Supreme Shen Drops contains an extraordinary range of Shen tonic herbs, including Wild
Asparagus Root, Longan, Albizzia Flower, Spirit Poria, Wild Reishi, Tibetan
Rhodiola, Polygala, American Red Ginseng, and Guilin Sweetfruit. These herbs
have the power to calm the mind, stabilize the emotions and lift the spirit.
Wild Asparagus root directly affects
the Heart, the "Seat of Shen" by stabilizing the emotional component
of the Heart, removing heat from the Heart and allowing the Heart to
communicate with the Brain and Kidneys. Albizzia flower is a wonderful herb
that has a very calming effect on the spirit. Wild Reishi is the premier Shen
tonic of all herbalism. Tibetan Rhodiola
sacra is the most sacred herb used in Himalayan herbalism. Himalayan
Rhodiola directly tonifies the organs and functions associated with Shen and
provides a basis for higher consciousness. It has antidepressant effects and
strengthens the mind. Ginseng has been revered for three thousand years as a
Shen tonic. Longan is a Heart blood tonic. By supplying more blood to the
Heart, the Heart can become calm and peaceful.
All of the herbs in Supreme Shen
Drops calm the emotions and help ease emotional pain.
What is a Shen Tonic?
Shen is the third treasure. Shen is
our spirit. It may also be translated as our higher consciousness. This is
ultimately the most important of the three treasures because it reflects our
higher nature as human beings. Chinese masters say that Shen is the all
embracing love that resides in our Heart. Shen is expressed as love,
compassion, kindness, generosity, acceptance, forgiveness and tolerance. It
manifests as our wisdom and our ability to see all sides of all issues, our
ability to rise above the world of right and wrong, good and bad, yours and
mine, high and low, etc. Shen is our higher knowledge that everything is one,
even though nature manifests dualistically and cyclically, often obscuring our
vision and creating illusion.
Shen is the spark of divinity within
each human being. Shen is the
spiritual radiance of a human being and is the ultimate and most refined level
of energetics in the universe. It
is associated with our awareness of and oneness with the Universal Infinite
Being, and is manifested in our own godliness. Shen is not considered to be an emotion,
or even a state of mind. It
presides over the emotions and manifests as all-encompassing compassion, and
non-discriminating, non-judgmental awareness. Shen manifests not only as our
love and compassion, but also as our mental and intuitive energy.
Chuang Tzu, one of China's greatest Daoist sages, once
wrote:
"When
the shoe fits the foot is forgotten,
When
the belt fits the belly is forgotten
And
when the heart (Shen) is right,
For
and against are forgotten."
This quote expresses quite
exquisitely an aspect of Chinese Daoist philosophy that is absolutely central
to the attainment of health. Very
simply, Chuang Tzu is saying that one cannot attain high spiritual levels until
one has learned the art of balance.
One who seeks true happiness must achieve balance in their lives. Imbalance is the source of stress that
distracts Shen’s attention away from its higher path. But when there is balance and harmony in
one's life then “the heart,” or Shen, has an opportunity to develop
and attain a state of enlightened all-embracing acceptance of things as they
really are, transcending the notions of good and bad, right and wrong, for and
against.
It is taught in Chinese philosophy
that Shen naturally rules our lives, but if we lose our emotional balance
(which we all do), then the ego and the various emotions compete for dominance
and Shen withdraws and becomes hidden. Immoderate behavior is brought about by
a lack of understanding of the laws of nature which promotes selfishness. We develop addictions to particular
egoistic attitudes and to the emotions that help manifest our egoistic
goals. Anger, greed, fear, worry,
sorrow, frustration, uncontrolled and excessive worldly joy, the perpetual
seeking of pleasure in the things of this world of relativity and illusion, are
all examples of the types of mental states that force Shen into hiding, often
for the duration of one's life.
If Shen is weak, then the person becomes ruled by emotions and passions
and the true desires of Shen are covered by the demands of the body and of the
lower self. The person constantly
craves excitement and novelty but these things do not satisfy the heart and the
person is frustrated, lonely and depressed.
