John Kevin's Journal: HAPPY SATURDAY!!!

Saturday, January 17, 2015

HAPPY SATURDAY!!!

WASSUP FAMILY!!!

DEAR DIARY:

Well, here we are at the start of a brand new weekend, and I didn't write a blog post in like a week. You know, I'm grateful that there's a lot of work at my temp job right now, but damn man! I need a break. My supervisor thought so too, because he didn't come in today...

Well, I hope this weekend is beautiful and restful. It certainly has gotten off to a good start. My last weekend got off to a good start too...

About a week ago on Jan.8th, I went out to downtown L.A. for the Artwalk.

Here's some photos I took while there:

After the artwalk, I went out to hollywood and had one of the best nights I had in a long time. I'll tell you all about it in a minute, but first, check out this message from HUMANITY'S TEAM.

HUMANITY'S TEAM

Before we came into this world we co-created a divine plan for our life.

Time to press on now toward our divine destiny knowing God’s wind is at our back.

~

Antes de llegar a este mundo co -creamos un plan divino para nuestra vida.

Es tiempo de enfocarnos en nuestro destino divino sabiendo que está respaldado por Dios

--Steve Farrell
FROM HUMANITY'S TEAM
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE HUMANITY'S TEAM NEWSLETTER

O.K., if you read this blog, then you know that my friend and teacher Charles Williams is a skilled Capoeirista:

And, for you ladies out there, I bet this is something your man can't do...

Anyway, he's also the creator and host of an event called,

basically, Freedom of Speech Thursdays is an Artistic Collective for poets, musicians, lyricists, singers, etc. to come on out and show their talents, and it happens every Thursday night at a place called Sabor y Cultura, on Hollywood & Gramercy.

I've been meaning to go check it out for a long time now, and about a week ago, I FINALLY got my chance.

Now this video was taken a while back, but the guy on the video did perform while I was there. And he wasn't alone. The place was packed with musicians, comedians, poets, even a resident magician! Artists of all stripes, displaying their talents, and showing their fellow artists and the public what they can do.

Here's some photos I took of just a few of them:

Now, you remember these guys?

If you don't, CLICK HERE TO REFRESH YOUR MEMORY.

Well I didn't know it at the time, not only do they help Charles organize the event, they also perform there. Check it out:

Now when I was there, I only saw Rachel and Tran Se performed...

All in all, it was a very good night, and a perfect intro into what was promising to be a very good weekend, despite the rain. Too bad somebody had to fuck it up with work...

As soon as I finish typing this, I'm gonna get ready to go to AGAPE for my capoeira class, and then... let's see where the universe takes me.

For more info about this event, check out their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/FreedomOfSpeechThursdays

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

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

We are so attached to what we believe that we don't want to let go of our beliefs even if these beliefs are not true at all.
~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, January 17, 2015

HAPPY SATURDAY!!!

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