Find a quiet place.
Stand with your feet next to each other.
Close your eyes.
Take a deep breath in.
And out.
Imagine a string of light coming out from the top of your spine, through your skull, and going up up up into heaven.
You are connected with heaven.
With God.
Feel that string supporting your head and body.
Feel light and spiritual nutrients coming down that string to fill you up.
Take a deep breath in.
And out.
Feel the light go down your spine, down your legs, and to your feet.
Imagine roots coming out of the bottom of your feet sinking down down down deep into the ground.
You are connected to your earthly home.
You are secure.
You are safe.
The earth loves you and supports you.
As you take a deep breath in, feel the light and goodness the earth has to offer come up through your feet.
And breathe out.
Feel the your connection upward to heaven and downward to earth.
Breathe in.
And out.
In this moment, heaven, human, and earth are one.
Jing, Qi, and Shen are connected.
The Dao De Jing chapter 42 contains my favorite quote from this ancient book – both because it’s simple to read and deep in meaning. In Chinese, it says 一生二, 二生三, 三生無謂 (Yi sheng er, er sheng san, san sheng wan wu). In English, it translates to “One generates two, two generates three, and three generates ten thousand things.” One is often thought of by scholars as representing the Dao (道), the oneness that everything comes from. Two is thought of as Yin (陰) and Yang (陽), opposites whose balance governs everything. Three is thought of as the three treasures: Jing (精), Qi (氣; pronounced chee), and Shen (神). The ten thousand things are everything else in the world, even those things that are greater than the number ten thousand. The Dao, Yin, Yang, Jing, Qi, and Shen are building blocks for nature, creation, the human body, and further exploration of Chinese Medicine. In the future, I plan to discuss each of these building blocks in greater depth, but here, we will discuss each simply, their relationship with each other, and how they are used to connect heaven and earth.
Jing (精)
Jing is a person’s essence. It is best described by Dr. Daniel Keown who wrote,
“Jing is the fount of our life, the alchemy of Yin and Yang that we inherit from our parents, our constitution. It is the seed of life from which our body springs, flowers and then seeds. This energy is stored within and by our Kidneys, it creates our body, guides its development, manifests its change into adulthood, and its decline leads us into our old age and senescence” (1).
Our Jing is what is created when our parents conceive us and is a combination of each of their Jings. It is believed to be stored in the Kidneys and controls our birth, growth, aging, and death. We are given a specific amount which we slowly use up during our life. When it runs out, we die. One way to use our Jing is when we create children and give them some of our Jing. We are also able to acquire Jing through breathing (particularly deep breaths), nutritious food, water, and self-cultivation mind-body practices like qigong, meditation, or yoga. From a Western perspective, Jing can be thought of as DNA, but according to Chinese thought, it goes far beyond genetics. It is our Jing that keeps us connected to this earth.
Qi (氣)
Qi can be thought of as energy, vibration, intelligent metabolism (2), the source of transformational processes, breath, the dispersed form of matter, or, I would argue, the light of Christ (3).
“At the same time [Qi] is matter, whether condensed or dispersed, perceptible or imperceptible, breath or blood; the vital energy within matter that keeps it organized and makes growth possible; and the force in living matter that influences other things. These ideas are not separated in early medical Chinese thought. One word was enough” (4)
That one word, the character for Qi succinctly expresses both its movement and power: The top portion showing a stream of air and the bottom part a grain of rice popping open. Both potential and kinetic energy are shown in one pictogram, with Qi moving up, down, in, and out.
Qi has five main functions in the body (5). First, it is active and facilitates movement in, around, and through the body, driving metabolism and growth. Second, it is warming, keeping the tissues at their desired temperatures to thrive. Third, it defends the body from outside influences by creating a protective shield and fighting the unwanted which gets through that shield. Fourth, it is the driving force for transformation in the body, healing, creating tissues, blood, and transforming fluid such as sweat and urine. Finally, Qi contains the body, keeping fluids from leaking, preventing prolapse, and keeping organs in their proper places. Qi flows through our bodies and is key to healthy bodily functions.
Shen (神)
Shen is a person’s spirit or consciousness. Originally it meant “heavenly light” (神明), which is a beautiful way to think of our spirits. Heiner Fruehauf states “In the realm of the human body, Shen is a microcosmic reflection of universal Spirit presence; a description of all functions of the heart-mind, the guiding light of consciousness that governs all human vision and acts of creation” (6). From this quote, I understand that our spirits, our Shen, are patterned after a “universal Spirit presence,” or Heavenly Father. They are manifest through our consciousness, heart-mind connection, and our ability to create spiritually before physically. It is through our Shen that we are able to connect with heaven.
Jing-Qi-Shen Transformation
Jing, Qi, and Shen can be seen reflected in so many areas of life and nature. Some of these can be seen in the following chart:
| Jing | Essence | Earth | Structural Body | Lower Part of the Body |
| Qi | Energy | Human | Energy Field | Middle Part of the Body |
| Shen | Spirit | Heaven | Consciousness | Upper Part of the Body |
When considering a sunflower, we see that there are deep roots connecting the plant with the nutrients of mother earth and providing a sturdy base to hold up the rest of the plant. We see the tall stem through which those nutrients smoothly travel. We see the flower which points to the heavens and communicates to others in nature. Its bright yellow petals seem to communicate “See me. Partake of my seeds. I want to connect!” The roots are the Jing, the stem is through which the Qi travels, and the flower is through which shines the Shen. This is one of many examples in nature of the Jing-Qi-Shen Transformation. This is seen in the human body as the Jing, the spark of life-giving force, is stored in the Kidneys, sending Qi up the spine to the brain where the lights turn on as Shen.
The concept of the three treasures is important to health because if they are not functioning correctly or getting the support they need, it can manifest as exhaustion, incontinence, pain, mania, poor sleep, etc. When the Jing is depleted, Qi stagnates, or Shen is not rooted, we must consider their relationship to the others in their triad and their connection to the Jing-Qi-Shen Transformation. As we root ourselves in the earth and reach up to heaven, we are enabling the connection of the three treasures in our bodies. In this moment, heaven, human, and earth are one. Jing, Qi, and Shen are connected.
Sources:
- Keown D. The Spark in the Machine: How the Science of Acupuncture Explains the Mysteries of Western Medicine. London and Philadelphia: Singing Dragon; 2014: 108.
- Keown D. The Spark in the Machine: How the Science of Acupuncture Explains the Mysteries of Western Medicine. London and Philadelphia: Singing Dragon; 2014: 26.
- D&C 88:7-13
- Fruehauf H. Classical Chinese Medicine: An Introduction to the Foundational Concepts and Political Circumstance of an Ancient Science. Portland, OR: Hai Shan Press; 2019: 13.
- Wiseman N, Ellis A. Fundamentals of Chinese Medicine: Revised Edition. Brookline, MA: Paradigm Publications; 1996.
- Fruehauf H. Classical Chinese Medicine: An Introduction to the Foundational Concepts and Political Circumstance of an Ancient Science. Portland, OR: Hai Shan Press; 2019: 16.
