The sleep of the ancients was polyphasic – a first sleep early in the night, and a second sleep in the early morning are separated by a period of nocturnal activity. There are two nights: a night for sleeping, and a night for keeping watch, and two days: a day for working and a day for slumbering.

—Matthew Nini

Meditation: relaxing out of thinking and into breathing – out of the world of objects & things and into the world of flows & potentialities.

A few months after beginning to teach here a neighbour joined my class.  She immediately made a good connexion with both the Taiji and with me so I suggested she accompany me to one of Nitsan's classes.  She liked the class very much and at the end asked Nitsan if she could attend regularly.  He said of course so she took the details of times.  Nitsan then asked if she wasn't going to enquire as to the price.  She replied: "No, I want to study with you and I will pay whatever you ask."  Nitsan smiled and said: "May I give you a hug?"

Most don't live in the world, they live in their head. The device we use to get out of our head and into the world is LISTENING.

Live the life of a saint in-the-making.

To achieve mastery in Taiji one must work like a Trojan – hours each day – strengthening legs & waist, relaxing body & mind – repeating the Form until it becomes second nature. Mastery just means that your strength, relaxation and mental probity have softened you enough to enter the world of energy or mind-at-large. Now great care must be taken to put quality over quantity.

In Taiji the key word is always natural. The Daoist imperative.

the only time
I get lonely

is when I'm
in bad company

Loneliness has its own networks of cure. Its closest ally, even by-product, is meditation.

—Sumana Roy

For the average person, getting an advantage is what life is all about.

to connect to
& feel energy

we need only
do two things

relax the body
relax the mind

it's really as
simple as that

bristling with the tension of readiness

Meditation: feeling what naturally sinks and feeling what naturally rises

I remember once discussing Descartes' Cogito with my teacher.  We agreed it needed to be replaced.  I suggested Ezra Pound's Amo ergo sum which apparently graced his personal letterhead.  John said that Sentio ergo sum would be better.  I feel therefore I am.

It's all in the feeling – in the heart.  Feel the world rather than observe it.  Empathy – togetherness in feeling.  Feel the world then feel the world feeling you.

When I find myself getting irritated by a student's inability to relax, I remember my own teacher's infinite patience with my tension.

One ambition of poetry, certainly, is to create a reverberant silence in its wake, one that means more or differently than the silence that preceded the poem. 

—Mark Doty

Find an alcove, sit quietly, and angels will join you there.

Imagine tramping through a forest on a fine day, enjoying the air and exercise. Suddenly, inspired by the trees, you stop and simply stand. Gradually the signs of life your coarse trespass has scattered would start to reappear. Birds singing, birds sighted, rodents rustling in the undergrowth, squirrels and maybe a marten in the trees. This is meditation. You stop and simply pay attention, and slowly realise there's far more present than you could ever have imagined.

Meditation investigates the subtle levels of reality that only become revealed when the mind quietens.

Work isometrically: against imagined resistance.

Uniting in a common enemy is not the same as uniting in love.

Slow down

Pay attention

Do good work

Love your neighbours

Love your place

Settle for less

Enjoy it more

—Paul Kingsnorth

Gestures of giving

If you wish to get into energy then you must first learn to concentrate an aspect of mind we call intent.

Traditionally, Palestinian men start the day with a tiny cup of very strong coffee (usually flavoured with cardamom) and a small glass of local olive oil. Both are bitter and, if imbibed mindfully, create a descending wave of astringency settling in the lower belly.  A natural abode for the quiet mind.