we become enlightened by making the darkness conscious

god doesn't make us happy, doesn't lift our depression – that is our job

god makes us good, makes us capable of real goodness, and thereby gives life purpose and meaning

the cutting edge is always unpopular

expect condemnation rather than commendation

it's important to love all your students, but not equally

you obviously love those that practice more than those that don't

circumambulating an unknown something

the lightning conductor is attractive to the heavens by virtue of its conductivity and its earth

we should be the same

and it is the one release that allows both gravity to claim the body and spirit to infuse the body

do the work  (and then some)

the final rep does all the work

so many things to think about! bewails the student

indeed, but with one simple release, they all fall into place

I have worked for a restlessness oriented toward inward deepening.

it matters little how many teachers you've visited, how many books you've read

without dedicated daily practice it all comes to nought

family may know where you're coming from but they have no idea where you're going

cast your mind back to the event of learning to ride a bicycle 

the practical realisation that balance requires momentum

an awareness that has no desire to control

We moderns are faced with the necessity of rediscovering the life of the spirit; we must experience it anew for ourselves. It is the only way in which to break the spell that binds us.

this work is life-enhancing
it is also life-changing
(but only if you let it)

let's face it

to live and to act well

of all god's creatures human beings are clearly portals between two worlds: the world of matter and the world of spirit

we put to sea again with our broken oars

if you're nervous then the horse is nervous

self keeps us company when we're alone

a stream of consciousness language free

only a selfless mind can be truly rational or truly compassionate or truly empty

meditation allows self to slowly unravel & dissolve

this would happen more quickly if we didn't hold on so

what makes us hold on (tense up) is fear

fear of being alone

all day long I feel created

above all the artist hopes the work embodies the purity of the creative process

this its truth

sink has the sense of both down and into

root anchors that unbearable lightness

the choice is whether to retreat into thought or stream into the world

dream or stream

these are mutually exclusive

everything is gently itself

contained within a teardrop

cure-all

the lyricism of marginality

exercises that attenuate individual ego by equilibrating with others

we wake, if ever at all, to mystery

settle within and move with aplomb

don't mind

always in relation to another

never in relation to the self

back to basics

because that's all there is

Hone and spread your spirit till you yourself are a sail, whetted, translucent, broadside to the merest puff.

the student needs three things for success:

1. correct teaching
2. hard work
3. talent

talent last but still vital

ego is a cheat

those that can, do
those that can't, teach

don't mistake intelligence for talent

intelligence is of the mind
talent is essentially of the spirit

empty yourself and wait, listening

a root enables two-way energetic traffic across the sole

ego is terminal

root is soul of the foot

real masters disappear

progress is a descent

sink to tap the rising energy of the earth

be with the legs walking rather than the head thinking

be with the body working rather than the mind thinking

the body is always moving

the skin is our first ear

practice is the process of embodying & enheartening a teaching

eventually you bleed taiji

force acts upon the body 

energy passes through the body

root: from the ground up

a knowledge as much of the body and spirit as the mind

embodied & emboldened

we say of those who listen deeply that they are "sound"

the taiji form is an exercise in edging
never quite finishing
keeping to a yielding mind

ego natters to distract from what matters

the voice in the head drowns out the song in the heart 

if we listened to the heart our lives and our world would be very different

our only hope is to find the dance of energy more captivating than the train of thought

a high degree of refinement and complicity

foreground the attentive mind

background the thinking mind

we all have enlightenment experiences – rare flashes of spirit which light up a completely different reality than the one we usually inhabit – but few live by and for them

the slimmest of chances

ego is so strong that very little gets through

your feet are your physical connection to this planet

touch the earth directly with your bare feet
let the earth energy circulate
from your feet to your head
and back again

it is easy to take sides – to choose one over the other – but difficult to strike a balance

the student has graduated when this comes natural

consciousness is like a movie screen upon which plays the external world through sense impressions and the inner world through thoughts & feelings

meditation reduces these worlds to a minimum and gazes at the blank screen

one becomes one with the ocean of consciousness rather than the objects within consciousness

mum's the word

ego is like a spoilt child

don't encourage it
and don't fight it
(for fear of tantrum)

just ignore it

Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.

in meditation the zabuton becomes a raft adrift on the ocean of consciousness

there is a real sense of movement
but you must still both body & mind to feel it

the only way to reduce the ego is to starve it

all the while retaining a broad smile

meditation: keeping mum

none of this makes us in any way special

all my life I have been in love with the sky

the present moment is not a static point
it is where time gushes forth
mindfulness attends the present moment in its unfolding
this is personal because it unfolds uniquely for each of us

meditation brings neither knowledge nor understanding but realisation

being time mind consciousness

the sense in which these are all the same

give the student the barest minimum

more won't make them better students

The present is the only thing that has no end.

nothing sorts the men from the boys like standing

a touch of derring-do

become a lower-case i

ego only survives by holding onto hurt and resentment

forgiveness is such an effective weapon against it

practice generates insights

these must be followed through with more practice otherwise they fizzle out

One must always do what one really cannot.

ego chooses not to listen

meditation: surfing time

there comes a point where the journey can only continue by quantum leaps

so work to become so light and free it's scary

I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as a derivative of consciousness.

without ego holding on, trauma would naturally resolve and dissolve

matter is frozen energy

leave the head and enter the body

unfold from oneness
enfold into oneness

all the problems of the human race are due to the fact that thought is not proprioceptive

take risks
make mistakes
learn lessons

set an example

become exemplar

proficiency on a musical instrument takes thousands of hours of diligent daily practice

this is why my teacher said his best students have always been musicians – even though an obnoxious lot they do understand practice – its need and value

We have sought for firm ground and found none. The deeper we penetrate, the more restless becomes the universe; all is rushing about and vibrating in a wild dance.

life, if you let it, wears you down so that by the time it's time to empty into the vast open there is no you left to resist

wholeness & the implicate order

a person with depth – with soul – has a sense of the peace beneath the suffering

when the teacher gives an instruction it's not a matter of blindly doing as you're told but of feeling its truth and then letting go of what's stopping that happening naturally

The creativity of the world is the throbbing emotion of the past hurling itself into a new transcendent fact.

the teacher's job is to reveal to the student what they already know

ego is one of many hurdles

pluck up the courage to take the plunge

the noisy mind is very much a surface effect

only by quieting do we venture deeper

if you don't take care of love it slowly vanishes

a transmission is an all-consuming connexion to the natural process

it can only pass to the good student

with work it carries them through

the good student knows she has no choice