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By Root 644 0

chi. Ions are either positively or negatively charged atoms or parts of molecules. Negative ions, which are tiny packets of almost pure electrical energy, are formed naturally by interactions of the sun’s energy with our atmosphere, as well as by cosmic particles, lightning, storms, winds, the evaporation and movement of water, and low levels of radioactivity coming from the earth. Thousands of scientific studies have shown that ions, especially negatively charged ones—those which carry an extra electron—are extremely important to our health. In commenting on research that was done in France in 1966, for example, one author writes that “in the lungs the presence of negative ions favors the passage of oxygen through the air cell membranes so that this oxygen is more efficiently absorbed by the blood. At the same time, the removal of carbon dioxide is also made easier.”24 And according to Robert Ornstein, Ph.D., and David Sobel, M.D., “Negative ions have been shown to increase brain serotonin, a neurotransmitter associated with more relaxed moods.”25

Studies have also shown that negative ions are constantly being depleted as a result of pollution, air conditioning, closed spaces, concrete buildings, artificially generated electrical fields, deforestation, and so on.26 These studies, of course, come as no surprise to Taoist masters, who prefer to undertake practices for health and spiritual growth in the midst of nature—near mountains, lakes, rivers, forests, and so on—where negative ions are most abundant. The importance of negative ions has become increasingly recognized in science and industry, and ion generators have become widely available for home and office, as well as for automobiles. Many Japanese businesses now have air-conditioning systems with ion generators. They are even being used in space capsules to help astronauts overcome tiredness and various psychological maladies. My Taoist teacher, Mantak Chia, frequently refers to the importance of negative ions, and to the use of special breathing practices to absorb them into the body.

Taoists use many special breathing techniques, including swallowing the breath directly into the digestive tract,27 to absorb and transform energy in the atmosphere, including negative ions, not only for meditation and spiritual awareness, but also for self-healing and longevity. For the Taoist, the conscious cultivation of breath offers a powerful way not only to extract energies from the outside world but also to regulate the energetic pathways of our inner world, helping to bring our body, mind, and emotions into harmonious balance. Taoists believe that it is this balance, the beginning of real wholeness, that lies at the heart of health and well-being.

THE “THREE TREASURES”

As a result of thousands of years of experimentation and observation, Taoists maintain that human life depends on the unobstructed movement and transformation of three main forces, which Mantak Chia calls “earth force,” “cosmic force” (the higher energy of self, of nature), and “universal force” (the energy of the heavens, of the stars). In the human organism, these forces manifest as three different substances or energies—the “three treasures”: ching, sexual essence; chi, vitality or life force; and shen, spirit. We receive these energies from several main sources: from our parents (heredity), from the food we eat, and from the air we breathe. Though we are generally not aware of it, we also receive them directly from the earth, nature, and the stars through the soles of our feet, our skin, our palms, the crown of our head, and other energy centers of the body. According to Mantak Chia, numerous Taoist practices are designed to teach how to better attune to, absorb, and digest these energies.28

Inner Alchemy

Taoist practices are also directed to a kind of inner alchemy—the transformation of sexual essence into vitality, and vitality into spirit—both for health and for spiritual evolution. This transformation takes place in the three main energy centers of the body, called “tan tiens,” or “elixir fields