These days, my spirit guide is using the hunter x hunter anime as a metaphor to teach me about "aura control" or, in more advanced terms — "life force manipulation".
The most basic and easiest activity for all humans is "breathing". From our first breathe comes our life, and from the last breathe comes our death. It is from our breath that we establish a physical connection with our environment, that we are not merely players in the environment, but also the environment itself.
(Wtf I just saw a smol bird bullying a cat while the cat runs away to hide in the car. What happened to the food chain?!)
From when we inhale, we gather our life energy, and when we exhale, we expend and use that energy. To master the art of breathing then, means mastering the flow of life energy within our body, so we can efficiently expend and regain our energy.
To reinforce our body with life energy and prevent the life energy from escaping, this is what we call "Flow" or in Japanese anime words "Ten" (- to breathe, lit. "energy"). Ten is the practice of making your aura flow properly within your body, without them escaping from your body.
This is easily achieved through meditation and breathing. For beginners, they can follow these steps to gain an idea on using Ten.
The clock is ticking. You feel that you have so many things that needs to be done, but also feel like you have nothing to do. You are feeling restless, craving instant gratifications. You feel like watching videos, chatting to someone, scrolling through internet, or eating food. What is it you have to do again?
Your aura is scattered and your energy is slowly evaporating away from your body. You want to do everything, but you can't just seem to focus or concentrate, as if you don't have energy or motivation to do so. You fear that if you were to focus, then you'll lose track of your time or something else will happen.
You decided to take some deep breaths. Inhale for atleast two seconds through the nose, then exhale by mindfully blowing air through a small hole from your lips. Imagine that the air you are inhaling is your own evaporating aura and they form into a magical sphere on your heart. Every time you take a deep breath, your aura comes back to you, then the magical sphere pumps life energy to your veins. This magical sphere is also your magical core.
As you feel the air going through your nose through your lungs, you'll eventually hear the sound of your heartbeat and your blood rushing into your veins. Your magical sphere grows bigger and stronger with every complete breath, and when it has completely matured, you'll feel as if you're surrounded by your warm aura.
This feeling that you're completely relaxed, focused, and concentrated, as if can't be distracted by anything — maintain this feeling. Ensure that every breath you take is a deep and complete breath, whether you are sleeping, working, eating, or thinking.
It won't take long before your aura flows smoothly around and within your body. You'll feel that you have more energy to focus on your tasks and that you don't get tired or distracted as often as before.
Keep in mind that this isn't just fiction or imagination, that it is completely real and it definitely makes your mind sharper and stronger than before. The more you practice Ten, the purer and stronger your magical core will be, and the more focused you become.
Your energy will start flowing within you and the environment like a perfect cycle. This is Ten.
The second most basic activity for all humans is "sensing". We live, think, experience, and make decisions based on our senses. From the combination of our senses, and how we perceive them, our reality is created. It is from our senses that we connect and observe reality, as sensory information is empirical information.
Our emotions and thoughts naturally springs from from our experience, one can even go as far as saying that life is a collection of experiences. To experience life, see and feel things for what they truly are, and not for what we think they are, this is what we call Insight, or in famous anime word — "Zetsu" (- to experience, without judgement).
Zetsu is the the second main principle of Aura Control, it is the the practice of being fully aware of the environment and the present moment, of being one with nature and reality, without any fear or judgement.
Having practiced Ten and developed your self-awareness, you can now concentrate your aura to your particular body part to strengthen your senses. You can start from one of your senses then slowly expand the details to all of your senses.
Here's how Zetsu can be done by beginners:
Activate Ten, no — you must have always been in a constant state of Ten to easily activate Zetsu. Close your eyes and imagine that your magical core is directing your aura towards your eyes, increasing your ability to see and focus. Remain in a constant state of Ten when trying to use Zetsu.
From this moment onwards, the moment you open your eyes, you shall see everything for what they are, without adding any labels or judgements to them. You shall feel things for how they are, without running away or fighting back against them. You will not close your eyes to the things you don't want to see, and you will not close your ears to the things you don't want to hear.
Now, slowly open your eyes as if you're a child who was born anew. As your eyes wanders around, you'll notice new colors and shapes you've never seen before. Your environment around you that you have already seen a thousand times already will turn into an ever-expanding ocean of details. Indeed, there is always more to this world.
What you are looking at right now is reality itself in its most primal form. You are staying here in this place, in this situation, in this plane of existence where everything can happen and change at any moment. All your problems, suffering, and experiences will come and go as they past right through your eyes.
