Category: pyschology

Keep Your Eyes On Love

No matter how dark it is outside of you

There is a light within you

Keep your eyes on this light

Let it guide you out of the darkness of greed, hatred and fear

Follow this light of unconditional love and you will experience true liberation and joy

Let it transform you and heal you from within

If we keep our eyes on the darkness we will sink into the depths of fear and despair

Keep your eyes on the seed of unconditional love within your own heart

Be still and know true unconditional love

With love,

Johnny

The Hurt Child Within

Behind every broken man or woman

Is a hurt child

Crying for help

This child needs our love

It needs tender care

This child needs our compassion

To heal from the deep pain it feels inside

We must remember this when encountering others

Behind every criminal or addict, is a hurt child

The most violent and destructive people are the most wounded

It is easy to show compassion to the vulnerable but it’s much harder to show it our enemies

But to preserve the deep compassion in our hearts we must show understanding to those who harms others

They suffer deeply

We don’t condone harmful behavior

But we don’t need our judgement or more punishment

They need our deep love and compassion

With aloha,

Johnny Hoffman

No Bad Parts

I have looked deep inside

Into my angry

Into my addictions & impulses

Into the darkest parts of me

What I saw was profound

These parts formed to protect me from loneliness, pain, and despair

They didn’t realize how much destruction they would cause in the long run

There are truly no bad parts of me

Or any of us

Even the darkest parts have their origin stories

Forged in trauma from childhood & early adulthood

The only way to heal them is to first acknowledge them

To love them, show compassion to them, and take care of them like a loving parent to a child

Check out the Internal Family System from Richard Schwartz & his book “No Bad Parts”.

With aloha,

Johnny

Question Everything.

Question society

Question your culture

Question your thoughts & behavior

Your diet

Your values

Your opinions, beliefs, and habits

Question if this is truly who you are

Or what you were taught by others

 

Life is too short to live it blindly

Not questioning what we have been told

Question everything, including yourself

Is this what I truly believe from logical evidence?

By love?

Or is it driven by greed, hatred, or fear?

The Creature of the Dark Forest.

One breath at a time

One step at a time

I ascend up a steep mountain

A forest so lush it blocks the sun

As I reach the summit

A sudden storm appears above

Rain & wind torment me to no end

I start to run as fast as I can

Anything to escape this dangerous storm

A dark creature appears from the darkest depths of the forest

What do you want? I shout

It doesn’t answer me

I begin to move towards the creature

Fear filling every ounce of my soul

The creature runs away as I chase it

I hear its painful screams echoing within the forest

I finally catch this creature

What…. I can’t believe what I’m seeing

The creature is the darkest part of me

He was banished to the depths of the darkest forests

Suppressed, ridiculed, & beaten the creature laid wounded on the ground

Sobbing uncontrollably

I extend my arm to him

Picking up the creature I was astonished by how frail & weak it had become from my neglect

Yet so powerful to cause such powerful storms

I carried the creature back to my home, letting him rest and repair from all of the abuse

Thank you, said the creature as it gained consciousness once more

Anytime, I replied.

I’m so sorry that I banished you to the dark forest

You are part of me & always will be

I promise to shed light into the darkest part of the forest

Expectations=Planned Failures.

I accept that I am flawed and not perfect… So why do I expect the world around me to be perfect?

I see myself and many others suffer from setting high expectations for the world around them. Expectations are planned failures. We expect ever traffic light will be green and every day for the sun to shine. Everyday at work has to run 100% smoothly. We expect the barista to be friendly and helpful. What if we could let go of our high expectations and just enjoy life in the now? We can focus our own energy on improving ourselves and the world around us instead of criticizing others. Sounds like paradise compared to everyday struggle of constantly being disappointed when our expectations aren’t met by our family, friends, and coworkers. We can raise the standards of what we can control(diet, friends, habits, perception) and let go of the expectations of perfection in the world around us.

Another beautiful side effect from this change in perception is that when things do go smoothly it’s so much more enjoyable than ever before. There’s much less complaining, victimization, and mindless gossip when we let go of our high expectations.

There’s no right or wrong way of living our life. But we can suffer much less by being mindful and open minded. We can’t change others into what we want them to be. We can only change our mind set towards others.

With Aloha,

Johnny Hoffman

Black Mirror.

I feel nauseous.

Anxious & depressed.

Fearful & full of doubt.

Violent & apathetic.

 

All day I stare into glowing screens.

Advertisements bombarding me at every moment.

One show is violent.

The next full of greed and anger.

Could this be the source of my discontent?

 

You are what you eat.

You are what you listen too.

You are what you watch on your glowing screens.

Self-Worth.

Views, likes, and followers

The new currency of self-worth.

 

How many followers does a person need to feel important?

How many likes do you need until you feel complete?

How many views till you’re content with your life?

Will you ever be satisfied?

 

Let go of the constant need for outside validation.

Let go of the obsession with likes, followers, and views.

 

Embrace your mission.

Embrace your purpose.

Your life is much more important the number of followers you have.

Quality over quantity. 

 

 

 

 

Prison Break.

Humanity builds their cellblock from within.

Years of fear, doubt, & worry.

Obsessed with control & power.

False sense of security.

 

Let’s plan a prison break.

Rip the shackles off tonight.

Let go of fear, worry, & doubt.

Embrace the path unknown.

 

Oh, how beautiful true freedom is!

One day worth more than a thousand in my cell.