SHEN (Spirit)

Spirit – Shen, Is Your Own Personal Radiance

or “Inner Light” That is Gifted to You at Birth.

Spirit is infinite so it doesn’t require conservation, unlike your Jing and Chi.  Spirit needs to be released from the cage of human experience.

Buried beneath layers of conditioning and programming from birth on, your spirit is not always seen but it never diminishes.  Any activity that keeps you present, peaceful, centered and connected to your heart, allows for the manifestation of Spirit.

Love, compassion, awareness, wisdom and understanding are all indicators of Spirit manifesting in your life.

You Are Born With an Infinite Amount of Spirit.

As a child, it is reflected in your sense of wonder and joy as you grow and experience the world around you.

As you move into adulthood, Spirit often gets buried under layers of social conditioning.  Cultivating Vitality and Energy enables you to handle the stresses of life from a position of power and to grow from the experience.

The Better You Feel The Easier Your Day Goes

The wisdom and understanding you gain, allows for the unfolding of Spirit into your life.  As you peel back the layers to reveal your inner light, you rediscover your sense of wonderment and joy, reducing your reactions to stress and conserving Vitality and Energy.

One of the benefits of eating well and taking care of yourself is the simple fact that you experience stress differently and lessen it’s effects.

Good food, adequate rest and relaxation goes a long way towards developing a healthy mind and body.  Shen isn’t some far out idea expressed in Chinese philosophy as much as it’s a common idea that threads it’s way through every philosophy on this planet.

The idea that you possess an inner guidance, an inner compass that guides you is universal.  Call it what you will but when you experience the feeling of doing something you really love and you’re in the moment you’ve tapped it.

The Taoist who developed “Three Treasures” talked about cultivating essence and life.  I’ve mentioned essence as Life Force when discussing Jing but there is also a deeper meaning to it.

Your True Essence is “Spirit”…..the Inner Light

or Soul Energy Present at Birth and Beyond Time.

This is your true self or nature.

By cultivating life, that is, seeking knowledge, education, religion, the arts, music and everything else that deepens your experience of life, you have put yourself in a better position to have that “aha” moment or “awakening” where you truly see life as it is and understand your role in the bigger picture.

It’s my own personal experience that herbs can facilitate this awakening or as I like to say, put you in an energetic position to have an experience……your Shen moment, when life takes on a whole new meaning.