The Five Spirits
In the historical context of Chinese medicine related to the concept of Spirit, a cultural evolution of the word 神 "Shén" (which in it's most simple terms means: mind, expression, energy, spirit, and/or deity) led to an understanding that the psyche contains five fundamental and interdependent parts. Often collectively known as the “Five Spirits,” they can be described respectively as the: "Awareness," "Willpower," "Intellect," "Corporeal Soul," and "Ethereal Soul." Refinement of this philosophical concept over time within the history of Chinese medicine produced a system of correspondences connecting each of the "Five Spirits" to distinct emotions as well as acupuncture points/channel systems. Understanding the differentiation and interrelationships pertaining to these parts is a fundamental aspect of beginning self-cultivation practice.
Another Chinese word which is relevant to the discussion of "Five Spirits" is the word 鬼 "Guǐ." Often translated as "ghost," this is a very old word similar to 神 "Shén," and carries a lot of cultural weight. While 神 "Shén" is more often representative of something desirable, in contrast the term 鬼 "Guǐ" is used to denote human traits which are either malevolent or stem from strong emotional attachments. For the purposes of this article, we will define 鬼 "Guǐ" as, something related to strong emotions which has the capacity to be palpable in a physical space. This distinction is important as 鬼 "Guǐ" forms a key component in the name of two of the "Five Spirits" which will be examined in more detail below.
The following is an examination of the "Corporeal Soul" and its relationship to the "Ethereal Soul." It is not meant to be comprehensive, rather is meant to serve as illustrative of the process for learning to work with visualization techniques for each of the "Five Spirits."
Another Chinese word which is relevant to the discussion of "Five Spirits" is the word 鬼 "Guǐ." Often translated as "ghost," this is a very old word similar to 神 "Shén," and carries a lot of cultural weight. While 神 "Shén" is more often representative of something desirable, in contrast the term 鬼 "Guǐ" is used to denote human traits which are either malevolent or stem from strong emotional attachments. For the purposes of this article, we will define 鬼 "Guǐ" as, something related to strong emotions which has the capacity to be palpable in a physical space. This distinction is important as 鬼 "Guǐ" forms a key component in the name of two of the "Five Spirits" which will be examined in more detail below.
The following is an examination of the "Corporeal Soul" and its relationship to the "Ethereal Soul." It is not meant to be comprehensive, rather is meant to serve as illustrative of the process for learning to work with visualization techniques for each of the "Five Spirits."
Corporeal Soul & Ethereal Soul
The "Corporeal Soul" is called 魄 "Pò" and is also known as the "Earthbound-Soul." It is understood to be the physical part of the self which can become interred after death, and is thought to carry an imprint of the dominant emotions which constituted whatever temperament that person exhibited during life. The "Corporeal Soul" corresponds to the Lung channel system along with challenging emotions such as grief and remorse. The "Ethereal Soul" is called 魂 "Hún" and is also known as the "Cloud-Soul." It corresponds to the Liver channel system along with challenging emotions such as frusturation and resentment. It is described as the part of consciousness that contains our dreams and memories, as well as developing our sense of being goal-oriented.
 | The "Corporeal Soul" can also be defined as "the spiritual essence of the physical body." It represents an instinctual physiological aspect of the self that serves as a tangible medium for containing and grounding those vital mental-emotional functions essential to both animal and human life. It is the embodiment of the "mind-body" connection - exhibiting tendencies and behaviors that may appear more spontaneous due to possessing a high degree of sensitivity to the environment. In the context of being understood as the "Earthbound Soul," the intended meaning is to convey an idea that after death, the human body (and any stong emotions attached to it) are bound to the Earth. In fact, another possible translation of 魄 "Pò" could be "White Soul," as 白 "Bái" literally means "white," and this can be seen as a reference to the whiteness of skeletal bones (the part of the body which appears to be most earthbound due to posessing a slower rate of decomposition). Think of the famous idiom "to feel something in one's bones." |
 | The concept of "Ethereal Soul" represents an attempt to understand how dreams and memories affect an individual as well as influence the collective consciousness of all living things. This connection is seen in daily life through the conventional wisdom that existance often is a struggle to attain completion of desired goals. The "Ethereal Soul" can be considered like an analogue to the concept of an living human's "soul" or "spirit" common to many western religions. In the context of being understood as the "Cloud Soul," the intended meaning is to convey an idea that after death, one's dreams and memories are thought to be "uploaded" to a "celestial library (in the clouds)." At this stage, other living individuals could visualize the ethereal image of the deceased in a manner similar to a dream. If you guessed that 云 "Yún" means "cloud," go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back! |
Developing an intentional practice relating to the Five Spirits - cultivating the parts of ourselves which resonate with these conceptual correspondences in focused treatments with Dr. Isaac Hoft - constitutes an accessible form of Inner-Alchemy.
