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Energy in another context

InfiniteNow
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InfiniteNow Newbie

InfiniteNow

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If any mods desire to move this thread, please do. I was looking over the forum topics and couldn't decide in which to locate this, so pretty much went "Eeeny, meeny, miny, moe..." :confused:

 

 

This is a science forum, and often discusses concepts of energy, generally as related to work in physics and philosophies with light and mass, powering items, etc.

 

However, there is another energy concept more often associated with a "life force," and goes by many different names depending on the context.

 

Chi

Ki

Qi

Vital force

Prana

Animal magnetism

Cosmic energy

Biorhythm

dot dot dot...

 

 

 

Let's explore it's possible interpretations and applications together. What is it to you? How would you define it? Describe some of it's limitations and benefits? From where does it come? Is it endless in availability, or limited? Anything...

 

 

Please, contribute. :lol:

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Celeste Newbie

Celeste

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Chi is a favorite word in my house.

 

Don't mess with my chi.

Hey, your intruding on my chi.

Step off my chi.

Now you've done it, you popped my chi bubble.

Would you like to touch my chi..

 

On a serious note, either one of you fine gentlemen have a good web site about Chi? I've studied it somewhat, but would like to read up more.

 

I'm starting Yoga Sunday...does yoga work with "chi" per say?

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Eclogite Newbie

Eclogite

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However, there is another energy concept more often associated with a "life force," .......How would you define it?
In a hostile fashion, as an equal mix of ignorance, excessive lyricism, self delusion, misinterpretation, wishful thinking, and charlatanism.

 

I might have been a tad more sympathetic to it as a metaphorical expression of the spiritual side of humanity, but placing the thread in Earth Science implies it has a physical reality. That notion is abhorrent to me because of the lack of evidence for its existence.

 

You did ask.:(:shrug:

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Eclogite Newbie

Eclogite

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Orbsycli, half the time I don't know what your talking about, half the time I wish I didn't, and half the time I'm just confused!:hyper:

 

Here's an attempt to answer the original question in Orbsycli style.

 

Life is a wave of energy: many ever expanding ripples of consciousness and want and instinct and need and motivation and hope.

 

The ripples intersect and generate nodes of special energy: ley lines; strange attractors; punctuated evolution; UFOs; bursts of invention.

 

Waves never die out, they rebound of the ends of time and recylce upon themselves.

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InfiniteNow Newbie

InfiniteNow

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Perhaps it requires some training, whether that be mental (like tai chi) or physical (like other martial arts), to truly sense it. Take note, it did not state "understand" it, because most do not. However, I sure have felt it.

 

Despite my eeny meeny miny moe statement, there was some intentionality in putting this into Earth Science...

 

We are a collection of atoms (and other more elementary quarks and whatever) and all of that is just energy. Many see themselves as a solid entity, but we are really a much more complex and dynamic system, ever changing, but still all energy (Thanks Al for the E=mc^2 equation...) Considering this, is it really a stretch to think in terms of chi?

 

Even besides just being an iron which is used to flatten hair, chi really does seem to have something to it. I can point you in the direction of some studies on Chi Kung healing, and also some measurements taken of some master practitioners.

 

Celeste, I will see if I can find a site that does the concept justice. Most are just trying to capitalize on the hocus pocus aspect and are really silly. Cheers.

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Celeste Newbie

Celeste

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Originally Posted by InfiniteNow

Celeste, I will see if I can find a site that does the concept justice. Most are just trying to capitalize on the hocus pocus aspect and are really silly. Cheers.

 

Thank you. :)

 

Last year, 2 months into a horrible case of whooping cough, I read alittle about Chi Kung and it's healing abilities. However, as you pointed out, alot of websites focused on the hocus pocus and did very little to explain the how's and why's.

 

I appreciate your looking for a site, I trust your abilities and knowledge.

Cheers back at you. ;)

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InfiniteNow Newbie

InfiniteNow

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As always, wiki has some data on this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qi

 

 

It does appear that this is much like our concepts of faith and/or religion, however, it is also very possible that we just do not yet have the machinery available to measure it. Much like germ theory was scoffed at, this might be something that we just haven't seen yet.

 

I did some research into this in college, and here is my own theory on it:

 

  • Physics tells us that an electric current is coupled with a magnetic field.
  • Our nerve cells operate on a chemically triggered electric current, hence, a magnetic field should accompany this.
  • Fields interact, and other people and life will put out a field as well.
  • Also, chi is said to follow blood. Considering we have iron in our blood, perhaps this is interacting with the body's magnetic field.

 

It's loose, I know, and most research on it is pretty weak, but that's my idea in a nutshell. I remain of the opinion, why not? To paraphrase what one of our posters frequently says, "Just because you don't understand rocket science doesn't mean we can't send rockets into space."

 

 

Ohio State University Medical Center:

 

An extremely sensitive magnetometer called a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) has been claimed to measure large frequency-pulsing biomagnetic fields emanating from the hands of practitioners. In another study, a simple magnetometer measured and quantified similar magnetic fields from the hands of meditators and practitioners of yoga and qi gong. These fields were 1,000 times greater than the strongest human biomagnetic fields.

 

SQUID technology is the closest we've come to seeing it scientifically.

 

 

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci816722,00.html

 

Physical processes, such as muscular or neural activity, in humans (and other animals) create magnetic fields as small as a thousand billionth of a tesla (as a comparison, a fridge magnet generates about a tenth of a tesla). DC SQUIDs, contained in a helmet-like device, measure the currents created by neural activity. The possible SQUID neuroscience applications are myriad. A recent study used SQUID-enabled magnetoencephalography to measure the surprisingly large level of activity in consumer's brains that is evoked by choosing between (for example) brands of ketchup.

 

 

That's a start anyway. :doh:

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