CHI, QIGONG; MASTERING THE FORCE

WHAT IS CHI? CHI, or QI (or in Japan, "KI"), is a BIOELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD... an electromagnetic field produced by living biological organisms. This is produced in much the same way as, when an electrical charge is sent along a wire, a magnetic field is then produced around the wire along the length of which the charge is sent.

We are all electrical beings, constantly surging with electrical transmissions to and fro' between the brain and all of our nerves and tissues, as well as along the spinal cord. They may be tiny charges individually, but at any given millisecond, there can be trillions of them sparking off at once. This produces a bioelectromagnetic field, often called the aura, or qi.

Keeping in mind that a magnetic field is not a substance in and of itself, it IS an active force which does exert its influence within the surrounding substance. However, due to the fact that the area within the field is being influenced, this acted upon substance can then be said to be one's qi, as it is under the command of said force.

In order to get a more tangible grasp of this, I'd like you to conduct a fun and simple little experiment to get you to see this field with your own eyes. As this force exerts a disturbance in a field, one can faintly detect this disturbance with the eyes, much like one can see wavy or wiggly air rising above hot pavement in the summer heat in the distance along a stretch of paved road. Now for a little how-to; chi viewing with your eyes...

Somewhat recently (at the time of this writing, a small few months ago), an alchemist (student of the Rose Cross school) has posted an article outlining a very easy and simply enlightening experiment to perform in order to bring this field into plain view, so that you can see your own qi (and that of others) with the naked eye. Please visit the page linked below, read it and perform the experiment, remembering to continue to practice it periodically in the future, and then return here for further information. See the picture of the hands just above here in this section? Keep it in mind while you read the article.

Before I show you the page, the author of that experiment has asked that I mention these things;

#1, You should not try too hard for this... you shouldn't really be trying at all, per se - do not strain your eyes, but rather relax them, and allow your eyes to naturally "defocus" a bit if they will. Don't try for this, merely allow it.

#2, Remember that you will see it best if you allow it to be seen in your peripheral vision, that which is just off to the side of your main point of focus - like how we may see things "in the corner of our eye".

#3, It is hoped that this experiment will be tried by many and that this gets seen by many readers everywhere... clicking on "recommend" at the left near the title will help it to be viewed by more people. Leaving comments below the article sharing any experiences you may have in practicing this experiment might help others to understand this phenomenon better, and is welcomed freely. Constructive and insightful feedback is welcomed and hoped for. If you've ever tried to explain this phenomenon to anyone with difficulty, direct them to this article.

Having said all of that, here is the experiment - try it and experience it well. This opens in a new window - CLICK HERE - read through the experiment, refer to the picture of the hands above here for reference while you conduct the experiment as needed, then return here for further information.

CHI, QIGONG; A TANGIBLE FORCE. Now that you have conducted the above mentioned experiment, assuming a semblance of success (some "get it" immediately, while others may require a little more time and practice), you can now understand and appreciate that Qi does in fact exist. It is a tangible force. Again, assuming your success, you have now seen it with your own eyes.

As such, it can either be amplified or diminished, focused or dispersed, charged or discharged. We can see that all of the legended abilities of masters and sages since ancient times actually do conform to the laws of basic Newtonian physics. There really is no mystery, nor "magic" to it at all... it's simply science.

One very famous woman once said, "Real magic does not work against or outside of natural laws or physics, but actually conforms to such laws that we have yet to fully understand".

Like a magnet can either attract or repel another, one can use their qi in either healing or combat. Often, we may hear about how with sparring opponents, one may send the other flying out of the ring without even touching him, using a "chi blast"... in Yang style T'ai Qi Quan, internal form, this technique is known as "FA JING", which brings us to our next point of discussion...

QI, JING; KNOW THE DIFFERENCE...

I mentioned above, a technique known as "Fa Jing"...

In working with Qi, there are basically two major aspects to this kind of energy work; Qi and Jing. You see, even today to a large degree, the west confuses these two, or rather, mixes what both of these are and simply calls this mixed whole, "Qi"... but in fact, *technically*, they are very different things. In China, Qi is the field itself, a direction of flow - and Jing is the energy or force which flows along these lines.

Do you see this little picture to the right here? Some of you readers may remember doing such an experiment in school, using iron filings, a magnet and a piece of paper. The iron filings go on top of the paper, the magnet is placed underneath, and all of the iron particles arrange themselves to display the shape of the magnetic field. This is also proof of how an unseen force (yet nonetheless existent) can affect solid physical objects.

