You know you have a physical body, but did you know that you also have a light body—a timeless, energetic essence that connects you to everything in the universe?
Long ago, the ancient Taoist sages learned how to distill this body of light, allowing us to step into the flow of nature, align with the consciousness of the cosmos, and cultivate the seeds of our highest potential. The early Taoists were inner alchemists who sought universal truth by working with life-force energy.
A very common and major goal of most Taoists is to achieve immortality rather than enter the regular after life. Reaching this goal is not easy; there are various tasks that must be met during your entire lifetime to be qualified to be immortal. The two different categories of requirements for immortality include internal alchemy and external alchemy.
External alchemy is mastering special breathing techniques, sexual practices, physical exercises, yoga, attempting to produce an elixir of immortality by consuming purified metals and complex compounds, and to develop medical skills. In Taoism one’s soul or energy is considered to be interlocked with the vital energy, which is what nourishes your soul. Ridding the body of impurities can increase this energy. Aside from these requirements, you must lead an upright, moral and good- hearted life.
Internal alchemy includes sophisticated visualization, strict dieting, specific sexual exercises and self-control. A strict diet was committed to kill demons within the body and to stimulate and maintain energy. The body is purified by the consumption of refined substances such as, jade or gold. The many different types of meditation all revolved around the common idea of breathing. Much of a Taoist’s time is spent meditating.
A popular rule of thumb for breathing techniques include holding one’s breath for 12 heartbeats, better known as a “little tour”, 420 heartbeats is the “grand tour” and the most prominent achievement in breathing is holding one’s breath for 1000 heartbeats.
The achievement of full immortality and the body of light occurs in successive stages. These stages are tied to moral, emotional, and spiritual advancement over time. Chief among these stages is the ability to kill demons within the body and to lift critical regions of the soul out of the lower realms of hell. When an individual is born, certain areas of the soul remain tied to lower realms, especially if the individual has not managed to raise them during the after life period.
These regions of the soul act as an anchor to the higher regions during life. These discarded and ignored regions of the soul generate lower thoughts, self-destructive behaviors, illness, disease, and hinder the upper regions from turning into light and higher forms of matter. Your dreams, earthly habits, daily thoughts, speech, and sexual practices are a mirror for showing you where your soul resides. Examine these areas in your life. If you detect areas of imbalance, you will know where your soul resides and where you must place your focus.
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