Written by Dastem
To my fellow radical centrists, remember the words of Benjamin Franklin, “You may delay, but time will not.”
While the world has been marching closer and closer toward the edge of the proverbial cliff, where, like lemmings, civilizations throughout history have thrown themselves into the jagged rocks of greed, excess and indulgence, I have found myself missing the simple “reality” of an analog world.
For many, life has become nonsensical, complex and over-sized. Others are either terrified of what the future holds, or anxious at best. Then there are the “radical centrists”, like me, who look at life, in its constant state of churning, burning and transformation, and think to themselves that oddly, it all makes perfect sense.
We may not always like it, and we may not always understand it, but the truth of reality is where the radical centrist seeks their refuge. For us, the phrase “it is what it is” is just as true as “it’s not what it isn’t.”
Enter the Dantian Project… An attempt to help more people find “center”, both in the world at large, as well as within themselves.
So, what is the dantian in the Dantian Project?
The name itself is something few westerners have ever heard of. Unlike the word “chakra”, which has become as synonymous with “wellness” as “hot yoga”, “pilates”, and “pickleball”, the word “dantian” is usually only referred to in specialized disciplines.
Those of you who have studied kung-fu, tai chi or qi gong will recognize the dantian as an energy center in the human body, functioning like a reservoir of vital energy. Most of these arts focus on one specific dantian: the gut. Yet, Chinese medicine teaches us that there are actually three dantians:
- Lower (gut)
- Middle (chest)
- Upper (head)
When these energy centers are in balance, incredible things can happen. Feats of physical strength, speed and agility are as commonplace among practitioners as heightened immune systems, longevity, mental clarity and vigor. And these are just the run-of-the-mill, “everyday” benefits of proper dantian alignment.
Nevermind the mystical capabilities that many advanced practitioners develop. Physical manifestation, healing touch, clairvoyance, telekinesis, remote viewing, lucid dreaming, teleportation, etc. all become possible through the power of the dantian.
With enough dedication, anyone can potentially develop these abilities, simply as an aspect of being human. Moreover, you don’t have to “believe” in any of this for it to be true. Just like you don’t have to “believe” that your car has an engine or motor making it run. Either way, you can still get in, start it up, and drive away.
Why should I care?
Well, shamans say that all disease is caused by a discord in the dantians. Likewise, the overall health of any society is subject to the combined energies of its people.
If that’s true, then every time we flip on the news to see another school shooting, hate crime, social injustice, political attack, or extremist propaganda, we find evidence of a society that is grappling with a severe disbalance in their “communal” dantians.
The only cure is to restore power to the center.
Unfortunately, the tide against us is stronger than ever, with today’s interconnected world not only allowing for more extreme ideas to propagate, but actually promoting them through incentivized clicks, views, likes and shares.
The good news is that the potential for reaching new heights is also ripe for the taking. All it takes is a return to that which is “real”.
How do I do it?
Mahatma Gandhi said it perfectly when he said, “be the change you wish to see in the world.” It’s true, change starts with each of us, individually. Fortunately, it’s easy to connect with your dantians by doing a simple breathing exercise that can be done in as little as three breaths:
- Close your eyes
- Mentally “find” the spot in your gut between your lower back and belly button
- Take a deep breath, imagining that the air is coming into your body through that spot
- Exhale, imagining that your body is releasing every bit of tension in that spot
- Repeat the process with your other two dantians
- The chest dantian is near your physical heart, between your sternum and the center of your shoulder blades
- The head dantian is in the middle of your head, between your forehead and brain stem
That’s it!
The more you do it, the more you’ll feel the connection, similar to building the mind-muscle connection that comes from lifting weights. You might feel movements inside your body, such as energy rushes or twitching. You might also experience surges of emotional energy in one form or another, as well as spontaneous images or sounds popping into your mind.
It’s all a normal part of releasing tension and bringing your dantian into balance.
Why is it “Radical?”
Doesn’t it seem like we’re all being pushed to “pick a side” these days? And in doing so, we’re forced to accept parts and pieces of ideologies that we don’t completely agree with. But we do it anyway because we believe it’s better than the alternative?
It’s like the moral dilemma in the plot twist of a movie – in order to save their child, the hero must commit a heinous crime in which many people will die… What will they choose?
Well friends, I, for one, refuse to make that choice anymore. From here on out, I’m dedicated to living in the center… Even if it means doing something crazy, like accepting someone for who they are, even if I find it disgusting. After all, the most radical thing any one of us can do is face the truth of reality, especially when that reality is stark.
The only question is if enough of us are brave enough to do it. Can you face the truth of something you’d rather avoid?
If so, then what might we create as a civilization? If an individual can develop metaphysical powers, then what might we all create together? No doubt it would be something radically different from what we have today.
The Dantian Project seeks to find common truths in modern issues. Please like, share and subscribe to help the conversation reach as many eyes as possible! If you’d like to become a contributor, visit the submission guidelines page.
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