Teaching With Justin Stone’s Books: Three Conference Talks

Editor’s Note: The following three articles mirror talks given by the writers at the conference about why and how they use certain Good Karma Publishing materials written by Justin Stone in their classes. Each chose a favorite.

Why Teach Heightened Awareness

By Ann Rutherford, Albuquerque, NM

Justin often says, “Never do T’ai Chi Chih carelessly.” I use Justin’s Heightened Awareness book to heighten my students’ awareness of the “care” they must place in their TCC movements. Because awareness is such an integral component to correct TCC practice, I consider Heightened Awareness to be just as essential for the teaching of TCC as the movement dvd or the TCC textbook.

Heightened Awareness provides a series of practical exercises centering on the cultivation of awareness of objects of the senses: thoughts, sight, sound, touch, smell, and breath. Of equal importance is the cultivation of awareness of our reactions to the above. The end result of this growing bare attention is that the student begins to gain the state of one pointed mind – a condition essential for the moving meditation TCC. As Justin says, “By registering our reactions, we take away a tendency to mentally drift.” By becoming aware of muscle tension, you can let it go; by becoming aware of mental distraction, you can return the mind to the soles of the feet.

Justin always tells his teachers, “First, teach your student how to move, not what to move.” The movements themselves are simple. The greatest challenge for the teacher is how to inspire the student to let go and flow. I have found that enhancing their awareness of their mind- and body-senses builds a growing realization that they are not their body nor mind. Once they realize this, they develop mastery over their senses rather than allow their senses to rule them, thus impeding their TCC progress.

“Never do TCC carelessly,” Justin admonishes – to which I would add, “Never do life carelessly.” Teaching our students Heightened Awareness also enhances their heart-mind. On page 58, Justin says, “Awareness is the mark by which we can judge the degree of progress one has made. Heightened awareness gradually becomes Universal Consciousness, and we begin to get away from the self-centered concentration. Release from self-clinging is as great a reward as we can want, as self-clinging is the root of suffering. The Buddha’s admonition that ending hatred (envy, jealousy, antagonism) is the road to happiness says the same thing; hatred is the result of self-clinging. When one can say he no longer hates, resents, or even dislikes anyone, he can be said to be on his way to Sage-hood. That is why the writer feels that the teaching of heightened awareness is so important.”

Utilizing Spiritual Odyssey

By Dan Pienciak, Ocean Grove, NJ

Using Justin’s works has a two-pronged purpose. First, they remind me what I need to teach and keep me focused on the important elements of TCC practice. Secondly, the frequent review of these articles helps me focus on what to look for in my student’s movements, so that I can correct them or teach differently.

In “Why/Why Not? ” (page 37), Justin makes reference to how trees lose their leaves this time of year and then grow new ones in the Spring. The telling questions for me are, “Why identify with the leaves? Why not identify with the tree?” These undoubtedly have deep philosophical inferences, but they also reveal an outstanding point about our TCC movements. Flowing from the center with an upright torso is like a tree remaining solid on its base, rooted deeply in the earth while the branches and leaves (arms and hands) simply flow gently with the breeze.

I remember learning from a Polish speaker that the first part of my surname “p-i-e-n” refers to that part of the tree where the trunk joins the roots. This image has had significant meaning in my TCC practice – to flow from the base of the tree (waist) and not from the branches and leaves (shoulders, arms, and hands).

In “Don’t Neglect the Essence for the Form” (pages 53-55), we are reminded that in practicing TCC we are not merely trying to move the Chi around as if manipulating something apart from ourselves. But rather Chi is something that is inherently there and which has a reciprocal character (i.e. the state of mind influences the Chi and the Chi influences the state of mind). In this vein, Justin affirms his hope that T’ai Chi Chih teaching will not simply be about something merely physical.

As a teacher, this drives home the importance of what I feel as I move, and it presents the question of who and what I am (as I move) rather than what do I look like as I move. The sinking, centeredness, and grounding in the soles of feet help us realize the true essence of the Chi.

In “Teaching Tips for T’ai Chi Chih Teachers” (pages 116-117), we are reminded that to be a good teacher we must be able to detect the faults of the students. How humbling is that! As Justin says, “Through his or her own practice, the teacher must have come to more than a shallow understanding of TCC movements. Teaching is more than just showing where to put the hands and feet.”

So where am I, and who am I (as a teacher), if I don’t practice faithfully and pay attention to my own faults, shortcomings, and areas of improvement? Only then can I begin to understand what is a “fault” in the movements of my students.

Most humbling of all is the reminder that our students will imitate what and how we move. I must also be able to correct movements through my own example. If I see my students doing something that doesn’t seem like T’ai Chi Chih, it behooves me to ask, “What am I doing or not doing” that my students are copying or misinterpreting?

Lastly, many simple but outstanding reminders for our TCC practice flood Spiritual Odyssey – things as basic but all-important as the knees not remaining stiff. Words are just words, but if they remind us how to move correctly so that we feel the flow of the Chi, such reminders will certainly do the same for our students.

Read and digest Spiritual Odyssey over and over again. The depths of T’ai Chi Chih can never be entirely realized, so we have nothing to lose and everything to gain in our practice and in our teaching.

Using Justin Stone Speaks on T’ai Chi Chih

By Carmen Brocklehurst, Albuquerque, NM

Students love this CD. I call it the “Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About T’ai Chi Chih But Were Afraid To Ask – or Didn’t Know to Ask” CD.

Often I play it as students are arriving for a Beginner Class. And then I play more of it during the discussion time of an Intermediate Class. The students end up arriving earlier just to be able to hear it; and they often decide to take a copy home afterward.

One repeat comment is, “His voice is so soothing. I especially like listening to it on my way to an appointment. I always arrive feeling more relaxed and alert, ready for the meeting.” One student remarked that it had been ages since she had felt so peaceful.

During the Intermediate Class, I ask students about specific points covered in the CD, like “Why is it necessary to keep your concentration in the soles of the feet while doing T’ai Chi Chih?” (By this time, I’ve stated the answer to this question often: Because it balances us and keeps our attention focused.) After hearing the question and answer on the CD, students always start out by saying, “Justin says …” And then they repeat what he’s said. I appreciate this, since Justin is the best authority on T’ai Chi Chih, and, of course, I first learned this from him too. But it became real after I experienced it. It is wonderful that what our teacher tells us can really be experienced, that we don’t have to just take it on faith. Often I find that my students have many experiences sooner than I did when I was at their stage. This is a good sign as it shows that the intuitive ability of the T’ai Chi Chih community is growing as we, the teachers, go deeper into the practice.

When working with a Teacher’s Preparation class, I ask students to listen to the CD at least 10 minutes a day and to write down the most important statement they heard that week. When they return 7 days later, they’ve listened to the whole CD. After doing this for eight weeks, they are quite familiar with Justin’s words. This information will be the basis for what they will share with their students after they become T’ai Chi Chih teachers. It is always amazing how their answers seem to follow the same theme. It shows that they are beginning to think and feel in T’ai Chi Chih.

One prime statement usually pulled out by the students in the Teacher Preparation class is, “Words will not do it. It takes actual practice. You must do it yourself.” How important it is for us to learn to love and share the Chi.