The Three Treasures run in two directions
Nearly every explanation of the Three Treasures gives you one sequence: Jing refines into Qi, Qi refines into Shen. Bottom to top. Essence becomes energy becomes spirit.
That is true, and it is half of it.
Cultivating: upward
This is the direction most of the classical material describes, and it is what you are doing in a practice session.
You nourish the physical body with movement, breath and attention. That builds Jing. Well-tended Jing refines into Qi, which flows and circulates and animates. And when Jing and Qi are both strong, Shen rises on its own.
The key word is on its own. You cannot climb to Shen directly. You build the ground underneath it and it appears.
Creating: downward
This is the direction nobody teaches, and it is the one you use when you are trying to bring something into the world.
It starts at the top. Shen arrives as an idea, whole and fast. Then you hand it down.
It is kind of like a relay race. You hand off the baton to the next centre, the one in the middle of your chest. See what you want clearly in your mind and let your heart feel the excitement of it, because a vision with no charge in it will not survive contact with a Tuesday. Then hand off again, to the body, and take one real action.
Shen sparks it. Qi carries it. Jing grounds it.
The fire
Think of building a fire. Shen is the spark. Qi is the oxygen that lets the flame catch. Jing is the wood that keeps it going long after the spark is forgotten.
A spark with no oxygen dies immediately. A spark with oxygen and no wood burns bright and brief, which is what most enthusiasm does. All three, and you have something that lasts.
Why this matters practically
Because knowing which direction you are in tells you what has gone wrong.
If you are exhausted and nothing feels meaningful, you are trying to run upward on empty. The answer is not more insight. It is sleep, food, and moving your body.
If you have had the same good idea for 3 years and never moved on it, you are stuck at the top of the downward run. The answer is not more clarity about the idea. It is letting yourself feel it, and then doing one small thing.
A practice that runs both
Begin with stillness and set a clear intention. Bring your attention to the breath and let that intention drop into your heart until you can feel it. Then move your body with purpose.
Three steps, and you have travelled the whole system once.
The centres themselves are at the Three Treasures and the Three Centers. If you want the version that structures a whole class, that is the Five Elemental Class Design Framework.
The practice underneath all of this is covered at what is Qigong, and on why it works the way it does, why is Qigong so powerful.
The first version of this, framed around the new year, is on the blog at from inspiration to action.
Frequently asked questions
Do the Three Treasures only run in one direction?
No. Cultivating runs upward, Jing to Qi to Shen. Creating runs downward, Shen to Qi to Jing. Most published material presents only the upward direction.
Why can you not cultivate Shen directly?
Because Shen rises on its own once Jing and Qi are strong. Aiming at insight or peace directly is how people spend years getting nowhere.
What does it mean if you have had the same idea for years and never acted?
You are stuck at the top of the downward run. The answer is not more clarity about the idea. It is letting yourself feel it, then taking one small action.
By Christopher Grant, Great Energy.
Where to go next
If you have never practiced Qigong. Jump Start Your Energy is a free beginner class. No background needed, nothing to buy, and it is the fastest way to find out whether any of this does anything for you. Most people know within one session.
If you practice and want to go deeper. We teach live classes online every week, and there is a self-paced Introduction to Qigong if you would rather work through it in your own time.
If you want to teach this. Everything in this library is drawn from the Great Energy Qigong Teacher Certification. The frameworks are here in full because they are more useful shared than withheld. The training is where you learn to deliver them.
Keep reading. The rest of the framework library is at the Library, and our longer articles are on the blog.
Great Energy is an independent educational organization founded by Christopher Grant and Daniela Hess.