Chi
Does Chi exist? (and, if so, what is it?)
by g
The following is my personal opinion on the subject at this present time and I await, with an open mind, further scientific evidence, one way or the other.
I will consider the possible nature of Chi, and the likelihood of its existence, from various angles: as a biochemistry graduate, as a psychotherapist, as a student of theoretical physics, as a Tai Chi teacher and from my own personal experience
As a biochemist, I have studied in minute detail the structure and composition of cells and their interrelationships with each other. The human body is often depicted as a kind of bag of separate bits, held up by the skeleton and held together by skin, with nerves, blood vessels, muscles and the like all doing their independent jobs, like the plumbing and electrical systems of a house.
However, living systems are not like that. If you have ever really looked at a piece of meat, you will have noticed how everything is so tightly bound together that it is quite tricky to separate one bit from another. There are connective tissues holding everything together, allowing intimate connections between different cells and systems. Every cell is in constant communication with its neighbours and with the body as a whole, in a variety of ways from chemical or hormonal signals to electrical impulses and the contraction of tiny microfilaments within and between cells. All of these processes involve energy which, when not in use, can be stored as high-energy bonds in molecules such as adenosine triphosphate. It is even possible that quantum field effects occur. (For example, it has been suggested that virtual photons in the membranes of brain cells may allow the brain to behave as a Bose-Einstein condensate, which is one theory of the basis of human thought. For more information, see The Quantum Mind by Danah Zohar, listed in our recommended reading section)
It is a long-established fact that thoughts in the mind can have physical effects on the body. For example, the "fight or flight" response allows a single scary thought to bring about profound physiological changes throughout the body within seconds, via hormones such as adrenaline. From a pounding heart and rapid breathing to sweaty palms and a lurch in your tummy, you will undoubtedly have noticed this effect yourself. In biofeedback experiments, subjects have routinely brought about measurable changes in their physiological functions, such as altered skin temperature or blood pressure. In other experiments, intense stress has been shown to have an adverse effect on the body's immune system, while a positive attitude and sense of humour tend to boost its effectiveness.
With all of the above in mind, perhaps it is not inconceivable that energy, or a physical sensation that feels like energy, could be passed from cell to cell in a coordinated manner throughout the body, under the influence of conscious intent.
At the very least, any hypnotherapist will tell you that the thought of warmth, coolness or tingling sensations passing through the body can give rise to the actual experience of such phenomena. (The Yi leads the Chi, ie the mind leads the sensation of energy flow). Whether the phenomenon is physiologically real and measurable or is an internal perception generated by and within the mind, unrelated to actual bodily events, perhaps the point here is that it feels real to the person at the time. For them, the Chi is flowing!
As a student of quantum physics and cosmology, I feel privileged to have been born at a time when we have made mind-boggling discoveries about the cosmos and its sub-atomic constituents and yet still have more to learn than we are currently capable of imagining. The building of the Large Hadron Collider is particularly exciting, and like everyone else, I await its eventual fuctioning with eager anticipation, whatever it throws up to either confirm our view of reality or turn it on its head!
On the subject of chi, we would hate to be labelled as belonging to the "pink and fluffies" (we won't try to sell you a crystal with each of our DVDs) but neither do we subscribe to the "gloomy and pointless" view of the universe which leaves people very little reason for continuing to be here at all.
An atom, as we currently understand it, is composed of tiny, transient packets of energy, mere vibrations on the surface of an other-dimensional something, (string, membrane or whatever) which flit in and out of existence, move at unimaginable speeds and can be "entangled" so that whatever is done to one instantaneously affects the other, whatever the distance between them.
Moreover, 70% of the universe appears to be some invisible stuff called "dark energy" (made from we-know-not-what but possibly the "something" that the visible stuff is vibrating on the surface of and which vastly outweighs and gives mass to, the stuff that we can actually see, and holds it all together)
In the light of the above, the concept of a universal primal energy field or "pre-birth chi" is surely no more far-fetched than many other current theories about the universe, including the possible existence of infinite parallel universes, at least eleven dimensions and the idea that our universe could be a hologram projected by something outside or on the surface of it. (See back issues of New Scientist for the past couple of years).
As a teacher of Tai Chi Chuan, the concept of directing the flow of chi through the body is a useful one. Such exercises develop an overall internal bodily awareness and the ability to generate smooth, wave-like or spiral effects throughout the whole body. This in turn allows the body to move in the co-ordinated, sinuous manner which is characteristic of Tai Chi as an art form and contributes greatly to its effectiveness as a martial discipline.
From my own personal experience, one event in particular opened my mind to the existence of a life force within the body.
A few years ago, I supported a dear family member through the last few days of her life. The day before she passed away, she asked me to place my hand on the top of her head, and this appeared to bring her some comfort.
After she had passed on, a few minutes after the nurse had confirmed this, I again placed a hand on the top of her head in case she still retained any awareness and might yet gain some comfort from this action. As my hand approached her head, I felt a kind of intense warmth moving at speed through my hand, in through the palm and out through the back. It was not simply that her head was warm to the touch (which it was, though the rest of her body was cold) it was a stream of warmth passing through my hand. I immediately withdrew the hand in astonishment. I felt as if I was somehow invading her privacy during a unique and deeply personal experience.
I have since learned that, in some cultures, there is a belief that the soul leaves the body through the top of the head. Had I known this at the time, I might have dismissed my experience as a psychosomatic event triggered by my own unconscious expectations, but as it was so entirely unexpected, I remain convinced that this was a real phenomenon and it has substantially altered my perceptions of reality and of life and death. It is a perception that I would like to share with others in view of the comfort it can bring to the bereaved. I knew, with a certainty greater than anything that could have been conveyed to me by books, teachers, priests or others (I do not follow any religion and, as you may have gathered, I have always been very sceptical when it comes to "mysterious energies" and similar other-worldy stuff) that my loved one no longer required the use of her physical body and had simply left it behind and moved on. This perception also removes any personal fear of dying.
In Qigong terminology, this may well have been an example of the Post-birth Chi returning to the Pre-birth Chi and it may be that, while this energy (if that's what it is) animates us, we are able to direct its flow at will.