Mind is the yang aspect of Jing-Shen (soma-psyche), the unity of body and consciousness. Whereas Jing (Essence) is stored and secured by the Kidney, Shen (Mind) is enveloped and protected by the Heart. The Shen is not synonymous with the Heart, but the Heart, through it governance of the Blood, maintains the matrix through which the enlivening power of the Shen expresses the true nature of the organism. Shen then is the "complexion" or fullest revelation of the essential nature (Jing-Shen) of the individual. Without containment of the Shen, the body loses its "presence," the quality of animated gaze and attention that we recognize as humaness. This noncorporeal aspect of our being is somewhat autonomous and evanescent and is said to easily wander and desert its bodily vessel when startled or restless. Any number of influences may unsettle or disturb the Shen, such as lack of sleep, over-excitement, emotional shock or travail, fever, dehydration, or even great pleasure. This psychological uneasiness may, if prolonged or intensified, lead to intolerable anxiety, confusion, agitation, distortions of sensation and perception, mania, and even consciousness. The interpenetration of Shen-Jing is likened to that of Yin-Yang. It is a grave consequence when the Shen is not peacefully settled within its bodily matrix, because this can result in a rupture of the fundamental unity and equilibrium of the organism. Confort Shen soothes the Shen by settling the Heart and Liver Yang, nurturing the Heart Blood, and strengthening the Kidney Yin. Unlike the formula for Supplementing the Heart, Comfort Shen emphasizes sedating and cooling.*

Zhen zhu mu - Mother-of-pearl shell

Long gu - Dragon bone

Duan ci shi - Magnetite

Fu shen mu - Poria with wood root

Yuan zhi - Polygala root

Ling zhi - Reishi fruiting body

Ye jiao teng - Polygonum multiflorum stem

Chao suan zao ren - Dry fried sour jujube seed

Mai men dong - Ophiopogon tuber

Hu po - Amber resin

Chuan xiong - Sichuan lovage rhizome

Wu wei zi - Schisandra fruit