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HABITS are like WATER 💦. Here’s why ….

One ☝️ of my “soul” places…. Where the grass meets the sand meets the water meters the sky … we’re all walking, talking capsules of predominantly water.

I believe habit is like water (I’ll come back to why later).

Have you set your goals for the year? How are you progressing towards it? How are your physical goals?

Right about now, for some, is a “sticking point “ as far as adopting new/good habits towards a healthier & fitter you.

is Your will power 💥challenged?

What is “Will-Power?”

Well, there are various forms of Power – military power, horse power, financial power, political power, wind power etc

The most relevant to each of us is WILL POWER, the strength to do more than we thought we were capable of doing.

The ability to go that extra step, that is what Willpower is and everyone has a personal limit to how far their willpower will be pushed until it breaks.

Remember, to modify a habit, you must DECIDE to change…. and the most important ingredient in creating belief in change is the WILL to BELIEVE.

… so, you’ve got to keep going…. and build a powerful weapon- “momentum”.

We are affected by what we feel, certainly.

You need to start with education not motivation and letting go bad habits in replacing with good habits isn’t necessarily easy or quick.

It isn’t always simple.

Learn not only to ask questions but more importantly… to ask the RIGHT questions. Not to know the answers…. No. Simply because you have a why(s)?

There is Power in Habit.

There is power 💥in habit.

Yes, there is.

How do I know? Well….

Consistent & persistence application of habits took me to two consecutive world natural physique championships.

Being one of the best in the world in my chosen sport (or anything for that matter) requires many inputs and the adoption of relevant habits. Talent alone is not enough.

You must also have DEDICATION to the DELIBERATE PRACTISE of the DISCIPLINE you’re in.

In effect you must be DISCIPLINED WITH DISCIPLINE. This, my readers, is a beautiful definition of “love”.

Now, anyone that lifts weights (grandfathers & mothers to teens), aiming to build muscle, improve strength & health & transform their body is, by definition – a “bodybuilder”.

The competition for this physical activity is “physique contests”.

Representing Australia 🇦🇺, & competing against the best from nations around the world, I made the Finals (the top 5) in the world at natural physique contest) two years in a row. This was staged in NY, USA.

There is Power in Habit.

Feel your emotions. Think through and with your heart. Listen to your íntuition We are not ‘thinking creatures who feel’ … but instead we are ‘Feeling creatures that think”. We need to always remind ourselves of this.

With curiosity & education, I learned the half dozen (6) key habits that make 80% of the difference in reaching body re-engineering goals (for me, being in the top 5 in the world).

Working “with my body” (increasing awareness of how the body/mind/spirit works) and the amazing machine that is the human body allowed me to achieve efficient & effective results, safely.

One of the things I see after almost 3 decades of training with bodybuilding principles is many people “work against their bodies”, instead of WORKING WITH THEIR BODIES.

For example, each individual cell of the 75 million cells that make up your body is made up of 75% water. So, give it more of what it needs. Thirst should never be an indicator to drink (generally too late).

One (out of the 6 key habits) habit that was a key contribution to achieving a world class physique is:

– adequate (1 litre : 25kg of body weight) daily intake of water (h2o)

Try this one habit for 7 days – 1 week!

(Even if you didn’t change any other existing habit). Your body snd brain/mind will love you for it.

Your energy will go through the roof and you will feel fantastic!

Remember this:

The REAL power in habit is the realisation that your habits are what You CHOOSE them to be.

Brings me back to my first point I made in the beginning of this post, that habit is like water.

Water 💦 creates channels, which grows deeper & broader over time… and even when it stops flowing, it begins when it flows again, the channel/path traced by itself before.

These are the new neural pathways in your brain 🧠!

So, even if you haven’t started, that’s ok, it’s never too late to BEGIN. Just decide to begin.

Besides, LIFE is truly a constant BEGINNING. We are all just at different stages of beginnings

All the very best to you … you can do it.

I’ll share with you the other 5 key habits over the next 5 weeks that makes up 80% of your results. (Simply applying one of nature’s principles: the 80-20 principle).

Cheers 🍻!

The old man –

🌺🌴💥

Changing habits – releasing bad eating habits and adopting some good ones is like facing an internal Predator. You need to ‘face the Lion’ within you. Having a conversation with a lion.

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MATERIALISM or THEOLOGY… on the Conveyor Belt of Birth, Death & Decay

Enjoying lunch in my beautiful Sydney CBD recently.

Many are living a life of Materialism.

~ With this philosophy, the individual seem to think 🤔that – if we came from no where … going no where in particular, and are here for no reason, in particular, then all ethics, morality, culture are illusions.

