Dragon Ball

Dear Readers,

I realize that there are several people who might have gotten their hopes up when they saw that I am writing a post about Dragon Ball. However, I have not watched much Dragon Ball. I have seen most of Dragon Ball Z though. Again, sadly, I am focusing on the route of the power gauge of the show, Ki.

So, what is Ki?

Ki, or sometimes called Chi, is translated as energy or life force. Now, according to Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball, Ki is made of Genki (energy), Yuki (courage), and Shoki (mind).

What is the life force energy or Genki? I personally believe it is body heat. Heat is a form of energy, and body heat is produced by the chemical reaction in our living bodies. Thus it is life energy, or life force.

In correlation, my Step-Mother, who I am not sure would approve of this post, is a practitioner of reiki. Now, I did not gain my learning about this subject from her. I only mention her to point out that I do have someone in my life that whole heartedly believes and uses reiki as a means of healing. That being said, I met a woman on my mission for the LDS Church in Montana who was also a practitioner of reiki. As we met with her and shared our beliefs, she shared her beliefs with my companion and I. She defined reiki as "heavenly guided ki".

Now, she elaborated upon it as using reiki is a gift from God. However, after prayer and revelation I received from God during my personal attempt to practice reiki, as an attempt to prove her words as she would hopefully prove ours by reading and praying about the Book of Mormon, I learned that though reiki was new and fascinating to me, it pales in comparison to the healing power of priesthood blessings. I also learned that the subject is cluttered and presented in a way in which clarity and truth can be hard to distinguish.

Having this enlightenment to my mind on the subject, I realized that ki is indeed body heat, and is the heat that is felt when performing reiki. Reiki is essentially using one's body heat to help someone heal. In a very similar way as how an icy-hot pad works.  Only using ki to warm the body instead of artificial chemical reactions allows the natural flow of ki or body heat to flow smoother rather than disrupted and improperly distributed. Reiki is performed in such a way to only introduce ki to parts of a person's body that are in need of soothing and repair.

With my personal experience with reiki, as well as what I have been told, I am confident in my declaration that ki is body heat. However, the ki used in Dragon Ball has two other elements.

One that I mentioned but did not emphasize was the Shoki or mind part. Like in reiki, it takes control of mind and union with the body to control and properly harness ki. Thus, whether using it for healing or for offense, there is still an aspect of the mind and mental acuity.

I must admit, I am not positive how Yuki or courage plays a role. However, I do have some hypothesis. First and mostly vague and simply, it would take courage to perform an action not knowing for sure that it would work. Secondly, and more realistically, courage could be considered an emotion, and emotions generally improve, draw, and direct blood flow to different parts of the body. With blood flow, comes heat, body heat.

Lastly, I have always heard of courage being defined as willing to stand up for something despite fear. Thus, it could be the domination of the mind over the body, and more importantly, the strength of will and determination to make it work despite possible obstacles.

I, personally, lean towards that last one.

So, now that I have defined Dragon Ball Ki as body heat manipulated with conviction of mind, how does that work for the Kamehameha?

Firstly, the pose, specifically the two hand grip, are designed to gather Ki right between the two wrists. It is important to note that it is not actually being gathered in the hands.

Like in Reiki, the individual does not actually touch the other person. Instead, they emit their body heat down through the air. I believe this is because, when skin touches skin, the energies don't quite mix as well, rather they continue in their own flow. While with the air, that energy gets concentrated externally allowing for easier manipulation.

Why does it appear to be in the hands then? I have also taken some Tai Chi classes for fun, and the fluid circular motions help to bring forth and gather the chi, or ki. Thus, the arcing of the fingers and hands creates a sphere of ki gathering to that spot between the wrists. The immenseness and concentration of that ki is what is making that sphere visible.

Why between the wrists instead of in the palms of the hands? Again, going off of my concept of body heat as ki, there are arteries close to the surface in the wrists, allowing for more heat to flow from the surface. The same reason why cutting your wrists can kill you.

Now, would it be possible for ki to make a visual manifestation? I have never done it, though I admittingly have never put forth the real effort and practice that would be necessary. In theory, I would say yes.

Heat can influence the air, like the heat coming off of a road or sand in the desert, causing the water like mirage. Living in Arizona, I have also seen shadows caused by the heat coming off of a vehicle in the summer. Thus, the heat can indeed change properties of the environment. Like rubbing the joint of a spoon can make it bend easier, potentially, one could heat up metal enough that it glows. In a similar manner, the air could become luminescent as the heat causes chemical reaction in the air.

Have I done it? No. Have I seen it? No. Do I think it is possible? Maybe.

Now, the final step of the Kamehameha, the release of that gathered energy. Of course there is the directional beam as the energy is released out from the point, but what about the bulb at the hands? Releasing energy in this manner would be equivalent to a massive explosion, that is why it is so powerful. Much like a cero from Bleach, which you can learn more about in my Bleach 3 blog post, it is an explosion created from a center point.

Now with explosives, there is the phenomenon of the "shaped charge". Here is a quick video about those.

Thus, the hands, and the energy that is contained therein, react with the Kamehameha creating a shaped charge.

