1. Small Kan and Li
The lesser enlightenment of Kan and Li
At this already very high level of Taoist energy work, the sexual energy Jing Chi (creative power) is transformed into life force. The crucial secret of this formula is that the usual positions of fire and water are reversed in order to release sexual energy. The spread of sexual energy throughout the organism can be thought of as steam rising when water begins to boil on the fire.
This meditation of inner alchemy includes nurturing and developing the root centre and the heart centre, as well as transforming the sexual energy in the navel. The formula of the lesser K'an and Li reverses the normal process of wasting energy.
By interchanging the positions, the heat of the body fire passes under the coolness of the body water. Without this reversal, the fire simply flares up and burns the body from within. The water (the sexual fluids) has a tendency to flow downwards and leave the body. When the water dries up, the body breathes its last. The process of evaporation can be extended over a long time.
The warm moist steam produced carries tremendous energies and is extremely beneficial to health. The glands and the nervous and lymphatic systems are regenerated and the circulation of energy and body fluids intensified.