Now, look closely. Yes, this is merely a still photo image here, but even when doing this in real life, you'll see that there is no motion whatsoever, once the particles arrange themselves... they merely situate themselves along the lines of the direction of flow. See? This is technically what Qi is.

Now if you add a current here somehow, there would be motion... the electrons flowing along the current. This is what Jing would be, technically speaking - the flowing current of energy. So you see, technically, it isn't that the one sparring has sent his opponent flying with his Qi per se, but rather has sent a surge of Jing zipping through his qi field, which then repulsed the opponent much like a magnet pushing away a like-poled magnet (though all of the forces involved in this particular example are not *solely* magnetic, per se).

Do you see what I mean here? Qi can be expanded or contracted, so he may have extended his field for a fuller effect, but nonetheless, it was the force of his built-up and directed discharge of Jing which did the heavy lifting in this case of using the FA JING technique.

However, this having all been said, it's perfectly fine (as long as you know and understand the technical difference) to just use the term "Qi" to mean both the field as well as the flow of energy, as even often in China, this term can often be heard to be used loosely as well.

You might be surprised to know that you've most likely experienced feeling jing without realizing it... have you ever had chills shoot up your spine, and the hairs on your arms and back of the neck stand up? You know, that "buzzyness" that creeps through your flesh? Whatever had caused it, being startled, fear, feeling eerie, a very sudden change in temperature, or for some people it seems to "just happen" sometimes, this is a very tiny, natural, yet involuntary low-energy discharge of jing throughout your bioelectromagnetic field.

Some people can actually bring on such "chills" at will. Those who can might be quite intrigued indeed if they do so while practicing the qi viewing experiment mentioned above, and depending upon their skill, may even find that they can produce tiny lights.

ENERGY WORK in this field is now more readily being taught in today's world. There are techniques to learn which will allow you to ring chimes by "throwing chi" at them, move objects, put out candle flames with the qi that emits from your eyes, repel attackers with only your bioelectromagnetic field, lift bowls of water with yin chi (yin qi), and so on.

Needless to say, these are very phenomenal feats... but simply knowing how is not the answer... it takes energy work... through certain exercises using both external form and internal form as well as directed breathing exercises, you begin to increase, vivify and strengthen your nerves and nerve endings and the energy that courses through them in order to be able to fortify your qi and build up some serious jing. There are highly sought after schools that offer classes in this.

Classes have been offered by the school I'll mention below for the past 20 years or so, so I'm certain you may have heard of this famous group... they've also been mentioned in popular martial arts literature since the 80's, and teach all of the techniques mentioned above and more in their primary class on linear qi, moving from there onto more advanced inner circle classes teaching techniques using circular qi which lead to being able to raise up off of the ground, pull objects toward you, and many other abilities.

For more information on how to enroll in this particular school, please visit WWW.CHIQIGONG.COM

DRAGONBALL Z is a Japanese animated cartoon (or, "anime") of a Sino-Japanese variety ("Chinese/Japanese", reflecting a shared root culture) by Toriyama, Akira. This is just one example of how the concept and reality of qi is accepted as an everyday reality in the world in Asia, albeit an extremely exaggerated portrayal of this phenomenon.

Two of the most famous techniques used in the battles in this anime are "Kamehameha" (a super-exaggerated Japanese cartoon version of fa jing), and the "genkidama" ("spirit bomb"). These are Asian cartoon renditions of qi/jing manipulation. Here in the picture on the right, we can see Goku, the main character in the series, firing up his qi and forming a spirit bomb of supercharged jing, as he defends the Earth from those who seek to destroy it.

By the way, in case any of y'all are curious, the Kanji reads, "Atsumare genki, kore de, kecchaku da!" - "Draw together the qi/jing (from the world, the universe), with this, bring (the battle) to an end!"

My point here is only this; that qi is very real, always has been, and a vast part of the world knows it as reality. The phenomenal pervasiveness of qi culture is a tribute to it's reality, it's acceptance as a force of nature and a natural part of life, and as a force which is studyable, workable, and manipulatable by every human being. Even in Akira Toriyama's Dragonball Z, we can find, though extremely exaggerated, just about every representation of what can truly be accomplished with the power of qi and jing... one merely needs dutiful study, and diligent practice.

Serious students need to perform the experiment mentioned earlier, study the manual "TAI CHI CLASSICS", and practice the art taught through the schooling at www.chiqigong.com