‘Chi’ — That Which Gives Life
Chi is Life Force
Lee Holden’s book, ‘Your Body of Light’, defines chi (qi) as ‘that which gives life’ and its meaning as ‘life force’. It is the basis of traditional Chinese healing arts, from acupuncture to herbal medicine. Qi is carried within the breath and is the very breath of life that animates every function of our bodies, mind, and spirit.
Qi has the following elements and abilities:
- powers the physical body, giving blood the energy to flow
- nourishes the cells in our body
- stimulates the immune system for good health
- fuels digestion and nutrient absorption
- provides the nervous system with the energy to operate the body
- drives and supports mental energy providing the ability to think clearly, reason, and make decisions
- connects you to spirit and cosmic bodies — the earth, sun, moon, stars, and planets
The principle of the driving force of life is familiar to many cultures and religious practices. Some of the many other names for qi in different cultures include:
Prana: India
Ki: Japan
Mana: Polynesia
Ni: Lakota Sioux
Ka: Ancient Egypt
Holy Spirit: Christians
‘Tao’ — The Great Mother
Lao Tzu (Laozi), a 6th-century BC sage, stated, “The Tao is called the Great Mother; empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds. It is always present with you. You can use it any way you want.”
The Taoists view chi as a primal substance that animates the universe and the force that sets the world and everything in it into motion. They also believe that chi is the force that sustains all things once they are created, having two polar opposite elements: yin and yang. Yin carries a magnetic, contractive quality. Yang holds an expansive, projective quality.
The article, ‘Qi (Chi): The Taoist Principle of Life Force,’ indicates that the fundamental insight of qigong and Chinese Medicine (acupuncture and herbal medicine) is that balanced and free-flowing qi results in health. In contrast, stagnant or imbalanced qi leads to disease. The capacity to perceive the flow of qi directly, to actually see or feel it, can be cultivated through training in qigong and acupuncture.
Though we experience our body as being relatively solid, at a molecular level it is comprised mainly of water — a very fluid substance. At an atomic level, our bodies are 99.99% space — a vast (and infinitely intelligent) emptiness.
Dark Energy
Per current physics theory, Dark Energy is thought to comprise roughly 68% of the known universe, and Dark Matter 27%. Current Quantum Physics theories of dark matter and dark energy appear to acknowledge chi as the underlying force that controls all matter.
The noted similarities of the theories of dark matter/energy and chi are that they:
- both permeate a major percentage of the known universe
- consist of a particle that is thought to give all others mass
- can’t be seen but their effects (gravity) can be seen
- are the force that holds galaxies together giving the universe its structure
Universal Life Force Energy
Universal Life Force Energy, a term used in Reiki teaching and healing, is defined as the underlying ‘Power of All Vibration’, be it physical, mental, or spiritual. It is the continuous flow of energy from the Source of All: constituting all, sustaining all, pervading all. It is eternal and infinite.

