Click here to read to full article. - 'In order to truly heal and address an issue or disease we are facing which is manifest in a physical symptom or complaint, we must also heal the spiritual and mental disturbances which gave rise to the problem in the first place, otherwise it will simply reappear in another form' - 'the Chinese Medicine Tradition has been meticulously documenting this relationship for millennia and has developed a highly sophisticated, comprehensive system of understanding the relationships between the mind, spirit and the physical manifestations of these aspects of the self' Psychospiritual Aspects of Traditional Chinese MedicineBy Francesca Diebschlag, BAc Bphil, MBAcC Mrchm Difference between Western Metaphysics and Chinese Metaphysics - Western metaphysics in formed by Cartesian dualism -> matter and mind or spirit occupy in separate realms --> Great pains are taken in orthodox medical research to exclude subjective experience from the picture altogether - Exterior of a person - what can be observed and described directly/ straight away without consulting that person -> no active participation in the investigation is required - Interior of a person - realm of the person's own experience/ feelings/ what things mean to them/ what they value/ their goals/ dreams/ destiny -> object of investigation must become a subject/ co-researcher/ an active participant in the investigation - 'most of our patients need the Interior, as well as the Exterior realm addressed. Indeed, that is what they ask of us: that they be treated as Whole Persons.' Chinese Metaphysics - Traditional Chinese Metaphysics divided into yin and yang -> further into wu xing, the 'five phases' --> qualities applicable to phenomena from the most grossly material to the most subtle - Human body - 5 Major Organs (zang) -> One embodying each of the wu xing -> Each 'represents a spectrum from physical structure, to physiological function, emotions, mental and social dispositions, and spiritual qualities' - The Traditional Chinese model of the human person images the individual, the kingdom, and the entire cosmos as organised along similar principles -> The ancient medical texts, and particularly the Su Wen, compared the human person to society as a whole, and assigned a 'social' role to each organ Fire: the Heart and Small Intestine Heart - Heart = Emperor and Sovereign of the organism -> "The Heart holds the office of Lord and Sovereign. The radiance of the spirits stems from it" -> Emperor = embodiment of Heaven on Earth --> Emperor = Political leader, actively wielding power --> brought order and prosperity to kingdom - The Hear has a double aspect, like the Chinese sovereign -> represented by two pairs of ideograms: xin jun and xin zhu --> Jun = ruler --> Zhu = soverign in action, at work, in the process of actively exercising his power Jun - Heart has an entity which has authority by nature -> Command of the Heart over body = Emperor's over the kingdom --> Accomplished by radiation of order from centre - The Heart is a residence of the Shen -> Shen = messengers of Heaven --> "the principle of life, that which transforms an assemblage of matter into a living being" (Larre and Rochat 1992) - It is indestructible and immutable, which transcend Yin and Yang - The Shen is known to be 'xin zhong', which when translated = 'Heart as Centre' - Radiate from the Heart from a void -> The void of the Heart is a fundamental concept in Chinese thought, referring to a space of potential which allows the possibility of creativity, communication and interaction Zhu - Sometimes translated as 'Heart Governor' or 'Heart Master' -> Heart as Master --> Larre translated as "that through which the heart commands" - Another term for this aspect of the Heart is xin bao luo - Bao -> Enveloping something precious in order to protect and maintain it, in the same way that a pregnant woman carries a foetus, or a bird sits on a nest --> When combined with the 'body part' radical it takes on a meaning of a matrix, or specifically, the uterus -> When combined with xin, refers to protecting the heart -> Often translated as 'Heart Protector' or 'Pericardium' - Xin bao luo - Bao luo + Heart -> the void of the Heart needs protection + network of relationships - Expression of xin bao luo =
-> Heart = Grand Master (da zhu) of the internal organs (five zang and six fu) -> When the internal organs are solid and firm, the perversities cannot penetrate -> If they penetrate = heart injured = shen leave = death - When the perversities are in the heart, they are in the bao luo Shen - Reside in Blood - Roots, embraces and anchors them - The Heart's function depends on adequate nourishment from the Blood Conclusion - Heart = Emperor -> Perform the appropriate rites, invoke divine power -> Serves as a channel linking his people with the source of life - Translates as Mindfulness -> Shen makes time and space for one's spiritual practice Small Intestine - Paired with Heart - "[R]esponsible for receiving and making things thrive. Transformed substances stem from it.” (Su Wen chapter 8) - Function as ‘separation of the pure and impure’ - It is the primary point of choice between what is assimilated to the organism and what is rejected - Reflect the nature of the Heart -> Determines what extrinsic influences are selected to constitute and reconstitute the organism- Useful when a person is having trouble sorting out relevant and irrelevant, valid and spurious data, in order to come to a decision Metal: the Lung and Large Intestine The Lung - Found in the upper (yang) part of body alongside Heart - The beating of Heart is intimately connected with and dependent upon respiration - "The Lung holds the office of Minister and Chancellor. The regulation of the life-giving network stems from it." (Su Wen Chapter 8) - In relation to the Lung, the Heart is Yang, the leader, the more refined and immaterial; the Lung is Yin to the Heart - Associated with the seven 'spiritual entities' - po -> maintain and regulate bodily rhythms, respiration, metabolism and homeostasis -> responsible for maintaining the automatic rhythmic functions of the body, vital movements, sensations, reactions and instinctive impulses - Rules the exterior of the body and spiritual aspect, po Po -> experience things in the moment, on a reactive, unconscious basis -> completely tied to Time and Space -> have no existence independent