Tao: The Way of Energy

Live Holistically is a multi-author site.
This post was written by: Carol Webb

written by Carol Webb
Tao is everything. There is nothing that is not Tao. A person is part of Tao. A person is completely made up of Tao.

Deng Ming-Dao…Everyday Tao

Energy Through Movement
Tao meditation can take many forms, the T’ai Chi Ch’uan being the most popular, but I found other ways to heal myself, and maintain my flow of energy, without learning, what for me, were difficult sequences of body movement, but they they were still based on the Tao.

Live Long And Prosper
The most complete foundations of the T’ai Chi Ch’uan came from the famous Taoist Chang San-feng, known as the immortal. His longevity was well documented, with the beginning of his teaching starting around 1278 A.D.. He was still teaching well into the Ming Dynasty 1400A.D., which would mean that he practised his art into his centenarian years.

Ancient Practitioners
Many westerners take heart from the longevity of these ancient practitioners, seeking to emulate the great teachers and their way of energy. We seem to know instinctively that the understanding of ourselves, and being responsible for our own well-being, is the path to spiritual liberation. With spiritual liberation comes awareness that it is possible to live in harmony with our surroundings. In other words be a peaceful mind in a relaxed body.

Some years ago when I was challenged by physical illness, I didn’t have the healing tools at my fingertips that I have today, but it was necessary for me to work towards a fairly good understanding of the energy systems of my body. I still put that knowledge into practice today. I aim to live and work into my centenarian years too!

An Integrated Whole
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the human body is treated as an integral system of networks with different physiological functions. This integral grid system uses energy pathways to link organs and other systems into a unified whole. The energy that flows in those energy pathways is called qi or chi.

Blocked Qi
When the energy pathways are not able to function properly, illness will result. This is when the Chinese use acupuncture points to treat the lack of energy flow with very fine needles. The needles are inserted into known points along the energy lines, to maintain or regulate the qi. This involves visiting an acupuncturist, but it is possible, as I found out, to stimulate the points with massage or qigong exercises.

Emotional trauma is considered the cause of all disease, excesses of:

• Anger
• Pensiveness
• Worry
• Sorrow
• Fear
• Shock
• Overworking
• Excessive consumption of alcohol
• Smoking cigarettes
• Overeating
• Dehydration

All adversely affecting the circulation of qi and blood to the internal organs, which then manifests in dis-ease.

T’ai Chi Ch’uan classes
When my body began working again, enough to go along to T’ai Chi Ch’uan classes, I duly signed up, and watched in awe as people performed seamless exercises, to a standard that I could only dream about.

I’d love to tell you that I quickly learned how to do it, and that it subsequently cured what was left of my illness. The truth is, I couldn’t get it into my head, I was a dismal failure! I couldn’t remember which move followed what and where my feet were supposed to be. I began to think that all these movements were very over rated. And then I found out how to absorb qi without moving. Bliss!

Nature contains a tremendous amount of strong qi sources:

• Mountains
• Rivers
• Oceans
• The Sun
• The Moon
• The Stars
• Trees
• Flowers
• Bushes

There for our use.

The Way Of Energy
There are definite procedures for absorbing qi from all these living sources, without having to remember which move comes next. Well, perhaps learning where to turn arms and palms, but I could manage that. I especially enjoyed absorbing qi from different flowers and bushes, as each creates a different sensation within the body, and each one has a different effect on the emotional state.

If anyone is interested in learning these techniques, let me know, as it will take a complete post to explain these procedures.

The next step was to develop my healing ability, using Qigong to benefit my own health, personal healing and longevity.