John Kevin's Journal: BLAME IT ON CHRISTMAS...

Saturday, December 20, 2014

BLAME IT ON CHRISTMAS...

I am Honored that Spirit has chosen to create ME.
~Jonathan-Lockwood Huie

GOOD MORNING!!!

DEAR DIARY: Well, another weekend is upon us, and I didn't even tell y'all about my last weekend!!! Well, that's because I was working my ass off all week to get ready for christmas and well... I guess I'll just tell you all about it NOW.

Not that there's too much to tell. Last Saturday, after capoeira class in the morning t AGAPE, I went through Marina Del Rey, to Venice Beach, to Santa Monica Pier & The Promenade, then back home.

Here's some photos I took that day...

Now this was a little crazy.

On my way home, I took the Red line to Civic Center station to catch the bus back home, and when I got on, the whole train was filled with Santas! Take a look for yourselves....

They all got off at Pershing Square. I was tempted to follow them and find out what the HELL was going on, but I was a little tired.

HUMANITY'S TEAM

December is a month of reflection and preparation. It is the arbitrary end of a cycle we call one year. This natural cycle is one way to measure your movement along your path of life. It is an opportunity to look back upon the experiences you have had: the successes, the missed opportunities, and the memorable moments. It is a good time to ask yourself some questions that will empower you to ensure that the next year is even more fun and rewarding than the past year.

How have I become more loving? How much more do I love my self? How effective am I in remaining focused on my true purpose in life? What experiences would enable me to become more focused on my purpose? What will make next year more playful and fun? In what ways can I share more of my gifts with the world? How can my sharing create more abundance and satisfaction for me and everyone I touch? What am I deeply committed to that will have an impact on the consciousness of the world?

When these types of questions are deeply pondered, looking both at the past year and anticipating the new one, it can provide the stimulus for action in the present moment that is focused, committed and effective in helping you fully enjoy the wonderful adventure called your life.

Diciembre es un mes de reflexión y de preparación. Es el final arbitrario de un ciclo que llamamos año. Este ciclo natural es una manera de medir tu movimiento a lo largo de tu camino de vida. Es una ocasión para mirar hacia atrás a las experiencias que has tenido: los éxitos, las oportunidades perdidas, y los momentos memorables. Es un buen momento para hacerte algunas preguntas que te ayuden a asegurarte de que el año próximo será aún más divertido y gratificante que el año pasado

. ¿Cómo me he vuelto más amoroso? ¿Cuánto más me amo a mí mismo? ¿Qué tan efectivo soy en mantenerme centrado en mi verdadero propósito de vida? ¿Qué experiencias me permitirían centrarme más en mi propósito de vida? ¿Qué podría hacer al año que viene más lúdico y divertido? ¿De qué manera podría compartir más mis dones con el mundo? ¿Cómo podrían mis intercambios con los demás crear más abundancia y satisfacción para mí y para todas las personas que toque? ¿Con qué me siento profundamente comprometido que podría tener un impacto en la conciencia del mundo?

Si reflexionas profundamente sobre este tipo de cuestiones, contemplando el pasado año y anticipando el nuevo, esto te puede aportar un estímulo para la acción en el momento presente; centrado, comprometido y eficaz en ayudarte a disfrutar plenamente de esta maravillosa aventura llamada vida.

--Ted Murray
FROM HUMANITY'S TEAM
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE HUMANITY'S TEAM NEWSLETTER

Now on sunday, there was Capoeira in Griffith Park with Charles... And this time, I had a classmate...

And we had another visitor from CAPOEIRA BRASIL! Her name's Lizzy Mora. She was walking up the path playing with her dog during the music portion of the class, then she came over and joined us. It was magical. After the music class, we talked for a bit, exchanged info, and she was kind enough to pose for a picutre.

In case you were wondeing, CAPOEIRA BRASIL is a large, international Capoeira Group. Here in L.A., the group is headed by MESTRE BONECO, who has a school @ 5557 Washington Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90016 Here's a video about the recent Batizado they had in Downtown L.A.

If you want to know more about Capoeira Brasil, please check out their websites:

Capoeira Brasil Los Angeles: http://www.capoeirabrasil.com
Capoeira Brasil Downtown LA: http://www.capoeiradtla.com
Capoeira Brasil East: http://capoeirabrasileast.com

But Anyway, Lizzy, wherever you are, It was wonderful meeting you and playing with you in our music class. And I'm sure I speak for Charles and Substance when I say that you're Welcome to come by anytime, and I hope We see you again in the near future!

