Isolation, Fear, Confusion and Anger

This Jueyin Moment in America and the Challenges of Integration: Part 1

Image by Tom Fedro (https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/tom-fedro).

The highest physician treats the kingdom, the competent physician treats the person, the lowest physician treats the disease.

Originating from a late Ming dynasty historical fiction that chronicles the five hundred years of the Western Zhou dynasty’s collapse into the Warring States period and the eventual reunification under the banners of the Qin Emperor, this adage somehow managed to make its way into widespread vernacular commentary on Chinese medicine in modern China. To me, it has always represented an appreciation for the depth of the Chinese medical tradition, as well as the clarity of vision and integrity of character it can foster in those who would plumb those depths within themselves to their very bottom and beyond, clear through to the other side. 

It would behoove me to follow on the heels of that opening with an important disclaimer here: namely, that I hold no such delusions of grandeur regarding my own mastery of the tradition or my role in this current socio-political landscape. Despite wholehearted aspiration to be that competent physician, I recognize that I still have a long way to go to measure up to the Maters of times past. I also do not count myself to be an overtly political or ideological person. In fact, despite the subject matter we are about to delve into, I very much hope that this piece can remain largely a-political and in doing so, grant the incessant squabbling that characterizes our current politics of polarization a very wide berth. To that end, I ask of you the reader to embark on this exploration with a somewhat charitable mindset in assuming that what is to follow originates from the same place of genuine concern and desire to affect positive change from which I approach my role as a clinician and more broadly, as a civic-minded human being. But as a Belfast resident once said of the sectarian conflict that plagued Northern Ireland for over three decades, “Anyone who isn’t confused here, doesn’t really understand what is going on.” And in that simple contradictory turn of phrase I see reflected the heady mixture of possibility, unpredictability and volatility inherent in moments of individual and collective structural meltdown, much like the one I would strongly argue we are all currently living through in a variety of ways that range from the extremely practical to the downright existential in their importance. 

If we are to have any hope of overlaying some meaning onto this unfamiliar landscape we now find ourselves in, we need orienteering tools that have proven themselves useful across the broadest possible scope of time and human experience. I believe, as our opening quote suggests, the classical Chinese systems of diagnosis, including of course the six phasic model employed within the Shanghan Lun, are as good as any we will find. These systems are fundamentally concerned with the dynamic coherency of vital forces under the stress of both externally contracted and internally generated aberrations, making them just as easily applicable to the current state and likely trajectory of an individual’s physiology as the overall health and functionality of a given nation state or other social system. Which brings us to the topic at hand. In my work as a clinical instructor I am often asked to speak to the nature of Jueyin disease. What are the symptoms of Jueyin pathology and how do we recognize it? My answer has always been that the Jueyin state is not so easily defined by any one symptom, or even constellation of symptoms. Rather, it is best recognized by a feeling. More specifically, it is the very same feeling that has been with us for months now as we as a nation go to sleep at night to the sound of circling police helicopters overhead in our cities and wake up to reports of yet another staggering new daily record high of sickness and death, wondering through the din of collective pain and confusion, “How did we get here?”

The physiology and correlative pathology of the Jueyin phase is unique among the six phases in such a manner so as to make it both extremely volatile and alluring at the same time. As I previously described in this post regarding the energetic foundations of the six phases, the Jueyin marks the movement of wind arising out of the stillness of the winter solstice. It begins as the first whisper of a waxing yang energy and expands to turn the physiological turbines of the entire system. In Suwen Ch. 74: The Great Treatise on Essential Truth, the Yellow Emperor asks, “What is Jueyin?”; Qibo responds, “The terminus of the exchange of the two yin [phases].” Echoing its calendrical and horary (3-5am) correspondences, Qibo defines the Jueyin in terms of physiology precisely as the spectrum of space-time experience where the building momentum of yin has past its zenith and thus yields to its complement more and more strongly. It is represented by the Liver, the yang within yin organ and Great General of the organ network; it is the qi within blood, the rising and expanding power to overcome the downward limitations of material existence. Most importantly, it is the inspirational capacity of the 魂 hún that strives toward the full embodied expression of the spiritual ideals of Heaven. This fundamental warmth, dynamism and expansion represents that greatest of human capacities for love and compassion; it is what truly animates us.

Birth of new stars in the Carina Nebula as captured by the Hubble telescope.

