If we spent our entire life in a world that was painted red, if everything we came into contact with was red, would we be able to describe what red was? If someone comes along and places a green chair in our red world how would we react to it?
Whether we consider the green chair, the red world or both, to relate to Qi this gives us an interesting perspective with which to explore what Qi is…
What is Qi?
The normal response when you ask the question ‘What is Qi?’ is either a blank expression or something along the lines of energy or life force. If you do a Google search for ‘What is Qi’ the definition that appears is:
qi/CHē/ Noun: ”The circulating life force whose existence and properties are the basis of much Chinese philosophy and medicine”.
The problem that occurs is that the concept of Qi that sits within Chinese culture goes far deeper than is initially apparent. The definition of Qi does not really fit into a convenient little box; it’s a concept that is too big for a simple definition.
This is not to say that the definition above is wrong, it’s actually very accurate. The problem is that it’s not complete. It’s a bit like describing a dog as ‘a domesticated carnivorous mammal (Canis familiaris) that typically has a long snout, an acute sense of smell, and a barking, howling or whining voice.’ It provides a good idea of what we are talking about but the understanding of what a dog actually is, the experience of being around the dog or being aware of Qi goes far deeper than a dictionary definition.
Everything we do in life can be viewed in terms of Qi. When we take time and care to prepare a wonderful meal it is said that we have put good Qi into the food; when we breath we can consider the process of respiration in terms of drawing breath Qi into the body. It is a concept that helps us to notice the subtle information that surrounds us at all times.
Coming back to the analogy of the red world, everything in our world and beyond can be considered in terms of Qi. Qi can be viewed as an invisible force that exists in everything and from this perspective we can draw strong comparisons with the colour Red in the red world analogy. Regardless of the process or technique that has introduced the ‘Green Chair’ into our ‘Red World’ we can either choose to look at the ‘Green Chair’ or sit in it and look back out at the ‘Red World’ and marvel at the subtle information that surrounds our entire lives but we are so familiar with that we choose to ignore it.
What is the importance of Connection in Relation To Our Emotional Wellbeing?
Taking time to sit in the ‘Green Chair’ could be considered to be taking time to observe the connections that exist between things. It’s all too easy in our everyday lives to ignore the subtle ripples that move out from the actions of others, or ourselves. We can find it easier to be within our own little bubble, focusing inwards and feeding our own stories and perspectives.
All too often the perspective we have when looking inside is riddled with judgments, assumptions about the good and the bad, the right and the wrong but when we expand our intention and awareness beyond our own stories and simply observe without judgments we find a far more balanced view, a far less emotive and fraught reality that is less conducive to the slippery slope of emotion based response.
Ultimately when we talk about the importance of connection to our emotional wellbeing we are talking about taking time to simply be, without judgment and without worry. Using Qi as part of our reference framework helps us to understand that some things are too subtle, too all-pervading to be categorised, quite often it is better to accept our observations without trying to explain or analyse them, after all; the time it will take to apply logic and understanding to a past event prevents us from enjoying the current moment.
What are your experiences of Qi?
We’d love to hear your views and experiences, so please leave a comment in the box below.
Browse John Millar’s workshop … Qigong for Mindfulness
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A few weeks ago, it was Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK.
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The four days of Jubilee celebrations got me thinking about our sense or non-sense of community.
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There’s this guy I run into pretty regularly as I take my dog for her early morning run in the park. Let’s call him Will.