They are led by the idea that … we are simply here on this earth 🌍 to be active and animated, as long as breath flows through us. But, as soon as DEATH comes, that is the end of us – there is nothing more to be expected, nothing more to be hoped for.

~ What I find quite discouraging is that at the end of life, they have no one to say THANK YOU to, for the Life they had the privilege to Live.

Many follow this BELIEF, also referred to as the INTELLECTUAL SUPERIOR ATTITUDE. This attitude explains everything by DENYING everything. This is the foundation on which they (the believers) expect to build an enduring culture.

~ To me, This “Materialistic ” point of view is a huge part of the problem / the mess we (the world) finds ourselves in, today. You see, if there are – No PRINCIPLES … No REALITIES (or multiple realities), then each individual just lives for himself. The “selfish-gene” in them is ACTIVATED and is their compass.

They selfishly just live for themselves and only think about what he/she can get. They think that … One day he/she will go to sleep forever, that there is very little MEANING to EXISTENCE. To them, There is no HOPE, no PURPOSE… no OUTLET into the FUTURE… no FAITH in the FULFILMENT of DREAMS or ASPIRATIONS.

~ There is only a conveyor belt of BIRTH, DEATH & DECAY.

The (very ) weird thing is that many in modern day societies (almost the whole world 🌍, with the internet) … view this as an somewhat ELEGANT ATTITUDE.

Now …

~ The alternative viewpoint in life is one of THEOLOGY. Generally BELIEVE that you, me, us (Mankind) have a REASON for EXISTENCE. We believe that Man was Created by a DIVINE POWER💥. We believe in a GOD… that Man is here to live a DEFINED DESTINY.

And when we leave here … we will be punished or rewarded according to HOW we lived our life. Our Spiritual Balance Sheet of our time on this earth, 🌍 is reviewed and we are held to account.

~ So … which view/ boat are you in? How are you Captaining your sailing ⛵️ through the Oceans of Life… doing it with the 1st view/philosophy or one based on THEOLOGY?

ME?

I’m without a doubt… in the latter boat. I don’t “Believe “ in a God. After 3 NDEs (Near Death Experiences), I KNOW there is a GOD.

May God continue to give you STRENGTH, COURAGE & WISDOM in all the decisions you make.”

~ Paul 💝alentine ~

I wrote something along these lines back in 2015 . Here it is if you are interested: http://i

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IMMOBILITY & MUSCLE BUILD & STRENGTH

Retirees taking the time to build muscle to help themselves reduce the risks of age-related illness by working out in a group – setting to off-set the on-set of ageing”

We are all ageing.

We all lose strength & bone 🦴 mineral density as part of the ageing process.

We are all ageing.

We will die eventually. Nobody gets out of life, Alive.

I hypothesise that there is a direct observable CAUSE & EFFECT relationship between a person’s MOBILITY & MUSCLE 💪 BUILD & STRENGTH.

My understanding is that There is a 1% decrease in strength every year after the age of 25, more so in females than in males. By the age of 60 you would have lost > 30% of your strength and bone mineral density (oesroporosis).

This is largely a preventable cause.

My tip: do weight training (progressive)to “off-set the on-set “ of ageing. We are depreciating but the depreciation rate affects the “effective useful life of the non-current asset”(accounting terminology and analogy) from my 10 years as An Accountant/Business Consultant.

Every person has a body they are inhabiting that depreciates/ages at a different rate. Some faster than others. You come across individuals that look and behave older than their respective age.

Combined with a suitably balanced nutrition plan to suit you (age, activity level, body type etc), cardio exercise & a flexibility program, you can slow down the ageing/depreciation rate.

This would have a positive flow-on effect on the life that you’re living.

For example, the risk of living your retirement years with high susceptibility to fractures and breaks of Bones 🦴 would drop significantly.

The risk of Experiencing severe mobility issues that restrict the scope of your activities will increase. These can have severe consequences on a person’s health.

It could contribute to rising mental illness rates leading to suicide, dementia etc.

Photo (above): don’t end up like this friend of mine in the photo… you have the power to do something about this NOW).

He regrets not being made aware of the benefits of weight training & soon something preventative in his early life

It affects your mental state

Ultimately, it (immobility) affects your mental state and put you into a negative mindset. Over 25% of the aged population who have hip surgery due to falls die within a year. That’s great for doctors and surgeon’s pockets and lifestyle but disastrous for the poor individual

Change in habits now – begin the workouts you’ve been putting off and start eating 🍽 more balanced meals.

Your activity levels will have a significant impact on the QUALITY of your life, not just your length of life.

It’s never too late to start.

