universal healing tao© foundation
The Spiritual Core
Are you looking for clarity, meaning and purpose in life? Would you like to cultivate health, healing, happiness and higher-self development in your life? Would you want to transform the frustrations of stress and tension into vitality for a full life, plus access reality-based experiences of the spiritual dimensions within? Universal HEALING TAO© instruction, masterminded by Grand Master Mantak Chia, provides a complete set of personalized tools to enable you to achieve your goals. Whether a complete novice or an intermediate wandering truth-seeker, you already have the resources in you that you need to reach your goals. You just need to learn how to cultivate them, simply, step by step.
IMMORTAL SELF'S 9 secrets of taoist Inner Alchemy
The Spiritual Core of Grand Master Mantak Chia's Teaching
BACKGROUND
Master Chia is the founder of HEALING TAO© in USA, Tao Yoga in Europe and Universal HEALING TAO© Center and Tao Master School at Tao Garden Health Spa & Resort. Tao Garden is a worldwide center for Taoist training and holistic healing, detoxification and rejuvenation. Located in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas in the northern Thailand countryside near Chiang Mai, Tao Garden offers year-round Taoist training plus complementary health services. Both TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and Ayurvedic modalities are integrated with limited Western medical services. Additionally, the Health Spa offers a full range of Thai Massage, Ayurvedic Massage, Chi Nei Tsang and Karsai Massage, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and yoga. Also: large swimming pool, gym and other recreational facilities. Guests enjoy their time at Tao Garden in the beautiful surroundings of nature with fresh air, good water and delicious organic diet. Our motto: good heart, good intentions and good chi! < www.tao-garden.com>
Universal HEALING TAO© practices are designed to cultivate a balanced life of love, health, longevity and spiritual evolution. It is a complete system for our integrated physical, energy (emotional), mental and spiritual bodies. The focus is on developing and refining our life energy, chi—our bio-electromagnetic lifeforce—for self-healing and life enhancement. Tao means way: the way of nature and the universe, the natural way. The way of the Tao is a process of ‘returning' to Wu Chi, the primordial all-conscious void. Whereby, the practitioner consciously senses the personal chi within the body, and then the chi of Earth, nature and the Universe. We establish a relaxed, healthy base of life in our physical/social environment. At the same time, we strive to achieve spiritual independence and merge into oneness with the Wu Chi.
HUMAN PRIMORDIAL FORCE
Taoist history goes back to the time when everybody was living in nature and in caves. They discovered what we call the Wu Chi, the Original Force or Primordial Force. In those times, the Chinese started connecting with nature and feeling the forces of nature. “In the Taoism of my lineage,” says Grand Master Mantak Chia, “the origin goes back to the Wu Chi, the Supreme Natural Power in the universe—in Western terminology, God. It means ‘nothingness,' but it is filled with ‘Dark Matter,' the subtle sub-atomic entities.”
Humans also store part of the primordial force. Starting from the beginning of conception when the egg and sperm come together in the first cell-this cell has the power to draw the primordial force down, combine with it and form what comes to be a human. Just as when the first cell divides and multiplies, the subsequent copies from the original retain the capacity to draw in the primordial force. The practice of the Inner Smile and the Six Healing Sounds will help to reunite with this force.
When the human body is formed, the sexual organ cells store part of the primordial force. The heart stores part of the original spirit (yuan shen) of the primordial force. The right kidney stores part of the primordial force that supports life and gives more life. When we combine our love, compassion and orgasmic sexual energy, a harmonizing resonance effect arises at the synergistic frequency of eight Hertz. In this state of activation, our cells will draw in the primordial force and a process of cellular intercourse occurs. DNA is transcribed in the nucleus and translated via RNA in the cytoplasm. Cells divide and combine, giving birth to new and improved cells. This cellular intercourse will also occur when we have stored enough of this combined sexual energy (jing) and then combine it with love and compassion energy. The kidneys store part of the primordial force and connect with the earth force, which also has the same eight Hertz frequency.
There are many rooting Chi Kung practices in Taoism to help ourselves to be energetically rooted into the earth in order to access its primordial force. Earth force is combined with the universal primordial force so that it is a source of the major force that is closest to the quality of human force. The Heavenly Primordial Force and the Earth Primordial Force combine with Human Original Primordial Force (such as the combination of creative life forces at human conception of the first cell). Thus, we can give our new cells' DNA the support of the creative life forces that nurtured our first cell—original reproductions, but genetically enhanced versions through the power of ‘positive personal engineering'.
