Trust can help bring us closer to other people. Trusting others, such as family members and friends, can reassure us that we’ll be helped when we need it. It’s the foundation of any healthy relationship — including the relationship you have with yourself.

Overview

Trusting yourself can build up your confidence, make it easier for you to make decisions, and reduce your stress levels. And the good news is that even if you don’t trust yourself now, with some effort you can build up that trust over time.

Confidence

There’s no one more important to trust than yourself. Sometimes we lose trust in ourselves after we make a mistake or after someone criticizes us harshly or constantly. It can feel more difficult to make decisions when you can’t trust yourself because you fear you’ll make the wrong choice. Or you might be more prone to criticizing your own decisions after you make them.

Tips for building trust in yourself

Building trust in yourself can help boost your decision-making skills and self-confidence. This can make life feel a little easier and much more enjoyable. Here are some tips to help you learn how to trust yourself:

If you fear how others will look at you or judge you, you might find it difficult to be yourself around other people. Acting like a different person than who you really are is a sign that you’re lacking self-confidence and trust in yourself. Other people will be able to sense that.

1. Be yourself

So how do you build up your trust enough to be yourself around others? When you start to feel insecure around others, remind yourself that it’s OK to be you. Start by practicing around the people you feel most comfortable with, like your friends and close family. Take note if you feel vulnerable or uncomfortable and keep spending time with these people until your insecure feelings start to disappear.Once you can be yourself around other people, they’ll treat you with more trust. This can help you build up your trust in yourself.

Often, we aim high with our goals. Instead of aiming to make $50,000 a year from our job, we aim to make $100,000. Instead of trying to complete a project in two weeks, we try to do it in one week. And setting our goals high can be a good thing, because it motivates us to work hard for what we want.

2. Set reasonable goals

Unfortunately, setting goals that are too ambitious has a major downside. When we don’t reach our big goals, we experience failure. Failing often can reduce your self-confidence and ability to trust yourself.Instead of setting one big goal, try setting many little goals that put you in the direction of your big goal. Doing so will make your big goal more realistic. You’ll also gain confidence and trust in yourself while accomplishing the smaller goals along the way.

You’ve probably heard the term “unconditional love.” Maybe it’s been mentioned in relation to the connection a parent has with their child, or the love that exists between siblings, friends, or even romantic partners. But did you know that it’s also very important to love yourself unconditionally?

3. Be kind to yourself

Loving yourself unconditionally means getting rid of negative thoughts about yourself and any self-criticism after you make a mistake. Start by keeping a close eye on your inner voice, and how it reacts to your actions. Is it kind or mean? Is it accepting or critical? When you can love yourself unconditionally, you can trust yourself unconditionally. And that builds confidence.

Everyone is better at some things and worse at others. You probably have a good idea of what things you excel at and which things you don’t do as well with. Trusting yourself means being able to attempt to do all kinds of things without judging yourself too harshly.

4. Build on your strengths

However, if you’re looking to build trust in yourself, it can be helpful to do more of the things that you’re good at and less of the things that you aren’t great at. If you’re not sure what you’re good at, ask those people closest to you. Spend more time doing those things and building your trust knowing you’ll excel at those things. Be accepting of your strengths, as well as your weaknesses.

When you don’t trust yourself, you might feel uncomfortable spending time looking inward. You might try to keep busy all day by constantly getting involved in activities or thinking about small things outside of yourself. Break the habit of looking away from yourself by patiently looking inward.

5. Spend time with yourself

You can look in with meditation. Try sitting with yourself in a quiet place for 5 to 15 minutes each day. Pay close attention to your breath and body. As any thoughts or self-criticisms pass by, acknowledge them and then let them go. Allowing time for this important one-on-one with yourself can build up your self-trust.

We lack trust in ourselves when we question our actions or decisions. Sometimes we might even question who we are. That can hurt.Build trust in yourself by breaking your habit of questioning your decisions. Next time you make a choice, stick with it. Even if it turns out not to be the best choice, there’s no use beating yourself up over the decision you made.

6. Be decisive

The best you can do is to learn from your mistake. Believe that you’ll make a better choice next time, and move on. Doing so will help you learn to be more trusting of yourself and your decision-making skills.

Trusting yourself is one of the most helpful things you can do for you in your life. It can help build your confidence, allow others to trust you more, and make the process of decision making much easier. To trust yourself, all you need is to make a little effort, create self-love, and find the ability to look inward.

