Alchemical Taoism

Dynamics of jing (jing-gong) Jing-cool, rich, unaroused, and nourishing While jing is the basal energy for the whole body, it has a special homeresonance (per five element theory) with bone marrow. Dense, concentrated, forceful doses of sexual energy need considerable refinement to harmoniously integrate with the relative delicacy of most tissues, organs. he marrow is dense on par with sexual energy! they"re a compatible blend as-is. one must learn to absorb jing into the bones. #ing"s dense nature includes the dangers of accumulation of stuc$ energybecoming stagnant (in the physical tissues, in the channels, energetically, and psychologically, behaviorally) %. &ill and stabili'e the lower tan tien. (. )nce the lower is abundant (otherwise one can become ungrounded,spacy), circulate in the microcosmic orbit. *. +epeat If you move jing up through the spine by meditation, it"s important to complement that by some sort of physical spine exercises - in order to continue the refinement of dense jing that mind-wor$ alone is unli$ely to complete. ,exual energy is dense and powerful, and it needs supple bloc$age-free routes in order to flow and transform. )ne of the best general things that you can do, to facilitate smooth and easy flow of sexual energy through your body, is to stretch consistently Self-Hitting Massage-&or some people, a comprehensive hitting routine is critical for refining the denser energies of cultivation. !"#$ ,ince hitting is for disrupting denser stagnant energies and for awa$ening channels, it"s appropriate during the warm-up phase of a practice session or perhaps if you"ve been focusing on lower energetics in general. -itting is counter-productive for already-refined energy states. for instance, after a high meditation. exercise the hips, at wide angles, with moderate weight. his opens up blood flow at the hip joint (where each femur meets the pelvis). /lood is produced in the marrow! the femurs are the major blood factories of the body. he legs are used as levers into the lower tan tien (and the tan tien expresses power through the legs), processing the bound up force, and restoring rich blood flow.

%ulsing the Joints& 'ones

his essay assumes that you have some familiarity with pulsing, and that you can start pulsing in a location by simple awareness and intention. +eference. 0ulsing )verview. Joints are the (ate)ays to the 'ones 1n the standing posture of your choice, simply sustain your attention in the major joints of the legs, and intend pulsing. Wor$ your way from the ground up (an$les, $nees, femurs-to-pelvis), a) starting with single joints (ex., both an$les, then both $nees, then both femurs-to-pelvis) and b) later with paired joints (ex., an$les-and-$nees, then $nees-and-tops of femurs, then tops of femurs-to-pelvis). he latter techni2ue tends to activate the bone-between-the-joints more effectively, but is best employed after you"ve got the pulsing really into the joints with the more focused single joints method. Sustained *ocus 3ive this time to develop. he above paragraph covers a lot of ground. Don"t rush. 0ulsing plus sustained steady attention is what allows this process to go deeply into the joints and bones. 1n any one session, ta$e on only as much as you can stay focused with. 1f that"s just one joint, that"s fine and is good wor$. )nly as the jing gets deep enough into each joint do they naturally piece together through the bones, and the bones spontaneously begin to pulse. Wor$ with joints is the $ey. 3radual integration. Stabili+ing #arth )nce the feet, legs and pelvis are established, the next section of wor$ is to the sacrum and lumbar vertebrae. he sacrum is the base of the spine. he sacrum, and each vertebrae, should be pulsed individually, in the same specific sustained way as the joints of the legs were. 4s the spine intimately connects with the nerve plexuses, you may find that some deep emotional reconfiguration occurs with vertebrae pulsing. 0ulsing spontaneously and naturally brings jing into the joints, bones, marrow...

'one ,ompression
here are three steps to /one 5ompression. he first is to inhale the 5hi in a spiraling motion, drawing it in through the fingers and toes to surround the bones of the arms, legs, and body. he second step is to pac$ the 5hi in between the muscles and bones. he third step s2uee'es the muscles, thereby compressing the 5hi into the marrow through the pores of the bones. he se2uence of steps is. inhale, spiral, pac$, and s2uee'e 5hi into each part of the limbs and body successively.