PRIMORDIAL FORCE AND DARK MATTER
The whole Taoist practice is involved with how to evoke the primordial force in order to be reunited with it in our body, Primordial Force-an aspect of Dark Matter-fills the whole universe. Dark Matter is about 96% of the universe, and the other 4% is our physical universe, . Each galaxy is a part of the Primordial Force, especially our galaxy, our solar system and our planet Earth. Our sun and Earth are part of just one solar system out of 200 billion combinations of star and planet solar systems in our Milky Way galaxy.
The Tao believes that our Earth is the energy center of the galaxies of our universe. This point of view is supported by the most advanced scientists of today in the field of quantum mechanics. According to quantum theory, one quality of subatomic particles is ‘non-locality.' Thus, with zero-point fluctuation as the underlying mechanism acting on quantum entities and causing one entity to affect the others—it means that every part of the universe can be in touch with every other part instantaneously. These scientists believe that the ‘Zero Point Field' is the all-pervasive ground state throughout the universe.
So, it really doesn't matter where we are—we are still at the center—and each person is at the center of the universe! We are well-positioned and well-suited for the all-important process of drawing upon the primordial force for our life maintenance, refinement and evolution. Fortifying ourselves with this essential resource enables us to manifest the amazing wonders of our human birthright. And so, according to the Tao, the universe sends energy to us and to Earth so the earth can support life. Our earth stores a major part that we need in order to fulfill our birthright. Our planets also have a lot of influence on us, and all the planets store some of the elemental qualities of Primordial Force that we need to access in order to complete our inner alchemy transformation.
MY MASTER, YI ENG: INNER ALCHEMY PRACTICE
In my lineage, we call ourselves the ‘Inner-Alchemy-Just-Practice Taoists.' People in this lineage usually learn from many systems—such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and the science of today's world. Highly refined states of inner experience and consciousness are the birthright of all humans and are accessible by all! Inner-Alchemy-Just-Practice Taoists combine all the things that are effective. They take out what is not necessary, including all rituals and ceremonies. They go to the mountains, practice and come down to teach and help people.
My master, Yi Eng (I Yun—means White Cloud) finally decided to go to the mountain and practice things in this way. He was practicing and searching for all the masters in the mountains. Finally, he met my Grandmaster, and he learned the whole system that he passed on to me. The master gave no initiation, no celebration, nothing at all—just pure practice.
The nine formulas of Taoist internal spiritual cultivation that I teach were originally transmitted to me by my master, Yi Eng. It took many generations of masters to refine their amazing experiences into nine practical stages of inner alchemy. He told me to teach these to Chinese first and then to Westerners. White Cloud left his body at age 96.
INTEGRATING IMMORTALITY
Sexual Essence, Inner Child and the Immortal Spirit Body
Some may find it interesting to hear that spiritual development can go hand in hand with a loving, respectful sexual relationship as well as for solo cultivation practice. And further, that the sexual energy generated in the process is a critical element for spiritual development. One learns to cultivate, control, conserve, refine and store sexual energy in the body in the basic practices. From there, there are more refined inner alchemy practices that enable Universal Tao practitioners to grow and attain their Immortal Spirit Body. It begins with the Fusion I,II and III Chi energy body (soul) practices.
Through inner alchemy processes, one refines immaterial (sexual energy essence and healthy positive energy) generated from material (physical body) and sources of Earth, nature, planets, and the universe. A practitioner can become energetically 'pregnant.' By intention one can create and nurture a crystalizedenergy 'foetus' (using the physical analogy). With loving attention and care via the upper hierarchy of meditation practices-Lesser, Greater and Greatest Kan and Li, and Sealing of the Five Senses-one feeds, transfers consciousness and trains this energy body to grow like a healthy child.
The goal is to have time to accomplish the energetic refinement and crystalization of one's true spiritual self, referred to as the 'Golden Light Body' (Golden is a reference to the high value accorded to this attainment, not necessarily its permanent color). It doesn't happen by whim or chance. It takes time, patience and commitment. Therefore, Taoists value a healthy, happy, emotionally balanced life and longevity to support feeling good and to be willing to persevere with this higher inner alchemy process. The process is further refined in the practices of the Congress of Heaven and Earth and then the Reunion of Heaven and Man. The Golden Light Body is one's immortal vehicle for spiritual freedom and independence. It transcends the limits of the physical world of time and space-while still living in the here and now. The goal can be attained and experienced in this lifetime. It is the ultimate meaning and purpose of life!
