ShinsungHwa — The Visualization of Spiritual Transformation After COVID-19 Infection (2022)
What is ShinsungHwa?
ShinsungHwa is a unique form of spiritual art where drawings emerge through spontaneous, flowing movements. Artists tap into their subject’s energy and let Qi(氣) guide their hands, creating geometric patterns that serve as a universal language.
After being infected with the coronavirus, the client went through a spiritual transformation.
This ShinsungHwa was shared with permission because the client’s situation is unusual. About three weeks earlier, the client had suffered a severe case of COVID-19 and, after recovering, felt as if their inner life had been “reset.” Daily habits also seemed changed, and COVID-19 was described almost as an unexpected “visitor” who had left a gift on the doorstep. With that in mind, the request was to explore spiritual changes following the infection. The first checkpoint was vaccine history, as it can influence how a story like this is interpreted.
In broad terms, COVID-19 vaccines have either “emergency use authorization” or “full approval.” Full approval follows controlled clinical trials and a full review showing safety, purity, and effectiveness, while emergency use authorization allows temporary use during a crisis when the potential benefit outweighs the risk and no adequate alternatives exist. Both routes involve FDA review, but EUA is a faster pathway designed for emergencies. It is not the same as full approval and doesn’t last beyond the emergency itself. These distinctions matter here as background, not as a verdict.
Before the illness: dotted light
Since the client was unvaccinated, the plan was to illustrate the “before and after” of the ShinsungHwa with respect to the time of infection. First, here is a depiction from roughly three weeks before the illness: At the 12th spiritual core, a symbol of light appeared as a dotted line, and similar dotted lights appeared at the edges in all directions. In this context, solid lines represent clear, stable energy, whereas dotted lines represent energy that is moving but not yet settled. When dotted energy passes a certain tipping point, it manifests as a solid form. This is a working language for something difficult to name, like trying to describe wind by the ripples it leaves on water.
After recovery: widened field
Next comes the “after”—drawn from the period immediately following recovery. Placed side by side, the two images tell a simple story: the field appears wider. The dotted light at the center has expanded, and at the far edges, each light symbol appears to be wrapped in a soft layer of energy. The chest center—which is often associated with warmth, care, and breath—felt more active. Such a shift is rare in such a short span—about six weeks—and it would not be fair to say that everyone who gets COVID-19 will experience the same thing. People respond in their own ways. That said, the change here was clear enough to give one pause.
Why fast change happens
Why might things change so fast? The client said the illness felt like being pushed to the edge. In that heat, old heaviness and tangled feelings may have burned off, leaving a brief, clean space. In that sense, the virus was the occasion, but the real spark was the sheer intensity of pain. Many traditions treat great losses, illness, or failure as moments that can open a door, if not to comfort, then to clarity. In Buddhism, there’s a short teaching often called the Treatise on the Ten Contemplations (Bo-wang Sammae-ron, 寶王三昧論), which is sometimes paraphrased as “Don’t wish for a life without illness; let illness be a good medicine.” It isn’t a call to suffer on purpose, but a reminder that pain can be worked with, turned, and used for wisdom. Care is needed here: spiritual language should never dismiss real harm or suggest that suffering is required for growth. Still, it helps explain how a crisis can soften the ground for change.
In the end, growth without some friction is uncommon. Pain can press a person to choose a direction, to trust again, to find a reason to move. In this case, the quick expansion suggests that walking through severe illness may have acted as a kind of catalyst—less a miracle, more a door that happened to be open at the right time. That doesn’t make illness good, or suffering noble. It only says that even hard seasons can be used, quietly and honestly, for renewal.