"hrusting -essels (Ida & Pingala)

Du, ren, and the thrusting channels are recogni'able because they"ll all have (the substantive feel of jing. (try in nadi shodana

.ctivating the 'elt -essels- */00 S1##%2

4ssume any standing posture (for instance, 6mbracing the ree). ,piral energy cloc$wise down (one to several feet) into the ground. 4fter a brief pause, the 6arth naturally responds by spiraling energy bac$ up, counter-cloc$wise. 7et that energy spiral up through your legs, torso, head, to a little ways above your head. )nce the spiral is above your head, pause, and accept the energy of -eaven as it spirals down, cloc$wise. 7et that energy spiral down through your body down into the ground. )n the way (both ascending and descending), as the spiral passes each of the three main centers (power, love, wisdom), spiral in to the light of each deep-center. +epeat the process as many times as you li$e. ,0!S# o close the meditation, it"s traditional to gently gather some of the focus and energy in your lower tan tien. /e attentive to do this in a way that"s harmonious with the heaven-man-earth spirals that you"ve generated. here"s no need to entirely close those down! they"re beneficial and protective. 'reath ,acrum /reathing - ,imply imagine breathing, inhaling, air in through the holes of the sacrum towards the front of the body. +elax on the exhale. )ften after a little of this the muscles around the sacrum will start pulsing. his is easy to do, any time. )nce you"ve become comfortable with basic sacrum breathing then add a step. wrap the chi-from-air around the lumbar vertebrae and (using your intent) s2uee'e it into them. Wor$ your way up to at least ming men. Se3

,ore %rinciples
/alance is the $ey. ,imply saving up a polarity is as$ing for trouble and frustration. When alone, balance fire and water. When coupled, balance through exchange. 8ote on coupled practice.

+eciprocal exchange is the natural progression of dual cultivation. /ring the recondite to overflowing, drin$ from the spring. ,he gets warmed and expanded, -e gets nourished and settled. /oth joy. 8ote on solo practice. 1n solo practice, unaroused jing balances much easier than aroused. .roused jing has changed alchemical 2ualities (from the original cool 9 gentle, to fiery 9 untameable). :our own heart energy is no longer truly a complementary alchemical opposite! the other gender"s aroused jing is. 4dditionally, through arousal, a deep forceful aspect of the psyche (the libido) is set in motion, that wants the other gender (not sublimation)! this aspect deserves respect. +e-establishing real harmony (alchemically, and in the deep psyche) on one"s own, after solo aroused practice - is genuinely problematic. 1n solo wor$, emphasi+e unaroused practices. &irst, you are convinced that saving sexual energy is a good thing - and with that belief you generate some dedication. 8ext, you learn how to engage in (one, or several rounds of) sex and yet abstain from ejaculation. ,o, you store more male sexual energy, and you grow in polarity as more is saved... 1nevitably, a strong polarity will express, you"ll ejaculate, perhaps against your beliefs and will. 4nd you reap the pleasure of orgasm, the depletion of ejaculation, and the psychological trauma of uncontrollably doing something against your will. hen, you follow your spiritually involved beliefs, you wor$ to improve. you save sexual energy... and the cycle repeats. his sort of cycle can be frustrating in the short term, and over the course of years can cause serious harm. Don"t obsess on long term retention. 0ay much more attention to balance and harmony. 1ts not about how much you can save, its about how much you can harmoniously integrate. you include balance in your practice and your body is at the point where long term retention is in balance, great. 4nd if you are at a place where your body really wants to express through ejaculation at some point, do that. hen use the times between ejaculations to harmoniously integrate energy through the various practices the 'ig Dra) ; During some love-ma$ing sessions, you practice the /ig Draw ; and it $ind of wor$s (a good deal of energy gets drawn up), but in the lower tan tien you still have the desire to ejaculate ; you try to retain semen, but eventually you ejaculate. )r you have so much desire built up that you decide to just <go for it< and have a normal love-ma$ing session. =y point, here, is that the /ig Draw is a <+e-7ocation of 6nergy< method. 4s such, the male jing retains its> 2uality of wanting to go off in its> own direction (ejaculation, in search of its> primary alchemical opposite. female jing). 1t seems to me that when you draw energy from the testicles to the sacrum and up the spine it is just drawing chi up, which is easy enough. /ut it seems to me that the physical seminal fluids and sperm still remain. ,tore enough unbalanced jing and it will come out (or potentially create imbalances within

