Chi & “The Thing Itself”

I feel that joy of being in the flow as a conduit of energy as I performed my daily T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) practice in the Fall of 2022 near my 21-year-old cat, Quanyin. As I practiced the slow movements that generate the universal energy the Chinese refer to as Chi, Quanyin would move from her heated bed on the chair under the kitchen counter and nuzzle between my hands as they circulated the Life Force. She would show that she was feeling the energy in her 21-year-old bones and skinny body by purring and snuggling throughout my TCC practice as I consciously conducted that energy toward her.

In early 2023, Quanyin left the planet at the age of almost 107 in human years. On her final day, a caring, supportive gathering surrounded her, including a close friend and Quanyin’s long-time veterinarian. Together, we tapped into a powerful energy as I conducted the energy of the Chi with TCC. Tears fell knowing that she had left us at exactly the right moment — yet waiting for Quanyin’s breath to eventually cease was heartbreaking as her veterinarian helped her to pass over. We were certain she felt the familiar energy ushering her into her next experience. I miss her dearly, but practicing TCC near my other three cats helps me to remember that energy is never created or destroyed, it just changes form.

When my veterinarian delivered Quanyin’s ashes to me, I felt comfort as I conducted the Life Force energy over her box of ashes through TCC. (To honor such days as my late husband’s and my anniversary, I often light a candle and practice TCC near his ashes.) Quanyin’s gift to me was knowing that when we go through such challenges or transitions, we can transform the sadness into the sacred by conducting the Universal Energy through a practice such as TCC.

I love going up onto my high deck with the shimmering views of the sunlight sparkling on the ocean. I feel the powerful flow of the energy as I practice TCC. When I finish, before I sit down on the chair on the deck to meditate, I notice the energy glistening through the branches of Torrey Pine down the hill that is reaching for the sky. This is Nature at her best — when we are mindful of our oneness with the All. When practicing indoors, I still feel the life force coursing through my body, mind, and spirit since there is no place that is untouched by the cosmic energy that flows through all of creation. Practicing TCC every day is a vital part of my self-care and spiritual practice. It’s how I get “up close and personal” with what Ernest Holmes referred to as “The Thing Itself.”