1. From the Kỵ Thần to the Dụng Thần: Two Faces of the Flow of Energy
In the previous section, we established:
The Kỵ Thần (the unfavourable element) is the agent of imbalance, the place where the Pattern (Nghiệp) freezes into unconscious reactions.
The interactions Xung – Hình – Hại – Phá – Tuyệt (clash – pressure – harm – fracture – extinction) are the universe’s jolts, meant to expose the wounds or the distortions within our consciousness.
If we stop at recognising the Kỵ Thần, Bát Tự (Four Pillars) or Tử Vi (Purple Star astrology) becomes a verdict: I know I am ill, but I have no medicine. At that point, metaphysics is merely a map describing pain.
The Dụng Thần (Resource Element / Useful God) appears at this breaking point — not as a blessing-bearing deity fallen from the sky. In the study of consciousness, we need to redefine it:
The Dụng Thần is a kind of vitamin for consciousness, or a healing element, that your energy system is craving in order to re-establish a state of dynamic balance (homeostasis).
In essence, the Dụng Thần is a set of elements — qualities, environments, habits — that, if we actively nurture them through the power of Choice (Nguyện), will let a kind of miracle unfold by a scientific mechanism:
Neutralising resistance: The Kỵ Thần softens, shifting from a destructive state (Force — low frequency) to a challenging state (Power — a higher frequency).
Reducing friction: The conflicts (Xung/Hình) still occur as an inevitable law, but our attitude toward them becomes calmer and clearer. We no longer react; we respond.
Shifting the orbit: Karmic force stops running in the old worn groove (the loop of suffering) and begins to slide onto a new orbit led by the power of Choice.
A COMPARISON OF MINDSETS
To help the reader easily see the difference between the old approach and the new, I have drawn up the comparison table below:
| Criterion | Traditional Bát Tự (Determinism) | Tử Vi Tâm Thức Học (the study of destiny as agency) |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A lucky factor, a saviour that helps one escape calamity and lighten one’s fate. | An energy therapy, a tool to balance the inner life and transform consciousness. |
| Approach | Passive. Waiting for luck to arrive (biding one’s time), relying on feng shui and activating objects. | Active (Choice). Understanding one’s own nature, changing one’s qualities, environment, and habits to rely on oneself. |
| Goal | Avoid suffering, seek pleasure (hedonism). Hoping for blessings, to change one’s fate. | Learn the lesson, evolve in consciousness (evolution). Accepting challenges in order to mature. |
| The Jungian mechanism | Not mentioned. | It is the process of Shadow Integration. The Dụng Thần is the unacknowledged part of the self that must gradually be integrated. |
| Result | Dependent on luck. When the Dụng Thần’s period ends, suffering returns. | Durable, because the Dụng Thần has become a part of one’s character. |
Why do I emphasise dynamic balance (homeostasis)? In Hawkins’ system, illness or suffering usually arises from a blockage in the flow of energy.
If the Bát Tự is too Vượng (an excess of energy) → we grow arrogant and domineering (Force).
If the Bát Tự is too Nhược (a deficiency of energy) → we grow fearful and self-doubting (Force).
The Dụng Thần is precisely the pressure-regulating valve.
For the Vượng (strong) person: the Dụng Thần is Discipline & Giving (releasing energy — the Output/Officer stars).
For the Nhược (weak) person: the Dụng Thần is Study & Support (taking in energy — the Resource/Companion stars).
This is not superstition; it is the basic physical principle of the conservation and transformation of energy, applied to behavioural psychology.
2. Defining the Dụng Thần in the Language of Psychology
Let us peel away the technical shell to see the philosophical kernel within.
At the technical layer (The Mechanics): Traditional destiny scholars define the Dụng Thần as a balancing calculation. It is the element most needed to rescue a Bát Tự chart that has fallen out of balance, determined from complex variables:
The element of the Day Master (Who are you? Mộc, Hỏa, or Thủy...?).
The degree of strength or weakness of the self (Is your root energy in excess or deficient?).
The season of birth, the configuration of the Four Pillars, and the tangled web of Union – Clash – Punishment – Harm.