The bottom line

Building trust in yourself is the key idea before doing anything that is worthwhile to own self and for others. I struggle with it a lot, for my personal goals, my friends help me to stay on track. Thank you and I love you all :)

Trusting yourself can build up your confidence, make it easier for you to make decisions, and reduce your stress levels. And the good news is that even if you don’t trust yourself now, with some effort you can build up that trust over time. Here are some tips to help you learn how to trust yourself.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

mentalhealth

Mental Health

communication

Communication

6 Ways to Build Trust in Yourself

What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.

A person's success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.

To enjoy life, you don't need fancy nonsense, but you do need to control your time and realize that most things just aren't as serious as you make them out to be

People will choose unhappiness over uncertainty.

You are the average of the five people you associate with most, so do not underestimate the effects of your pessimistic, unambitious, or disorganized friends. If someone isn't making you stronger, they're making you weaker.

An edition expanded with more than 100 pages of new content offers a blueprint for a better life, whether one's dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end world travel, earning a monthly five-figure income with zero management or just living more and working less.

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

What do you do? Tim Ferriss has trouble answering the question. Depending on when you ask this controversial Princeton University guest lecturer, he might answer: “I race motorcycles in Europe.” “I ski in the Andes.” “I scuba dive in Panama.” “I dance tango in Buenos Aires.” He has spent more than five years learning the secrets of the New Rich, a fast-growing subculture who has abandoned the “deferred-life plan” and instead mastered the new currencies—time and mobility—to create luxury lifestyles in the here and now. Whether you are an overworked employee or an entrepreneur trapped in your own business, this book is the compass for a new and revolutionary world. Join Tim Ferriss as he teaches you: • How to outsource your life to overseas virtual assistants for $5 per hour and do whatever you want • How blue-chip escape artists travel the world without quitting their jobs • How to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours using the principles of a forgotten Italian economist • How to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and freuent "mini-retirements" • What the crucial difference is between absolute and relative income • How to train your boss to value performance over presence, or kill your job (or company) if it’s beyond repair • What automated cash-flow “muses” are and how to create one in 2 to 4 weeks • How to cultivate selective ignorance—and create time—with a low-information diet • What the management secrets of Remote Control CEOs are • How to get free housing worldwide and airfare at 50–80% off • How to fill the void and create a meaningful life after removing work and the office You can have it all—really. From the Hardcover edition.

Tim Ferriss is author of three #1 NYT/WSJ bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, and The 4-Hour Chef. He is also a start-up advisor specializing in positioning, PR, and marketing (Uber, Evernote, etc.). When not damaging his body with abusive sports, he enjoys chocolate, bear claws, and Japanese animation.

Timothy Ferriss

The 4-Hour Workweek

The 4-hour Workweek

Given that it shares the same root word as “alone,” it’s easy to assume loneliness is just the absence of contact with other people.As Cacioppo explains in his book (Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection by John T. Cacioppo and William Patrick). loneliness is not merely a lack of human contact, but rather a lack of meaningful connection with other humans. It isn’t about the quantity of relationships, but rather the quality. This is why it’s possible to feel lonely even when you’re in a romantic relationship or have a large group of acquaintances.

What Is Loneliness?

To start, when we talk about the “pain” of loneliness, that’s more than just a metaphor. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), scientists have observed that the experience of social rejection activates the same region of the brain that “registers emotional responses to physical pain” . Being socially isolated might not be as imminently dangerous as a cut or burn, but the consequences can be just as serious over the long term.

The Pain of Loneliness

1. Don’t Blame Your Social SkillsWhen you’re feeling lonely, it’s easy to blame it on your lack of social skills. In general, though, a lack of social skills isn’t the issue. Rather, it’s that “feeling lonely makes us less likely to employ the skills we have” . accordingly to the book, loneliness is something that can happen to any of us. It doesn’t mean there’s anything weird or disordered about you – it’s an experience common to all humans. What matters, rather, is how you respond to loneliness, whether or not you use it as a catalyst to improve the depth of your connection with others.

6 things to do to be less lonely

Simply telling people to “connect more with others” isn’t very helpful on its own. This is especially true because each person’s genes are different.Therefore, don’t assume that you need to be super outgoing and have lots of social interactions to feel socially satisfied. You might well thrive with a small group of close friends whom you see once a week. On the other hand, your genes might predispose you to need more frequent social connection, and that’s fine too.

2. Assess How Much Connection You Need

<ol><li>Intimate connectedness: This is connection “up close and personal,” typically with a significant other.</li><li>Relational connectedness : This is the broader (but still close) connection you have with friends and family.</li><li>Collective connectedness –This type of connection describes belonging to a club, professional organization, or even an entire nation.</li></ol>In general, we need a healthy mix of the above types. However, note that this isn’t universally true. What matters, again, is that the types and level of social connection you have match your genetic preferences.

