Qi Cultivation and Dao 炼 气 与 道A Consideration of “Transactional Energetics” forQi Cultiva<strong>to</strong>rs and Healthcare Providersby Jill Gonet, MFA and Guan-Cheng Sun, PhDWhen Taoist practitioners develop the energeticbody via qigong and/or martial arts practice, inaddition <strong>to</strong> developing the power of the musclesand tendons, there’s also a development of thereflexes, which may become so quick they’re almostimperceptible. However, this type of rapidreaction can also have drawbacks. In the c<strong>as</strong>e ofmartial arts practitioners and qigong practitionerswhose bodies are extremely advanced, theremay be a discrepancy between body and mind ifthe awareness is not advanced enough <strong>to</strong> keepthe practitioner balanced. For example, excellentreflexes can be led by external stimulations e<strong>as</strong>ilyand au<strong>to</strong>matically without the individual’s beingconsciously aware of it at the level of the intellectualmind; this may cause unexpected energy loss,or undesirable energy exchanges, or unexpectedoutcomes. This kind of unconscious dynamic energyexchange might be termed “transactionalenergetics.”When such discrepancies between reflexes andmind, body and mind - in other words, when suchp<strong>as</strong>sive-reactive “transactional energetics”- arepronounced, the awareness will have <strong>to</strong> work <strong>to</strong>keep pace with what happens <strong>to</strong> the body whenthe body and its energetic development have becomeadvanced.In order <strong>to</strong> overcome reactions relating <strong>to</strong>“transactional energetics,” practitioners must godeep in<strong>to</strong> the level of the organs and, thus, of thevirtues. The energetic development of the virtuesof the internal organs takes place <strong>as</strong> the practitionercomes <strong>to</strong> regard situations with enhancedclarity. This is a gr<strong>as</strong>s roots development, andforms a central focus in many Taoist schools. It’snot that we decide intellectually, ‘oh, I should bemore virtuous because it will make me more holyand that will make me look good.’ It’s more thec<strong>as</strong>e that the energetic development of the organsthemselves makes the new vantage point and/orcourse of action possible. In all c<strong>as</strong>es, the real issueis one of m<strong>as</strong>tery. A reaction, whether in behavioror in emotion, that does not flow from thehigher ground of the virtues and alignment withthe Tao, is not a decision. A decision is an entirelydifferent order of creation, intent, and will,than an emotionally or behaviorally p<strong>as</strong>sivereactiveresponse.It is, therefore, very helpful <strong>to</strong> engage in practicesthat quiet the mind, allowing the catch-and-Transactional Energetics and P<strong>as</strong>sive ReactiveResponses38 <strong>Yang</strong>-<strong>Sheng</strong> (Nurturing Life) Volume 3, Issue No. 3
ele<strong>as</strong>e of thought forms (and thereby slowingthe pace of reactivity), <strong>to</strong> cultivate the energies ofthe mind, and firmly bridge the energies of themind and ground them in<strong>to</strong> the body. Doing soallows a greater range of responses, a broaderspectrum or array of possibilities, and more skillfulmanagement of those possibilities.When we look at transactional energetics, thosewho “get it,” (i.e. who learn the ropes of transactionalenergetics, who learn <strong>to</strong> recall the mind, <strong>to</strong>go <strong>to</strong> the higher ground, etc.) continue <strong>to</strong> enrichthemselves <strong>as</strong> those who do not “get it,” continue<strong>to</strong> lose energy, stature, tre<strong>as</strong>ure, and time.Development of Body-Mind UnionWhen practitioners begin <strong>to</strong> synchronize themind and the body, they also become aware thatthe body itself h<strong>as</strong> “mind” in all of its parts. As qiflow is enhanced and incre<strong>as</strong>es, this awarenessthat the body is also the mind, grows intuitivelyand experientially. There is a mind in the liver.There is a mind in the s<strong>to</strong>mach. There is a mindin the heart. There is mind in the knees, in thehip joints, in the blood. There is mind in the intestines.All of these parts of the body, all parts ofthe body, are mind and all are <strong>as</strong>sociated withemotions, with virtues, and with particular elements.This is not intellectual book learning, butthe body-mind union learning <strong>to</strong> read the book ofitself!As mind and body become more comfortable andestablished in this connection and their synergy,an understanding comes about regarding expendituresof energy. It is important <strong>to</strong> note here thatthe attainment of the virtues described is not jus<strong>to</strong>ccurring within the ordinary, mundane parametersof the persona, or with self control or withconcern over appearances. The level of attainmentdescribed above is a reflection of the harnessingof highly conscious energies that havebeen grounded at the level of the internal organsand have thus created the spontaneous emanationof a higher-order of energies within the organs.To reach this degree of realization requiresdis-identification from previous habits we mayhave considered <strong>to</strong> be our “self.” This “self” isvery much tied up with body memories ofwounds received by that personality, and whilethat personality may not have any ultimate reality,the body h<strong>as</strong> s<strong>to</strong>red the wounds of that personalityand those vibrations become real andself-perpetuating in the body because the bodyremembers all injuries.The saving grace is reunion with the one qi, thetrue source - a quiet and powerful and concentratedsource and communicating reality that allowsnew possibilities <strong>to</strong> emerge. It will, for example,allow us <strong>to</strong> observe energies at a lowerlevel with which we may have previously identified– <strong>to</strong> observe them, see them trying <strong>to</strong> findtheir way back <strong>to</strong> us (e.g. belligerence, depression,apathy, etc.) and with time and repeatedpractice and experience, see them lose theirstrength so that instead of the old reflexes of ourold “self,” there may come <strong>to</strong> be new reflexesReunion with the True Source of Healingwhich are developed and which have a tremendouspower behind them.Transactional Energetics and Healthcare ProvidersHow does the development of such awarenessrelate <strong>to</strong> the field/s of healthcare, and how mightit be applied within them? Energetic communicationsare happening in many situations, such <strong>as</strong>June-July 2013 <strong>Yang</strong>-<strong>Sheng</strong> (Nurturing Life) 39
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