Tag: meditation

The Three Poisons: Attachment, Aversion, and Ignorance

In Buddhist philosophy; attachment, aversion, and ignorance are the three main obstacles from achieving inner peace within. They are the three poisons of true happiness.

Attachment is said to be the root of all suffering.

Attachment to wealth, youth, ideology, the past, loved ones, life itself etc can drain us and make us miserable. Think of a middle aged woman attached to her youth. You can imagine her worrying about every wrinkle and what others perceive of her. By not accepting ones aging process, we suffer deeply.

Aversion on the other hand drains us of our joy by judgment, anger, or disgust. For example, an aversion to bugs can ruin our time in nature. An aversion to homeless people can stop us from having compassion for them; compassion and understanding can be the root of much joy.

Ignorance can blind us too. When we purposely or unintentionally don’t see information about a topic, we can make decisions that destroy our health and happiness. Cigarettes are a good example of this, most of the population were ignorant for many years of the risk of cancer and heart disease of smoking.

So instead of seeking pleasure or trying to find happiness, could we try to find a middle path between attachment, aversion, or ignorance? Can we learn about a topic so we are not ignorant but also not getting attached or averse to it? Blissful peace is found in the middle of this triangle.

I think it’s possible if we practice. Never think you know everything and the opposite of what you believe is true to someone else in the world.

Zen mind, beginners mind

With aloha,

Johnny

Lost in Self Doubt

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

Anxiety

Anxiety

The illness of our times

Our minds wander to the future

Grasping for control

Wanting to know what will happen

The truth is that the future is completely unwritten

Because of impermanence, anything is possible

Let’s stop trying to control the uncontrollable

If we want a better future, we must take care of the present moment

With aloha,

Johnny

Sitting With Uncertainty

There might be a heaven
There might be reincarnation
Or there could be nothing
I do not claim to know anything for certain
When I am firm with a belief of what happens after life
I lose all grace
I lose all faith
I lose all wonder

Instead of claiming to know anything

I sit closely to uncertainty


And whole universe opens itself to me

It’s everlasting wisdom humbles me each day

Be weary of those who claim to know anything for certain

With aloha,

Johnny

Truly Helping

To truly help others

Focus all your energy on healing yourself

Be kind always but don’t sacrifice your own health & well-being by focusing your energy on others

It is possible to reduce others suffering and help others see the inner Buddha that lives within all of us

But if we are drowning in our own suffering we can’t help others who suffer

It is possible to awaken

To not let fear, hatred, anger, and ignorance run & ruin our lives

No matter your skin tone, gender, age, or wage

Thanks to impermanence, we can transform our suffering into joy

And we can help others do the same

Not by force but through understanding, compassion and forgiveness

Namaste,

Johnny

Thích Nhất Hạnh

No mud, no lotus

Thay you touched my heart & soul many times with your compassionate actions & words

Thank you for sharing your light upon me

Watering the seeds of compassion, peace & love within my mind

Teaching me that impermanence is what makes life so special

You have passed but I know you live on

No birth, no death

Your energy still flowing through the clouds, earth, water, and each one of us

Photo credit: Kelvin Cheuk Lotus in a Sea of Fire:Honoring Thích Nhất Hạnh Thích Nhất Hạnh, pronounced Tik-N’yat-Hawn, was a Vietnamese monk of the Zen tradition, part of the Mahayana branch of Buddhism. The first word in his name, Thích, is actually a title…

Thích Nhất Hạnh

Lost at Sea

At times we can feel so lost

Lost in an emotion

Lost in the worries of the path unknown ahead

Lost in the past mistakes & regrets

I know what it feels to be lost

Not knowing what is up or down

My life falling in pieces

What I thought was the end was actually the beginning of something much more beautiful

For every storm runs out of energy

The trick is to not run from it but embrace it

Life doesn’t give us what we want

It gives us what we need

To grow, adapt and eventually move on from

So if you’re feeling lost just know everything is temporary

That each day can be a start of something fresh and beautiful

With aloha,

Johnny

Letting go of the Pursuit of Happiness

For us to be truly happy we must let go of the pursuit of happiness

Because when we feel temporarily happy, we desperately cling to it

We become restless and fearful of losing happiness, which causes a vicious circle of suffering

So for us to be truly happy we must be calm and centered

You can’t be truly happy if you’re not calm

So instead of seeking pleasure or avoiding pain

Seek the discomfort of stillness

Look within that restlessness, anger, or hatred

And let go of the pursuit of happiness

Instead of trying to find this elusive happiness, practice the middle path of awareness, peace, and being calm

Each time we fall off the path of clarity & calmness we self reflect, let it go and move forward

From my experience, this way of living seems much more sustainable than chasing elusive happiness

A friend shared this with me and it has enriched my life significantly and I hope it does the same for you

With aloha,

Johnny

Nature Therapy

Turn off the phone

Leave it behind

Only bring yourself & some water

Go into nature

Breathing in

Breathing out

Smile

Enjoy mother nature with out any distractions

She carries all the answer to our ills if we can look deeply into her nature

With aloha,

Johnny

Nature Within

Breathing in I see myself as water, flowing & flexible

Breathing out I see myself as a mountain, strong & stable

Breathing in I see myself as a flower, fresh & beautiful

Breathing out I see myself as space, free & vast

Water, flowing

Mountain, strong

Flower, fresh

Space, free

Breathe, enjoy

With aloha,

Johnny