Put Your Life and Happiness First, and all happiness will flow from you!

Have you ever been on your way to an SGI meeting and had something come up that was trying to stop you from attending? Did you give in, or did you make it to the meeting? 

Did you ever sit down to chant and then get pulled away by the endless to-do list in your head? Did you stay or did you go? Did you stay in front of the Gohonzon and chant anyway? Then you WIN in your life! (FYI, I keep a paper and pen at my altar so I can immediately clear my brain when things come up for my to-do list - then I can keep chanting) 

You know there are obstacles that appear in our lives to prevent us from moving forward. We call these "Sansho shima", and when we see them for what they are, we can boldly move forward and create real and lasting happiness. 

I realized at the very beginning of my practice (28 years ago) that the time I spent chanting actually gave me MORE TIME, because it put me in rhythm with my surroundings. This is the profound nature of chanting. 

When we tap into our essential life force through chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo our lives move in sync with our entire surroundings. 

So I am writing this blog to urge you to put your life first by putting your practice first. 

The power of your life force, and the strength of your practice are one and the same. 

When you put your practice first you put your life first. 

When you put your life first you can create anything you want in your life.  

I live my life to be a walking example of this! Every morning I sit down and put my practice and my life first. 

I go to an SGI meeting every week, and I have the highest life condition of happiness ~ I literally glow. It is not unusual for people, after meeting me, to seek me out to find out what it is about me that creates this glow. That's why it's so easy for me to do shakubuku, (introduce people to this practice) 

My LIFE does shakubuku for me. 
My energy, enthusiasm and vibrancy just shine through. 
They HAVE to shine through because I focus my life on polishing my shiny life every single morning and evening. 

I chant for my bright Buddhahood to sparkle and shine. 

I chant for my friends and district members and blog readers. 

That's where true happiness lies. I put my life first by winning every single morning. 
I don't even use an alarm clock any more. I wake up in time to chant one or two hours, work out, blog...you get the picture...all because I put my practice first. I also spend my days helping others become happy. That makes my light glow extra bright! When I know I have helped someone overcome their challenges and learn to put their life first....I know that person has the tools to create the life of their dreams. What could possibly make me happier than that? 
And you know how much I love to hear from the readers of this blog. I love to know your challenges, your successes, your questions...everything. When I get your comments it makes me so happy! 
Let me hear how you have put your life first and claimed your own happiness!