So… start… Just DO IT (love this original Nike slogan)

Life is about choices. Choose well.

It’s your ONE ☝️ LIFE after all (unless you have 9 lives like a cat 🐱… meow!!)

Cheers 🍻 & ahoy!

The Old Captain Viking Pirate 🏴‍☠️ ⚔️Muscle 💪Monk ⚔️😎 …& thoughts on ageing & mobility issues & its relationship with Muscle

We ALL need to summon the Superhero within to build & hang on to as much muscle as possible to stave off the early on-set of ageing-related illness

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Creativity is a SPIRITUAL JOURNEY.

An example of my love expressed & transmuted through fineline drawing.

Artwork.

I believe every single human being has the ability to CREATE.

What do you create?

For me …

~ Every time I create something from nothing, I feel that creativity is a spiritual journey.

For me, doing the ART WORK is a SPIRITUAL PRACTISE.

To me, there is never a “finishing line” or point where I can say that “I have made it!”

~ It seems that when I feel I “got there” … “there” vanishes.

Vanishes into thin air. Just like that!

In sculpting the physique for example, I have been working towards the elusive holy grail of bodybuilding: balance & symmetry.

~ Haven’t found it for almost 30 years now.

Every time I attempt to & have the opportunity to Re-create the Creation of God, I have a spiritual journey.

I NEED to keep moving … like a Spiritual Shark

… if I stop improving, stop re-creating I will sink to the bottom of the Ocean of life and …

Die.

But …

What I said above will not happen if I move … travel WITHIN…. Travel with my VIVID IMAGINATION and most importantly, I Continue to be CURIOUS and travel & have adventures, filled by this insatiable curiosity.

~ As an artist, I am a traveller.

In body and in spirit & imagination. I yield to my SPIRITUAL LEADING.

The Creator bestows on us the gift of creative thinking & doing. Our recognition & use of our gifts, given by God, is, in turn, our gift

… to God.

When you Accept this DEAL OF A LIFETIME…

~ I believe it is the beginning of TRUE SELF-ACCEPTANCE.

It is when you truly…

BEGIN.

For me …

~ Creativity is a spiritual journey.

My thoughts 💭. My deductions on a specific area of life so far. My share & gift 🎁 to YOU

Thank you

Keep safe. Don’t stop believing. Keep punching.

~ the old Cap’n Viking Pirate 🏴‍☠️ Muscle 💪 MONK … & his thoughts 💭 on the Spiritual Journey (ies) of Creativity

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bandanna is a salute to Pirates … the originators of today’s Capitalism.

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HUMANE-NESS is DYING.

A few of my thoughts in a poem for you: –

Be more Humane. Begin with you, first. Be more humane with you, first. Then … share that humane-ness with others.

** HUMANE-NESS IS DYING **

The tired soul is dying
Leaving a void within,
The Humane-ness is lying
In silence, again, we begin;
In Freedom & bondage
Where deception runs deep,
They pass to their advantage –
The kingdoms are for keep.

And gaze while they’re sleeping
By reaching for height,
They rest in your feeling
An amazing bright light.
When doubt fills our glories
Of layers unfold,
It is then that the stories
Of our history are told.

Outnumbered I spoke with them
Recalling memories of delight,
But who could decipher them
When we’re living in fright.
Beyond all refusal
The doubts in our glories,
The wind is a dismal,
And Are part of these stories.

The waving of tall grasses,
The song of the hidden sinner,
That croons as it passes
You do so with a little quiver.
The heavy-heart is a fool
The summoning of jealousy,
The confusing schedule
Must blend until you see.

Without these, indeed, you
Would discover before too long,
Just like I would read to you
The words of a beautiful song
That exhaustion would linger
When flowers don’t bloom,
The melodies of a singer,
Of The hypnotic tune.

And, melding with each
For far too long
There, sadly humane-ness is dying
We are in need of a happy song.

