a manifestation of some vital force coming out of the dark

Work is the opening, clarifying and resolving of resentments. A person who has done their work we call good. Most of us give the impression of goodness by living a life within which our resentments remain suppressed beneath a veneer of comfort, respectability, busy-ness or sheer exhaustion. This is not good because as we get old and our energy wanes, they resurface with a vengeance, and make our final years hell.

The work is not in getting it done but in enjoying it.

The principle of single-weightedness, once you're past thinking it's about weight in one leg, reveals itself to be surprisingly rich and rewarding. For me, at this present stage in my development, it is about two things. The first is navigating the gulf between sacrum and leg, a feat which requires a sense of humour. The second is releasing the coccyx down the leg and into the Earth, a feat which requires a sense of mischief.

when I get up in the morning my attention is fixed on the work I have to do

A single-weighted stance has an inevitable wobble which I must learn to relish.

As a rule of thumb, if a student hasn't started daily practice within six months of starting Taiji then they never will.

For the beginner the most important principle is sink and relax. For the intermediate student it is turn the waist, and for the advanced student, single-weightedness (lightness).

the awkwardness I feel when faced with the infinite multitude of coexisting objects in any single object

Meditation is the experience of time.

I work, guided by an inner reptile.

Worry and anxiety bring the world down. An ugly contribution, a pollution that serves only to reduce life.

If you wish to sparkle then live on raw food.

Time heals, time grows. Time corrupts, time decays. The difference is life force – élan vital.

The secret is to fall in love with the work.

There is a haunting phrase of Ramana Maharshi: Scorch the ego by ignoring it. A radical prospect indeed. So how to ignore oneself? I must find something else, something other than myself, far more interesting. And this is what we call work. Not spirit, not energy, not God nor scripture, but good old honest work – a supremely active doing and making – a creative and creating attitude to the birthing present moment.