True freedom is impossible without a mind made free by discipline.

reality is forever conspiring to awaken us but we stubbornly resist

this resistance is not ignorance – we always know what we're doing

knowledge that comes from practice can only be taught/transmitted through practice

only when dantien furls into itself can heart furl out of itself

it is crucial that daily practice does not become stale (going-through-the-motions) but remains an active exploring – prowling ever deeper into the forest

when you have just the bare necessities, it’s the perfect dharma life

the deeper you go the more treacherous the terrain but the more right it feels

doubts fell away a long way back

words are the least important part of any teaching

urban people have no idea how to give back to nature

they can only take

examine your mindstream moment by moment: are thoughts positive or negative?

Nature loves to hide, says Heraclitus. But only from human beings. When a human hoves into view nature scarpers. And it's not only outside nature that hides from us; it's also our own inner nature. We are estranged from the very thing we should be most familiar with: our own essential nature.

in the ancient tradition of vagabond renunciants

there is no hope for a culture than considers contentment a drab, unambitious weakness

it is imperative to feel and appreciate the difference between a mere balance (both sides equal) and an equilibrium, especially a dynamic equilibrium

there is a delicacy and a life in equilibrium — energy and spirit — infinite movement

if we really want to be happy, we must widen the sphere of our love

Contentment implies peacefulness, satisfaction and gratitude. It is a feeling for and of equilibrium. The Buddha's smile.

far better express love of nature by cutting down consumption than by tramping through it

the moment's wearing thin

those who love poetry also love work (because poetry is work)

they understand the absolute necessity of work and the absolute necessity for poetry

what I can limn only through a dusky glass

at the foundation of being should be a practice of inward looking

only then can you be truly for the other

gracelike

a deep conviction that at some fundamental level something is missing

this the spur that drives the work — it is not meant to be found

there's nothing more inspiring (for the teacher and for the world) than a student who practises

and nothing more depressing than a student who doesn't

the most important cognitive state: devotion

if you want a relationship with the teacher then you must make her warm to you

diligently do your homework and be patient

the good student: in for the long haul, and open to correction

from tip of coccyx to nape of neck, pure sensuality

above all, the good student knows how to listen

they ache to practice because of what they hear

at my age all clouds seem familial

it stands to reason that as the population increases the average quality of individuals decreases

the grace-and-favour of (the) teaching

softness encourages things to reveal themselves – unconceals the world

blur, if not melt, the subject/object distinction

this is softness

mind contemplates its own empty and luminous nature

daoism sees two in the one (the value of unity is two) and lets the two play together

play requires a deep level of trust — a believing and a beloving

a deeply cheerful affirmation of existence

mindfulness doesn't just notice, it encourages — enheartens

Be quiet! I can't hear myself think!

An exclamation I'd often hear as a child.

In order to think, much internal activity, which we should be mindful of, is forced to subside.

freeing oneself from the endless repetition of the mistake which mankind at large has chosen to sanctify

conceal self
reveal spirit

without spirit reality remains behind glass

in taiji stability comes from the root, not from a sense of self (ego)

when the mind quietens it becomes revealed

like the cinema screen that only becomes apparent, in itself, when the movie finishes

I get upset when people say there are all sorts of problems in Africa and India where they have these big families. They don't realize that ten children in rural Tanzania will use less natural resources in a year than one middle class American child. People don't think like that.

there is something oppressive about the cold light of day which is relieved by dusk

the good student is attractive

let the extraneous fall away, and emerge, ever fresh, into a brave new world

An internal teaching will consume you if you let it. This is what makes the good student. It's the last thing most people want.

it depends on how you look, not on what you see

gradually life becomes taiji
eventually taiji becomes life

so-called primitive peoples may lack our technology but in every other respect they are more advanced than we are

no preference

step out of your comfort zone

otherwise you'll never develop spirit

To the poet, to the philosopher, to the saint, all things are friendly and sacred, all events profitable, all days holy, all men divine.

