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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,

P.

I love fine-line pen 🖊 sketching. No pencil, no rubber. Black pen strokes. Can you spot the “mistakes?”
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What does IT all mean ?

What’s on my mind?

Here is one ☝️ loooong thought 💭, posing questions –

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.

What does IT all mean… ?


Me, you, everyone else … everyday?
The Everyday.
What does IT all mean?
The empty words .. the useless thoughts … the lies we tell ourselves.. the lies we tell others … the ineffective actions.. the roads, the cars, the buildings, the bright lights … everyday …
The Everyday.
The thing we call and hang on to called …
Life.
The Life…
… we thought we had … the life we now live … the life we thought we would have…
The Life …
we would like to Create.
What does it all mean?
When does Life begin?
In the womb ?
… at conception?
Why?
When does laughter really begin?
In the womb?
At conception?
Why?
Life …
When does life end?
When does laughter end?
Does life end when laughter ends … or is it the other way round?
Does it matter?
Does IT begin with the rise of the sun ☀️.. everyday?
Does IT end with the setting of the sun 🌞.. everyday?
Is the Sun our true measure of time?
Is the sun our pendulum of …
Life?
What does IT all mean?
Where does our “time” go?
Why do we think being “busy“ is important… is right?
What about what’s left?
Who gets what’s left?
Of time … of
Life.
Why should there be a “waste” of time, when you, me, no one … can control time?
Who makes that judgement?
Is it better to fill our time with laughter?
Why? How so?
What do you believe?
Do you believe… that you’re the INFINITE?
Why?
Why not?
Do you believe you’re the culmination of each and each & every improbable moment that led to your existence?
And what about the SCARS you carry?
Do you wear them with pride? With honour?
Like badges you’ve collected along your path … your way?
For ALL to see?
Why?
Why not?
What are you hiding? Who are you hiding it from?
Does it IT really matter?
You hesitate?
Don’t!
Don’t even allow any of your future precious moments be taken up by “looking down on yourself “
There are enough people in the world who would gladly do this – “put you down … “
So, don’t do it to yourself.
It’s not worth your …
Life ..
That is THE INFINITE.
YOU are … The INFINITE.
So…
What does IT all mean… anyway?
What abyss of time does IT fill?
IT …
The Life…
“What does IT all mean?”
I curiously ask…
Anyone? “

– GURU Paul –

So, there you go … a slice of my thoughts 💭 –

💝alentine 💝itality 💝itamins…. For life.

Stay strong. Harness your courage.

Yours in iron, muscles 💪 & 💝itality,
P.

Try … to be wise. Success is the result of being just a little bit Wiser, not necessarily, intelligent, compounded over time. How wise are you?

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History, Family & Storytelling … & Torch Bearing.

With my gritty Viking Pirate 🏴‍☠️ Intelligent, caring & compassionate daughter, Olivia. She has heard me say many stories … over and over again.

There is Power💥 in Storytelling.

I’ve always loved storytelling.

I remember sitting with adults when I was a kid, Listening to their stories. They would say –

“Paul, why don’t you go and play with your cousins & friends outside”

I would reply –

No, there will be time to play with them later”

I’ve listened to hundreds of other people’s stories when I owned & managed my Family Gym for 7 years.

I love 💕 telling stories.

I believe there is power in storytelling.

My wife and kids. I Storytell until they get fed up… then I know, they know.

It begins in the home.

It begins in the Home…. Practising the art of Storytelling, that is.

Home is where the foundation of storytelling starts. I recall listening to my dad & his close friend’s tell stories around the Kava bowl. In the home, I got a strong 💪 foundation… Of a past that lends my existence a place, a sense of belonging, a historical context.

Home is where stories get passed on for generations. I have continued with this 💝alentine tradition. My two kids can retell the stories I tell .. because they have heard them countless times. And as my daughter says –

Dad, it keeps changing all the time”

And I say –

Aaaahhh… yes, my dear … that is where facts and imagination fuse in the optimum place”

Home is where I was told that I am built like & physically intelligent like my grandfather, Ben Valentine. A powerful & skilful National heavyweight boxing champion, going undefeated for 3 years in his prime.

Home is where I heard stories of my quirkiness from early age & my creative & innovative nature in my early youth. I heard stories of my country of birth through the filter of my own genealogy.

Struggles, family migrations, family triumphs, as well as ancestral successes & failures were taught to me through the history of my 💝alentine Family.

In my Home now, it is a place where I build my own legacy: through my love 😍 for history & storytelling, I have shared & will share more stories I was told in my youth with my children.

Always, adding my generation’s story to this 💝alentine Novel in progress. I’ve always believed the REAL histories of families aren’t the records of births, deaths & marriages. No, to me …

… they are the stories told after dinner, while having chocolate or dessert. So full and satisfied.

For i have learned many things so far, and one important one is the importance of LEGACY.

