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Oriental Medicine defines three "treasures" as being the basis of good
health. These treasures are Jing, Qi and Shen. Vitality,
Energy and Spirit. Vitality gives us our body. Energy allows
us to run it. And Spirit is us.
Jing is the essence of what we are. We acquire Jing from our parents and from the food that we eat after birth. Pre-natal (before birth) Jing that we acquire from our parents consists of the DNA from each parent as well as mitochondria and immune factors from our mothers. Mitochondria are tiny energy factories in our cells. We get them from our mother's egg. They are independent of the cellular DNA that defines us. The immune factors that come from our mother are acquired in the womb. They consist of immune information from diseases that our mothers' have been affected by. Post-natal (after birth) Jing comes from the hormones produced by our body and from the foods that we eat. DHEA is a supplement that delays the depletion of Jing. Meditation helps delay the depletion of Jing. Jing is consumed by excessive work, play and sexual activity. The excessive consumption of Jing will lead to premature aging. Qi is defined as the energy needed to do all that we need to do. We acquire Qi from the food that we eat, exercise and having healthy organs and emotions. Qi Gong and Tai Ji Quan are exercises which increase and move the Qi in our bodies. Excessive emotions will lead to imbalances in the organ and consequent stagnation of Qi. Shen is defined as the mind. Life long learning and unlearning are important to having good Shen. Continual learning delays many of the age related problems with the mind. Emotions affect the clarity of the mind as do trauma and drugs and alcohol. Spiritual philosophy is important to enabling the Shen to be calm. Yet any spiritual philosophy must be free from dogma that do not meet the criteria of real world application. Faith is based on reason. Meditation is very important to the development of proper Shen as it allow for the processing of what we have learned, experienced and suffered. Without proper Shen, what good is strong Qi and Jing? Daoist Alchemy is concerned with the acquisition, cultivation and circulation of these three treasures. The modern Chinese government has separated the techniques out as meditation, Qi Gong and Daoist religion. Alchemy is concerned with the transformation of a fragmented self into a unified whole. Much is written about these subjects and few sources place it into a proper prospective. The readings below range from the practical to translation of texts which explain the technique and images behind it. Many of the resources that I have studied have revolved around the Complete
Reality school od Daoism. This school started around the eleventh
century. It excludes superstitious elements and insists on a practical
basis for all its methods and activities.
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