May we all see each other through the eyes of compassion
May we love others
Especially those lost in hatred, greed and fear
They don’t understand the destructive nature of their ways
They need the healing power of love
So instead of fighting them or trying to prove that I’m right
Let me show them love through grace and compassion
With love,
Johnny
You are a miracle
Many stars had to die for you to exist
Millions of your ancestors had to meet for you to smile
Many minerals, plants and animals had to die for you to be alive
The miracle of life is all around and within us at every moment
To touch the miracle of life is to touch the divinity of everything at once
A single cell becomes a human being
A single mustard seed sprouts into a massive tree
Housing many birds and other life forms
The practice of mindfulness is to get in touch with the miracle of life
Too often fear, hatred and greed keep us from this nourishing energy of love
If we can feel this spiritually
There is no fear or anguish
Only pure love and joy
With Aloha,
Johnny
The baby sees life through the lens of love
They see everything as a miracle
Curious about everything and everyone
They touch the divine each day without resistance
They touch the deepest reality
Greed, hatred and fear haven’t harmed them yet
Their mind practices non discrimination
They have their Buddha nature intact
So for us to enter the Kingdom of God
For us to experience Nirvana
We must return to our original mind
The original mind is the infinitely compassionate mind
This original mind can touch reality deeply
Forgive instantly & love unconditionally
It can experience true joy out of the ordinary
But for us to preserve the original compassionate mind, we need a higher Self to guide the inner child and protect it from the greed, hatred and fear in the world
So we need someone like Jesus to preserve our Buddha nature
Our original mind is the mind of Jesus
The mind of a Buddha
My life’s purpose is to “Live Buddha, live Christ”.
With Aloha,
Johnny
The Buddha and Jesus lived a message of love, compassion and forgiveness. Their message was a way out of unnecessary suffering caused by the egos destructive nature. The ego is run by fear, hatred, and greed. I imagine the ego has a group of hurt, lonely, angry, sensitive, and greedy children inside our inner family. Those with strong addictions have hurt children running the show but most of society is being ran by parentified children frozen in trauma. Some become narcissistic, some cold emotionless, and some develop addictions but they are all responses to trauma. Jesus and the Buddha taught a way out of the ego and into the inner Self that heals all these wounded children. It forgives them, loves them, and holds them tenderly like a mother to a crying infant. We first must surrender to the battle in our mind. This is the first major step in our transformation. We admit we are powerless and need help from others. The ego wants to do life on its own, never wanting help from others out of fear and arrogance. We think we are Gods until we surrender fully to our suffering. We need a higher power to help guide us now because we realize the ego always takes us to complete destruction and suffering. Our will never leads to happiness, we need something bigger than ourselves to believe in. You don’t have to call it God, you can call it mother nature, the Universe, etc. It doesn’t matter what we call the mysterious force that created me and keeps the universe together but we have to be grateful for it. This is key to our transformation and resurrection into a more kind peaceful joyful person. Keep surrendering each day and the God of your understanding will fill you up with pure joy, you won’t need drugs, casual sex or consumption to fill the hole inside you anymore. This world needs more of us to wake up to our unnecessary suffering and delusional thinking that we are an all knowing God. Pleasure seeking isn’t the way towards true happiness. Practicing self love, compassion and forgiveness is the way. Shine that light into the darkness of your soul. The darkness of hatred, greed and fear.
With aloha,
Johnny
Jesus once said a rich person’s chances of getting into the Kingdom of God is like a camel going through the eye of a needle.
This quote makes many in the Western world cringe because our whole society is based on greed.
Greed takes us away from Jesus’s message of compassion, love, humility, and grace.
From a young age we are taught from society that the accumulation of wealth is the source of all joy.
That we should strive to be a millionaire and buy luxurious goods, expensive vacations, and fancy candle lit meals at five star restaurants.
Nothing could be further from Jesus’s message of the narrow road and what the Buddha taught as the middle path.
Both wise men were speaking of the destructive nature of greed and fear.
Greed takes us away from the smooth sailing towards the pure joy of living a simple, humble, and grateful life centered on giving to others.
Jesus and the Buddha were both born into nobility but chose the narrow/middle path between extreme wealth and extreme deprivation that also was around in their times.