Using White Cloud's structure, I have added my own refinements based on study with many masters as well as my studies in Western anatomy, astronomy, astrology, medical science and of the advancements in the field of quantum sciences-combined with my experience of over forty years of practice and teaching.
GLOSSARY
By Dennis Huntington Universal Healing Tao Senior Instructor in residence at Tao Garden
TAO: Tao means the way—the way of man, nature, and the universe—the natural way of evolving in our life to our highest, most refined, ultimate state of being and experience. This implies a process of ‘returning' from the grosser levels of our manifested physical existence through the more subtle aspects of our being to our unconditioned, unrestricted pure-self. At that point we merge and become one with the Wu Chi—the nothingness, the all-conscious void underlying all that ‘is'—comparable to the Christian and other religions' concept of becoming one with God.
Taoist: An individual who subscribes to and practices the methods associated with the pursuit of the Tao is referred to as a Taoist. There are many steps along the way to attaining this underlying state of exalted being. Hence, there are various practices for health, healing, refining and longevity to support ourselves with sufficient energy and time to accomplish the goal. Going back thousands of years in China, people have accumulated and refined ways of cultivating the integrated physical body, energy body, mind and spirit for a balanced healthy, happy life in pursuit of the Tao.
Taoism: Various combinations of practices traced to Taoist roots. However, through time and diversity in different areas and with the impact of different social, religious, philosophical and political influences—different schools of thought and practice have proliferated. Various combinations of practices traced to Taoist roots and these other traditions are referred to as Taoism. Historically, a body of literature has accumulated that provides a base of reference for the roots and principles known as the Tao. Among the many Taoists to whom Taoist authority is attributed are Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Tan Jing-sheng and Huang Ti, the Yellow Emperor. Paradoxically, as Lao Tzu tells us in beginning his Tao Te Ching: “The Tao that is voiced is no longer the Tao. The name that has been written is no longer that of eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of the cosmic universe. The named is the mother of the myriad creatures.” Science is providing us with a deeper knowledge of what is, but the Tao is still beyond words and knowledge. It can only be truly known by direct personal experience.
Primordial Force: Taoists long ago—before the modern scientific discoveries of electromagnetism, electric energy power and quantum field mechanics—recognized subtle invisible forces in their subjective personal experience. They classified these forces in nature and the universe in terms of their category of effects in humans (physical, energetic, mental or spiritual qualities). Since they experienced the effects of the invisible forces and energies in the practices and found tremendous benefit for completing their inner alchemy, they called it the Supreme Natural Force, Original Force or Primordial Force. When they accessed it to apply it in the processes of inner alchemy they also referred to it as Primordial Chi. This use of terminology is analogous to the usage in modern life to ‘electromagnetic force' and electric energy when the force is activated and used in some application—the term ‘energy' is used to identify its effects in action, like chi is used by Taoists. Sometimes ‘force' and ‘chi' are commonly used loosely and interchangeably. See the summary of ‘Dark Matter' for further clarification of the nature of Primordial Force/Chi.
Inner alchemy: In order to attain this highly evolved state of experience and being, the state of existence beyond the restrictions of time and space—immortality—Taoist practitioners strived to discover what was missing and needed. They recognized that they needed to change the conditions and qualities of their normal everyday physical life. Master Mantak Chia's lineage of Taoists, the ‘Inner-Alchemy-Just-Practice Taoists,' learned to change the quality of their inner state of energy in order to more effectively access the original quality of energy, primordial chi, that all of existence is derived from. This begins with the simple process of transforming the normal negative emotional energies in the vital organs into the positive qualities. This changes the PH balance between the acidic and alkaline states, producing a more favorable quality of body chemistry, hormone balance, etc. This is part of a highly refined process of inner change in the inner state and quality of one's being—inner alchemy—which evolves to higher levels of refinement and experience stage by stage by the individual practitioner. Many practices combine to achieve the desired results. Therefore, we have Master Chia's “Nine Tao Alchemy Formulas of the Immortal Self.” Herein, ‘Tao Alchemy' refers to the practices that collectively bring about important qualitative improvements in all aspects—physical, energetic, mental and spiritual—within each practitioner's life, culminating in the nameless TAO!
DARK MATTER — PRIMORDIAL FORCE / CHI
About 90% of the universe is Dark Matter. Starting from the Big Bang, 10% of matter, recognized as the Physical Universe, came into being. These estimates are the result of recent measurements and calculations using the latest advancements of space technology and its methods of detection.
Basically, from the point of view of the prevailing physical science establishment up to the present era, the physical universe was everything. Space was just ‘empty' space, a vacuum—nothingness with no content or form. Until recently there was not sufficient technology or base of knowledge as to the nature of subatomic quanta (wave/particles) or how to detect them in a free state in nature.
