Yi+(Intellect)

=excerpted from **//Five Spirits://** //Alchemical Acupuncture for Psychological and Spiritual Healing**.**//= The yi represent the powers of the earth in us. They are the spirits that give us the capacity for sustained intention, purpose, clarity of thought, altruism, and integrity. They are related to the emotions of sympathy and the organ of the spleen. They support our capacity for thought, intention, reflection, and the act of applying ourselves to our heart’s purpose. They give us the ability to concentrate, study, and memorize data for one’s work, and they endow us with the capacity for clear thought. In other words, they allow us to apply our spirit to the world of forms.

The yi spirit is related to:

 * **Element:** earth
 * **Organ:** spleen
 * **Emotion:** sympathy (worry)
 * **Psychological functions:** setting intention, implantation, and gestation of ideas
 * **Psychospiritual issue:** cultivating true purpose
 * **Cosmological associations:** soil, fields, gardens
 * **Chakra:** third — Naval
 * **Virtue:** devotion

Signs and Symptoms of Yi Disturbance
According to Chinese medicine, yi disturbances, like all psychological problems, can have internal or external causes that exacerbate a constitutional vulnerability. A person who has an earthy constitution will be more prone to these problems than others. The following common behavior patterns of earth types are also common symptoms that appear when the yi is afflicted.

Psychoemotional Signs

 * obsessive thoughts and thought patterns that go around and around
 * worry, obsessions, and a continual focus and brooding on one’s own problems
 * excess thought and cogitation and insufficient movement or action
 * eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, and binges
 * muddled thinking; an inability to make logical connections between ideas or to order thoughts in logical patterns
 * over-nurturing of others to avoid one’s own responsibilities and growth

Spirit Level Signs

 * stagnation in the zone of manifestion, inability to transform ideas and thoughts into commitments and actions
 * continually generating new ideas but not taking action on any of them
 * Problems with the yi are actually problems of psychospiritual digestion, a disturbance in our soul force’s ability to digest experiences and impressions and transform them into values, ideas, and actions. A block has formed where spirit is attempting to enter into manifestation in our material lives.

Possible Causes

 * constitutional issues that begin in utero or from genetic makeup and karmic issues that become central psychological problems needing work through the lifetime
 * excess worry, excessively thinking about the needs of others at expense of your own
 * improper eating habits
 * anemia and vitamin deficiencies
 * excess sugar; sugar does give an energy rush but weakens endurance over time so the vibration of the self does not get firmly planted into matter
 * codependency; early childhood exposure to alcoholism and family dysfunction can result in a coping strategy of attention focused on others; people who are forced to be overly involved in other people’s stories will not be able to hear the sound of their own heart’s voice
 * exhaustion and long term strain; the yi is also impaired by any weakness in the shen or in the hun, so if the heart or liver is under strain, the yi will have difficulty standing by the spirit’s vision

One Bowl Eating Meditation for the Yi
An ancient Zen practice is called the one bowl eating meditation. In this practice, you find a single bowl that becomes your eating vessel. For each meal, fill this bowl with any foods you want to eat and eat them mindfully. Do not eat anything between meals. This practice is harder than you might expect and even if followed one day a month, it will change your attitude toward food and the way you eat.

What to Expect as You Heal the Yi
As you develop a relationship with your yi and work to heal and strengthen them, you will notice changes in your life. You may, for example:
 * take on less but stay with the projects you start
 * be able to say what you think and express yourself more clearly
 * take the time to listen to your own inner voice and take their messages seriously
 * feel more centered in your own self and be less thrown off balance by other people’s problems, needs, demands, or opinions
 * begin to feel a sense of solidity; when you meet an obstacle, you stay clear on your intention and work to find a way to solve the problem and move ahead with your project
 * hold your ground
 * begin to feel as if your actions in the world result in a bountiful harvest; the world becomes a fertile ground for your ideas and actions

=excerpted from **//Shen: Psycho-emotional Aspects of Chinese Medicine//**= “This carries two meanings, linked to attention and will”

**ATTENTION**
The heart is always involved, together with liver, kidney and spleen

-GV-23->GV-24, GB-9, GB-8, LI-4, LR-3 + //Qing Shi An Shen Hua Tan Yin//
 * Disproportionate Attention:** ex: patient would notice and consider details such as the gestures or clothes of a stranger.

-GB-18->GB-17, HT-4, KI-3 + //Yang Xin Tang//
 * Divergent Attention:** ex: a woman who could not follow conversation; she would forget what had been said.

-BL-8, GB-19, TW-6, KI-4 + //Wen Dan Tang//
 * Floating Attention**

-BL-5->BL-4, SP-6, SI-7 + //Qing Xin Liang Ge Yin//
 * Inadequate Attention**: ex: having an exaggerated attention for small or useless things

**WILL-INTENTION**
This means deciding to do something and seeing it through.

-GV-22->G V-24, GV-14 or GV-4 (with moxa), HT-5, ST-36
 * Poor Will:** Emptiness of spleen and kidney Yang. ex: patient did not have any desires; he would not make decisions or plans

-GB-8->GB-17, HT-7, SP-6 + //An Shen Ding Zhi Wan//
 * Uncertain Will:** Emptiness of heart and gallbladder Qi. ex: patient who, before going out to buy something, would hesitate for hours because the street was too noisy.

-GV-20->GB-9, BL-5->BL-4, LI-4, LR-3 + //Yue Jiu Wan//
 * Excessive Will**: Fullness of heart, liver and gallbladder. ex: patient would do anything t fulfill impossible tasks.