Conserving one’s inner energy is the essence of Taoism.
Conserving one’s inner energy is the essence of Taoism. You need to nourish your vital spirit. You do that through silence.
- From an interview of a hermit nun in the Zhongnan mountains of China by Bill Porter, in the video Hermits on YouTube.
Bill Porter's documentary captures the living tradition of Taoist hermits who have retreated to the Zhongnan mountains for over a thousand years. Their practice of conserving inner energy through silence and solitude echoes the teachings of Lao Tzu and the ancient Taoist masters—a path of withdrawal not as escape, but as cultivation of vital spirit. The Tao Te Ching returns to this theme again and again: stillness as the root from which all action arises, silence as the ground of knowing.
Contemplative Practice and Gratitude
Meditations on Gratitude, Beauty and Mystery
Gratitude as a philosophy of life and spiritual practice.
Our lives are a brief spark between two eternities. We are surrounded by natural beauty. The nature of the gift we've been given -- life -- is elusive and mysterious. This book celebrates that gift. What we express gratitude for gains power in our lives.
This work evolved out of The Heron Dance Book of Love and Gratitude, the book published twenty years ago that remains the most popular book Heron Dance has ever published.
This new edition is 11 x 8.5 inches, oblong, with a lay flat double wire-o binding.
156 pages.
Softcover (lay flat, wire-o binding) 11 x 8.5 inches horizontal.
Order here. $49.
Order the PDF ($9.99) for immediate download here.
The Tao Te Ching Journal: A Path To Inner Quiet
Zen Mountain Journal blends Taoist hermit poetry, contemplative art, and reflections drawn from a lifetime shaped by wilderness, solitude, and decades doing creative work on the outer boundaries of our culture. These journals are companions for seekers — guides in the reconnection with inner quiet, beauty, and the “soundless music” of a life lived with simplicity and meaning.
• Size: 9.25 × 8.5 inches — convenient size for desk or lap.
• Hardcover — the book can be written in without a table or desk.
• Double wire-o bound to lay flat.
• Printed on Mohawk Superfine, a premium uncoated paper for a beautiful writing surface.
• 160 pages.
