Taoist Internal Alchemy: The image on the right shows the typical path of fire and water in the body. Here, the water flows out and down (in men, through excess ejaculation and fantasy; in women, through heavy menstruation) and the fire flows out and up (through excess mental activity, speech, and over using the senses.)
The image on the left is a metaphor for Taoist internal Alchemy. In meditation, the practitioner sees the energy of the body’s fire below the energy of the body’s water. A cauldron is visualized to hold the elements and to allow the process to cook and unfold. The process creates a feeling of steam that can be directed around the channels and organs of the body for healing purposes.
28. Emulate the Pattern of Nature
Know how to be active,
But rest and recover after.
Emulate the mighty river
Who follows its path spontaneously.
Know how to shine brightly,
But keep to the darkness.
Emulate the pattern of nature
And the Tao will be strong inside of you.
Know the familiar,
But keep to the unfamiliar; Accepting things as they are.
When you accept things as they are,
The Tao will shine inside you,
And you’ll return to your original nature.
The diamond emerges from a lump of coal. The pot is shaped from a mound of clay. The alchemist turns lead into gold.