The Yin of Inner Leadership - 結 び musubi

 

The Yin of Inner Leadership

 

陰

yin

literally, "the female principle"

 

 

2. Centering, Presence, and Process

 

 

結 び

musubi

 

literally, "to bind" or "to connect";

"the connection that binds us together"

the energy flow that binds us—and all of life—together

 

 

Analyzing others is knowledge.

Knowing yourself is wisdom.

Managing others requires skill.

Mastering yourself takes inner strength.

 

Knowing when enough is enough

Is wealth of spirit.

Be present, observe the process,

Stay centered, and prevail.

 

(Tao, 33)

 

 

The Tao Te Ching tells us

"to stay centered and prevail."

Wise leaders maintain their inner balance.

They are not reactive:

 

However events may whirl around them,

They remain centered and calm.

 

(Tao, 26)

 

 

The Tao Te Ching upholds a vital paradox:

We remain centered in a crisis

not by turning away

but by being present.

 

Becoming more aware of the storms around us

and the energy patterns they reresent

helps us deal with them more effectively.

 

 

Centering and Aikido

 

The power of aikido is based not on muscle,

but on energy.

 

Like the teachings of Tao,

many aikido techniques involve

balancing the energies within and around us.

 

One technique, Tenchi-nage,

is known as Heaven and Earth."

Our task is to teturn to center,

to balance body and mid.

Getting back to center

brings us new insights

and new solutions.

 

Seeing New Possibilities

 

We move beyond old patterns

to forge a new future

for ouselves and our world.

 

 

Creativity and the Practice of Centering

 

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote,

"All mean egotism vanishes"—and with it

the thousand distractions,

concerns, disappointments, and regrets

that have become emotional blocks,

dividing us from ouselves.

 

Renewed and refreshed,

we realize once more all tht is possible.

 

 

Centering and Strength of Character

 

The Tao Te Ching asks:

 

Why do many people rush about

Reactively losing their balance?

They give way to emotion,

Impatience and haste,

Thereby losing their center.

 

(Tao, 26)

 

 

The Power of the Present Moment

 

The Tao Te Ching asks:

 

Who can work with natural patterns,

Wait until the mud settles,

Patient and flexible,

In harmony with life?

 

(Tao, 15)

 

 

The English poet William Blake put it this way:

 

To see a world in a grain of sand

And a heaven in a wild flower,

To hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour.

 

It's all there—in the present moment.

 

 

Tao Affirmations

 

Only Now

 

Whenever you find your mind wandering,

use this simple affirmation.

Say to yourself:

only now."

 

Finding The Gift

 

The Tao reminds us that

life is a path, a journey of continuous growth,

filled with lessons and unexpected gifts.

Look for the gift and you will find it.

 

 

Your Daily Ritual

 

Commit to one centering practice,

set your alarm a little earlier,

and begin—tomorrow.

 

 

The Lesson of Process

 

Focus

 

Flow

 

Follow-through

 

Those who know

do not speak.

Those who speak

Do not know.

 

(Tao, 56)

 

 

Start with a short project.

Break the task into manageable steps.

Then take the first step.

The journey of a thousand miles

Begins with a single step.

 

(Tao, 64)

 

 

The patterns of nature reinforce this lesson:

 

We begin life gentle and yielding.

At death we are rigid, inflexible.

The grasses that grow are green and supple.

In death they are withered and sere.

Therfore, the rigid and inflexible

Belong to death.

The gentle and yielding

Are filled with life.

 

If your plan is inflexible,

It cannot succeed.

Unable to bend,

The tree will break.

Hardness and stiffness

Lead to destruction.

Flow with the precess

And live to prevail.

 

(Tao, 76)

 

 

The Tao leader possesses the wisdom of living systems.

Aware of the energy patterns in any situation,

he or she knows

when to move forward,

when to pause,

when to cooperate,

and when to intervene.

 

 

Mitch Saunders,

director of programs for California Leadership,

values four archetypal skills that

correspond to the Jungian notion of

four basic human capacities:

 

initiation

(establishing new directions),

following

(building on and apreciating what others have started),

disruption

(cutting across or opposing what others have begun),

and reflection or penetrating insight

(perceiving the structures underlying the current situation).

 

 

Gandhi's Leadership

 

Inspired by his combination of patriotism and spiritual leadership,

his followers opposed British oppression—not by fighting,

but by bravely standing for truth.

 

Courageos, compassionate, and flexible,

Gandhi transcended ego and impatience.

 

Like Gandhi,

Tao leaders are multifaceted individuals,

able to meet any challenge with strength of character

and a vast reservoir of skills.

Aware of process,

they blend with the situation to bring about the best results.

Always learning,

always growing in awareness:

 

 

Tao leaders

Are wise as the ages.

Their depth cannot be sounded,

Yet we can describe their actions:

Mindful, as if crossing and icy stream;

Focused, as in the midst of danger;

Respecful, as if an honored guest;

Fluid, as melting ice;

Hones, as an ncarved block of wood;

Open, as a yielding valley;

Blending, as if earth and water.

 

(Tao, 15)

 

 

This is the way of Tao.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Dreher, Diane. The Tao of Personal Leadership. Harper Collins Publishers. New York. 1997.