In Taoism we talk about the Three Treasures - Jing, Qi and Shen, as these are the core of what creates our human experience, and what we attempt to “tone” and cultivate through taking the herbs and doing the practices we rave on about. There is a fourth Treasure though. Just the same way that the spirit of the Heart is known as our Shen, the spirit of the Kidneys is known as our Zhi, our Will [power], and it is so important to constituting the quality of our life that it is considered by many Taoists as the fourth Treasure (a huge deal), and something worth focusing your cultivation methods upon.
Now don’t get confused, the Jing is STORED in the Kidneys, and our Zhi/Will is the SPIRIT of that same organ system. We will experience an abundance of the expression of our Zhi/Will when the Jing is being cultivated and the Kidneys are:
embodying Qi that is structured and free to flow and transform constantly
housed in an environment void of excess tension, especially spine, psoas and lower back
living among a lifestyle that is sustainable, and not sacrificial to our own energy (very difficult to achieve in the West)
prevent our feet from touching cold surfaces
being nourished by warm, homemade food cooked with love and tradition
given Jing herbs regularly
experiencing the deep restoration of wonderful sleep each night
being grounded and integrated in your ego enough to realise you’re a small piece in a grand cosmic dance that you’re also a vital part of
free from excess fear that is built upon and added to quicker than we can process. This is what mainstream media does, and it just builds every day until we are swallowed by fear, or the inner reaction we have to fear being present
gently moving away from extreme ideology, and finding our own meaning and centre.