The word Shen derives from early Chinese Medicine texts, in relation to physical, emotional and spiritual health.
Heart houses the “Shen”, but what does that mean? In the west, grasping an understanding of this concept, involves letting go of the Heart simply as a physical organ. ❤️
The best translation for Shen, is “Heart-Mind”. It is related to consciousness, cognition, insight, logic, thoughts, memory, and the awareness of “self”. 🧠
It is said that the Shen “opens to the eyes”. The state of the Shen is assessed by “Shen-brightness”. Are the eyes bright and reactive, or are they dull and slow? 👁️
Abnormal or excessive eye movements, squinting, eye twitching, or excessive blinking may suggest an over activity of Shen. On the flip side, dull eyes that lack a focused gaze and have a flat affect, would suggest an under active Shen.
We can acquire a great deal of knowledge by assessing the Shen. It is said, that where the Shen is bright, the prognosis of illness is good. Where the Shen is dull, prognosis is poor.
The Shen or Heart-Mind, is the Emperor of all the other emotions in the body. That is to say, that any emotion that is out of balance will affect the Shen. I discussed the different emotions related to each organ yesterday. Strong emotions affect the Heart-Mind’s ability to probably process our current reality with a clear cognitive outlook.
We have treatment principles in Chinese Medicine such as “Calm the Heart-Mind” and “Brighten the Eyes”. For example, if a patient came to the clinic with a dull affect we may “Brighten the Eyes”. For a patient that was restless or anxious with their eye movements, we would choose to “Calm the Heart-Mind”.
Hopefully these concepts make a bit more sense to you now!
Monica Ander has a private Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture, and Osteopathic practice in Nelson, BC.
Osteopathy and Acupuncture by Monica Ander in Nelson BC 