The Vital Force Archive

Rhonda St. Martin thanks the merchants, hotel staff, students and anonymous donors who buoyed the 1998 Albuquerque conference, and names the Sunday sunrise community practice with Rob Janov's music as her highlight.

Timothy Steutz announces GREAT! (GRatitude Ecstasy And Transformation) as the 1997 conference theme, urges reluctant teachers to attend, and hopes to offer scholarship money to those facing financial difficulty.

Teacher letters report the Africa Fund covering Sister Marie-Ann Main's airfare for accreditation, a Dutch-language text translation in Switzerland, monthly outdoor practice at Portland's Rose Garden, Kaiser Permanente classes, and a San Diego publicity push.

Letters from teachers worldwide: Sister Francis Kay's African Fund to fly Sister Marie-Ann to the USA for accreditation, Gordon Wade's grade 6 and 7 class, Kassandra Jor rebuilding in Vancouver, and Karen Carrier's tea ceremony.

Carmen Brocklehurst recounts the long search for funding behind the PBS series T'ai Chi Chih, Joy Thru Movement, and the result: 178 stations, about 75 calls a day to KNME, and new students as young as five.

Carmen Brocklehurst recounts the November 1994 retreat at the Dominican Retreat House in Albuquerque, where 34 participants studied Satipatthana meditation with Justin Stone and donated the proceeds to the T'ai Chi Chih Center.

Barbara Riley returned from the conference with greater connectedness and inner softness in her practice, and proposes a tribute fund letting teachers donate in someone's honor once non-profit status arrives.

Florence Okie of White Bear Lake donated part of the proceeds from her first class as a teacher, reporting better balance, coordination and softness among her six students after just two sessions.

Carmen Brocklehurst describes the Albuquerque open house for the first T'ai Chi Chih Center, from the incorporation papers and donated furniture to a review class of 30 and some 300 visitors.

A plan for launching the Albuquerque T'ai Chi Chih Association in September, counting on Justin Stone's monthly lectures, guest speakers, course fees and room rentals, with local teachers asked for $45 a month.

Connie Hyde reports that seventeen Albuquerque teachers met in January to plan a T'ai Chi Chih Center, weighing nonprofit status, start-up money, staffing hours and the requirements for a 1800 square foot site.

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.

Teacher updates spanning Billie Blair's team-teaching at a Unity church, newly accredited teachers from the Bemidji course, Corinn Codye's 16-day cruise classes, and a Bay Area referral list project.

Carmen Brocklehurst launches a new Vital Force section inviting readers' visions for T'ai Chi Chih's growth, and describes her own: a globe dotted with Centers, plus the Chi Foundation she is incorporating.

Therese Goetz reports on Justin Stone's four-evening Oriental Philosophy course in Albuquerque, where over 30 people heard comparisons of Indian, Chinese and Japanese religious systems drawn from his travels.

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.

Sandy thanks the 60 teachers who attended the conference and names committee members Lois Mahaney, Liz Salada, Cheryl Hamblin and Linda Braga, while announcing the August 1989 Albuquerque gathering.