Chi and DMT

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    Chi and DMTTwo Accessible Mysteries That Evade Scientific Validation

    Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the

    last analysis, we ourselves are part of nature and therefore part of the mystery

    that we are trying to solve. Max Planck, Where Is Science Going?

    There are some mysteries in life so common that nearly anyone can experience

    them, even though no one can fully explain them. The phenomenon of Chi, a

    universal life-force energy, and that of DMT, the psychedelic visionary compound

    produced within many plants, mammals and even humans, are integral parts of

    natural life that can greatly elevate mind, body, and spirit when experienced by

    an ordinary person.

    Our society, primarily organized around labor, consumption, and the ethics of

    profiteering and exploitation, renders the spirit and our sense of natural wonder

    nonessential, for the most part. As a result, life too easily becomes unfulfilling and

    dull for people in our splendid, but meaningless material world, and too many ofus come to find ourselves in a rut, one dull day after another, and life loses its

    significance.

    Yet whatever toils we may face, we all do so together under the splendor of the

    cosmos, as individual sparks of consciousness amongst a shimmering collective,

    and we can choose to make ourselves available to mystery, wonder and curiosity,

    as not all of the riddles of this life have been solved. Inspiration is instrumental in

    the upkeep of morale and spirit, especially in these toxic times, and it has forever

    been a key motivator of human achievement. The ability to allow for mystery and

    to give respect to uncertainty is a source of boundless inspiration at a time when

    discouragement is the norm.

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    The personal discovery that a person has real-world access to the astounding

    mysteries of Chi and the life-changing effects of DMT can be a dramatic catalyst

    for personal transformation. It often forces a severe re-construction of onesworldview, re-informing one of the deep connection we all have to the natural

    phenomenon of the earth and instigating a needed re-evaluation of priorities

    toward those more openly centered around beneficial and practical habits. These

    powerful natural phenomenon have the power, when directly experienced, to

    wake people up to their higher potential and to inspire a break from the ordinarily

    self-destructive patterns of normal life.

    CHITHE LIFE-FORCE OF CHINESE MEDICINE

    Chi is the common term used in Chinese medicine, martial arts and internal

    energy arts for the universal life force which permeates all things. It is a broad

    concept used to identify a wide range of meta-physical and spiritual concepts that

    play in the balance between life and death in our universe. Chi, as a philosophical

    concept, offers a complex and subjective cosmology which seeks to illuminate the

    inter-dependent relationships among all living systems, big and small.

    For some, this concept presents an uncomfortable paradox in our logical world,

    and the experiential evidence of practicioners of these arts is incongruent with a

    scientific denial of the authenticity of the many phenomenon associated with Chi.

    Many millions of people regularly experience exceptional health and wellness, as

    well as mystical experiences, as a result from dedication to these arts, but only

    recently have these concepts begun to gain credibility in the Western mind.

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    Acupuncturists and studios offering training in Tai Chi, Qi Gong and meditation

    can now be found in most American cities, and there are growing enrollments in

    Western schools for the regulated professional medical science of Chinese

    medicine. As a healing modality for therapy of pain and recovery from injury,

    Chinese energy healing continues to gain credibility among Western medical

    disciplines. While it is difficult, however, for the concept of Chi to be immediately

    understood and appreciated by most Westerners, the effects of Chi training are

    numerous, beneficial and eye-opening. According to John Vervaeke, Ph.D., a

    cognitive scientist and student of Qi Gong, some of the phenomenological

    properties of the direct experience of a dedicated practice cultivating Chi may

    include:

    Synesthetic propertiesexperiences which bridge the cognitive and the physical

    aspects of life.

    The sensation of a magnetic force or some guiding or leading force moving within

    and without the body.

    The accompaniment of a liquid intelligence, a fluidity of thought and action, a

    feeling of being in the zone.

    Projected and extended feelings of mentally and physically operating outside of

    the body.

    Mystical experiences, often inducing ineffability, as they are difficult to articulate

    but generate happiness.

    A feeling of resonating and of oneness.

    A feeling of seeming to be dynamically connected to the environment.

    The marked ability to see deeper into reality.

    The interplay of polarity, such as the dynamic between intense concentration and

    absolute effortlessness.

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    Mystical experience leading to permanent changes in personality and a sense of

    openness.

