In Western culture, people use terms such as “soul,” spirit,” and “mind” interchangeably. Some people say “you are your mind,” or “you are your body.”
In the ancient philosophy that gave rise to Feng Shui, there are clear definitions for what these terms mean, and how they make up a human being.
According to ancient East Asian Philosophy, before you came to life you already existed as a spiritual being. Before being born into life, you made a pact, or contract, with Heaven.
This contract included everything that you wanted for yourself in this lifetime. It also included what you were asked to do for others.
For you to become a human being, the gift from Heaven was to send your spirit to Earth. The gift of the Earth was to give you a body.
When you put together a spirit and a body, you get a human being.
Heavenly Fire
The spiritual energy you brought with you from Heaven allowed you to inhabit a body, and it is associated with fire. It’s not the energy of the fire element, but heavenly fire. It’s represented by the color red and it has transmuting powers. That is why, in Feng Shui, we use the color red for symbolic, or metaphysical, cures. We use the transmuting, or spiritually transforming power of heavenly fire to address issues that cannot be corrected in the physical realm.
As a spiritual being having a human experience, you are given a mind. While in the West many people believe that the mind exists only inside your brain, the Eastern belief is that your mind is spread out in your whole human energy field, or aura. The brain is just the physical tool that receives signals from your mind, much like your devices at home pick up signals from the WiFi router.
The function of the mind is to get inspired ideas from Heaven.
Energetic Water
Energetic water doesn’t refer to the water element. Energetic water refers to the physical world in general, and more specifically to your body.
In the Nine Steps to Feng Shui® System, which uses the same principles as Ancient East Asian Medicine, we don’t consider the physical world as solid. We see the world as fluid, and being fluid, very easy to change and transform.
When heavenly fire acts over energetic water, there’s nothing you can’t accomplish, as long as you respect the principles of natural law. We discussed this principle in an earlier episode of The Feng Shui Focus.
Just as water can be moved and directed easily, due to its non-solid nature, you may move things in your home in order to direct the flow of your life.
A Mysterious Alchemical Combination
In our world, you cannot combine fire and water. If you try, water puts out the fire, or fire evaporates water.
In the human body, though, electrical impulses (fire) of your brain and nervous system control the movement and function of a body that is mostly made of water.
Definition of a Human Being – Feng Shui Focus Episode 19
Watch this one minute video, and then scroll down to answer the questions for this lesson.
TRANSCRIPT:
Ancient Chinese philosophy gives one of the best definitions of what a human being is as a connector of Heaven and Earth.
A human being is the mysterious combination of Heavenly Fire and Energetic Water.
Heavenly Fire refers to you being a spiritual being – your spirit came from Heaven – and the Energetic Water is a reference to your body – your body is mostly water.
This mysterious combination between a spirit and a body is what constitutes the human Soul.
So the human is a compound being, made in part by spirit and in part by a physical body.
Heavenly Fire is not equal to fire, and Energetic Water is not equal to water.
These are metaphysical concepts. Heavenly Fire means the love from Heaven, and Energetic Water means the receptivity of our physical plane of existence to be affected by Heaven.
The Feng Shui Focus – How You Fit, Function and Flourish in Your Space
With the Feng Shui Focus One Minute Videos, you will have a new understanding of life.
Your Homework for Video 19
1 – Where you familiar with the concept of a pact or “contract with Heaven?” You may have known it as “life missions.”
2 – Do you have a sense of what you came to do — learn, do, be and experience — for yourself?
3 – Do you have a sense of what you came to be or do for others?
Everything You Believe to Be True About Life is Expressed in Your Home
You affect your home and your home, in turn, has an effect on you. You establish a close relationship with your place.
This relationship may be positive or negative, but it’s never neutral.
Feng Shui – applied the right way – gives you control over what your home tells you, and whether your home is your supportive partner or a constant drain.
Let the home take care of you by applying the Nine Steps to Feng Shui® System with Moni.