3. Recognize the 3 Different Types of Social Connection

Once you’ve resolved to become more connected with others, Cacioppo recommends finding opportunities “to get small doses of the positive sensations that come from positive social interactions”.Each positive interaction you have gives you further evidence that you can connect with others. This can then help you develop the confidence you need for deeper, more vulnerable forms of connection later on.One of the lowest-risk ways to get started is through volunteering , positive social interactions that can boost your confidence.

4. Extend Yourself (Slowly and Carefully)

When you start reaching out to people not every interaction will be a success. maybe its a small talk Or the passerby you smile at on the street may stare at the ground and keep moving. Interactions that turn out this way don’t mean you’re a failure, or that no one wants to talk to you. As Cacioppo says, “A million and one factors that have absolutely nothing to do with you can influence people’s moods and reactions” .So don’t use a couple of bad reactions as evidence that you can’t connect with people. Just move on and keep trying.

5. Have No Expectations

Throughout Loneliness , Cacioppo stresses that loneliness is not a mental disorder . At the same time, however, chronic loneliness can put you at risk for depression , and social anxiety can make it harder to connect with people in the first place.Therefore, I encourage you to seek the services of a mental health professional if you’re struggling with loneliness.Remember that whatever you’re struggling with, loneliness or otherwise, you don’t have to do it alone.

6. Seek Professional Help

What causes loneliness, and what can we do about it? This article examines the underlying science to answer both of these questions.

health

Health

loveandrelationships

Love & Relationships

How to Be Less Lonely: 6 Science-Backed Techniques to Try

<ul><li>positive thinking expands my gratitude and reminds me what I value.</li><li>Negative thinking helps me look my pain and problems in the eye.</li></ul>To live a full life, I can’t ignore my appreciation or my problems. Both matter. Together, they give me an even-handed view of what’s happening, so I can decide what’s working and what’s not.Believing in positive or negative thinking at the exclusion of the other is extremism. ﻿

Positive  vs Negative thinking

Negative thinking is . . . a willingness to consider what is not working. What is not in balance? What have I ignored? What is my body saying no to?

Power of thinking is about trusting ourselves to “to face the full truth, whatever that full truth may turn out to be."<ul><li>Better to sit with my grief now than let it mutate into a menace as consequence at repercussions of repressing emotions.</li><li>We can’t have lights without shadows, fullness without emptiness, or joy without suffering. These elements complement one another.</li><li> “Always think positively!” trades this observable dynamic for a delusion.</li></ul>

What is the power of thinking

Believing in positive or negative thinking at the exclusion of the other is extremism.

The power of thinking

"It's not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?"

"The key is in not spending time, but in investing it."

"The shorter way to do many things is to only do one thing at a time."

"The common man is not concerned about the passage of time, the man of talent is driven by it."

"Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent, and not enough time on what is important."

Be mindful of your time. Once it's gone, it's gone forever.

timemanagement

Time Management

22 Time Management Quotes to Inspire You to Achieve Your Goals

Some invisible and repetitive habits are mostly responsible for our daily miseries. <ul><li>Overthinking</li><li>Worrying about the future and dwelling in the past</li><li>Monotonous Daily Routine</li></ul>

Habits that make us dull and unproductive

This is an invisible toxic habit and may go mostly unnoticed and may lead to: <ul><li>Time & Energy waste</li><li>Anxiety & productivity depletion</li><li>Attention span decrease</li><li>Emotional & Mental exhaustion</li><li>May manifest as physical symptoms like headaches, body aches, and digestive issues</li></ul>To overcome the overthinking habit, develop the habit of observing your thoughts.

Overthinking

Worrying about the Future or Dwelling on the past:<ul><li>The Past is over and we can only learn from it.</li><li>Focusing too much on the Future can lead to worry and anxiety.</li><li>By avoiding the NOW and denying the REAL, we miss taking the right steps and timely action.</li></ul>To overcome this habit, stay in the present and be mindful.

Living in Future or Past

A Monotonous Daily Routine results in <ul><li>No Scope for Creativity and Learning.</li><li>Inflexible routines can affect Mental health.</li><li>Spending too much time on low-value activities</li></ul>To break the monotony, learn a new hobby or a skill. Do something different creative more often.

