In ancient China, Chinese Taoists practiced a form of alchemy. Chinese alchemy consisted of “inner alchemy” or neidan and “outer alchemy” or waidan. To get a more detailed introduction and understanding of neidan and waidan, read about it here:
For further research on the history of inner and outer alchemy, read this article.
For additional information on internal alchemy practices, read here:
Watch this video about neidan and waidan and witness an unknown secret that is being revealed.
Watch a Tai Chi demonstration from Master Gu here:
Outer alchemy or “waidan” was the process of making elixirs by combining different natural materials such as minerals and some metals together by heating them in a crucible. Elixirs were used to improve health, and many were made in an attempt to achieve immortality. Waidan is the father of traditional Chinese medicine and alchemy is the predecessor of today’s modern science. Despite the benefits of herbal and natural medicine, the practice of finding effective methods in health in waidan was through trial and error. So, there were many elixirs of life in ancient times that could actually be dangerous to your health. Very few people, according to legends, were said to actually achieve immortality through the consumption of elixirs. However, taking care of oneself and the use of traditional Chinese medicine was able to prolong life. With that being said, this article will reveal that “inner alchemy” or neidan could be the key to ultimate health and even immortality.
Both inner and outer alchemists utilize processes that focus on purification. Many alchemists practiced outer alchemy by transmuting base metals into gold through alchemical processes. However, inner alchemists focused on purifying the spirit by immersing themselves into the source or Tao. This could be done through years of meditation and “chi” or energy work. So why is energy work necessary to health?
Taoists believe that everyone is made up of 3 invisible forces called Jing, Chi, and Shen. Your Jing is the part of you that is made from the combination of your parents’ genetic makeup. It’s a part of your DNA. It makes up your personality and it determines certain inherited physical traits and health issues. Chi is your life force energy that helps you breathe and be an animate living being. The more chi you can consume and store, the healthier you will be. You can gain more chi through proper exercise, by eating healthy, having a good rest, by sleeping, and by meditation. Shen is your spirit which is where your inner power comes from. It is the source of your wisdom and your spiritual compass in life. Shen is fed and grows by collecting “chi” in your “chi” banks or dantian. If you don’t have enough “chi,” your “shen” (the spirit) shrinks and weakens. Inner alchemy is the art of knowing how to expand and illuminate your spirit by returning to the fundamental order of the cosmos. Learn more about chi, jing, and shen here:
Energy work also expands the heart and mind centers. To prepare the heart, one only needs to clear the mind and mix their heart fire with kidney water in the pot of their middle dantian. For ultimate health, there must be harmony or balance between your heart and your kidney. In Chinese medicine, many illnesses are caused by too much heating or cooling in the body. The warming function of the heart promotes blood circulation and helps regulate most of the overall functions of the body. Your heart contains yang qi and shen, so it is represented by fire. The kidney regulates water metabolism, respiration, blood generation, reproductive functions, and growth. So the kidney fluids are represented by water. The water of the kidney cools the heart fire to help it not become too overactive. The heart fire warms the kidney water so it doesn’t cause too much cooling of the body. The heart (fire) and kidney (water) can be represented by the Li and Kan trigrams from the eight trigrams of the bagua.An imbalance or disharmony between Li and Kan in the body can cause emotional problems that lead to insomnia and anxiety disorders. More information on this topic can be found here:
Master Gu talks about energy work through sitting meditation. When you sit down cross-legged with your back straight, squeeze your abdomen and your buttocks muscles as you take a deep breath in. This forces your breath and your energy to move upwards through your meridians. Your kidney water move upwards as well. When you breathe out, everything moves back down and your heart fire meets your kidney water in the middle dantian. The middle dantian is considered the emotional center of energy. When you do meditation, it releases all the negative energy and tension in your body. To find out more about the middle dantian and about Taoist energy work, read here:
Joe Dispenza in his book, “The Supernatural Self,” talks about a similar type of meditation. As you release more negative emotions and energy in your body, you are able to increase in illumination. Conditioning your mind also helps increase your ability to illuminate yourself. To prepare the mind, one only needs to expand their consciousness through finding the truth or wisdom in information. One of the books from ancient China that gives insight on how to prepare your mind by changing your thoughts was called the Tao te Ching or Dao de Jing. For more detailed information about how to do Taoist meditation look here
Read here to learn how to do a Taoist meditation:
Let’s Recap:
- Inner alchemy vs. Outer Alchemy: What’s the difference? Outer alchemy is the use of mixtures to prolong life and inner alchemy is the use of meditation to rejuvenate and regenerate yourself. One represents the purification of metals and the other represents the purification of the soul.
- You AreMade Up of 3 Universal Forces: Jing, Chi, and Shen (Essence, Energy, and Spirit). It is important to do activities that build up your energy such as eating healthy, meditation, exercise, and sleeping. If you lack too much energy, your spirit will feel exhausted and your natural essence will weaken or become depleted. This will result in disease
- The Basics of Inner Alchemy or Neidan: Your body can become sick when imbalances occur due to too much heating and cooling of the body. Neidan can reduce too much heating and cooling of the body by using meditation to move the energy throughout your body through the meridians. This can heal both your physical and energetic body. Inner alchemy, or neidan, is the process of mixing hot and cool energy in the body just like the process of mixing materials in a chaldron. Neidan releases tension and energy blockages in the body caused by feelings of stress, worry, anxiety, anger, sadness, depression, regret, and grief.
- Illuminate Yourself by Conditioning Your Mind: Your mind is actually a tool that can be used to control your energy. The way you think determines how you feel and which kinds of body chemicals get released in the body. A chemical imbalance can affect what you do with your life. Is your brain releasing proper dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine levels? If not, what do you think is preventing that? Probably bad habits and negative thought patterns. The Tao de Jing is an ancient Chinese book that was used to change your life by changing your thoughts.
If you enjoyed this blog article, be sure to comment below. If you are interested in learning more about how to live life as an immortal, come back to my blog and read my next article about the 50th verse of the Tao and 3 types of mentalities that prevent you from your birthright to obtain immortality or at least to live a long life.
