Attention, Language and Time by Mike Garofalo

Attention, Language, and Time
Selected Poetry: 2016 - 2026
By Michael P. Garofalo
Poetry WebBook, 85 pages, September 2026. No Ads!

This WebBook is a collection of poems, quips,
quintain stanzas, resource links, lists,
onions, quintain sonnets, docu-poems,
concrete and Text-Art poems, koans,
and hypertext diversions.
All by Mike Garofalo.

It features lifestyles and locales
     in the Pacific Northwest.

It traces the evolution of the poetic voices
     of one old man during a decade.

It offers many examples of
     Quintain Stanzas and Quintain Sonnets.

It essays the front and flanks of Time.

It has a Poem Title Index
                    and a Subject Index.

It provides a free audio-recordings
     of poetry readimgs by Mike Garofalo.

September 27, 2026. Ver. 32. Texts-PreSS Couve Pubs.

 

All Texts-PreSS Couve WebBooks are Free
Ad Free, Open Access, Uncluttered

Attention, Language, and Time .HTML Version

Backup .PDF on 9/27/2026 Version 32. .PDF Version. Unedited.

Spanish Version from Google Translator. .docx Version.

Texts-PreSS Couve Publications, Vancouver, Washington State

"Discover a Decade of Poetic Evolution

in the Pacific Northwest

In Attention, Language and Time: Selected Poetry,

2016 - 2026, poet Michael P. Garofalo invites readers

on a deeply philosophical journey through the landscapes

of the Pacific Northwest and the inescapable currents of

time. Tracing a decade of artistic evolution, this collection

bridges the profound and the everyday---from the rainy

shores of the Olympic Peninsula and backyard Zen 

meditations to the role of memories, river rafting, and

the irreversible march of entropy and aging.

Garofalo’s versatile voice masterfully navigates a rich

array of forms. Readers will find grounded, conversational

narrative verse and highly structured Quintain stanzas and

Quintain Sonnets seamlessly existing alongside avant-garde

conceptual language, Dadaist surrealism, and visual Text-Art

and Concrete Poetry. Whether contemplating the quiet

fading of campfire embers, unraveling local histories, zooming

in on city life, or deconstructing the very syntax of language, 

this work constantly challenges and rewards the reader's

attention.

Available entirely for free, this 85-page, ad-free WebBook
is structured for effortless digital reading. It features intuitive
internal navigation, comprehensive thematic indexes, and
complimentary audio recordings of the author reading his own work.

Experience the intersection of nature, memory, and
language today---without paywalls or interruptions."

- By Mike Garofalo and Ms. Ai

Facing the Precious Mirror

Song of the Precious Mirror Samadhi
By Dongshan Liangjie (807-869)

The Dharma of Thusness
is intimately transmitted by Buddhas and ancestors.
Now you have it;
preserve it well.

A silver bowl filled with snow,
a heron hidden in the moon.
Taken as similar, they are not the same;
Not distinguished, their places are known.

The meaning does not reside in the words,
but a pivotal moment brings it forth.
Move and you are trapped,
miss and you fall into doubt and vacillation.

Turning away and touching are both wrong,
for it is like a massive fire.
Just to portray it in literary form
is to stain it with defilement.

In darkest night it is perfectly clear;
in the light of dawn it is hidden.
It is a standard for all things;
its use removes all suffering.

Although it is not constructed,
it is not beyond words.
Like facing a precious mirror;
form and reflection behold each other.

You are not it,
but in truth it is you.
Like a newborn child,
it is fully endowed with five aspects.

No going, no coming, no arising, no abiding;
“Monkey Mind”– is anything said or not?
In the end it says nothing,
for the words are not yet right.

In the hexagram “double fire,”
when main and subsidiary lines are transposed,
Piled up they become three;
the permutations make five.

Like the taste of the five-flavored herb,
like the five-pronged vajra.
Wondrously embraced within the complete,
drumming and singing begin together.

Penetrate the source and travel the pathways,
embrace the territory and treasure the roads.
You would do well to respect this;
do not neglect it.

Natural and wondrous,
it is not a matter of delusion or enlightenment.
Within causes and conditions, time and season,
it is serene and illuminating.

So minute it enters where there is no gap,
so vast it transcends dimension.
A hairsbreadth’s deviation,
and you are out tune.

