The Body is the Temple for the Spirit

When we parachute into this life, we are given the vehicle of a body as our host for experiencing and acting in the world. You could say that we are Spirits or divine beings having a human experience. Our human body is wonderfully intricate with complex sensory devices, enormous potential for interacting with the outside world, and a large brain to process and decode our surroundings. These all support our experience in the material world.

My teacher says that the body is like a hotel for the spirit. The spirit can check in and check out, and the quality of the guest is in direct alignment with the quality of the hotel. We could be in a no-star motel or in a five-star luxury suite. Even better, we could elevate our body to temple status.

The quality and condition of our life is heavily affected by the quality and condition of our body and vice versa: the condition of our body is heavily affected by our experience of life. Both hereditary and environmental factors affect us: our genetic structure, and where and how we live, can activate the pre-dispositions of the body.

Daoist tradition has held that through the practice of Qigong and Tai Chi we can alter both the post-heaven and the pre-heaven conditions of our body. The post-heaven condition includes things that are observably affected by our diet, lifestyle, exercise, etc. The pre-heaven condition is the blueprint for the body that is thought to be inextricably and permanently linked to genetics.

In scientific terms, this implies that through our nurturance of the body we can either modify our genetic structure or modify the expression of our genetic structure. In recent years, the field of epigenetics has found that changes in environment and behavior or trauma can cause changes in the expression of our genetics.[1]  They can activate and deactivate how your body reads or interprets a genetic sequence. This accords with the Daoist potential to reverse or modify pre-heaven conditions. This gives enormous significance to our activities, habits, and treatment of our body.

Depending on the culture and society we are born into, we are taught different rules for how to think of and treat our body. You could consider these as different operating manuals for the body. They extend into every aspect of our lives, such as:

• How we care for our physical structure in the way we
  • eat
  • sleep
  • bathe
  • eliminate
  • exercise
• how we train and care for our brains through
  • education
  • music
  • art
  • dance
  • martial arts
  • games
• how we interact with divinity through
  • meditation
  • prayer
  • chanting
• how we approach nature
  • as supportive friend, or
  • foe to be conquered
• how we interact with our community
  • the rules of social engagement which extend to:
    • government
    • business structure
    • education structure
  • caste
  • presence
• how we consider our emotions

and more…

In the world of Dao, the purpose of life is to return to the immortal world. There is a catch, however. We have to go through the physical body in order to get to the immortal world. The spirit and body must fall in love, Yin and Yang united, fire and water merge. The body is the vehicle which the spirit must inhabit on its journey.

And, so then the question is: What quality of vehicle, what quality of residence do we want for our journey? Do we want a run-down shack? Or, do we want a temple?

Once we make the decision to upgrade the quality of the body, we must ask ourselves how can we make this happen?  How do we refine our body sufficiently so that the best quality spirit wants to stay resident?  How can we extend our life in a healthy way so that we can do the work to be able to return to the immortal world?  How do we train the mind to stay the course on the path to achieving immortality?

The Daoist answer is through cultivation of Ming – eternal life – the physical body, and the cultivation of Xing – original nature – the mind and presence. Done in tandem, these two areas of cultivation support the inner stillness that will allow us to meditate to a high level and so be able to learn, practice and then execute the techniques for achieving immortality.

Even a body that is old and broken can be improved. Zhang San Feng is credited with writing the alchemical text “The Tree with No Root.” In this text he provides instruction for rebuilding the energetic foundation of the body, when there is little left but the breath to work with. Other, modern, examples of this can be found, such as the recovery from quadriplegia that Morris E. Goodman manifested after breaking his neck in a plane crash.[2]

The key to improving the vehicle and the spirit is disciplined, determined, and devoted practice – the Three Ds.

