GKP Wrap-Up: The 30-Minute Conference Presentation

In case you hadn’t noticed, Good Karma Publishing has been plowing full steam ahead over the last 12 months:

Serene Nature: Music for T’ai Chi Chih and Music for T’ai Chi Chih Practice & Restful Listening are now available on CD for $11.95 (each) retail. Of course teachers always get their multi-product discounts.

Due to the increased demand of Justin’s Solo instructional DVD, GKP invested in creating “chapter breaks,” for ease of moving through his instruction in a non-sequential way.

A special conference deal – bundling all of Justin’s in-print instructional materials – was announced for new teachers and first-time conference participants. The premise is to help ensure that all incoming teachers have the opportunity to be introduced to the full spectrum of Justin’s teachings. This generous package will continue to be offered at conference, as a good will gesture and incentive to attend. For $100 (i.e. a 56% discount on retail) the package included one each of his DVDs (definitive, solo, KNME); one each of his Photo Text, Spiritual Odyssey, Gateway to Eastern Philosophy & Religion, Climb The Joyous Mountain, Abandon Hope, Zen Meditation); and one each of his CDs (Justin Stone Speaks, Spiritual Stories of the East, Serene Nature, Music for T’ai Chi Chih).

Digital product launches continue apace. These e-books are available on all platforms: Climb The Joyous Mountain, Gateway to Eastern Philosophy & Religion, and Spiritual Odyssey.

Drum roll please: At the time of this writing, after many calls for action, GKP has created e-books for Heightened Awareness and Meditation for Healing.

And another drum roll please: Heightened Awareness (second edition; $17.95) and Meditation for Healing (second edition; $21.95) will be available as a print-on-demand books within minutes of this publication reaching your doorstep.

By popular demand, video clips of Justin demonstrating all movements are now embedded in the T’ai Chi Chih app (downloadable on iTunes and GooglePlay for $9.99) and have been posted on Good Karma’s YouTube channel at – under the heading “historical footage.”

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, how can GKP make itself more relevant to your lives and your teaching lives?

We did a bit of brainstorming, and I look forward to hearing from any and all of you out there – teachers and students alike. Maybe Justin Stone’s GKP materials are not relevant and that just has to be ok … I remember a repeated conversation that Justin and I used to have. I would say, “I’m only one person; there’s only so much I can do.” And he would quickly smile and respond, “That’s right.” So I continue trying to do the work without attachment to outcome.

And I thankfully stumble upon perfectly-timed, prescient messages. In recently reading 20th Century Psalms, Justin jumped off the page as I sat in self-judgement of the effects of my work at GKP and the continued downturn in sales: “Don’t be unkind to yourself … being hard on oneself, in a sense, is ego-aggrandizement.” Okay, Justin. thank you for the reminder. His words, through GKP’s publications, do not get more relevant than helping to unfold one moment at a time.

And with that, might I suggest you pick up one of his books and open to any page and see what lessons his words might impart.

GKP Partners With The Vital Force On Two Projects

The Justin Stone Quotation Cards, which almost 1500 worldwide Facebook “friends” have been seeing (and sharing) for a few months, are inspirational and spreading electronically. If there is any interest in printing these as postcards, please let me know.

GKP/VF acted out of faith that they would be of interest and paid for them to be produced. If anyone would like to sponsor a part of this project, please know that each costs $17 to create and reaches an average of 2000 people. That’s less than a penny per impression! Please help us continue sharing one per week – with a tax deductible donation to The Vital Force for $17, $34, $85 (5 cards), $117 (10 cards), $442 (for 6 months of cards) or whatever seems reasonable to you.

At the conference we videotaped 40% of attendees demonstrating and sharing the impact of T’ai Chi Chih on their lives.

The YouTube Video Project @

Both the Good Karma Publishing and The Vital Force Boards of Directors voted to direct funds towards producing short videos at the conference for T’ai Chi Chih teachers who wanted to participate. Neither entity had/has the funds, but it was done in the spirit of “build it and they will come” – meaning, let’s try everything we can to grow TCC. (There was no cost to teachers… although if anyone would like to donate, The Vital Force gratefully accepts tax-deductible contributions to offset those expenses.)

Taken as a whole, they paint a remarkable portrait of what TCC is, how it has benefited many individuals, and shows the diverse range of our community. No one was scripted; we just suggested speaking from the heart for a few minutes (and practicing at home if so desired). Like snowflakes and fingerprints, each is different and yet unified. Not surprising…

The idea was to build and unify our community, to increase the impact of accredited instructors talking about and demonstrating T’ai Chi Chih on YouTube, the world’s second largest search engine. This was partly done as a counterbalance to non-accredited people having videos up. But more affirmatively, it was done to show the world Justin’s TCC, our TCC. And it was done to give teachers a place to send prospective clients when they are pitching a class.

Catherine, our video woman who has more than a passing awareness of TCC and has also spent some time with Justin, was a fountain of encouragement and calm to those being filmed (if the unanimous reports are to be believed). She confided being in awe of the inner sincerity that shone through when teachers began moving. Not surprising…

Not knowing whether there would be two or ten interested teachers, the demand ended up being overwhelming – but we were able to accommodate everyone. Was everything perfect? No. Was it a great start? Yes. Did we learn a lot? Yes. Was it worth it? We believe so. Did it build community? Yes. Does it provide lots of teachable moments, if we so desire? Yes.

Within the first two months of the videos having been posted, there have been over 2700 views. Not surprising…

In total there were 37 videos made; a total of 46 teachers participated, including:

Albuquerque Group: Carmen Brocklehurst, Dianne Moody, Dora Wiemann, Judy Hendricks, Mary Ruiz, Mary White and Robert Montes de Oca (New Mexico); with Pete Gregory (Indiana)

Dakotas Group: Jean Katus (South Dakota); Barbara Edin, Christeen McLain and Dale Carrier (North Dakota); and Lora Bertelsen (Minnesota)

April Leffler (Pennsylvania)

Banks Upshaw (Oregon)

Beverly Ward (North Carolina)

Bobbie & Andy Andersons (Illinois)

Caroline Guilott (Louisiana)

Connie Hyde (New Mexico)

Daniel Pienciak (New Jersey)

Deanna

Deb Bertelsen (Minnesota)

Donna Aldous (Saskatchewan)

Donna McElhose (Illinois)

Dianne Moody (New Mexico)

Elissa Maguire

Elizabeth Ebrahimzadeh (California)

Gail Terriff (Alberta)

Joanne Ellison (Minnesota)

Judy George (Minnesota)

Judy Hendricks (New Mexico)

Julie Heryet (California)

Lisa Otero (California)

Lorraine Lepine (Kansas)

Mary Wichmann (Minnesota)

Monica Campbell (Minnesota)

Nancy Frost (New Hampshire)

Pam Towne (California)

Robert Montes de Oca (New Mexico)

Ron Richardson (Mississippi)

Sheila Leonard (PBVM (Newfoundland)

Siobhan Hutchinson (New Jersey & Pennsylvania)

Sister Alice Holden (Texas)

Sister Catherine Fedewa (Illinois)

Stephen Thompson (Mississippi)

Vanjie Bratt (Minnesota)

Justin shared this refrain often during our many years together, but I believe it is a worthy metaphorical and metaphysical message for all: