Tag: mindfulness

Beginners Mind

When you have a beginners mind

You become as fresh as a flower

Your mind becomes like a still pond

An empty canvass

Open to the infinity possibilities of life

With a beginners mind

You can find joy in fresh mandarin

You can experience nirvana looking deeply at a bird

Find peace and serenity right here and now

When your mind becomes rough and demanding

You will lose your beginners mind

And life will become dreary and meaningless

Your mind will need more and more stimulation

Leaving you depressed, numb and anxious

In a beginners mind there is true love, compassion and insight

A beginners mind is fresh and alive

In a beginners mind there are many possibilities

For an expert mind, few

To be a beginner, we must practice deep humility

With no thought of attaining enlightenment or any self centered ideas

Forgiveness

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

The Revolutionary Message of Jesus

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

Walking Away Peacefully in the Night

Alcohol scarred my childhood

I have lost close friends to it

Alcohol has slowly consumed many of my family and friends

I even had close calls with alcohol overdose in my university years

Yet I will not judge or hate alcohol

I knew 7 years ago that one day I would walk away from alcohol and the destruction it cases

Today I will choose to walk away peacefully in the night

With aloha

Johnny

Camel Through the Eye of a Needle

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

The Void Within

Fill the hole in my heart

Fill the deep gap within my soul

Take away the discomfort

Numb me to my suffering

Distract me

Comfort me

I don’t want to feel anymore

Consumption of drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling or junk food seems to be the solution to our pain

Temporarily they are good numbing agents, that’s what hooks us in; especially when we first try them at an early age

But in the end it causes more suffering & new financial & health problems

Like quick sand we can fall deeper & deeper into the depths of addiction

With aloha

Johnny

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

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