Now there are sudden and gradual,
in which teachings and approaches arise.
With teachings and approaches distinguished,
each has its standard.

Whether teachings and approaches are mastered or not,
reality constantly flows.
Outside still and inside trembling,
like tethered colts or cowering rats.

The ancient sages grieved for them,
and offered them the dharma.
Led by their inverted views,
they take black for white.

When inverted thinking stops,
the affirming mind naturally accords.
If you want to follow in the ancient tracks,
please observe the sages of the past.

One on the verge of realizing the Buddha Way
contemplated a tree for ten kalpas.
Like a battle-scarred tiger,
like a horse with shanks gone grey.

Because some are vulgar,
jeweled tables and ornate robes.
Because others are wide-eyed,
cats and white oxen.

With his archer’s skill,
Yi hit the mark at a hundred paces.
But when arrows meet head-on,
how could it be a matter of skill?

The wooden man starts to sing,
the stone woman gets up dancing.
It is not reached by feelings or consciousness,
how could it involve deliberation?

Ministers serve their lords,
children obey their parents.
Not obeying is not filial,
Failure to serve is no help.

With practice hidden, function secretly,
like a fool, like an idiot.
Just to continue in this way
is call the host within the host.

- Dongshan Liangjie (807-869 CE, China)
Tozan Ryokai Daiosho (Japanese Name)

Daodejing, Chapter 24

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Chapter 24

"He who stands on tiptoe does not stand (firm);
He who strains his strides does not walk (well);
He who reveals himself is not luminous;
He who justifies himself is not far-famed;
He who boasts of himself is not given credit;
He who prides himself is not chief among men.
These in the eyes of Tao
Are called "the dregs and tumors of Virtue,"
Which are things of disgust.
Therefore the man of Tao spurns them."
-  Translated by Lin Yutang, 1955, Chapter 24

"By standing on tiptoe one cannot keep still.
Astride of one's fellow one cannot progress.
By displaying oneself one does not shine.
By self-approbation one is not esteemed.
In self-praise there is no merit.
He who exalts himself does not stand high.
Such things are to Tao what refuse and excreta are to the body.
They are everywhere detested.
Therefore the man of Tao will not abide with them."
-  Translated by Walter Gorn Old, 1904, Chapter 24

"It is not natural to stand on tiptoe, or being astride one does not walk.
One who displays himself is not bright, or one who asserts himself cannot shine.
A self-approving man has no merit, nor does one who praises himself grow.
The relation of these things (self-display, self-assertion, self-approval) to Tao is the same as offal is to food.
They are excrescences from the system; they are detestable; Tao does not dwell  in them."
-  Translated by Dwight Goddard, 1919, Chapter 24   

"Those who are on tiptoes cannot stand
Those who straddle cannot walk
Those who flaunt themselves are not clear
Those who presume themselves are not distinguished
Those who praise themselves have no merit
Those who boast about themselves do not last
Those with the Tao call such things leftover food or tumors
They despise them
Thus, those who possesses the Tao do not engage in them"
-  Translated by Derek Linn, 2006, Chapter 24  

企者不立.
跨者不行.
自見者不明.
自是者不彰.
自伐者無功.
自矜者不長.
其在道也, 曰餘食贅行.
物或惡之.
故有道者不處.-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 24 


ch'i chê pu li.
k'ua chê pu hsing.
tzu chien chê pu ming.
tzu shih chê pu chang.
tzu fa chê wu kung.
tzu ching chê pu ch'ang.
ch'i tsai tao yeh, yüeh yü shih chui hsing.
wu huo wu chih.
ku yu tao chê pu ch'u.
-  Wade-Giles Romanization, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 24 



"Standing tiptoe a man loses balance,
Walking astride he has no pace,
Kindling himself he fails to light,
Acquitting himself he forfeits his hearers,
Admiring himself he does so alone.
Pride has never brought a man greatness
But, according to the way of life,
Brings the ills that make him unfit,
Make him unclean in the eyes of his neighbor,
And a sane man will have none of them."
-  Translated by Witter Bynner, 1944, Chapter 24  


"He who stands on tiptoe is not steady,
He who holds legs stiffly cannot walk.
He who looks at self does not see clearly.
He who asserts himself does not shine.
He who boasts of himself has no merit.
He who glorifies himself shall not endure.
These things are to the Tao like excreta or a hideous tumour to the body.
Therefore he who has Tao must give them no place."
-  Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 24  


