Tiger Woods: His Dad's Part

At least part of his Dad. This story and many others I'm sure are/will talk about Tiger's Dad who was caught cheating on his Mom when Tiger was a teenager. Most stories stop at making the very surface comparison of "like father, like son" and don't take the time to go deeper. Hopefully Tiger will go deeper from the inside out about the impact of this significant event in his life. He likely knows the answers already but clearly the actions haven't connected the dots. The one area I wonder if he will look at is Radical Forgiveness. Based on the article above it doesn't appear he has forgiven his father and there-in seen the pattern that likely shows up in his life. Ask yourself today, who do you need to truly forgive and let go of the poison that only eats you? Remember, hating and being angry at another does nothing to them - only to you.

Swedish Blooms

My dear friend Stanley shared this with me and I had to blog about it. His mother-in-law Shirley made her transition this Sunday days before her 95th birthday. Here's an except of what Stanley shared, a true example of a Resonant Man experience: "namaste bobbyb et al......today I learned that the swedish home health team dedicated the day to my mom in law Shirley .......Resha sent the below email in response to the question of where to send donations.........I will get the exact email/website but it is a program called Swedish Blooms begun by the grief counselor Ross, last year after a conversation with Shirley regarding how much she missed being out in the garden....those of you who have been to our house lately know that we have turned the roof of our two car garage into shirley's garden....veggies, flowers and a three person swing.........it is a wonderland......thanks again for the love and support that I have felt throughout Shirley's deathing process....." "This is the story: Last spring, Ross, the Swedish Hospice grief counselor was visting with mom. One of the things she told him washow she missed going out in her garden. She really missedseeing the flowers up close. From that conversation, Ross got the idea to offer hospice volunteers and workers the opportunity to bring in flowers from their own gardens to share with homebound patients. The response was overwhelming with the staff. Every Wednesday they would bring in the bounty from their own gardens-- and thesewere taken to patients every wednesday all summer long. Again this summer, the staff wanted to continue the practice. So today, Wednesday,flowers were shared with other patients in mom's honor."

Stand by Me

I love how songs are such powerful metaphors for my deepest desires in life. Please click on the picture and watch this video shared by a dear friend. I dare you to take this video to heart. Despite all the bombardment of doom and gloom - imagine the power of standing by each other, standing for each other, trusting each other, knowing that each one of us are unique individual expressions of one source - we all come and go to the same place. There are no boxes, no right/wrong, no ups/downs, no love/hate, no you/me - there is simply one truth, that truth is God's truth, that truth is perfect and that truth is my truth now. I dare you to take EVERY fear you have for a week and instead believe in the truth of this video - the oneness and harmony that it represents, as I judge it. What a wonderful world we live in. Thank you for standing by me.

Father and Son

Regardless of where you fall on the love - to - cheesy on Cat Stevens, please watch this video. I had so totally forgotten this song. And the words never hit me when I heard it in the 70's, 80's and '90s. Also watch this version and please post your comments.

Great advertising

Go visit this link: http://pages.samsung.com/us/howiseeit/#/how-i-see-it-films and witness what I believe is brilliant advertising. Yes, I am biased given the focus of The Resonant Man on celebrating manhood, on exploring the many forms of rites of passage for men and on anything to do with the modern man who is standing up in responsibility, courage and the power that he is. This ad and campaign are a great example of fantastic story telling, engaging with emotion and humor at the same time, and linking a mainstream sport (NFL Football) with a modern day twist. I particularly love how the father crowns his son - that is a rite of passage! Please send me other great ads that celebrate the resonant men that are all around us. In these times of fear and uncertainty - it is of the utmost importance to celebrate the amazing grace all around us. I believe we live in the most amazing times - where we are finally awakening to the FACT that our thoughts create our reality. I choose to focus on love and making my dreams a reality - and not fear. How about you?

The Boy Crisis

The suicide ratio among boys and girls age 9 is equal but between the age of 20-24, the ratio goes up to 6:1. Please watch the second video on the right where Warren Farrell describes The Boy Crisis with a lot more statistics. Dr. Farrell was the only man who was actively involved with NOW (National Organization of Women) in the '60s and '70s. In the past decade, he has switched his focus to show that it's men that are being discriminated and ignored. This topic is totally under the radar of main stream media. It is a very important subject. It's at the heart of the immature masculine of today, the irresponsible leaders of our world/our corporations. Hopefully among the many benefits of the current economic vows we will shed more light on this issue and seek to raise awareness to how men can step into being the mature masculine. More on this over time but this is at the heart of The Resonant Man Project.

