The energy flows of the body were recognized and mapped by the Chinese over 5000 years ago.  The flows travel in prescribed pathways called meridians.  The Chinese word for the energy that flows through the meridians is Chi and is understood as life force energy.  Interestingly, the Chinese character for the word Chi originated from the concept of cloud or vapor and the characteristics of Chi are generally thought of as air, breath of life, and vitality. The Chinese see Chi as the essential life force, the power within us that brings, sustains, and informs life. It is the flow of Chi that brings healing to the body.

Chi and the energy of the Holy Spirit in the Christian tradition share some common attributes across cultures. In the Book of Genesis, the Spirit of God moves across the water bringing life to the formless earth and is breathed into the human creation to give it life. The Hebrew word ruach, which is used to denote Spirit in the Hebrew Bible, translates as wind, breath, mind, or spirit. God is seen as the creator of ruach (Job 27:3). In Hebrew when the word ruach is applied to humankind, it also has a dimension of intelligence, conscience, and will. When the ruach of God is inferred, it denotes God’s own creative power to give life.

Similarly in the New Testament, the Greek word pneuma means breath, movement of air, or wind.  When used in reference to humankind, the connotation is breath of life or life force. This understanding of the Holy Spirit as the wind or breath of God implies a living force that moves through the body, not unlike the wind that moved across the face of the earth at creation.  In each case, movement is a key concept. The energy of the Spirit flows through the body bringing life, just as the breath of God moved across the earth bringing life in Genesis 1:1. Seeing the Holy Spirit as bearer of life force energy connects it with the Chinese understanding of Chi. God as Spirit, as wind, as breath is also Chi. Primordial Chi is the energy of the Holy Spirit as creation life force an, while Substantial Chi is Holy Spirit energy as living life force within the body. In either terminology, it is that flow of Life Force Energy through the body that heals, sustains, enlivens, and brings wholeness. So is it the flow of the Holy Spirit’s energy  (Chi) moving through Jesus that brings about the healing of the sick and performs miracles?