This is the view of a mechanic: see a loose bolt, tighten it; see low oil, top it up.
At the consciousness layer (The Consciousness): We take a more humane and profound approach. Imagine:
The Dụng Thần is the energy field to which your soul is sending an invitation, in order to complete the lesson of maturing in this lifetime.
If the Kỵ Thần is the hard problem that karmic force sets, then the Dụng Thần is the hint for solving it so you may pass that exam.
The difference between living without the Dụng Thần and living with it lies not in whether you are rich or poor, but in the energetic state with which you face life. I call this the difference between Straining (Force) and Flowing with the Current (Power/Flow).
A TABLE COMPARING STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS
| State | Living FAR from the Dụng Thần (led by karma) | Living NEAR the Dụng Thần (flowing with the current) |
|---|---|---|
| Dominant feeling | Straining and Depleted. Always feeling life is a war, having to strain or chase after goals. | At ease and Enough. A sense of being supported, moving downstream, acting lightly yet effectively. |
| The Hawkins mechanism | Using Force. Consuming much energy but generating much friction and resistance. Prone to burnout. | Activating Power. Energy self-regenerates. Reaching the level of Acceptance (350) or Reason (400). |
| Long-term result | The fruit does not match the seed sown. Or success achieved, then a sudden collapse, the challenge repeating. | Durable results; though challenges still come, they are transformed into vehicles that move in step with life. |
| The inner voice | Why do I keep trying and still fail? | It seems I am on the right path. Everything that comes is a necessary lesson. |
I would like you to note one more subtle point about Jungian psychology:
When a person lives far from their Dụng Thần, they are usually stuck in the Ego (the constructed self) — where they believe they must be a certain way to be right. For example: a person whose nature calls for a Dụng Thần of Thủy (soft, still, wise) but who tries to live in a Hỏa style (hasty, showy) because society applauds it. The mismatch between the true Self and the mask (the Persona) creates inner resistance.
When they return to their Dụng Thần, they are in fact taking off the mask to live truly according to the soul’s original design. That is why they feel relieved (less resistance).
The Dụng Thần does not turn your life into a straight road strewn with roses. It turns you into a masterful helmsman who knows how to ride the current to carry the boat of fate as far as possible with the least loss of fuel.
3. The Dụng Thần Is Not Luck Falling from the Sky
We need a ruthless honesty here to break long-held illusions.
The Dụng Thần is NOT:
A house paint colour “matching your destiny” to paint over the cracks in a family.
A Mộc-element stone bracelet worn on the wrist of someone in the grip of anger (Hỏa).
A pixiu or a money toad placed in the right direction to summon wealth while one’s management skills are poor.
All of these touch only the layer of matter — peripheral feng shui (The Surface). On the scale of consciousness, matter sits at a low, fixed frequency. It can offer support, but it cannot change the core.
In the thinking of the study of consciousness, the Dụng Thần is first of all a Living Content. It must be a verb, not a noun.
Looking at the iceberg model, we see:
The tip (10% — feng shui / objects): Colours, house orientation, jewellery. This is logistics.
The submerged mass (90% — the Dụng Thần of consciousness):
Attitude to life: How you react or respond to adversity each day.
Inner environment: The core beliefs and values you persistently nurture.
Committed experience: The kind of work you choose to do, the environment you choose to immerse yourself in, how you give and receive.
The principle: If the inner life (the submerged mass) has not turned, changing the outer objects (the tip) is only new wine in an old bottle. You are redecorating your own prison rather than stepping out of it.
A TABLE STRATIFYING THE IMPACT OF THE DỤNG THẦN
| Level of Application | Characteristic Action | Nature & Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1: Physical (Surface) | Wearing bracelets, choosing colours, arranging furniture, a lucky phone number. | The placebo effect. Creating temporary reassurance. It does not change the core. The foundational karma remains intact, easy to return to. |
| Level 2: Behaviour (Deep Experience) | Choosing a fitting career, changing habits, communication. | Changing habits. Beginning to have real impact. Reducing friction with the environment, living more with the current. |
| Level 3: Consciousness (Highest) | Inner transformation, cultivating the qualities of the subject: Compassion, Courage, inner quality. | Transforming destiny (transformation). The vibrational frequency changes, leading to a changed posture toward life. |
I would like to add a scientific angle to give you more data for your book: Resonance.
