The Three Hun Seven Po（三魂七魄） in Taoist culture

"Three Hun Seven Po三魂七魄（Three Souls and Seven Senses）" is a concept in traditional Chinese culture that is believed to represent the core of the human soul and spirit within the body. The three hun/souls refer to three types of spiritual essence within the human body: the heavenly/Tian(天) soul, the earthly /Di（地）soul, and the human/Ren（人） soul. The heavenly soul represents a person's consciousness, the earthly soul represents their emotions, and the human soul represents their vitality or life force. The seven senses refer to seven emotions that control a person's major emotional responses: joy, anger, grief, fear, love, hatred, and desire. These emotions are symbolized by the "corpse-dog/shi gou(尸狗)," "prostrate-arrow/fu shi(伏矢)," "sparrow-hawk/que yin(雀阴)," "swallow-thief/tun zei(吞贼)," "non-toxic/fei du（非毒）," "dirt-remover/chu hui（除秽）," and "foul-lung/chou fei(臭肺)" senses.

In ancient times, the "Three Souls" were also known as the Yuan Shen(元神), Yang Shen（阳神）, and Yin Shen（阴神）. The Yuan Shen is the core of the human spirit, dominating a person's consciousness and thinking. The Yang Shen is the soul of emotions, in charge of a person's emotions and decisions. The Yin Shen is the soul of life, mainly responsible for maintaining a person's life activities. These three souls interact with each other to form a person's spiritual world.

According to legend, before a person is born, the human soul is kept by divine beings. When the body is formed, the human soul enters it, and the essence of the Yin and Yang of heaven and earth forms the person's soul and spirit, helping the growth of the human soul. After a person dies, the essence of the heavenly soul and earthly soul returns to the cosmos, while only the Human Soul remains and is responsible for one's past deeds. The soul that attaches to the body and rank of a person will act as a monitor, observing the actions and behaviours of descendants at the spirit tablet and tomb, watching whether they follow the laws and act virtuously, and blessing them to grow healthily.

In the Confucian tradition, people believe that when they worship their ancestors, they can awaken their spirits. The spirits of ancestors can bless their descendants with healthy growth at the spirit tablet. In the Taoist tradition, the Three Souls control the Seven Senses to prevent them from committing wrongdoings and causing people to be immersed in desires. However, when the Three Souls are severely damaged and weakened, they cannot control the Seven Senses, causing people to be trapped in uncontrollable emotions of ecstasy, anger, or sorrow. Therefore, people need to practice self-cultivation to control their emotions and achieve self-control and spiritual improvement.

"Three Souls and Seven Senses" is a significant concept in Chinese traditional culture, which has been widely applied in ancestor worship and self-cultivation practices in the Confucian and Taoist traditions.

Understanding and mastering the role and characteristics of the Three Souls and Seven Senses in Taoist practice is essential for enhancing the spiritual level and realm of practitioners. Techniques such as alchemy, breath control, and astral projection in Taoist practice have been developed based on the theory of the Three Souls and Seven Senses.

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The term "out-of-body experience" or "astral projection" typically refers to the phenomenon of the separation of the "yuan shen" or "heavenly soul" from the physical body in Chinese culture. Remote viewing can also be considered a type of out-of-body experience to some extent, as it involves conscious awareness that is not confined to the physical body. During such experiences, individuals may report seeing distant objects or observing things from angles that are not possible from their physical body, such as looking down on a room from the ceiling.