Monotony

<ul><li>Observe your thoughts</li><li>Stay in the present moment</li><li>Learn new skills, cultivate hobbies</li></ul>

Summary of Tips 

Unknowingly we might be doing many things that are affecting our emotional and mental health. Read on to know what they are and how to overcome them.

habits

Habits

leadershipandmanagement

Leadership & Management

Mental health tips: 3 everyday habits that make us dull and unproductive

<ul><li>Along with Qi (energy), Blood, and Essence (like genetics), our Spirit or Shen is considered a vital substance in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as it completes the fabric of our physiological makeup and human life.</li><li>Fundamentally, Spirit is the unique animation humans possess which allows a person to: express their authenticity, dedicate themselves to a hobby or vocation, feel connected to mundane everyday wonders, and to be the conscious co-creator of their destiny.</li><li>It is that intangible yet empirical inner spark that activates our imagination, ambition, intention, and awe.</li></ul>

What's in a Spirit? 

<ul><li>Together with our psyche and body, Spirit is what orients us within our reality and experience of the world around us. </li><li>Its health and vibrancy is essential for developing relationships as well as the virtues unique to the human condition (compassion, accountability, wisdom, morality, courage, etc.) </li><li>Put simply, Spirit determines how we show up in the world, connect with others, and navigate all the experiences that life has to offer.</li></ul>

Spirit is what orient us within our reality

<ul><li>A unique feature of Acupuncture and TCM is how discussions of health integrate how one’s physical, mental-emotional, and spiritual health mirror one another. </li><li>Just like how each of the body’s organ systems has its own Acupuncture meridian (the Lung channel, The Large Intestine channel, for example) there are associations between the organs and specific emotions, as well as the organs and the spirit. </li><li>These connections reveal how, in TCM, energy is considered on a spectrum from the material to the ethereal. </li></ul>

Connection between Organs and Specific Emotions

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">On the Material end you have the most tangible and visible of substances: the body, blood, fluids etc would land here. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Towards the middle of the spectrum is energy whose presence is apparent in how the body functions even if it cannot be measured or fully grasped, aka Qi. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">A person’s Qi can be sensed in their pulse or heartbeat and heard in the voice. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Can you think of a time that you walked into a room full of people and could tell whether the energy was tense or cheerful? That’s Qi - which also makes itself known through emotional states. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">On the far end of this spectrum, you get Spirit. </li></ul>

Material End, Middle Qi

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">The Spirit is the most ethereal expression of energy and an extension of an organ’s Qi-aspect. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">It can be seen in something as simple as whether someone’s eyes sparkle or light up when they talk to you about something they’re passionate about, versus if they have a dull gaze, and perhaps appear depressed.</li></ul>

The Spirit 

If you have thought of your spirit or soul as being stored in your heart, that’s actually not far off!In TCM, there are five types of “spirit-minds” that branch-off from someone’s central Spirit. Each is stored within one of the 5 Yin organs: <ul><li class="ql-align-justify">The Heart beholds The Shen </li><li class="ql-align-justify">The Lungs contain The Po</li><li class="ql-align-justify">The Liver commands The Hun </li><li class="ql-align-justify">The Spleen grounds The Yi</li><li class="ql-align-justify">The Kidneys are keepers of The Zhi</li></ul>

The 5 Facets

<ul><li>Each embodies your capacity to show up in the world as the best version of yourself. </li><li>You can think of them like five facets to your personality: they each have unique roles and characteristics that assert themselves when content or disturbed. </li><li>Assessing the state of one's Spirit is always included in our observation & diagnostic process since the spirit is vital to one’s overall well-being. </li></ul>

Five Facets To Your Personality

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Usually when we see spirit disharmonies they are paired with physical symptoms. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Sometimes they aren’t, but patients will share behaviors - deep seated emotions - and mental tendencies they know are holding them back from the things they want in life—or the way they want to feel. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">This is because when one spirit is affected it can impact the others, leading you to feel “off,” “stuck,” “lost,” or not yourself anymore. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Sometimes it can even feel as if you are not in your body. </li></ul>

Disharmony In Spirit Causes Disharmony In Physique

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">The Shen is the spirit of “The Mind” and represents our consciousness. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">It is the basis for our humanity and source from which all other spirits emerge from. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">The Shen is in charge of our identity and capacity for self-awareness, but also, how we view and interact with others: how we orient ourselves in the world around us. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">The Shen is essential for integrating our psychic and emotional life since it governs perception, insight, ideas, the ability to extend beyond the Self (form relationships), determine our values, morality, and wisdom.  </li></ul>

THE SHEN ~ THE MIND

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">The Mind is what bridges our intuition and inspiration: it allows one to recognize their truth and callings so they can show up in the world as their most authentic self. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">In the body, the Shen is ruled by the Heart which, in Chinese Medicine, is the “the origin of mental life,” and therefore the “monarch” of all other organs: the only one capable of recognizing, assessing, and truly feeling the spectrum of one’s emotional experiences.</li></ul>