Legacy is fueled by US… in our family. It is fueled by ME. And all this evolves from our history… our family stories passed down …

As it is …

Our IDENTITY. Our ROOTS.

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

Tell it to your children…

I found a passage from the Bible:

“Tell it to your children,

And let your children tell it to

Their children,

And their children to the next

Generation.”

– Joel 1:3, NIV

I tell my kids that one day they will bear the 💝alentine torch 🔦. They will continue to write their chapters if their lives through their storytelling.

Knowing that they have a very strong identity and they will continue to shine the torch 🔦 and build on the legacy that they inherited…

Through the strong foundation of the 💝alentine Family history through storytelling.

I am still the current Torch Bearer of the 💝alentine Family and I make a toast to all future Torch Bearers of my family and all families …

Carry the Torch with pride & Live & Die with dignity.

I love 💕 you, ALWAYS.

Yours in care, compassion & trust,

– Paul e 💝alentine –

Me.
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God v Science: Is there Room for Both?

Be the “light” for you, first and develop & strengthen your light 💡
So that you can brighten up people who can’t see in the dark

The inevitable Growth of Scientism or Evolutionism.

We’ve all read countless studies over the last decade telling us that Christian attendance numbers have reduced in many major cities of the world. There has been growing ‘Scientism’ or “evolutionism’ followers, hoping that Science, being a measure, can replace religion as a worldview and a touchstone.

It has been driven in the minds of people by various media sources , that there is no possibility that God exists (with great certainty)…. & have been pretty successful at this.

Celebrity atheists and authors like Stephen Hawking somehow claimed that we don’t Need God, saying –

For God’s sake, it’s 2010: science and God are enemies, & science 🧬 has defeated God. In the light of modern scientific discoveries, belief in God is idiocy. If you picked religion, you picked the wrong team. You picked faith and fantasy over reason and evidence, so we are allowed to mock you.”

This seems to be the way science & religion has been playing in recent times.

Wherever the Mind goes, the body WILL follow.
The key: get your mind “there “ first

“Choose a side!”

It says….

The thing is I believe Christians don’t need to choose between God and science. There is room for both because, firstly, they have both had a long-lasting relationship. They have been “good mates” for centuries.

Thing is … you have to believe in an ordered universe to be involved in scientific pursuit, and this is exactly what we find on page 1 of the Bible. “Page 1?’ you ask. Yes, in the Book of Genesis, describes how God fashioned the universe out of nothingness in six days.

Here’s the thing: I think there is room for both.

I believe Science is compatible with the Christian faith. God’s existence is either true or not. But calling it a scientific question implies that the tools of science can provide the answer like it tries to do ‘logically’ for everything else.

I believe you cannot use the same tools for God, just as much you cannot use 4th century weapons to win a modern-day war. God is ‘all-encompassing’.

As Professor Francis Collins, author of “The Language of God”, supports this too, saying –

“God cannot be completely contained with nature, and therefor God’s existence is outside of science’s ability to really weigh in.”

What do you think?

As Einstein said … everything is energy. It makes logical sense that you need to become a Master at Energy Management, not time management.

ok, first, to understand the present, What does History tell us?

Also bear in mind, Christians and Christians movements have been intimately entangled with the progress of science 🧬, and were in part responsible for the explosion 💥 of modern science 🧪 in the western world 🌎 in the 17th century.

Remember Galileo? The thinker that developed a telescope 🔭 to use to observe and measure Copernicus’ new “sun-centered “ view of the galaxy?

Well, contrary to what many believe, Galileo not only believed in God, but also loved his Bible & science and (most importantly) refused to choose between them.

He was a Hero for both science and God. And let’s not forget

Darwin and Evolution have become virtually synonymous; yet the basic concept of evolutionary change had been around since before Charles Darwin’s grandfather’s time. People forget (or simply do not know) that Darwin’s model (as was proposed in his book: “On the Origin of Species released in 1859) was rejected for decades and was never fully accepted. Even the so-called Darwinian synthesis of the twentieth century was very different from his original formulation.

Yes, Darwin, now rivals Newton as Britain’s major scientific genius even though he had never been an obvious candidate for the accolade of genius. He was a mediocre student, leaving university with a passion for bugs and geology and few ambitions. In his own lifetime he was a controversial celebrity and spent much of his life as a virtual recluse in his country home.

Is God outside of Nature or is he part of Nature?

The New Atheist crowd today

Chief protagonist Richard Dawkins makes his case In the “God Delusion” that it is impossible to be a logical, intelligent scientific thinker and a faithful religious follower at the same time. Big supporters of the Evolutionary Theory espoused by Darwin, even giving credit to Darwin for the catchphrase – “Survival of the fittest’.

The truth is, the reclusive semi-valid, Darwin left others to defend his theory for him. The catchphrase was invented by somebody else, not Darwin.