Do not fear nor look away. Focus on what's around you, right here, right now. This is the present moment. You are here to witness the unfolding of a new era, of a new universe, so keep your eyes open (it's okay to blink). Everything you see, smell, taste, hear, and feel they are all an important part of this reality you are experiencing, don't miss or ignore a single one of them.
At first, concentrate on a simple detail, then expand your focus all the way from there until you completely see the world you are moving in. After that, focus on your other senses one by one, from your sight, hearing, smell to your feelings and taste. Fully sense your environment, and don't dismiss any detail as "unimportant", they all make up a part of this reality.
If your hands would shake or when you feel dizzy, then that means you're losing control of your aura. That's why you have to use Ten when you're trying to use Zetsu. Self-awareness comes first before environmental awareness, but acceptance should be present at all levels. Always embrace what you see and what you're going to see, for you can never stop what's about to come. At the very least, open your eyes and watch how the story unfolds.
To be fully aware in the present reality, without any labels or fear, completely anticipating and embracing everything with acceptance — this is Zetsu. Practice it regularly as protection from fear and anxiety, or as a way to confront them so you can focus on doing what you want to do.
Having managed to regain control of your aura through "Ten", then saw reality for what it is through "Zetsu", the next obvious thing to do will be to act, to make a decision according to what you see, using the energy within you. The practice of expending your internal aura through your body, to form a natural and smooth action, this is "Will", or what we call "Ren" (- internal aura, lit. to act naturally) in anime words.
Ren is the third most fundamental principle of Aura Control, which comes from the third most basic activity for humans "moving". Everyone knows how to move and act, yet most of them only moves when the situation requires, and when they do make a move, most of them make a mistake.
However, almost none of these mistakes are intentional, and it's not exactly their fault that they made a mistake, because not only their aura is uncontrolled, they also see reality in a distorted way. It's like they are trying to walk without their legs, while blindfolded — it is extremely difficult not to fall.
But now that you have your aura under control around you using Ten, and you have also mastered to see and embrace reality for what is using Zetsu, moving properly won't be much of an issue to you. Still, just as how you learned to see, you will be learning how to move as if you're walking for the first time. This is an important step for beginners.
Here's how you can learn Ren as a beginner:
Before you attempt to learn Ren, make sure that you are already on the state of Zetsu — the status of seeing and feeling everything with full acceptance, *without any worries or judgement. It is also important that your magical core is stable enough for you to concentrate properly, you can stabilize it using Ten.
Still, even when you already have a functioning magical core and complete acceptance, it's still not enough to use Ren, for your previous knowledge and experiences can severely limit your choices and movements. You cannot move naturally and smoothly if you think that you know what's going to happen, because your body and mind will be tied down by that specific outcome.
Because you'll be interacting with what you see, beginners tend to believe that Ren is "completely different and radical" than learning the previous principles of Nen, but this is completely wrong. Ren is simply a natural result, a consequence of mastering Ten and Zetsu. Think of it as a box that has been simply "unboxed", whose walls and sides have been laid flat to the ground — it is not so different than the complete box with volume.
So yes, Ren is about unboxing your choices, so that you may see for yourself the infinite choices that you can make and embrace the limitless possibilities that may arise from each one of those choices. To begin, close your eyes for the last time. From now on, you will not close your eyes nor avoid contact with anything or anyone that you don't know. You will be staring the Enderman into the eyes, without avoiding its gaze.
Remind yourself that you know nothing about this world, that what you have already known and experienced will not always stay true to every situation, because every situation is unique and different from the others. You never know the full story, nor you know what comes next after this. The patterns you know and imagine, and everything you have believed to be true, aren't always true nor real. In this world, everything can happen, and you can do everything.
Open your eyes and automatically activate your Ten and Zetsu. You are now more than prepared to live in this world. With your Ten, remain aware of your energy and with your Zetsu, be alert and accepting of your environment. Every step and movements you make feels so natural and smooth. You feel that you can accept whatever happens to you, as if there's nothing to hold you back from living your life in this brave new world.
Your mind is filled with peace and hope. The things that you were once so afraid of, now feels so easy and simple. You feel as if you can do everything, and so you did. Each one of your movements seems perfectly natural, graceful and without hesitation. You have already accepted everything and anticipated none after all, there's nothing for you to fear, nor anyone would be able to stop you.
Learning Ren can be difficult for some, but like everything else, it's possible to be learned. If you're having difficulties, please practice Ten and Zetsu regularly, even if you're sleeping, eating, or having fun. Ten is about energy while Zetsu is about acceptance of the outcomes. Combine the two, let go of your previous knowledge, then act, you'll get Ren.
Keep in mind that you don't have to force yourself in any way to activate Ren, it's actually the opposite — you utilize your Will to get what you want, so you and the things you want, will become like magnets and naturally move to each other.
