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Sexual Energy:
A Taoist Perspective

by Mantak Chia & William Wei

Sexual energy is nourishment for the totality of ourselves — the body, the mind, and the spirit. It is the water of life, replenishing the gardens of the human temple. The exercises for sexual energy developed in the Taoist teachings are much more sophisticated and focused than in the West, where sexual cultivation is not very advanced and there are no real techniques for developing or understanding the sexual energy. They go right to the source of our sexuality and cultivate it in a way that brings sexual energy and strength to those who use them properly.

The philosophy of Chi has been part of the Chinese culture for thousands of years. The word Chi has many translations, such as energy, air, breath, life force, or vital essence. It is the life-giving force that creates movement and sustains the universe. Chi is what allows planets, suns, and stars to revolve around each other. It is the motion of the atom in all physical bodies. It is the force that allows a seed to grow into a powerful tree or a fetus into a full-grown human being. Chi is the animating factor in all living things, nourishing the cycles of life.

The concepts of energy are not only food for thought but concrete ways in which we can create health, happiness, and excitement in our daily lives. Working with energy is a pivotal factor in our overall state of happiness. Energy, like water, is the life-giving sustenance of the earth. Where water flows, life flourishes. That same principle is at work in our bodies. If we want a healthy body, energy must circulate to all parts. Without proper energy flow, the body creates tension, sickness, and disease. It is like a stagnant pool or a dried-up garden. Without continuous circulation, things have a tendency to become malignant.

Thus sexual energy, according to the Taoists, is much more than the act of sex, because it permeates all areas of our lives. It influences the health and aging of the body by affecting hormonal production. An abundance of sexual energy repairs hormonal disturbances, reduces cholesterol, and decreases blood pressure levels. When sex glands are stimulated, it enhances the hormones secreted by the other major endocrine glands: adrenal, thymus, thyroid, pituitary, and pineal. Much evidence points to the link between harmonious sexual activity and the retardation of aging. Sexual reflexology stimulates the growth hormones, whose abilities to retard aging are just now being discovered by Western medicine.

In the Taoist perspective, hormones should be stimulated naturally, through exercises and massage, not taken externally through medication. The presence of these hormones in the blood does appear to slow the aging process. With Taoist cultivation of sexual energy techniques, one produces unusually potent hormones by focusing energy directly on the endocrine glands. Sexual energy is not only beneficial to the body but fuels the emotions as well, which can either blaze out of control or create warm, comfortable, glowing energy in the body. Sexual imbalances can cloud the mind with distorted thoughts and skewed desires, but a balanced sexuality can be the source of creativity and a way of fulfilling our dreams. It is also the energy that can create spiritual fulfillment, as it is a force that unifies and creates wholeness out of opposites.

From this perspective, we can begin to see that it is of utmost importance that we deal with and utilize sexual energy. It is very important to remember that sexual energy must be used in the proper way and not be suppressed or eliminated. Suppressing sexual energy is like trying to hold hundreds of Ping-Pong balls underwater. If you press them down, they pop up somewhere else. Instead, sexual reflexology seeks to express this energy in a way that will enhance your body, mind, and spirit. Otherwise this energy will seek outlets through which it will be underutilized and wasted or could even be potentially detrimental to one's overall health. Whether you have a partner or not, the ideas and exercises in this book are vitally important to sexual health. The Taoists developed these techniques so that we can live in harmony with ourselves and others.

We have compiled a variety of techniques that will most definitely increase the sexual energy of those who engage in these practices. The practices have a profound effect on the rest of our lives because our sexuality is so much a part of being human. There is so much power behind our sexuality that without the proper knowledge of how to manage and direct that energy, it will inevitably go astray. Yet with the correct knowledge and balanced action, our sexual energy has the potential to bring happiness and joy into all aspects of our lives. It is essential that we as human beings tap into our true potential, gaining the insight to create a passionate and powerful life and become all that we are meant to be.

SEXUALITY ENERGY AND RELATIONSHIPS

The relationship between men and women has baffled and confused philosophers, scientists, and thinkers throughout the ages. Sexuality is a dance that spans the history of all societies. It is a ritual that has preoccupied the activities of humankind throughout the aeons and still has present cultures in a quandary. For something that has existed for so long and has been a part of everyone's life throughout history, one would think that humanity would have some expertise on the subject of sexuality. Yet to this very day, our sexual relationships continue to daze and confuse the spirit of people in profound ways. On the one hand they create passion and love, ignite romance and pleasure, and spark the flames of desire that make life worth living. But on the other hand, sexuality is also a source of destruction and negativity that are the causes of a myriad of problems in society.

Sex is a creative force that moves through the body, feeding the emotions and thoughts and creating the impulse of desire. It is pleasure in its raw and unrefined state. If that energy is not understood and used in the right way, it is the cause of dissatisfaction, destruction, and overall unhappiness in our lives. As basic as the duality of man and woman, day and night, sexual energy can be the source of both pain and pleasure.

Sexuality is like the force of fire. When used intelligently, it enhances our lives immensely. With fire we can warm our houses, cook our food, and bring light into dark rooms. But if we use fire in the wrong way, for example, putting it on the roof instead of in the fireplace, it will inevitably burn the whole house down. The fire itself is not evil or even bad, it is merely a force that needs to be directed in a positive way. The same applies with sexuality; if we use it correctly, it brings us unbelievable pleasure, but if we let this energy run wild without guidance or understanding, it has the potential to destroy our physical and emotional lives.

Not only is there an overall dissatisfaction with sex in our everyday relationships, but we are faced with the malicious acts of rape, abuse, and violence. The number of problems in society that revolve around the topic of sexuality is monumental. The echoing question of how to use this energy in positive ways can be heard throughout the world.

In the tradition of Taoism, sex was seen in an altogether different context than in the West. Rather than being the great sin, sexual energy was considered a path toward health and vitality and a way to connect intimately with the divine. That divinity is seen as a state of wholeness and completeness that is implicit in all of us. In the traditions of the East, man and woman represent opposite halves of that universal whole. Each is an earthly manifestation of the cosmic creative forces — yin and yang, feminine and masculine, Heaven and Earth — whose intermingling brings forth all phenomena. When man and woman unite in sex, Heaven and Earth are joined.

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This article was excerpted from:

Sexual Reflexology: Activating the Taoist Points of Love
by Mantak Chia & William U. Wei.

Reprinted with permission of the publisher, Destiny Books. ©2003. www.InnerTraditions.com

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About the Authors

A student of several Taoist masters, Mantak Chia developed the Universal Tao System in 1979 and has taught tens of thousands of students from all over the world. He tours the United States annually, giving workshops and lectures. He is the director of the Universal Tao Center located in northern Thailand and is the author of nineteen books on Taoist practices.

William U. Wei is a senior instructor of the Universal Tao who has taught with Mantak Chia in over thirty countries. He is also the author of Living in the Tao.

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