the body)! that is its> nature. his is in contrast to balancing the male jing with an opposite and complementary energy, which neutrali'es its> interest in see$ing its> opposite. it is stabili'ed and so is in a state that is conducive to long term storage (6lixir methods in the lower tan tien) : connected breathing444444444 #3change )ne of the facts about wor$ing with alchemical opposites, is that they get stimulated towards each other when they are proximate, but when they actually mix they unify into something stable (the <elixir<). his leads to important insights about exchanging sexual energy. When you"re stimulated by your partner"s energy, their energy has come into your perceptual field. he natural predominant response, especially for a man, is for your attention (and sexual energy) to go out to see$ mixing. 1f a man just follows that impulse, he"ll only be on a cycle of building, exciting, and expelling male sexual energy, never really attaining the nurturance, power, stability, and love that comes from deeply receiving feminine energy. )ne of the $eys to successful exchange is to receive your partner"s energy all the way into your core! close is not sufficient. /ring it inside of you o-techni5ue he first techni2ue that 1 want to ac$nowledge, briefly, is no-techni2ue. 7ots of healthy exchange of sexual energy happens spontaneously, any time, with no special effort, especially when things are <feeling just right< between the two of you. 1 just want to ac$nowledge that, and pay reverence to it. /pper (ate #3change he <upper gate<, here, refers to the mouth and eyes. ,haring through the ga+e, the eyes, is obvious and natural - so 1 won"t but just mention it. ..4nd say that sometimes the eyes close during passionate moments and it can be fun to experiment with sharing through the eyes during that time. (Thanks, ?).) he mouth. he conception vessel (the part of the microcosmic orbit that runs down the front) jumps the gap, in the mouth, from the upper palate to the lower palate. here are a couple of easy ways to tap a tingle with this. he first is to run your tongue under your partner"s upper lip. 4 bit of an odd gesture, but the 'ing is worth at least a brief experiment. he second is to simply put your attention a ways bac$ on the upper palate of your partner. his would be, approximately, bac$ to the soft palate! the conception vessel flows strongly there. his simple gesture of attention connects your partner"s conception vessel with your own. he conception vessel will be re-visited at a corresponding place )ithin the lo)er gate. the g-spot.

,haring breath is another way to share through the upper gate. During intercourse, sexual energy floods your entire system, as well as your breath. ry this simple way of sharing. -ave your partner inhale, all the way down to the sexual center. hen put your mouth over your partner"s, and receive your partner"s exhale with your inhale. 1nhale all the way down to your sexual center, and hold your breath for a little while - in a very relaxed way, letting your sexual energy mix with the energy that your partner has given you, through the breath. ,wallowing your partner"s saliva is something that is commonly recommended in classic aoist texts. :ou can get a feel for gently swallowing - then guiding the feeling of - the saliva all the way into your lower tan tien. his s$ill is especially produced by the practice of :i ,wallows 5hi. )ver-emphasis on the topic of "conservation" often leaves "exchange" by the wayside, a reversal of the healthy learning se2uence. retention generally gets far more emphasis, sometimes to the point that one energetically retreats from one"s partner, in the lower tan tien... which is rather silly. hat"s what you came there to share, and that"s what your best hope is for attaining balance. 8ot to say that there aren"t times for retreating, but you need to be able to do both in a healthy way. retreat, consolidate inwardly, open, share.) )nce you learn to balance and harmoni'e, conservation is joyful. 5onserve without balance, and you"ll only hurt yourself. 'ring the )oman6s essence into the man6s cauldron& to mi3 the t)o2 During love-ma$ing, draw small <sips< of her essence up through your penis, up the spine, to just above the focal point that you>ve established in the <0reparing the /ody< techni2ue. Draw your own aroused essence straight up the middle to meet the woman>s essence that has been drawn into your cauldron. he masculine and feminine meet and mix. 1n this way the man>s essence is attracted to and gets what it wants, and what will balance it. the woman>s essence. /ut this occurs inside the body of the man, instead of through ejaculation. his is to be done in small doses, at various times during intercourse. :ou get to $eep your masculine energy in the lower tan tien, and you also get balance. hen, at the woman"s orgasm ta$e a bit of a bigger sip - up the spine all the way to the heart. =ixing in the lower cauldron, at that time, is too intense. the man"d loose it. ,o, move both energies up in a similar pattern, but mix higher - at the upper center (heart). hen you"d get to experience her orgasm with her in a heart opening way (probably vocal) that"d li$ely promote a communal orgasm. 4 communal, heart-opening and upward orgasm. Dating 7i (ong ,ometimes we all have casual interactions that carry some sexual energy. 0erhaps, it is with a casual date. =aybe it is a smile that is exchanged with

