Getting to Know Your Five Spirits:
魂
Hun
Last month we began our exploration of the psyche by examining the Shen. Considered the great regulator, Shen is responsible for consciousness as we define it. This month we’ll continue by introducing the Hun. Its translation is the Ethereal Spirit, and as the name implies it’s the most supernal of the five.
Ancient Chinese theory posits that humans are unique because we are a bridge between the earth and the heavens. Our physical bodies and some aspects of our spirit are derived from the earth. The part of us that transcends that is the Hun. It links us to what exists beyond the corporeal, and drives us toward growth and evolution.
Applied to modern day living, the Hun is partially responsible for drive and expectations of progress. The desires we have for betterment – personal, spiritual, societal etc. – come from the ethereal soul and its connection to the heavens.
Hun: Divine Inspiration
A creation myth of the universe explains that when the vast formlessness separated, light and clear ‘rose’ to form the heavens whereas heavy and turbid coalesced into earth. The Hun can be considered the former, always aiming to lift away. Another spirit, Po, is the ‘animal’ spirit that tethers us to the earth. Hun is ethereal, divine, connecting us to the greater powers of the universe. It is said to arrive three days after birth and conveys our individuality.
One of the things that makes humans unique is their drive to explore, improve, and progress. We seem to have an intrinsic desire to push things along. Hun is responsible for this, through its divine connection. Dreams – both aspirations and actual dreams – may be the Hun seeking connection to the greater universe. Ideas, inspiration, plans, and the courage to enact them are all the desires of the Hun manifesting.
Anger is the emotion associated with the Hun. Our minds jump immediately to the negative connotations of the word anger, but just as joy can be good or bad depending on degree, the same is true for anger. Movement is the greatest desire of the Hun, and anger can be a tremendously motive force. It’s a catalyst that inspires creativity in problem solving and the impetus to make change. After all, if we aren’t displeased with the situation why would we change it? The trick is that we can become attached to anger. Either the pain of past anger can’t be shed, or we like the ‘high’ of anger and the movement it provides.
Shen and Hun: How and Why
The Shen is the only spirit that is ‘conscious.’ It allows for memory, cognition, and how we extend out into the world. The Hun, alternatively, gives our psyche movement. You might consider Shen as the vehicle with all its dials and levels, while Hun is the GPS.
Like with anything, a balance must be maintained. The Hun knows only progress and has no concept of moderation. That’s the role of the Shen. When the Hun is too strong, or the Shen too weak to constrain it, recklessness occurs. We can become upset at the lack of progress, frustrated with stagnancy, wild and thoughtless in our ambitions. In psychiatric terms this may correspond to diagnoses like mania. On the other hand, if the Hun is weak or overly controlled by the Shen, we become aimless and timid. Our connection to inspiration is severed and we feel rootless. This is seen in patients suffering from depression.
It’s my belief that the rise in aggression and frustration world-wide is because we’re collectively struggling with the Hun’s desire for meaningful progress. The anger it spawns is a motivating force for that change, but our Shen is having trouble constraining and focusing it. We should question how to support the Shen and Hun through this period, or any period of flux in our lives.
Supporting the Hun
When speaking about the Shen we introduced the idea of wu wei – spontaneous action, being in the zone. This directly supports the Hun because it is the act of movement without struggle, constraint or hinderance. If only we could go with the flow all the time!
Of course, that’s not often the case. Not unless you’re an enlightened being I guess. Instead, we want to support the Hun through struggle. We do this by being mindful of the presence or absence of anger. A balanced Hun is flexible, benevolent and patient. A Hun out of balance can be belligerent, resentful or arrogant in excess; or timid, indecisive and overly resigned in deficiency. Trying to emulate the balanced qualities will support the Hun.
Because nothing exists in a vacuum, supporting the Hun will involve managing the other spirits as well. First you need the appropriate insight – which of your spirits may be too overbearing or too weak? For instance, as mentioned above an overactive Shen may irritate the Hun. You can see this in cases of people who feel like they can’t be themselves, or can’t speak their minds. Loosening the Shen’s grip will let the Hun flow more freely. Alternatively, an overactive Hun spirit may manifest in people who are flitty, quick to anger and lack perspective. These people may benefit from strengthening the Po – which we’ll discuss next – giving the Hun root so it doesn’t get out of control.
What this means in practice is; sit with your feelings. Understand them and try to emulate the positive qualities of the spirits. Practice patience, perspective and compassion but let that inner voice be heard.
不怕慢, 就怕停
bú pà màn, jiù pà tíng
Don’t fear going slow, only fear stopping.
