Introduction to Chinese Medicine, Nine

Introduction to Chinese Medicine, Nine

Four Building Blocks

All cultures ponder the same human organism. Yet we all come up with different ideas of what we are, why we are here. How our body is structured, and how it functions. Within the framework of Chinese medicine, Shen, Essence, Qi, and Blood can be thought of as four foundational aspects or “building blocks” of a human being.

In this worldview, Nature holds the Mystery of where we come from, what we are made of, and our purpose as individuals and as a species. It includes plants, animals, and bugs as well as space, time, the universe, gravity, and more. It is seen in the various manifestations of life. It is unseen as the originator of all life.

From this Nature, all things arise and one day return. Out of the unseen aspect of Nature spring Yin and Yang. From that essential duality of interdependent forces comes everything, including humans. Humans are a precious combination of Yin and Yang, endowed with Shen, Essence, Qi, and Blood.

1) Shen

Shen is often translated as “Spirit.” It is immaterial and eternal. Shen is consciousness in our broadest sense of the term, it is the highest “ideal” of ourselves. When we are asked to rise to an occasion and we see ourselves acting in ways that are virtuous beyond our everyday activity, we our sensing our Shen and acting from it.

We get a glimpse of how we can really be, of what we aspire in our heart of hearts to become. Shen is always a part of us, always present even though we may not be in conscious contact with this aspect of ourselves. Shen is that in us which is closest to the unseen Mystery of Nature. It is our own little “spark of star dust,” our scaled-down expression of the vast unseen Mystery of Nature.

Shen is Yang (energetic, immaterial) in relationship to Essence, which is Yin (material, dense). Shen and Essence are an essential Yin-Yang pair within the human.

2) Essence

At conception we get our Essence. In the West, we say that at conception we get our DNA – half from the egg, half from the sperm.

Essence is the most “material” or densest form of the unseen Mystery of Nature that we have. It is the “drop” of something from nothing that is the basis of our creation. From the Essence we build our Blood and Qi. From the Blood and Qi, we build our physical form. This is why Essence is so precious: It is the basis of our physical life.

It is challenging to sense Essence as material. It is not material in the way that a counter top is. It is material in relationship to Shen.

What is DNA? A molecule. What is a molecule? How do we become physical in the Western view? DNA drives every cellular program. How did the donut and coffee we ate for breakfast become new muscle fiber after our workout? Digestion breaks down and sends the nutrient to the cell. DNA directs the formation of proteins from amino acids. Recall DNA and RNA and building the strands of protein. Sometimes the repetition of this story makes it seem that DNA is somehow solid and “real.” Yet DNA is a molecule – not so solid after all.

Essence is denser than Spirit – yet not a solid material “thing.” These are different stories for the same phenomenon. We have a set amount of Essence from conception. When that Essence runs out, so does our physical life. When the physical life ends, the Shen departs. The quality of Essence is reflected in our general constitution. You assess this when you evaluate an individual as lively, dull, smart, healthy, tired, weak, strong, etc.

Meridian Massage,

Cindy Black