And speaking of music class...

Now, you may be wondering why I'm holding this little rock like it's a diamond...

Well to me it is. I found this rock at venice beach, and thought it would make a great Dobrao. And boy, was I right! A dobrao is a little rock or large coin that you use to help play a berimbau.

Now I THINK I'm starting to get the Angola rhythm down, but I'm still making a lot of mistakes... But hey, at least I'm hitting the string, and NOT my fingers anymore... That's progress, right?

So, if any of you want to learn this beautiful art, we are in Griffith Park, across the street from the golf course, near the Greek Theater, on Vermont Canyon Road going up towards the Observatory from 12:00PM to 3:00PM. Usually.

And there are also classes at the AGAPE CENTER, @ 5700 Buckingham Pkwy, Culver City, CA 90230.

Now Last Monday after work, I went to The Kathmandu Boutique in Santa Monica, Ca. for their Quarterly Gathering.

I didn't take much photos this time, as you can see...

Maybe it was because a long, hard day at work, but I just didn't have the joy, and sense of peace that I usually have when I go there. I had a few things on my mind and they wouldn't go away, so as a result, I just wasn't myself. I couldn't bring myself to eat some of the delicious nepalese food, or listen to the bands playing, or to even hold a decent conversation.

But it WAS great to see my beautiful friends Danni El and Jessica Bell again...

And my friend Julie Jewels Bertrand, who by the way, has written a wonderful article on her blog about her journey with REIKI -----CLICK HERE TO READ IT-----

if you want to know more about her, please check out her web site @ jewelsbertrand.com

Well, that was my weekend. I'm getting ready to go to AGAPE now and start my weekend, so I'll tell you all about it later.

BYE FOR NOW!

Now, I'm gonna end this blog with the most beautiful song in the whole, entire world.

------------CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT------------

What the Toltec call "surrendering to the angel of death" can also be called "detachment."
~don Miguel Ruiz

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What is a Warrior?

I see through different eyes.

I see a bigger picture when others see only grey skies.

Though many can’t conceive it,

I stand... facing the wind.

My bravery not from fighting,

but from my strength within,

I am a Warrior.

I will walk the extra mile,

Not because I have to,

Because it’s worth my while.

I know that I am different,

When I’m standing on a crowded street.

I know the fullness of winning;

I’ve tasted the cup of defeat.

I am a Warrior.

They say I walk with ease.

Though trained for bodily harm,

My intentions are for peace.

The world may come and go,

But a different path I’ll choose.

A path I will not stray from,

No matter... Win or Lose.

If you've been in the Martial Arts for a while, you'll find many people who would like to believe in the idea that just because they practice the Martial Arts, they are some kind of Warriors.(I like to call them Wannabee Warriors).

But what exactly is a Warrior? I mean, throughout history, there have been many different types of warriors, all having different Codes of Honor that they live by (And in case you're wondering, yes, there is a Warrior Creed that I follow and try to live up to also...) . But if you really try to define what a warrior is, there seems to be no one answer to that question. In fact, there seems to be many answers, almost as many answers as people you ask.

So, what I did was provide some links to some different websites about different warriors and types of warriors throughout history. Hell, I even posted links to web sites about Dan Millman and Carlos Castaneda for you "Spiritually Aware" types. Perhaps if you look through them, you'll find a good definition of a warrior for yourself...

And for you Wannabee Warriors out there... Some of the links I put up are to Law Enforcement & Military websites. If you really want to be warriors, Check out those links and become a police officer, or go join the armed forces. They need you!!!

FROM WIKIPEDIA, THE FREE ENCYCLOPEDIA: Silat is a collective word for indigenous martial arts of the Malay Archipelago and Malay Peninsula of Southeast Asia. Originally developed in what are now Indonesia, peninsular Malaysia, southern Thailand and Singapore, it was also traditionally practiced in Brunei, the Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam. As a result, it is closely related to other Southeast Asian martial arts including krabi krabong and eskrima. Practitioners are called pesilat. The Chinese fusion of silat is known as kuntao.

