30 November 2019
29 November 2019
Art: not an occupation of the few but the subcutaneous current of our lives, the countermovement to nihilism.
28 November 2019
27 November 2019
26 November 2019
25 November 2019
24 November 2019
This forum is my space – notes from/to myself – from my better self to my weaker self, focused self to distracted self, mindful to forgetful. I use it to provide courage in times of difficulty, which, maybe surprisingly, increase as one gets older, rather than decrease. This, for me, proves that I'm getting something right. Ever closer to the fire.
23 November 2019
22 November 2019
21 November 2019
20 November 2019
Each of us is a collection of habits; some good, some bad. The work struggles to let go of bad ones and adopt good ones. And as we improve – as we age – what was good now appears not so good, and what was once bad may simply have been misunderstood. Measured up – on average – things don't change much.
19 November 2019
17 November 2019
15 November 2019
14 November 2019
13 November 2019
I remember, over 30 years ago, my teacher telling me to watch a dancer student of his as she did her Taiji Form.
—What do you think? he asked.
—She moves beautifully.
—Yes, but no Internal content.
—Why is that?
—She's not in love with Taiji, she's in love with herself doing Taiji. There's a big difference.
—What do you think? he asked.
—She moves beautifully.
—Yes, but no Internal content.
—Why is that?
—She's not in love with Taiji, she's in love with herself doing Taiji. There's a big difference.
12 November 2019
11 November 2019
10 November 2019
09 November 2019
08 November 2019
06 November 2019
If you want to see good posture then watch an experienced rider atop their steed. The horse for them is what our legs are to us: not only a moving support but a trusty and vital provider of energy and spirit. A good rider really sits into the horse, and the horse really thrusts up into the chest (heart) of the rider.
05 November 2019
About the one thing you can't teach is the wound – the broken heart – without which the work never really ventures into the Internal. And bear in mind that most with a wound spend their life trying to patch it up in order to carry on as others. It is rare to find a student who naturally intuits that the wound is the way, that, for them at least, real life begins when the scab is peeled away and the wound is allowed to bleed or weep into their life. The struggle then for the teacher is to prevent such a student slipping into morbid narcissism.
04 November 2019
03 November 2019
02 November 2019
01 November 2019
Spiritual openness and receptivity cannot be sustained without a root, an anchor, a core, a deep inner gravity and stillness. Part of the mind opens up like an ever-blossoming flower whilst another part holds on for dear life. A state of equipoise – a beautiful and natural home for a mind finally free of anxiety.