stock here: not a huge fan of violence, and this type of fighting could really result in injury. But this guy has never been on my radar. I trained in Aikido for many years, and my Sensei was the student of Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido (often translated as “the way of life”)

Quick story: Many westerners adopt Aikido thinking that it is elegant and 95% defensive, and more like “a dance”. The Aikidoists from the main Dojo in Tokyo came to train and celebrate with us in Hawaii. They trained hard, like full on martial arts, our best blackbelts were thrown and battered and “complained” that the Tokyo blackbelts were too hard on them. There is a lesson there, maybe ask Stephen Seagal, who is amazing but also somewhat questionable.

Story pau.

Now check out this fighter, unbelievable striking power, even brutal. Even his name is brutal.

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From Skeptic to Believer: My Journey Through Science, Supernatural Experiences, and Faith

When I was younger, I was the ultimate skeptic. I was the guy who needed to see things to believe them. I thought religion was foolish, and I believed I was the sole master of my own fate.

If you told my younger self that I would eventually return to faith, I would have laughed. But after a series of undeniable experiences—from scientific evidence of the soul to personal encounters with the supernatural—everything changed. Here is how I went from complete disbelief to finding solid answers.

1. The Childhood Question That Stuck With Me

Growing up, I dealt with severe health issues. I had terrible eczema and severe asthma that put me in bed for a week every few months. Because of heavy medications, much of my childhood memory is a blur.

However, one specific moment from when I was 10 years old remains crystal clear:

I was sitting in class, completely captivated by a tree outside the window. When the teacher snapped at me and asked what I was doing, I asked him: “Where do trees come from?”

He scoffed and said someone planted it. I replied, “I get that, but if you go to the tree before that, and the tree before that, all the way back… where do trees originally come from?”

At the time, nobody had an answer for me. I didn’t know it then, but that single question about origin and existence would come full circle decades later.

2. The Evidence for the Soul: Near-Death Experiences

As a teenager, I heard about Near-Death Experiences (NDEs). Skeptics often write them off as chemical reactions in a dying brain. But a documented case involving a Dutch surgeon in 1987 completely challenged my perspective.

The surgeon had patients who died on the operating table and were brought back to life. Repeatedly, these patients described floating to the ceiling and looking down. They could recall precise details, such as which tools were handed to which nurses while they were clinically dead.

To test this scientifically, the surgeon taped specific geometric shapes—a square, a triangle, and crosses—on top of the high surgical lights where no one standing in the room could see them.

When a revived patient accurately described those exact symbols on top of the lights, it became clear: consciousness and the human soul exist independent of the physical body.

3. Paranormal Encounters and Sleep Paralysis

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, after moving to California, my family and I experienced strange occurrences in our home.

• Unexplained Sightings: We later learned the previous owner had passed away in the house. Multiple family members independently saw figures or felt a distinct presence.
• Physical Pressure: I experienced harrowing episodes where I would wake up in the dark, completely unable to move my chest, feeling an intense physical weight smothering me.
• Unexplainable Phenomena: One evening, while checking the house, I watched a heavy, thick curtain fly straight up against the ceiling on its own—despite every door and window being completely locked.

Experiencing these unexplainable, malevolent forces firsthand forced me to recognize that the spiritual realm is very real.

4. Connecting the Dots: The Return to Faith

In 2014, while at a conference in Las Vegas, I listened to a speaker named Leo Severino discuss how the universe was designed.

He opened his talk with an illustration: he tracked a fallen leaf back to its branch, back to the tree before it, and back through time to trace its ultimate origin.

Instantly, my mind flashed back to my 10-year-old self sitting in that classroom asking where the first tree came from. It felt like a seed planted decades earlier had finally bloomed. The logical chain of cause and effect led to one clear conclusion: something cannot come from nothing. There is a Creator.

Shortly after, my wife and I decided to get married in the Church. Looking back, what I once thought were random coincidences—specific churches, dates, and life events—were actually steps guiding me back toward faith.

Final Thoughts

I used to think freedom meant doing whatever I wanted without accountability. But looking back at where I started versus where I am now, I realize that seeking the truth requires keeping an open mind.

Whether it is the mystery of consciousness, the mathematical necessity of a First Cause, or personal encounters with things we cannot explain, there is far more to this life than what meets the eye.

Next Steps & Discussion

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