Paul 💝alentine –

My gift 🎁 to you.
P.
~~~~

I love this quote. Increasing your awareness is parameters to having clarity and success in your life. SEARCH. Become the BEST ‘searcher’ you can be. One day .. you may find ALL the answers you’re seeking for YOUR questions to give ‘meaning’ to your life. A wonderful book says – “Seek and ye shall find; Ask and ye shall receive.” True.

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My MISTAKES are ….

ME. Mistake-riddled ME…. But I am happy being IMPERFECTLY PERFECT, just as Jesus Christ was. His life was a great example of what FAILURE was. Not an easy path to follow …. But I will. Because I BELIEVE in JESUS and what he stood for. Just like GOD intended.

… too numerous to list here.

I have made many mistakes. I will try to express it in words like this.

There were many times …

When I should have kept my mouth shut 🤫….

And I had spoken;

When I should have waited …

And I had left;

When I should have been patient …

And I had been haste;

When I should have been more caring & tender ….

But I had been tough;

When I should have faced my fear ….

But instead I had turned my back like a coward;

When I should have gone the extra mile …

But I stopped short;

When I should have been the first one to say “I am sorry “…

But allowed my anger to take over;

When I should have forgiven …

But hung on to resentment that ate me from within;

When I should have asked for help ….

But instead let my ego sabotage the achievement of my goals;

When I should have led …

And yet, cowardly followed;

When I should have ran ….

But instead walked;

When I should have told the truth…

But instead, lied;

When I should have offered assistance…

But instead wallowed in self-pity;

When I should have prayed to GOD …

But instead lacked faith and belief;

When I should have had the strength to say “NO” …

And agreed to gain now and lose in the long-term;

When I should have listened to my heart …

But allowed logical thinking to have full sway in decision making;

When I should have been active & engaged …

But instead was aloof and elsewhere but in the moment;

When I should have been more aware of my surroundings and those in my immediate sphere….

And instead was so self-absorbed ;

When at times, I should have been FOCUSED IN ATTENTION…

But instead included unnecessary NOISE;

When I should have reached out and touched someone …

And instead let selfish desires dominate;

When I should have found the lesson…

And yet focused on the problem or issue at hand;

When I should have rested & allowed recovery…

But instead ignored trusting my instincts and suffered as a consequence;

When I should have stopped …

But lacked the ability to delay gratification;

There were times when I should have allowed my curiosity to get the better of me;

But instead I blocked my ears …

When I should have cried …

But instead smiled and laughed;

When I should have said a few words …

But instead gave a thousand;

When I should have let my unusually strong 💪 stubborn-ness to dig deep;

But instead, succumbed to a feeling of weakness and gave up hope …

And ….

On … and … on … and … on ….

One thing is certain –

There’s still more mistakes to come

Life goes on

One thing that I have learned from making tonnes and tonnes of mistakes … of having experienced so many fuck ups …. Of failing multiple times is …

That I am more COMFORTABLE at tolerating the UNCOMFORTABLE FEELINGS of making a mistake … or fucking up … of failing … of failing …. Of failing. …..

I don’t see mistakes as mistakes anymore … but instead as OPPORTUNITIES to find solutions …. To stretch boundaries …. To DESIGN NEW RULES …. To CREATE something DIFFERENT …. To START ANEW.

I’m unsure of the future …

But I am not concerned;

I will rely on those closest to ME …

And I will share their burdens … as they share mine;

I WILL continue to ..

LIVE & LOVE 💕.. & LEARN … with the understanding that I am IMPERFECTLY PERFECT and …

Until my physical form on earth reaches its finite end and my spiritual self continues into INFINITY…

Because …

I BELIEVE that GOD is ALWAYS WITH ME …

And that makes me FEEL INVINCIBLE.. as I AM GOD … I AM INFINITE.

And YOU ARE TOO … if you believe.

What mistakes have you made?

What have you learned?

Be safe. Keep punching,

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A TASTE OF INFINITY.

A collage of CHAOTIC LINES …. somewhat organised into some kind of ORDER… to CREATE an IMAGE.

The “DOT”.

Aahh … I just love lines …

Let me ask you a question: what’s a drawing/sketch ?

Yep, a series of lines!

And here’s another question:

“What’s a line?”, I ask my kids …

yep, a series of dots!

“What’s a dot?” … the beginning, middle & end of a line. Right?

Well, one could argue that a “DOT” has no beginning, no end… it gives us a taste of INFINITY. If you can’t comprehend this idea, maybe in the 3rd dimension, that’s alright… it is definitely INFINITE in the 4th dimension.

I love drawing ✍️ and managing the fusion of ALL kinds of lines, mostly, to get lost … to become one with … to allow the love 💕 you have WITHIN … just waiting to be expressed…