Now, the Jueyin phase is placed at the “bottom” of the six phases for a reason. This unbridled drive for life activity must be harmonized into the channel network of its container of the physical body and our constantly evolving life situation. In fact, remaining attentive to the shifting state of this vital force in terms of both its relative strength and quality through sensational awareness in response to various internal and external stimuli is the core practice of any traditional path of cultivation. I often hear the phrase “shadow work” mentioned within the context of modern psychology and self-improvement. From a Chinese medical perspective, this is an exact parallel to the conscious process of smoothing out the wind energies of the Jueyin phase because let’s face it, who among us does not have obstacles both small and large, patterns both conscious and unconscious, imperfections both situational and habituated, to the unimpeded, smooth expression of our life energy? The Jungian concept of individuation is another approach to this very process of untangling the many ways in which the Jueyin energy remains constrained and under pressure. “Calming the wind” is what ultimately frees us from our various neuroses and compulsive behaviors. It is that which allows us to constructively engage in interpersonal relationships, social processes and civil discourse.

So, what are the ways then that Jueyin energy gets all entangled? Consider money, power and fame for a start, and follow that up with a healthy dose of sex, drugs and rock n roll, or whatever your obsession of choice may be. When the raw energy of life identifies with something outside of itself as an object that it desires, the passion to pursue and obtain that object naturally follows. Not everything is immediately attainable in this life and nor should it be, but we end up generating a tremendous amount of negative emotionality in this process, both in the form of the frustration that comes of not obtaining, as well as the dissatisfaction that arises all too often after obtaining what was never going to satisfy us in the first place! Take a romantic partnership as an example. When one party acts out of love and consideration, it is often responded to in kind; the result is a beautiful space of shared intimacy that lasts as long both parties are able to hold that space, ideally growing and deepening over years of time. On the other hand, when an encounter, or an entire relationship for that matter, is based on the selfish and narcistic needs of one or both parties, interactions breed resentment, frustration, a desire to possess and ultimately, beget abuse and violence. 

Enter now the Shaoyin and the guiding light of the Heart. The associated 神明 shénmíng is the discerning clarity of knowing what objectives are worth pursuing that gives direction to our Jueyin energy and sets us on the path to wisdom. The Shaoyin phase is one of integration, characterized by a feeling of ease and joy that naturally arises when appropriately channeled Jueyin energy meets with an appropriately responsive environment. These conditions notwithstanding, constant fear and systemic contraction (寒主收引hánzhǔshōuyǐn) arise as the byproducts of Shaoyin disintegration. Fear acts like a lid that suppresses any possibility for the expression of the natural impulses of the Jueyin, which as the raw energy of life itself can never be completely contained or extinguished. It either seeks alternate avenues for expression and satiation or explodes like the top off a pressure cooker when placed into a situational dynamic where control is no longer possible. In the Inferno, the fallen angel who willingly turned his back on God and the pure light of his essential nature, Satan is depicted at the center of the deepest circle of Hell as a source of all-consuming cold that keeps him and those who have committed similar treacheries of the Heart encrusted in ice, surrounded on all sides by corruption and violence. Dante writes, “the deepest isolation is to suffer separation from the source of all light and life and warmth."

With this as our background, let’s return now to the Shanghan Lun and the substance of the Jueyin chapter. At its root, it is a collection of various examples, by no means exhaustive, of the manner in which this primal collision of heat and cold unfolds within the container of the body. Line 337 states “凡厥者,阴阳气不相顺接, 便为厥 Jue arises as a result of yin and yang failing to smoothly integrate with one another,” echoing the imagery of what Suwen Ch. 81 Exposition of the Subtle Essence of Things describes as: “In a jue condition, yang qi is isolated above and yin qi is isolated below.” Beyond the separation of yin and yang that is already well underway in a Shaoyin condition, Jueyin pathology is distinguished by a pronounced, sometimes even violent, degree and often contradictory experience of counterflow activity. It can become chaos embodied. The opening line of the Jueyin chapter illustrates this with symptoms such as “wasting thirst, rising energy attacking the heart, heat and pain in the epigastrium, hunger but no desire for food with vomiting of parasites after eating”. Jueyin arises out of the ashes of Taiyin and Shaoyin exhaustion: exhaustion of the middle and its role of assimilation and transformation; exhaustion of the yin blood and the integrity of the material body; and most importantly, exhaustion of the guiding light of the Spirit and the orderly expression of our jing essence, without which wind gusts unpredictably through the channel body this way and that, unmoored from any coherent physiological narrative. Unlike the incessant somnolence of the Shaoyin experience, Jueyin pathology is an exhaustion gone beyond the normal impulse to gather and restore, in which it is not uncommon to observe the paradoxical pairing of thorough physical depletion with an intensely bright, hyper-animated Spirit energy. 

