By Antonio Martín

Credit: Vlada Karpovich from Pexels

Today, neuroscience treats consciousness as a process confined to the brain, as something that makes us aware of information that would otherwise be unconscious. This view is underpinned by an assumption:

that consciousness is a self-contained and self-governing mechanism, a hidden entity waiting to be located and explained.

My own research initially followed this line of thought, treating consciousness as a cognitive program created by particular areas of the human brain. However, the problem with thinking of consciousness as something tangible is that we cannot actually "locate" it.

Researchers have dubbed this the "hard problem of consciousness": How is it possible that physical mechanisms are subjectively experienced rather than being merely unconscious?

Ancient Chinese medicine views consciousness in a totally different way. It does not see it as a mechanism or entity, but as a "light" that shines when our inner universe is in harmony.

Under this view, consciousness cannot be located, extracted and studied in isolation—be it a brain in a vat or a program in a computer. Instead, it is more like a quality that a person can have, similar to notions like health or beauty. Just like health and beauty, consciousness can come and go, but its light shines brightest when the whole body-mind is in balance.

Ancient Chinese consciousness

The earliest references to the concept of consciousness in China can be traced back approximately 2,200 years to the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon (黃帝內經; Huangdi Neijing), which explains the concept of the sacred that manifests itself, known as spirit-light (神; Shen).

Unlike the contemporary Chinese word for consciousness (意識; YiShi)—which is influenced by the Western cognitive psychology concept of awareness—the traditional concept of consciousness refers to a mysterious force of the universe present within living beings.

Although consciousness is thought to be coordinated by the heart, it comes from the harmony and connection of all organs. It can neither be localized nor separated from bodily processes. When consciousness shines brightly (神明; ShenMing), a person therefore embodies an optimal state of health and wisdom.

In physical terms, a healthy consciousness manifests not only as wakefulness, alertness and responsiveness, but also as bright eyes, mental clarity and a mindful presence.

Conversely, when the balance is broken, consciousness illuminates a smaller field and disturbances emerge. In traditional Chinese medicine, disturbances and disharmony occur when the natural balance between organs—such as the heart and the liver—is lost.

The results are inattention or indifference to surroundings, disrupted sleep patterns, lack of creativity or purpose in life, a sense of unreality, anxiety, impulsivity, social withdrawal, headache and fatigue.

This ultimately leads to "spirit-mind disease" (神志病; ShenZhiBing)—a state that maps onto the Western concept of poor mental health or mental illness.

Consciousness and mental health

In both Western and traditional Chinese traditions, mental health can be broadly defined as a "state of well-being that allows individuals to cope with the normal stresses of life and function productively". The big difference lies in where "well-being" is located. In Western traditions, mental health is mostly governed by the mind. In ancient Chinese medicine, a healthy consciousness stems from the entire body-mind being in harmony.

Chinese traditions can therefore teach us how to protect the health of our consciousness through a range of different holistic approaches. Many of these practices will already be familiar to you. They can take the form of activities such as meditation, mindfulness or yoga, or day-to-day habits such as nutrition and sleep.

Anyone who has traveled to China and wandered in a park may have been surprised by how many people, especially older adults, practice tai chi in groups. Tai chi is a type of ancient martial art that combines slow, fluid movements with deep breathing and mental concentration. Practicing tai chi has shown good promise in improving balance, reducing stress and strengthening the body without impact.

In terms of sleep, modern Chinese and Western societies have similar problems, especially in our current era of smartphones and hyper-connectivity. However, China is drawing on its traditional view of mind-body health to develop policies that actively promote sleep health.

Prioritizing sleep through practices like proper sleep hygiene directly protects both our physical and mental health. In particular, it protects against heart-related disease and boosts our cognitive capacities.

We can all learn a great deal from the ancient Chinese understanding of consciousness, which views the mind and body as one inseparable whole, and created activities that reflect this.

While many of us regularly practice mindfulness activities—be it tai chi, meditation, yoga or otherwise—it's important to remember why these practices exist in the first place. Far from simply exercising or relaxing the body or mind, they offer a way to unify and harmonize our entire being, with the aim of supporting a bright, healthy consciousness.