Shen

Macciocia talks about how "when the two essences (of mother and father)unite, they form the mind". I had a question come up, when I read this, about how Chinese medicine views the idea of abortion (ethically speaking). In this country we have made a business out of contesting this practice, turning it into a moral battleground - and I suppose that in TCM as in Western medicine there has been a practice of addressing the issue strictly from a clinical perspective vs. a political/social one. But it does seem to be saying here that pretty much from conception a person is considered a person, at least from an intellect perspective. And as mentioned before, there really is no separation of spirit from the physical form in our medicine.

I was also taken by Qu Lifang and Mary Garvey talking about the heart-shen and how it governs the tongue; how speaking can relieve pressure on the heart and that talking with friends can be helpful when one is disturbed about something. I know that I myself feel a physical sense of relief and release of pressure in the chest/heart area when I am upset and have an opportunity to talk it out with close and trusted friends. There is not just an emotional release, but an actual physical one as well.

Additionally, Lori Dechar talks about how you know that your shen is disturbed if you feel anxiety or palpitations associated with events or people; I often feel anxiety and palpitations when studying for a big exam! Just the act of studying sometimes is made more difficult by this stress reaction, and I have found that often I need to do some Qi Gong or something to calm myself down so I can actually take the information in properly.