… in an image that would hopefully be able to be understood and appreciated.

Life: Connections upon connections. A continuous pathway to … nowhere. Line Drawing – My Life: in frames Your task: draw your life in frames.

To LISTEN a little BETTER.

You see, after over 4 decades of practising the ART OF FINE-LINE Drawing ✍️, I have found that –

~ it allows me☝️ to LISTEN a little BETTER to my INNER voice … and ACCEPT my CREATIVE EXPRESSION … as I realise that LISTENING 👂…. TRUE LISTENING is a ….. FORM OF ACCEPTANCE

~ it allows me to …. NOT THINK 🤔 SOMETHING UP (some untraceable goal … I’m the clouds ☁️ somewhere up there ….) but instead encourages me to …. GETTING SOMETHING DOWN … GIVING SOMETHING

~ it reminds me that I am NOT DOING…. I AM GETTING…. I AM GIVING (hopefully, to an appreciative audience)

~ it reminds me that I AM ENGAGED IN “LISTENING “ … & that I have (still) much to learn and …. MASTER

~ it reinforces that I am not the CREATOR… I AM THE CONDUIT through which this Energy force .. this ESSENCE OF LIFE… this endless love 💕 … is TRANSMUTED.. into what eventually becomes an IMAGE… that hopefully RESONATES with the audience

Here’s are a number of picture of dots, lines and shades chaotically fused together into a somewhat orderly structure.

SIMPLICITY enfolds COMPLEXITY

One positive result of my fine-line work is that I CREATE or BRING TO LIFE … images that hopefully RESONATE with the heart is at least one viewer.

Many times, I don’t know what I will produce …. As I fuse and bring ORDER to the CHAOTIC lines …. The Art or image I produce is given life … and emerges on to the pages and fundamentally comes about because drawling lines allows me to TUNE IN to what is already there

Feeling the movement of my hand as I caress the ink pen to draw lines in the page …. gives me the strong belief of the POSSIBILITY that the UNIVERSE is helping me with what I am doing (always) … as I become a WILLING SON of GOD and accept his offer of help and guidance in all that I do.

Drawing ✍️ lines HUMBLES ME as it reminds me that GOD is the GREAT ARTIST 👩‍🎨… the GREATEST DESIGNER

You will see that for some drawings …. There is a lot of uncertainty. For example, In certain parts of the pages I began with chaos (scribbling lines & dots) & moved towards order & in other parts I started with order & transitioned to chaos (randomness).

It appears simple…

.. but Simplicity in this case, enfolds complexity (the picture communicates – symbolically, various aspects of life).

What can you see? (In my art)

Maybe life is just a sequence of layers of energy that reveals itself to us based on the level of consciousness we attain. Just like the many layers you see here in my line-art.

Does looking at my picture in portrait reveal something different to you? What about landscape? Upside down? What images get reflected in to your conscience?

In many of my drawings ✍️, randomness is interweaved with order.

My pictures/fine-like Art, are ultimately a fusion of chaos (random lines & “many mistakes”) & layers of unbalanced order) to produce (hopefully something that is visually stimulating & pleasing).

When does a drawing have enough lines? When is it one line too much?

My question to you is: When is enough, enough (could apply with most things in life)?

Thank you for your Attention.

Keep safe. Keep punching.

Until next time,

A fusion of chaotic lines managed into some kind of order.

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The KEY Skill of IMPERTURBILITY

Weapons of Mass Distraction.

Individuals like you and me have been battling many battles since we were born. Heck, human beings have all battled battles every day since the beginning of time.

Many battles – some Real, many Imaginary.

I like to think of these as the PRISONS WITHIN. Most of us live within the prison of our own minds, with anxieties, fears and uncertainties cluttering our brains and steering us away from mental freedom.

Currently, we are waging a war against being distracted. Yes, you read that right … we are constantly waging a daily war against formidable Goliaths, ripping our control over our ability to FOCUS.

These formidable Goliaths control the platforms and framework on which the increasing advanced technologies rest … and are voraciously consumed by the masses. Individuals have easy and relatively cheap access to and from the Weapons of Mass Distraction (WMD).

In the 90s, we came to know what the “Weapons of Mass Destruction” were during the annihilation of parts of the Middle-East.

Who are “YOU?” Learn to love ❤️ YOU, first.

Are WE really winning?

Yes, you could argue that we are winning against the infectious diseases that have afflicted the human race. The advances mankind has made in the last 50 years in the fields of Bioengineering and the hard Sciences have benefited the lives of millions.

It has made our lives more convenient. The question we’ve got to ask is – convenience in place of what … our freedom and our ability to control our lives?

