Welcome to the new series of 10 by the teapotmOnk. Starting next month on the 10th - for 10 months - the mOnk will be investigating how we can best do the things we need to do without all the nonsense that gets in the way - particularly ourselves. Join me on the 10th for a less than serious insight into 21st century toast, teapots, taoism and productivity.

A Pre-Show Welcome

Breaking out the new season of podcasts, episode 1 launches into a rewriting of the last 50 years as the mOnk speculates on what could have happened if Tai Chi and the internal arts had stayed true to their philosophical roots and deferred to the competitive and highly individual nature of western society.

The Cult of the Individual

Perhaps the most subversive and under appreciated lessons we can impart is that of humour. Take yourself a little less seriously and the world sits back, relaxes and chuckles. Take yourself too seriously and sides form, tension builds and the world erupts into conflict.  The mOnk explores the role of humour in the arts in this, the 2nd of his series of 10 podcasts on living in the 21st century.
Learn more about the mOnk and 21st century Tai Chi at www.teapotmonk.com

The Way Of Laughter

What would happen if we refused to insure the dog, stripped the plastic from our cucumbers whilst still at the till, tore down the walls of fear that surround us? What would happen if we focused on what unites us over what divides us? 
Find out in todays episode of 10: Don’t Die in Shackles Part 1: How to do the Good Stuff

Don't Die in Shackles: Part 1

Part 2 in the series looking at the Chinese Philosopher Mencius and how his advice on doing a little something every day, to help all those people you come into contact with, will not only help the world move forward but enabe us all to live in a world with less fear.

Don't Die in Shackles: Part 2

Titles and names in the arts don't always convey the message you think. Perhaps it's time to rethink those traditional descriptions that imply a relationship of obedience and deference. At the end fo the day, we are only describing those imparting a skill, and those receiving it. Plus -  a brief look at how the field of technology is still changing the way we teach...

What was your name again?

This month -  the teapotmonk Investigation Crew explore the contradictions and vagaries of the Tai Chi Form and ask what would happen if we started to design our own? Is it time for us to boldly go where no one has gone (recently) before?

Captain Kirk and the Tai Chi Form

Why not Create your own Form? What tools would you need? Would a Spirograph help? What can history tell us about these decisions? Episode 7 in the series of 10 delves into the art of creation and asks the question: what's stopping you?

Spirographs - the Ultimate Tai Chi Weapon

Podcast 8 in the Series of 10: In this short, but fascinating conversation with writer, Anthony Guilbert, about his new book: Notes From the Drift, the teapotmonk discusses travel, fluidity, movement and how we can both interpret and employ the concepts from Taoism into our own lives.  
Anthony Guilbert may be a name familiar to some of you. As well as being a writer, lecturer, poet, spiritual anarchist and martial-artist he is well known for his successful online journal - Into Mountains Over Streams. ​
This month, Anthony launched a new publication - Notes From the Drift - a beautifully interwoven collection of observations and reflections on travel, time, change and adaptability. Anthony kindly gave me a little of his time early one morning this week (5 a.m) to talk about the book, his thoughts on 21st century Taoism and the importance of what we each can give to the world. 
Find his book on amazon or visit www.anthonyguilbert.net

Finding Purpose in the Ordinary: A Conversation with Anthony Guilbert

Including a sample chapter from the Noble Art of the Leaving Things Alone - this month we look at giving it all away - with links to free ebooks, and general bean curd packages.

The return of the Bean Curd Boxer

And so we bid farewell to the mOnk and this series of 10 with this final climatic episode in which, on the eve of departure, a dusty tea-stained document is left on my desk, with a request to read out 5 Secrets for Living a Purposeful Life. 
Little remains now, other than Yak prints in the snow. Was it all just a figment of our collective imagination or did the mOnk once tread these dusty shores? 
Who knows, who can tell what is real and what is fake, what is substantial and what is imaginary. We, at least have a library of anecdotes, images, sounds and images to celebrate the comings and goings of the inner temple. 
Adieu. 
For links to the free course - visit Udemy - Tai Chi  - Paul Read. All other references visit teapotmonk.com.

5 Tips for Living a Purposeful Life

So many disciplines promise happiness, security, health, wisdom or enlightenment, but so few deliver more than just words. Yet, when you fuse together an ancient eastern practice with a thoroughly 21st century take - you create something beautifully intriguing and inspiringly new that encompasses so many of these qualities: Bean Curd Boxing.

Combining the simplicity of Tai Chi, the soft wisdom of the ancient sages and a tender light-hearted approach to learning, the Manual of Bean Curd Boxing shows you:

* How to absorb the basics of these arts into your daily activities with no sweat and no stress
* How to remain tranquil and calm under the stress of daily encounters
* How to perfect the ancient art of 'doing without doing' in order to softly Get Things Done
* How to become a slow ninja amongst a planet of speed freaks

In a world of Information Overload, the Manual of Bean Curd Boxing offers an alternative source of wisdom: practical and original exercises for re-learning good posture, good breathing habits and building powerful new energy boosting habits.

The Manual of Bean Curd Boxing: Sample

10: Released on the 10th of each month for 10 months. Explorations and Investigations into why we do the things we do, drawing on Chinese philosophy, Tai Chi, toast, teapots and tofu. Digital narratives from another perspective with the teapotmOnk.

10 Ways to Stop Doing Stuff with the teapotmOnk

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