Meditations on God

Change Of Choice
If energy can only be changed, not created or destroyed, we must decide what kind of change we are going to make with the energy we have.

We do not get to choose all of the input we receive in our lives. We do not get to decide the circumstances we are born into and we only have some modicum of say about the relationships we have and the joys and tragedies we experience along the way.

Whether we like it or not, all of this has an effect on us. It changes us. In turn, as we change, we perceive and interact with the world differently and, through us, the world is then changed as well.

Much of the time, this all happens without us really being conscious of it, without us even noticing it, and without us having much control over it. At some point, however, if we want to lead lives of purpose, we must stop to acknowledge our role in the cycle of change.

While all that happens to us may not always be within our control, once we recognize that our circumstances, our relationships, and our experiences affect us and the way we affect others, the onus is on us to decide exactly what kind of change we want to facilitate.

Every moment is an opportunity to take what we experience and to transform it into something else, into something positive or something negative, into something better or something worse, into either love or fear.

Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.

Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

All photos by Robert Van Valkenburgh unless otherwise noted.

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July 13, 2020

change, choice, compassion, decisions, experience, experiences, fear, love, meaning, purpose, relationships, transform, transformation
From Picture To Post (Or From Post To Picture)
One of the greatest joys of the creative process, at least for me, is surprise.

Among other creative outlets, I write every day. Some days, I start with a clear idea as to what I want to write about. On other days, I simply start and wait to see what happens.

In either case, what comes out may not be what I originally intended or expected. In fact, I feel like most of the writing I am most pleased with came through me more than it actually came from me. Quite often, if I am honest, I am more of a participating observer to the writing process than the actual author of it.

Even when I do have a clear idea about a topic I wish to explore or expound on in one of my posts, it usually starts with nothing more than a single sentence. That single idea may lead me down a straight path wherein the rest of the words come to me quite easily. It may lead me down many different paths, some of which will become other posts. Or, it may leave me struggling for understanding, for clarity, and for resolution.

For anyone reading my writing on a somewhat consistent basis, it will be observed that there is always an image that accompanies the post. This is as much a creative-aesthetic decision, that is, I like taking pictures of things I find interesting and sharing the pictures that I take, as it is a source of inspiration. Sometimes the picture inspires the post. Sometimes the post inspires the picture.

Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.

Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

All photos by Robert Van Valkenburgh unless otherwise noted.

Follow Robert Van Valkenburgh and Holistic Budo on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and LinkedIn.

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July 12, 2020

aesthetics, art, author, blogger, blogging, creation, creative, creative process, creativity, Inspiration, muse, music, photography, photos, writer, writing
On Medium And Materials
We may have a vision for what we want to create, but the medium and the materials we are working with have a say as well.

Between inspiration, intention, and creation, things often change, and the way that our work manifests may be totally different than what we first envisioned.

This is part of the creative process and it is okay.

Our job is to pay attention to what presents itself and how.

Our role is to honor what the medium and the materials are trying to tell us, show us, and teach us.

Listen to them. Look at them. Hear them. See them. Feel them. Taste them.

Explore them. Play with them. Argue with them. Grapple with them.

Love them. Hate them. Question them. Submit to them.

But, in the end, when we have done all that we can do and our work is on the page, the canvas, the recording, the film, or the plate, we must accept that the art is going to be what it is going to be, whether or not we cooperate.

Resisting the art will not make better art.

Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.

Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

All photos by Robert Van Valkenburgh unless otherwise noted.

Follow Robert Van Valkenburgh and Holistic Budo on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and LinkedIn.

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July 11, 2020

art, artist, cooking, creation, creative, creative process, creativity, hearing, listening, looking, materials, medium, music, painting, resistance, seeing, writing
Consistency Gives Us Context
If we want to know what works and what does not, if we want to know what matters and makes the most difference in our lives, we must first begin with some degree of consistency.

By establishing a consistent baseline of values, principles, and behaviors, it becomes much easier to determine the causes of our success or failure.

Consistency gives us the ability to add or subtract new ideas, new input, and new actions into our lives in a way that allows us to test their affect on us, on the way we feel, on the way we perform, and on the way we interact with others.

By starting with consistent controls, we can add or subtract variables to or from our lives and produce some relatively reliable data points with regards to efficacy and outcome.

The easiest way to do this is by first with limitations, restrictions, and boundaries on the aspects of our lives we wish to examine and improve.

In other words, if we want to get down to the causes and conditions of our success or failure, we must remove that which is nonessential and then add things back slowly and deliberately.

This is true whether we are talking about diet, exercise, productivity, or even creativity.

By first eliminating all that is not essential from our lives, we are then better able to determine for ourselves what truly matters or does not, what is necessary or is not, and what adds benefit or value to our lives or what causes undesirable negative consequences.

Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.

Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

All photos by Robert Van Valkenburgh unless otherwise noted.

Follow Robert Van Valkenburgh and Holistic Budo on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and LinkedIn.

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July 10, 2020

boundaries, consistency, efficacy, essential, essentialism, improvement, limitations, problem solving, restrictions, success, systems
The Joyful Mystery Of Creativity
We do not necessarily get to choose what inspires us.

If we are dedicated to doing creative work, we must rely to some degree or another on inspiration. We do not always know where it will come from. It may be intrinsic or it may be extrinsic.

Our job is to show up, to be willing, to pay attention, to look, listen, and to act when it appears.

We must honor the process, respect the inspiration, follow it, channel it, organize it, and allow it to come to form through us.

We may want to go in one direction with our work, but inspiration may take us somewhere totally different, somewhere new, somewhere foreign, and somewhere we never could have predicted with our previous knowledge or vision.

The beauty of the creative process is in the mysteriousness of it, in the discovery of it, and in the divinity of it.

For those of us who are fortunate enough to be witness to our own creative process, to participate in it, and to experience it, we cannot help but to also be in awe of it.

This is neither pride nor vanity. If we are honest with ourselves, we know that we are merely willing participants on journey we do not fully understand.

Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.

Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

All photos by Robert Van Valkenburgh unless otherwise noted.

Follow Robert Van Valkenburgh and Holistic Budo on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and LinkedIn.

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July 9, 2020

art, artist, creation, creative, creative process, creativity, divinity, Inspiration, journey, muse, mystery, willingness

Change Of Choice

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From Picture To Post (Or From Post To Picture)

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On Medium And Materials

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Consistency Gives Us Context

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The Joyful Mystery Of Creativity

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