then, is what Taoism calls qi.

In its most general sense, qi refers simply to the experience of flowing energy - to tapping into the vibratory nature of reality. But there are much more specific ways of using the term "qi." Practitioners of Chinese Medicine, for instance, have identified many different kinds of qi which function within the human body. Qigong practitioners learn to perceive and utilize Heaven qi, Earth qi, as well as the qi emanating from trees and mountains and rivers. And there are Taoist meditation practices which encourage us to experience the contents of our minds - e.g. thoughts, emotions, mental imagery - as being forms of qi, in constant flux and change.

For me, one of the most interesting and inspiring uses of qi is in healing practices of various sorts. The potentials that exist as we learn to harness this life-force are quite incredible - as witnessed in these video demonstrations by acupuncturist/healer John Chang.