Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content

"Turning the Light Around" in 'The Secret of the Golden Flower'

  • Christopher Cott
  • , Adam John Rock

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterResearch

Abstract

The 'Taiyi jinhua zongzhi', known in the West as 'The Secret of the Golden Flower', is a key text of Daoist psychological transformation. Utilizing detailed qualitative techniques, the authors extract its primary elements and present a set of five themes of spiritual cultivation: 1) refining the material soul into the spirit soul and consciousness spirit into primordial spirit; 2) refining the illumination of consciousness into that of inherent nature; 3) harmonising the breath; 4) combining water and fire; and 5) joining Heaven and Earth. The first two describe the process of "turning the light around," a meditation that reverts the outward flow of consciousness to develop the inherent potential that is obscured by ordinary cognitive processes. The other three describe a sequential process that occurs when "turning the light around" is put into practice.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationLiving Authentically: Daoist Contributions to Modern Psychology
EditorsLivia Kohn
Place of PublicationDunedin, United States of America
PublisherThree Pines Press
Pages79-100
Edition1
ISBN (Print)9781931483209
Publication statusPublished - 2011

Keywords

  • Psychology and Cognitive Sciences

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of '"Turning the Light Around" in 'The Secret of the Golden Flower''. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this