In the introduction to the Ki of Cooperation Guidebook, a river metaphor is presented as a way to make energy more concrete and observable, rather than abstract or mystical: “Watching water is a good way to understand how ki, or energy, moves. When two rivers travel from separate directions and meet, they blend. Each river current contributes to creating a larger, more powerful flow in a new direction.” With this metaphor we can see how water makes an invisible energy flow more visible and real.
For another real world example of invisible energy flow, think of a magnet. Magnets have two poles: a north pole and a south pole. The north and south poles are attracted to one another while the same poles (south/south or north/north) repel each other. We can’t see the invisible energy or force between the poles, yet we can observe and experience its effects in the real world.
Building on this attracting or repelling energy, you can do a very simple experiment right now that we often do in ITP: Bring the palms of your hands together and vigorously rub them back and forth for 10 or 15 seconds. Then slowly, ever so slightly, pull them apart and see what you feel between your palms. Gently pulsing your hands together and apart can often accentuate the experience of this energy. Some people experience an attracting energy between their hands, others experience a repelling energy between their hands, and some experience both. Whatever your experience is, there is a very real, yet invisible, energy present between your hands.
To make ki even more real, we can think of the various forms of energy emanating from the human body: heat, light, electricity, and electromagnetic to name a few. These are all measurable with the right equipment. In my study of HeartMath, I’ve learned a lot about the body’s energetic fields, especially that of the heart. The heart generates the largest electromagnetic field of the body, many 1,000’s of times stronger than that of the brain. The heart’s electromagnetic field can be measured with a magnetometer up to three feet away from the body, and is hypothesized to extend much, much farther. Also, like a cell phone signal, the electromagnetic field of the heart is a carrier wave for information, information about your emotional state -- your heart is broadcasting your emotions 24/7 and can be read by those sensitive enough to pick it up. Wow – we are literally walking broadcasters of all kinds of energy, the energy of life, ki.
And finally, going further, over 100 years ago Einstein revealed his famous equation, E=mc², demonstrating that mass (m) and energy (E) are interchangeable and equivalent. So, when you see mass, or something physical in the world, you are also seeing energy. Everything is literally energy, or ki. So perhaps the question, rather than being “Ki, is it even real?” is “Ki, what else is there?”