Once you have infused your aura with your senses and will, the next thing to do would be to add personality to your aura, so that you may be able to express and project it naturally. To freely express oneself and control one's aura according to your personality and will — this is what they call Express or in famed anime terms "Hatsu" (- external aura, lit. "to express freely").
The greatest thing about Hatsu is that it's the closest thing humans can get to supernatural powers. By controlling one's life force and aura, you can convert your life force to any forms of energy, possibly even create matter out of those energy.
However, truth be told, basic Hatsu involves expressing and communicating your real self freely without any restraint, and doesn't involve significant usage of superpowers at all. It is simply about the proper usage of the fourth most common and important human activity — self-expression.
Those who want to control their aura and make supernatural changes must first learn Advanced Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and finally Advanced Hatsu.
This guide focuses only on the basics of aura control, to provide the necessary foundation and character for learning the Advanced Aura Control. Here is how you can learn basic Hatsu for beginners.
Remember that what you are about to learn is the highest level of aura control — external aura expression and manipulation, where mastery of the first three principles are necessary. Before you would activate Hatsu, it is important that you are already in a constant state of Ren, because Hatsu is simply adding your personality to your aura, to your actions and will. One may even say that Hatsu is Ren on steroids.
Breathing for the body — Ten, concentration and acceptance for the senses — Zetsu, taking action for what you see — Ren, then finally, expressing your chaotic and imperfect self for each of your actions — Hatsu. All these four are the interconnected principles of Aura Control, neither one is lesser or more important than the other, for each of them are of equal importance for controlling your aura. To utilize Hatsu needs the three other principles in equal proportions.
From your breathe, comes focus, from your focus comes your actions, and from your actions your true personality is revealed. These principles are not only interconnected, but each of them are cause and consequences of the other, so you don't literally "activate" them, they merely proceed each other. Think of them as one complete cycle, where one action will lead to the next then the other. If in doubt, breathe — let your mind and body go into the flow.
Those who feel that they are lacking in energy and focus, practice more of your Ten. Those who feel that they are lacking in information and skill, practice more of your Zetsu. Those who feel that they are lacking in willpower and courage, practice more of your Ren. Resistance to act is a sign of weak Ren, while resistance to see reality and accept the truth is a sign of weak Zetsu. Only when all those three are complete and united, you will only be able to proceed to Hatsu.
Remember that Hatsu is not about superpowers, it's about utilizing and expressing your aura in an authentic and unique manner. For those who know who they really are, their style of thinking and expressing, and their goals and dreams in life, Hatsu won't be very difficult than those who doesn't. In addition to the first three principles of aura control, a good amount of knowledge about oneself is also required to activate Hatsu.
Hatsu is a little more abstract than the first three principles, but I'll explain it in the most concrete manner I know. First, take a proper breathe and ensure that your aura is flowing properly within and outside your body. Use your aura to enhance and focus on your senses, then use your senses to guide your actions. When your body and mind is already in a flow state (Ten/Zetsu) and your will is also in a flow state (Ren), add your personal style to your actions towards your goal, as if you are adding color to a drawing outline. You have activated Hatsu.
Because of this, the process of creating any form of art would be a great way to remotely learn Aura Control without the need to venture into the unknown. However, whether you really learned it or not, will depend on how you use it on real life.
A great student who has mastered all four principles of Aura Control through constant practice will show extreme focus and awareness, moves without hesitation and shows their true selves *without any fear of rejection.
Controlling your aura doesn't need to feel artificial or supernatural, since it's a perfectly natural thing to do. What you're learning is simply living each day to the fullest, to see and accept things for what they really are, then moving according to what you see, and not what you think.
As you go through the basic principles of Aura Control, you will learn to relax your mind and body, appreciate your surroundings, and see for yourself how much life is willing to offer. You shall become a director of your life, creating your own story and giving it your own version of a happy ending. You'll no longer be the spectator you used to be, but become the best version of yourself.
This is merely the basic principles of aura control, the most essential things every human needs to learn. There are still the advanced principles, where you can learn about the different stances, breathing styles, and energy channels, complete with exercises and more metaphors.
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for the next part — "Advanced Aura Control"!
"To see is to understand. To judge is not to see. Those who see cannot judge, and those who judge cannot understand. Those who judge but insist on seeing, cannot act. Those who judge speaks with arrogance, while those who perceive acts with humility."
"'I am right.' says the blind, 'I know nothing', said the Oracle, who watches the world with a thousand eyes."
"I have to feeling I'll have to absorb at least three in-depth books about chakra, ki, and chi just to write the next part lol."