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That's not all he could tell you. In fact, playing tai chi has been such a great passion for Carolan for the past twenty-five years, that it is the subject of his new book, Return To Stillness, a memoir of his twenty years studying tai chi under Master Ng Ching-Por in Vancouver's Chinatown. "Mastery," Carolan says, "is very closely related linguistically to mystery." It is this mystery the book sheds light upon. In it he explores the complex master-student relationship, the rewards of long-term commitment and the way the practice of tai chi spills over into daily life. He also provides descriptions of the technical side of the art including "push hands," a type of sparring in which practitioners try to knock each other off balance and the deadly moves of swordplay. The arena of eastern arts and culture is nothing new for Carolan w h o has written extensively on the subject, including t w o previous translations of books about tai chi and numerous articles on some of the major spiritual influences of our time including Thich Nhat Hahn and the H.H. the Dalai Lama. He teaches Asian religion at University College of the Fraser Valley and during his three years as an elected municipal Councillor for North Vancouver, he represented the district on a trade mission to China. He was drawn to tai chi when as a stressed out grad student he looking for a way to find some calm. "I wanted to teach myself stillness," he says. At that time not much was known about the art in the west, and his first two attempts to find a teacher were less observation, quiets you d o w n , " l h a 120 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver www.opusframing.com " h . s u e " s s f u L " l n Buddhism they say you times,His third S e p t e m b e r 13 to N o v e m b e r 2, 2003 he (Carolan) continues, "It 'S a Wisdom path." c a n a S k three Carolan says. time led him to his Sifu, the Chinese word for father or teacher, Master N g . Every Sunday Carolan met with the master learning the basics of movements such as the eight steps and the four pillars. Maintaining a daily practice was not always easy. While traveling as a journalist, one of his greatest challenges was finding suitable place to practice. Many people, not accustomed to seeing the slow, graceful kung fu moves often found what he was doing bizarre or threatening. In the book, Carolan recalls an incident in Vegas when while practicing in a quiet corner just outside of the Frontier Hotel, he was accosted by a security guard who had complaints from other guests about his half-naked "hoo-doo." Yet Carolan was undeterred, and these days the biggest interruption he's likely to receive is the occasional curious question from passerby in the park. "Tai chi," Carolan says, "is a meditation. It's doing without doing." He relates the Chinese words for the phrase, "doing without doing." Yet he'd much rather demonstrate his meaning, I learn, as he softly executes a move. "Tai chi sharpens your observation, quiets you This seems to be the down," he continues, "It's a wisdom path." SPHERE DEANNE HOLLY SUSAN ACHONG ARMISHAW COOLEN EAKIN WILLIAM LYNDA LISA GAMMON KLAPSTOCK DANIEL L E E PAUL MCCARTHY NAUMAN EUYUNG OH SEERS BRUCE MICHAEL LINDSAY LAURIE SIMMONS / ALLAN MCCOLLUM GEOFFREY SMEDLEY phrase he's searching for and he considers it. "I guess I'm trying to figure out what we've got in our culture now that's a wisdom path. That's what I [sic] grapple with." Geoffrey Smedley, The Numbers, 1992-2000 Holly Armishaw, St Kitts Nugget Frax-4D, 2001 (original in colour) Presentation House Gallery Return To Stillness is published by Marlowe & Company. Learn more about Trevor Carolan at www.trevorcarolan.com. September | October 7