So look around you? Do you see much happiness in those who seek only pleasure? Pleasure seeking in my life only leads to self destruction and unnecessary suffering.
Jesus and the Buddha both taught a way out of suffering. A way towards resurrection and rebirth on this planet. By surrendering to our suffering like Jesus on the cross we can be reborn right now. By living like them through the narrow/middle path we can relieve our suffering and be very joyful and peaceful people.
Letting go of the need to strive is a huge challenge for most of us in the west. It took me many years to find serenity just being myself, not striving to be someone else. The only striving worthwhile is striving to live like Jesus or the Buddha. Strive to be the best version of yourself and you will naturally be very joyful and want to help others who still suffer deeply.
With aloha,
Johnny
My life is impermanent
Knowing this, I vow to live deeply each day
Love unconditionally
Have deep compassion for all, even those who harm others
Forgive anyone who has harmed me
Including myself
Let this be my legacy
My legacy will not have dollar signs or job titles
My legacy is not purely words
But my actions
With Aloha,
Johnny
Every religion or philosophy warns humanity of the destructive qualities of greed. While I’m not religious myself, I honour the ancient wisdom found in each of them. Why does greed blind us? When we focus only on more money, we often sacrifice our own happiness, health, and relationships to achieve it. It blinds us from seeing the bigger picture of life. There is always a trade off.
We crave more money thinking it will satisfy us but it often leaves us craving more. A good friend once told me that “it is like drinking poison because you’re thirsty.” There is nothing wrong or immoral about money. We need it to survive and even thrive. But how much is really necessary for happiness? Well that depends on your time, place and circumstances. According to me, it’s a lot less than we are told by movies, commercials, and western society.
I fall into this trap many times & have to relearn this ancient wisdom of “less is more”. Greed has blinded me many times. My spiritual journey has always been more about unlearning self destructive habits & thoughts that I picked up along my way in my childhood & early adulthood.
With aloha,
Johnny
Life comes with challenges for us to learn from. I have had many challenges come my way from my many experiences in college, breakups, moving to Hawaii, New Zealand and Australia. I always had a great attitude about it because you learn so much about yourself by experiences; good & bad. You can always make a new decision today that can better your life.
I never doubted my decisions until this year. Early in this year I kept making decisions out of fear that put me in living situations that compromised my health & happiness. In February, I started feeling hopeless & lost. I lost faith in my own intuition. I felt like I lost my own ability to make decisions for me thrive physically, mentally, and spiritually. It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe. It’s like you’re lost in a maze and you keep questioning every decision. This can lead to feelings of hopelessness, fear, and despair. Eventually you question yourself so much that you just stop trying & depression sets in. You start living your life paralyzed by fear & self doubt.
I know this situation will end eventually, all is impermanent. A huge part of me wants to move back to Australia & start making decisions out of love instead of fear of failure or not having enough money. A part of me wants to move back to the central coast of California and a part of me wants to stay in Colorado Springs with family. I keep bouncing back n forth in my decision. Thank you to my family & friends for your patience & love while I try to figure out the next step in my life. 🙏🏻
With aloha,
Johnny
Entitled, bitter, and upset
I cause my own suffering
What’s the antidote for this mental condition?
Gratitude
How could I lose sight of all the things I could be grateful for?
Grateful for my job
Grateful for friends and family
Grateful for life & it’s infinite possibilities
The conditions of happiness are always available at any moment
Even through the darkest times we can cultivate joy through gratitude
We can bring our breath back to this exact moment
Peace & joy can only be found in the here and now
With aloha,
Johnny
Attachment is at the root of all suffering
Attachment to youth
Attachment to wealth
Attachment to our spouse, family & friends
Attachment to life itself
If attachment is the root of all suffering..
What is the root of joy?
Freedom is the root of joy
Freedom not to hurt ourself or others but freedom from fear, anger, and hatred running and ruining our lives
Liberation from old ways of thinking & doing that make us miserable
Today is the day to start changing, even small changes can lead to huge results in time
When we look at nature, we see that everything is impermanent.
Even our own sun has a shelf life
So why do live as if relationships, wealth, family members, and our own life will last forever?
If we live a full life, one life is enough.
With aloha,
Johnny
The Narrow Path 