"He who stands on his tiptoes does not stand firm;
he who stretches his legs does not walk.
He who displays himself does not shine.
He who asserts his own views is not distinguished.
He who vaunts himself does not find his merit acknowledged.
He who is self-conceited has no superiority allowed to him.
Such conditions, viewed from the standpoint of the Tao,
are like remnants of food, or a tumor on the body, which all dislike.
Hence, those who pursue the course of the Tao do not adopt and allow them."
-  Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 24   



"Quien se sostiene de puntillas no permanece mucho tiempo en pie.

Quien da largos pasos no puede ir muy lejos.
Quien quiere brillar
no alcanza la iluminación.
Quien pretende ser alguien
no lo será naturalmente.
Quien se ensalza no merece honores.
Quien se vanagloria
no realiza ninguna obra.
Para los seguidores del Tao, estos excesos son como excrecencias
y restos de basura que a todos repugnan.
Por eso, quien posee el Tao
no se detiene en ellos, sino que los rechaza."
-  Translation from Wikisource, 2013, Capitulo 24  

"Standing on tiptoe, you are unsteady.
Straddle-legged, you cannot go.
If you show yourself, you will not be seen.
If you affirm yourself, you will not shine.
If you boast, you will have no merit.
If you promote yourself, you will have no success.
Those who abide in the Tao call these
Leftover food and wasted action
And all things dislike them.
Therefore the person of the Tao does not act like this."
-  Translated by Charles Muller, 1891, Chapter 24


"Those who tiptoe do not stand.
Those who stride do not walk.
Those who see for themselves are not discerning.
Those who affirm for themselves are not insightful.
Those who attack it themselves do not achieve.
Those who esteem themselves do not become elders.
When these are in guides, we say:
'Excess provision; redundant action.'
Some natural kinds avoid them.
Hence those who have guides don't place them."
- Translated by Chad Hansen, Chapter 24


"One who tiptoes to stand taller does not stand firm;
One who strides to walk faster does not walk long;
One who self-touts does not shine;
One who self-justifies does not reassure;
One who self-aggrandizes does not accomplish;
One who self-serves does not endure.
They, in relation to Direction, are the equivalent of leftover food and excess fat.
They are unattractive;
they are not held by those with Direction."
- Translated by David H. Li, Chapter 24


Is That a Fish in Your Ear?: Translation and the Meaning of Everything  By David Bellos.  New York, Faber and Faber, 2011.  Index, notes, 393 pages.  ISBN: 9780865478763. VSCL.  




A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes over 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Chapter.   

Chapter 24, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey  

Subject Index to 813 Stoic Lessons, Discourses, and Letters

Subject Index to 813 Stoic Lessons, Discourses, and Letters

Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo
First Draft, July 23, 2023. Updated Quarterly.  30 Pages.
Green Way Research, Vancouver, Washington

Daily Stoic 366 Lessons Philosophy (STOA)

Epictetus 95 Discourses (EPI)

Fireplace Records 30 Chapters (TFR)

Meditations Marcus Aurelius (AUR)

Philosopher's Garden of Insights (PG)

Seneca 124 Letters (SEN)

Lessons, Letters, and Discourses from Stoics:
https://www.egreenway.com/buddhism/koans.htm

Subject Index to 3.855 Lessons From
Zen Buddhists, Stoics, and Solitary Taoists

Subject Index to 1,685 Zen Buddhist Koans

Subject Index to 813 Stoic Lessons, Discourses, and Letters

Subject Index to 1,546 Taoist Lessons, Chapter, and Stories

Cape Disappointment WA Campground

 I really enjoyed the privacy of this yurt campground. Nobody was camping in the area. Very quiet.

