The Vital Force Archive

Justin Stone recalls Himalayan yogis who bathed in the icy Ganges and relied on inner heat, his own two years developing it without a teacher, and why Teh, inner sincerity, matters more than outer form.

Justin Stone credits the growth of T'ai Chi Chih in Canada, Montana and beyond to the inner sincerity of its teachers, urges them to give presentations regularly, and asks for contributions to the newly bimonthly Vital Force.

Justin Stone recalls the Albuquerque Teachers' Conference, the silent sunrise practice at Old Town Plaza, Guy Kent's small-group discussions, and warns that the Monterey Seijaku course may be cancelled for lack of letters.

Justin Stone quotes the Sufi teacher Sheikh Abdullah Ansari on worship, sacred law and reality as selflessness, and says faithful T'ai Chi Chih practice moves one rapidly toward identity with reality.

Reprinted from his book Abandon Hope, Justin Stone describes the inner Certainty that matures through spiritual practice, the Vedantic "Neti Neti," the Buddhist roots of suffering, and why psychic experiences fade.

Justin Stone links acid and alkaline to yin and yang, recounts Paul Reps staying well on vinegar, and retells a swordsman from Sword of No Sword who fled opponents projecting steady Ki.

Justin Stone states that a T'ai Chi Chih teacher who does not practise is somewhat of a fraud, quoting his teacher from India: before giving water, make sure you have water to give.

Justin Stone notes that posture both shapes and reveals state of mind, saying we can read a person by their wrists and waist, by whether they sit down or fall down, and by how they close a door.

Justin Stone names Steve Ridley acting head of T'ai Chi Chih, says Ridley will lead future Teachers' Training Courses, and offers a Seijaku course once twenty teachers request one.

Justin Stone offers a brief winter note that nothing is in a state of Being but everything in a state of Becoming, and that T'ai Chi Chih can greatly influence that path.

Justin Stone explains why he will not write a book on Ultimate Truth, then offers a sample passage on nature's indifference to individuals, vibratory rates, and the Lotus Sutra's promise of a life without limit.

Justin Stone notes that teachers say they read the Vital Force immediately, points out that printing and mailing cost money, and asks readers to send $10 for the next four issues.

Justin Stone's remarks at the teacher conference: chase your shadow all day and never catch it, but stand still at noon and it merges with the body.

Justin Stone announces three-day "Heightened Awareness" seminars in Fargo, Bemidji, Albuquerque and Denver for fall, plus Good Karma Books, a new company publishing his forthcoming book and "Twentieth Century Psalms".

Justin F. Stone objects to teachers who write telling him they have invented new movements, warning that such additions are an ego-stance that would splinter T'ai Chi Chih into fifty versions.

Justin Stone states that the task is not to find someone to believe in or a comfortable doctrine for refuge, but to realize and manifest Who and What you really are.

Justin Stone's brief March 1988 note calls life the uncovering of joy, names finding out who and what we are as our task, and hears everything singing creation's glory.

Justin Stone links the Sanskrit idea of Advaita, or Non-Duality, to T'ai Chi Chih, arguing that since forms are impermanent and we are moving energies, balancing chi affects outer and inner alike.

Justin Stone explains how students who come to T'ai Chi Chih for hypertension or low energy find deeper benefits, as balancing the chi erases the habit energies and tendencies that build karma.

Justin Stone announces that the March Seijaku Course for teachers may be the last for some time, notes limited enrollment, and calls the previous year's course with its deep meditation excursions the high point of his teaching career.

Justin Stone describes illness as the body's effort to throw off impurities, warns that pain-killers and sleeping pills add to that burden, and places karma, habit-energies and T'ai Chi Chih within an ongoing purification of chi.

Justin Stone states that only teachers who practice daily should teach T'ai Chi Chih, and only those who learned Seijaku from him and practice it regularly should teach it.

Justin Stone describes empty space as a continuum of energy that is also wisdom, available for recharging through T'ai Chi Chih, and warns against treating the practice as just another discipline.

Justin Stone reminds teachers that beginners must first learn to flow slow motion in a dream, concentrating on softness and continuity before the individual movements are taught.

Justin Stone denies that "higher consciousness" exists, arguing there is only Consciousness, sometimes obscured by habit-energies and "the dusts" as clouds weaken sunshine or dirt clouds a mirror.

Justin Stone traces suffering to our refusal to accept impermanence, citing the I Ching on change, the falling and returning leaves, and Professor Huang's saying that the Sage wants spring to follow winter.

Justin Stone announces plans to teach transition and transmutation, the Law of Impermanence, and how chi accumulates while nearly motionless at the August Teachers' Conference, warning he will cancel if fewer than 30 register.

Justin Stone recommends his newly recorded audio tape to all students and teachers, suggesting it can sustain enthusiasm, convey deeper meanings, and substitute for in-person presentations when attracting new students.

Justin Stone answers visiting students' question about reincarnation by pointing at autumn leaves in the courtyard and asking why identify with the leaves rather than the tree, then thanks Corinn for the Winter '86 issue.

Justin Stone illustrates softness with the tongue outlasting the teeth, water wearing away stone, and bamboo bending while the oak cracks, then warns that trying to be soft creates tension.