Written by Rodger R Ricketts, Psy.D.
As individuals progress through life, they develop the capacity to respond to external stimuli in ways that enhance survival, growth, and reproduction. Learning arises through constant interaction with the environment, enabling humans to retain external information, think reflectively, and make value-based decisions. While personal identity and societal constructs support civilization and survival, they also impose a cost: artificial cognitive activity consumes essential life energy. Decision-making rooted in conceptual values, rather than natural sensation, gradually separates the mind from its inherent life energy. Initially subtle, this divergence may become permanent, leading to persistent depletion of life energy and eventual decline.
In infancy, one remains intimately aware of Chi (life energy), but as adults become absorbed in cognitive processes, they neglect this vital sensation. Excessive mental activity drains Chi, as the mind’s energy is an extension of life energy itself. When life energy is overextended, the connection between mind and Chi weakens; like a rubber band stretched beyond its limit, perception breaks. This loss of authentic internal perception manifests as illness, fragility, and ultimately the deterioration of one’s true nature.
As artificial constructs dominate awareness, individuals may lose their intimate connection with mind and body. Money, language, and symbolic systems—tools created to support society—become mistaken for reality itself. Immersed in this virtual realm, one drifts further away from natural sensation. Childhood’s pure, intuitive engagement with life fades as artificial signals override internal experience. Modern environments bombard the senses with constant stimuli, drowning out natural signals such as sleep, sunlight, contact with the Earth, natural foods, and internal bodily sensation. As these cues diminish, the ability to perceive Chi weakens, and the intuitive connection to life energy declines.
Within Taoist cosmology, the universe alternates between Tao-in-stillness and Tao-in-movement: the unmanifest state of Wuji (primordial emptiness or original stillness) and the manifest state of Tai Chi (cosmic duality and the birth of Yin and Yang), where Yin and Yang operate. Phenomena arise from Wuji and return to it, much like waking life cycles back to the stillness of sleep. Wuji—primordial, undifferentiated, timeless, and absolute—represents pure potential. From this state, Tai Chi emerges, giving rise to Yin and Yang, motion and form. Wu denotes stillness, while Wuji signifies standing in silence and sensing universal energy. In Tai Chi practice, movement and energy flow from this stillness. When the mind becomes clear and the body relaxed, one experiences present awareness and accesses profound mental clarity.
Original life energy contains no duality of good or bad—it is eternal, perfect, and requires no modification. When it manifests as human life energy, it divides into Yin, Yang, and Chi (three aspects of energetic function: receptive, active, and vital force). Human life depends upon the dynamic cycling of Yin and Yang; constant motion seeks to return to the original state of harmony. To mirror the original Chi, one must cultivate clarity, purity, and strength, restoring balance within and harmonizing with the external environment. Without vigilance, temptations and artificial habits lead to deficit, destabilizing Chi and drawing the individual deeper into artificial existence.
Three primary forces disrupt Chi: overuse of the mind, immersion in artificial constructs, and bombardment by negative environmental signals. As Chi becomes a mental signal, it weakens; as artificial ideas dominate, natural sensation fades; and as negative influences intrude, energetic balance destabilizes. In severe cases, the Chi signal may become disabled, resulting in decline. When artificial influences overpower life energy long enough, both mind and body lose the ability to perceive Chi. In this state, one struggles to maintain equilibrium and ultimately deteriorates.
Chi embodies concepts of center, harmony, and infinity. It forms the essence of the true self; diminishing its quality is equivalent to losing life force and authentic integrity. When Chi is strong, one experiences inner completeness, intuitive knowing, and a fearless sense of unity with existence. Conversely, when Chi becomes depleted through artificial living and suppressed emotion, the true self is constrained, leading to fragility, imbalance, and inability to live peacefully. Rebuilding life energy requires the reintegration of mind and Chi, honoring genuine emotion, and restoring internal equilibrium.
Modern society conditions individuals to conform to external expectations, prioritizing artificial norms over inner truth. This form of psychological enslavement suppresses intuition and compels the pursuit of illusory goals—achievement, wealth, security—at the expense of well-being and authentic identity. Perpetual busyness prevents inner stillness and blocks access to the original self, allowing the artificial framework (social expectations, productivity culture, or identity roles) to maintain control.
Liberation begins by reconnecting with life energy. One must discern whether the desire for growth arises from true inner calling or from external validation. A sincere longing to understand suffering, live meaningfully, and liberate the authentic self signals the voice of life energy. Those who recognize this call and possess the courage to follow it must learn to sense and refine Chi. Fortunately, this path is not new; ancient Daoist masters have walked it before and left guidance for those ready to return to their true nature.
This first stage of the journey reveals how modern existence, dominated by artificial constructs, incessant mental activity, and external pressures, gradually separates us from the vital life energy that forms the essence of our true nature. By recognizing the subtle yet profound ways in which the mind becomes overextended, how natural sensations are replaced by symbolic systems (in other words, expectations and conceptual thinking), and how societal demands obscure our inner awareness, we begin to perceive the root of our disconnection. The path back to authenticity arises not through force or intellectual striving, but through gently restoring stillness, clarity, and genuine sensation, allowing Chi to be felt once again in its natural purity. As one reconnects with this original energy, a deeper sense of wholeness, peace, and intuitive understanding gradually awakens, reminding us of the completeness that once existed in infancy and remains within us still. In Part Two, I will explore how ancient Taoist wisdom provides practical tools for this restoration—guiding us through the cultivation of calm awareness, the refinement and circulation of Chi, and the harmonious integration of mind, body, and life energy through practices such as Qigong and Tai Chi. Through steady effort and sincere intention, it becomes possible not only to reclaim the purity of one’s life force, but also to return to a state of balance, presence, and effortless connection with the living universe.
We are all Interconnected even with the Universe 