Senior TCC Teachers’ Voices

T’ai Chi Chih is a mindfulness-moving meditation practice that’s easy to learn. The series of 19 movements and one pose helps circulate the Vital Energy, the Chi. Practitioners experience peace, improved health, and many more benefits. Our free monthly e-newsletter offers inspiration between issues of the TCC quarterly journal, The Vital Force, in which teachers and students tell stories about ways they’ve benefited from the practice. 

“Accept impermanence.’” – Justin F. Stone, TCC Originator

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From the recent issue of The Vital Force:

Surprise! “Justin was a mentor and friend. Like many who knew him, I consider him one of the most influential people in my life. He was very good at smashing through my very conventional beliefs, particularly my belief that I was unconventional and open to change. Justin’s encouragement, mostly indirectly, to soften up my attachment to my narrow conception of self and of success in this world, laid the groundwork for a lifetime of growth and prepared me for the challenges that life had in store. Justin shared his experience… Who would have thought one might receive meaningful spiritual lessons while dining with a middle-aged American businessman at the Village Inn pancake house in Albuquerque, New Mexico? Such was my good fortune. Life is full of surprises.” – LO, Port Hueneme, CA

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Editor’s Note: Learn more from TCC teachers with more than 20 years of experience in the November issue of The Vital Force.

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Aha! “Soon after TCC teacher accreditation, I was teaching a class at the university, and the ‘aha’ hit with a bang: ‘This is the kind of teacher I always wanted to be.’ It still brings tears today. I had had wonderful teaching experiences for decades, so why was TCC so special? Possibly because TCC afforded an intimate connection between teacher and student, student and teacher.” – JO, Hillsborough, NJ

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Don’t just do something, stand there! “At a TCC conference in Albuquerque, we were asking Justin all kinds of questions. After one teacher asked about something being ‘beyond’ something else, Justin took one of his thoughtful poses, didn’t say anything for a minute, and just stood there — feet apart, facing forward, knees soft, palms facing towards the tan t’ien. That’s all he did. He just stood there. That was the answer. I wanted to do something. Standing still could not be the answer. But it was Justin’s answer, so it had to be the answer. I remember it so clearly because it was resting in stillness. Movement leads to stillness.” — NW-A, Minneapolis, MN

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Abandon hope! Abandon the past and the future, live fully in the ‘Now’ with no hope of anything, and the ‘Now’ reveals itself, containing in itself both the past and the future. This is true renunciation, and this is Ananda, Joy, the Bliss of what is, not the hope of what might be. Justin F. Stone

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Where in the World have you been doing T’ai Chi Chih? Share your images for our gallery.

Want more inspiration? Want a connection with the global TCC community? Want tips for better practice? Join us:

Subscribe to The Vital Force. Our quarterly journal offers engaging stories, hints, and insights from TCC teachers and students. We also highlight wisdom by, and photos rarely seen of, originator Justin Stone.

 

 

Published On: December 16th, 2022Categories: Vital Force e-Newsletter

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Daily Meditations

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