During the 19th century our understanding of electromagnetic phenomena was pioneered, and the knowledge that electricity and magnetism were related phenomena and that light was a form of electromagnetic energy was established. In the 20th Century, a new picture of matter and the atom emerged in quantum mechanics. The chemical properties of matter became attributable to electrical charge—the same electrical charge found to be responsible for light in the previous century. From the point of view of the electric field, the atom appears solid, but from the point of view of mass, the atom appears very empty. Quantum mechanics showed that not only do we see objects because of electrical charge (and not because of the properties of mass) but also we can hold and feel objects because of the properties of electrical charge (and not because of the properties of mass).
The detection of “dark matter” has to be made indirectly, through the observation of its gravitational effect. Because it has mass, “dark matter” can exert a gravitational pull on visible matter. So, looking into outer space with our most sophisticated instruments we can observe gravitational influences on distant stars, gas clouds, nebulae, galaxies and other celestial phenomena, but we cannot see the matter which produces the influences. The existence of uncharged particles is not new, but the discovery of “dark matter” seems different from what is known to date in that it makes up at least 90% of the universe, and is apparently stable. What we normally think of as the 'galaxy' -- the pinwheel of stars -- is in fact only a part of the entire structure. It is surrounded by, and immersed in, a globe of unseen dark matter that makes up at least 90 percent of its mass.
The real story of the Universe, it seems, is in its “dark matter.” There are two broad categories for the explanation of “dark matter.” It can be burnt out stars -- white dwarfs or black holes, or, it can be matter which is not composed of electrically charged particles. This simple property makes this matter invisible to our normal vision, and also would give “dark matter” the ability to interpenetrate with visible matter, i.e., it could pass right through visible matter. The property of “interpenetrability” of this type of “dark matter” with visible matter strikes a chord with the subtle matter of the mystical traditions.
SPIRITUAL TEACHINGS
Mysticism is a discipline involved with knowledge and techniques which are of value in assisting the individual toward spiritual growth. It is a very pragmatic discipline, concerned with direct experience, or awareness of spiritual truth, of ultimate reality, etc. Spiritual methodology is not based on external experimentation, but internal observation. As an age old tradition which continues to develop, mysticism is expansive, covering numerous concepts and doctrines.
Spiritual Traditions from India and Tibet
Humans are composed of several interpenetrating sheaths or subtle bodies, which are made up of matter from different planes, each of different relative density. The densest of these sheaths is what we normally regard as our physical body, the body that is visible to our normal vision. The other sheaths are not visible to our everyday vision.
The second sheath is a subtle, fine-material sheath known as the prana [chi (qi)] or etheric body. This gives the visible body life and consciousness through the prana/chi. In western mysticism, the astral body is noted in addition to the etheric body, and is apparently combined with the pranic/chi subtle body. The next even finer sheath is our ‘thought body' or ‘personality,' our mental body. This body is necessary for rational and intellectual thinking. The fourth sheath is the body of our potential consciousness, which extends far beyond our active thoughts. It comprises the totality of our spiritual capacities and is apparently equivalent to the soul in western mysticism. The last and finest sheath [fifth], the spirit body—which penetrates all the previous ones—is the body of the highest, universal consciousness. It is only experienced in a state of enlightenment, or in the highest states of meditation.
These sheaths are not separate layers forming around a center, but are mutually penetrating forms of matter, from the finest matter down to the densest form of matter, which appears before us as our visible body. The corresponding finer or subtler sheaths penetrate, and thus contain the grosser ones. Just as the material body is built up through nourishment, while being penetrated and kept alive by the vital forces of the prana/chi, the body of active thought-consciousness penetrates the functions of prana in the same way and determines the form of bodily appearance.
Soul body, mind body, prana/chi body, and visible body, however, are viewed as being penetrated and motivated by a still deeper and finer matter, spirit [shen in in Taoist terminology]. This ‘finer spirit matter' penetrates these grosser bodies and stores up the material that our thought and imagination draws its substance from. It is therefore only the spiritual body that penetrates all the five layers and thus integrates all organs and faculties of the individual into one complete whole. In mysticism, the finest matters appear to be associated with the deepest truths, or spiritual understandings.