someone you pass in the mar$et, or anywhere. =y observation is that 1 (used to) receive that sexual energy just partially into my body ; and it stimulated my sexual energies. 4 longing (perhaps just very mild) starts and my energies start to reach out of my body in search of satisfaction. his leaves me off-center and with stimulated, unbalanced sexual energy. his can have unfortunate repercussions on my alchemy down the line. ,olution. 6ssentially, this is a problem of having the medicines near each other, but not directly mixing them. ,timulation, attraction, but no consummation. When the sexual energy is received (in the form of a glance, smile, or presence of a woman) you can smile that energy down into your organs, mixing it with your own energies in the proper alchemical location. inside of your body. :ou can also smile the energy all the way down to your genitals, or down to your cauldron, and mix it with your sexual energy there. ( he practice of yi s)allo)s chi is especially helpful in developing this ability.) he energies get deliberately and directly mixed inside of you. his way you stay centered, and your energies get nourished 9 balanced. 8otice the hardening of the emotional body and relax it (adopt the same bodily jesture as when crossing a busy road- the body is completely relaxed and receptive) and th allow the body to receive the sexual energies without hardening. " ! "! #$ " % &$ ' ' & $ % #" ! ! $ ! % " %" " %!) ($ & & $ " & ( * % % * %" ! + & ! ! " $ " " # #" $ % ! & ! "! $ % , %" " #(& " # & 8i S)allo)s ,hi Step-by-Step "echni5ue 9) :i ,wallows 5hi is best done. - in a standing posture. his practice tends to prompt deep vertical integration, which standing postures facilitate. - when the air is cool, preferably in the early morning, ideally before sunrise. he cool morning air provides a contrast to the warm bodily interior. cool air is easier to feel. 4lso, there is something special about that early morning time... he cool yin from the night is most concentrated in the air, before the sunrise disperses it. :) 1nhale, through your mouth, a comfortable amount of air into the chest @ thorax area (not below the thoracic diaphragm, as you"ll use yi to move the chi down through the mid-torso and into the lower abdomen).

;) Gently hold your breath, and form the sphere of gentle open space, containing some of the (cool) chi-from-air that you inhaled. :ou needn"t be strict about the si'e of the sphere. 1 generally create a sphere that is somewhat larger than a ping-pong ball, but smaller than a baseball. 3enerally you"ll want to continue holding your breath, gently, at least until you"ve moved the chi to its lower-most acupoint (see step AB for choice of acupoints). his provides a more stable inner environment, so that the chi sphere will be less li$ely to dissipate during the time that you are guiding it. (8ever hold your breath so long that you feel that you are forcing the holding of breath.) )nce the sphere gets to where its going, and starts to deeply interact with the energies there, feel more free to breathe (or not breathe) as you feel so moved. <) 3uide that sphere down (as described above, in the <:i< section) through the center of your body, towards an acupoint in your lower abdomen. :ou"ll find that being steadily attentive to the chi ball is what $eeps it intact, and is what ma$es this whole process wor$. :i. +eference the little orbit for major acupoints in the lower abdomen. his method needs very few repetitions to have a sufficient effect for a practice session, so 1 suggest that you swallow to each acupoint once, in cyclical succession, or just pic$ one or two acupoints to wor$ on for a session. 4llow the chi ball to interact with an acupoint by simple proximity and focused attention, or gently and briefly pull in)ard at the acupoint - as if the acupoint were being gently pulled by a string from the inside. his is especially easily done at hui yin (the acupoint at the center of the perineum) but with practice you"ll find that it can be done with all of the major acupoints of the little orbit. (enital ,ompression for Men and 1omen Step 'y Step he 3enital 5ompression 6xercise dynamically builds sexual power by pac$ing electromagnetically charged energy into the testicles or the ovaries. 4s an expanding sensation fills the genitals, sexual energy increases, eventually reaching into higher centers of the body through the =icrocosmic )rbit, as it is needed. his practice is particularly important to use after the ,exual 6nergy =assage or 5hi Weight 7ifting to replenish the energy extracted from the genitals. (%) 7oosen your pants or ta$e them off. ,it on the edge of a chair. =en should allow the testicles to hang loose over the edge. (() 1nhale slowly but deeply through your nostrils into the lungs, expanding the solar plexus. ,imultaneously contract the anus, and pull 5hi into the upper abdomen. (*) &eel the energy of each breath culminate at a point behind the solar plexus. Cse your mind and some abdominal muscles to compress the energy into a sphere at the solar plexus point. 1magine this as a ball of 5hi which you will roll down the front of your body

by contracting the upper abdominal muscles. (B) 7et the D5hi /allE fortify itself with each breath, and then roll it downward from the solar plexus, through the lower abdomen, to the sexual center near the pelvis. Feep your chest relaxed to prevent any congestion of energy there. Cse your mind to guide the 5hi flow to the sexual center and genitals. (&ig. *.%G) Fig. 3.10 Genital Compression

(H) =en. 5ompress 5hi into the scrotum for as long as you can. ,2uee'e the anus, and gently tighten the perineum to prevent energy loss. 6ventually only the power of the mind will be necessary to contract these areas. he muscles of the lower abdomen should also be used as you force the scrotum to expand with energy. (I) Women. 5ompress the energy into the lower abdomen and the pelvic region while contracting the perineum, the anus, and the vagina. 7ocate the ovaries as they are shown in &ig. *.%%. Direct the energy into both ovaries, and feel them expand with warmth.

