The Vital Force Archive

Neal Roy announces the 27th annual TCC Teacher Conference, set for July 5th through 8th, 2012 at the Red Lion Hotel on Portland's Columbia River, themed Bridges to Joy.

Judy Chancey recalls Justin Stone saying over tuna salad at Carmen Brocklehurst's Fall Retreat that life has always provided what he needed, and traces that to a Kyoto chess game.

Neal Roy describes meeting Justin Stone for the first time at a Fall retreat in Albuquerque with Carmen Brocklehurst, and the explosion of heat that rose through his body.

Stephen Thompson describes the state of flow in daily T'ai Chi Chih practice, where effortless movement, regulated breath and fluid time give way to a meta-state of oneness with Chi.

Mark Moloney writes that mystics' word maps are hard to swallow until one's own despair is mastered, followed by Pyramid Poems from CG and MW on chi, fear and sharing.

Pauline Quimson-Tong takes three of Justin Stone's principles in turn, arguing that awareness is the root, that circularity means learning to receive as well as give, and that softness is grounded strength rather than limpness.

Pete Gregory answers Justin Stone's "Impatience" column with I AM, the Impatient Anonymous Mindset, a recovery-program parody tracing patience through grounding, regimen, skill and clarity toward peace and grace.

Responding to Justin Stone's November 2008 article on impatience, Larry Bloom traces how he stopped seeing traffic jams and long lines as the cause of his irritation, and found a yin and yang to impatience.

Linda Braga writes from a four-day retreat on the Northern California coast themed on waiting, where T'ai Chi Chih served as morning practice and waiting became a way into neutral awareness.

Nancy Werner-Azarski takes a ranger's advice not to hurry through a park home from a Quetico canoe trip, then meets her husband's heart surgery and her own hip injury with visualized practice.

Terry Jennings describes the 11-session pilot seated T'ai Chi Chih class she led at her mother's Honolulu memory care facility, using circle seating and chair rocking to prime the chi.

A participant's thanks to the Minnesota teachers whose planning made the 2006 conference feel effortless, leaving the writer honored, filled with joy, and in awe of the TCC community.

Participants in the October 2004 Seijaku accreditation taught by Pam Towne and hosted by Dan Pienciak, plus the June Intensive and August Retreat, send comments and pyramid poems on grounding, resistance and letting go.

Carmen L. Brocklehurst describes the visit of Sri Dadubhai, an Indian holy man whose ashram funds eye operations and schooling, to an evening of meditation and reading with Justin Stone.

News briefs announce the 2002 Teachers' Conference in San Antonio on the theme "Return to the Source of the Bubbling Spring," Carolyn Hales Perkins interviewed on bone density, the Fleischmans at a Shepherd's Centers conference, and a teaching rotation at an Idyllwild Christian retreat.

Donna McElhose audited the July 2000 Berkeley Teacher Training Course and found candidates arriving unprepared, still learning basics, and urges their teachers to audit the course themselves first.

Four poems: Chery Ann Hoffmeyer on auditing the Edmonton teacher training, Linda Skuta's "Rejoice, Rejoice Grow Deeper Still," Jean Krumboltz on surrender and serenity, and short verses by Donna McElhose and Noel Altman.

In a letter to Justin Stone, Elaine Unzicker credits the Chicago teacher certification, Ed Altman's grounding corrections and Justin's pamphlet on diet with guiding her through newly discovered food allergies and a health challenge.

News briefs report planning for the July 2000 Conference at Xavier Center, the Arthritis Foundation's formal statement naming T'ai Chi Chih, a Texas osteoporosis ad, and Dr. John Moth's cellular research on vashanas.

Eleven pyramid poems written by participants at the May 1998 Seijaku accreditation, including Dale Buchanan on softness, Anne Perkins on tears, and Kathy Vieth on the flow of chi.

Vickie Brodie of Burlingame recalls Sunday morning conference practice outdoors beside a fountain, with the sound of moving water making it a time she carries in her heart.

Conference chairperson Susan Patterson thanks the more than half of attendees who returned the conference evaluation form, noting their comments will shape future conference agendas and schedules.

Carmen Brocklehurst uses the Japanese swordsman who was told hard work would double his training time to show how beginners' stiff shoulders loosen only when the chi is finally felt.

The San Diego Conference Committee reports steady registrations for the July 1996 International Teachers' Conference at the University of San Diego, urges signing up for the Seijaku course immediately afterward, and notes record low airfares.

Lia Ridley recounts her reluctance and then her gratitude after serving as Program Chairperson for the 1995 TCC Teachers' Conference in Colorado, and the realization about meeting each moment that followed.

Justin Stone was first to send an early deposit for the 9th International Teachers' Conference at Vallombrosa Center, August 1994, which will mark 20 years of T'ai Chi Chih teaching; $75 holds a place.

Sandra Tanner announces the August 1994 International Teachers Conference at Vallombrosa Center in Menlo Park and urges teachers to send $100 or $50 deposits so the site reservation can be held.

Conference coordinator Pam Towne outlines the July program at Vallombrosa, including silent and refining practice, optional meditation, workshops, a display room for members' artworks, and the Seijaku accreditation schedule with check-in times and registration deadlines.

Carmen L. Brocklehurst recounts Justin Stone's Albuquerque visit, when over 200 people packed his free public lecture on "The Spiritual Life" and heard why the Daughter must come back down from the mountaintop into the valley.

Justin Stone's conference talk on inner sincerity and the teacher's responsibility, with five practice notes: keep TCC standardized, lead the movements from the wrists, avoid upper-body effort, take a low stance with correct yin-and-yanging legs, repeat for muscle memory, and trust the flow of chi rather than the exercise.