According to David Hawkins, high energy can lift low energy, but only when there is compatibility.
A feng shui object (say, a quartz sphere) carries the energy of stillness and clarity.
But if the owner’s consciousness is oscillating at the level of Anger (150) or Fear (100), that person’s energy field is too chaotic; it will overpower and disrupt the energy of the object.
Thus the sayings “virtue overcomes destiny” or “a blessed person on a blessed plot of land” are in truth a physical law: the frequency of the person must match the frequency of the object or the land for resonance to occur durably. The Dụng Thần of consciousness is precisely the tool for raising a person’s frequency.
4. THE DỤNG THẦN AND THE MODEL OF MỆNH – NGHIỆP – Ý THỨC: THE BRIDGE OF TRANSFORMATION
That core triangle is always present in any process of self-inquiry:
Mệnh (the Given): The original ground. The chart, the temperament, the family context we step into life with. This is the Constant.
Nghiệp (the Pattern): The way we have grown used to answering that ground. The habitual reactions, the waves of emotion, the layers of the unconscious carried across many psychological lifetimes. This is Inertia.
Ý Thức (Awareness): The choice we actively step toward. The direction, the courage, the way we take responsibility so as to grow from our collisions. This is the Variable.
When we place the Dụng Thần into this triangle, it appears as a subtle bridge spanning from this shore (Nghiệp) to the far shore (Ý Thức).
Not a shortcut to flee suffering, but a gear shift that lets us realise: I have every power to live differently.
When one understands the Dụng Thần, one begins to ask a very real question instead of bemoaning one’s fate:
By which nature (Kim/Mộc/Thủy/Hỏa/Thổ) should I run the current of my energy, so as not to be dragged back into the old reactive groove?
We must affirm an important truth so the reader does not misunderstand: the Dụng Thần has no power to change Mệnh. Nor can it erase the imprints of Nghiệp.
What it does is a different kind of miracle: it helps us use that very structure of energy in a healthier direction. Like the seasoned helmsman:
He cannot change the boat (Mệnh).
He cannot stop the rushing current (Nghiệp).
But he knows how to ride the current, to trim the sail and the oar (the Dụng Thần) to carry the boat farther and more safely.
From that moment, what was once a binding (a shackle) begins to transform into material (fuel) for growth.
THE MODEL: THE GAP OF FREEDOM (THE GAP)
To clarify the mechanism of the Bridge, I propose introducing the concept of the Gap (inspired by Viktor Frankl). The Dụng Thần lies precisely in this gap.
| Stage | Explanation | The Role of the Dụng Thần |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stimulus | An external event occurs (losing money, a breakup, a failure...). Brought by Mệnh/fate. | Not yet present. |
| 2. The Gap | The extremely brief moment before we react. For the unconscious person, this gap is nearly zero. | THIS IS WHERE THE DỤNG THẦN OPERATES. We load the energy of the Dụng Thần here to widen the gap, creating space for Awareness to observe. |
| 3. Response | A concrete action turned outward. | With the Dụng Thần: the reaction becomes a wise Response. Without the Dụng Thần: the reaction is a Reflex according to old karmic force. |
5. THE DỤNG THẦN THROUGH THE LENS OF DEPTH PSYCHOLOGY (CARL JUNG)
If Bát Tự is the map of Mệnh, then Jungian psychology is the lamp that illuminates the labyrinth of the Psyche. When we lay the two systems one over the other, we find a startling resemblance.
1. The Kỵ Thần and the Dụng Thần: the dialogue between Ego and Self
In Jung’s system:
The Kỵ Thần often appears in the form of Complexes or of Ego Inflation. It is the qualities we overuse to the point of imbalance, or the negative parts of the Shadow governing behaviour we are unaware of.
The Dụng Thần is precisely the unconscious principle of Compensation.
