Supreme Shen Drops contains an extraordinary range of Shen tonic herbs, including Wild Asparagus Root, Albizzia Flower, Spirit Poria, Wild Reishi, Tibetan Rhodiola, Polygala, Longan, American Ginseng, and Guilin Sweetfruit. These herbs have the power to help calm the mind, stabilize Shen and lift the spirit.

What is Shen?

Shen is one of the Three Treasures. It 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.

Zhuang Zi, one of China's greatest Taoist 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 Taoist philosophy that is absolutely central to the attainment of health. Very simply, Zhuang Zi 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 Taoists 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 Taoist 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.

What is a Shen Tonic? 

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 humble 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. 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.

Wild Asparagus root directly affects the Spiritual Heart, the "Seat of Shen" by stabilizing the emotional component of 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. Tibetan Rhodiola directly tonifies the organs and functions associated with Shen and provides a basis for higher consciousness. It has spirit lifting effects and strengthens the mind. Ginseng has been revered for three thousand years as a Shen tonic. Longan is a blood tonic, improving circulation and building blood.*