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Back to the lesson "The Watery Land of Chih"

The following is an excerpt (chapter 3, pp. 72-74) of the book
The Joy of Feeling: Bodymind Acupressure by Iona Marsaa Teeguarden

As we explore the last of the five inner lands described by the Taoists, we are moving upwards into the foothilIs of consciousness. The rugged land of Hun is the seat of "the soul, or spiritual faculties", according to the Nei Ching. Hun is the actuating force; its psychic faculties are those which allow us to carry out our functions and responsibilities.

The image is WOOD, which brings to mind a tree. A tree is a symbol for the process of self-actualization. Just as the seed of a tree already contains the adult tree, as a potential to-be-realized, so we also in a sense already are much more than we are manifesting. The psychic activity of Hun is like the force which causes a little seed to sprout, to push its way through the surrounding obstructions of the dark

soil, and to finally emerge into the light, growing towards the life-giving warm rays

of the sun. The energy of Hun is active and vigorous with the "new yang" energy of birth and rebirth.

Drawing by Bob Simpson

A central project in the land of Hun is developing response-ability - the ability to respond to life. Hun has to do with forming and enacting plans, making decisions and carrying them out. Hun energy allows us to respond appropriately to things, with

a common sense which depends on being in touch with our vital energy (Chih), instinctive desires (P'o) and bodily self (I').Hun is the developing Self directing its energy outwards, asserting and expressing itself. Hun is the motivation for appropriate verbal communication, as well as for appropriate action. Hun propels Shen. Hun is the motivation to carry out the impulses of Hun, and to live out Shen's basic message-"be/become that Self which you truly are."(in the Secret of the Golden Flower, Wilhelm and Jung described Hun as the "animus soul," which moves us up into the realm of the spirit. Hun leads us to Shen, the conscious spirit.)

Hun has to do with initiating and completing. A deficiency of Hun energy can manifest as feelings of powerlessness; an excess can manifest as aggressive feelings. In either case, there is some difficulty with response-ability. One extreme is being unable to express oneself or take charge; the opposite extreme is a tendency towards over-control, or an egotistical desire to demonstrate power over others. The median between these extremes is self-assertion: standing one's ground or effectively taking charge, without trying to force things into an unnatural mold. Lao Tzu says that the art is to

"Deal with a thing be fore it comes into existence;

Regulate a thing before it gets into confusion…

Take care with the end as … with the beginning … "

We can aim to deal with things before they jump up and bite us, rather than just hoping problems will go away. The more we avoid dealing with situations which aren't serving the growth needs of the Self, the more we feel a reactive anger and frustration. When we direct the anger outwards by blaming others, we feel resentment and hostility. When we direct it inwards, blaming ourselves, we feel guilt and eventually depression. Getting back to an assertive center-point means acknowledging the underlying frustration and getting in touch with what needs to be expressed - in words and in our lives in general.

All of this is the worldly side of Hun activity. There is another, seemingly opposite, side. The Secret of the Golden Flower says that Hun has to do with "the circulation of the light" and the "return to the creative", or the development of spiritual consciousness. It also says.

"When occupations come to us, we must accept them; when things come to us, we must understand them from the ground up."

There is no conflict between the worldly and spiritual sides of Hun activity. Living in the world is part of how we return to the creative, or get in touch with the inner spirit. We return to the creative by creating, not just by passively retreating from the world, in search of transcendence. Creating means expressing the Self in the world.

Our allegorical journey through five inner lands has been a homeward one. Traveling through the lands of Shen, I', P'o, Chih and Hun, we have seen many ways that the spirit experiences itself on its way back to home base. Ultimately, home base is awareness of Shen and Tao - of the inner nature and of the Nature of life. This is

the return to the creative. It is a rising movement of the life energies. The motivation to find the lost Spirit, or become aware of the core Self, develops from the process.

of living out all the aspects of the Self.

Hun is the motivation for the journey towards being all of ourselves. It is the will to become "that self which one truly is". There is an unconscious anger that develops just from not being our Selves, or not manifesting our whole potential. The Self wants to expand and be what it is, and gets frustrated by unnecessary restrictions about what it should be. The blocked-off Hun energy starts seething inside. This corked energy can be channeled into assertiveness and creativity.

(from the book Iona Marsaa Teeguarden : The Joy Of Feeling - Bodymind Acupressure )

Forward to the lesson "Interconnections of the Five Inner Lands"