The Shen Is ruled by the Heart 

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Although different emotions (anger, joy, sadness, fear, guilt, etc) will affect the body’s organs in unique ways, those organs do not “feel” the emotion and, instead, reflect the impact of that emotion as perceived by the Heart in the form of physical symptoms. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">In that sense, the Shen is referred to as the Heart-Mind, giving the old adage the heart has a mind of its own, a ring of truth.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Given the Shen’s role in processing interactions with others & external stimuli, all senses (eyesight, hearing, smell, taste, touch) depend on it for meaning just like how the brain is, in Western Medicine.</li></ul>

The Shen is the Heart-Mind

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">For this reason, the Shen is said to be the “most visible” of all the spirits, evident in how one carries themselves both in public and in conversation: the sparkle (or dullness) in one’s eyes, the capacity to maintain eye contact, as well as the use of clear/logical speech (since the Heart is the root of the tongue in TCM). </li><li class="ql-align-justify">It is the Shen that calculates appropriate behavior in order to “click” with others and foster mutual understanding: a Heart (Shen) to Heart (Shen) .</li></ul>

The Shen Is The Most Visible In All Spirits

When the Shen is vibrant, there is:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">clear thinking & consciousness, </li><li class="ql-align-justify">sharp insight, </li><li class="ql-align-justify">good intellect,</li><li class="ql-align-justify">self-awareness, </li><li class="ql-align-justify">a strong sense-of self, </li><li class="ql-align-justify">sound sleep (since the Shen retreats back into the Heart to be housed at night), </li><li class="ql-align-justify">a balanced emotional reality, </li><li class="ql-align-justify">good judgement expressed through wise action, </li><li class="ql-align-justify">flowing ideas,</li><li class="ql-align-justify">inspiration, </li><li class="ql-align-justify">alertness in the eyes, </li><li class="ql-align-justify">eye contact during conversation, </li><li class="ql-align-justify">clear speech + confident self-expression, </li><li class="ql-align-justify">compassion, and </li><li class="ql-align-justify">empathy. </li></ul>

Vibrant Shen (Heart - Organ

When the Shen is disturbed and the Heart is affected, a person will have:<ul><li>cloudy consciousness, </li><li>poor insight, </li><li>inappropriate/erratic behavior or speech tendencies, </li><li>socially awkward interactions, </li><li>low self-esteem, </li><li>difficulty expressing one’s self, </li><li>hypervigilance and paranoia, </li><li>poor self-awareness, </li><li>a hard time relating to others (including little-to-no eye contact in conversation), </li><li>little capacity for compassion/empathy, </li><li>irrational thoughts and phobias, </li><li>an imbalanced emotional reality (fixated on one emotion), </li><li>panic, </li><li>disturbed sleep etc. </li></ul>

Disturbed Shen (Heart - Organ) 

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">The Po is the spirit-mind stored by the Lungs. It integrates with us at our first breath, and disintegrates at the end of life when breathing ceases. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">When you think of the Po , consider your moment-to-moment experiences - your instincts, impulses, and knee-jerk reactions. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">When balanced, the Po supports our ability to stay connected to the present moment through our breath. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">When strong, it is associated with assertiveness and fairness.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">We would expect someone with a well balanced Po to speak with a clear strong voice, to breathe well, and to act with the virtue of justice. </li></ul>

THE PO ~ THE CORPOREAL OR ANIMAL SOUL

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">When the Po is supported and reintegrated with the present moment, we see the ability to process grief in a healthy way. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Impulsive reactivity is exchanged for responsiveness and trustworthy instincts. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">We see the shroud of sadness and heaviness lift, giving way to the ability to appreciate the beauty and fullness of the present moment, to experience awe and wonderment, and to grasp a flash of inspiration. </li></ul>

When The Po (Lung Is Supported 

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">When there is weakness of the Po, we might see lingering or unresolved grief, lifeless voice, lethargy, depression, or constant feelings of loss or incompleteness.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">In this case, a person might be stuck in a moment that is far in the past, keeping them from being present or moving forward.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">We might also notice the presence of chronic respiratory issues like frequent colds, long standing cough, or asthma associated with this aura of sorrow.</li></ul>

When There Is Weaknesses Of The Po (Lung 

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">The Yi is the spirit-mind stored by the Spleen. It has to do with thought, intellect, and comprehension, intention and creativity. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">The Spleen organ in TCM is a major organ of digestion, separating and transforming useful nutrients from waste products. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">On a physical level, a weak Spleen can result in poor digestion of food. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">On a spirit level, a weak Spleen, and a weak Yi as a result, can cause poor digestion of thoughts - there may be trouble effectively deliberating, and instead one may overthink or ruminate on worries, lack clear intention, feel “foggy brained,” or bored and unmotivated.</li></ul>

