Honoring Nature Parts of modern culture seems to want to conquer and control nature through clear-cutting forests, commercial farming, and the strip-mining of minerals. This is followed up by burying the resulting trash in a community that charges the least to open a landfill. Examples of the destruction of nature in the modern world be hard to avoid, as we’re reading on a smart phone, sitting in air-conditioning, and eating food shipped from 2,000 miles away (on average).   Even with these examples, the modern culture still has the light within the darkness. We’re able to learn, study ..read more

Self-Healing and Wholeness The lower abdomen or lower tan tien is where life begins and where Taoist meditation begins in the body. If you’ve never tried slow, deep, belly breathing, this is the place to start. The Taoists see the lower body and the organs there as connected to earth. The large intestine, liver, stomach, spleen, and urinary bladder, for instance, digest matter from the earth and produce excrement that returns to the heart.  The higher organs are seen to relate to the heavens. The heart, lungs, and brain process air from the atmosphere and tune to the stars in higher Taoi ..read more

Fusion of Five Elements Practice Taoists talk and write about ‘becoming one with nature,’ and they also have methodical practices for making connections between the inner and outer universes. The Fusion of the Five Elements practice begins with understanding the how the five elements are represented in nature and the interaction of these five elements in our outer world. For me, seeing the five elements and the seasons helped me understand the elements in my body. The energy in my liver or lungs, for instance, seemed abstract and confusing. But when I observed the wood element (or phase) and ..read more

Moon Connection  A moon connection developed through meditation and chi kung can lead to a deeper awareness of the unconscious. Working with lunar rhythms and awakening them inside our bodies gives us the ability to shine a light in the dark. We can slowly transform unconsciousness into consciousness and provide choices over actions that were once just reactions based on unconscious patterns.  The creative energy of the reproductive glands is governed by the moon energy will stimulate all energies in the body—both positive and negative. The strong moon energy, once awakened in the b ..read more

Mixing Sun and Moon A more advanced Taoist practice is the mixing of the sun and moon. Breathing back and forth between natural bodies and their corresponding organs energies the body. The energy of the sun can be gathered and and collected in the heart. The energy of the moon can be gathered and collected in the kidneys.  The two most vital blood channels in the body are the aorta and vena cava. These channels can be used for mixing the energy of the sun and moon. The aorta belongs to the artery system which distributes blood outward from the heart. The yang, oxygenated blood leaving th ..read more

Meditation Taoists speak about the ability to have Delta brain waves while awake. These brain waves are typically only present during deep sleep. However, through a long-term meditation habit, one can develop the ability to be deeply relaxed and wide awake. The chemicals in the brain that occur during sleep can occur during meditation and altered states of consciousness arise. Experiments have been conducted to show the possibility of awareness and relaxation occurring at the same time in a state known by the name ‘flow state’ in best-selling literature. Taoist masters see this as a return to ..read more

The Quality of Chi  Taoist masters say the quality of one’s life is the quality of chi they have flowing in the body. Taoist practices were designed to cultivate life energy at a high level. The result is to bring peace, good health, and deep spiritual fulfillment.  The path of spiritual cultivation begins with the raw energy of nature mixing with the human’s reproductive energy. This becomes the fuel for more subtle energy flowing through channels and organs. Then, with meditative practices, the energy becomes spirit.  Taoist sages watch the processes of nature. They see how t ..read more

Tai Chi and Softness “T’ai Chi Ch’uan bases itself exclusively on gentleness, softness, naturalness and bringing you back to your original nature. Daily training makes the muscles and bones become softer and more pliable, and it especially causes the breath to become natural. These are the results of disciplining and refining the ching, ch’i, and shen to the end of your days.” -Chen Yen-lin, 1932, Cultivating the Ch’i, Translated by Stuart Alve Olson, p. 30 ..read more

Tongue Kung Fu  All the sense organs relate to an internal organ. The tongue relates to the heart and it’s said to be made of similar material. When the heart is overflowing with joy and love, energy flows out of the tongue through kind speech. If there is an imbalance, the tongue can lash out with cruelty and impatience. If the heart is clear and the tongue is strong, the path of love and kind words will flow more naturally.  Exercising the tongue can open the heart and provide reflexology benefits for many organs. Doctors of Chinese medicine will diagnose patients by looking at th ..read more

Honey-like Energy Taoist teachers talk about the link between meditation, gratitude, and the thymus gland. When the body is relaxed and the energy is calm, the thymus gland is healthy. When the thymus is healthy, it can direct healing energy to ward off illness in the body. Taoist master, Mantak Chia’s research shares that the thymus gland produces t-cells that will find and get rid of abnormal cells. When we smile and practice gratitude, Taoists say our organs release a honey-like secretion. This energy has a sweet quality that nourishes the body and relaxes the nervous system. We feel cont ..read more