8ote for Women. 1n the beginning it is helpful to locate the ovaries by placing both thumbs, tip facing tip, on the navel with the fingers extending downward, outlining a triangle over the lower abdomen. Where the index fingertips meet is the )varian 0alace. 8ext, spread all of the fingers out from that point while maintaining the position of the index fingers. Where the tips of the pin$y fingers fall on the abdomen is the approximate location of the ovaries. (J) While still in the compression process, $eep your tongue pressed against the roof of your mouth to maintain the flow of energy through the =icrocosmic )rbit. =ove it around to stimulate the saliva flow. ,wallow deeply into the sexual center to enhance the compression. With practice, you should be able to hold the compression for as long as *G seconds. (K) 6xhale. a$e a few, 2uic$, short breaths by pulling your lower abdomen in and pushing it out (6nergi'er /reathing) until you are able to breathe normally. +elax completely. (L) +epeat the exercise from three to nine times until you feel the testicles or ovaries become warm. +emember to $eep the tongue against the palate, and breathe only through the nose. When you perform 3enital 5ompressions, especially after having practiced /one =arrow 8ei Fung for about a month, you will feel more 5hi being guided to the sexual organs. 1t is important to practice these compressions in the morning or afternoon, but not before you go to sleep. "urtle 'reathing: Draw in the breath (from the penis or the sacrum), :ou"ll find that as the airchi passes the testicles that a natural interaction will occur (and cascade up through the vas deferens etc) without the need for any direction on your part. 1n fact this activates coolness li$e a $ind of super testicle breathing, but it"s not where you should place your focus during the exercise. then )rap the chi around the lumbar vertebrae then s5uee+e that )rap into the vertebrae2 :ou should have the goal to be able to do this up to at least ming men and your $idneys should pic$ up on this energy and join in pulsing. 1t"s basic bone breathing applied to the lumbar region. -./0r i1/ortant to 20t th0 3hi into th0 1arro4 o5 th0 60rt07ra0% not si1/8y r.shin2 ./ th0 s/in0 4i88y9ni88y# :n30 this is don0 ./ thro.2h 1in2 10n a /.8sin2 o33.rs that in38.d0s 1in2 10n% th0 ;idn0ys% s0<.a8 0ss0n30% th0 0<t0rna8 3hi 5ro1 air### =hat /.8sin2 /ro/08s th0 s0<.a8 0n0r2y thro.2h th0 1arro4 o5 not on8y th0 s/in0 7.t thro.2h th0 4ho80 s;080ta8 syst01# >n 1y o/inion% i5 yo. 40r0 to ta;0 ./ 7on0 7r0athin2 in no oth0r ar0a% this 4o.8d 70 it# &or those that go into sexual addiction, it ta$es over their lives. 1n the long run, this moves towards a condition of all heat and no substance. he incessant excessive yang (stimulation of lower energy and nerve plexus) depletes yin (substance) and leads to exhaustion of yin and collapse of yang. the dangers of retention are stagnation (stuc$ energy) and heat. rapped heat just $eeps things stirred up, $eeps sexual desire chronically active.

what is challenging, yet accessible and healthy to wor$ on for most is. 92 -ow <not-to-start when it"s-not-the-right-time<. hat is, how to harmoniously subdue the energy so that you"re cool 9 restored by it (the refinement of unaroused@cool jing), and so that you can get on with other things. :2 -ow to <cool off afterwards<. +esolving residual heat and tension so that sexual activity doesn"t go on for too long, excessively, to allow the yin part of the cycle.