Sit Quietly: Focus and Forget

"Teach us to care and not to care.
Teach us to sit still."
- T.S. Eliot

"You are sitting on the earth and you realize that this earth deserves you and you deserve this earth.  You are there - fully, personally, genuinely."
-  Chogyam Trungpa

"Remain sitting at your table and listen. 
Do not even listen, simply wait, 
be quiet still and solitary. 
The world will freely offer itself 
to you to be unmasked, 
it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy 
at your feet."
-  Franz Kafka


"Sit quietly
focus and forget
rest with the great achievement.
The ancient child asks
"what is the great achievement?"
It is beyond description in any language
it can only be felt intuitively
it can only be expressed intuitively. 
Engage a loose, alert, and aware
body, mind, and sound
then look into the formless
and perceive no thing.
See yourself as a sphere
small at first
growing to encompass
the vastness of infinite space. 
Sit quietly
focus and forget then
in a state of ease and rest
secure the truth of the great achievement.
Employing the truth will not exhaust its power
when it seems exhausted it is really abundant
and while human art will die at the hands of utility
the great achievement is beyond being useful.
Great straightness is curved and crooked
great intelligence is raw and silly
great words are simple and naturally awkward. 
Engaged movement drives out the frozen cold
mindful stillness subdues the frenzied heart.
Sit quietly
focusing
forgetting
summon order from the void
that guides the ordering of the universe."
-  Tao Te Ching, Chapter 45, Translated by John Bright-Fey, 2006



"There are many matters and many circumstances in which consciousness is undesirable and silence is golden, so that secrecy can be used as a marker to tell us that we are approaching the holy."
-  Gregory Bateson, Angels Fear




Sitting in the Garden

Zuowang Meditation

Spirituality and Nature

Ten Transformative Practices (Paramitas)

 The Essence of the Ten Transformative Practices

"Generosity arises from unselfishness and nonattachment.

Ethics involves virtue, integrity, and self-discipline.

Patience requires resilience, acceptance, and fortitude.

Effort means courage in joyous perseverance.

Meditation implies mindfulness, concentration, reflection, and introspection.

Transcendental wisdom includes discernment and self-knowledge.

Skillful means arise from resourcefulness and imagination.

Spiritual aspirations include noble intention and resolve.

Higher accomplishments require leadership, powers, and positive influence.

Awakened awareness means pristine realization.

These are the ten arms and legs of the radiant body of the Bodhisattva,
Whose heart is Bodhicitta, selfless love and compassion.

- Buddha Is as Buddha Does: The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Living By Lama Surya Das, 2007.

Virtue Ethics Studies
Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, Philosophers
By Michael P. Garofalo

 

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise and Respected Persons

Virtue Ethics

Paramitas

The Ethical Precepts and Philosophical Tenets of Zen Buddhism

The Ten Grave Precepts (Rules, Guidelines, Principles of Behavior)

Pragmatism

Taoism

Buddhism

 

Complexity is Closer to the Truth

 

        The Fireplace Records, Chapter 40

Complexity is Closer to the Truth

 

In my experience, life is rightly characterized as diverse, complicated, varied, rich in multiplicity, saturated with the 'ten thousand things.'  Personally, I find little need to seek or to find or to have the "experience of unity."  This state of "unification," when actualized, is in most cases rather fleeting.  It may be profound, but no more so that the beauty of complexity and the fascinating reality of diversity.  I do not find the experience of the multiplicity of things distressing, disturbing, or disheartening.  

Just because all of the eggs today are in one basket does not make the colored basket more real or more interesting or more valuable than the eggs.  

Ignoring the facticity of the complexity of the natural and mental realms seems to me a more serious ignorance, not very sensible, and ultimately unwise.  I long ago gave up on any quest for "enlightenment" (in Hindu or Buddhist terms) and prefer the ordinary state of mind grounded in a world that is not simple, not one, not unified, complex, and rich in details.  To claim that our normal experience of complexity and variety is an "illusion" or "ignorance (avidya) seems to me a form of incorrect judgment.  

No doubt, trying to simplify one's life has its benefits, reducing sensory overload can reduce stress, and not becoming overly infatuated with novelty can be helpful; but, pushing on this strange path towards the "enlightenment" or "realization" of a pure and uncluttered "Unity" can produce its own distressing and disturbing predicaments for a person.  

Many philosophers, ancient and modern, have made a sharp distinction between appearances and Reality, the many and the One, the phenomena and the Noumena, and multiplicity and Unity.  For me, it is muddled thinking to call all of our experiences "just fleeting illusions" and fabricate a true realm of being outside of our personal and social and practical experiences.  Indeed, we can't "see" in any ordinary sense of "see," the cells, molecules, atoms, and the subatomic particles that constitute the objects of our macro-cosmic world; but, this in no way means the multiplicity of objects in our ordinary environment are in any way "illusions."  The meaning of "objects" is much more complicated, varied in linguistic usage, and functional in many practical contexts.  Again, complexity is closer to the truth. 

