Levels of the Spirit and Chi

I have made this page because whenever I try to talk about these issues with people I wish I could show them some pictures. in many situations it seems a picture is worth more than a thousand words.

A viewer should make sure to consider my authoritativeness in my writing as me being authoritative about my own interpretation of my own experience. Other interpretations, insights and perceptions are welcome.

All these levels ultimately shouldn't be broken apart because they all function with such a large degree of interrelationship. On the other hand, in order to communicate and teach it seems important.

When I do things in myself, give boosts to others and/or get the Great Spirit to help, I have very little awareness of the levels. I move to what I perceive needs to be done. Things almost always occur on many levels.

It is more misleading to pull these apart than to pull apart a watch to see how it functions. For example, the interrelationships aren't unidirectional or only at distinct linkages.

How these levels are broken apart is somewhat arbitrary. For example Leadbeater uses a very different approach than Brennan, using words more akin to Buddhism and Hinduism with many more levels. There are actually some slight inconsistencies between the two.
Following the usual western convention of identifying things as
- kinsatic - our actuations of our more physicalishness
- emotional
- mental

which is really reasonably aligned with Jungian systems. The word kinsatic, which goes along with kinsation, is a word I am originating in hopes that it aids in communication.

While this leaves out Jung's construct of intuition, it seems to me that intuition is seen more in the way that chakras function than a level in the spirit.

When I hear easterners and some westerners speak of chi my perception is that chi is the part of the spirit that is more closely tied to the body.

I have made these drawings to try and represent a person with a relatively "vigorous" approach to life. Hopefully, these idealizations somewhat realistically represent the spirit of a warrior/healer who should be called a zaparch, as defined in the links. While the drawings/paintings are definitely limited by my artistic abilities, scanning the images into the computer and the software used to present them, I hope that they are at least informative illustrations.

My experience is that Interaction between the light and dark is inevitable and important. The relationship is commonly represented as a yin/yang relationship, unlike "Star Wars". In the illustrations, the deeper, richer colors represent an integration of light and dark influences. Much more will be said about this in the section on dynamics.

The level closest to the physical body is often called the etheric body. It very closely mimics the overall form of the physical body. I think it is reasonable to differentiate three overall levels within the etheric like most authors. The sublevel closest to the physical is often called the kinsatic level. In addition, the internal organs and other internal systems have etheric "parallels" for about half of this level.

	My sense is that most present day oriental medicine derives its usefulness at this level and somewhat at the next two levels (depending on the practitioner and the approach). It is also my sense that this level and the next two levels are what are usually referred to as chi.

The lines present in this body correspond to the meridians so useful in acupuncture and many forms of massage, though there are more meridians than I have seen used in practice. This level tends to be much more developed in athletes as shown with deeper blue lines and color. The vortices/wheels you see going up the center of the trunk are called chakras. There is also a root chakra at the base of the trunk and a crown chakra on the top of the head. Different authors portray chakras in different locations. There doesn't need to be only the chakras represented in this drawing. Much more is written on this topic in the section entitled Chakras.

This is the emotional level. It is inside in a four dimensional sense and interpenetrates the previous level. The internal organs and many other internal systems have "parallels" on this level also.

These are somehow the emotions and emotional memories that are tied most directly to the body, almost embedded in it. They seem to relate mostly to how someone feels within themselves.

It almost seems to be composed of clouds that are extremely colorful, changing in color and constantly moving. There are also dark clouds that relate to what are usually labeled as negative emotions. If people deny their emotions or some emotions then they show up as stagnant and pushed underneath.

This is the mental level. It is inside in a four dimensional sense and interpenetrates the previous levels. The internal organs and many other internal systems have "parallels" on this level.

Somehow these are the thoughts and "thought" memories that are tied most directly to the body. This level doesn't seem to change in color very much and isn't as amorphous as the emotional level. Someone will also have darkness at this level. The meridians at this level exist slightly outside the physical/corporeal body.

Some authors reverse the order of this level, the mental, and the next, called the astral. They usually consider the astral level to be purely emotional and place it next to the slightly "lower" emotions. I agree with Brennan's approach where the astral level is more of a level for interaction between people. In addition, while I consider the astral to be very emotional in character, there is a lot of mental activity, it almost needs a different construct.

A Note About Martial Arts and Chi

While it is difficult to generalize, it can be worthwhile to view martial arts on a hard/soft polarity scale. The soft end being arts like Tai Chi, the hard end being the pure punching and kicking arts like Tae Kwon Do.

Current day martial artists that have concerns about developing the chi tend to focus on the etheric double, the kinsatic level. Their approaches are largely mechanical, using breathing, posture and movement. While this certainly affects the slightly deeper levels, it seems to me that every serious martial arts practitioner I've ever met tries to avoid emotional issues. This usually either causes or keeps them unaware of difficulties and blockages.

There are more direct ways to make improvements on the emotional level such as variations on emotion access exercises used in developing acting skills. There are others, but I don't currently have any good labels or experience with others since I've not yet tried to teach them.

Martial artists will sometimes be concerned about the thought level, the hard artists for developing a forceful will, and the soft artists for developing a kind of perceptive passivity. While I must be starting to sound like a drone there are other important issues, but I don't currently have any good labels since I've not yet tried to teach them to someone else.

Now we get to the level that is so important in our everyday interactions with the universe of self and others. One way it is different from the chi level is it is not as tightly in concert with the physical body. The astral level is a very good name. If I remember correctly this level was called li in the Orient, at least during some periods in the past. Li was a more formless level than the chi, but still at least patterned and structured. Again, it is inside in a four dimensional sense and interpenetrates the previous levels. It almost seems to be composed of clouds that are extremely colorful, changing in color and constantly moving. Though there is very much more to be said about this.