The process of emerging we call hope. It is located in the thymus, and indicates intense aliveness. It is shared by all living things, some more than others, whereas inanimate objects, especially manmade ones, completely lack it. It is really a spirited relationship with time – urging time on rather than hindering its flow.

the modern obsession with longevity belies a lack of grace – an inability to choose the right moment (for anything) – lack of timing

what holds us back is what we know

Internal work hinges on the ability to turn off the stream of commentary in the head. Notice that it stops naturally when we engage the present moment with intensity, usually because of interest, excitement, pain, danger, emotion. This is why we suggest cultivating and nurturing a sense of wonder – a feeling that you are ever emerging fresh and unprejudiced into the world, like a snake squeezing out of its old skin.

a metaphorics for living rather than a metaphysics for thinking

ground of faith – the conviction that the work, despite its trials and tribulations, is essential, vital and always comes first

a good person is attended by angels

once you've tasted a sense of wonder, no other flavour will do

mind in dantien knits upper and lower body into a unit

this unity then splits into left and right which play 'give & take' (push hands) with each other to produce movement

We love life not because we are used to living but because we are used to loving.

feel self for what it is – a chronic tension that needs to be relaxed away

practice makes perfect — that is all ye know on earth and all ye need to know

when the mind stops thinking it becomes energy

it's worth listening to music just to experience the exquisite explosion of silence as it finishes

enshrining that flame
ensouling the light

the basic insight of meditation is that our mundane mind is made (tense) by language

the meditative mind slips behind, beyond, before words to the bristling emptiness of pure listening

abandoning sense of self for a sense of wonder

when mind coheres into a sense of self then energy disappears

a tranquil mind will naturally fill out the body

then you will understand that a body without such a mind is only half a body – a body without energy

The Lord is my strength and my song.

the obvious dangers of meditation: sluggishness, stagnation and falling into a stupor

a sign that the mind is quiet but the energy is still asleep

internal work begins when we break out of the prison of language

here is where it's at

mind in dantien and body as one unit are different ways of saying the same thing

Keep sane and sober for your prayers.

daoism is all extremes playing with each other

meditation: in the no

without the good student the teacher doesn't know what he knows

The most difficult thing about the work is allowing it to change the mind. This is what takes time. Our mental habits are so entrenched that we don't even consider the possibility that we could manage without them.

with all one’s heart, with all one’s soul, with all one’s might

reducing the world to make oneself feel better is the modus operandi of the ego

it's why the world and the planet are in such a state

meditation: staying with the body as living process

meditation: mindful of equilibrium

once the critical mind turns back on itself, progress is assured

To be able to wait for each other – such a valuable trait.

meditation: body and mind still but all their parts moving

the good student naturally taps the arcane

resist the temptation to have an opinion

a compassionate gaze graces the world with softness

a gentle rooting touch

deep thought and deep feeling (there is no difference) are a measure of how much you see – how much you take in – sensitivity, awareness

practice, when done right, is, above all else, a devotion

a deer is all spirit

practice is the best way to endear yourself to the teacher

poetry is numinous sedition

The best part of the teacher is the teaching. He is the first to acknowledge this, and to admit the need to live a life sacrificing self in the service of the teaching.

the imagination is what the heart sees

The eyes see the bones of what's there – the bits and pieces. The imagination then fleshes it out – joins the dots – enlivens.

If happiness is peace of mind then it's not the peace of mind that comes from having everything under control – that would soon be boring. We want a mind that has faith that spirit will always rise, capably and admirably, to the occasion. Only then can we be at peace with the uncertain future.

his poetic treatment of these presences made them pop out of the flat face of normal ontology, the greyness of bland regard, and become mythic and mighty, central to the parliament of all that is

for my teacher, a poet was any witness to poetry: on the page, in life, in motion

the control freak is terrified of spirit

we live in a culture committed to burying the sacred

human beings, at their very best, are poets – an imagination enriching and completing the natural world

We remain embryonic throughout our lives.

