139. Kenny Johnson

Buddha at the Gas Pump

Rick Archer

Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Spirituality, Society & Culture

4.7 • 695 Ratings

🗓️ 24 September 2012

⏱️ 84 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Kenny spent over twenty years in prison and has been out of prison since 1997. He is a spiritual teacher and consultant to families and to those who have been out of prison and may be going to jail. He also just finished his soon to be released book, The Last Hustle, chronicling his years as a criminal and how he was transformed while incarcerated. Kenny has one passion and that is sharing the message that “God’s Grace Is Here Now.” Kenny’s spiritual awareness and other spiritual teachers' insights have been published in the book, “The Awakening West”, by John Lumiere-Wins and Lynn Marie Lumiere. “If there is anything worth serving, it’s this love. If there is anything worth being, it’s this love. If there is anything worth talking about it’s this love. If there is anything of real value it’s this love.” – Kenny Johnson Kenny's book: The Last Hustle Kenny's website, "This Sacred Space" Interview Recorded 9/22/2012 Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Kenny Johnson 00:04:02 - Preparation for Working with the Incarcerated 00:08:12 - A Conversation About Jail 00:10:25 - The Tipping Point and Disillusionment 00:13:26 - The Miracle of Gangaji and a Productive Life 00:16:31 - Promoting Reading in Jails 00:19:07 - Growth in Prison 00:21:53 - Survival and Retaliation in Prison 00:25:07 - The Cycle of Crime and Second Chances 00:27:03 - Prison Life and Escaping 00:29:12 - The Transition to Pimping 00:30:57 - The Pimping Lifestyle 00:32:32 - The Cycle of Pimping and Drug Addiction 00:34:49 - The Prison Experience 00:36:58 - Smuggling and Spirituality 00:39:32 - Seeking Power and Enlightenment 00:41:59 - Meeting Gangaji Again 00:44:24 - Falling in love with Gangaji 00:47:15 - Recognizing beauty in nature and another human being 00:51:14 - Detox and Alcoholism 00:54:46 - A Moment of Connection with a Friend 00:57:24 - The Power of Presence 01:00:20 - Creating a Sacred Space Near Prisons 01:03:24 - The Depth of Lostness in Maya 01:06:41 - Maya, The Friend of Consciousness 01:09:48 - Giving Back and the Issue with Popcorn Gurus 01:12:33 - A Message of Love and Transformation in Prison 01:15:36 - Experiencing Love through Connection 01:18:24 - A Blazing Inferno 01:20:44 - Contact Information and Future Speaking Engagements 01:23:47 - Update on Cancer Remission

Transcript

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0:00.0	The
0:07.0	The Welcome to Buddha at the gas pump. My name is Rick Archer, and my guest this week is Kenny Johnson. Welcome, Kenny. Hello, how you doing, Rick?
0:35.1	Great. Here's a little bio from Kenny's website. We'll be hearing this story in detail,
0:39.3	but Kenny spent over 20 years in prison and has been out of prison since 1997.
0:44.3	He is a spiritual teacher and consultant to families and to those who have been out of prison and may be going to jail.
0:51.3	He also just finished his book, The Last Hustle, chronicling his years as a criminal
0:57.6	and how he was transformed while incarcerated. Kenny has one passion, and that is sharing the message
1:03.5	that God's grace is here now. Kenny's spiritual awareness and other spiritual teachers' insights
1:09.2	have been published in the book, The Awakening West, by John Lumier-Wins and Lynn Marie Lumier.
1:16.0	Here's a quote from Kenny.
1:17.3	If there's anything worth serving, it's this love.
1:19.8	If there's anything worth being, it's this love.
1:22.4	If there's anything worth talking about, it's this love.
1:25.7	If there's anything of real value, it's this love.
1:29.0	So that's a beautiful quote.
1:31.2	Thanks, yeah.
1:31.9	Yeah.
1:32.6	I don't know if you remember, but we've actually met three times over the years.
1:36.3	The first time was a long time ago.
1:38.3	You must not have been out of prison very long.
1:40.2	You came to Fairfield, Iowa, and you spoke, and I came to your talk. And I remember at one point
1:46.4	when you first mentioned Gangesh and your talk, you doubled over with emotion. And that really,
	...

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