There are hundreds of different styles but they tend to focus either on strikes, joint manipulation, bladed weapons, throws, animal-based techniques, or some combination thereof. Silat is one of the sports included in the Southeast Asian Games and other region-wide competitions. Training halls are overseen by separate national organizations in each of the main countries the art is practiced. These are Ikatan Pesilat Indonesia (IPSI) from Indonesia, Persekutuan Silat Kebangsaan Malaysia (PESAKA) from Malaysia, Persekutuan Silat Brunei Darussalam (PERSIB) from Brunei and Persekutuan Silat Singapura (PERSISI) from Singapore.

Below, I added some links to various websites and video clips so you can get a better understanding of what Silat is about.

One of the gravest disservices we have done to the people of our world is to have provided them with a poor education. We do not teach students to think.

If you do not learn to effectively process information (and it is a learned skill) then you will always be at the mercy of people promoting their favorite dogmas.

The problem is, that all kinds of people would like you to uncritically believe what they are telling you about the way the world is. Many of them pretend that such uncritical belief is "faith", which it is not.

If you do not have the tools to discover what a given person or group is really trying to sell you, then you are libel to be making some really wacky presuppositions about the world, which will in turn become the heuristics by which you operate.

About half of what we perceive as "intelligence" is the ability to process information effectively, so if you want to be "smarter" then all you have to do is improve in that area.

While this is pretty simple, it is not necessarily easy. In my experience, most people are conditioned to a way of thinking already comfortable to the individual. When a person tries to change the way they process information they run a good chance of evoking a "threat response" from within themselves.

The wonderful thing about the internet is that you have access to so much useful information. If you're reading this, then you are able to self-educate on any number of subjects to a remarkable degree, and do it almost for free.

And that's what this section is about. I added some links here so anybody with a brain can study and learn to use it.

Remember 2 things people:

"I NOT ONLY HAVE THE RIGHT TO THINK AT ALL TIMES, BUT THE RESPONSIBILITY TO DO SO."

"IF I DON'T THINK FOR MYSELF, THEN SOMEBODY ELSE WILL DO IT FOR ME".

There are over 10,000 different religions in the world, 150 of which have at least 1 millions followers. Which one is the truth? "Christianity!" someone says, but even Christianity alone has over 38,000 different denominations. So which interpretation is the TRUE one?

Religion is not the anchor-point of truth. The truth always existed. Religion is man-made, meaning that the truth existed prior to both man and religion. Religion may be an effective catalyst for some individuals who desire to invest their minds into ideological association for whatever reason, but it is not a necessary nor a sufficient condition for a relationship with God, and understanding of the Creator, or the inner workings of the self.

Spirituality is not a belief. It is a state of consciousness, a mental framework with which you approach the world. Spirituality is in fact what birthed religion through the attempted organization of experience and wisdom, which ended up being the hierarchical stratification of various belief systems that we call religion.

Don't let the commitments you have to a religious belief system in your mind take you away from your natural state of Being with all things. You were a human before you learned religion. God's light existed in you before you learned this through some spiritual guru. Does this mean don't read or believe what Jesus of Buddha had to say? Of course not. Just make sure you take the time and effort to experience the rose instead of just believing in the accounts of others. This is not an attack on any religion by any means, and religion has brought many people happiness and the experience of being close to one's creator, but don't let it cause segregation away from our inherent unity.

As for my religious beliefs, well...

I'm a CHRISTIAN, in the sense that I believe that personal redemption is feasible for everyone and that universal love makes that salvation possible.

I'm a MUSLIM, in the sense that I believe that there's only 1 GOD, ans that all are equal under this one GOD. And, althought I'm not jewish, I do have a respect for JUDAISM.

I'm a BUDDHIST, in the sense that the seeds of enlightenment are within all of us as an integral part of our DNA, and that we are capable of reaching the Absolute through our own efforts.

I'm a HINDU, in the sense that I believe that GOD takes many shapes and forms to reach out to mankind.

I'm a TAOIST, in the sense that I have a total belief in the reality of Yin & Yang Energies.

And I also have a total belief in the world of spirits, and what we can learn from them, so I guess that makes me an ANIMIST.

I never want to tell someone what to think, for ones spirituality is a private matter between that person and their creator.

My goal here is only to show all of you the history and traditions of the many, many ways the people of the world have reached out to god.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

BLAME IT ON CHRISTMAS...

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