However, the recent COVID debacle may not support this (winning against infectious diseases).

It seems, to me anyway, that while the infectious diseases are under control (Externally) … we are losing a lot of ground in our true UNDERSTANDING OF THE SELF. This is significantly affected by the increasing tendency to be DISTRACTED.

Our individual ability to MANAGE THE MIND … our ability to manage the CONFLICTS WITHIN .. INTERNALLY … has been on a downward spiral.

People are struggling to achieve “Peace of Mind” at all levels of society. It is an epidemic.

You, me … each and every one of us NEED to guard the doors of our mind like a good bouncer guards a nightclub door and stop potential trouble-makers.

Individual’s skills at doing this varies greatly and I believe the majority still have a long way to go in terms of mastering that skill being the BEST BOUNCER TO THEIR BRAIN.

In order to be a good bouncer, you must first try to become more AWARE of YOU. This increase in AWARENESS should be a positive one. You should then FIRST try to find your own HEALTHY STRESS LEVEL in life, for example, are you a –

1) Racehorse

2) Tortoise

Your increase in Positive Self-Awareness should be built on a strong foundation of the KEY SKILL OF IMPERTURBILITY.

And what does this mean?

Wonderful insight in to the mind of a Great Leader. Be courageous. Everything stems from courage. Never let anyone or anything tear your dignity from you.

PRESENCE of MIND.

Being “imperturble” refers to having the coolness and Presence of Mind under ALL Circumstances … not some of the time but ALL of the time.

Having the presence of mind in ALL weather .. in calm weather … and in storms …

Having a presence of mind means having a CLEARNESS OF JUDGEMENT in MOMENTS of GREAT PERIL.

This is one of the KEY SKILLS needed to live a relatively GOOD LIFE.

For life.

This is a key skill that is not spoken about often … a skill that does not get ‘the light of day’ … The KEY SKILL of IMPERTURBILITY.

Improving your AGILITY ABILITY Ratio strengthens your Aura of IMPERTURBILITY.

Another version of the “Warrior of Love 💕 “ within

In my experience, because individuals don’t know themselves as well as they think they do, they don’t know what their STRESS TOLERANCE Levels are. As a result, their ability to RESPOND to Stresses is very poor. They essentially DO NOT have the necessary skills to RESPOND appropriately and sufficiently.

Improving your AGILITY ABILITY is heavily influenced by your ability to ADAPT. It is in the process of adaptation that you strengthen your Agility Ability Ratio.

As a mentor told me long ago –

“It is not the smartest or strongest who survive .. it is the one that ADAPTS the fastest.”

In my experience of life and from learning from other peoples’ experiences through life, another thing that helps is to begin by ACCEPTING the IDEA … the School of Thought … that ALL STRESSES OF LIFE is “NORMAL”.

This perspective helps improve your ABILITY to ADAPT and hence your AGILITY ABILITY Ratio.

“where do I begin?” you may be thinking.

Well …

Just BEGIN.

That is a START.

BEGIN … WITH YOU.

BEING … Just BEGIN.

BEGIN … to summon your COURAGE.

Yes .. that is where your BEGIN.

It takes COURAGE just to BEGIN.

Then ..

BEGIN …

BEGIN … to BELIEVE IN YOU …

AGAIN.

And …

AGAIN.

Just …

BEGIN …

Today … NOT tomorrow.

BEGIN … to KNOW YOU …

… the

REAL … YOU.

YOU CAN DO IT.

Just DO IT (love this NIKE slogan).

Go … search … for the BEST OF YOU.

Thank you.

Hey, it’s early Christmas 🎅 Day today … and here I am writing these thoughts while my family sleeps ….

so, Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year to you and your family and those you care for dearest.

Until next time,

Balance & symmetry brings you closer to harmony … to beauty …closer to infinity. Just like mathematics does

a better life, action, adaptation, asking questions, attitude, authenticness, awareness, balance, beauty, belief systems, better choices, care empathy, caring, change, choices, communication, consciousness, courage, creation, creativity, decisions, desire, examined life, fundamentals, game of life, genuineness, goals, gratitude, habits, hope, Imagination, leaders, long-term perspective, mind, needs, patience, perseverance, perspective, real man, recreate, reflection, relationships, respect, responsibility, self, self discipline, self improvement, self love, self-respect, significance, spiritual balance sheet, success, trust, Vitality, wisdom, you, your life

THE NEED To WITHDRAW.

Feel.

In whatever goal you desire, you need to make sure you understand how to use the tools 🛠 necessary to bring about the change you seek. One of the places I “withdraw “ to … one of my top 5 “soul” places. A place where I INFUSE myself with the “essence of life “ – VITALITY.

As an living Artist, I FEEL withdrawal is a NEED.

It’s necessary, for me, at least.

If you’re an Artist, you may feel the same way, too. Maybe, you don’t think of yourself as an artist 👨‍🎨 but you feel the same way too.

