Shen Unity

Shen resides at the interior and fills the physical form. When shen is harmonized with the physical body, the physique and shen are harmonizing in oneness. The shen located in the heart is a singular concept called heart shen. The shen is also a plural concept and may reside in various organs. For example, the shen residing in the liver is called the hun; the shen residing in the lung is po; the shen residing in the spleen is yi; and the shen residing in the kidney is zhi. In a healthy state, these shen are united in a cooperative state. When the shen are harmonized together, creating the big shen, there is harmony throughout mind and body. Correspondingly, each organ system has its own shen pattern and activities, and must function cooperatively with other organ systems in order to perform the activities of the shen. Shen unity is an important component of healthy mental function so people move through life in contact with and using wisdom. Shen unity is an integral state of being that demonstrates congruency between the subpersonalities and can be observed by the practitioner via clinical signs.

If a single shen is hyper- or hypofunctioning, it also can affect other shen or systems. For example, heart fire may lead to heart shen irritability; the person who suffers from this condition may be easily startled or experience anxiety and insomnia. If the heart qi is weak, this may lead to a weakness of the heart shen and the patient may feel sad or have sluggish mental powers. A happy and enjoyable life requires attention not just to heart shen; there also must be cooperation from the hun, po, yi and zhi in a harmonious state.