The yi represent the powers of the earth in us

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The character for yi shows us the picture of the open bowl of the heart. Above it is the radical indicating an uttered sound, poetry or a musical note. Sound is vibration. Like the wind, sound creates movement through the air, a breeze. Like the wind, it is a messenger between realms. Sound, in the form of prayers, chanting, and poetry, carries our hopes and desires into the world and up to the heavens. This is yi and includes carrying the vibrating sounds of our hearts and our spirit “down,” extending spirit into matter through the words we speak and the actions we commit to. As indicated by the musical note above the heart in the character, it is the connecting link between the heart and the spleen, between inspiration and intention, bringing the limitless, infinite energies of the heart into time and space. In Western Biblical creation myths, this manifesting sound is called “the Word.”

The yi spirits are the gardeners of the soul who plant the light seeds of the shen in the soil or matrix of the earth. Singing and humming as they work, the yi nourish the spirit seeds with their own vibrations. They work steadily, with untiring dedication, until the light seeds sprout into manifestation.

Yi gives me the power not only to sing the music of my spirit, but to persist in my singing, to apply myself to my singing, until the vibrations of my heart’s song have crystallized into material form. According to Chinese medical theory, the sound of the earth is singing, the way that divine archetypes crystallize into form. Yi is the original “I am” of the shen as it moves down through vision and imagination and finally manifests through enduring intention. Yi gives us the power to say our own name not just once, but many times over. Yi enables us to impress our unique signature into the world, as we manifest heaven through our actions on the earth.

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The following material is 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