4 Keys to Starting a Gratitude Journal for Absolute Happiness

Studies are showing that summoning and expressing feelings of Gratitude leads to Happiness. Gratitude is a MUSCLE we can all exercise. We exercise the muscle of faith by chanting, and we exercise the muscle of Gratitude by focusing on it! 

I have a challenge for you. 

Start a gratitude journal and share with others on this blog how it feels and how it has changed your life. (Email me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com to submit your writings)

And express gratitude more and more each day. 
How can you express gratitude to today? 

3 Tips for Starting a Gratitude Journal - A Rampage of Appreciation! 

Tip #1 ~ 
Fill your heart with gratitude while you are chanting. Before you start chanting, sit with your hand over your heart and focus on gratitude. Fill your heart with this feeling. And chant from this place. If it's difficult to summon gratitude, think "What COULD I feel grateful for?" and build your feeling of gratitude from that place. 

Tip #2 ~

Start a "Rampage of Appreciation Journal" 

for everything in your life. 

Take a journal or spiral notebook 
and put headings on the top: 

Your body ~ 
Write a list of all you appreciate, and usually take for granted...everything from the five senses to whatever you can think of...go slowly, throughout your whole body starting from the top and write what you appreciate:

Sample journal entry:
I appreciate that I can see colors, I appreciate that I can see 3D, I appreciate that I can remember, that I can sing, that I can laugh. 

Little details add up. We are wondrous in so many ways. Gratitude draws more thing to be grateful for! And keep going ~ you get the picture. See if you can fill a whole page. 

Your Family ~ what do you appreciate? What could you appreciate?

Your friends ~ what do you appreciate in the past and the present about your friends. 

Your Beloved ~ if you don't have a beloved at the moment fill this page with things you have loved about past loves in your life...only the positive things.

Your practice and the SGI ~ What brings you joy? Our daily practice, our living mentor, the Gosho, our SGI friends, meetings, laughter, songs...

Your Work/Career ~ what do you appreciate, what can you appreciate? 

Your home: you get the idea

Our wonderful planet:

Your Country: 

Your possessions: 
Car...clothes...furniture...this is a RAMPAGE of appreciation...keep going!

Other Categories? What would you add? 

Tip #3
Write in this Gratitude Journal Frequently. One friend said he began a gratitude journal last year and writes every day. He has had the best year of his life. If you focus on the good - well, it focuses back to you! 

Tip # 4
Express this gratitude every day! Who can you express gratitude to today? I now carry thank you notes wherever I go. My goal is to give out one a day. 

Email me your stories to share!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today as I sat down to chant, and go into dialogue with my own life, I thought "What do I want to chant for?" and gratitude came flooding into my thoughts...

I am full of Gratitude that I live an absolutely fearless life ~

Because I chant ~

I am confident that I will always have everything I need. I am not worried or afraid of anything. I do not live in fear of anything. I know the resources for ALL I need are within my own life, within my own Daimoku. I am the Mystic Law...and so are YOU!

I am not worried about whether or not my dreams will come true - as long as I keep steadily advancing, I know that everything I dream will be possible.
I am grateful for having time and a great space to chant!
I am grateful that I have the opportunity to do public speaking and inspire people. Today I addressing a women's group and they will be starting their own gratitude journals. 
I am grateful for my health, and that I look so much younger and healthier than I did ten years ago...aaaahhh the youthening power of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (and eating well, exercising and drinking LOTS of water!)

I am grateful for the committee putting on Ben's Memorial Mile. Their commitment, their swift action, and the beautiful way this event is coming together is mystic. Ben is eternal, and Ben's Memorial Mile will deepen people's friendships, and create community while it raises funds for mental illness awareness. 

I am grateful for this practice, and for my friends in faith. I always know where to turn when I am seeking encouragement.
I am grateful to YOU, my readers, who send me encouragment, appreciation, insights, questions, experiences and guestblogs. 

Email me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com.  

Share your experiences of faith Please keep your journals if you can, and write brilliant perspectives on your victories. The world awaits your words of wisdom. Let me share them for you with the 55,000 readers of this blog.
I am also grateful for YOU for sending links to this blog and sharing it with others. I write it from my heart to share what I have learned with others, and to connect us all together.
I am grateful for Kate, and Georgine and the SGI
I am grateful for my mentor, Daisaku Ikeda. 
Enjoy and have a great day ~ Jamie 

4 Ways to Strengthen our Muscle of Gratitude - the Real Key to Happiness!

Daisaku Ikeda writes in Faith into Action, page 7 (under Appreciation)
"To "enjoy what there is to enjoy" means to cause the "mystic lotus of the heart" to blossom brightly with a sense of appreciation and joy. Someone who can find joy, who can feel appreciation, experiences a snowballing exhilaration and joy in life. Such is the heart's function."

