Also known as 理山 (Lǐ Shān) — Orderly Mountain. It was given to me as part of my involvement in the Longmen lineage of Quanzhen Daoism, and it captures something I try to hold onto: steadiness beneath movement, order that doesn’t announce itself.
This site is a personal research space and working notebook — a place to document practices, translate texts, explore ideas, and reflect on the relationship between ancient wisdom traditions and contemporary life. Rather than presenting fixed conclusions, it records an ongoing inquiry into what it means to live with clarity, discipline, and intention in a fast-moving world.
Professional Work
I have over twenty years of experience in technology consulting and organisational leadership. I am a Director of Civic Computing, an Edinburgh-based digital consultancy working across the public and private sectors — from local authorities and water companies to universities and consumer bodies. My work at Civic focuses on strategy, governance, and the longer-term direction of the company, working alongside the board and senior management team.
I serve on the board of OpenUK, the UK’s unique industry body for open technology — encompassing open source software, open hardware, open data, open standards, and AI openness — contributing to its governance and strategic direction. I am also a Trustee of the Society for Neurodiversity (S4Nd), a member-led UK charity building community, mutual support, and advocacy for neurodivergent people.
Across these roles, recurring questions emerge: how institutions navigate technological change, how governance structures can be designed to support rather than constrain, and how organisations might be led with greater thoughtfulness and long-term vision.
Contemplative Research & Martial Traditions
Much of the deeper inquiry documented on this site concerns Daoist philosophy and internal cultivation practices — meditation, breathing methods, and the study of classical texts. These traditions offer practical approaches to stillness, clarity, and balance that remain genuinely relevant in a world defined by complexity and acceleration.
This contemplative work is inseparable from embodied practice. I have trained in Taijiquan and Qigong for many years — arts whose flowing movements and internal principles demand the cultivation of focus, sensitivity, and structural awareness rather than mere physical force. I teach Yang-style Taijiquan and am involved in the practice and transmission of traditional Daoist methods. My scholarly work centres on the translation of classical neidan (內丹 — internal alchemy) texts, principally the Gu Shuyinlou Cangshu, the collected writings of the nineteenth-century Longmen priest Min Yide (閔一得), a project spanning 98 chapters across twelve volumes.
I am also a sumo practitioner and coach, having represented both Britain and Scotland. I currently lead Edinburgh Sumo Club, overseeing the growth of the sport across the East of Scotland. Though sumo and the Chinese internal arts arise from distinct traditions, they share a common concern: the cultivation of rootedness, presence, and the capacity to remain centred under pressure — qualities that extend well beyond the training space.
The Spirit of This Site
In Daoist thought there is a concept known as pu (樸) — the uncarved block — a metaphor for returning to simplicity and original nature before opinion and habit have shaped it. This idea reflects the spirit of what is gathered here. The aim is not to accumulate conclusions, but to patiently examine the practices, ideas, and traditions that may help illuminate a more balanced and considered way of living and working.
Everything published here should be understood as part of an ongoing exploration rather than a final statement.