Comments, Sources, Observations, Koans, Poems, Quips:

Now is Real, a Unified Instant, but Fleeting.

Time

Complexity and Diversity 

Nature Mysticism:  Resources, Quotes, Notes

Gardening and Mysticism

Riddles (200+ Riddles, with No Ads.)

Refer to my Cloud Hands Blog Posts on the topic of Koans/Stories. 

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Zen Buddhist Koans: Indexes, Bibliography, Commentary, Information

The Daodejing by Laozi

Pulling Onions  Over 1,043 One-line Sayings, Quips, Maxims, Humor

Chinese Chan Buddhist and Taoist Stories and Koans

The Fireplace Records (Blog Version) By Michael P. Garofalo

Mystical Experience: Sakipata

"My own experience of śaktipāta occurred at the age of 16 through meeting a powerful and loving meditation master.  It was not the product of wishful thinking, because I didn't even want to be there, at least on the level of the conscious mind.  My mother had persuaded me to take a two-day meditation retreat and I had acceded because I wanted the reward she was offering me; I had neither expectation nor hope that anything particularly magical would happen.  And indeed, the whole thing was fairly boring, though in the final meditation of the weekend, I did make a grudging effort to be fully present in the warm, dark stillness of the meditation room.  It was nice, but nothing special, until I opened my eyes and walked outside.  I was astonished to discover that the whole world had apparently changed.  Everything was more vivid and real, and almost sparkling.  Not only that, I was feeling an incredible energy in my heart, and it was flowing palpably between my heart and the hearts of everyone else I could see.  I call it "energy" for lack of a better word; it was a tangible power or force, not a passive feeling, and it had the nature of exquisitely pure love.  It was connecting the hearts of all the people around me, coursing freely in a kind of web or grid of power, entirely independent of whether the people liked each other or not.  Then I noticed it was really everywhere; the very air around me seemed thick with it; it was undoubtedly the most "real" thing in reality, though not perceptible with any of the five senses!  It was astonishing, and I was never the same, now that I knew this power, this love beyond anything I had ever imagined, was a real possibility in human life."
-  Christopher D. Wallis, Tantra Illuminated, 2012, p.323


Tantra Illuminated: The Philosophy, History, and Practice of a Timeless Tradition   By Christopher D. Wallis, M.A.  Illustrations by Ekabhumi Ellik.  Woodlands, Texas, Anusara Press, 2012.  Index, endnotes, bibliography, three appendices, 506 pages.  ISBN: 978-1937104016.  VSCL.  In 2012, the author was a Ph.D. candidate in Sanskrit at the University of California, Berkeley.  This book takes as its exemplar and focal point the lineages of nondual Śaiva Tantra most clearly typified by the Kaula Trika lineage.  Written for the educated lay reader.  The author shares his personal life, his spiritual life, his practices, his yoga, within this tradition of Tantra.   

Tantra: Path of Ecstasy  By Georg Feuerstein (1947-2012), Ph.D.  Boston, Shambhala, 1998.  Index, bibliography, notes, 314 pages.  ISBN: 157062304X.  VSCL.  An excellent introduction to Tantra, and a great starting point for readers.  I own, and have read and reread in the last ten years nearly all of the books by Dr. Georg Feuerstein.  If my understanding is correct, Dr. Feuerstein personally followed the path of Vajrayana Buddhism, a Tibetan Buddhist tradition, a lineage of Tantric Buddhism.  


"Tantra's body-positive approach is the direct outcome of its integrative metaphysics according to which this world is not mere illusion but a manifestation of the supreme Reality.  If the world is real, the body must be real as well.  If the world is in essence divine, so must be the body.  If we must honor the world as a creation or an aspect of the divine Power (shakti), we must likewise honor the body.  The body is a piece of the world and, as we shall see, the world is a piece of the body.  Or, rather, when we truly understand the body, we discover that it is the world, which in essence is divine."
-  Georg Feuerstein, Tantra: The Path of Ecstasy, p. 53  


Somaesthetic Practices and Theory

Tantra: Bibliography, Quotations, Links, Resources

Nature and Spirituality 

Potholes State Park, Yurt Camping Trip, Day 4

Potholes State Park, Yurt Camping Trip, Day 4

We packed up all our gear in the Ford. Said our last goodbyes to Mick and April. 