How can we do this? Try this!  

4 Tips for More Appreciation in Our Lives! 

Gratitude is attitude. It starts with US. It is a muscle we can build. And once we build it....ahhh the benefits that begin to flow! 

Tip #1
List Ten Things
Before we get out of bed think about ten things we are grateful for that very day. They can be ANYTHING. We can be grateful for sight, hearing, feeling. We can be grateful to be alive...grateful to have woken up! I've mentioned before that when my Mom was feeling depressed I gave her this tip, and her depression lifted. She told me it was this one action that changed her life. 

Tip #2
SMILE! 
Smiling is a cause not an affect. 
The more we smile, 
the more reasons we will have to smile!
Make your smile light your day. 

I like to think of the song by Carol King:

You've got to get up every morning

And show the world

All the love in your heart!

When we smile, we physically create happiness hormones. There have been studies done recently about this. Also, when we smile at another person, they automatically feel better...their brain registers happiness even if they do not smile back at us. Isn't that cool? Smile! 

Tip #3
Write a Rampage of Appreciation
Take a notebook and put titles as the top of each page. Titles could be:
My body
My work
My relationship with _______
My parents
My children
My home
My car
My self
My practice
My________
...and on and on...you get the idea. 

Then list all the things you are grateful for under each heading...or all the things you COULD BE grateful for. 


Tip #4 
Chant in Gratitude
While chanting  ~ generate these feelings of gratitude and happiness. Our gratitude will amplify and spread.

What do you do to build the muscle of appreciation into your life? Write me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com

7 Quotes on Gratitude by Daisaku Ikeda

 Lower Mill Pond in Brewster Massachusetts, 

in Cape Cod USA

The view of the pond from the houses

I'm sitting outside looking down on the pond from the terrace. This is such a special place. On this pond, people can have homes, but they cannot tear down the trees in front of their homes. 

So you can see, in the first picture, that the pond looks pristine...as it probably did 200 years ago. There are also no motor boats allowed, no jet skis, nothing to disturb the quiet - except the birdsong and the wind rustling the trees. It is a true paradise. 

I'm sitting here today exercising my muscle of gratitude. Realizing once again, that gratitude is CHOSEN, not just fallen into. Sure, you could say, it's easy for me to have gratitude, sitting on this pond during my vacation...but you must remember, I have just had a loss that I still search for the words to describe...so I must exercise that muscle of gratitude more than ever. 

So today, I focus on all that is right in my world...

The fact that I am here...still standing...still writing...still living...

The fact that I am HERE in these beautiful surroundings...about to head to the beach with my wonderful son Aaron...

The fact that I am healthy...still breathing...still able to smile...
And I can chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to experience my life as a Buddha at every moment! 

And I feel immense gratitude to YOU, and to Daisaku Ikeda, and the entire SGI, to Nichiren Daishonin and Presidents Makiguchi and Toda. Without them, I have no idea how I would be living my life right now! 

Here are some quotes on gratitude from our mentor Daisaku Ikeda, from IkedaQuotes.org:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To feel gratitude to one’s parents sounds like a trivial thing, but this is the mark of true maturity and growth as a human being.

People whose hearts are full of gratitude and appreciation are truly beautiful. A humble heart is the wellspring of great growth and development.

None of us can exist in isolation. Our lives and existence are supported by others in seen and unseen ways, be it by parents, mentors or society at large. To be aware of these connections, to feel appreciation for them, and to strive to give something back to society in a spirit of gratitude is the proper way for human beings to live.

Gratitude makes a person modest. A sense of gratitude expands the heart.

The ungrateful feel that it is below them to show any kind of appreciation. They are under the delusion that showing gratitude to others diminishes their own worth. But it is this sense of appreciation that elevates, enriches and expands the human spirit. A lack of gratitude is actually a sign of arrogance.

Happiness is not a life without worries or struggles. Happiness is the robust sense of fulfillment one feels when bravely confronting hardship. It is that elevation of the spirit, like an airplane gaining lift from the air resistance against its wings.