Prana—or Chi (Qi) in Taoist Terminology
Along with these sheaths or mystical bodies are the energy centers or chakras [cauldrons in Taoist lore], which are also not visible to our normal vision. The chakras/cauldrons collect, transform and distribute the forces flowing through them. These chakras/cauldrons are at points in which ‘psychic forces' and bodily functions merge into each other or penetrate each other. Connecting the sheaths (kosas) and chakras/cauldrons are subtle vessels called nadis/meridians, which serve as conductors of the energies that flow through the subtle bodies. To a certain extent, they parallel the nerve-system in the body, and they are very numerous. However, there are three major nadis/meridians—the central channel or susumna, which runs like a hollow channel through the center of the spinal column (relative to the visible body) and the ida and pingala, which are two channels wrapped around the susumna-nadi/meridian in a spiral fashion, starting from the left and the right nostrils respectively, and meeting susumna in the perineum at the base of the spine. They establish a direct connection among the seven chakras/cauldrons. In Tibetan [and Taoist] descriptions, pingala and ida are often simply called the ‘right and left nadi,' and there is no mention of a spiral movement of these nadis around the susumna.
With our ordinary vision we cannot see the mystical subtle bodies, or the chakras, or the nadis, but all these bodies and chakras interact with each other to form the whole human being. To function as a human being, we are constantly using these subtle bodies even though we are not conscious of them. To the true practitioner of mysticism, these truths are as real to them as scientific truths are to the scientist. By turning inward, mysticism has concentrated its exploration of the universe on those concepts which are of value to spiritual growth.
East Meets West
The “dark matter” can be defined as matter which is void of charged particles and therefore cannot be seen with our normal vision and can interpenetrate with visible matter. For example, if the universe contained ‘atoms' which were held together by a ‘force' other than the electromagnetic force, these ‘atoms' would not be visible to our normal vision and could interpenetrate with visible atoms.
Recalling what we know of the mystical properties of subtle bodies and subtle matter, the subtle bodies capable of interpenetrating our visible body must be composed of various forms of uncharged “dark matter,” if they physically exist (have mass). Interpenetration with visible matter is a property of “dark matter” which is void of charged particles. What the mystics were describing was a type of “dark matter” long before scientists discovered “dark matter.” How could they have known that such a matter could exist? In our everyday life we are unaware of the existence of these subtle bodies, but the true mystics have developed techniques that make it possible for them to experience the universe from the perspective of their subtle bodies. In so doing they can look out upon the universe and observe the “dark matter” with their “dark matter” subtle body vision.
Long before “dark matter” was discovered, C.W. Leadbeater said “All these varieties of finer matter exist not only in the world without, but they exist in man also. He has not only the physical body which we see, but he has within him what we may describe as bodies appropriate to these various planes of nature, and consisting in each case of their matter.”12 Through our visible body we are able to experience the visible world, and through the different unique types of subtle matter of which we consist, man can experience the corresponding outer world when he becomes conscious of that respective subtle body. Again, Leadbeater says “The soul of man has not one body but many bodies, for when he is sufficiently evolved he is able to express himself on all these different levels of nature, and he is therefore provided with a suitable vehicle of matter belonging to each, and it is through these various vehicles that he is able to receive impressions from the world to which they correspond."13 To the mystic who has acquired awareness of his subtle bodies, “dark matter” is not dark.
Furthermore, looking at the accounts of individuals who have experienced these other planes of matter (such as during near-death experiences or in mystical states), it would appear that the sense of time and space associated with these various forms of subtle matter are different from that associated with visible matter. Each subtle body seems to have a unique sense of time and space, and this suggests that time-space relationships are dependent upon the type of matter one is conscious of or experiencing. Clearly this would make it very difficult to communicate these experiences to those familiar with only our usual sense of time and space.
Our scientific understanding of the Big Bang as a single energy event which presumably created simultaneously all matter and time and space, is, interestingly enough, not the likely source of the “dark matter” we are discussing. The traditional view of mysticism is that the more dense forms of matter were born out of the finer forms of matter, a Creation “which is divided into seven major planes of consciousness or matter”14. Our present scientific understanding of the origins of the Universe indicates that matter was created out of the Big Bang about 15 billion years ago. Our understanding of this event is sufficient that these unique types of subtle “dark matter” were not very likely formed in that event. Subtle “dark matter,” however, could have existed before the Big Bang, because our comprehension of the Big Bang is based on the behavior of visible (luminous) matter. The microwave background radiation of the universe (the “echo” of the Big Bang), and primordial nucleosynthesis (Big Bang atomic nuclear production) are the two quantitative tests supporting the hot Big Bang Theory. Of course both of these phenomena are based on radiation producing (luminous matter) observation, as is also the red shift which originally indicated an expanding universe.
