perseverence    ὑπομονή    hupomoné

(patient endurance, steadfastness, or perseverance)

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

—James 1:4

Blessed is the one who has arrived at infinite ignorance.

—Evagrius Ponticus

Live in obscurity

When I told my teacher about Nitsan's obsession with the Root, ever critical he said: You must get your inspiration from the stars, not the Earth.   True enough, but unless you have a damn good root (and everything that goes with it: selflessness, ruthlessness, probity, clarity) you'll never reach the stars.

Anything worth knowing is impossible to tell.
We must find out for ourselves.

rewild
remystify
resacralize
remythologize

Inside our heads, the decibel levels are off the charts. That’s the thing about lives of quiet desperation. They’re only quiet on the outside.

—Eric Weiner

When I told a new student that the most important word in Taiji is  LISTENING  he pointed out that it's also the most important word in life.

When Cheng Man-ch'ing (Zheng Manqing 郑曼青) was asked why none of his students approached his level, he famously replied: Because they don't believe.

They hadn't yet come to the conviction that it's all a matter of relaxation and heart, not strength or speed or technique or intelligence or sensitivity or skill…

The meaning of life is simply to share the gift God gave you.

This is what we mean by 'letting your energy out.'

Progress at Taiji is a long slow process of reinterpretting the principles in the light of new-gained relaxation.

My making process is a daily repetition in a calm and quiet place.

—JaeJun Lee

It’s the balance between intention and surprise that keeps the work alive for me.

—JaeJun Lee

"On second thoughts..."

(Reasonably wise but spiritually disastrous)

first thought best thought

Caregiver or caretaker?
Giving care but taking the duty of care

After eight years of Taiji my teacher recommended weight training. An elderly student at the BTCCA, who had done weights all his adult life, recommended I buy a barbell, two dumbells, and 50 kilos of weight. I asked if that would be enough as I was already squatting 50kg. "You can always make it more difficult," he muttered.

Tense shoulders indicate
an overactive mind &
an underactive heart

The only way you'll change is if you have an overwhelming desire to stop being the way you are.

Grace shines naturally from a heart full of gratitude

I feel my “I” is much too small for me.

—Vladimir Mayakovsky

Meditation: at home with silence & openness

Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

—Matthew 18:3

(The Change: a simple switch from head to heart)

The kingdom of heaven opens up (within & without) when you quieten the mind and truly listen.

I AM A TREE

Rooting down to Earth
Sucking energy up

Reaching up to Heaven
Drawing energy down

The teacher teaches so the student can practise,
knowing full well that they won't.
Hoping against hope.

(So the teacher is really teaching herself.)

I’m always asking myself:
Am I doing what I came here to do?

—Gillian Allnutt