Happiness is to be found within your own life, in your thoughts at this very moment. You yourself are most noble and precious. You have no need to be envious of anyone or to long for far-off things.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saying "Thank You" Makes Our Hearts Sparkle!

How are you doing during the 100 day Gongyo Challenge? I know it can be hard to be perfect...hard to chant a sonorous and meaningful song to your own life every morning and evening.  And sometimes it's easy, right? Sometimes we spring out of bed and can't wait to chant and connect with our own highest wisdom and inspiration. The 100-day challenge is not about being perfect...it's about striving to have the best possible practice so we can be the happiest people on earth...and create a happier world for everyone. Join us! 

Today as I sat to chant, the first thought that flooded my mind was all my desires. And, as you know, it's perfectly all right to chant for our desires. But today I stopped myself and said "Today I will chant in appreciation for all I've already received and all that's yet to come. YES" 

Enjoy! 

Before I posted this blog I read every word in the April Living Buddhism  ~  published by the Soka Gakkai. It's the monthly American publication available in the US by calling 310-260-8900. I am grateful for this publication and our wonderful SGI organization. Click on the link to the right to learn more and connect to your local members. 

In April's issue there is an article by Daisaku Ikeda called 

"The Power of Thank You.

Praise, gratitude and appreciation brings happiness." 

In this article, Daisaku Ikeda says that during all of his travels he always learned the local word for thank you ~ because it is the most important sentiment and word. 

"A person who can sincerely say thank you 
has a healthy, vital spirit, 
and each time we say it 
our hearts sparkle 
and our life force rises up powerfully 
from the depths of our being...

When we cannot say thank you, 
our personal growth stops. 
When we are growing 
we can see how wonderful others are, too. 
When we stop growing, 
all we see are other people's faults."

LIVING BUDDHISM APRIL 2014, P. 16

The spirit of gratitude generates the energy of life in our bodies and our hearts.

Right now, as many of you know,my son Ben is in the hospital. So far, no community will take him. All I can feel is gratitude for this wonderful son who makes me chant so much. My life has grown because of him! I am happier, stronger, healthier and wiser because of the Daimoku I have chanted for him. And I am deeply grateful that he is alive, and that I gave birth to this Buddha Boy. As I was chanting my hour this morning, my heart was overflowing with gratitude...to him...to my life...to Daisaku Ikeda...to you...and to all who have helped and supported me on this journey. I know Ben will win and encourage many people. He already has! 

Daisaku Ikeda is right! Gratitude brings Happiness. 
How many people can you thank today? 
How many gifts of heart can you bestow today? 
How many ways can you make your own heart sparkle by saying Thank You today? 

Saying "Thank You" Makes Our Hearts Sparkle ~*

Yesterday I read every word in the April Living Buddhism  ~  published by the Soka Gakkai. It's the monthly American publication available in the US by calling 310-260-8900. I am grateful for this publication and our wonderful SGI organization. Click on the link to the right to learn more and connect to your local members. 

In April's issue there is an article by Daisaku Ikeda called 

"The Power of Thank You.

Praise, gratitude and appreciation brings happiness." 

In this article, Daisaku Ikeda says that during all of his travels he always learned the local word for thank you ~ because it is the most important sentiment and word. 

"A person who can sincerely say thank you 
has a healthy, vital spirit, 
and each time we say it 
our hearts sparkle 
and our life force rises up powerfully 
from the depths of our being...

When we cannot say thank you, 
our personal growth stops. 
When we are growing 
we can see how wonderful others are, too. 
When we stop growing, 
all we see are other people's faults."

LIVING BUDDHISM APRIL 2014, P. 16

The spirit of gratitude generates the energy of life in our bodies and our hearts.

Right now, as many of you know,my son Ben is in the hospital. At 3:00 today he is interviewing to go into a program that might help him. I look at my life right now and all I can feel is gratitude for this wonderful son who makes me chant so much. My life has grown because of him! I am happier, stronger, healthier and wiser because of the Daimoku I have chanted for him. And I am deeply grateful that he is alive, and that I gave birth to this Buddha Boy. As I was chanting my hour this morning, my heart was overflowing with gratitude...to him...to my life...to Daisaku Ikeda...to you...and to all who have helped and supported me on this journey. I know Ben will win and encourage many people. He already has! 

Daisaku Ikeda is right! Gratitude brings Happiness. 
How many people can you thank today? 
How many gifts of heart can you bestow today? 
How many ways can you make your own heart sparkle by saying Thank You today? 