We can no longer assume that all matter was created at the Big Bang, even though luminous matter clearly was. Some form of “dark matter” [‘Primordial Chi' or ‘Original Force' in Taoist terminology] may have existed before the Big Bang. To have some sort of primordial "dark matter" present before the Big Bang would indicate that the Big Bang was created out of a certain percentage of this primordial "dark matter," but not all of it was "converted" to luminous matter. Thus we still have much of this primordial "dark matter" around.
This summary is from “‘Dark Matter'--The Physical Basis for Mysticism”; 18 pages; ©Deno Kazanis, Ph.D., 1997. Any part of that article may be copied providing credit is given. This summary has been extracted, compiled and edited (with Taoist terms added) by Dennis Huntington.
“I S 9 T A F” text section Primordial Force and Dark Matter, paragraph 2:
“The Tao believes that our Earth is the energy center of the galaxies of our universe. This point of view is supported by the most advanced scientists of today in the field of quantum mechanics. According to quantum theory, one quality of subatomic particles is ‘non-locality.' Thus, with zero-point fluctuation as the underlying mechanism acting on quantum entities and causing one entity to affect the others—it means that every part of the universe can be in touch with every other part instantaneously. These scientists believe that the ‘Zero Point Field' is the all-pervasive ground state throughout the universe, including the ‘Dark Matter'.”
ZERO POINT FIELD. There is a giant reservoir of energy that every quantum physicist is well aware of, the Zero Point Field. Quantum mechanics has demonstrated that there is no such thing as a vacuum, or nothingness. What we tend to think of as a sheer void (if all of space were emptied of matter and energy and you examined even the space between the stars) is, in subatomic terms, a hive of activity.
Basic Substructure of the Universe: No particle ever stays completely at rest but is constantly in motion due to a ground state field of energy constantly interacting with all subatomic matter. It means that the basic substructure of the universe is a sea of quantum fields that cannot be eliminated by any known laws of physics. What we believe to be our stable, static universe is in fact a seething maelstrom of subatomic particles fleetingly popping in and out of existence.
Virtual Particles: We cannot know both the energy and the lifetime of a particle; so a subatomic event occurring within a tiny time frame involves an uncertain amount of energy. All elementary particles interact with each other by exchanging energy through other quantum particles, which are believed to appear out of nowhere, combining and annihilating each other in less than an instant (10-23 seconds), causing random fluctuations of energy without any apparent cause. The fleeting particles generated during this brief moment are known as ‘virtual particles.' They differ from real particles because they only exist during that exchange.
Zero-Point Fluctuation: Still Detectable in Temperatures of Absolute Zero. When added across the universe, this subatomic exchange gives rise to enormous energy—more than is contained in all the matter in the entire world. The Zero Point Field was called ‘zero' because fluctuations in the field are still detectable in temperatures of absolute zero, the lowest possible energy state, where all matter has been removed and nothing is supposedly left to make any motion. Zero-point energy was the energy present in the emptiest state of space at the lowest possible energy, out of which no more energy could be removed—the closest that motion of subatomic matter ever gets to zero. But because of the uncertainty principle there will always be some residual jiggling due to virtual particle exchange. It had always been largely discounted because it is ever-present. In physics equations, most physicists would subtract troublesome zero-point energy away – a process called ‘renormalization.' Because zero-point energy was ever-present, the theory went, it didn't change anything. Because it didn't change anything, it didn't count.
A Quantum Sea of Light: To the quantum physicist, it is an annoyance, to be subtracted away and discounted. To the religious or the mystic, it is science proving the miraculous. What quantum calculations show is that we and our universe live and breathe in what amounts to a sea of motion—a quantum sea of light. What quantum physicists have found is that the energy in the Zero Point Field keeps acting on particles so that they never come to rest but always keep moving, even in conditions at a temperature of absolute zero.
FIELD: REGION OF INFLUENCE. A field is a matrix or medium which connects two or more points in space, usually via a force, like gravity or electromagnetism. The force is usually represented by ripples in the field, or waves. An electromagnetic field, for example, is simply an electrical field and a magnetic field which intersect, sending out waves of energy at the speed of light. An electric field and a magnetic field form around any electric charge. Both electrical and magnetic fields have two polarities (negative and positive) and both will cause any other charged object to be attracted or repelled. The field is considered that area of space where this charge and its effects can be detected. The notion of an electromagnetic field is simply a convenient abstraction to try to make sense of the seemingly remarkable actions of electricity and magnetism and their ability to influence objects at a distance – and, technically, into infinity – with no detectable substance or matter in between. Simply put, a field is a region of influence.
