Taoist Alchemy—and the elimination of loss of essence This is an imperfect document it is somewhat densely written and after continued cross-checking with my source materials I am realizing that some of my phrasing and usage of terms differs in some ways from the most finely tuned use of terms that exist in the classical writings.   But, in any case, it has enough information to result in a practical understanding of the process of Taoist alchemy. It should be able to confer a general understanding of the process, what it involves, and how it develops. If you are a thorough student of the classics, though, you will probably realize that some of use of terms is a bit informal and at odds with what the books say. My usage of the terms is more connected to the things that happen during the process of alchemy than all the nuances of the supporting theories. But, even so, what I describe here and what the authentic classics describe do coincide (even if nuances of the terms differ) and it should help advance people in their understanding of what Taoist writings and practices are all about.   I hope it can stand as a point of reference for people interested in Taoist Alchemy and eliminating the loss/waste of energy through sexual emissions. To that end, it will doubtlessly have detractors and people who will ridicule it. Regardless of that, I am writing this so that people who look to this website will actually have a usable source for the first sections of Taoist alchemical training. Most of what has been written and expressed elsewhere on this site is incorrect (though I commend thelerner’s post in the thread I will be referencing). Though there are (recently, it seems) a decent number of quality posts and posters, however a decent number of others seem ignorant or perverse enough in their dispositions that they corrupt the information that they have received and dissuade people from ever getting involved in legitimate Taoist practices.   I won’t make the claim that my information is beyond critique. There are likely areas where my interpretations may be disputed. However, I have set my explanations on a foundation of what can be experienced in the course of diligent practice. As such, I am confident that anyone who comprehends and applies the information here can achieve some level of success from it. It took me years to arrive at a functional understanding of this process and I hope that it can save some people time when it comes to understanding the alchemical process and actually applying it.   Anyways---inquiries like these tend to be among the most common that show up on this site before other (presumably well-meaning) members show up to steer the person away from practicing alchemy: and    The simple answer (to the second inquiry) is that jing-qi-shen interconversions take place pretty much all the time in a limited way in accordance with body cycles and the cellular operations that sustain the body. If you wanted to know more about this, you could benefit from looking into Traditional Chinese Medicine or even some quality sources on Ayurveda (though these would use different pieces of information).   For your concern about losing energy through seminal emissions, this is something that is not well addressed in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Traditional Chinese Medicine has the acknowledgment that jing will dissipate at an accelerated rate when sexual activity is engaged in but it does not (in most contexts) acknowledge that there is a way of not only preventing the loss of jing but also reverting it to its source in order to eliminate disease states and prolong the life (and, if a person is engaged in Taoist Alchemy, using the resources of the body to achieve spiritual immortality).   So, for concerns about losing energy through emissions, this is something that can only be remedied through the process of Taoist Alchemy. However, unless you are fully dedicated to pursuing Taoist Alchemy, you will experience an emission sooner or later. This is because the generative and vital energies will only accumulate within the body (and not dissipate through different outlets) if you are dedicated in the practice of the alchemical meditation and can keep track of the internal changes as they are taking place. There are different levels of structure that would need to be accommodated (progressively, during the meditative practice) in order to ensure that the accumulated energy stays integrated and doesn’t leak out.   If you are serious about pursuing this, you would need to make a dedicated study of the subject and probably find a living teacher in-person. If you are not serious, then you could skip to a section where I describe a general practice scheme and you can try and see what you can get from practicing it. If you are able to do it successfully, you should at least reduce the frequency of energy loss.