The natural psyche (the Self) always longs for wholeness. When we live too far to one side (pulled by the Kỵ Thần), the psychological system automatically seeks to rebalance by inviting the missing qualities (the Dụng Thần) to return.
The Dụng Thần is like a small inner door left ajar: the road to maturity (Individuation) lies this way.
2. The mechanism of Synchronicity
Carl Jung has a classic saying:
When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate.
This is precisely how the Dụng Thần works in real life: when an element becomes the Dụng Thần (what we lack and need), the universe — through the mechanism of synchronicity — keeps bringing us into contact with that energy:
People of that character appear (benefactors or enemies).
Work demanding that skill is entrusted to us.
Accidents or incidents force us to cultivate that quality.
Attitude determines experience:
If we resist: we feel life is pressing on us, harassing us. We see ourselves as victims of fate.
If we listen (accept): that element becomes the road of Individuation — the journey of uniting the scattered fragments into a whole (the Whole Self).
A TABLE COMPARING THE LANGUAGE OF METAPHYSICS & PSYCHOLOGY
This table helps readers more easily accept the concept of the Dụng Thần through a scientific lens:
| The Bát Tự concept | The Carl Jung concept (Psychology) | Transformative meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Kỵ Thần (the imbalanced self) | Ego Inflation or Shadow. | The distortion, where energy goes too far or is suppressed, creating unconscious destructive patterns. |
| Dụng Thần (the remedy / element to be integrated) | Inferior Function (the weak function needing integration) | The missing part that must be cultivated to become whole; if integrated, old wounds gradually heal. |
| A fated period (meeting the Dụng Thần) | Synchronicity. | An opportunity arriving so the lesson may sink deeper. Not chance, but the synchronised working of consciousness. |
| Reforming one’s fate | Individuation (becoming whole). | The ultimate aim: not to be richer, but to become the truest, most complete human being. |
3. ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
To help the reader picture it, I have expanded your examples into psychological scenarios:
Case 1: A Hỏa-averse person — Thủy as Dụng Thần
Current state (Hỏa-averse): Living in haste, hungry to display, easily impulsive, excessively extroverted, afraid of stillness (afraid of facing oneself).
The invitation of the Dụng Thần (Thủy): Life will bring stages of being stuck, stagnant, or of deep sorrow.
The Jungian lesson: The universe is forcing them to go inward (Introversion). They must learn to be alone, to listen to intuition, to nurture depth of intellect rather than only chasing the outer glow.
Case 2: A Mộc-averse person — Kim as Dụng Thần
Current state (Mộc-averse): Scattered emotions, lacking boundaries, prone to people-pleasing, starting many things but finishing none, whimsical.
The invitation of the Dụng Thần (Kim): Life places them in a military environment, a company with strict procedures, or under an extremely demanding, scrutinising boss.
The Jungian lesson: This is a lesson in Structure and Discrimination. The discipline of Kim is not a prison but the skeleton that lets the climbing vine of Mộc rise high without collapsing to the ground.
In conclusion:
Seen this way, the Dụng Thần is no longer a dry technique on paper. It is the whisper of the Unconscious, the call of the soul guiding us toward the missing piece that makes the picture of life whole.
6. THE DỤNG THẦN AND MODERN SCIENCE (NEUROPLASTICITY & EPIGENETICS)
If we view Mệnh (Bát Tự) as a kind of energetic DNA record, we find fascinating points of convergence between ancient wisdom and modern science.
1. The view from Epigenetics Science has proven: genes are not destiny.
You may carry a disease gene (a bad Mệnh), but if your living environment, nutrition, and psychology are healthy, that gene may be switched off and never express as illness.
Conversely, a toxic lifestyle can switch on negative recessive genes.
In our language:
The Dụng Thần is precisely the positive Environmental agent (the Epigenetic Factor) that switches on the good potentials and switches off the destructive impulses in the chart.
The Dụng Thần does not change the structure of Mệnh (just as epigenetics does not alter the DNA sequence), but it entirely changes the operating conditions of Mệnh.
2. The view from Neuroplasticity Each time we behave according to an old habit (Nghiệp), the brain reinforces that neural groove, making us all the more prone to slipping into the old way. This is the biological mechanism behind what we call “an old horse takes the old road.”