An ancient classic says:
"If
the master is brilliant, his subjects are peaceful.
If
the master is disturbed, then his twelve officials are in danger."
The "master" is Shen, and
the "twelve officials" are the twelve organ systems of the body.
The great spiritual paths of the
world have all attempted to teach their followers that it is necessary to
temper excessive desires and imbalanced emotions so that Shen can naturally
regain its position as the ruler of our lives. The Chinese Daoists have long practiced
a spiritual path that emphasizes living in harmony with Nature. They have stressed the idea of living a
balanced life that flows with the seasons and various cycles of life,
constantly adapting to each situation so as to minimize stress and allow Shen
to rule unhindered by excessive desire.
Living so closely with nature, the Daoist masters have realized that the
body, mind and environment were one and that these need to be cultivated in
such a way as to allow the process of spiritual growth to proceed most fluidly.
In fact all activities are directed
by Shen: thinking, seeing, speaking, hearing, exercising, working and loving
are all different functions of Shen.
In health, these activities are performed pleasantly and rhythmically,
but in sickness we see changes in all the human functions and activities, and
there is a lack of mental clarity and actions become disturbed. Jing and Qi
support Shen, and if they are wasted (dissipated) Shen will suffer. If Shen
suffers, it becomes shaken and withdraws. When the emotions are not subordinate
to Shen, they strive for dominance amongst themselves and this struggle
eventually affects the organs and disharmony and disease follows. This is why moderation is regarded in
the Orient as the supreme way of health, happiness and longevity. Immoderate
behavior is brought about by a lack of understanding of the laws of nature
which promotes selfishness.
Herbal remedies are capable of
helping with many problems. But
unless they help to raise the level of consciousness of those who use them,
they are doing little. For this
reason, the true tonic herbalist is always striving to open up Shen and
discover the nature of Shen.
There is a great, age-old secret
method of developing Shen. The way to develop Shen is to give . By seeing the divine beauty in all
things and thus becoming a channel of divine love, we can rise above the small
egotistical motives that drive most people's lives. The reward for true giving is Shen. It does not matter whether or not you
are paid for your service, because it is what is in your heart and what flows
from it that determines how your Shen will unfold. If you give all of your caring, love and
wisdom, and truly try to help in whatever way you can, your reward will be far
greater than the financial reward of the moment.
It is necessary also to develop Jing
and Qi so that Shen has a body to survive in and through which it may
radiate. The three treasures form
the very core of all traditional Oriental healing and health maintenance, but
are often overlooked today. To
forget them is to forget the very basis of the Oriental healing arts. It is possible to practice the Oriental
healing arts at many different levels.
But only by working at the level of the three treasures can one be said
to be working at the level of the masters.
Certain true Shen tonic herbs
encourage the opening up of Shen. There are also Shen "stabilizers"
which help stabilize our emotions so that Shen (our higher self) re-emerge and
rule our lives. The emotions are allowed to play themselves out, but not to
dominate our lives and become obsessions or even addictions. Shen tonics have
been used by the great sages of the Orient to help in their quest for
enlightenment and harmony with God, Nature and all of Mankind.
Supreme Shen Drops is a
quintessential Shen tonic formulation that may be used daily, or when needed to
overcome emotional challenges.
Traditional Function: Stabilizes and
tonifies Shen
Who can use it? Anyone
Concentration: 8:1
Specifications: 2 Fl. Oz.
Ingredients:
Chinese Asparagus root, Longan fruit, Albizzia julibrissin
flower, Spirit Poria sclerotium, Wild Reishi fruiting body, Tibetan Rhodiola
root, Polygala root, American Red Ginseng root, Lo han juo fruit
Other Ingredients: Water
and alcohol
Usage: 3-12 droppers per day or as directed by
your health care practitioner
Remember Ron
Teeguarden’s “First Rule of Tonic Herbalism,” summed up in a
single word – Compliance. If
you don’t take the herbs, they won’t work.”