4 Tips for Starting a Gratitude Journal for Absolute Happiness

 

Studies are showing that summoning and expressing feelings of Gratitude leads to Happiness. Gratitude is a MUSCLE we can all exercise. We exercise the muscle of faith by chanting, and we exercise the muscle of Gratitude by focusing on it! I have a challenge for you. Start a gratitude journal and share with others on this blog how it feels and how it has changed your life. 
And express gratitude more and more each day. Who can you express gratitude to today? 

3 Tips for Starting a Gratitude Journal 

Tip #1 ~ 
Fill your heart with gratitude while you are chanting. Chant to see how great your life is! 

Tip #2 ~

Start a "Rampage of Appreciation Journal" 

for everything in your life. 

Take a journal or spiral notebook 
and put headings on the top: 

Your body ~ 
Write a list of all you appreciate, and usually take for granted...everything from the five senses to whatever you can think of...go slowly, throughout your whole body starting from the top and write what you appreciate:

Sample journal entry:
I appreciate that I can see colors, I appreciate that I can see 3D, I appreciate that I can remember, that I can sing, that I can laugh. 

Little details add up. We are wonderous in so many ways. Gratitude draws more thing to be grateful for! And keep going ~ you get the picture. See if you can fill a whole page. 

Your Family ~ what do you appreciate? What could you appreciate?

Your friends ~ what do you appreciate in the past and the present about your friends. 

Your Beloved ~ if you don't have a beloved at the moment fill this page with things you have loved about past loves in your life...only the positive things.

Your practice and the SGI ~ What brings you joy? Our daily practice, our living mentor, the Gosho, our SGI friends, meetings, laughter, songs...

Your Work/Career ~ what do you appreciate, what can you appreciate? 

Your home: you get the idea

Our wonderful planet:

Your Country: 

Your possessions: 
Car...clothes...furniture...this is a RAMPAGE of appreciation!

Other Categories? What would you add? 

Tip #3
Write in this Gratitude Journal Frequently. One friend said he began a gratitude journal last year and has had the best year of his life. If you focus on the good - well, it focuses back to you! 

Tip # 4
Express this gratitude every day! Who can you express gratitude to today? Email me your stories to share!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today as I sat down to chant, and go into dialogue with my own life, I thought "What do I want to chant for?" and gratitude came flooding into my thoughts...

I am full of Gratitude that I live an absolutely fearless life ~

Because I chant ~

I am confident that I will always have everything I need. I am not worried or afraid of anything. I do not live in fear of anything. I know the resources for ALL I need are within my own life, within my own Daimoku. I am the Mystic Law...and so are YOU!
I am not worried about whether or not my dreams will come true - as long as I keep steadily advancing, I know that everything I dream will be possible.
I am grateful for having time to chant!
I am grateful that now it is time to search for a job and I have the strength and confidence to proceed with a smile on my face and a hopeful outlook. I will find a job in business development that I really enjoy and where I can make kosen-rufu happen.
I am grateful for my health, and that I look so much younger and healthier than I did ten years ago...aaaahhh the youthening power of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (and eating well, exercising and drinking LOTS of water!)
I am grateful that my son is so much better. He's driving and getting his life in order. He is smiling and moving forward. I have enjoyed our wonderful time together this fall, walking in the arboretum on the sunny days we've shared.
I am grateful for this practice, and for my friends in faith. I always know where to turn when I am seeking encouragement.
I am grateful to YOU, my readers, who send me encouragment, appreciation, insights, questions, experiences and guestblogs. Email me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com.  My next book will be all experiences! Please keep your journals if you can, and write brilliant persectives on your victories. The world awaits your words of wisdom. Let me share them for you with the 35,000 readers of this blog.
I am also grateful for YOU for sending links to this blog and sharing it with others. I write it from my heart to share what I have learned with others, and to connect us all together.
I am grateful for Kate, and my co-leaders and all the members of my district and the SGI
I am grateful for my mentor, Daisaku Ikeda. 
Enjoy and have a great day ~ Jamie 

Thank You Sooooo Much!

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. 

Do you have ANY idea how courageous, how strong, how loving and wonderful you are? 

I have received countless emails this week encouraging ME. 

Encouraging me...for encouraging you! You see that I am going through some amazing challenges...really the biggest challenge of my life so far, and you are encouraging me. You are sending warm words of hope and sending your updates on how the Worldwide Million Daimoku Campaign is going for you. Thanks!

