The Human Chemical Factory
The human body is the most complex and sophisticated chemical factory on Earth. There are around 37 trillion cells within the human body and each one of those hosts around a billion chemical reactions per second. That means around 37 billion trillion biochemical reactions are taking place in our bodies every single second! Every atom of oxygen in our lungs, of carbon in our muscles, of calcium in our bones, of iron in our blood – was created inside a star before the Earth was born. We are a constantly changing, morphing, growing and decaying, inconceivable mass of molecules that came in to existence sometime during the Big Bang – 13.8 billion years ago.
When we breathe in Oxygen, a highly corrosive and often combustible gas, and add a little water and food our bodies are capable of creating literally trillions of other different chemicals that allow us to live. And this is not even counting the trillions of other bacteria that are unwittingly going about their business, helping us to survive as a seemingly distinct organism.
The body also has the remarkable ability to heal itself. Cut open your hand and a series of complex chemical reactions occur that stop the bleeding and regrow the skin. But this is just one small example. We are in fact a walking, talking chemical pharmacy on legs. We can create Vitamin D with a little sunlight, we can produce serotonin, the ‘happiness chemical’ by doing a little exercise, we can even create oxytocin, ‘the love chemical’, by hugging someone for a while. We have our own cannabinoid system and with a few breathing techniques we can ‘get high on our own supply’. And even more incredibly, at the moment of death, it has been shown that the human brain is flooded with DMT, the most powerful hallucinogenic in the world. Virtually all of this goes on without us having to actually do anything, or even being aware that it is happening at all. Imagine what may be achieved if we were to actively involve our consciousness with the process.
In Taoist alchemical theory for example, there are substances that can be created in the body that are as yet unknown by Western Science. If you follow a practice such as Nei Gong, a process that can be translated as ‘Internal Skill Attainment’, then you may begin to encounter such substances. The lower Dan Tian, generally the first energy centre that we work with, is known as a cauldron for a very particular reason. For it is here that various energetic substances such as Qi and Jing, are mixed, cooked and transformed into rarer and more refined elements. Those who have travelled further down the Nei Gong path talk of golden elixirs and alchemical pills that are produced in the middle and upper cauldrons. Rather than being some allegory or metaphor, these are actual physical and energetic substances that can be created consciously within the body for the purpose of spiritual refinement.
All this talk of cauldrons and the transmuting of dense substances in to gold also sounds suspiciously like the Western alchemical metaphors. In fact alchemy seems to be an almost universal science but one that is steeped in hidden meanings. Surely the philosophers and those seeking enlightenment in ancient times wouldn’t have concerned themselves with such trivialities as material wealth. True wealth lies in the transmutation of the spirit and that can only occur within the body and not without.
The human body is a miraculous creation and clearly for many of the ailments and problems that life throws at us, we already have the cure inside of us. Some may find this difficult to believe but when we remember that we are a chemical factory made out of stardust, almost anything else seems a lot more plausible. All we need to do is to learn how to manage this immense factory more consciously and efficiently.