Into the Shadow Realms: The Po, Pain and Resistance

We can liken the po spirit to the Western idea of the soma, our somatic memory, and the way we hold emotions, experience and trauma in our physical bodies. It's also our animalistic nature, instinct; that biological drive or ticking clock.

The po is also the first spirit whose realm moves from the ethers and the Earth to the space inside the Earth – the underground, caves, darkness, where you would mine out precious gems and metals. The po is that access point to our subconscious – our shadow hides there, and when the shadow wants to make itself known, it does, but rarely in a way that seems obvious.

Traversing the darkness and unknown realms of the shadow and subconscious isn't for the light of heart, and it's certainly not for those who lack an enthusiastic "yes!" to the process. But the work we can do here is profound, life changing and spirit altering.

It can take a healthy dose of courage to do the work: a willingness to get uncomfortable and face parts of ourselves we'd rather ignore; but it's always worth it.

Po: Healthy vs. Disturbed

A person with a healthy po is able to face their demons, look into their shadow, tolerate discomfort in a healthy way; and because of this, they can weather the storms life throws at them. This person can tap into their animalistic, instinctual nature, but they also won't let it overtake them. They appreciate the value in life, and truly in all things and experience, even when it's unpleasant or undesired.

This person has an innate sense of worthiness and is able to let go when it's the right time. They don't hold on to or hoard their possessions, emotions, thoughts or beliefs; they're able to release when the time is right.

A disturbed po may manifest on a physical level as digestive problems, asthma, benign lumps, bumps and tumors, and even pervasive body pain with no diagnosable cause that won't respond to treatment.

In the emotional and mental realms, we see depression, some anxiety, a vague sense that something "isn't right" or that we're in trouble, and a hypersensitivity to the energy of other people.

Spiritually, a po-disturbed person may look like they are energetically in a fog; there's a cloudiness to them and the sense that something is missing, unintegrated – yet it can be difficult to determine what exactly.

These patients will usually have a history of diagnosed mental illness or trauma in their past, or perhaps grew up in a family that preferred to sweep things under the rug instead of handling them outright. Knowing this, plus their current symptoms, is a key factor in recognizing a po disturbance. 

Overall this person will feel like they just can't seem to manifest their ideas or vision into reality. It doesn't matter what they do; even if they do it "all right," it still doesn't click in.

The Shadow & The Po

What we often see in po patients is an overarching theme of resistance. Even when the person looks like they are doing the work, they're still resisting some aspect of it, and it's usually the ugliest, least flattering angle that they resist.

This is where the shadow comes into play. Our shadow, according to Carl Jung, is aspects or qualities of ourselves that were pushed into the subconscious by the ego in an effort to survive (usually in childhood). It usually contains qualities that we reject or find unflattering; the qualities we do not want to be seen as.

At some point in life, the shadow starts to make its presence known; this can be by nightmares, being highly triggered by people or events over and over, imposter syndrome, repeating the same unhealthy patterns in relationships or other areas of life, and/or feeling like you're doing everything but getting nowhere with your growth.

The shadow isn't a negative thing, it's simply out of our conscious awareness, and to bring it into our awareness, we have to shed light on it; we must see and acknowledge it.

I look at po disturbance in a similar way to shadow work, and often there is a lot of overlap. The patient needs to recognize their resistance, and also become aware of the unconscious patterns or habits that keep them stuck.

Treating spirit issues doesn't come with a textbook solution. Each patient requires nuance, subtlety and an acute awareness of the practitioner to be able to see what's happening and what's needed to resolve it.

The Power of Visualization

For these patients, I find visualization to be a profound tool to add to a treatment. The process of unblocking our resistance begins with curiosity. This curiosity creates an opening, a relaxation of the grip of the mind or body, which allows qi to move and flow with a little more ease. In doing this, the patient may have a new experience of their pain, and this is the first step in healing.

Here's a simple visualization for changing our awareness of pain:

• Close your eyes and sit very still.
• Notice an area of pain in the body.
• Focus on the pain and try to make / force it to go away while remaining physically still.
• You may yell at it (in your mind), try to ignore it, push it, fight it, etc.
• Stop and assess how the pain feels now.
• Return to eyes closed and physically still.
• Now locate the pain and become curious about it.
• Does it have a temperature? Tone? Color? Does it move? Grow? Travel? Does it have a message for you, etc.?
• Stop and assess how the pain feels now.
• Compare the differences.

When I do this practice, I notice the pain feels more intense, noticeable when I fight it; but when I have curiosity, it starts to shift. It may not go away, but it moves and changes. There's a lightness to my psyche that shows up in simply allowing the pain to be there.

These are the possibilities we invite in when facing our shadow, when facing our pain. The pain may not resolve, but the experience of it can certainly shift.