Karen drove to Umatilla, I drove to Hood River, and Karen drove back into Portland/Vancouver.

The Magical Cane Master

The Magical Cane Master

I. Sudden vs Gradual

Master Pita asked Shifu Miao Zhang,
"What is sudden enlightenment?"

Shifu Zhang immediately
threw his staff on the muddy ground.

Master Xita asked Shifu Miao Zhang,
"What is gradual enlightenment?"

Shifu Zhang stomped on his muddy staff three times,
and yelled "Get to Work!"

 

II. Slicing Through Nothing

Mayoku walked around his old
Daoist friend, Shifu Miao Zhang,
three times, and he then thumped
his oak staff once on the ground.

Miao Zhang stood up,
walked around Mayoku once,
tapped his pine cane
three times on the wall, and said,

"The power of the wind can topple trees
      and is gone by morning.
My cane can cut through the wind."

 

III. From the East to the West

Master Sound of Bitterroot Mountain
      asked Shifu Miao Zhang,
'What is the meaning of Old Pahto
      emerging in the West?'

Shifu lifted his cane and placed it in his mouth,
      saying nothing.

Later, zany Zen liar that he was, he wrote:
"No minds, no Dharma.
No-mind, much Dharma."

 

IV. I Will Take Your Staff Away

Zen Master Baqiao told his old friend,
Shifu Miao Zhang, "If you have a staff,
I will give you a staff; if you have no staff,
I will take your staff away."

Shifu Zhang replied "I have a cane and
you don't. Would you like to borrow yours?"

Baqiao replied, "Miao Zhang, you will
have to walk into Hell!"

Miao Zhang raised his eyebrows and said,
"Well, Baqiao, then I will need to
borrow my cane for the long hot walk
with you. Sorry, but I can't lend your cane to you."

 

V. Same or Different

Zen Master Seung Sahn held up his staff
in front of Shifu Miao Zhang, and said
"Then, Miao Zhang, what are this staff,
this sound and your mind? Are they the
same or different? If you say "same," I
will hit you ten times. If you say "different,"
I will also hit you ten times. Why?"

Miao Zhang lifted his cane slowly, grounded himself,
prepared to block Seung Sahn's strike and then said,
"Don't know! Same or different,
nobody can hit the sound of our minds."

Meetings with Master Chang San Feng

Shifu Miao Zhang Points the Way

Zen Koans

Zatoichi and Kung Fu TV Characters

 

Exercising with a Ball

Martial Arts, physical culture, and Qigong enthusiasts can benefit from using a medicine ball when doing exercises.  There are many routines developed by Taijiquan and Qigong masters using a medicine ball.   Qigong Ball exercisers can get into a calm mode, mellow their mood, and go with the Flow.  

Medicine Ball Training and Exercises: Bibliography, Links, Resources .  Prepared by Mike Garofalo.  A general introduction to the use of medicine balls in exercise programs. 

I developed my own medicine ball routine called: Magic Pearl Qigong. 

Magic Pearl Qigong, Part I, Movements 1-8 .   Instructions, Bibliography, Links, Handouts, Resources, Mythological Associations, Lore.  Prepared by Mike Garofalo. 
The Magic Pearl Qigong can be a very vigorous physical culture routine if you increase the weight of the ball, lower the stances, and increase the number of repetitions of each movement.  Serious Qigong Ball enthusiasts use a very light wooden ball, move slowly, stay relaxed, sink, play.  

In addition, upper body strength and athletic fitness is also be improved by practicing longer Taijiquan Forms using weapons like the saber, sword, cane, and staff. 

Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas - Reading, Studies, Information

Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas

I will be Yurt Camping for four days at Belfair State Park, Kitsap Peninsula, Washington, in September of 2024. I have read and studied a number of fine books about this area. Here are a few of them:

Salmon, Cedar, Rock and Rain: Washington's Olympic Peninsula. By Tim Mcnulty and many others. Braider River, Mountaineer's Press, 2023, 206 pages. Outstanding  photography, informative essays. VSCL.