Ambani vs. Ambani - Part 2

Yes, I will cover these brothers every now and then as their battle intrigues me. Please watch the video by clicking on the picture - for more context. In my judgement this feud is a classic case of "powerful men" who are still immature men, boys in men's bodies. In my judgement - they have never dealt with their father wound. For those who don't know, their father - Dhirubhai Ambani, "was an Indian rags-to-riches business tycoon who founded Reliance Industries in Mumbai with his cousin. Many people consider Ambani's phenomenal rise to be an example of crony capitalism and the result of proximity to the ruling politicians because it was achieved through preferential treatment given to him in a highly repressive business environment. So go figure - what virtues do you imagine these Ambani brothers were raised with? Again, it's just my judgement that they were raised with hording - the belief that "I must have it, and you can't have it." My point in this coverage of the drama these brothers have created is really best illustrated by The Red/Black Game. WARNING: if you think you might want to play this game someday - don't read any further. I personally think even if you read this you will have the experience you were meant to have if you did play the game! Here's how it goes: This is an exercise to try on your students to demonstrate that not all situations are best done in a competetive way. Divide your class into three (or, possibly, more) teams. The purpose of the game is to score as many points as possible. On each turn, each group decides whether choose red or black and writes that on a sheet of paper. Scoring is as follows: If all choose black, each team scores 50. If exactly one team chooses red, that team scores 100 and all other teams score 0. If more than one team chooses red, all teams score 0. Play about 5 or 6 rounds. What you should usually find is that at least one group will start using red almost immediately and others will join in so that by the end of the game, NO team will have as many points as they would have if everyone had "cooperated" and chosen black at each turn. You can also point out that you said "score as many points as possible" NOT "your team should score as many points as possible" - again emphasizing that the larger score by the whole group was a positive gain. So how does this game relate to the brothers? Actually to all corporate competing - let's grow up and focus more on how to innovate, create and grow - rather than expand so much energy on how to win-loose. Yes win-win is aspired by many, and when push comes to shove - do you vote red or black? Grant someone you love a black vote today.

The Shadow of Sex

(click on David for a video news clip) I haven't followed all the news coverage about David Duchovny checking into sex addiction rehab. What I do feel is this is a small win for us all to celebrate. To celebrate a man who is speaking his truth, holding himself accountable and doing the best for his family. Now, that's all that I see in this story and frankly don't need more 'story' to interpret any more. Think about it. Wouldn't we rather have more celebrities make this unacknowledged addiction raise higher in the public awareness? Just as Betty Ford made Alcoholics Anonymous known to the world what about sex and love addition? Imagine if Bill Clinton had taken (still can) to this crusade - I believe it would make a huge difference in our society living open and honest lives. It would make a difference in living our truth vs. the lies we tell ourselves and those we love. Please know that I don't raise this as a morale statement. In the end, how you live your life is your business but is it? How is the impact of sex and love addiction any less damaging on each and every one of us as all the scientific tests that study the impact of global warming on all of humanity? I urge you to comment on this topic and to share your perspectives. I hope this will be the beginning of many aspects of this topic and again - David, more power to you brother! (even though I don't know you)

Listening is an act of love

Please watch this video that introduces the mission of Story Corps, an amazing project that is enabling Americans throughout the nation to record their stories. The focus is on the power of listening. Here's a story that really touched me. If you already have a strong relationship with your alive/dead father or yearn for one - please listen to this interview of Dr. Lynn Weaver - interviewed by his daughter Kimberly.

"I would be a success if my children loved me half as much as I loved my father."

"When Lynn Weaver came into a StoryCorps Griot booth in Atlanta, Georgia, he told his daughter, Kimberly, about his father, Thurman Weaver, a factory worker, chauffeur and World War II veteran. Lynn remembers his father as his rock - the person he would go to with any question or problem. Kimberly has often heard her father say that her mother is the smartest person he knows, but he points out his father was equally brilliant. He remembers the time that his father stayed up all night teaching himself algebra so he could then teach it to his son the next day."