This level can be broken down into sub-levels similar to the preceding chi level and spiritual level that follows though I tend to see them as all tied together.

On this level, things really move around between people, and I suspect that if self-empowering bureaucratic control freaks had much perception on this level they would be making all kinds of rules and passing laws to prohibit all kinds of activities. Fortunately, they don't have particularly good perceptions, largely because they are near to being the worst offenders. No chance of them observing that !!!

For example, this is the level where unacquainted people interact and form their impressions, attractions, dislikes. How does a largely nice guy who is repeatedly rejected by women keep repeatedly finding these women ? Why he keeps finding them and what he needs or is trying to grow out of is also an interesting question. Very, very much can be seen on this level about such things.

Ever met someone who seemed like they had sharp spines poking out of them that they used on anyone that showed vulnerability ? Their approach to defense may well resemble a spiny sea creature in this space. Some people, though fortunately not many, appear in this state almost constantly.

As we all know, the accuracy of these impressions can vary widely between people. Even some generally very accurate people can have difficulty when encountering astral activities that are unfamiliar, or things that they are not quite developed enough to recognize and acknowledge as beyond their present knowledge.

I think/feel that so much can be said about this level that I dedicate a page to it called
The Astral or Li.

Generally, my own astral levels show up as having a sort of fluid crystalline diamond-like substance flowing through them. There is usually a fair amount of electrical energy shunting between the facets of the crystalline structures. I also show a lot of light and dark among these facets and really could stand to have more gold and silvery aspects to this. I see this as representing my efforts to merge/fuse certain qualities within my own spirit. My broader "effusions" usually show up more as a clearish liquid flame with a fair amount of electrical energy. Again I see this as reflecting my own efforts towards fusions and developing range and seeking to exist and exert based on clarity.

In general, my understanding is that when our spirit first comes into existence we are given chi and some li/astral in conjunction with our physical presence. Over lifetimes and continuous effort we develop attributes in this li/astral body that reasserts its presence during each of our stays in this physical and astral universe. At the beginning of each lifetime we are given a burst of chi for each particular physical existence.

During each of our sojourns in this universe we have the opportunity to also develop spirit and qualities on the celestial level. Developments on this level are somewhat analogous to developing our physical bodies in our mothers' wombs before our efforts in this universe.

If people choose to not develop their nihypocritical (trying to find a word for the opposite of hypocritical) celestial forms of love and truth then they aren't just unable to go into the most heavenly realms of truths and loving, they must maintain their existence in the astral between lifetimes in this universe. Some of the realms where they have chosen to traverse might well be analogous to the realms so pointedly described by so many of this physicalish realm's religious. Though, these religious aren't usually all that great on agreeing about what really happens after life in these realms.

It seems clear to me that whether or not one develops so they can exist in the realms of the heavens is what really impacts their future existences at all levels of existence. Things such as specialized memberships in specific preferred organizations based on rule saying and phraseology braying can actually have a debilitating impact on one's future existences if certain hypocrisy is cultivated.

It is also my understanding that this maturation beyond the karmic wheel of repeated incarnations can happen either quickly or very very slowly if at all. For example, my current personal interpretation of Jesus' words are that he was trying to assist people to develop so they would very very quickly gain release from the karmic wheel. My understanding is that love of others as one loves one's self and love of self as one loves others are of the most particular importance as efforts that need to be cultivated to enable a faster approach.

It is also my understanding, that one of the mainest reasons there aren't more Bodhisattvas is that if they choose to return after they have acquired release from the karmic wheel, they don't get to return with anywhere near as developed astral capabilities as they had when they had passed beyond this wheel.

This level is called the haric level. It is primarily a deep line that runs from your crown chakra and out your root chakra. It somehow seems to contain or is the interface for your "life purpose" and your past life experiences.

This haric level and the next corestar clearly are in quite a lot deeper than the personal levels of the astral. But they can somehow work in the astral without truly constructively impacting development in the celestial levels. The geometry of the interconnections is not really clear enough for me to make any strong commitments.

This will require some better representations in the future.

This is one place where I would somewhat substantially disagree with Brennan. My experience is that all of the present life chakras should eventually penetrate deep enough so you can draw on abilities and work on karma directly from previous lives. It seems that each previous lifetime often creates a "layer" and maybe some fragments, if it is not that well integrated, that can be accessed through the hara line and the chakras. There can be quite a bit of pain that greets you when you have to work through something previous or you are disconnected in the present from your greater purpose. This seems to occur mostly because the first things you encounter tend to be thoughts and feelings that are more insistent. Fortunately, this eases off. On the other hand, people that are connected to their hara lines tend to be much more motivated to increasing the fullness of life for themselves and others and gain a lot of pleasure from it.

So far I have not been able to completely convince myself about the geometry of how the haric level really fits with the other levels of the spirit. There seems to be a depth dimension associated with the levels of the spirit as discussed above. But there also definitely seems to be a depth dimension associated with the haric level, in the sense that each lifetime puts a new layer on the previous.

Conclusion

Let me reiterate that this is a discussion of some idealizations. Hopefully it gives a reader a sense of the "rationality" that some people perceive exists at these levels, without pretending to have attained "scientific" understanding.

There is much, much more that can be said, but I think that it is better left until later more detailed sections.

There is also deeper experience where we are more closely tied with God through the Holy Spirit. These appear as almost crystalline.