Constant Exchange: In the quantum world, quantum fields are not mediated by forces but by exchange of energy, which is constantly redistributed in a dynamic pattern. This constant exchange is an intrinsic property of particles, so that even ‘real' particles are nothing more than a little knot of energy which briefly emerges and disappears back into the underlying field. According to quantum field theory, the individual entity is transient and insubstantial. Particles cannot be separated from the empty space around them.
Field of Fields: Inexhaustible Energy. Fluctuations in the atomic world amount to a ceaseless passing back and forth of energy. This sort of emission and re-absorption of virtual particles occurs not only among photons and electrons, but with all the quantum particles in the universe. The ZERO POINT FIELD IS A REPOSITORY OF ALL FIELDS AND ALL GROUND ENERGY STATES AND ALL VIRTUAL PARTICLES—A FIELD OF FIELDS. Every exchange of every virtual particle radiates energy. If you add up all the particles of all varieties in the universe constantly popping in and out of being, you come up with a vast, inexhaustible energy source. To give some idea of the magnitude of this energy source, it has been described thusly: the energy in a single cubic meter of space is enough to boil all the oceans of the world.
NON-LOCALITY: Explanation for many metaphysical notions. Regarding the wave-particle nature of quantum entities, there is also a larger implication of a vast underlying sea of energy. The existence of the Zero Point Field (ZPF) implies that all matter in the universe is interconnected by waves, which are spread out through time and space and can carry on to infinity, tying one part of the universe to every other part. The idea of the ZPF might just offer a scientific explanation for many metaphysical notions, such as the Chinese belief in the life force, or chi (qi), described in ancient texts as something akin to an energy field. It even echoes the Old Testament's account of God's first dictum: ‘Let there be light,' out of which matter was created.
ZPF: Self-Generating Feedback Loop across the Cosmos. The stable state of matter depends for its very existence on this dynamic interchange of subatomic particles with the sustaining zero-point energy field. Electrons lose and gain energy constantly from the Zero Point Field in a dynamic equilibrium, balanced at exactly the right orbit. Electrons get their energy to keep going without slowing down because they are refueling by tapping into these fluctuations of empty space. In other words, the Zero Point Field accounts for the stability of the hydrogen atom – and, by inference, the stability of all matter.
Fluctuations of the Zero Point Field waves drive the motion of subatomic particles, and all the motion of all the particles of the universe in turn generate the Zero Point Field—a sort of self-generating feedback loop across the cosmos. It is a kind of self-regenerating grand ground state of the universe, which constantly refreshes itself and remains a constant unless disturbed in some way. It also means that we and all the matter of the universe are literally connected to the furthest reaches of the cosmos through the Zero Point Field waves of the grandest dimensions.
ZPF: A Mirror Image and Record of Everything That Ever Was. One of the most important aspects of waves is that they are encoders and carriers of information. When two waves are in phase and overlap each other – technically called ‘interference' – the combined amplitude of the waves is greater than that of the individual amplitudes. The signal gets stronger. This amounts to an imprinting or exchange of information, called ‘constructive interference.' If one is peaking when the other is troughing, they tend to cancel each other out – a process called ‘destructive interference.' Once they've collided, each wave contains information, in the form of energy coding, about the other, including all the other information it contains. Interference patterns amount to a constant accumulation of information, and waves have a virtually infinite capacity for storage.
As all subatomic matter in the world is interacting constantly with this ambient ground-state energy field, the subatomic waves of the ZPF are constantly imprinting a record of the shape of everything. As the harbinger and imprinter of all wavelengths and all frequencies, the ZPF is a kind of shadow of the universe for all time, a mirror image and record of everything that ever was. In a sense, the vacuum is the beginning and the end of everything in the universe.
QUANTUM ENTITIES: MASS IS AN ILLUSION!
The perspective of recognizing the dynamics of wave-particle fluctuation interactions with the ZPF provides a more refined clarification of Einstein's famous formula E = mc2. The equation has always implied that energy (one distinct physical entity in the universe) turns into mass (another distinct physical entity). From the ZPF perspective, we now discover that the relationship of mass to energy was more a statement about the energy of quarks and electrons in what we call matter caused by interaction with the Zero Point Field fluctuations. In the language of quantum physics, matter is not a fundamental property of physics. The Einstein equation was simply a recipe for the amount of energy necessary to create the appearance of mass. It means that there aren't two fundamental physical entities – something material and another immaterial – but only one: energy. Everything in your world, anything you hold in your hand, no matter how dense, how heavy, how large, on its most fundamental level boils down to a collection of electric charges interacting with a background sea of electromagnetic and other energetic fields—a kind of electromagnetic drag force. Mass is not equivalent to energy; mass is energy. Or, even more fundamentally, there is no mass. There is only charge.
