The Vital Force Archive

Amy Tyksinski followed an impulse to buy peonies at the grocery store, watched them open over days at a TCC retreat, and links the urge to Justin's "pointing arrow."

Stephen Thompson takes Loraine Lepine's pronunciation of "E-motion" at the October accreditation as a starting point for how moving first lets the mind rest, separating and reuniting yin and yang Chi.

Carmen L. Brocklehurst recounts how Justin Stone received T'ai Chi Chih without knowing its effects, from the woman whose narcolepsy eased to his own cure for writer's block.

Transcribed from a recorded lecture, Justin Stone answers audience questions on why concentration rests in the soles of the feet, why softness frees the meridian channels, and how karma builds habit energy.

Daniel Pienciak recounts studying Seijaku with Justin Stone in Albuquerque in 1997, the last course Justin taught, and argues that the Seijaku principle is the entree of a seven-course meal.

A transcribed lecture in which Justin Stone traces the Yin and Yang Chi back to the Tao, compares T'ai Chi Chih with Zen meditation, Hatha Yoga and T'ai Chi Ch'uan, and recounts early student results from 1974 onward.

Amy Tyksinski gathers six UNM college students' written responses to the Softness passage in Justin Stone's Spiritual Odyssey, from bamboo and oak temperaments to jaw clenching, political argument and caring for a crying baby.

Transcribed from Justin Stone's spoken word CD, Justin describes the tingling fingers, healing heat and three confirmatory signs of Chi flow, quotes Lao Tzu, and outlines a maximum Chi program for athletes.

Richard Karasik takes up Justin Stone's puzzle of smoothness and continuity, arguing that whether you drop the hands between movements matters less than keeping the drop inside the practice rather than treating it as a coffee break.

Linda Braga lists how nutritionists, neuroscientists, astrophysicists and others define human beings, then cites Justin Stone's claim that regular TCC practice can speed up evolution and heighten awareness.

Silvia Coffey sets her own habit of self-criticism, learned in middle school, against a passage from Justin Stone's Climb the Joyous Mountain on how self-pity and gratitude cannot share a breath.

Two excerpts from Justin Stone's Spiritual Odyssey equate energy with wisdom and describe Prana's physical work, citing Krishnamurti, Gopi Krishna and Rinzai, plus Paul Reps' ten minutes of quiet receiving.

Daniel Pienciak traces how incomplete weight shifts left him wobbling and leaning in Perpetual Motion Taffy, and how finishing the knee bend, hip and heel placement corrected it for him and his students.

Transcribed from Justin Stone's spoken word CD, two talks recount a Roshi telling a lawyer to remove his overcoat, poems by Tagore and Tenko-san on the question of who you are, and a monk who kept rescuing a biting scorpion.

Kathy Grassel interviews Tyler, a retired Episcopal and Byzantine Rite priest leaving her Albuquerque gym class for Chicago, on how the Tao Teh Ching, yin and yang, and bodily worship shaped his three years of practice.

Guy Kent announces the TCC Association's move to a larger Osuna Road center in Albuquerque, recalling the counsel that Chi follows community and the first center's 1995 opening.

Darlene Benton, who learned T'ai Chi Chih largely from Carmen Brocklehurst's YouTube videos, finally visited the Albuquerque center, toured Justin Stone's artwork and books with Guy and Carmen, and bought his "Joy" notecards.

In a letter addressed to Justin Stone and then to colleagues, Sherry Corson asks whether the hip swivel is something teachers do or simply allow, finding it arises from relaxed hips and full weight shifts.

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.

Marie Dotts gathers reflections from the fifteen candidates accredited with Sandy McAlister at the Franciscan Retreat Center in Colorado Springs, on inner sincerity, finding the t'an t'ien, and community during a divided pre-election week.

Reprinted from November 2006, Justin Stone describes Chi as the Cosmic life principle vibrating through all things, and credits consistent T'ai Chi Chih practice for his undiminished health at nearly 86.

Carmen Brocklehurst breaks down the hip swivel used in the side-to-side movements, from the slight curve of the hips to Justin's reminder "nose to the front" and grounding the Chi.

Daniel Pienciak connects the Winter Solstice online retreat he hosted on December 21st to the elliptical yin-yang cycle of practice, describing the hairpin turn between weight shifts as continuous, not frozen.

Greg Berg recounts his first eight-class beginner course, crediting written class plans, co-teaching with Jim Eagle, Justin Stone readings and closing stillness, while admitting 14 students was too many.

Greg Berg, who writes free verse himself, examines Justin Stone's Pyramid Poetry form from Climb the Joyous Mountain and reads its seven lines as an ascent of yang and descent of yin.

Excerpts from Spiritual Odyssey in which Justin Stone takes up non-attachment within family life, Buddha's answer that he is awake, the poet Tao Yuanming, and why all healing is finally self-healing.

Ann Rutherford quotes Justin Stone's Photo Textbook and Heightened Awareness on enlightenment experienced in the body, then asks fellow teachers whether they tell students the deeper meaning of the Cosmic Consciousness Pose.

Carmen L. Brocklehurst recounts the in-person teacher conference in Albuquerque, where 150 teachers gathered after COVID, and how letting go of her once-larger movements let her feel the flow Justin described.

Mary Wichmann rereads years of notes from Justin Stone before the Albuquerque conference, recalling his congratulatory letters to new teachers, Turiya meditation at his home, Tuesday practice and "Second Breakfast."

Lisa Stroyan recounts the October "2nd Saturday" teachers' Zoom gathering led by Ev Hanson-Florin, where about 30 teachers compared Justin's written instructions on the Cosmic Consciousness Pose, the heel placement, arm height, gaze and how long to hold it.