Qigong, Electricity & The Human Body

Electricity, defined by Merriam-Webster, is as follows: a fundamental form of energy observable in positive and negative forms that occurs naturally (as in lightning) or is produced (as in a generator) and that is expensed in terms of the movement and interaction of electrons.

Generally speaking, when thinking of electricity, we think of it as something external to our human bodies: the naturally occurring lightning and human created technology being two said instances. There is, however, a form of electricity that is prevalent in every living creature: bioelectricity.

Bioelectricity is the electric phenomena related to living organisms. It is bioelectricity that enables a shark to map the ocean floor. It is bio-electromagnetic phenomena that enable migratory birds to travel great distances at the same time each year with the accuracy we have only been able to reproduce with maps and GPS. It is bioelectricity that enables the electric eel to generate large fields of current outside their bodies.

The difference of electricity vs. bioelectricity is in degree, not in kind. Whereas a lightning bolt can exceed temperatures of 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit (30,000 degrees Celsius), that same current runs through the human body, just on a smaller scale.

In fact, the human body runs largely off of [bio] electricity and has organs dedicated to sensing electromagnetic impulses, both inside and outside the human body. The pineal and pituitary glands are both directly tied to the human body's ability to sense and actively experience electromagnetic phenomenon.

The pineal gland is the evolutionary descendant of our ancestors' ability to perceive light. It also regulates the circadian rhythms of the body, biological rhythms that are attuned to the day-night cycle, (Celtoslavica, Electricity and Human Consciousness); these 'rhythms' can be and have been disrupted by electromagnetic fields, both naturally occurring as well as man-made. The pituitary gland controls and influences all other hormonal organs which report back to the pituitary gland(Celtoslavica, Electricity and Human Consciousness); in fact, the pituitary gland is largely responsible for the overall functioning and efficiency of the human nervous system.

The nervous system in human beings is based entirely off of the ability to transmit electric pulses. Every cell within the human body pumps ions (e.g. that which makes up the quantum field), in and out of the cell for energy purposes; this is called the Sodium-Potassium pump, and can be found in all animal life. Said energy, in the biological animal, is called "adenosine triphosphate" (ATP); biologists and biochemist alike have noted that ATP can be neutral, or carry a charge (plus or minus), and is, infact, a charged particle which the cells use for energy. ATP is the final product of the digestive cycle and further exemplifies the human being's connection (and ability) to experience and manipulate the electromagnetic fields that permeate the Universe.

"Bio-magnetism: An Awesome Force in Our Lives," an article published by Reader's Digest (January 1983), highlights some of the [still] cutting edge concepts the scientific community is, and has been, practicing:
"When a patient with a broken leg that is not healing properly comes to Dr. Basset (Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, NY), he is likely to go home with two heavy pads connected by wires to a box that can plug into an electrical wall socket. The patient puts one pad on each side of his broken bone and turns on the device. Coils of wire in the pad induce a pulsing electromagnetic field into his flesh and bone -- a field of energy that somehow commands the bone to heal itself."

As postulated by the scientists interviewed in the article, it makes sense that human beings have the innate ability to sense electromagnetic phenomena:
"We live on a sun-lit planet, and most living things have acquired some means to use the light. We live in a world filled with sounds, and most living things have developed a means to sense vibrations. Since our planet is also a giant magnet, it should not surprise us to discover that we and many other living things have a sensitivity to Earth's magnetic-force field."

As we look from large-scale physics, e.g., the lightning bolt and the sodium-potassium pump, to smaller scale electromagnetic phenomenon, we find ourselves in the realm of quantum mechanics. Light is an electromagnetic phenomenon. Light is both a wave and a particle. In terms of quantum mechanics, electricity and light are the same. The oscillations of the impulses create the divergent effects. Microwaves, radio waves, even the non-lethal weapons of the US Army (such as the Active Denial System jnlwp[dot]com/ads.asp) are based out of electromagnetic fields.

Chi, too, is an electromagnetic phenomenon. Chi is energy; light energy; bio-electromagnetic energy; electricity. The degree of strength in an electromagnetic impulse is the difference between the heart pumping vs. a heart attack. When building chi, it is important to understand, important to know, that the electricity you are both introducing to your body as well as augmenting within your body, can be controlled/manipulated by your mind; without direct and focused intent, the electrical impulses will be raw, hot, and uncomfortable.

In the previously quoted Reader's Digest article, researchers as far back as 1983 were able to accelerate cellular regeneration in adult rats by intruding electromagnetic waves to afflicted parts of their bodies; humans too, have been shown to have enhanced healing at the cellular level when electromagnet fields are introduced. At the same time, it has been well documented that people exposed to high intensity electromagnetic fields, such as those created by power-line generators, are more susceptible to cancerous develops, such as leukemia.

A qualified Chi Power instructor can teach the chi gung practitioner how to harness this energy in a healing fashion, without painful side-effects. The difference being similar to an invigorating spa- massage vs. being seated in an electric chair at half-power; the choice is simple, and is ultimately yours.