| Chinese alchemists became proficient at spiritual
Distillation thousands of years ago. In a discipline called “Circulation
of the Light,” the aspirant is taught to concentrate on the
light of the inmost region and, while doing so, to free himself
from all outer and inner entanglements. The basic practice in the
Circulation of the Light is known in Taoist alchemy as “The
Microcosmic Orbit” or “The Lesser Heavenly Cycle”
(as opposed to the greater cycle of the rotation of stars and the
constellations). The “light” that is circulated is the
chi guided by mind through an alchemical laboratory within the body
that consists of three cauldrons or furnaces (known as tan tien
or “elixir fields”) that purify and refine the energy
in a process of Distillation.
The first of these inner cauldrons is the Lower Tan Tien, which
is situated in the abdomen between the pelvis and navel. It is where
the alchemist gathers, blends, and cooks his or her sexual, vital,
and spiritual essences. The operations carried out here are equivalent
to the Western stages of Calcination, Dissolution, and Separation,
which are equivalent to energizing the muladhara (base), svadhisthana
(genital), and manipura (solar plexus) chakras in the Tantric tradition
or the Wheel of Emanation in the Buddhist tradition. Once the energy
is purified sufficiently, it is brought up the primary or governor
channel along the back or dorsal of the spine. The Chinese call
this solar channel of yang energy the tu mai, while Tantrists refer
to it as the ida.
The Middle Tan Tien cauldron is between the solar plexus and diaphragm
and its energies are associated with the heart, lungs, and throat.
This is where the essences from the purification in the Lower Tan
Tien accumulate and where the soul finds expression. The fundamental
essences are further purified and condensed and eventually move
up the Governor (or Solar Channel) along the back of the spine.
The Tantrists saw this cauldron as activating the anahata (heart)
and vishuddha (throat) chakras. In Western alchemy, it is where
the operation of Conjunction takes place.
The Upper Tan Tien is known as the Crystal Palace. This “precious”
cauldron at the center of the brain is also called the Sacred Square
Inch, the Heavenly Heart, or the Cavity of Spirit. It is where the
higher self or spirit from Above dwells. Sufi alchemists call this
the ruh; Jewish alchemists call it ruach, while for the Tantrists,
it is seen as an activation of the ajna (brow) and sahasrara (crown)
chakras. In Western alchemy, it is where the operations of Fermentation,
Distillation, and Coagulation take place. In the cabala, this center
corresponds to the Sefirah Daat, located on the Middle Pillar (or
spine) between Binah (at the back of the head) and Hokmah (in the
forehead area).
In physiological alchemy, the Upper Tan Tien is associated with
the center of the brain where the pineal gland is located. When
this gland is activated, it is said to become illuminated like thousands
of shining crystals, able to receive light (as energy and knowledge)
from the universe. In Taoist alchemy, this is called the “Mysterious
Gate” (hsuan kuan). In Tibetan Buddhism, this is the source
of the “White Drop” that descends to the heart center,
where it mixes with the ascending “Red Drop” attain
an enlightened body and mind. All this activity is seen as a cosmic
sex act in the head. The phallic-shaped pineal gland releases a
pure white liquid light that impregnates the nearby bi-lobed pituitary
gland, which then releases hormones in the blood that inaugurate
a Second (Spiritual) Puberty in the body.
This final stage is not accomplished in just a single round of
operations but must continue until all impurities have been eliminated,
and the light is in its most concentrated form. Thus, the purified
inner light is returned from the Upper Tan Tien to the Lower Tan
Tien down the secondary Functional Channel along inside of the spine.
The Chinese called this lunar channel of yin energy the jen mai,
which is called pingala by the Tantrists. The energy is then once
again guided by thought and imagination inward to the center of
the body, where it is progressively refined and transmuted through
the three cauldrons.
So, essentially, the Circulation of Light is an operation of Distillation
in which the mercurial light of consciousness (or life force) is
progressively purified and concentrated. Try a session of this regimen
and see how it feels. In practice, the initiate repeats the Circulation
of the Light daily for months or even years, until enough of the
“light” collects to crystallize in the cauldron with-in
the brain. According to Chinese alchemists, the subtle matter distilled
through this process congeals into a Golden Pill, which is the adept’s
passage to perfect health and even immortality. Western alchemists
would call the product of these repeated distillations the “Mother
of the Stone.” But the goal is the same in both systems: to
create an immortal spirit body (the Stellar Stone or Body of Light)
through which the adept can function on a more evolved plane of
existence than in the ordinary physical body.
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