The property of inertia possessed by all objects in the physical universe is simply resistance to being accelerated through the Zero Point Field. Inertia is what is termed a Lorentz force – a force that slows particles moving through a magnetic field. In this instance, the magnetic field is a component of the Zero Point Field, reacting with the charged subatomic particles. The larger the object, the more particles it contains and the more it is held stationary by the field.
What this is basically saying is that the corporeal stuff we call matter and to which all physicists since Newton have attributed an innate mass is an illusion. All that was happening was that this background sea of energy was opposing acceleration by gripping on to the subatomic particles whenever you pushed on an object. Mass is a ‘bookkeeping device, a 'temporary place holder' for a more general quantum vacuum reaction effect.
What gives an object mass (or inertia) so that it requires an effort to start it moving, and exactly the same effort to restore it to its original state is the fact that so-called empty space is actually a cauldron of seething energies—the Zero Point Field. The implication is that both inertia and gravitation are electromagnetic phenomena resulting from interaction with this field.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: If the Zero Point Field has imprinted everything that ever happened in the world through wave interference encoding. This kind of information might account for coherent particle and field structures. There might also be an ascending ladder of other possible information structures, perhaps coherent fields around living organisms. Maybe this acts as a non-biochemical ‘memory' in the universe. It might even be possible to organize these fluctuations somehow through an act of will.
The Zero Point Field represents nothing less than a unifying concept of the universe, which shows that everything is in some sort of connection and balance with the rest of the cosmos. The universe's very currency might be learned information, as imprinted upon this fluid, mutable field of information. The ZPF demonstrates that the real currency of the universe – the very reason for its stability – is an exchange of energy. If we were all connected through the ZPF, then it just might be possible to tap into this vast reservoir of energy information and extract information from it. With such a vast energy bank to be harnessed, virtually anything could be possible—that is, if human beings had some sort of quantum structure allowing them access to it. But there is the stumbling block. That would require that our bodies operated according to the laws of the quantum world.
[The preceding information relating to the Zero Point Field was gleaned from THE FIELD, The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe, from Chapter Two ‘The Sea of Light' by investigative journalist and author Lynne McTaggart; HarperCollins Publishers, Great Britain 2001 and the U.S. edition in 2002; first Quill edition published 2003.]
GOOD NEWS! That is what the Tao and goal the Universal Tao System of practices is all about: attuning ourselves to our more subtle ‘quantum structure' within in order to function in accordance with our innate capacities in the interpenetrating quantum world that we are already a part of. It is a process of returning to our subtle nature as we connect our awareness and consciousness with our chi, the ‘primordial force,' and the Wu Chi—referring to this subatomic quantum realm with Taoist terms. Darkroom Retreat meditation practices are conducted yearly in February at Tao Garden. They provide an ambience for dips in the ‘Quantum Sea of Light' in the mother lode of darkness by awakening our inner vision capacities and opening ourselves to the interconnectedness with the universe(s) accessed within.
EXAMPLE OF TAOIST INSIGHT AND EXPERIENCE: “Change is constant in nature. … [Reference to the changing states of water] … In the same way, death is a mere transformation, not an end. We need not be terrified of it. In fact, our sentimental emotions are totally irrelevant.”
“So you see," added Crystal Spring, “that Chuang Tzu is throwing us a diversion. … [He dreamed he was a butterfly.] … He is neither Chuang Tzu nor the butterfly. He is both at once. What is important is not to be deceived by the dualistic question of whether he was one or the other, but to realize that there is some underlying essence beneath it all.”
“Do not fear the sensations you feel during meditation,” concluded Slender Gourd. “Let all phenomena come and go. Even death is a part of such illusion. Don't identify with phenomena, but instead look deeply into the Tao and its source. Forget the illusion of a separate existence. Cast off this imaginary limitation that separates you from the Way. Let your finiteness merge with the infinite. Far from becoming diminished, you will become infinite yourself. When you have this perception, you will then know the true secret of the sages: The mind of one who returns to the Source becomes the Source.” [CHRONICLES OF TAO, The Secret Life of a Taoist Master, page 304, by Deng Ming-Dao; HarperSanFrancisco, A Division of HarperCollins Publishers; first HarperCollins Paperback Edition published in 1993]