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Mind Your Heart

Anxiety, Depression, Heart problems, Insomnia, Joy, Psycho-emotional, , , , , , ,

HeartThe Chinese ancients saw the body’s organs as having functions far beyond their physiology. They saw the twelve organs as if they were twelve “officials” in a court, each with a ministerial role and a complex set of functions. They described the functions of these officials much more in terms of mind and spirit than physiology.

From this perspective, the Heart official is akin to an emperor who sits on the throne and holds the kingdom together simply by being himself. When the emperor is wise and moderate and all his ministers are taking care of business, then the kingdom functions harmoniously.

The Heart and its functioning are uniquely essential to life but are also very sensitive to disruption. Because of this, the other three Fire officials (Small Intestine, Pericardium and Triple Heater) act like an inner cabinet to the emperor. They take on the job of protecting and supporting the Heart, which they do in their various ways, monitoring communications from the Heart to the world and from the world back to the Heart.

Mind and Heart as One

The spirit of the Heart is shen. One modern authority, Giovanni Maciocia translates shen as mind; indeed the ancients saw no distinction between heart and mind, unlike the usual western view that mind is equivalent to brain function.

When the heart-mind is settled and protected, the shen resides there quietly. However, shen is easily disturbed by shock and trauma which can cause it to fly away like a flock of startled birds. When the shen leaves the Heart, the connection with spirit is lost and the person may feel apathetic, depressed and separated from themselves and the world. Others may see emptiness, vacancy and lifelessness in their eyes.

On the other hand, disturbance to the shen can result in hyper-excitement, a kind of false joy that appears ungrounded and unreal. Insomnia, restless activity, uncontrolled speech and even mania can be some of the manifestations of such disturbance to the Heart.

In choosing points to treat the Heart, we must be very careful to respect its delicate sensitivity. Some acupuncturists do not even use needles on the Heart meridian, preferring instead to treat it indirectly through Pericardium. Heart must be treated gently, treasured and honoured like an infant king.

One point that is safe to use is Shenmen – Spirit Gate. It is the gateway into the innermost chamber of the Heart. At the same time, it provides a gateway through which the Heart can express itself in the world. As the source point of the Heart meridian, it treats the organ directly, strengthening and stabilising it. The point will balances the Qi whether it is deficient or excess.

Shenmen soothes the mind and spirit, easing anxiety, sadness, depression and mania. It helps to mend a broken heart. It calms the physical heart, treating such conditions as pounding, palpitations and arrhythmia. Shenmen assists with memory and mental capacity; it helps with conditions of speech and the tongue including excessive speech; and it helps when there is insomnia and restless sleep, calming the heart and mind to allow for peaceful rest.

In the west we refer to the eyes as the windows of the soul. The perspective of Chinese medicine is that the eyes are windows into the heart-mind. The quality of the shen is seen in the eyes. When the shen is healthy, the eyes are alive with a “thereness” that makes intimate contact with the world while at the same time the person is in contact with himself. Spirit Gate helps us to move towards this way of being in the world.

Location of Heart 7

HT 7The point lies on the inner wrist crease, towards the ulnar (little finger) side and about one-fifth of the distance across the wrist. Feel for a hollow at the base of the pisiform bone. Apply gentle pressure for two to three minutes or until you feel the Qi moving. Hold the left side first, then the right. Tune into yourself as you do this. Treat it as a little meditation on your heart.

Hun – The Spirit of Wood

Anger, Depression, Five Elements, Insomnia, Psycho-emotional, , , , , , , , ,

Tia In the cycadSpring is now well advanced and will soon be merging into summer. Before we leave the realm of Wood, let us go a little deeper and explore this Element at the level of spirit.

In Chinese medicine, each of the Five Elements corresponds to one of the five spirits. In a way, the spirit is more fundamental; the qualities and attributes of an Element arise out of the nature of its spirit.

The spirit of Wood is hun which occupies the realm of the clouds, lighter than earth but containing enough density to keep it near the earth and not fly away to heaven.

Of all the five spirits, the hun is closest to the western concept of the soul.  In fact the character hun is usually translated as Ethereal Soul. The hun enters the body after birth and at death it leaves through the top of the head. It then ascends to the stars whereupon it reports to the spirits that preside over destiny on the degree to which each of us has cultivated virtue during our life.

During our lifetime, it is the hun which bestows the gifts of Wood upon us. A healthy hun allows us to be clear about our purpose in life, find our path, know where we’re going and orient ourselves in that direction. It is what helps us to navigate the rapids of life. The hun is like the map and compass of our soul.

It is said that during the day the hun resides in the eyes to help us to see how we can act in ways that best serve our life purpose. At night when we sleep, the hun descends to the liver where it organises our dreams. Thus the hun acts as an intermediary between our waking and sleeping states.

If the hun is imbalanced, then our sleeping and dreaming may be disrupted. We might suffer from sleep disturbances, sleepwalking, intense dreaming or no dreams at all. In extreme cases we may find it difficult to distinguish between dreams and reality. Out of body experiences, near death experiences, seeing ghosts and spirits, are all associations of the hun.

The classics say that the liver houses the hun, therefore anything that damages the liver also injures the hun. Anger that does not flow freely and gets stuck in the body will damage the liver. It is also easily upset by alcohol and drugs. Marijuana is particularly harmful to the hun. While it might seem to endow us with cleverness, creativity and vision when we are intoxicated, over time these very qualities are eroded and we lose both purpose and vitality.

The hun can also be injured by psychological scarring. In childhood the hun needs psychological support. If a child is severely constrained in his freedom, constantly criticised for his actions or emotionally deprived, the hun cannot develop freely. If there is alcoholism or abuse in the home, the development of the hun is harmed. In later life too, overwhelming emotional experiences can disturb the hun.

The hun spirit needs a healthy liver to be invited to stay in our body. Hun’s nature is to wander like a cloud. When its home in our body is unhealthy and uninviting, it will tend to fly away, leaving us bereft of its capacities of clarity, vision and purpose.

The hun spirit is what allows us to bring our heavenly nature into earthly form and manifestation. When in balance it is the source of our dreams and visions, aims and projects, our creativity and ideas, all of which can find expression in physical form in life on earth. A healthy hun is what we need to live a conscious and effective life as a being of spirit in a physical body.

Supporting Hun with Bladder 47 – Hunmen

This point on the Bladder meridian is called Gate of the Ethereal Soul. It lies at the same level as the Liver Shu point (BL 18) and lateral to it.

Hunmen is a great point for cleansing the liver organ, treating addictions, and for supporting the healthy functioning of the spirit of Wood. By clearing away this stagnation in the Liver Qi, Hunmen can resurrect the spirit and activate the core of a person’s being.

This point also treats sleep disturbances and insomnia by settling the hun spirit during the time of sleep and allowing us to access the wisdom of dreams as they pertain to our life purpose.

When anger and resentment have solidified and been turned inward upon oneself, Hunmen can be used to release and mobilise this energy into the service of taking action. Wood that has become rigid and inert can become supple and active, providing the means to express the uniqueness of our individual self in the world.

Location of Bladder 47

BL 47Located on the back, about two fingers width below the bottom of the shoulder blade and four fingers width (3 cun) out from the spine. It is level with the space between the 9th and 10th thoracic vertebrae.