The function of thinking is not to reveal truth: there is no moral relation between thinking and truth. Thinking simply clears the air – locates and removes obstruction to my flight through life. Thinking creates simulacra (it cannot do otherwise – how could I possibly hold the infinite variables of real life in my puny mind?), not as imposters to truth, but as handholds to haul myself along then immediately leave behind as I struggle with the pitfalls of progress (forward movement) and strive to keep the flow of energy clean and strong.

Taiji is the study of turning.

True humility doesn't give rise to fawning weakness but to ruthless detachment, a detachment from all aspects of self, from everything the mind makes up. Without it the shoulders will always hunch and you'll find yourself reveling in images of the world rather than listening to, or rather being part of, what's there.

in gold refine thy soul,
crown more than self
impassioned stream beyond the years

When a new life is conceived it is not just a union of sperm and egg, but of an infinite array of effects and energies: time, place, mood, weather, wine, etc; they all bear on the quality and the character of that life. What makes the life a life though is its desire to grow, develop and above all express itself, in its being and its becomings, by consuming experience.

The only rule for life is to always express what you feel, and allow that expression to change how you feel. That is, to keep spirit alive.

Taiji is a difficult union – a marriage – of heaven and hell – form and energy. Once the Form has been learnt, which doesn't take long, it needs to be conditioned – elastified – brought alive and taught to breathe. This happens when the energy it contains threatens to burst out.

To cut through concepts, ideas, images – representation – with the intensity of pure action.

A call to arms.

A faith in operations always beyond my sensitivity and knowledge.

Spirit is our only hope.

If my sensitivity – that feeling of being special – isolates me then I'd be better off without it.

…the nonorganic life that runs through the universe, giving it shape and form…

A secret is not a static content that is either hidden in a box or out in the open … Secrets are always in motion, always being secretly perceived.

The quality of taiji lies not in how accurately it conforms to some ideal, but in how much joy it expresses – in how much energy it contains.

Taiji is something to do, not something to worry about (am I practising enough? is my Form good enough?). And that doing is a big affirmative statement, full of joy and enjoyment. Never feel guilty for not reaching an unreachable ideal. It is a mean teacher that plays that game. And if you feel something is wrong then make a correction, or beg a correction from someone better than you.

Consciousness so easily succumbs to the illusion of finality.