    Enhanced cognitive properties like insight, mind-sight, and foresight, such as

    picking up on peoples mental states.

    Although the Chinese have been studying and developing a system of holistic

    medicine around the concept of Chi for thousands of years, the scientific evidence

    to support the existence of chi is still largely limited to the experiences of those

    who practice and work with Chi, meaning that, as an actual science, it has yet to

    even become a fully-developed hypothesis. Skeptics are keen to argue that

    personal, direct experience with Chi is most likely a response to expectation

    conditioning and a repeated anticipation of response, but this explanation is

    unacceptable given the vast numbers of people who experience practical results

    by following proper training guidelines. Who feels it, knows it.

    Part of the confusion over Chi is the magical language traditionally involved in

    Chinese martial arts training. For example, the colorful metaphors and

    visualizations that are a part of the advanced integration of mind and body, which

    is a main focus of Chi training, are rather poetic and mystical, frequently drawingon nature and the characteristics of animals in order to explain relationship and

    form. For example, the simple movement of raising the hands above the head

    may be referred to as pulling down heaven, or the posture of lifting one leg and

    the opposing palm upward in a balanced stance may carry an elegant name such

    as golden rooster stands on one leg.

    In Chinese medicinal philosophy, Chi travels throughout the body along

    meridians, which are looked at as vessels for energy that are not directly

    associated with cellular tissue. These meridians cannot be seen, but can be

    sensed with such certainty that a commonly-accepted map of the bodys meridian

    lines and acupressure points is widely utilized by acupuncturists and healers as a

    scientific expression of the bodys energetic system.

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    The closest Western scientific concept similar to this is bio-electricity, which

    involves viewing the passages of the nervous system and other body tissue as

    conduits for the low-voltage electricity that is produced within the human body.The study of bio-electricity is practical and is aimed at many of the same goals as

    the energy meditation practice of Qi Gong, such as maintaining optimal health

    and a swift recovery from injury. The US Army has even developed bandages that

    cover wounds with a material that creates pathways for bio-electricity to flow

    around the wound, greatly reducing the pain of severe injuries and shortening

    healing time.

    Still, there is no repeatable experimentation that translates the concept of Chi

    into the measurable electro-magnetic spectrum of material science, and,

    therefore, it remains a mystery and food for skeptics.

    In spite of this, there are many accessible methods of training for the cultivation

    of Chi and its employment in optimal health, wellness and longevity. There are

    competent schools and teachers of many forms of the Chinese energetic arts in

    most areas. Additionally, one can begin to develop a personal practice starting

    with the straightforward Taoist meditation techniques of Mantak Chia, or begin

    learning from the more elaborate instructional programs of medical and sports Qi

    Gong offered byDr. Jwing-Ming Yang of the YMAA, author of The Root of Chinese

    Qi Gong.

    DMTTHE SPIRIT MOLECULE

    DMT, or dimethyltryptamine, the visionary chemical compound found in

    abundance throughout the plant kingdom and in many mammals, is naturally

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    produced inside the human body. It is most plentiful in thepineal gland, which is

    considered to be the potential biological locus of human consciousness and the

    seat of the soul. The pineal gland is known as the third eye, or the point source

    from which consciousness manifests itself in the human body. It is suspected that,

    when a persona falls asleep, DMT is released into the brain from the pineal gland

    to induce dream states of consciousness, and also that, when a person dies, a

    flood of this chemical is released, accounting for the consciousness-expanding

    effects of near-death experiences and for the movement of the psyche into

    realms beyond waking life.

    The molecule itself is simple in structure and can be synthesized or extracted

    directly from plants. Dubbed the spirit molecule, by researcher Dr. Rick

    Strassman, this commonly-found compound baffles modern science because of

    the effects it has on human consciousness.

    Although the substance is naturally occurring and apparently a necessary part of

    conscious life, at present it is listed by the United States Federal Government as a

    Schedule I controlled substance and is illegal to produce, distribute or possess.The suppression of DMT, a substance so commonly found in nature, is construed

    by many as a sign of an established war on consciousness. Speculation exists that

    visionary states reached under the effects of DMT are intentionally kept out of

    reach of the masses because the lasting psychological effects of the DMT

    experience can have a markedly culture-busting and paradigm-shifting result.

