Now that the summer sun has set, post-equinox Toronto finds itself weathering the Metal Season also known as Autumn. The fall is beloved; the crisp air eagerly awaits to fill our lungs as we grab for cozy sweaters to cuddle chilled bodies. The trees suddenly appear to be on fire, blazing gold, orange and red. All this spectacle feels like a last hurrah before everything goes quiet.
As a sun-worshiping fire gal, I miss the blazing summer heat warming my skin and curling my hair. But I can recognize that all things must come to an end and during this time of year I find my thoughts effortlessly drifting to the Po.
The Po, or the Corporeal soul, is a very special spirit in the Chinese Medicine cannon. Each organ is believed to have a spirit attached to it which provides deeper insight into the energetic mysteries of our existence as human beings. The Metal spirit who presides over the Lung and Large Intestines is no different. The Po, unlike the other spirits, will die when we die. Heavy, right?
The Po is like the autonomic nervous system; keeping the body alive without us even noticing
The Po is so intrinsically connected to our physical being, we don’t even notice its presence. The way it’s been described in the texts makes it feel and sound like the autonomous nervous system, that unconscious force which seamlessly keeps us alive without our knowledge by regulating our bodily functions such as heart rate and vital signs.
They say, to understand the Po is to watch animals; they are always in the present moment. I’ve watched my kitty stalk a fly and she’s remarkable. Every muscle in her body is alight with action potential, her keen green eyes affixed to her prey; her entire being is focused on when she will pounce. If we could only be so aligned and free from distractions.
Whether or not we are aware of the Po, it is responsible for our feelings and sensations.
Perhaps it can be also attributed to the limbic system, that aspect of our brain that regulates not only feelings and memories but also our autonomic and endocrine systems as well; running in the background like a well-designed program. Imagine that, the ancient Chinese conceptualized this misunderstood, unrecognized, and honestly ignored aspect of the human experience and named it.
It is said that Po is formed at conception, and as babies, our lives are physical, literal and ruled by this spirit. Manifesting as sensations, we can see the Po influencing our essence by guiding our bodies through this thing called life until we ultimately leave this mortal coil.
The Po lives in that space between after we exhale.
If you’re able in this moment, I want you to take a deep breath in. Feel the air fill your lungs and then hold it in for a count of 3 seconds. Now, slowly let it out. Before you take your next breath in, hold again, for 3, 5 even 10 seconds. In that emptiness this is where the Po exists. Mortality is a very precious and fleeting thing…
There is a rose growing in my garden. At first it was a bud, tightly wrapped in potential. But as the sun coaxed and pleaded, its delicate petals bashfully unfurled. And suddenly there was a gorgeous flower seamlessly floating on a breeze. Roses are typically associated with Fire, the Heart and its season summer. But this rose was special. It arrived in the autumn and was not a fiery red, but white, the colour of metal.
I looked upon this bloom lovingly and took in its scent whenever I could.
But as the days went on, its petals began to curl and mottle, its head weighted with the defeat of age. Theocritus words played in my mind, “Beautiful is the bloom of youth, but it lasts only for a short time.” Before I could dwell on this thought further, another tight bud emerged, again to live out this journey and for me to watch in sorrow knowing how this story will end.
This Po witnesses the decay of summer as it transforms into autumn. The Po lives in the nothing, in that quiet moment when grief has hit us and when we our sobbing has become hollow and there is no more we can give. The Po guides us without us even knowing. So dedicated to our bodies, the Po will be with us until the end until our last breath.