Sleep-walking, during which the Mind is inactive but the Ethereal Soul is active, is due to the
Ethereal Soul wandering at night as happens in dreams. In fact, the point BL-47 Hunmen (the
"Door of the Ethereal Soul") was used for sleep-walking.
Finally, drawing from Buddhist and Jungian ideas, the Mind could be said to be the individual
Mind, and the Ethereal Soul the link between the individual and Universal Mind. This can be
represented with two diagrams illustrating the same concept in two different ways (Figure
9.1(196)).
The Universal Mind is the repository of images, archetypes, symbols and ideas belonging to the
collective unconscious. These often manifest to our Mind as myths, symbols and dreams. They
come into our consciousness (individual Mind) via the Ethereal Soul since this belongs to the
world of Image and ideas. Thus the Ethereal Soul is the vehicle through which images, ideas and
symbols from the Universal Mind (or collective unconscious) emerge into our individual Mind
(conscious). This shows the vital importance of the Ethereal Soul for our mental and spiritual
life. Without the Ethereal Soul, our mental and spiritual life would be quite sterile and deprived
of images, ideas and dreams. If the Liver is strong and the Ethereal Soul firm and flowing
harmoniously, ideas and images from the Universal Mind will flow freely and the mental and
spiritual state will be happy, creative and fruitful. If the Ethereal Soul is unsettled, the individual
Mind will be cut off from the Universal Mind and will be unhappy, confused, isolated, aimless,
sterile and without dreams. On the other hand, if the Mind is disabled, contents breaking through
from the Ethereal Soul cannot be integrated by it. It is important for the Mind to assume an
integrating position towards the Ethereal Soul so that images, symbols and dreams coming from
it can be assimilated. If not, the Mind may be flooded by the contents of the Ethereal Soul with
risk of obstruction of the Mind and, in serious cases, psychosis.
According to Jung the unconscious is compensatory to consciousness. He said: "The psyche is a
self-regulating system that maintains itself in equilibrium ... Every process that goes too far
immediately and inevitably calls forth a compensatory activity."32(197) This compensatory
relationship between the unconscious and consciousness resembles the balancing relationship
between the Ethereal Soul and the Mind.
The Corporeal Soul
The Corporeal Soul resides in the Lungs and is the physical counterpart of the Ethereal Soul. Its
Chinese character is based on the same radical Gui which means "spirit" or "ghost"
The character for Corporeal Soul is: