Spirit world in taoism

[chinezoi]

How taoism explains the spirit world ? What is the taoist view about mediums,demons, astral world. I read somewhere that clairvoyants say that there are many spirit worlds parallel to ours,but the closest to ours is the one where unclean spirits stay.

 

[Ferne]

I don't know the answer to your question myself although I do work in an animist framework and would also be interested to hear from anyone who had some thoughts on this topic.

 

[Jainarayan]

I technically don't belong here, not self-identifying as Taoist, but since I am becoming interested in syncretizing Taoism into my practices and beliefs, I thought I'd provide what I could. A Google search on spirits in Taosim gives a number of hits. I did not read them, admittedly. I hope they are of help.

Edit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism#Pantheon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Chinese_deities

 

[Ferne]

Thanks J

I was listening to an interview which had Eva Wong as one of the guests. She's a daoist who follows an Internal Alchemy school of some sort or other. She said something along the lines that she viewed dieties as being universal ideals and real, but not part of the collective unconscious nor archetypes in the Jungian sense. I'm not quite sure what this means, though. Perhaps she views deities as universal forces like gravity?

 

[Jainarayan]

Thanks J

Always happy to help.

...she viewed dieties as being universal ideals and real, ... Perhaps she views deities as universal forces like gravity?

I think that may be it. I believe that deities, whether Hindu, Tao, Buddhist, etc. are indeed manifest ideals and forces. There's just so much we don't know.

 

[Ferne]

That's interesting. Do you see these forces as conscious entities at all? Is it possible to communicate with them in some kind of animist sense? Or are they just 'mindless' like a materialist/physicalist would view gravity?

 

[Jainarayan]

The Hindu in me says they are conscious and real, interacting with us. In what mystical or spiritual sense, I can't say. Though I can say that when I started keeping a picture of Maa Saraswati near my music area, my guitar playing improved almost literally overnight. When Hurricane Sandy blew down two 10' sections of my 6' high wooden fence, having had shoulder surgery a few weeks before, I somehow managed the strength to lift them with one arm and flip them uphill (my yard slopes down). I believe Sri Hanuman was pushing.

 

[Ferne]

That's very interesting. I can relate to 'channelling' experiences in a similar kind of vein with respect to energy work/healing, amongst other things.