If you didn’t have the unfolding of recent events here in America somewhere in your peripheral awareness as you read through the above description, I would encourage you to give it another quick once over to consider the corollaries. Yin and yang failing to smoothly integrate with one another. I couldn’t think of a better singular description of the general disconnect with which we now find ourselves besotted with on all sides. Take a quick look at any one of the pressing issues that we now face as a nation from the handling of the pandemic, to the protests against racial violence, to the utterly staggering wealth inequality, to the overall failing state of our physical, educational, medical and social support infrastructures during a time of national crisis and you will find a gaping divergence in the lived experience of Americans and the narratives surrounding them. You may be thinking that this is nothing new, that this situation has been developing for some time and that the violent forces of fanatical individualism, tribalism, and outright racism have been inherent to the American experiment from its very beginnings. And I would absolutely agree. A quick delve into my own largely Irish Catholic ancestry and their immigration story of the 19th century revealed some hauntingly similar parallels to the marginalization of various minority and underprivileged groups of much more recent and current history. These words of Abraham Lincoln’s from an 1855 letter summarizing the climate of the Know-Nothing political movement aimed at barring Irish Catholics and other immigrants from assimilation in the Northeast, gave me pause considering just how relevant his message still remains today in light of the pervasive disparity in access to such fundamental American ideals as hope and opportunity: 

As a nation, we began by declaring that ‘all men are created equal.’ We now practically read it ‘all men are created equal except negroes.’ When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read ‘all men are created equal, except negroes and foreigners and Catholics.’ When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty - to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.

But what I find most distressing about where we currently find ourselves is not just the readily apparent and deeply troubling manifestations of these schisms, it is something much deeper and more nefarious. There is an underlying, but palpable sensation that parties ranging from the individual to institutional level are consciously hastening this tearing asunder of our social fabric down to its very foundational threads for no discernable reason other than that they can in service to an agenda of selfish entitlement and self-aggrandizement. It’s like we’re caught behind the wheel of a jalopy souped up with one of the most powerful socio-economic engines ever created in the history of mankind headed straight for a massive precipice. We can all see it coming and yet against our better judgment, we find ourselves swigging off a bottle of cheap whiskey while machine gun bursts of insanity from all realms of the Twitterverse dare us to get this baby up as far into the red as we can possibly go just to see what happens first: either the whole thing blows up spectacularly in our faces or we drive full tilt straight off the edge toward God only knows what, laughing the whole way down. 

As the above depiction suggests, extreme is another apt translation and key element of the 厥 jué state. I remember what seems like lifetimes ago now when the horrific images of police brutality that resulted in the death of George Floyd surfaced. Like those who took to the streets in protest, I felt an overwhelming sense of grief and remorse coupled with a deep frustration that has been growing ever since I originally left America in the immediate wake of 9/11. I boarded one of the first authorized departures from Newark Airport headed for Osaka’s Kansai International with fully armed National Guardsmen posted in teams throughout an eerily quiet terminal. Over the years of successive return visits, I watched the ramped-up militarization of America’s police force and public spaces along with the proliferation of militant extreme groups and mass shooting events with increasing dread. At the same time, I felt the absence of empathy and accountability in our political systems growing. The constant display of power through implements of war puts people in a mindset for war. When the recent protests exploded, there came with them a demand to choose sides, which seemed to me like no choice at all – “I’m on the side of justice! I’m on the side of equality and respect for the dignity of all people!” But the extremes have continued to push and pull at every loose thread and the Jueyin momentum continues to build. Portland and other cities have descended into unapologetically violent rioting that led in turn to the frightening presence of federal storm troopers in full tactical gear, ghoulishly slinking through the tear gas haze of these nightly street battles, and perhaps even more terrifying, recent violent clashes with fellow citizen counter-protesters. A system spiraling into complete absorption in Jueyin pathology, actually begins to thrive off of the energies of conflict and estrangement. It forces you to one side of the experience or the other – into the overwhelming yin deficiency, stagnation and darkness, or, the wildly chaotic lashing-out of yang counterflow - when truth, or at least the possibility of good faith engagement in service to truth, lies somewhere obscured within the disillusionment of the in-between. 

Now for those of you still with me through all that, I offer my sincere thanks. It was by no means my intention to embark on a mission of “America-bashing” as I began this piece back in April. I believe in the potential of the American experiment to re-embrace its highest ideals in order to adapt and overcome, not in small part due to evidence of such resilience in myself as a child of America and its role in shaping my own personal narrative. But I imagine that like for many of you, these past several months have been an ongoing knock-down, no holds barred wrestling match to come to terms with many of these issues as they continue to arise on a near daily basis. This is just the diagnostician in me attempting to rationally and objectively apply the most powerful sense-making tools that I have at my disposal to the reality we find ourselves confronted with in hopes of finding some positive course of action through all this. As with all encounters in Chinese medicine, a way forward can only emerge once we have cut through all pretenses and firmly grasped the root buried amidst the shifting complexity of phenomenal expression; a detailed strategy that goes beyond simply “treating the disease” can then arise. And so it is with that hint of optimism that I will conclude the initial diagnostic portion of this exploration with the promise of more to follow. 

Be well, stay safe and be kind to one another!