Every decision we can make in this world is based on love or fear
Choose love based decisions and you will wake up to a life that you truly love
Choose fear based decisions and you will wake up to a life you fear
It’s as simple as that
Through a mindfulness practice we can become aware of what true love is
Love is not controlling
Love is not manipulative
Love is not attached
Love is liberating
Love deeply heals the parts of us consumed with greed, hatred and fear
Your brother,
Johnny
Some naively want to live in a world with no suffering
Only pure bliss
This is understandable but a dangerous idea
For without suffering there is no compassion
And with no compassion there is no true joy
Suffering and joy are two sides of the same coin
We don’t need to fear suffering
We can transform it into pure joy
When we embrace our suffering with pure compassion we can transform it into true joy
We must take Jesus’s message internally for this transformation to truly happen
Through mindfulness and compassion we can embrace the most hurt parts of ourselves with loving tenderness
We must accept that suffering is a natural part of life
But we don’t need to dwell in it and suffer unnecessarily
We can transform suffering into pure joy
By living like Jesus or the Buddha we can transform the darkness into light
Many look for miracles yet nothing is as profound as the healing nature of unconditional love
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 awakening of the Buddha was that he saw Buddha nature in everything
In Buddhist philosophy, Buddha-nature is the potential for all sentient beings to become a Buddha or the fact that all beings already have a pure buddha-essence within.
So the Buddha awakened to the ultimate reality of the universe
That every being is born with and has Buddha nature
Even if they are deeply lost in fear, greed, and hatred
Even if someone is violent
Even criminals, beggars, and addicts
All have the essence of Buddha nature
All are holy and are in the image of God
With this awakening we can help heal this world of much suffering
We can see every being as holy and our brother or sister
We can vow to reduce their suffering and look at them through the lens of compassion
With aloha,
Johnny
We may celebrate our birthday as the day we were born but that’s not entirely true.
We came into this world at the creation of this universe
The matter in our body originated in that one eventful moment
Everything and everyone came from the same source
Whoever is reading this is my brother or sister
We even have non-human ancestors connecting us to other animals
So we truly are like stars dancing in the night sky
But through confusion, distracted and addiction we lose sight of our inner Buddha nature
To feel the oneness of everything emotionally is to feel Nirvana
It is our birthright to discover this ultimate reality
But we must learn to get our mind still through deep meditation
Anyone can become enlightened through their actions if they are dedicated to the middle path
With Aloha,
Johnny
What a blessing it is to be alive!!
You might know me as Johnny Hoffman, as some separate person but I am much more than that.
Look deeper and you will see the ultimate reality of me.
I am my ancestors
I am the soil
I am a cloud
I am the sun
For without these I would not exist
So whenever you feel lost or alone just know you are not separate from the universe.
You and I are made up of our ancestors, stars, soil, clouds, and rivers. Without them we would not exist. This is the ultimate reality of things.
You are my brother or sister
To feel this at a deep level is to awaken to our Buddha nature and help others who still suffer
So when someone looks at a cloud 100 years from now they may see me again 🙏🏼☁️
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
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
The Miracle of life
Is a seed of mustard
With water, soil, and sun
This tiny seed grows into a large tree
Giving food and shelter to many birds and insects
There are many miracles around us each day
Yet we can’t seem to them
With mindfulness we can see that a cloud is a miracle
It transforms into rain or snow
Giving us life through water and food
We are a miracle
From one cell to a trillion
We can only grasp this if we are still
Not distracted
Not striving
Living in the moment
Jesus spoke of the mustard seed
Just by being still we can see the Kingdom of God right now and it’s many miracles
With Aloha
Johnny
Knowledge is not enough
Beliefs are not enough
Wise men like Jesus & the Buddha taught that we must practice compassion, forgiveness, peace and love in our daily actions
This is the way to transform, heal ourselves and the world
We all have the deep capacity to live like them
May 2024 bring you the healing power of love
May it bring you joy from practicing deep compassion for yourself and others
May it bring you transformation
It’s never too late to resurrect your life
With love,
Johnny
The Narrow Path 