Mind/Body/Spirit IV: What is “Qi”, or Positive Energy flow?

Energy flows throughout our body, mind and spirit. Our primary energy vehicle is the electrical energy in the nervous system that flows throughout our body, headquartered in the brain. Chemical energy flows via the blood through our circulatory system dependent on the heard and closely related to the nervous system. Western science understands in a general way how these are related to our mind and body, but how they are further related to the spirit is a mystery. Eastern science/healing philosophy starts with the spirit end of the spectrum, with their concept of “qi”.

“Qi” is defined, according to Webster: “In Chinese philosophy, the ethereal substance of which everything is composed. Early Daoist philosophers and alchemists regarded it as a vital force associated with breath and bodily fluids and sought to control its movement within the body in order to achieve longevity and spiritual power.” The western world, especially traditional science and medicine, does not find this a useful concept. This “ethereal substance” is a concept too “woo-woo” and spiritual for their likes, although that is beginning to change!

Western science prefers to study the body, and grudgingly, the mind. They prefer the traditional senses, yet: it can no longer be denied that there is extra sensory perception. The world of quantum physics is introducing ideas such as non-locality, string theory, alternate realities and this is only the beginning. Western science is now beginning to study the invisible connection among the members of a flock of birds or a swarm of fish- http://diydilettante.wordpress.com/category/science/ and how migrating birds and other animals are able to navigate vast distances, and entanglement- http://physicscentral.com/explore/action/pia-entanglement1.cfm ; and especially relevant to the study of mind/body/spirit are the energetic “electromagnetic aspects of the bio-field”- http://physicscentral.com/explore/action/pia-entanglement1.cfm .

We are dependent on these various energies for our well-being, even for life itself. The more smoothly they flow, the better we operate. If there are blockages in these systems we suffer emotional and physical ailments. The ecology of our body/mind/spirit demands this. We are well-advised to maximize this positive energy flow!

Body/Mind/Spirit: A Holistic Model

A model of the mind, such as the Hebbian model proposed in an earlier post and in The Psychology of Positive Thinking- that is concerned mainly with the two cerebral hemispheres- does not tell the whole story. Yes, the cerebral hemispheres do have about a hundred Billion neuron cells, which can produce an infinite number of neuron configurations, or circuits. Further, these neuron circuits may further combine and become thoughts, or programs, and account for an even higher order of infinity, and even for how we think. When we consider the entire body however, we are now talking about a hundred Billion Billion (a hundred Trillion) cells, all interconnected with each other in an even higher order of infinity ways. Yes, they are connected physically, in the traditional (Western) scientific sense. And they are all connected energetically, in a more basic (Eastern) sense. All matter is composed of energy: matter is only a manifestation of the energy that constitutes it. Welcome to the world of quantum energy physics! The old physical Newtonian laws (that we were all taught in school) break down as we approach the infinitely small, (subatomic) or infinitely large (the infinity of connections among a hundred trillion cells.) We are part of this quantum world where our concepts of time and space no longer apply. Our notion of physical reality is now being challenged by the idea that no physical thing is real, until it is observed or measured. Perhaps this is related to how we form our own personal “Bubble of Reality” we each find ourselves in. Another feature of this world is Entanglement: when some particles (very small) divide, they remain related to each other, or entangled, even when separated across very large distances- they act as if there is no space or time separating them. As we move from body to mind to spirit, we may be entering this same quantum world, where far more than we ever imagined becomes possible. With these thoughts in mind we will look further into energy psychology.