Tigmonk

Tigmonk is the pen-name of Tiger Singleton, who is playfully described as a modern-day mystic; someone in intimate communication with the source of life. His gift is to clarify the experience of being human, so that Joy can be seen. He is an internal wellness Coach/Guide, Author, Speaker, & Poet. His Teachings (Sharing) go beyond mere intellect, and reach deep into the Heart; making it quite clear that real liberation from suffering & conflict, is a journey that begins and ends with our most Sincere Self.
Born in Portland Oregon 1981. He considers his upbringing to be authentically normal as he was raised by his mother and step father in the US states of Oregon and Washington. His upbringing offers a great reflection in the way of living like many other young people seemingly surrounded by struggles, abuses, self doubt, depression & suicidal tendencies; all flavored with some love and some fear.
Tig dropped out of high-school and never finished any formal education. His school experience reflected a complete lack of interest in things that he simply wasn’t interested in. What captured his attention most were art based programs, creative video work, along with sports such as baseball and tennis. When it came to required subjects such as math, science, history, writing, and literature, Tig found himself battling a sense of obligation. The social environment was one in which your intrinsic worth was based on your ability to comprehend and complete what other people wanted you to do, because it was their perceived obligation to enforce it.
After discovering it would be impossible for him to graduation on time with his class (Year of 2000), and would be required to take summer school to keep working on those subjects he wasn’t interested in, Tig bailed. From there, he left home and entered the ‘real-world.’ Even though his experience after leaving home, might seem chaotic and irresponsible, Tigmonk considered it to be one of the most profound learning experiences of his life.
After spending a few years in a self created prison of meth, cocaine, & random homelessness, Tig was beginning to notice some patterns in his life that seemed to be profoundly damaging. Most notably, was that of blame. In a time when he was without a home and living in his car, he began to notice how much he was hating/judging other people for his current life condition. Life was showing him something, Life was trying to show him how much it hurt to blame and carry around this weight that felt powerless.
At this point, age 21ish, what was noticed most profoundly, was a new question being asked. “What if they weren’t at fault, what if this was my own doing?” The question led down a new year path, one that carried a new depth of sincerity and was devoted to seeing what was more real. It took the shape as self-development and out of nowhere, books started to show up. The one’s that stood out the most were, 7 habits of highly successful people by Stephen Covey & Developing the Leader within You by John C Maxwell.
This path, like all, showed itself to be a two edge sword. While consuming book after book on self development, business, and finding ways to get what you want, it led to another space of quiet desperation. Even though his life experience had changed drastically, with getting married and playing the role of stepfather to 2 girls and no longer bound to a prison of chemical drug use, there still seemed to be an exhaustion that played itself out as severe depression and the inability to create/manifest in life what it was he thought he wanted.
Around this time, age 24ish, Tigmonk hit a wall and considered his life to be an utter failure. Struggling financially to provide for a family of 4, baby on the way, and Tig’s physical body weight slowly creeping toward 300 pounds, it seemed like Life only wanted him to fail. Ultimately, this all leads to a place of surrender. Through experiences of depression that seemed to cripple any personal will, Tig began to open up to other possibilities, since what he thought was real and true, was once again proving itself to be fleeting and temporary.
In this space of surrender with the experience of depression, Tig simply found that he didn’t have the energy to fight the emotions any more, or to fight the paralyzing feeling that forced him to stay in bed. In this, something curious was noticed, that being… without a fight toward the depression, the depression wasn’t so bad, it was more of a forced time of rest than a punishment. In the recognition of this, in standing next to the movement rather than fighting it, he began to notice how the mind was feeding the energy, and the thoughts that were the fuel, when watched, were actually quite insane and irrelevant.
Something more real was being shown, and that was the nature of thought and how it only had power based on the attention given to the thoughts that came by. This led to a natural inquiry that asked about the nature of the self that was being talked about in the movement of thought. It was noticed that this self was only there because of comparisons being made, and if the comparison changes, then the self changes, which can only mean it’s not a real self, but only an imagined image of a self.
This recognition rocked his world, and made space for the fullness of Self to be seen. Slowly, and naturally, Tigmonk become so engrossed with seeing the Real Self beyond the facade that felt like had to be maintained; this facade also being the source of the hurtful suffering that felt incomplete, unwhole, and distant from Love. Through his willingness to sacrifice or see through the false self, Life in its own way revealed to Tig what he would call, Everything.
The gift that emerged or became noticed and refined, was that of being in intimate communication with the source of life. Tigmonk knows of the impossible nature to adequately describe in words what it is he does, sees, or has access to; because of this, he sees it all as playful in nature. There is nothing said, that is believed, for what is said is only meant to point to something beyond belief.
The teachers that seemingly participated in this Blooming (gift of clarity) within Tigmonk are, Jesus, Buddha, Ramana Maharshi, Anthony De Mello, Alan Watts, Mooji, Adyashanti, and others along these lines.