What is Qi?
- abstractalmegan
- Mar 24
- 5 min read
When we hone our consciousness through ancient practices we become scientists; taking data and having direct experiences that prove (to ourselves at least) the theoretical aspects of quantum science.
Qi or chi is an important concept to understand when working in the invisible or quantum realm. Here are a few frameworks for you to play with in your own explorations in the pure consciousness realm.
Qi is energy. The type of qi we work with in practices like qigong, however, goes beyond what can be measured by instruments. Qigong teachers, including myself, say things like "everything is qi" including physical items, emotions, feelings, thoughts, etc. indicating that qi is the building block for literally everything in existence. It can be difficult for people to work with this explanation, however, because it can, at first, take a leap of faith.
This is why I like to look at the question of "what is qi" from the standpoint of quantum physics. Einstein gave us a lot of clues into the true nature of reality, and one of my favorites is the theory of "wave-particle duality".
Wave-particle duality suggests that everything in existence has two natures: that of a particle and that of a wave. It can be useful to consider that when we work in the framework of energy or qi, we are working with the "wave" nature of reality.
Most humans understand the particle nature of physical reality quite well. The particle nature of something has a specific location and measurable attributes (like weight, size, etc.) I can hold a rock in my hand, measure it's weight, throw it up and watch it respond to gravity, and when I put it on a shelf it will likely be there when I check on it the next day. This is how I interact with something and its article nature.
The wave nature of reality, however, can be a little more difficult to grasp. An object's wave nature is not really a wave like we'd think of an ocean or sound wave. It's more of a probability distribution around which the particles of an object "could" be located at any given time. The wave nature describes the likelihood of finding the particles of an object doing something at a variety of locations. As the theory goes, when not being observed or measured, the particles of an object have the potential to be at any number of locations. It is only in measuring or observing an object that collapses the wave nature of it down into one specific place and suite of physical attributes.
The "double-slit experiment" is what famously proved this dual nature of reality in modern science. You can read more about the double-slit experiment online, but in short, it famously showed how subatomic entities, which make up all of physical reality, exhibit both particle (measurable, quantifiable) and wave (undefined, probability based) properties depending on how we interact with them.
The extent to which an object displays its wave nature depends on its wavelength, which for macroscopic objects is incredibly small. The wave nature of physical objects is considered undetectable in everyday circumstances...but that doesn't mean that it doesn't exist...and it doesn't mean that we can't find a way outside of everyday circumstances.
Quantum scientists say that the quantum or wave-like nature of physical objects is "undetectable" due to decoherence - the interaction of countless particles with their environment that causes the wave-like quantum behavior to rapidly collapse into classical behavior.
Bringing a system that is in a state of decoherence back into to coherence is exactly the point of a pure consciousness mind/body practice.
Our habit of measuring something continuously can keep an object in a particle-like state from our perspective. When we enter a state of pure consciousness and have the capacity to allow things to flow outside of our expectation and forcing, we are also allowing an object to exhibit stronger wave-like properties.
For example, here's what it could look like if I interacted with the wave nature of my rock. I'd first need to have the capacity to suspend any habit of tracking, measuring or making assumptions of the rock's physical qualities or location. I would then need to be able to feel into the potential of that rock to exist in infinite different ways. If my mind was able to be very clear on these two things, I could then allow my consciousness to choose one of the potential realities for the rock by "observing" the rock in that state. This would then collapse the wave-like nature of the rock and create the particular physical situation for the rock that I had chosen.
Not surprisingly, this technique is a lot like the type of mingjue consciousness healing we are taught in Zhineng Qigong.
The qi that we work with in energy practices operates in a gray area - more subtle than the physical but more pervasive than a single atom, allowing us to exhibit properties that bridge the quantum and classical realms in traditional understanding.
Ancient practices like the Inner Smile take advantage of this inbetween zone by blurring the distinctions between form and formless, allowing us to program the invisible realm to create more positive and healthful physical realities.
When I practice entering pure consciousness states with my students, we are together:
Creating states of heightened coherence in our awareness that might potentially influence the coherence of physical systems,
Establishing and connecting to strong quantum fields of intention that have the potential to temporarily reduce decoherence effects between particles, and
Influencing physical reality at a level where wave-like properties are more prominent than particle-like ones.
From a quantum perspective, decoherence happens when quantum systems interact with their environment, causing wave functions to collapse into definite (particle) states. The pure consciousness meditative state might be viewed as a way of creating a special environment where this collapse is less rigidly enforced.
In other words, this interplay between physical and quantum reality is, from a theoretical perspective where miracles come from.
While conventional physics wouldn't predict that consciousness could directly influence quantum decoherence in external objects like rocks, the philosophical framework of consciousness practices like Zhineng Qigong posits a deeper connection between mind and matter. The practice assumes that consciousness itself operates at a level where it can interact with the more fundamental and flexible, wave-like aspects of reality.
In the least, this theoretical bridge between quantum concepts and pure consciousness practices offers a contemplative framework for practitioners, even if it extends beyond what current scientific models would predict.
This is where a pure consciousness "spiritual" practice and the forfront of modern quantum "science" intersect. The experiential aspects of this type of mind/body practice may provide insights that science hasn't yet fully explored. In our work to hone our consciousness through ancient practices we are essentially scientists too, taking direct data and having direct experiences that prove (to ourselves at least) some of the most theoretical aspects of quantum science.
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