As one of you noted, Sensei says that those who can encourage others, even while going through their own firestorms...they are the greatest of people. (I paraphrase here, but I'm sure you've seen the quote) And each of us noble Bohisattvas of the earth have that power. 

Thank you! 

Did you know that the readership of this blog is now at 30k a month? My goal is 50k by November 18th! Thank you for helping! 

I know it is because of each one of you forwarding the url (chantforhappiness@blogspot.com, or chantforhappiness.com)  to your fellow members or shakubuku. 
Did you notice that there are icons below each post? You can forward your favorite posts via email, facebook, or twitter. And I have a new twitter account: Chant for Happiness@JamieLeeSilver.
I just found out how to work twitter recently and I'm still learning. You can follow me there if you like. I occasionally when I am about to chant and you can join me. 

It's not too late to join the Million Daimoku Campaign  - email me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com to let me know you're in! Also send me your goals (if you wish), questions, challenges, Victories and pictures. I won't ever print anything on this blog without your written permission. 

And if you'd like to know more about talking to me on the phone send an email to chantforhappiness.com. Have a great day!  

thank you * Thank You * THANK YOU!

I'm sending the sunshine in my heart 

to your heart. 

As of right now, chantforhappiness.com has reached 21,000 readers for the month of May. 

Thank you for being my companions, spreading the great practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and helping people connect with the heart of our mentor and the noble SGI. 

Thank you for taking action every day to create a world of kosen-rufu like Daisaku Ikeda describes in the post below. 

Thank you for your courage in confronting your fundamental darkness and roaring it away so the sun inside your life will shine. 

And most of all, thank you for your emails and your connection with me. I cherish all of your friendships and hope to travel and meet you all. Some of your emails have come at precisely the right time! 

Please continue to send your victories, your comments, your questions and messages to chantforhappiness@gmail.com.

Sending love ~ * Jamie *

Power Prayer for Strengthening our ability to feel and express Gratitude.

Gratitude IS a decision, 

and an attitude we can 

strengthen in our lives. 

We all know we should live "lives of gratitude", but sometimes we find it hard to do this. Thoughts of complaint, thoughts of "why me?", and thoughts that blame other people or circumstances keep thoughts of gratitude from our minds, and feelings of gratitude from our hearts. 

Sure, it may be easier to slip into these negative thoughts. It's always easy to blame something else for our troubles, but as practicing Buddhists we know there really IS no one to blame! Our life is a reflection or our selves. 

And these negative thoughts breed more negative thoughts and are actually negative causes to make for our own happiness. 

We can so easily change our focus to Gratitude. We can choose and reinforce gratitude in out lives. We can  CULTIVATE AND EXPAND GRATITUDE IN OUR LIVES. 

Our mentors in faith, and many others, lived rich lives of gratitude. Nichiren Daishonin's letters to his followers were all written in gratitude. Daisaku Ikeda lives every moment in gratitude to his mentor Josei Toda. 

Daisaku Ikeda states:
"To "enjoy what there is to enjoy" (quote from the Gosho 'Happiness in this World') means to cause the "mystic lotus of the heart' to blossom brightly with a sense of appreciation and joy. Someone who can find joy, who can feel appreciation, experiences a snowballing exhilaration and joy in life. Such is the heart's function. (Faith in Action page 7)

Many of us WANT to feel gratitude, but how do we build the muscle of gratitude? How can we expand it in our lives.?

The answer is this: we make the conscious choice, and know, in our hearts, that the cause for gratitude will bring more to be grateful for. It is worth making the cause to develop gratitude. 

How do we cultivate gratitude? Well, I start by summoning prayers of gratitude while I am chanting. With every Nam-myoho-renge-kyo I tune my life to gratitude. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the name of the rhythm of life itself. Our prayers while chanting become Power Prayers for the happiness of all. I think about what I want to create from my prayer today, and I express gratitude in that direction. 

The other day I was thinking about my next deep and loving relationship with a man, and I spent an hour chanting in deep and loving gratitude for the men who have loved me with all their hearts. I felt the warmth of their love, remembered some wonderful times and chanted in appreciation for them, and for their happiness. It was one of the most delicious hours I have ever spent in prayer. 

And a feeling of gratitude builds on itself, doesn't it? When I chant in gratitude I find more to be grateful for at every moment. This morning I was thinking of you while chanting and this power prayer came to mind:

Gratitude Power Prayer
Life! I am determined to feel gratitude in every moment. I am seeing through grateful eyes and living with a grateful heart. At every moment I am looking for everything I can be grateful for, and finding new ways to express that gratitude. I am determined to live in the energy of gratitude and attract even more reasons to be grateful. I am determined to radiate positive energy so that I can spread the word of this incredible practice to others. 