The Dụng Thần is the effort to forge a new road. When you actively choose to behave according to the Dụng Thần (for example, an angry person practising pausing to breathe — Thủy as Dụng Thần):
At first it is very hard (because the neural link does not yet exist).
But each intentional repetition (Choice) forms a new synaptic connection.
Gradually, a new groove forms. Responding through the Dụng Thần becomes natural and easier.
The meeting of two languages:
The ancients expressed it through the image of the Five Elements:
Add Thủy to cool a hot head.
Add Kim to forge iron discipline.
Add Mộc to nurture compassion.
Add Hỏa to kindle clear intelligence.
Add Thổ to create steadiness and calm.
Neuroscience expresses it through the biological mechanism:
Change the input signal (environment/behaviour) → change gene expression.
Repeat the new behaviour → strengthen the new neuronal network (rewiring the brain).
Neurons that fire together, wire together.
Conclusion: The essence of using the Dụng Thần is not prayer and offerings, but the process of shifting control from the limbic system (instinctive emotion / Nghiệp) to the prefrontal cortex (rational awareness / Ý Thức). It is precisely that steady repetition — not an amulet or a feng shui object — that is the key to escaping the loop of fate.
A TABLE: FROM METAPHYSICS TO SCIENCE
This table will help readers synthesise all the concepts covered in this chapter into a solid body of knowledge.
| Concept | The language of Bát Tự / Daoist study (root) | The language of Science (Neuroscience/Genetics) |
|---|---|---|
| Mệnh (the chart) | The chart of heavenly qi. What is given. | Genome. The DNA structure inherited from one’s parents. |
| Nghiệp (habit) | Temperament, disposition (strong, weak). Unconscious repetition. | Deep Neural Pathways. Neural links formed through unconscious repetition. |
| Dụng Thần (the tool) | Curing illness, supplying what is lacking, balancing qi. | Epigenetic Factors & Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. |
| Choice / Awareness | The mind in command, mindful lucidity. | Prefrontal Cortex. The brain region governing reasoning, decision-making, and impulse control. |
| Reforming one’s fortune (changing karma) | Changing one’s temperament, spiritual practice. | Neuroplasticity. Forming new habits and new gene expression. |
7. CORE PRINCIPLES WHEN WORKING WITH THE DỤNG THẦN
For the Dụng Thần to truly become a tool of transformation rather than a new obsession, we must engrave the following principles on our hearts:
1. Transcending dualistic thinking (Non-Duality) In the Daoist worldview:
No element is absolutely Good (orthodox).
No element is absolutely Bad (heterodox).
The Kỵ Thần is not a villain to be destroyed; it is a strict teacher playing the antagonist to point out our weaknesses. The Dụng Thần is not a saving angel; it is a gentle teacher helping us restore energy. They are two faces of the same current of qi (Yin – Yang), like Light and Dark in one room. Lose the dark, and we are dazzled; lose the light, and we sink into ignorance. Maturity comes from accepting and coordinating both.
2. Avoiding the trap of “lacking one, supply one” (The Trap of Lacking) A beginner’s elementary mistake in Bát Tự is, on seeing that an element is lacking, to rush to supplement it.
Example: A “Following the Child” chart (extremely weak) abandons the self entirely to follow the beauty of creativity (the Output stars). At this point, if one sees a lack of Resource (the generating source) and hastily adds Resource, one shatters the purity of the configuration, turning a gifted person into a muddled one.
The Dụng Thần must be seen within the whole system (a Systemic View): strength/weakness of the self, the configuration of qi, the season of birth. Sometimes the best way to help a tree grow is not to water it (Thủy), but to prune its dense foliage (Kim) so it can catch the sun.
3. The Dụng Thần must be a Verb (Action) The Dụng Thần becomes living energy only when it is turned into daily Choices:
How we react to a word of criticism.
Where we choose to commit or to withdraw.
How we love and forgive.
Sitting in meditation may help us listen, but if we step off the cushion and behave exactly as before, the current of karmic force still flows in the old worn groove.