THE YI ~ THOUGHT

There is a saying, “the Yi guides the Li which guides the Qi” - meaning your intention guides the ritual which guides your energy. <ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Have you ever noticed the difference between having a vague desire to achieve a broad goal such as “get in shape one day” or “learn a new language” doesn’t tend to pan out unless you set up a structure (or ritual) for yourself?</li><li class="ql-align-justify">My mother gave me the sage advice that “a dream without tangible goals is just a wish.” </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Having a strong and clear intention (Yi) helps us to create smart, structured plans and goals, which takes our energy there (aka manifests that reality!).</li></ul>

The Yi (Spleen Guides The Li Which Guides The Qi

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">A strong Yi also promotes the virtues of faithfulness and loyalty. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">If the Yi is suffering, these virtues can become skewed to the point of “‘stifling’ loyalty, exaggerated sympathy, and even self-destructive generosity”. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Supporting the spleen and its spirit-mind the Yi, can help you to cultivate clear intention, insight, creativity, motivation, and appropriate faithfulness (to your goals and to other people). </li></ul>

Strong Yi (Spleen) Promotes Faithfulness & Loyalty

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Of all the spirits in Chinese Medicine, the Hun or Ethereal Soul broadly shares the most similarities with the Western concept of the soul: it is tethered at birth, has a will of its own, yet at death it survives the body, preserving its physical appearance to wander the earth, the spirit realm, or return to the source of all life. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">This wandering quality is essential to understanding the Hun’s purpose and nature.</li></ul>

THE HUN ~ THE ETHEREAL SOUL

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">To start, the Hun is its own level of consciousness whose vitality depends on its ability to connect and disengage with the Mind—to “come and go” as it pleases. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Whereas the Mind is more rational and in charge of processing / integrating information perceived from the external world, the Ethereal Soul is in charge of bringing one’s inner world and dreams into awareness and fruition. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">It alerts the Shen to our intuition, ideas, life goals, creativity, and artistic inspiration so they can be pursued rather than merely reflected on. </li></ul>

Hun's Vitality Depends On Its Ability 2 Connect & Disengage Min

Inherently Yang in nature, the Ethereal Soul provides the psyche with movement in several ways:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">out-of-body during sleep and dreaming</li><li class="ql-align-justify">beyond one’s everyday life/circumstances through the pursuit of life goals</li><li class="ql-align-justify">through the planning of projects and paths needed to accomplish them</li><li class="ql-align-justify">beyond the self towards others in fostering/maintaining relationships </li></ul>

Hun / Ethereal Soul Is Yang In Nature

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Knowing the Hun requires movement to engage and detach from the Mind, it is no coincidence that it resides in the Liver: the organ responsible for ensuring smooth circulation throughout the body. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Physically, the free flow of Liver Qi and Blood is the medium by which the Ethereal Soul “comes and goes.” </li><li class="ql-align-justify">In TCM, the Liver acts as the chief delegator to the monarch (The Heart). </li><li class="ql-align-justify">In that sense, the healthy personality of the Liver—and balanced animation of the Ethereal Soul—can be seen in those who excel at self-leadership, management, structure, and routine. </li></ul>

Hun Resides In The Liver

When the Liver is healthy, the Liver Blood is abundant, and circulation of Liver Qi is smooth, the Hun is content—it can come and go freely: there will be a healthy flow of ideas and creativity for the Mind to receive and integrate. A person will be connected to their intuition, able to envision a goal, and feel like they have a direction for their life. They can plan the steps necessary to actualize their dreams. In essence, a rooted Hun provides the courage to pursue one’s potential and regulate emotional ups/downs. With a balanced Hun, roadblocks can be faced with flexibility and frustrations met with resolve.

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">When the Liver is healthy, the Liver Blood is abundant, circulation of Liver Qi is smooth, the Hun is content : there will be a healthy flow of ideas and creativity for the Mind to receive and integrate. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">A person will be connected to their intuition, able to envision a goal, and feel like they have a direction for their life. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">They can plan the steps necessary to actualize their dreams. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">In essence, a rooted Hun provides the courage to pursue one’s potential and regulate emotional ups/downs.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">With a balanced Hun, roadblocks can be faced with flexibility and frustrations met with resolve.</li></ul>

