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Training in the martial arts leads to technical prowess associated with the development of a grace and economy of movement as well as strength and speed. With the learning comes power. With power comes responsibility.the greater the power, the greater the responsibility. Power is something that should be used for the benefit of all. Do not confuse power with force. With power come deeper levels of compassion and caring. True power always leads to higher states of being and a recognition that power flows through us rather than being used by us. One of the most important lessons of the martial life is to learn compassion for our fellowman and to actively seek situations in which we can help those who can benefit from what we have (or are learning). Perhaps this also leads us back to the precept of Chi.....the acquisition of wisdom. I would have to say at this point in my own journey that compassion and wisdom are often related. I have yet to meet a single person whom I would consider as being compassionate who was not also wise in away that transcended my normal expectations. If what I have just written has any validity it may be found in a sense of justification of choice. I choose the martial way because it draws me out of my weaker self towards a higher self, so that I might become a more useful tool of humanity both with regard to my responsibility to all life and to the planet.

So there are no excuses here, and not a lot of explanations. I offer you here, my poems, my words, or at least some of them, inadequate as they might be. In any event it makes me smile to think that perhaps some good will come of this path. So it does come down to arrogance after all..the idea that I will make a difference, leave a mark, be well thought of by others..all marks of a man who has not yet resolved the paradox of being.

For those who tend to read books through in a single sitting, and for those who are interested in light reading, or a thought for the day, this book is not for you. However, if you are seeking a deeper meaning in your life; if you feel alone, lost, or unsure in your faith; if you are desperately seeking God, this book will call to you. It is not an easy read, but then, faith and hope are not easily explained. This book will reach down into your soul and force contemplation. It will make you search the length and breadth of the consequences of your beliefs and faith and it will make you want to seek the very heart of God and His grace in your live through the words you read. Take your time. God will be there, waiting. The journey is not an easy one. It takes heart-wrenching emptiness to be filled with only Him.

Unique insights into a 1,000 year old text about T'ai Chi and oriental philosophy from the Grand Master of Hwa Yu T'ai Chi Ch'uan. Learn the secrets of an ancient system for health and self defense created in the mountains of China at the beginning of the Sung Dynasty and now practiced around the world.

Sophia spoke: "I entered into the midst of the cage which is the prison of the body. And I spoke saying: 'He who hears, let him awake from his deep sleep.' Then Adam wept and shed tears. After he wiped away his bitter tears he asked: 'Who called my name, and from where has this hope arose in me even while I am in the chains of this prison?' And I (Sophia) answered: 'I am the one who carries the pure light; I am the thought of the undefiled spirit. Arise, remember, and follow your origin, which is I, and beware of the deep sleep.'" Sophia would come to be considered a force or conduit of the Holy Spirit, in part due to the fact that the Holy Spirit was also considered a feminine and creative force from the Supreme God. The Gospel of Philip echoes this theology in verse six as follows: In the days when we were Hebrews we were made orphans, having only our Mother. Yet when we believed in the Messiah (and became the ones of Christ), the Mother and Father both came to us. Gospel of Philip. As the emerging orthodox church became more and more oppressive to women, later even labeling them "occasions of sin," the Gnostics countered by raising women to equal status with men, saying Sophia was, in a sense, the handmaiden or wife of the Supreme God, making the soul of Adam her spiritual offspring. Jesus said: If those who lead you say to you: Look, the Kingdom is in the sky, then the birds of the sky would enter before you. If they say to you: It is in the sea, then the fish of the sea would enter ahead you. But the Kingdom of God exists within you and it exists outside of you. Those who come to know (recognize) themselves will find it, and when you come to know yourselves you will become known and you will realize that you are the children of the Living Father. Yet if you do not come to know yourselves then you will dwell in poverty and it will be you who are that poverty.

Life is not for the faint of heart. The poems in this book were written over almost three decades. They include experiences affected by both darkness and light, and I hope even more growth. They are not just my own thoughts and feelings, but expressions of pain, life, and learning from those with whom I have worked. These poems are personal, but also universal. Here's to all who name their fears, find the courage to breathe another breath, dance with pain and, hopefully, find a place of rest.

It is because of the Eastern tone of Thomas, the Gnostic theology embedded in Thomas, and the possible Pre-Christian influence of the text that makes it so compatible with the philosophy of the Tao Te Ching, so as to make one a fascinating supplement to the other. Both advance inner and intuitive knowledge above all. Both allude to the way to acquire this knowledge through an unwavering search within oneself. Since the deeper meanings of both Thomas and the Tao Te Ching are both direct and indirect, it is hoped that each time they are read some new insight and treasure can be taken from them.