4. Accepting the Process This is a marathon, not a sprint. The Dụng Thần is not a fire extinguisher to put out life’s blazes at once. It is like going to the gym for the mind:
On the first day of lifting weights, the muscles ache (the resistance of the Kỵ Thần).
It takes many months and years for muscle to form and excess fat to disappear.
When we live in accord with the Dụng Thần, Xung – Hình – Hại – Phá will still come (for that is the law of the universe’s motion), but:
The wounds are less deep.
Healing is faster.
The posture of acceptance is calmer.
The rhythm of life grows gentle — not because the sea of life has run out of waves, but because the boat of our consciousness has grown steadier.
A SUMMARY TABLE: THE POSTURE OF THE PRACTITIONER
This table serves to close the whole chapter, helping the reader mirror their own posture before entering the practical exercise.
| Criterion | The posture of the Deluded (superstition/victim) | The posture of the Awakened (mastery/agency) |
|---|---|---|
| View of the Kỵ Thần | Fear, aversion, a wish to eliminate it entirely. Seeing it as bad luck. | Observing, accepting, and understanding the message. Seeing it as an exam. |
| Use of the Dụng Thần | Leaning on external objects (stones, colours, lucky numbers). Passively waiting. | Actively cultivating inner qualities (character, habits). Using objects only as reminders (a psychological anchor). |
| Expectation | Hoping to change one’s life overnight (a quick fix). Hoping for absolute safety. | Committing to a long-term journey. Accepting challenge as part of growth. |
| Ultimate purpose | Satisfying the ego (fame, gain, love). | Evolving in consciousness (Compassion, Wisdom, Liberation). |
8. A QUESTION FOR SELF-INQUIRY: AM I LIVING WITH THE MEDICINE OR WITH THE ILLNESS?
We have travelled through a great deal of theory, models, and concepts. But all of it becomes meaningless if it cannot touch your reality.
Now, close the book for a moment. Loosen your shoulders, steady your breath, and let this question drop into your mind like a pebble falling onto a still lake:
Over these past years, have I been nurturing the Kỵ Thần (the wound) or awakening the Dụng Thần (the healing)?
To answer honestly, mirror yourself in these three important zones:
1. The Zone of Decision-Making The major decisions of the past five years (quitting, marrying, investing, moving...) — where did they come from?
From fear, from flight, from a need to prove something to someone? (Kỵ Thần/Force).
Or from a calm impulse, an inner conviction, and a readiness to take responsibility? (Dụng Thần/Power).
2. The Zone of Relationships What energy do the people who frequently appear around me carry? According to Jung’s law of attraction and projection: the outer world is a mirror reflecting the inner consciousness.
Are they people who trigger envy, anger, or greed in me? → They are reflecting the Kỵ Thần.
Are they people who inspire me, bring me peace, or challenge me to grow? → They are messengers of the Dụng Thần.
3. The Zone of Emotion (Emotional Baseline) When I am alone, what is my baseline emotion?
Anxiety, restlessness, feeling like a victim?
Or peace, gratitude, and a sense of having the power to choose?
A TABLE: IDENTIFYING YOUR STATE
Use this table to take the pulse of your current consciousness:
| Identifying Sign | Governed by the Kỵ Thần (Mode: Surviving) | Led by the Dụng Thần (Mode: Living Truly) |
|---|---|---|
| Sense of time | Always feeling short of it, rushed, hurried: I won’t make it! | Feeling in tune, unhurried. Savouring the present. Everything has its time. |
| Reaction to difficulty | Blaming, complaining, or feeling one has no chance. | Accepting the truth, seeking solutions, seeing it as a necessary lesson. |
| Dreams & Energy | Tired for no clear reason, prone to nightmares. Waking heavy as lead. | Sleeping well. Waking light, ready for the new day. |
| The inner voice | Judging, oppressing, comparing oneself with others. | Encouraging, compassionate, focused on one’s own journey. |
In closing: When these questions gradually grow clear, one no longer clings to the old lament: Why is my life so hard? Instead, a door of wisdom opens:
By what material do I wish to build my life — and what is the Dụng Thần whispering about that path?