of the body -> experience pain but not suffering (pain is in moment VS suffering consists of one's response to it -> completely dependent on the body - The emotion associated with the Lungs is sadness -> Virtue of Lungs is Reverence -> we get sad because we have embraced something, connected with its special quality, and then lost it -> Reverence is sadness without the loss, it is what makes people cry when they are moved by great beauty -> The virtue of the Lungs is to appreciate each moment in the Here and Now, as the only moment there is Wood: the Liver and Gall Bladder The Liver - "The Liver holds the office of General of the armed forces. Assessment of circumstances and conception of plans springs from it" -> General: defence of life -> Nature of Liver: active springing up, kind of assertive power - Capacity to make plans and put them into action, to exert one's volition -> requires vision --> estimating and evaluating the current situation for the proper conduct of physical, emotional and social life - Liver governs the muscles and tendons in their function of contraction and extension -> responsible for the voluntary movement of the muscles, tensing and relaxing them as appropriate --> muscle capacity to extend and contract to the dynamic, functional connections between the flesh and the bones - Responsible for the voluntary movements of the social being, modulating engagement and self-restraint as appropriate to the circumstances - Stores the Blood, releasing it for use in movement, and gathering it back to itself when the body is at rest - Houses the hun, the spirits which bestow on a person the quality of individuality -> hun: --> represent the 'giving of images': they have everything to do with creativity, speculation, and vision --> represent aspect of the individual which is self-aware and concerned with boundaries between self and others, and with assessing situations so as to make possible harmonious and socially appropriate action --> reside in the blood, related both to the Liver's function of storing the blood and to the close relationship between the shen and the hun - The essence: flexibility and the capacity to change and adapt - Liver rules the eyes, and the capacity for vision, both physical and imaginative - another aspect of the capacity to assess situations by accurate perception, and to create novelty through the destruction of fixed patterns and the imagination of possibilities - The emotion: Anger -> considered in a general way as the self-assertive, explosive impulse connected with beginnings, or with the defense of boundaries - The Virtue: Benevolence and Human Kindness -> Biggest obstacle to Benevolence = Anger -> The spiritual path of the Liver is to transcend selfishness and cultivate Benevolence toward everything and everyone Gall Bladder - The yang aspect of Wood - "[R]esponsible for what is just and exact. Determination and decision stem from it" -> 'just and exact' = zhong zheng/ 'centre' (as in hitting the centre of a target)/ 'correct'/ 'as it should be' - Analyses, assesses circumstances, conceives ideas, plans and strategies - has the firmness to bring fantasy and invention to a clearcut decision and see it through - Su Wen chapter 11 says "The eleven organs come to the Gall Bladder for decisions" - Gall Bladder is related to beginnings -> gives initial push along one's direction in life -> with power of decisiveness maintains one in that direction -> ensures a quick return to normal after physical or emotional shocks such as serious illness or bereavement Water: the Kidneys and Bladder The Kidneys - "The Kidneys are responsible for the creation of power. Skill and ability stem from them" (Su Wen chapter 8) - Represent: origins of life in the depths of one's being: the invisible beginnings, the seed -> original and permanent basis for life, like the foundations of a house - Responsible for deep inner power of a person: not the power of temporary exertion, allows for duration - House: jing - govern reproduction and development - Said to be roots of yin and yang -> "mansion of Fire and Water, the residence of yin and yang... the channel of life and death" -> link past and future - Psychospiritual aspect: zhi -> represent the withdrawal of life into depths - Emotion of withdrawal: Fear - Ultimate fear: fear of extinction -Virtue: facing mortality, looking past to discover and accept destiny Bladder - Yin aspect of water - Special place amongst the fu - Responsible for regions and cities (zhou du) -> stores the jin ye -> Transformations of qi then give out their power - Represents last phase of metabolic transformation, the coming full circle from the original essence of the kidneys to manifest, explicate, workings of life - Significant influence in regulating the vitality of the entire organism - Power is reflected in its channel, correspond to every significant physical structure and psychospiritual aspect of the organism Earth: the Spleen and Stomach The Spleen
- Governs the central region and continually through the four seasons it allows the development of the four zang - All of the zang are paired with a corresponding fu, but the Stomach and Spleen are virtually one unit - The Spleen and Stomach are responsible for the storehouses and granaries -> Five tastes stem from them - The spiritual aspect of the Spleen is not an entity, but rather a quality of mind, a central channel of expression, yi -> Yi = purpose, intention, engagement, ideas, or thought -> Corresponds to the Taoist notion of 'spontaneity' -> Dwells in the Ying qi, the 'nutritive' qi of the channels --> capacity to engage with the world requires sufficient qi to reach out and connect --> Deficiency of ying qi would result to physical level of fatigue, and psychological level of lack of presence, interest and engagement - Spleen ensures passage from one quality of qi to another/ from one zang to another -> master passages, transmissions, and transformations - The ability to translate experience - whether it be of food (biological level) or data (the cognitive level) - into something life-enhancing for oneself belongs to the Earth pase - Emotion associate: si/ thought, in the sense of coherence -> when various perceptions and ideas come together in a coherent, meaningful way - Virtue: Faithfulness and Reliability -> Holding to a commitment or relationship
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