I believe every individual is an Artist, within. We ALL have the ability to CREATE.

Without taking periods of withdrawal, I can feel vexed, angry and out of sorts. If I don’t take this “time out” … I can become sullen, depressed.. even hostile and anti-social.

I believe ALL artists NEED to have “down-time”. And what is that?

It’s time To DO NOTHING. Yes, do NOTHING!Adopting and defending the RIGHT to DO JUST THAT – NOTHING. Doing nothing is NOT Trivial matter.

It’s not easy to do because everyone around you … the rest of the world is on a “busy” paradigm.

Do you dance? Do you sing? Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moon-light?

Sense of SELF.

To love and live this VALUE, it takes COURAGE, CONVICTION and a good dose of RESILIENCE. A lot of times, this time, space & quiet… strikes family and friends as WITHDRAWAL … from them.

It IS.

This could fall into the categories of being an “asshole”

So be it.

I believe everyone is so concerned with being VIRTUOUS…. ALL caught up in the VIRTUE TRAP.

Sometimes, this is ESSENTIAL to being your BEST. Producing your BEST work. There are powerful pay-offs to be found in staying stuck … and deferring nurturing your SENSE OF SELF.

Sometimes.

Like you, I strive to be good, to be nice, to be helpful, to be unselfish. Like most people, I want to be generous, of service, of the world.

But here’s the thing: sometimes… what I REALLY WANT is to be LEFT ALONE.

And I am very blessed

Because almost all the time,

Those that I find most valuable, GIVE me that. They understand. It’s important for me … it allows me to re-charge… to re-energise … to re-calibrate…. To Re-think…. To Think more effectively.

To find … the Real ME. Again.

It’s a blessing.

It’s a beautiful thing.

It’s life – affirming.

It’s a Human thing to do.

It COMPLETES, Me.

What about you?

Keep punching,

Until next time …

Hiding away. Withdrawal from others isn’t a bad thing. It does not make you less virtuous. It does not make you bad. What it does do is … re-energise… re-vitalise … re-charge YOU, so that you give the BEST of YOU to those that need you.

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I AM AN ARTIST.

“ I AM AN ARTIST 👨‍🎨.

For some of us, we learn best by going where we have to go and doing what we have to do.

I CREATE (Art), in a number of ways …

I express my love through many mediums …

I PLAY with –

⁃ words …. In poems, blogs & books

⁃ fine-lines with Black fine-nib pens on white paper

⁃ the human physique by playing with Dumbells, energy inputs, processes and imagination

⁃ Lifestyle variables to DESIGN TAILORED LIFE & LIFESTYLE SOLUTIONS for individuals

⁃ Consciousness to “see” what many do not in the current & future

First and foremost, I AM AN ARTIST 👨‍🎨…

Of LIFE.

I may need a different mix of chaos & order … a more challenging mix of comfort & discomfort … a varying mix of stability & flow compared to more “normal “ people.

People may find it weird, but …

That’s ok.

I see life as an very large experiment made up of many smaller experiments. I refer to these experiments as experiences.

And I Am … the Scientist at heart… with an artistic soul.

I practise the Art of Physique Artistry/sculpting. The Art of the building towards better BALANCE & SYMMETRY with the OPTIMAL FLOW of MUSCLES.

WHAT WORKS For ME.

I remind myself that I must experiment with WHAT WORKS FOR ME.

As an Artist 👨‍🎨, money does not validate my credibility.

As an Artist, my credibility lies WITH ME, GOD & My WORK. In other words, if I write a Blog … a poem … if I sketch ✍️ a fine-like picture of beautiful building architecture … then, I write or draw – whether it will sell or not.

I CREATE what WANTS to be CREATED.

I listen to my soul.

I AM A PERPETUAL CHILD.

Since my Artist is a child, the natural CHILD WITHIN… I try to make some compromises to its sense of timing.

Timing is important … a characteristic that is not given it’s fair due.

Many times I will write poorly… draw badly … sculpt awfully … perform poorly. I allow myself to do this … to get to the OTHER SIDE. The side that spurns creative thought …

In my experience, IMAGINATION & CREATIVITY is it’s OWN REWARD.

I have been and am, continually in awe of the wonders & daily little miracles in life … of Life, itself.

One of My jobs is to continue to be in awe of the wonders of life and retain my CURIOSITY… to ALWAYS DEEPEN my understanding and increase AWARENESS of the MYSTERY of LIFE.

I love photography Art, especially of Flowers 💐.

Sense of self Respect.

As an Artist, my sense of self respect comes from my belief that I am created in the image of God, my internal reflection and from DOING THE WORK.

What work?

My work …

One fine-line-sketch -at-a-time, one set of exercise at a time, one poem at-a-time, one blog-at-a-time … one dream at-a-time. Five years working on a lifestyle proto-type, 10 years working on an entrepreneurial adventure, a lifetime pursuing a dream that takes a lifetime.

