| I've been following with interest the current tale | | | | master, Al Huang, who taught us a move ironically |
| of Tiger Woods. Women have come forward | | | | called, "Embrace tiger, return to mountain" (he |
| exposing intimate details of secret affairs with this | | | | wrote a book by that title years ago). He told us |
| super private man. The cat is out of the bag -- | | | | to embrace our tigers, our challenges, our |
| Tiger's secrets have been revealed. This swinger | | | | shadows -- look them in the eyes, face them |
| of golf clubs is now swinging with great velocity | | | | head on. Once we have done that we can return |
| from fame to disgrace, praise to blame, and | | | | to the mountain, return to balance, centered on |
| pleasure to pain. He's demonstrating what happens | | | | solid ground, resting in wholeness, with nothing to |
| when we try to hide our secret shadows -- | | | | run from, nothing to hide from, no secret shame |
| pressure mounts until the shadow finds a way to | | | | dogging our heels, no crouching tigers hiding in the |
| seep out, leak out, or leap out...like a caged tiger. | | | | shadows waiting to pounce. |
| Robert Bly talks about the shadow as the bag we | | | | This is a lesson for all of us, reminding us to be |
| carry on our back, containing all that we repress | | | | inclusive of our whole self, to invite all our |
| and deny about ourselves. The more we repress, | | | | shadows to the party...or else they will crash the |
| the more the bag fills until pressure builds to a | | | | party. Tiger's shadows have come crashing down |
| bursting point. I believe that there is inherent | | | | on him. But like all of us when calamities occur in |
| within each of us an impetus towards wholeness | | | | our lives, it is an opportunity to be honest, reveal |
| and those repressed parts of us seek a way to | | | | all, and come into the wholeness of our authentic |
| relieve the pressure and restore that wholeness. | | | | self. It is a great relief to be open and honest and |
| Tiger Woods was fairly blatant in his infidelity and | | | | real. As Mark Twain said, "Always tell the truth, |
| promiscuity - he left hundreds of text messages. | | | | that way you don't have to remember anything." |
| It seems that his persona of perfection created a | | | | Do you hear a growling sound behind you? Have |
| deficit with 'balance due' - in other words, I believe | | | | you faced and embraced your inner tiger? It may |
| that some part of him set himself up to blow his | | | | be time to let the tiger out of the bag and face it |
| cover in order to ultimately create balance and | | | | head on. Once you do that you'll soon be feeling |
| wholeness. | | | | grrrrrrrrrrrreat! Like a whole in One! |
| I attended a workshop recently with tai chi | | | | |