Personal, reflective, and gently investigative, these early essays have a raw, fresh quality which predates the more formal theory and practice of Peter Ralston's two best-selling books, <i>Cheng Hsin: The Principles of Effortless Power</i> and <i>Cheng Hsin T'ui Shou: The Art of Effortless Power</i>. Many of the questions for which the martial arts work of Cheng Hsin is a vehicle of discovery—identity in relation to others, authenticity in the face of belief systems, the draw we have to pursue ineffective self-serving urges, and our tendency to conceptualize rather than experience things—are described here in simple, almost conversational language. Attempting to grasp what authentic knowledge is, Ralston's queries become a quest for how humans can develop a deeper sense of themselves as participants in the world.