Look within your heart and mind
The healing source of infinite love is within you
Do not seek love outside of yourself
Look within
Seek only the barriers within your heart that keep you from its infinite source of healing
May we have the courage to dissolve these barriers and let the light of unconditional love vibrant through every cell of our body
With love
Johnny
I forgive my family
I forgive society
I forgive the casino owners
I forgive the credit card companies
I forgive the government
I forgive myself
To truly forgive others and ourselves is to liberate ourselves from the burden of hatred that drags us down emotional and spiritually
It’s free and available if we have the courage to open our hearts and minds to forgiveness
Forgiveness is a gift we give to ourselves
I whole heartedly forgive all that have harmed me in the past, including myself
Your brother,
Johnny
Jesus was a revolutionary
A revolutionary of unconditional love
Of radical peace
Anyone who speaks his name through the lens of fear, hatred or greed does not know his way
Jesus’s way is of the peaceful warrior
He knew that only unconditional love can bring peace to the world
Fear and violence will only continue our own suffering
Only unconditional love can save us
It can liberate us from all self-centeredness
His way can free us from the shackles of greed, hatred and fear
Resurrection is possible if we surrender as he did on the cross
We can be reborn each moment if we follow his way
We don’t need to be a Christian to follow Jesus’s message of unconditional love for all living beings
We only need to have an open mind and a compassionate heart
With love,
Johnny Hoffman
Question this blog post, leaders, religion, philosophy etc
Question everything and everyone
Question not with hatred
Question not to prove others wrong or you right
Question everything with a childlike curiosity
Is this true to you in our daily life?
Is it practical or possible?
Will this bring peace and love to ourselves and all living beings?
Let go of all bias and dogmas
Question everything with curiosity to find out the truth for yourself in your day to day lives
Most importantly, question yourself
Question your own beliefs and behaviors in the world and where they stem from
Are they serving you and others around you?
You might find out that most of your beliefs and opinions are from your parents, culture or government
They might be outdated or not helpful to you anymore
With love,
Johnny
On the spiritual path there are many obstacles diverting us off towards pleasure, money, or fame
Each time our eyes divert from God we must return them
If we can keep our eyes on our family, friends, coworkers, jobs, bank account, shopping, food, or pets we will be diverted off the path towards God.
We will be lost and afraid in the woods
Not knowing which way to go and suffer tremendously
It takes tremendous conviction to keep going on this path
But the rewards of inner peace, serenity and complete liberation are more precious than diamonds
The path towards God is liberation from all greed, hatred and fear
God brings many the gift of unconditional love which liberates us from all self-centeredness and fear
If we keep our eyes on God we have nothing to fear and our days will be filled more and more with love, joy, and inner peace
With love,
Johnny Hoffman
My religion is brother and sister hood of all beings
Our philosophy is unconditional love
Our goal is to bring peace within and around us through our actions each moment
We do not convert or force our views
We just keep our eyes on unconditional love
This is the philosophy of Jesus or Buddha without religious dogma or complex beliefs
We seek to build bridges instead of barriers to enter the Kingdom of God (unconditional love)
Anyone can join
Your brother,
Johnny Hoffman
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
The money in my bank account is not my money
It’s God’s money
I’m just holding onto it temporarily
This revelation has liberated me from the destructive energy of greed
Because the money in my bank account was never
I can give it freely to those in need
I don’t need to cling to it out of fear
I can choose love by giving it away to the homeless and vulnerable
Thank you God for liberating me from selfishness and greed
With love,
Johnny
May all beings feel love
May all beings feel liberated
May all beings be at peace
Their lives are miracles of the cosmos
I vow to reduce suffering in the world
I will not support any violence in the world
In my words or actions
We all need friendship as human beings. Humans need some connection to other people to thrive. In today’s world of social media this can be challenging. I have struggled with finding real friendships the last 10 years of my life. I have even questioned who my real friends are in the past. Were we just drinking friends in college or was there a real connection? People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. What causes us suffering is clinging to friendship when they do not serve us anymore. If one side of the friendship makes it difficult to hangout with and constantly makes excuses then it’s not a real friendship. Even if at one point you were real friends. I travelled the east coast of Australia 2 years ago and currently live in Byron Bay, Australia. I had a great time with a group of backpackers I met along the way. This friendship was fantastic for 3 months when we were traveling but as soon as we lived in the same area things became toxic.
I tried so hard to meet up with a few of these friends but for whatever reason they made it very difficult to hangout with them. They made it a chore to be friends with them, which is not true friendship. Real friends make time (even 10 minutes), acquaintances make excuses and gaslight you to think you’re in wrong.
I’m learning to let go of people who do not want to be in my life to make room for those who actually genuinely like the man I’m becoming through my day to day recovery from my gambling addiction. I’m not the same man I was 9 months ago when I entered gamblers anonymous and started my journey to heal childhood traumas. Letting go of material goods, jobs, and even relationships (friends, family, etc) that don’t serve you anymore is crucial for a happy healthy life. Setting boundaries is important before we completely cut off people. I still have deep compassion and love for those acquaintances I have let go of, knowing that they suffer too from something they aren’t ready to work through.
With love,
Johnny
The Narrow Path 