Pulling In The Energy, by Laurie Jacobi (November 2015)

Where does energy come from? I find this a fascinating question, especially on those days when I don’t have very much of it. It seems like a very powerful, mysterious and holy force.

While I don’t know the answer to my question, I do know how to generate it – with my T’ai Chi Chih practice. The move that really focuses us on bringing in more of this mysterious life force is Pulling In the Energy. I must confess that it has been only recently that I have come to appreciate and actually enjoy this movement. When doing the movement I have always said the following words to my students just the way I was taught: “Visualize energy streaming into your fingertips from the most distant star.”

I’ve always tried to visualize that distant star, but not always with great success.

While researching a project unrelated to TCC, I came across this quotation from the poet, Robert Graves. In speaking about the ancient Celts he wrote, “Poets induced a poetic trance by treating their finger-tips as oracle agents. The very tips of the fingers, never the joints, were used for the purpose of getting in touch with magical inspiration.” I found this quite interesting. Of course I immediately thought of Pulling in the Energy and how, perhaps, we are doing the same thing. It began to broaden my understanding and feeling of this movement.

Now, particularly when I am practicing outside, I feel like I am pulling in the energy not just from “a distant star” but also from the chickadees, nuthatches, cardinals, squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, cats, trees, breezes, sun, clouds, flowers, grass and everything alive that surrounds me. While staying soft I open my fingers just a little bit more and feel the energy surging and buzzing in the tips of my fingers. I have now come to love this movement. It feels mystical and practical at the same time. Here is the secret to bringing in more of that sacred life force.

How grateful I am for this practice of T’ai Chi Chih.