Signs of a Healthy Liver

When the Hun’s movement becomes stifled due to a weakened Liver (such as Liver Qi stagnation or a Liver Blood/Yin deficiency) the Mind will lack stimulation, making a person apathetic and depressed. They will feel a lack of direction or purpose. They can lose touch with their emotions or internalize to the point of endlessly stewing causing resentment. Because of the Liver’s connection to the eyes and physic “sight,” there can be a lack of vision for life-dreams, dream-disturbed sleep, and a disconnection from one’s intuition. This can cause discouragement and a lack of desire to move beyond one’s “stuckness” and circumstances in life. If the Mind is overly-controlling or not receptive to the Ethereal Soul’s input/desires, they might be fully aware of what changes they need to make to pursue their potential, but unable to “get the ball rolling” in the direction they seek.  If the Liver is overburdened due to an excess pathogen (usually Liver-Heat Rising or Liver-Fire) the Hun will travel excessively and inundate the Mind. For example, someone can be full of ideas and inspiration, but because the Hun is so flighty, a person will not be able to bring them to fruition. With this kind of Hun-disturbance, there will be agitation, anger, rage, an inability to regulate one’s emotional overwhelm, and manic tendencies. Overall, a disembodied Hun is implicated in involuntary dissociation (such as in PTSD), conscious escapism (excessive daydreaming, procrastination, substance use, etc.) and nightmares.

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">When the Hun’s movement becomes stifled due to a weakened Liver (such as Liver Qi stagnation or a Liver Blood/Yin deficiency) the Mind will lack stimulation, making a person apathetic and depressed. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">They will feel a lack of direction or purpose. They can lose touch with their emotions or internalize to the point of endlessly stewing causing resentment. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Because of the Liver’s connection to the eyes and physic “sight,” there can be a lack of vision for life-dreams, dream-disturbed sleep, and a disconnection from one’s intuition. </li></ul>

Signs of a Weakened 

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">This can cause discouragement and a lack of desire to move beyond one’s “stuckness” and circumstances in life. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">If the Mind is overly-controlling or not receptive to the Ethereal Soul’s input/desires, they might be fully aware of what changes they need to make to pursue their potential, but unable to “get the ball rolling” in the direction they seek. </li></ul>

Signs of a Weakened Liver Part 

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">If the Liver is overburdened due to an excess pathogen (usually Liver-Heat Rising or Liver-Fire) the Hun will travel excessively and inundate the Mind.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">For example, someone can be full of ideas and inspiration, but because the Hun is so flighty, a person will not be able to bring them to fruition.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">With this kind of Hun-disturbance, there will be agitation, anger, rage, inability to regulate one’s emotional overwhelm, manic tendencies.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Overall, a disembodied Hun is implicated in involuntary dissociation (PTSD), conscious escapism (excessive daydreaming, substance use, etc.) and nightmares.</li></ul>

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">The Zhi is our willpower. This spirit-mind is stored in the Kidneys, which, in TCM, are associated with our deepest “essence,” our inherited traits, our reproductive potential, and our deepest stores of energy. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">The Kidneys are said to house the “life gate fire” which is yang in nature, yet they are also associated with the water element which is yin. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">This duality is mirrored in how there is a yin and yang aspect to the Zhi. </li></ul>

THE ZHI ~ THE WILL

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">The emotion of the Kidneys is fear, while the virtue of their spirit-mind is wisdom. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">When you look back on your life - do you recall experiences where fear of the unknown transformed into experience-based wisdom? </li><li class="ql-align-justify">It’s something that develops over a lifetime. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">The Yin Will is related to our destiny or fate - our relationship with and journey into the unknown of the future - it involves trust and faith. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">The Yang Will is more immediate than that - it has to do with the conscious efforts and fundamental decisions that allow your will for certain desires and outcomes to come to fruition.</li></ul>

The Emotion and Virtues of the Kidney

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">An imbalance between the Zhi may look like restlessness, a desire to run away from your life, a vague or existential fear; patients might share a desire for things to be different than where they are regarding their life cycle, like a fear of aging, for example.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">When the Kidney Qi is weakened, there can be a lack of willpower and drive which is an important aspect of chronic depression. </li></ul>

Signs of a Weakened Kidn

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">On the other hand, the Zhi can also become destructive, resulting in recklessness and excessive risk-taking.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">These symptoms can coincide with premature aging (looking older than you are), low back/knee pain, bladder issues, burnout, chronic exhaustion, recurrent or lingering illness, ear ringing, thyroid imbalances, memory loss, edema.</li></ul>

Signs of a Weakened Kidney Part 

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Have u ever wanted something, set out on the path to complete it, and after enough time, conviction in your ability to achieve it, and consistent effort, u have it?</li><li class="ql-align-justify">You can think of the Will like The Wizard of Oz, it works tirelessly behind the curtain—the scenes of your conscious awareness—until you reach your destination.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Once you arrive, it comes out to greet and congratulate you on the journey as if to say: “Well, look who it is...you did it! I knew you could make it here. Welcome to (your “dream” aka manifested reality), you are right on time." </li></ul>