    Causing people to question primary cultural narratives and mainstream societal

    programming, psychedelic transformation with DMT is dangerous to the status

    quo; if too many people experience these effects, then our cultural bias towards

    exploitation and annihilation would be redressed.

    There is growing popular interest in the psychoactive effects of this drug,

    especially after the work of Dr. Strassman, who clinically observed the mysterious

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    similarities among the psychedelic visions of over 400 subjects during his legally-

    sanctioned exploration of this chemical in the 1990s. Given the large number of

    subjects who vividly described having life-altering spiritual experiences that

    seemed to dissolve the ego and support the idea that all life forms are inter-

    connected at a common spiritual level, DMT has acquired the popular nickname

    the spirit molecule. Many of the individual experiences recorded in Dr.

    Strassmans experiments exhibit unexplainable similarities to each other, leading

    to the question: Does DMT bring human consciousness into attunement with

    spiritual dimensions that exist in parallel to our commonly-shared material world?

    The proper use of this substance has traditionally been the domain of Amazonian

    shaman who for thousands of years have been drinking the thick and unpleasant-

    tasting psychedelic brew Ayahuasca. This ancient concoction of at least two

    common Amazonian plants is widely accepted in South America as a tool in

    shamanic healing practices. It allows experienced healers to mitigate the

    individual suffrages of ones psyche occurring between the physical and spiritual

    realms while also radically purging the body and psyche of latent negative

    energies.

    The process of healing and cleansing through the use of Ayahuasca is legal in

    South America. It is also legally accessible to Americans domestically through

    commitment to the church of Santo Daime, which regularly serves this brew to its

    parishioners in ceremonies taking place in many major cities throughout the US,

    including New York and Washington, DC. There is also a growing popularity in

    tourism that brings Westerners to ceremonies with legitimate healers and

    shaman who are trained in the usage of Ayahuasca and where ordinary people

    can experience firsthand the potent and life-changing effects of this medicine.

    The author and consciousness explorer Daniel Pinchbeck has helped to bring

    recognition of the transformational aspects of Ayahuasca and concentrated DMT,

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    rationally advocating them as a means of reconfiguring ones psyche so that a re-

    prioritization of values can occur, ultimately alleviating a dependence on cultural

    norms, which contribute to exacerbating world calamities. In his epic and

    thoughtful account of some of his harrowing journeys with psychedelics, Breaking

    Open the Head, Pinchbeck makes the rather compelling case that the powerful

    and paradigm-shifting effects of Ayahuasca have found a rightful place in our

    modern society as a tool for drastically recalibrating our relationship to the earth

    and for re-thinking our societal institutions and the purpose of our culture.

    Jonathon Miller-Weisberg, enthno-botanist and conservationist, presents in his

    book, Rainforest Medicine, the fascinating cosmology of an Ayahuasca shaman

    from the Sequoia tribe in Ecuador. He makes the case that Ayahuasca is a celestial

    consciousness that is currently working to introduce itself to as many Westerners

    as possible as a means of self-preservation in the face of an overwhelming

    ecological assault on the Amazon, its indigenous people and traditions. In his

    book, Weisberger describes in colorful detail the cosmology and mythology

    woven into the mystique of Ayahuasca medicine, while also offering to

    Westerners practical and critical advice on respecting and honoring the sacred

    importance of this visionary experience.

    The effects of DMT on human consciousness can be profound and permanent,

    and many vocal proponents of this experience, such as Terence McKenna or

    Graham Hancock, attribute profound psychological and philosophical awakenings

    to this experience. Perhaps the greatest benefit of experiencing DMT may be the

    reintroduction of the sacred into contemporary consciousness and into ordinary

    life. It also has the curious side-effect of inviting mystery and inspiration that can

    powerfully renew daily life.

    Conclusion

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    In the world of interesting and unexplainable phenomenon, the curious examples

    of human Chi and the visionary effects of DMT stand out as two mysteries that

    have been influencing human health and well-being for thousands of years, butstill defy logical explanation. The greatest barrier to the experience of these

    phenomenon is the preclusion that they dont really exist, just because they are

    yet unexplained by science. These are mysteries that lie in wait of scientific

    explanation, not mysteries that owe an explanation to science.