The Life Cycle of the Amoeba

This is an excerpt from Shiatsu Theory and Practice by Carola Beresferd-Cook and tells the story of the principle movements of energy (through the meridians) present in all living things. She uses the example of an amoeba and how it goes through life. As a side note, the meridians are not where they are because the ancient texts say so; they are where they are because of their energetic function. So, without further adieu...


Stage One - making a border and initiating exchange

If we imagine the beginning of life on this Earth, as is it still conventionally taught, we much envisage what used to be called the primordial soup. In this rich brew of amino acids and life- supporting nutrients, life appeared, as we are told, perhaps through an electrical impulse from lighting. The simplest life form came into being, one cell, more or less primordial soup with a skin around it. This is the firs stage of existence, the establishing of an individual identity, separate from the rest of the universe, yet coexisting with it. Masunaga (the creator of Zen Shiatsu) called this energetic action "making a border"; we could also call it the establishment of an identity structure. The border is what separates the amoeba from the universe, and yet it must be a permeable border, allowing exchange of Ki (energy) with the universe; the amoeba will die if it is a sealed unit.

In the human organism according to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), the Lungs rule the skin, which is our permeable border. The Lung and Large Intestine meridians are on our anatomical, forming the "outside" of our outline if we stand with the palms facing forward in the anatomical position. The Lungs and Large Intestine represent the functions of intake and elimination through that border, bot equally necessary for the replenishing of our supplies of Ki; we cannot take in if we do not let go. The catchphrase for the stage in this cycle is "intake of Ki and elimination".


Stage Two - satisfying needs

In the first stage of the cycle, the amoeba is unaware of any particular needs. The functions involved - those of establishing ourselves as a separate entity and exchanging Ki with the universe - are so vital that we do not feel a craving to perform them; we simply cease to be, as a separate entity, if they stop. In the second stage, once an individual identity has been established, needs arise. The most basic need of any life form is for nourishment. In the case of the amoeba, let us imagine that it espises some particularly tasty food molecule before it in the primordial soup. Its actions then are to bulge itself forward (in biological terms, to put out a pseudopodium) to reach what it desires, then to enfold it and begin to break it down into a digestible form.

The two parts of this phase of the cycle represent the activity of the Stomach and Spleen meridians. The Yang or active energy of the Stomach embodies the appetite factor, the perception of a need and the movement towards satisfying it. The Spleen performs the Yin function of drawing in and enfolding the object of our need; it also breaks it down into usable form. The object can be anything that we perceive as being necessary for our well-being, even our survival - anything, in other words, for which we hunger. It may be information, love, approval, possessions or status that we crave, as well as food. The Stomach hungers and pursues; the Spleen establishes possession, embraces and breaks down.

The activity in this phase of energy is all at the front, the perception of an object of desire outside ourselves, which attracts us to move forward till we have grasped and enfolded it, is acted out by the Spleen and Stomach meridians, which are at the front of the body. The catchphrase for this stage in the cycle is "obtaining nourishment and digestion".

Stage Three - assimilating and integrating nourishment

At the end of Stage Two, the desired object has been drawn in and broken down into usable form, but it has not yet been assimilated. Stage Three is the absorption of the desired object into our own identity; it is the process by which a cheese sandwich, say, becomes Joe Everyman, or in this case Joe Amoeba.

The two meridians which represent this process are the Small Intestine and the Heart. The Small Intestine absorbs nutrients; it assimilates in order to nourish the core of our individual selves, our consciousness, which in Eastern tradition is housed in the Heart. By this means each being, whether amoeba, armadillo or human, is able to absorb what it needs from the environment in order to maintain presence. , awareness and function in the world. According to the needs of each being, it assimilates what is appropriate: food, sense impressions, information, belief systems, and emotional input. It cannot assimilate what has not been broken down and processed, which is why the Stomach and Spleen must accept and process everything beforehand.

The movement of energy in this plane is inwards, and the meridians involved are on the inner surfaces of the limbs, when we stand in the anatomical position. The catchphrase for this stage is "assimilation into the central core". The cycle of energy has now reached its central point, the Heart, the core of identity. The movement of energy in this first half of the cycle, since the amoeba first differentiated itself from its environment, has been directed towards bringing nourishment to the center.

Stage Four - Flight from danger

The amoeba has now reached the stage where it is able to sustain itself and to respond to other stimuli in the environment. The most pressing of external stimuli is danger, and encountering danger is the next phase of development. Let us imagine that, an evolutionary aeon further in the primordial soup, an amoeba is under attack from a predator.

The urge for flight is perceived in the back; here we have a momentum away from a given source of stimulus, whereas in Stage Two, that of desire or appetite for something in the front of the amoeba, the movement was towards it. The Bladder and Kidney meridians embody the urge for flight, and these are the meridians of the back. This strong source of movement originating from the back provided Masunaga with the key word in his catchphrase describing the activity of this stage "impetus".

In TCM the kidneys provide the impetus for all of our actions, functions, and metabolic processes. If the impetus fails or slows, all body functions slow down; and as a result stagnation can set in, or residues build up. The Kidneys thus provide an impetus which purifies by maintaining the flow and movement. The Western physiology, the purification of the blood is the main function of the kidney organ, while the flight or fight resp once is the domain of the adrenal glands, which sit on top of the kidneys. The catchphrase for Stage Four, "purification and impetus", thus fits equally into both systems.