Heart Series: Part 2
Last week I introduced you to the concept of the the Shen and its relationship to our human experience.
The stresses and adversity of our modern lifestyle are contributing to a shift in not only the health of our hearts, but that of our spirits.
As we discovered last week, the Heart and spirit are inseparable.
Quick recap:
Shen can be translated as mind, spirit, consciousness, vitality, expression, soul, and energy.
Shen can be a noun, an adjective, or a verb.
Shen is the capacity for self awareness.
Shen allows the individual to be conscious of his/her self.
Shen permits the cohesion of various parts of our psyche and emotions, and allows us to feel and assess them.
The Shen which I was describing last week is the Big Shen; it’s big because it can be further divided into five aspects.
These smaller aspects are the five mental-spiritual aspects of a human being. These five aspects belong to each of the 5 Elements and are governed by the yin organs of the body.
Here is a visual of the 5 Elements & the corresponding five mental- spiritual aspects:
The emotion of the Heart is joy.
The psychological function of the Heart is awareness, insight, mental processing (both conscious and subconscious) thinking, perceiving of the five senses.
The Heart Shen is responsible for connecting the Big Shen/Spirit properly with the world of time and space.
It ensures the inner timeless aspect of a person is able to connect with the actual ongoing world of real people and real places.
When the spirit of the Heart is intact, the mind is clear, behavior is socially appropriate, one can relate and connect with others, and responses are logical, thoughtful, and the demeanor is appropriate.
When the Heart/mind is disturbed, signs include:
insomnia,
palpitations,
anxiousness,
hyperactivity,
inappropriate or nervous laughter,
socially awkward,
misses social cues,
avoids eye contact,
and in extreme imbalance, delusional, chaotic, indiscriminate, psychotic, manic.
The signs of Heart imbalance vary along a spectrum of intensity and reflect the severity of Shen disturbances. Anxiety and insomnia are obviously minor compared to psychosis and mania, but all have their genesis in the same place, the Heart.
The Heart is the first to interpret all of the emotions because it regulates conscious and subconscious awareness.
Anxiety is one of the most common imbalances that I address with acupuncture; it may be second only to pain.
Insomnia is another imbalance I see with regularity, which is not surprising given that both conditions manifest with an overly active mind.
Acupuncture helps these conditions because it regulates the energetics of the Heart.
Given the ubiquitousness of anxiety and insomnia in our modern age, it’s easy to infer that there is an over-stimulation of the mind which is adversely affecting our spirits.
I find it interesting that in the age of information, a period in human history where we have the most access to knowledge instantaneously, we are seeing a correlative increase in anxiety and mental health disorders.
The constant stream of images, messages, and information is likely overstimulating the energy of the Heart because we have disconnected from the quiet rhythms of nature and replaced it with instant everything.
In short, we have become more mental: over-thinking, over-analyzing and over-processing.
I’m not suggesting the ascertainment of knowledge and information is the problem, it is the delivery mechanism and frenetic nature of digital platforms that seem to me to be driving much of this frenetic mental energy.
We have an onslaught of stimulation, fast-paced living, and are bombarded with a constant stream of data and information.
Our energetic physiology cannot keep pace with the times, it simply has not evolved enough to do so.
To come full circle, if you are struggling with mental health issues, or have difficulty managing stress, consider the ways in which your mind is over-stimulated by external information.
Consider how you toggle through apps throughout your day, have your attention grabbed by notifications and pop-ups, and then weigh that against the amount of time you sit in the present moment in quiet contemplation.
If you want to address your anxiety and insomnia, take time to tend to your Heart.
Begin by quieting the mind. This is where meditation practices, yoga, qi gong, and breath work can be hugely instrumental in calming the Heart, Mind and connecting to spirit.
This is one of the many reasons I am expanding the offerings at the Sunset Healing Collective: to offer folks as many avenues as possible to quiet the mind and tend to their Heart-Spirit.
When the mind is quiet, the Heart speaks Truth. Take the time to be quiet and just listen.