As an Artist, making money is not what drives me. I do not need to be extremely wealthy & rich but I do need to be RICHLY SUPPORTED by those who love & BELIEVE in me.

My CURIOSITY NEEDS to be fueled for my intellectual, spiritual & philosophical needs. These needs as well as my insatiable physical & emotional needs have to be continually fed to continuously EVOLVE.

I must …

Never allow these needs to be stagnant, for this will show in my work. If will show In my life. It will show In my temperament. …

… In my aura, my vitality.. my life force.

It is very important that I keep moving …. As this allows me to CREATE.

I need to CREATE to express my love for life … of life . If I fail to create, I get moody.

Nobody likes a moody – me.

In order to CREATE I must stretch the boundaries … making new laws … encouraging novel ways of looking at things … and not necessarily following the existing laws and staying within the current boundaries.

First, I must BREAK ALL THE RULES.

As an Creative Artist, I need to continually FEED and NURTURE my ARTIST CHILD… for the more I nurture this INNER CHILD, the more ADULT i am able to appear.

Through the right plan, positive mental attitude, Brad applies principles of my program towards being a lot more who he already is (the BEST he can be)

There is a CONNECTION between SELF-NUTURE & SELF-RESPECT.

When I allow myself to be bullied (very seldom), and somewhat allow to be forced by other peoples’ need for me to conform … to be more normal or more nice, I lose myself.

Sometimes I do. I lose my – Self.

I allow myself to succumb to the whims of the ordinary man, to be ordinary like the ordinary. Something My inner fibre of being just does not agree with.

I sabotage my CHILD ARTIST.

For when I am not creating, I am not a very nice person to be around. I am certainly not “normal” or very nice – go myself or to others. Many say I am “weird”.

So be it.

In my experience, There is a connection between self-nurture and self-respect.

Be the best you can be for you, first, then by default, everyone gets the best of you. Vv.

Creativity is a SPIRITUAL JOURNEY.

Every time I create something from nothing, I feel the creativity is a spiritual journey. For me, doing the ART WORK is a SPIRITUAL PRACTISE.

To me, there is never a “finishing line” or point where I can say that “I have made it!”

It seems that when I feel I “got there” … “there” vanishes. Vanishes into thin air. Just like that . In sculpting the physique for example, I have been working towards the elusive holy grail of bodybuilding: balance & symmetry.

Haven’t found it for almost 30 years now.

Every time I create … I have a piritual journey.

I NEED to keep moving … like a Spiritual Shark 🦈… if I stop improving, I will sink to the bottom of the Ocean of life and …

Die.

MY WAY like LIFE’S WAY is not the “straight & narrow path” as the majority take … but one instead which is literally “my way”

MY WAY is a SPIRAL PATH… not the straight & narrow. My way is a spiral path because I AM an ARTIST, but more importantly, I am created in the image of God.

It is a simple and as complex as that.

As an artist, I am a traveller. In body and in spirit & imagination. I yield to my SPIRITUAL LEADING.

The Creator bestows on us the gift of creative thinking & doing. Our recognition & use of our gifts, given by God, is, in turn, our gift 💝 to God.

When you Accept this DEAL OF A LIFETIME… I believe it is the beginning of TRUE SELF-ACCEPTANCE.

Give thanks and praise the Lord.

Amen.

FIRST: MOVE INTO THE BODY, HEART ❤️ & SOUL.

To move into the body, heart & soul, one must first resolve to ACCEPT that one MUST MOVE OUT OF THE HEAD/MIND.

This is not easy.

Especially in a “busy” world with a lot of external & internal noise.

I make exercise a key part of my life because I am and have been seeking a form of MOVING or MOBILE MEDITATION. The execution of well-chosen exercises allows me to practise this … what I call – moving meditation.

This meditation experience puts me squarely IN THE MOMENT… in the NOW.

If I don’t respect the weight and/or don’t focus, I will get injured. I have not gotten injured lifting weights since I began almost 30 years ago.

My goal has always been to seek BALANCE & SYMMETRY in body… which translates to balance & symmetry in mind, heart & soul.

Like I said, earlier, many of us (like me), we DO learn by doing. Exercise, for example, is often the impetus that moves us … moves us from stagnation to inspiration… from seeing problems to opportunities for find solutions … from self-pity to self-respect & living with dignity.

One of the things we learn is that – I AM Stronger … WE ARE … STRONGER THAN WE THOUGHT. From my experience, we learn to have a different worldview… we learn to look at things with a new Perspective.

And a lot of times, this different perspective is the KEY to experiencing life a little differently … a little bit better …

With …

Added …

FUN.

Thank you

Yours in care, compassion & trust,

Changing lives. Empowering people. One life at a time.

Triple A to Life: Awareness. Action. Adaptation.

Tag Archives: Awareness