the shen

While the wisdom of working with human shen has been lost for some time, there is a new movement in contemporary times to recover the art of the shen. There are increasing publications and courses on shen as renewed interest and inquiry emerges. However, the complexities are limited to the conception of shen. The practical use of this discipline is far from clinical, in part because of the impact of a Newtonian physical conception of reality that has impacted the development of scientific approaches to medicine in the East and West. Further, the needs for physical pattern diagnosis, reports and other demands of contemporary practice limit the attention of the practitioner. There are other factors that have impacted the development of shen concepts in clinical practice, including superstitions and beliefs that can become confusing or easily dismissed on conventional cultural settings.

The ideal shen presents with a healthy, harmonious spiritedness.