Fire and Water Chi

I wont be writing too much about this subject yet, but as I mentioned it in my previous post “Grief under Anger”, I wish to explain a little about these energies.

These energies flow through our bodies. I am certain of this because I have felt their effects, I can feel when they are blocked and I can feel when they are balanced and flowing.

I have only become attuned to them because of the work I have done on this spiritual journey, and I call it this because I would say that spirituality is in a large way all about working with our energy and becoming balanced.

Fire Chi

This is a powerful and explosive energy. It is triggered by lust, power and anger.

When triggered and felt in our bodies it is actually very healing and can cut through energetic blockages which can exist in the form of unprocessed emotions.

It is a wave of this energy that we feel during orgasm. This is why tantric practitioners prolong love making so that this energy can be built up, spread through the body and worked with. I would love to write more on this but I have only scratched the surface of tantra so I feel ill equipped to do so at this time.

We can also feel the effects of fire chi when we lose our temper. I would say that the expression “blowing our top” accurately sums up fire chi, because it is a rising energy.

Water Chi

In contrast, water chi is more of a comforting, downward flowing energy.

It can be triggered by a very deep sigh, which I have come to know as a sacral release. When I do this properly I can feel the energy run down my legs and often tingle on the soles of my feet. We need to do this so we become grounded.

Interestingly, water chi is associated with liver and kidney functions, so also physical water in the body.

I would say that water chi gives us a more “nurturing” feeling, maybe like that of melting into a deep hug with a friend.

These two energies need to be flowing and balanced.

It is easy to observe people who are out of balance in these energies. Someone who loses their temper easily or someone who has an over abundance of water chi, they may be referred to as “wet” or “drippy”, funny that even the terms we use signify liquid.

A person with excess fire chi can learn to temper it by working on their water chi and vice-versa.

Often people are tricked into accentuating their male/female aspects when what we really want is a balance. A man can be powerful but without forgetting the nurturing aspect of himself. Balance, in all things, especially our energies.

I often think in terms of Christianity when I write my blog, as it is the only religion I have some experience in. I am reminded of one of the ten commandments which states we should “honour thy father and mother”. I suddenly thought, what if this was the bibles allusion to our internal energies…. The male and female aspect?

While I don’t want to talk too much about energies in terms of male and female (as this invites lots of labels) I do find it interesting that many religions have those male and female principals.

• Shiva/Shakti

• Adam/Eve

• Yin/Yang

• Sun/Moon

I feel that of all religions that I know of, Taoism is one that still works with these primary energies and encourages balance and flow. They certainly have some amazing writings for general health, well-being and sexual relationships. I may well write more on this another time.

See: “Taoism – Recommended Reading”

For now, I just wanted to frame these main energies so we can start to think of our energetic/spiritual selves in terms of balancing these and working with them. If we do this then it certainly simplifies things. I like simple and as I write about in “The spiritual picnic”, we can easily get lost in all sorts of “fluff” on the spiritual path.

See: “The Spiritual Picnic”

Try a simple deep sigh, or saying out loud some sexual fantasies that really get you going!! Just try and see if you can feel any physical effects in your body. A tingling? A temperature increase? If so, you are now aware of your bodies energies moving!!