Alas, the aforementioned cero does not have a shaped charge, but is merely a direction charge. Because it is not a shaped charge, there is the possibility that quite a bit of energy is wasted. As this picture of Ulquiorra's cero shows, it too is not on the skin, but the energy is gathered into a spot just off of it.

Well.... I believe that I have explained both ki and the kamehameha to the best of my abilities. For you Dragon Ball fans, I hope that I have not offended any of you with my ignorance. I hope that all of you have enjoyed this post, and learned more about ki or chi, reiki, and the kamehameha.

I would love to read any comments or concerns you may have with this post.

Love,
Jacobugoth

The Human Heart

Dear Readers,

I have been thinking about the human heart and what it means.

There is an organ called the heart, which pumps blood throughout the body more efficiently and continually than any engine or pump in the world.

Then there is the drawing or symbol of a heart, which represents love and romance.

From what I understand, the heart symbol is derived from or at least has come to mean two hearts being sown together. That in turn symbolizes the union and love between a husband and a wife.

Both of these symbols represent the heart and the emotion of love, but how and why does the heart, which is a blood circulating organ, have a connection with an emotion?

Firstly, God has repeatedly, implied a connection between the heart and emotions. Matthew 6:21 "For where you treasure is, there will your heart be also." Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." Proverbs 4:23 "Keep thy heart will all diligence; for out of it are the issue of life."

From these verses we see the blurring of physical and spiritual principles. If we consider the heart as an organ, we see that our heart will be where our treasure is, as in that is where we will be. We trust God to our heart, that it will keep pumping, and that we need to protect our heart because it issue's our life, or blood. Without a heart, or an artificial heart, we die. Thus we need to protect it in battle, in turn having inspired breast plates, flak jackets, and bullet proof vests.

It is also important to keep it strong through exercise.

Then from the spiritual or metaphysical side, our emotions and thoughts will always be with whatever we esteem as our treasure, our love should be focused and turned towards the Lord, and we need to be careful of what emotions we allow into our heart.

Both sides of the coin are important, here is an important example: Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was the first man to "touch the human heart". He knew from the scriptures that everything has laws that govern them (Doctrine and Covenants 88:36). He also knew that it is possible, at least for God, to touch the heart (1 Samuel 10:26). Upon this leap of faith, though taken after research, pondering, and study, he performed the first open-heart surgery using a heart-lung machine.

Thus, he has found that confidence can be taken from the scriptures, and that they are true to both physical and spiritual laws. Yet, this does not explain why even God associates the heart with emotions.

Love, anger, sorrow, and nearly all, if not all, emotions have been correlated to chemicals produced by glands, like the pituitary and thyroid, to trigger reactions in the brain. These processes often do not even need the heart or blood to complete.

Though these chemicals are produced in the brain, the brain then sends signals to the body. These signals stimulate sweat, pupil dilation in the eyes, and sometimes even nervous "spasms" like the jitters or pacing.

The most notable chemical being adrenaline. This chemical increases the heart rate and causes the brain to record and process information faster. Thus creating that "slow motion" feeling. Having the heart beat speed up helps give oxygen and fuel to the muscles for the "fight or flight" response. For either running away or reacting with offense, being able to move, and move quickly, can be the difference between life and death. However, there are some individuals who's brains do not know what to do with this increased blood flow. Thus the muscles contract, locking them up or petrifying them. All of that fuel and oxygen is being used by the muscles to constrict, rather than being used for survival.

Now, it is well known that adrenaline is usually produced from fear or excitement:being scared by a surprise party, getting in a car accident, sky jumping, etc. This has been the cause of the creation of many "extreme" sports. Some people find that they enjoy the "rush" of adrenaline and become an "adrenaline junky".

However, adrenaline can also be excreted into the blood stream from romance. Indeed, adrenaline helps solidify memories (like childhood fears and traumas) and if adrenaline is produced during courtship, that bond of love becomes more memorable and stronger. I believe that is the root behind the term "zing" from the movie Hotel Transylvania.

When someone collides or "bumps into" someone else that they have been developing feelings for, that causes adrenaline to enter the system. This creates that heart skipping a beat feeling. With this premise, one could argue that adrenaline is necessary for love, and vicariously the heart as well.

Now, I am not saying that adrenaline is the only important hormone or chemical associated with love, there are a few, I am just pointing out how one in particular does effect the heart in an "impact"-ful way.

Lastly, I would like to quickly and briefly point out that blood flow is incredibly important with intimacy, especially sexual intimacy. Whether it is simply kissing another individual, or having sexual intercourse, blood (obviously pumped by the heart) fills capillaries and creates the warm to the touch feeling.

So, to some up, though the heart is not a direct cause in the emotion and formation of love, it is an irreplaceable factor.

I leave you with this advice, though you want to shelter and protect your heart, you must also let it fulfill its purpose. You heart is meant to help you love, and if you don't try to love, then part of your heart's potential will not fulfilled. In contrast, to waste and expend your heart's energy more than what is needed, or more than what it is prepared for, can also wear it down and weaken its potency.

I hope that you have enjoyed this post, I know I did. Feel free to leave any questions or comments.

Love,
Jacobugoth