History shows that, like with many other examples, Darwin was affected greatly by prejudices of the time. And even though his evolution theory was accepted by 1900, his explanation seemed on its way out. His supporters had failed to come up with any mechanism for change, and rival theories proliferated.

Here’s the truth: Modern Darwin Evolutionism is very different from Darwin’s Darwinism.

Find your light.
Light your path.
It is YOUR path.
No one can ride that path with you, but YOU.

Many scientists also believe in God.

Luckily, there are many scientists that strongly believe in a God, here are a few examples-

  1. Francis Collins – was the head of the multi-billion dollar “Human Genome Project”
  2. Professor Bill Phillips(Nobel Prize in Physics) – who was part of a bunch of other scientists who urged Barack Obama to invest $15B in clean energy research
  3. World-renown Neurosurgeon, Dr Ben Carson who was part of the advisory committee to Barack Obama.

Obviously there are many smart scientists that don’t believe in God.

Francis Collins (above) stated –

“Science is powerless to answer questions such as – WHY did the universe come into being?” WHAT is the meaning of human existence?” WHAT happens after we die?” 

Have no doubt.
Help yourself first.
You are more than just YOU…
God will meet you half way …
he ALWAYS does.
All you ahve to do is: BELIEVE.

and … Atheists speak up

But the Atheist Leaders (like Professor Peter Atkins at the University of Oxford) say –

“Humanity should accept that science 🧬 has eliminated the justification for believing in cosmic purpose ….”

Let’s think about these atheists claims for a second ….

And ask science to explain –

  1. Whether a song is good or painful /bad for you …. NO, IT CANNOT
  2. Can science Put the day I got married under microscope so that I may thoroughly understand it?

NOT Likely!

Christians believe in Jesus Christ, their saviour.
Do you believe in him?
DO you believe in God?

The scientific Law of CAUSALITY.

The above is a key principle of science, & the great scientist- Francis Bacon said-

“True knowledge is knowing causes”.

Like, think about when you were born… think about all the key causes of that – I can think of 3 key ones :

  1. your parents decision
  2. The successful sperm that fertilised the egg
  3. The safe & steady growth in the amniotic sack

And other causes ….

So, if we accept that everything that has a beginning has a CAUSE, then… it is just difficult to see that something caused our universe to begin.

Question is: WHO or WHAT caused the universe to begin? If you’re an atheist and say, nothing “causes” it to begin, then, you demolish the fundamental statement of Law of Causality.

The altar of worship.
Some find their beauty, their truth in Religion of choice.
Their search for beauty is being ONE with the ONE.
Keep searching for your beauty. Your truth.
No one else can take your journey for you, but you.
Be brave. Slay your Goliath.

Religion and Science will always combat one another!

The market has been flooded with books, particularly over the last two decades, by Scientists describing a caged death match between Science and God. It seems, the latter (Science) winning, or at least chipping away at faith’s underlying verities.

Maybe, most people (like me), occupy the ‘middle ground’, we want it all: to cheer on science’s progress (for possible vaccination against the covid virus for example) but still practise humility on Sabbath; and also want access to MRIs and miracles …

Maybe, just maybe, there is widespread hope that science and God are actually in alignment .. in Harmony  – that, indeed, SCIENCE IS OF GOD.

One way to know YOU is to understand God.
God is in you.
God is you.

There is room for both God & Science.

Science (my first degree was in Mathematics & Physics) & God should not be viewed as at loggerheads. Yes, it could be viewed that Professor Dawkins basic account of evolution is incompatible with God’s having designed it but I see differently.

I see Mr Dawkins basic account as being rather compatible with God’s doing. If God is external to nature … if he is outside the realm of Nature, then, it follows that he is also outside the concept of space and time.

So, if God can see the whole time continuum, even me writing this … it follows that he could see the future and still give us free will to carry out our own desires.

So, we could simply agree that Science 🧫 & God are asking a different set of questions. There is room for both God & Science.

Without a doubt , science is a great & noble thing to pursue but leave the “arrogance at the door”. Science certainly helps “unpack the universe that God brought into existence…

But ….

That is not enough, as we need to know God , personally.

And it is through Jesus Christ that we learn and understand God … through his life,.. his death at resurrection.

The most important thing is ….

Scientific knowledge is good & is only a fraction of the knowledge we gain.

The most important thing is … the personal knowledge or relational knowledge we have and make , through being human … through our connections

Personal knowledge of your friends, family, your Mum & dad … your world mates, your church members … your neighbours.

Ultimately, in life .,, that is the most important Thing of all – our Personal knowledge through connecting and sharing …

And … trying to know God. … through his only son, Jesus Christ.

So, what do you believe in?

I’ll stop 🛑 there ….

Cheers 🍻 & ahoy!

The old captain Viking Pirate 🏴‍☠️ ⚔️Evangelist muscled 💪monk …& the healthy co-existence of God and Science.

Questions … questions and more questions … as we sail through the Seas of Life.

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