The Vital Force Archive

Lorraine Lepine traces how natural breath, emptying, and slowed movement lead to subtle vibration and inner light, citing Paul Reps and Justin Stone's statement in 20th Century Psalms that we are the product of sound vibration.

Lorraine Lepine describes moving her attention from the soles of her feet to the t'an t'ien until the Chi seemed to practice itself, and a group meditation on listening to mental clamor rather than pushing it away.

Aphorisms from Justin Stone's out-of-print 20th Century Psalms on impermanence, egotism and compassion, including the lecture he opened by telling the audience "You're all dying!" and his question to a millionaire about doing good.

Amy Tyksinski gathers quotations recorded in small group sessions with Justin Stone around his metaphor of dyeing the cloth, linking devotion, faith and letting go to becoming large-hearted.

Alice M. Holden links St. Dominic's standing prayer to the standing pause between movements, and Stephen Thompson recounts Sandy McAlister's impromptu 2016 conference discussion on whether to rise or stay down in rest.

Aphorisms excerpted from Justin Stone's out-of-print 20th Century Psalms, ranging from unasked-for advice and locked church doors to the story of Zen Master Tokusan telling two quarreling monks both were right.

Justin Stone's aphorisms on breath, the vibration before sound and the "thoughtless state," plus stories of a chanting mendicant, hat-stealing monkeys, Swami Krishnanand, and a woman bound to her chair.

Aphorisms by Justin Stone from the out-of-print 20th Century Psalms, ranging from Chao Chou's traveler carrying nothing to the jazz musician who wonders who is really playing.

Aphorisms from Justin Stone's out-of-print 20th Century Psalms on the Impersonal, karma worked out in dreams, the barrier of time, cruelty toward animals, and the man who retired with a million dollars and still has it.

Justin Stone gathers Zen anecdotes with his own encounters: Joshu Sasaki telling a lawyer to remove an imaginary coat, a silent hour before a yogi in samadhi at Baroda, and Honen's father's dying request.

Aphorisms from Justin Stone on contraction and expansion, the unhappiness he observed among the monied people of the financial world, and the need to balance Yin and Yang or face trouble.

A selection of Justin Stone's aphorisms on security and impermanence, doing your best now, money and karma, chasing your shadow, and gratitude as the antidote to self-pity.

Aphorisms from Justin Stone on giving instead of worrying, the Life Force bursting from bare rock, Hakuin's enlightenment, the lavender skies of Kyoto, and why each death is also a birth.

Justin Stone's collected aphorisms on wind and rain being neither good nor bad, Hakuin's enlightenment, the one Energy moving through worm and bird and tree, and death as another birth.

Aphorisms from Justin Stone on ambition and envy, the Chi that can neither begin nor end, the Life Force springing from bare rocks, and Chao Chou's traveler carrying nothing.

Justin Stone offers more aphorisms from his 20th Century Psalms, on the three levels of truth, the Pleasure-Pain Continuum most people inhabit, and why Realization cannot be forced any more than a tree can blossom early.

Justin Stone offers a string of aphorisms on words versus actions, the danger of getting stuck in a feeling of Unity, the mental constructs we mistake for the world, and impermanence.

Excerpts from Justin Stone's "The Impersonal" assert that the Life Force has no beginning, end or individuality, that only transformation exists, and that ambition, envy and the refusal of impermanence cause suffering.

Justin Stone questions how the words of Zen Masters acquire their authority, doubting that famous sayings can supply a way of living, and closes with another handful of 20th Century Psalms.

Justin Stone offers a series of aphorisms from 20th Century Psalms, on identifying with the tree rather than the leaves, karma as energy in activity, habit as the enemy of old age, and the jazz musician's attempt to express the inexpressible.

Thirteen short excerpts from Justin Stone's 20th Century Psalms, on impermanence, the heavy baggage of "I" and "Mine," the impossibility of forcing Realization, and why those who touch Unity must return to ordinary life.