spirit is the glint in the eye

grasp the nettle and go forward

mind empties into spaciousness

daily practice only becomes a reality if it gets done first thing

To not cultivate the feel of another is a kind of soul murder.

doing the homework puts you on the same wavelength as the teacher

the teaching won't reveal itself to those who don't deserve it

the modern obsession with freedom of choice – keeping options open – indicates a closed mind: a mind that already knows (what it wants)

teacher: done your practice this week?
student: no, it's not as good on my own
teacher: with practice, it will be better

our feet are soft dark ears
faithful hearing of faithful loss

the more emphatic someone is with their statements of truth, the more you know they're lying

never allow yourself the luxury of a bad mood

the good student gets carried away by practice – an indication of free spirit

as soon as the voice in the head starts up, you are conflicted

Whoever told people that 'Mind' means thoughts, opinions, ideas, and concepts? Mind means trees, fence posts, tiles, and grasses.

only when the mind quietens can it open — an open mind is beyond thinking

whatever it is, face it and embrace it

hardness is the obstacle preventing progress

Sit long enough to realise that you are not the voice in the head. You are the person sitting quietly, patiently listening to that voice. Eventually this realisation will stick and you will be awake.

think of not-thinking

the good student has always been a good student — there has always been something beyond themselves they have practised as though their life depended on it

how do you feel?
not in yourself but in your energy

softness is the result of doing away with the law of noncontradiction

instead of aestheticising nature, be a part of her, a part in balance

from Daoism, a sense of nature as the overarching reality, along with humility, frugality, and wisdom as the spiritual virtues derived from it

the internal teaching is like a cautious wild animal – it will only risk exposure if the student is respectful, faithful, loyal and above all listening

any hint of a skeptical or critical mind and it will remain hidden

living lightly

use everything
abuse nothing

taiji is dialectic at play — as something explodes into being it is softened and rounded by containing forces

The word wild is like a gray fox trotting off through the forest, ducking behind bushes, going in and out of sight. Up close, first glance, it is "wild"—then farther into the woods next glance it's "wyld" and it recedes via Old Norse villr and Old Teutonic wilthijaz into a faint pre-Teutonic ghweltijos which means, still, wild and maybe wooded (wald) and lurks back there with possible connections to will, to Latin silva (forest, sauvage), and to the Indo-European root ghwer, base of Latin fetus (feral, fierce), which swings us around to Thoreau's "awful ferity" shared by virtuous people and lovers.

find inspiration everywhere — only possible if the critical mind is suppressed

irony is dialectic at play

(postmodernists are good little Hegelians after all)

what's it all about?
in one word: freedom
(the irony being that we only attain it through the strictest discipline)

the whole idea of disciplined practice is that you do it whether you feel like it or not

and we all learn (hopefully) that the easiest (and best) way to get a necessary task done is with a cheerful heart

we are enlightened in theory but benighted in practice

heart should be full
head and belly empty

what's it all about?
in one word: transformation
(the irony being that we only change by practising the same thing)

he who truly looks is dumbfounded by what he sees

until you have learnt to quieten your mind (or to put it another way – until you have learnt to listen) you will always pollute whatever situation you find yourself in

He who sees the Infinite in all things, sees God.
He who sees the Ratio only, sees himself only.

If you put your normal mind in dantien then it will always wander with your concentration. The secret is to cultivate a mind that wants to settle and cohere in dantien. Such a mind is quiet, tough, ruthless and detached, especially from feelings for/of self. A mind that never runs away (with itself).

every act, every thought, every feeling, every decision, should drive you into dantien and thence root

nowadays people are addicted to their smartphones

this is an externalisation of an addiction to ego and its interminable chatter

on waking relish those moments before the ego coheres and the torrent of words commences

this is the state we strive to enter in meditation

this alienated state of self-consciousness in which external objects and events have become the measure of man

to enter the internal you must be able to suspend disbelief

this is the same (effectively) as quieting the mind