Cascadia Revealed: A Guide to the Plants, Animals, and Geology of the Pacific Northwest Mountains. By Daniel Mathews. Timber Press Field Guide. 2016, index, 582 pages. Outstanding guide, color photos, handy field guide. Superior on Geology. VSCL.

Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, Poetry. Edited by C. Marie Fhurman, Elizabeth Bradfield, and Derek Sheffield. Mountaineers Books, 2013, 400 pages. VSCL.

Heaven on the Half Shell: The History of the Oyster in the Pacific Northwest. By David George Gordon, Samantha Larson, and Maryann Barron Wagner. Second Edition. Foreword by Kenneth K. Chew. University of Washington Press, 2013, index, 228 pages. VSCL.

The Chinook Indians: Traders of the Lower Columbia River. Robert H. Ruby and John A. Brown. University of Oklahoma Press, 1988, 372 pages. VSCL.

Razor Clams: Buried Treasure of the Pacific Northwest. By David Berger. University of Washington, 2017, 223 pages. VSCL. 

Day Hiking Olympic Peninsula. By Craig Romano. Mountaineers Books, 2nd Edition, 2016, 354 pages. VSCL.

Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest By Ella E. Clark. Illustrated by Robert Bruce Inverarity. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1953, 2003. Glossary, 225 pages.  VSCL.

Native Peoples of the Olympic Peninsula: Who We Are. Edited by Jacilee Wray. Second Edition. University of Oklahoma, 2015, 224 pages. VSCL.

Olympic Peninsula: The Grade and Gradeur. Text and photographs by Mike Sedam. Voyageur Press, 2002, 144 pages. A coffe-table photgraphic book. VSCL.

Olympic Peninsula with Olympic National Park. By Jeff Bulingame. Moon, 5th Edition, 2024, 260 pages. The definitive and current travel guide to this area. Essential! VSCL.

The Sacred Wisdom of the Native Americans. By Larry J. Zimmerman. Chartwell Books, 2016, 220 pages.

Between the Tides in Washington and Oregon: Exploring Beaches and Tidepools. By Ryan P. Kelly, Terrie Klinger and John J. Meyer. University of Washington Press, 2022, 253 pages, index. FVRL.

A Birder's Guide to Coastal Washington. By Bob Morse. Featuring Ocean Shores, Long Beach Peninsula, Forks, Westport, Tokeland, and 160 Birding Hot Spots.  R. W. Morse Co., 2001, Index, 249 pages, spiral bound text. VSCL. Detailed coverage of birding locations and how to get there. 

Beachcombing   SEE  Beachcombing

A Coast of Scenic Wonders: Coastal Geology and Ecology of the Outer Coast of Oregon and Washington and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  By Miles O. Hayes, Jacqueline Michel, and Joseph Holmes.  Pandion Books, 2020, 229  pages. 

The Flora and Fauna of the Pacific Northwest.  By Collin Varner.  University of Washington, 2018, 462 pages.  VSCL.  Outstanding photographs, larger size. 

Grayland Beach Nature Studies.  By Michael P. Garofalo.  2021-  

More Northwest Coastal Field Guides

National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Pacific Northwest. By Peter Alden and Dennis Paulson.  Knopf, 1998, 488 pages. This is a handy and sturdy field guide for enthusiasts of natural history studies. I carry in my car along with binoculars, magnifying glass, and supplies in my backpack. VSCL.

Natural History of the Pacific Northwest Mountains. By Daniel Mathews. Timber Press Field Guide, 2017, Index, 583 pages. VSCL.

A Naturalist's Guide to the Hidden World of Pacific Northwest Dunes. By George Poinar Jr. Oregon State University, 2016, 288 pages. VSCL.

The New Beachcomber's Guide to the Pacific Northwest.  By J. Duane Sept.  Harbor Publishing, 2019, 416 pages. VSCL.

The Northwest Coast: A Natural History. By Stewart T. Schultz. Timber Press, 1990, index, 389 pages. VSCL.

The Northwest Coastal Explorer. By Robert Steelquist. Timer Press, 2016, 282 pages. Overview of key features with pictures and text. VSCL.

Plants of the Pacific Northwest. By Jim Pojar and Andy MacKinnon. Partners, 2004, 528 pages.

Seashore Life of the Northern Pacific Coast: An Illustrated Guide to Northern California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. By Eugene N. Kozloff.  University of Washington, 1983, 378 pages. A technical scientific presentation. VSCL.

