Catherine Tuck gets to the bones of existence, of thought, the why’s and how’s of life and the interplay of heaven and earth in the context of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Huang-Di inquired, “I have heard of people in ancient times, spoken of as the Immortals, who knew the secrets of the universe and held Yin and Yang, the world, in the palms of their hands. They extracted essence from nature, and practiced various disciplines such as Dao-in and Qi Gong, and breathing and visualisation exercises, to integrate the body, mind and spirit. They remained undisturbed and thus attained extraordinary levels of accomplishment. Can you tell me about them?”

Qi Bo responded, “The immortals kept their mental energies focused and refined, and harmonised their bodies with the environment. Thus, they did not show conventional signs of ageing, and were able to live beyond biological limitations.”¹

Immortality is not a new concept in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Naturalist philosophies, like Taoism have well documented methods for living in harmony with the cosmos. These are used to store up life-force and achieve liberation from the conventional biological ageing processes.

These practices may have been lost somewhat, in the passage of time, but it may just be that the Alchemical Remedy, Immortality may give us a means to access this process in our modern age.

All beings on the planet are subject to the natural cycle of birth, maturation, and steady decline. To understand this process from a Chinese Medical perspective, we ask the questions:  “Where do we come from? How do we get here? And why are we here?”

Where do we come from?

In the beginning, there was the Wu Chi, or Void. Then there was the One (or Named Tao). The one created the Two (Yin and Yang energies). The Two created the Three (Jing, Chi and Shen, three created the 5 Elements, and this created the 10 000 things.

If one looks at the Taoist view of cosmology, human beings are the product of the interaction of Shen Tien (Heaven) and Ho Tien (Earth) energies. Their interplay creates the human body, and this Human-centered Universe. Man is central to the interplay of the Heaven and Earth Energies, so without man, there would be no vehicle for the Creative Source to explore itself, and there would be no Universe, in this form, to experience life.

This interplay of Heaven and Earth is a product of Mind. The concept of Mind in Eastern thought is not the same concept as it is held in the West. In the West, Mind is where you create thoughts, and it is akin to consciousness, or awareness. In the East, Mind is the Omniscious, Omnipotent, creative force behind all life. It is everywhere, and can do all things. It is forever expanding, creating, destroying and returning to itself, to create again.

How do we get here?

Mind projects itself from a Quantum Field of Energy, into this three Dimensional reality, using Chi as its interface. Chi may be interpreted as life-force or vitality, but it is helpful to think of it as information for your body to function. It also carries with it the plan for your ultimate purpose in this incarnation.

Our five senses allow us to map and experience this reality through our brains, which are an interface for processing information for function, from Source.

Why are we here?

Central to the concept of health in Chinese medicine, is aligning a patient with Source. As a human expression of the Tao, we all have our own personal destinies to undertake. So where the Tao is ‘the Way’ on a macrocosmic level, each and every human being is a microcosmic expression of the Tao. Illness occurs as our journey along the ‘Way’, becomes side-tracked. We experience illness as an evolutionary aspect to our journey. It strengthens us and teaches us many Soul lessons over time. However, it is only in health that we are able to complete our journey and ultimate destiny. It is a Chinese Medical practitioner’s job to nudge you back on to the path, so that you are able to recalibrate and get on with your journey.

The Alchemical remedy, Immortality has been immensely helpful in the realisation of many of the Why’s – why we endure the physical and emotional suffering we experience.

It allows one to let go of a lot of the emotional attachment to the time-stamped events which define the human condition.

This is enormously beneficial not only to an individual, as an expression of the Tao, but will help break many of the Ancestral and Karmic bonds wemay have, which hold us back.

In conclusion, if one traces the evolution of our Universe back to its very origins, when it was smaller than an atom, and consider that ever since then, the Universe has been growing and evolving from the energies, fields and forces that create all the known things in the Universe, we are all inextricably linked. The physical law of Entanglement states that all particles throughout the known Universe behave as if one thing, no matter how separated they are by time and space. Immortality is an invaluable ingredient in the evolution of our species, and couldn’t have come along at a better time. For as a new, fearless way of being emerges, the benefits will be felt throughout time and space, as more and more people become healthier, more connected to Source, and above all, fearless in their expression of Divinity.

1.(The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine, A new translation of The NeijingSuwen with commentary. Maoshing Ni, Ph.D. 1995 P3,4)

Written by Catherine Tuck