The shen enables people to radiate outwards. Shen gives a person a sparkle in the eyes, an inner vitality, joie de vivre, and an alertness of the mind. This brightness and radiance is called shen ming in Chinese texts. Shen ming is the glow and radiance of Fire. Practitioners often notice after a treatment on the Fire Organs that patients’ shen ming has been enhanced. Their eyes sparkle more, their mind is more settled and their pulse improves. The change reminds us of the description of the Heart. It is like an empty space, just being, needing to do nothing and influencing simply by being there.

Each yin Organ has a ‘spirit’ associated with it. Thus as well as being the spirit of the Heart, the shen is also the spirit of the whole Element. The other spirits are the following:

•	Wood	hun or spiritual soul
•	Earth	yi or intellect
•	Metal	po or corporeal soul
•	Water	zhi or will

One of the functions of the shen is to be the overseer or leader of the other spirits. This means that for each of these to thrive, they will to some degree depend upon the state of health of the shen. If the shen itself is healthy the other spirits may then perform their roles perfectly.

The shen, which the Heart stores, has other more specific functions. Like many of the Organ functions in Chinese medicine, these are not exclusive to the Heart. They are primarily a function of the shen, but the spirits of the other Organs also influence them.

The shen affects our ability to sleep, especially to go off to sleep. The shen goes outward during the day and engages with the world. At night, when it is time to rest, the shen returns to the Heart. The shen rests in the Blood of the Heart. When the Heart Blood is not healthy, then the shen is not ‘rooted’ and becomes agitated. This is somewhat like a dog that circles its blanket time and time again and cannot settle. Going off to sleep depends upon a settled shen. If the shen is unsettled, then the unconscious can be sufficiently disturbed for dreams to break through into consciousness and wake the person up.

The shen affects our short-term memory. When the shen is disturbed or deficient it often manifests in ways such as not knowing why we came into a room, not remembering the name of someone to whom we were just introduced, or forgetting where we put our pen or car keys. Scatty, vague, absent-minded are the usual terms to describe these mental states. This often deteriorates with age or if the person is upset or preoccupied.

The shen also governs our ability to think clearly and have clear consciousness. Thinking clearly means that there is a purpose to one’s thinking and that a person can concentrate without wandering off. When the shen is weak or agitated the mind easily strays. Clear consciousness is similar to the function of thinking clearly. Anyone who has meditated knows the tendency for the mind to wander, to disappear into foggy gaps and then re-emerge. Consciousness is also affected or lost when a person has a fit or is in a coma. The shen has no ‘residence’. At the same time the person often becomes extremely ‘lack of red’, indicating that the Fire Element is out of balance.

A Five Element Constitutional Acupuncturist’s diagnosis is largely made by observing ‘signs’ such as colour, sound, emotion and odour. These signs can reveal the person’s CF but not which Organ is primarily in distress. This is especially important in the case of the Fire Element as there are four Organs as opposed to two. Pulse diagnosis is crucial but the nature of the symptoms can also be revealing.

The hallmark of Heart dysfunction is lack of internal control, especially when the shen is affected. Difficulty getting off to sleep and dream-disturbed sleep are also common. Seeing someone in an acute state of shock can give some insight into disturbance of the Heart’s shen in an extreme form. Excessively volatile emotions, uncontrollable tearfulness and internal desperation are common. Lack of stability of the emotions is the key diagnostic indicator. The person usually finds it difficult to stabilise the intense movements of qi induced by mild shocks and upsets. This is especially so when brought on by difficulties in relationship to other people but can arise in other situations. Tearfulness is often very transient, arising and departing in a flash. Feelings of rejection are often extremely intense. The person can also be panicky, and may experience intense feelings in the chest.