jiujitsu

Calmness is not often attained when we’re surrounded by serenity. It can actually be quite excruciating to feel calm when the storm ceases. But when we are ready to let go of our chaos, the doors to our sacred garden emerge. Creative Soul, Erik Thor Bartkowiak, is inviting us into his verdant garden, guiding us to embrace being friends with silent moments to break the chains that anchor us to chaotic loops.

A native of Boston, Erik is an Army veteran with 10 years of service (thank you for your service, Erik!), a retired firefighter, a high school teacher, and a professor of jiu-jitsu. Erik has the bravery of an eagle wrapped in the skin of a panther with the heart of a hummingbird, giving his all to every task he has ever embarked upon.

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Everyone has experiences that can easily be turned into a movie, and Erik has some mind-blowing ones, which we can read in his memoir, Becoming The Warrior In The Garden. From childhood anecdotes to bizarre encounters with dangerous men, unbelievable rescue missions, and his most recent achievements in jiu-jitsu, Becoming The Warrior In The Garden is sure to keep readers on edge and fascinated from beginning to end.

What started as a random idea Erik and his kids had, of listing all the jobs he’s ever had, became the seedling of his creative force. Erik explains that one day, while jotting down the jobs, his friend Glen noticed and asked what he was doing. Impressed by the long list of interested positions, Glen suggested that he write a book. Erik didn’t overthink it, and the book was a go right away.

“It was remarkably easy to write it,” Erik recalls how words filled the blank pages without hesitation. Within ten days, Erik had finished the book, and on November 1st, 2025, Becoming The Warrior In The Garden was self-published and is now available on Amazon, with an audiobook underway.

Erik not only recounts some intense and compelling moments in his life, but he walks us through his magic-like journey with plant medicine and the benefits of letting the wind take the reins to free the mind, body, and spirit from needing conflict to thrive. “I believe the book was written for me to read it,” Erik shares that, after reading his own words, he was faced with how he had been living his life. As if it felt unnatural for him to be without conflict and enjoy life. As if one couldn’t exist without the other.

“Sometimes, taking risks is not so much about the task itself but about losing ourselves. That’s the risk -to stop being who we think we are if we don’t do something we want.” It became clear to Erik that an internal renewal needed to take place to find true fulfilment, adding that, “the lessons I took from the book are: How to go from being the calm in the storm?

How can someone operate in chaotic situations and have full calmness, but not have any calmness when there’s no chaos? How to respond instead of reacting? It takes a complete transformation to balance the continuous flow of life.”

Erik gives credit to the art of jiu-jitsu and the guidance from his wise and legendary professors, because each stage has allowed him to evolve at a character level, more so than the physical one. Colleagues and friends he met along the way encouraged him to find the right path at the right moment, and step by step, showed him the light when darkness was all there was. His wife, Brenda, and his kids are his heaven-on-earth -his treasures, and they have been his constant sunlight, supporting him in immeasurable ways.

“I know it’s my job to pass it on to others. Creating an eco-system on becoming a warrior in the garden,” this is Erik’s goal, to be there for anyone who is going through the same conflict. His vision includes building “The 3rd Place” to host workshops for professional and personal development and be an interactive community for diverse groups who are looking for a positive balance in their lives.

The bitter-sweet nectar of life can help us sprout or wither, but what we make of our life’s story is what validates our purpose on this Earth. Erik is an admirable warrior of light who has transmuted his chaos into medicine. He’s teaching us to honour wearing our golden armour without needing to go into a battle, and instead, to step into solid ground and Become The Warrior In The Garden.

“If you’re thriving on pressure but struggling to be present when things slow down, there’s a way to get there, but you need to understand how to get there. You’ve got to reverse engineer your spirit without giving up on what makes you you. Using the mind, body, and soul approach to accomplish this.” Erik Thor Bartkowiak

We often search for and do things that can help us feel happy, and sometimes the feeling doesn’t last long, but every day we can find reasons to smile if we give it a chance. Creative Soul Logan is a cheer creator, and he is sharing the elixir of happiness through songs that carry an important message, setting us up for a joyful experience.

Logan is a Musician, Motivator, and Hypeman, from Maui, Hawaii, living on the Big Island. He’s also a Jiu-Jitsu professor, runs an academy for children, and dedicates time to teaching music to kids at local schools. Logan plays drums and ukulele and enjoys playing with words and freestyling on the spot.

He can be considered a modern-day troubadour, with the ability to observe a room full of people, feel their vibes, listen to what each person has to say, and within minutes, Logan can throw down a freestyle folky rap that would leave anyone stunt. The flow of his words has a way of threading parts of our souls with an enriched message, adding humor, sweetness to the heart, and a connection like no other.

Throughout his life, Logan dabbled with music and after college, he drifted from his passion, but eventually, he reconnected with it. “Those times were pivotal steps in learning strength in life to embrace music,” Logan recalls the difficulties throughout his journey of letting go of what no longer served him, embracing the person he wanted to become, and living up to his life’s purpose.

As a Jiu-Jitsu professor and a continuous student, Logan has built strong self-discipline on the mat and in his life in general, helping him become a better son, service member, and community member activist. Both music and Jiu-Jitsu allow him to be in a floating state of mind and keep him in a good balance.

For over 10 years, Logan has been volunteering with the Brotman Family at the Hawaii Songwriting Festival on the Big Island of Hawaii. He’s been playing a big part in the program, inspiring him to appreciate his talents as a musician.

Logan started the Project Happy Chair, online and in person, with a sign that reads ‘IF YOU WANT CHEER, SIT HERE’, inviting people to take a seat and be courageous to receive cheer free of charge. Logan asks two simple, yet open-ended questions: What do you do? and, What is your favorite? How the person answers them, helps him discover parts of them to improvise a cheering song.

“It’s the struggle and pain in our lives that connect us,” Logan explains that he tries to honor people with his songs, making them feel better no matter what they have gone or are going through. He loves that he gets to meet someone for the first time, learn about them, and heal them with music.

Project Happy Chair has allowed Logan to connect with people from Egypt, Canada, Saudi Arabia, England, and Chile, impacting their lives in the humblest ways. Even if it’s done virtually, we can feel the cheerful energy transmitting through the screen, taking us to a phenomenal level of happiness.

“I’m grateful to be in the developmental stage of my life and be a source of joy for others,” Logan keeps defining and giving shape to his discipline and self-improving, constantly trying to learn and do better, and sharing his gifts with others in an empowering and estimable way.

We can certainly use a good cheer to remind us what happiness feels like. No matter where we are located in the world, Logan is making sure that it becomes a reality, creating a memorable moment to lighten our days.