With so many areas in which to make change, it is important not to become overwhelmed. Most of us don’t have the luxury of walking out of our lives to reside at a temple or with a teacher. We have to figure out how to integrate the change that we want within the constraints of our current life. When this is the case, I recommend introducing changes one at a time and letting each change become a habit rather than trying to introduce too much change all at once.

Select one or a few changes that you want to make. For example, in the area of Ming cultivation, you could begin by just practicing some Qigong. Later add diet and lifestyle changes. Later still add meditation. I am including a simple Qigong form below that is suitable for anyone to practice. It is a good place to start the transformation of the body into a five-star temple!

As the quality of the body’s energy begins to improve you will notice subtle changes in the body and in how you feel. Some of the improvements may include:

• improved sleep patterns and quality of sleep
• improved outlook on life
• improved “luck”
• gradual reduction/adjustment of weight
• reduced anxiety and better ability to respond to stressful situations
• gradual improvement of chronic health conditions
• improved immune function
• improved mental function
• improved intuition.

You may feel younger and more engaged in life than you had in a long time.

An initial challenge is regularity of practice. It takes 21 days to establish a habit so I suggest my students set a goal of 28 consecutive days of practice. Many Qigong forms take less than thirty minutes to practice. With Tai Chi forms we recommend at least three complete repetitions of the form, many of which can be practiced in less than 10 minutes each.  The key is to practice even (especially) when you don’t feel like practicing. Notice how much better you feel after practicing. The practice then becomes self-rewarding. Benefits begin to show up immediately.

Practice even if you feel sick. I think of Qigong as a self-healing practice, and when I am ill, I still practice, just more gently, perhaps fewer repetitions of the moves, or I may choose a different form for that day. Some Qigong forms are specifically designed for healing and rehabilitation, such as Tai Chi Qi Gong 18 Movements part 1 or self-scanning. As your repertoire of forms grows, you can listen to your body and become skilled at choosing which form is best suited to a particular day.

Even as we make the changes to upgrade our physical structure, our Xing, mental/emotional self, also needs attention. Our energy body, physical body and mental/emotional body are closely intertwined. As we begin to clear and balance ourselves at the energetic level, several things happen. The physical body begins to improve, and, simultaneously, any emotional trauma that has been trapped in the body will show up for processing and releasing. This processing is the domain of Xing cultivation.

The more we have compartmentalized and shielded ourselves from our emotional wounds, the more resistance we may feel to doing both the physical Ming cultivation practices and Xing cultivation. But the benefits of doing this work are enormous. We become masters of our own destiny. Our ability to make choices that are based in wisdom rather than desire or need improves. We have the opportunity to become intentional masters of our lives rather than living out of need or attachment.

Balance and wisdom in our approach to cultivation is also important. Doing too much of the physical cultivation or trying to force the body to upgrade can result in depletion.[3] Doing only the mental/emotional cultivation will only take us so far – our vehicle will still be in need of upgrading.

While it can be challenging to make intentional change in lifestyle and habits, it is important to be gentle with ourselves as we transform our life. We are still human, after all. So, if/when you miss a day of practice, just accept that you missed a day and take it back up the next day. As you begin to make changes, it is important to stay out of self-recrimination. The energy spent in reproach is wasted energy that could have been spent on improvement. Self-discipline is key, but if doesn’t have to be punitive. It is important to remember that change proceeds step wise and the rate of change is affected by many factors: where we started, our regularity of practice, the amount of emotional work we need to do, our environment and more. We may be trying to reverse a lifetime of bad habits – patience and devotion are fuel for our transformation. It can also be helpful to seek out a supportive community of people who are doing the same work and who understand the challenges you face on the path.

Once we set the goal of transformation, and bring the three practices of determination, discipline, and devotion to bear, each day brings us closer to the goal of the body as temple for a divine spirit.

CONTINUE TO QIGONG FORM…

[1] https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/epigenetics.htm

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_E._Goodman

[3] Wong, Eva trans., Being Taoist, Wisdom for Living a Balanced Life,Shambhala

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