Signs of a Strong Kidney 

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">In that sense, the Yang Will gives you the perseverance to set out on the journey whereas the Yin Zhi is that part of you that becomes apparent once the goal is reached. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">A healthy Zhi invites us to faithfully wade into the unknown, take the reins of destiny, and realize you’ve had the power to be the co-creator of your life all along. It’s like that saying, choose your hard. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Healing and embarking on the journey to change your life is hard. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Yet, staying in the same place and living with regret is hard too. The Zhi asks: What will it be…will you stay or will you go?</li></ul>

Signs of a Strong Kidney Part 2

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Oftentimes people think of seeking out Acupuncture for a physical ailment or, just as commonly, to support their mental health in cases of anxiety, depression, and trauma-recovery.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">However treating the spirit can be just as helpful to encourage someone’s healing.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">In many cases, it’s actually the key.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Cultivating clear and intact spirit-minds helps us to adopt and express the virtues of wisdom, justice, loyalty/faithfulness and human kindness.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">They allow us to have authority over our thoughts, actions, life path.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">They guide us to hone our individuality, foster connections that make life meaningful.</li></ul>

YOUR SPIRITS AWAIT…

Oftentimes people think of seeking out Acupuncture for a physical ailment or, just as commonly, to support their mental health in cases of anxiety, depression, and trauma-recovery. However treating the spirit can be just as helpful to encourage someone’s healing. In many cases, it’s actually the key.As you just read, cultivating clear and intact spirit-minds helps us to adopt and express the virtues of wisdom, justice, loyalty/faithfulness, propriety, and human kindness, rather than be consumed by fear, anger, reactivity/impulsiveness, complacency/boredom, or disconnectedness. They allow us to <warningtag>have authority over our thoughts, actions, and life path. Together, they guide us to hone our individuality but also foster connections that make life meaningful.</warningtag><warningtag>While offering acupuncture, we are intentionally selecting points that, yes, mobilize your body’s natural healing process—but also points that nourish these spirits to tether them to their associated organ systems so </warningtag><warningtag>you </warningtag><warningtag> </warningtag><warningtag>feel more grounded, clear, safe, and fully integrated in your body. That is how Acupuncture, as a blend of physical and energy medicine, clears the blockages while creating the space for you to fully inhabit and express most vibrant and authentic self. If that is something you seek for yourself, we would be grateful to support you.</warningtag>

Very interesting to understanding the connection of our internal organs (physical) with the spirit within us (energy). Wholesome and holistic overall look of our health. 

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Thanks to social media, news reports and violent images that bombard us at all hours, we often experience what experts call vicarious trauma when a horrific event occurs. It’s in our physiological nature as human beings to feel some amount of empathy and sorrow for others dealing with a traumatic event. Even though we’re not physically present, we still feel the mental health effects of what’s going on.
This is applicable to any grim situation. An impending war, a relentless virus, a devastating mass shooting ― you don’t have to be immersed in the crisis to be affected by it. If you are dealing with feelings of unrest, anxiety or doom right now, know that it’s completely normal. And while you may not be able to abate it entirely, it is crucial to know how to stay informed while protecting your mental health.

Constant Mental Trauma

Disinformation spreads like wildfire during times of crisis. Make sure you’re following credible sources and engaging with confirmed reports, tweets and other content). 
If possible, try to find multiple sources confirming the same information before you share or even necessarily believe a report. Spreading and buying into inaccurate stories, photos and videos only contributes to your own panic and anxiety, and the panic and anxiety of others.

Follow trusted sources

It’s unrealistic to suggest logging off entirely, but it’s vital to set some boundaries when it comes to social media. Stay informed, then give your brain a break.
For example, try setting aside a block of time to check in on the news. If you find yourself reaching for your phone at night when you can’t sleep, try directing your attention to a lighter part of the internet instead of scrolling through headlines.

Set  Boundaries to Prevent Excessive Doomscrolling

Do everything within your power to stick to your normal schedule. That includes bedtimes, wake times, working if you’re able to handle it, and any other regular aspects of your routine.
During tragic events, we feel a loss of control in our lives and everything going on around us. The more we can stick to our normal routines, the more our brains and our bodies feel like we’re back in control.

Keep a Normal Routine

Our emotions need a physical outlet. To relieve some of that anxiety and tension, try gently moving your body. 
This could mean going for a walk, doing some light stretching, taking a home boxing class, or whatever it is that helps you feel good. The idea is less about exercise per se and more about finding a tangible way to get out your feelings

Move Your Body

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