[May 16th exchange on the TaoBums Forum]
Q: I still think there needs to be some explanation about what you mean by fluid going up the spine. Many people might think liquid semen can actually leak out and flow up the spinal cord.
JJ Semple: The seminal fluid is distilled into another chemical substance whose exact nature is not known. At least, I do not know it. Is it air, liquid, solid? Animal, vegetable, mineral? I don't know. What's important is that it is. One thing is certain: it is NOT semen in the form we know it, or at least I don't think it is... In any case, the body is a chemical factory. It's blending and concocting capabilities are limitless.
[Another reader wrote]
"In TCM, as you probably know, it's easier to be ambiguous I guess because of the nature of the vocabulary used. Semen is classified under "Essence" or Jing in Chinese, but so is the non-physical life force you get from your parents stored in the kidneys. So we talk about non-physical substances as easily as we do physical ones. I'm pretty used to this idea by this point, but don't know about other people."
The upshot is: consider the upward-flowing "essence" as a metaphysical effect. Halfway between a sensation and an actual physical effect. Metaphysical effects are real occurrences, but completely off the radar as concerns Western medicine. SO, given the ephemeral nature of “it”, yes, you do feel it moving up, but it’s not the same physical-type feeling as ejaculation or urination.
Remember also — and I speak as a man here — that if you exhaust the seminal fluid through sexual activity (flowing outward), it will have an adverse effect on the "essence" that travels up the spine (flowing inward), that is, if you don't conserve it after activating Kundalini, you will suffer physical consequences — reduction of Essence. This makes living with Kundalini difficult. The Secret of the Golden Flower goes into detail on this, uses the concept of a distillation process (transforming semen into "essence") and so do my books.