4gain to emphasi'e, 1"m tal$ing about %9( as appropriate to a natural yin time, not as repression of yang. 5learly should be pre-re2uisite to the more advanced and more dangerous semen retention attempts Dual ,ultivation urtle /reathing has rather obvious application for dual cultivation. the absorption of female sexual energy by the male during intercourse, with the intent of balance, and within the context of mutual exchange. he method is essentially the same as when practicing the solo method... 6xcept, of course, this is done in an aroused state, during intercourse. 1t"s only necessary to absorb small amounts of female essence, all done in a relaxed, gentle manner. 6xperience has shown that a rich bliss results in the whole lower abdomen... very healing. (-owever, it"s possible that the exchange will temporarily neutrali'e the maleMfemale polarity such that your erection subsides.) he other obvious aspect of this is giving energy, emanating masculine heat from the penis. 1 leave it to your explorations.

he front lower abdomen, sometimes called <the dantian<, is one of the primary areas that tends to bind up from semen retention misadventures +epeat the cycle of testicle-massage-then-ice-water-soa$ as many times as you li$e. his can be especially helpful following sexual activity, or when hitting practices have stirred up excess heat. !ther "he lo)er tan tien needs to be conscious& and act - as itself. 8ot li$e, <1, up here<, am shifting the energy around <down there<. 1ts <1, the lower tan tien<, consciously, am doing such 9 such (<having the cha$ras spin with their

own energy<). 0art of this is assisting in the alchemy that ignites consciousness, and part of this is finding what the ltt (lower tan tien) can do, what it does naturally, what it li$es to do (-?.ats, leg wor$, 9 so on. . )ne other thing that the ltt can do is breathe. =ost of the time, its the upper consciousness that controls breathing through volition - even when we breathe deeply. its sort of <breathing down into there<. /reathing through the soles helps to reverse that. ,ure, you start out <up here<, but then you just engage the lower tan tien and use that to breathe in from your soles... almost feels as if your soles were nostrils, drawing in 2i. )$, so this opens up the core channel, ignites the consciousness of the lower tan tien, and the lower tan tien learns to grasp, or swallow, stuff from above - be it from within the body (li$e heart energy, various other upper energies, or i-consciousness at least to some extent) or from outside of the body (star, moon energies, <swallowing heaven<, li$e that). Yi Swallows Qi 8in = 8ang and the Microcosmic !rbit he bac$ vessel is the culmination of yin and the expression of yang. 1t originates from the bottom as substance that expands upward as part of selfexpression. he front vessel is the culmination of yang and the expression of yin. 1t"s action starts from the top and flows down, as a function of open space and receptivity. )ften the receptivity and openness that is needed to get the most out of the front vessel is missed. &or most people, it"s a more familiar sensation to let the substantial yang flow of the bac$ vessel simply continue on to run over the top and down the front! the front vessel gets run by the momentum of the bac$ vessel. /ig mista$e. :ou"ll get next to nothing out of the microcosmic orbit this way. he front vessel has it"s own force. receptivity and openness, yin. (entle !penness$ <)penness< refers to a sensation of gentle open space generated by attention. 1n this techni2ue, there"s no need to do anything physical, except to relax. ,o, when running the front vessel, simply start by gently creating a sensation of gentle open space at each one of the centers indicated, one by one, from the top down. he crown will naturally draw in some heavenly energy, which - in a moderate dose - is important for the mix. :ou"ll find that the sensation of open space in the center creates a mild vacuum, so that energy just falls down the front vessel in successive steps... or, more accurately, is drawn down by the next open space ahead of it. Do a double mental spiral at each point, one cloc$wise and one countercloc$wise spiral,

#li3ir -Csually, without esoteric training, the energies express through the senses of the human body ; and see$ their opposites outside of the body. ,o, a person following desires in an outward manner expends a lot of energy following external desires, doesn>t conserve much, and so produces little of anything with much power or purity within themselves. ( hough, to a degree,

people do learn to stay centered just by living life and wisening up! 1>m simplifying things to ma$e a point.) 4 basic idea of aoist alchemy is to mix the opposite and complementary energies inside the human body, as a way of stepping bac$ towards the )ne 6nergy. When the opposite energies mix, several things happen. hey adhere to each other! their draw towards each other ; and bac$ towards the )ne energy ; is strong. 4lso, each energy>s tendency to go off on it>s own pattern of activity is neutrali'ed by the energy of its> opposite! the new energy is stable. 7ast, the resulting new energy has a purity and nurturance that is 2uite profound. he mixed energies have transmuted into a single <elixir< here is a deep-center where the energies mix to form the elixir. his deepcenter gets called by a number of symbolic names, <the cauldron< he practice of stable focused attention is part of what ma$es a cauldron, and the quality of attention @ intention ma$es a difference. aligned steadied clear awareness. 4t it>s heart this central place is established by one thing. sincerity.