The Book of Changes
| Another source of time honored material related to the process of self-cultivation can be found in the content of the 易经 Yijing (also known as the I-Ching, pronounced EE-Jing) "The Book of Changes." This text describes that, of all the various inter-related natural phenomena that could be labeled as either Yin and Yang, relationships between things are more completely symbolized through eight distinct images called the "Eight Trigrams." Each image is depicted as a series of three vertically-stacked horizontal "lines" and given a name representative of nature. |  |
The symbolism of the "Eight Trigrams" conveys an idea that natural patterns of evolution exist which can be observed and are inherent to change. This concept is communicated through interpreting each trigram in a way that highlights the proportional composition of Yin and Yang parts inherent to its identity. In this scheme, a "broken line" is Yin (best exemplified through ☷ the "Earth Trigram" composed of three broken lines) while an "unbroken line" is Yang (demonstrated within ☰ the "Heaven Trigram" composed of three unbroken lines). When comparing broken and unbroken lines, within one trigram or between multiple different trigrams, there is particular significance to be found when considering both the ratio between them as well as their order (from bottom to top).
Schools of knowledge based on "The Book of Changes" tend to focus one's study on examining interactions between people and their environments as well as how all things exert subtle influences on each other to affect change over time.
The "Eight Trigrams" are themselves further combined with each other in the text of "The Book of Changes" to create "Sixty-Four Hexagrams." These hexagram images are more often specifically named to represent social groups and/or interactions. Besides gaining additional insights into identity from their names, the imagery of the trigrams and hexagrams presents a way to track changes of the seasons. This can be seen through the following examples:
Schools of knowledge based on "The Book of Changes" tend to focus one's study on examining interactions between people and their environments as well as how all things exert subtle influences on each other to affect change over time.
The "Eight Trigrams" are themselves further combined with each other in the text of "The Book of Changes" to create "Sixty-Four Hexagrams." These hexagram images are more often specifically named to represent social groups and/or interactions. Besides gaining additional insights into identity from their names, the imagery of the trigrams and hexagrams presents a way to track changes of the seasons. This can be seen through the following examples:
Charting progression of transformation from before to after completion is why this book is known as "The Book of Changes." Using the parameters of assessing images based on the ratio and order of broken to unbroken lines, as well as considering the individualities of each trigram/hexagram in relation to one another, a practitioner can make many varieties of clinical assessments within a treatment setting. Patients can benefit from "The Book of Changes" by learning a form of self-reflection based on a framework of evaluating social-interactions that has been in existence for over three-thousand years.
Treatments with Dr. Isaac Hoft often are driven by insights gained from examinations of the trigrams and hexagrams. Patients are always encouraged to ask specific questions or prompt for more information.
Sometimes fears and intense emotion can come up while you are practicing cultivation. Find a therapist to help you understand these big emotions.
Interested in treatments that combine Inner-Alchemy with Chinese medicine? Contact acupuncturist Isaac Hoft to learn more, or click here to schedule an appointment online!
Interested in treatments that combine Inner-Alchemy with Chinese medicine? Contact acupuncturist Isaac Hoft to learn more, or click here to schedule an appointment online!
 | -Dr. Isaac Hoft, DAHM, LAc, Dipl. OM Doctor of Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine at Open Mind Holistics Learn more about Isaac in this blog post, or on his bio page. |  |
To read more about acupuncture please visit ACUPUNCTURE | INNER ALCHEMY. To read more about the holistic concepts at the foundation of East Asian medicine please visit HOLISTIC MEDICINE | CHINESE HERBALISM.
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