The Essential Spirit (Hun & Po)
A harmonization of energies here on Earth, a cosmic interweaving that becomes a conduit between Heaven and Earth. Our bodies become this conduit through the harmonization of the Tai Chi within us, the Yin and the Yang, one propagating the other generating, consuming eternally until, at our passing they separate returning to their source. The Hun and the Po, the Ethereal and the Corporeal souls respectively , are the basis of our spirit here on Earth, our consciousness, the vessel of our experience. This vessel, made up of the energy of two opposing poles, courses through us leading to a magnetism the holds us together.
The Ethereal Soul (Hun), which comes from the heavens, an energy that is Qi at its most intangible, like the seed germinating in Spring, at it’s greatest potential. The Corporeal Soul (Po), comes up from the Earth forming the physical body, most like clay ready to be molded by the genetic sequencing of two mates and through conception the energy is combined, so that new life comes into being.
We are formed, we live, we die through the interplay of these two energies, we exist as a result of their harmony, or our demise shortly follows their disharmony. It dictates our every day life. How we feel, what we perceive, our love and what we allow in, to penetrate us, depends on these energies (souls) being harmonized. Our decisions are our own, though, the clarity we need, this requires the Corporeal and the Ethereal Souls to be in harmony. We need these energies to know, and access our innate wisdom.
When you are conceived you are gifted not only your parents DNA, but their very essence, which infuses you with the apparatus necessary to thrive. The corporeal soul is formed in utero, like clay it is molded into an image (you), an amalgam of your parents, their strengths and weakness become the basis. You are, in your very nature these materials gifted by your father and mother and the materials are tantamount. Health, longevity, the resilience we need to thrive starts here. Your mother is like a kiln helping these materials to form, solidifying the Corporeal Soul and helping it to prepare for it’s journey here on Earth.
After we are born, enter the Ethereal Soul. It harmonizes with the body forming the whole, creating the consciousness, the body, mind, spirit. This harmonious interaction is necessary to bring about balance in our lives, forming our spirit as a whole bringing us to complete revelation, receiving, giving, interacting with the world around us. This process is unbidden, unfolding like a stream down a mountain overcoming obstacles to obtain the ultimate goal, the formation of the being. Abhorrent conditions, that the mother may bear (malnourishment, substance abuse etc) may, or may not lead to misalignment of the childs souls, for this process is more complex, more infinite than the universe around us. We are, to some extant, predestined by the cosmos, set to travel in this life with the course set, though through experiences (our parents care taking, illness, will) we may reform our destiny.
As we grow, the world around us forms like the layers of an onion, or the rings of a tree. Drought, fire, years of surfeit continue to mould our souls throwing them in and out of harmony as we progress through our lives. These two souls are interdependent, they cycle one into the other, in a never ending, as Yin and Yang, propelling us, in this contemporaneous, embodiment informing our choices and recording our experiences. We ultimately solidify into the product of our surroundings becoming a unique being with a rich store of views formed by the experiences of the Hun and the Po.
The Hun is responsible for the movement of the soul, it’s material representation in and out of the body, in waking life it forms ideas. It is also known to separate from the Po at night, floating outward into dream states. At night, when we dream, the Hun is free to roam, separating from the Po filtering the days events and sorting them into the material of dreams, to be relived in totems, allegories, symbolism. Dream states have been studied throughout the years to find their effect on our mind/spirit (a study in 1998, by R. Cartwright “REM Sleep Reduction, Mood Regulation and Remission in Untreated Depression.”), correlated a deep sleep to emotional health and balance. When the Hun is allowed to truly be free and return, then the balance is retained the harmony is maintained. Without this nightly processing and filtering the mind becomes awash with spiritual debris, unable to delineate waking life from the dream world, rudderless we roam through our days.
The Po is restored as we sleep, through the physiology of the material body, the organs replenish, inflammation is addressed. The liver filters the blood, the kidney metabolizes wastes, the muscles rebuild, necessary repair that releases tension and inflammation so that it may be excreted and removed through the alimentary system. The pores open allowing the free flow of energy, between the inner realms of our flesh and the outer realms of the ether, our bodies (the Po) are allowed to release and restore. This integral process maintains our harmony as we go through our daily lives, met with external forces that ply on our physical state, weather our exteriors, lead to our cellular degradation, forcing our bodies to toward our certain end. It’s the Po’s job to hold our shape, our very being, as we pass through this realm in our current consciousness.
Maintaining these two spirits, keeping their harmonization, is not a difficult task. If we take care to observe the simple tenet of the middle way. These two energies are able to keep equilibrium through the many trials of everyday life, like a wheel rolling through rocky terrain the very momentum of these two forces, their interplay creates a centrifugal balancing act, throwing off that which would harm us, while maintaining forward movement. Though nothing is simple, working to stay hydrated, sufficiently fed, allowing for slumber and exercising will help to keep us upright. I will also mention that vices are necessary to keep us in balance; coffee, alcohol, sex and procrastination, are all deeply imbedded human traits and all help keep flow. Keep in mind a moderate approach-again, the middle way, is more of a necessity with these, for as everyone knows, vices are easily over done.
It’s an absolute that we leave this mortal form; at some point the Hun and the Po will separate and return home, then on to be reborn in a future self. Unique, ready to be formed by nurturing, time and toil. If while in this contemporaneous form, following the nature of the Hun and Po, we allow; more energy to pass through us, receiving/giving, interacting. Using our slumber to integrate all that comes to us, learning to be in the flow, achieving equilibrium through allowing what is now. If we embrace the now, feel this moment; allow it to wash over us regardless of the what the moment brings (happiness, sadness, grief, anger, pensiveness) falling into what is, we support the momentum, the conditioning of the souls, propelling them, balancing our purpose and maximizing their time -as us- here on Earth.