What does it mean to be part of a universe that is not a collection of objects but a single field of living presence? The Chinese tradition has a word for this: qi which is the breath, the life force, the totality of cause and effect that connects all people, all souls, all flora and fauna into one closed system. Qi is not merely a physical energy, like electricity or magnetism. It is the ground of awareness itself, the medium through which consciousness knows the world and the world knows consciousness. To sense qi is not to measure a force but to participate in a relationship. In China, this understanding…