Seashore of the Pacific Northwest. By Ian Sheldon. Lone Pine, 1998, 192 pages. VSCL.

The Sound of the Sea: Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans. By Cynthia Barnett. W.W. Norton, 2021, 432 pages. VSCL.

Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest. Tracking and Identifying Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, and Invertebrates. By David Moskowitz. Timber Press, 2010, 364 pages. VSCL.

Books in my personal home library (VSCL) about Washington State.
FVRL = Fort Vancouver Regional Library System, Clark County, Washington.

Dao De Jing, Chapter 68

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Chapter 68

"The best soldier is not warlike the best fighter shows no anger
The one best at defeating the enemy does not engage him.
The one best at managing people puts himself below them.
This is the Te of not contending, this is the power to manage people.
This is being the Counterpart of Heaven equaling the very best of the ancients."
-  Translated by Michael Lafargue, 1992, Chapter 68  

"In the ancient times:
The perfect warriors were not warlike.
The perfect fighters were not angry.
The perfect winners were not aggressive and the perfect diplomats were humble before the world.
This is called the practice of the virtue of non-struggle.
This is called the use of the wisdom of benevolence.
This is called to comply with the ultimate Nature."
-  Translated by Tang Zi-Chang, Chapter 68
 
 "The best soldier is not violent.
The best fighter is not angry.
The best winner is not contentious.
The best employer is humble.
This is known as the power of not striving,
as ability in human relations,
and as being in accord with heaven."
-  Translated by Sanderson Beck, 1996, Chapter 68 


"The best warrior leads without haste fights without anger overcomes without confrontation
He puts himself below and brings out the highest in his men
This is the virtue of not confronting of working with the abilities you have of complying with the laws of Heaven
This is the ancient path that leads to perfection"
-  Translated by Johathan Star, 2001, Chapter 68  


善為士者不武.
善戰者不怒.
善勝敵者不與.
善用人者為之下.
是謂不爭之德.
是謂用人之力.
是謂配天古之極.
-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 68 

  
shan wei shih chê pu wu.
shan chan chê pu nu.
shan shêng ti chê pu yü.
shan yung jên chê wei chih hsia.
shih wei pu chêng chih tê. 
shih wei yung jên chih li.
shih wei p'ei t'ien ku chih chi.
-  Wade-Giles Romanization, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 68 


"The best captain does not plunge headlong
Nor is the best soldier a fellow hot to fight.
The greatest victor wins without a battle:
He who overcomes men understands them.
There is a quality of quietness
Which quickens people by no stress:
'fellowship with heaven,' as of old,
Is fellowship with man and keeps its hold."
-  Translated by Witter Bynner, 1944, Chapter 68


"A good warrior is not bellicose,
A good fighter does not anger,
A good conqueror does not contest his enemy,
One who is good at using others puts himself below them.
This is called "integrity without competition,"
This is called "using others,"
This is called "parity with heaven," - the pinnacle of the ancients."
-  Translated by Victor H. Mair, 1990, Chapter 68

"Un caudillo sabio nunca es belicoso.
Un guerrero sabio nunca se enfurece.
Quien sabe vencer no ataca primero.
Quien sabe guiar a las personas no las humilla,
sino que, por el contrario, se coloca a sí mismo
en una posición más baja.
Así son las leyes de Te que renuncian a la ira,
al propio enaltecimiento y a la violencia.
Así actúan Aquellos Que representan a Te guiando
a las personas al Tao Primordial y Eterno.
-  Translated by Anton Teplyy, 2008, Tao Te Ching, Capítulo 68


"Those eminent for scholarly virtues are not fighting men.
Those eminent in war do not lose their temper.
Those eminent for victory do not struggle.
Those eminent for making use of others descend to their level.
This may be called the virtue which does not contend;
the power of utilizing men;
the utmost limit that can be reached in equaling Heaven and the men of old."
-  Translated by Frederic Henry Balfour, 1884, Chapter 68  

"Fight without violence.
Fight without rage.
Forget the supposed hurts done to you and do not seek vengeance.
Take pride in your humility.
Real decency is quiet, it brings people together and empties the self.
It is the same thing that holds the universe together."
-  Translated by Crispin Starwell, Chapter 68  

A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes over 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Chapter.   


Chapter 68, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey