It's My Birthday! ~ Shine up that Altar of Yours!

And because I can chant the Daimoku of the title of the Lotus Sutra....I am happier than I've ever been in my whole life!


Yes, it's true!


I chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo... with joy and conviction and a VOW to be Happy ~ Healthy ~ Smart ~ Sexy ~ Prosperous! All the good things I can think of! I chant to share the heart of my mentor, Daisaku Ikeda. You know  - when you chant this way you are already a winner! You can't lose!


Last night's District Meeting Rocked! There were 17 people in Jamie's Sweet Apartment, and two incredible experiences. The first was from Heather, who had experienced a real downturn lately. She'd quit her job because it wasn't paying the rent, so she couldn't afford her car insurance and lost her license....and on and on. I went over to her house and we moved her beautiful Butsudan (altar)(it was my Mom's) and cleaned it all up and made it bright and shiny and we talked about the way you treat your altar is the same as the respect you have for your own life. If you keep it bright and clean and have offerings of fresh fruit....your life will sparkle! Heather ended up getting a job she is over the moon about! It's at a wonderful place and she has all kinds of benefits she never even chanted for....along with working with people she genuinely respect and who treat her well!!! Yaaaayyy!!! 
And Ted also got a job he is thrilled about. He's a relatively new member (so is Heather) and he'd been struggling to find a job he liked. We kept encouraging him to chant chant chant chant! And NOT give up!!! He finally got a job interview at a hotel and  - get this - they have a Gohonzon room in the hotel and he is working with Buddhists! They are giving him a lot of responsibility and he is thrilled. The day before his interview he chanted for 6 hours with his partner Mark! Sometimes THAT is what it takes!!!


So on this day, my birthday...take a look at your own altar. Make sure it is against a very sturdy wall...not under a window...not in a corner. Make sure there is NOTHING hanging over it. Dust it lovingly. Get the residue of candles off of it (I used to use a hot hairdryer to do this - now I burn candles with glass around them), put fresh fruit, and water in the morning, and if you want you ca put some fresh greens, or bamboo, or a plant. I have the beautiful roses given to me by a very special man in my life on my altar today. Aaaaaahhhh life is good! Clean up your altar area and you clean up your life. Make it sparkle and your life will sparkle too!!!!