Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. Only one is necessary.

At the end of a class at the British Tai Chi Chuan Association, green tea was available – to encourage the students to linger and chat – and my teacher would usually come in and mingle. I remember one occasion when a relatively fresh beginner was telling my teacher about all the wonderful workshops he'd attended and all the amazing teachers he'd studied with. Master Kells listened as graciously as he could and then said: "None of that really concerns me. All that concerns me is Can you turn your waist? And let me tell you, you can't."

Blessed is the one who has arrived at infinite ignorance.

The present population explosion proves the law of diminishing returns.

At the root of ego is a fear of death. A fear that separates us from our own divinity, our destiny.

The further the soul advances, the greater are the adversaries against which it must contend.

Ego prevents us hearing the Truth, from within as well as without. To reduce the ego we must humbly heed and yield to Great Teaching, and then work like crazy. Such work is liable to break us as well as our ego, kill us in fact. Only if we're very lucky will we be left with a few moments to really listen – plug in – to a level of reality that escapes ego. Ego allows us to survive the onslaught of the real, and mere survival satisfies most, but not us.

Taijiquan celebrates man's greatest achievement: standing up straight.

Prayer is the laying aside of thoughts.

The early Church and Desert Fathers were such deep, intelligent thinkers that there is no way they could have taken scripture literally. For them everything was allegory, including nature, events, life – stories and teachings about energy, spirit and the way to God.

My teacher once gave me a word of advice: "Never bother with students who have studied elsewhere. In all likelihood they won't be able to let go of their previous teaching sufficient to listen to you."

Faith  Hope  Love
Faith  Sincerity  Courage
Faith  Respect  Patience  Perseverance  Humility


Faith comes first. Always.

in colors ranging from earthy to vivid

For the Taoist, lightness comes from heaviness, softness from hardness, and relaxation from tension. We know all this. But also openness comes from closedness. Unless we first close around (enclose and possess) a core practice – focus in to the exclusion of all distraction – then openness simply leads to dispersal and dissipation.

it is necessary for a kind of enchanter to appear

Students often ask why it's so easy to practice with others yet so difficult to practice on their own. It's because otherness rouses spirit, and when the spirit is up then everything and anything seems easy. So the secret to practice – to becoming a good student – is to learn the knack of generating otherness on your own. This is what I call imagination.

Be aware that many of the energies – the effects/affects – of practice, we remain unaware of. This is why the Form is so important. We grind them out, one by one, faithful that something is happening – working – even if only God knows what.