This moment I am so grateful for____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (fill in the blanks and keep the feeling of gratitude for as long as you can) 
and I am chanttng for the happiness of ____________________________________________________________________________________________________(and here you picture the people whose happiness you will chant for).

And then, this very day, take some actions to express your gratitude. Call someone on the phone. Send an email. Send a card. Take real action today and I promise you, it will add to your happiness and give you even more reasons to be grateful!

I am GRATEFUL TO YOU for all your emails and comments. (chantforhappiness@gmail.com) 
I am grateful to every single one of you for reading this blog and for forwarding the link to your friends or liking chant for happiness on facebook. I am grateful to you for re-determining to be happy, and for seeing you advance in happiness every day. Your practice, your happiness, your determination changes the entire world. I am grateful to be your partner on this journey! One day I hope to visit you in every country and see your smiles in person. Until then...chanting in gratitude for you. 

Financial Success Experience from Morag in the UK

In June  2011 I decided that I had had enough of my husband saying that he always took more money than I did in our business (I manage one shop, he manages the other).  I decided to challenge him and myself to take more money than him the following month.  
I knew I would have to be really strict about everything; no more sloping off 15 minutes early because I wanted to, no more judging that some jobs were worth chasing and not others, ruthless invoicing of every sale no matter how small....I knew the actions I had to take.  I read quite a bit of guidence and used examples from other businesses. I was ready for the 1st of July.
I knew I would have to chant a LOT more.  I usually managed 20 minutes in the morning.  I got up earlier, (much to his annoyance, ha!) walked the dogs then sat in front of my Gohonzon and chanted for a full hour.  I wanted to prove this practice to him.  I wanted to surpass his totals, I was burning with determination!  As I sat there, I remembered a scene from Kevin Costners film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, the bit with the arrow zooming towards the tree, and I used that to 'target' my daimoku.  That visualisation helped me a lot...............................  
'I WILL surpass his totals'  
  'I WILL chase every sale'
    'I WILL keep going to prove this practice'
and most important..............' I WILL be cheerful and optimistic no matter what happens.'

I expect that tree bristled like a porcupine by the end.  It worked. How could it be otherwise?  I had poured my guts into my daimoku everyday.  My total was twice what I had taken the same month the previous year and (hooray!) I had surpassed my husbands total by over £4000.  I was exhausted and exhilarated.

I learned a lot from that month.  I could not keep that pace  all the time and the tax bill was far more than we were used to.  
 But from that time came wider benefits; my attitude to the customers, the business, my husband/family and especially to myself and my practice all changed for the better.  I linked my prayers to being a great helpful sales person, to be more business minded, to regard myself properly as a partner who made a real contribution.  The person who had under-valued my input into the business WAS ME!

Morag lives in Hythe, in Kent. It's a coastal/ rural town, historically one of the Cinque ports. Approximately 70 miles frm London.  Ashford is a much bigger town, straight on the motorway to London.

A Heart Full of Gratitude Towards all Humanity

I am so grateful for my Gakkai family...for my Gakkai family here in Chicago, throughout California and for all of you readers who are my Gakkai family too. Many are celebrating holidays at this time of year. I hope you are warm and happy end reveling in friendships and family. 

According to Nichiren Buddhism we really are family. 

In the study guide for the Essentials Exam part three there is an essay on the Gosho "The Four Virtues and the Four Debts of Gratitude." On page 31, Daisaku Ikeda writes about the debt that each one of has for all of humankind and why:

"The third is the debt of gratitude to all living beings. Life is eternal, extending through the three existences of past, present and future; the sutras teach that we have been born in the world after having undergone the cycle of birth and death infinite times. From that point of view, at one time or another in the past, all men have been our father and all women have been our mothers  (See the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin - 2, 637). Buddhism sees us all as related and owing debts of gratitude to one another.

Filled With Gratitude!

Loyola Stritch School of Medicine Rocks! 

It's Family Weekend! 

Here we are with our new friends at the reception last night. You know how life just seems to come together sometimes, right? We discovered an amazing coincidence last night. Aaron (far right), just started his first year of Medical school really close to me in Maywood. And on the far left is his new friend Christina, with her Mom, Kathy Ratto. Christina and her family live in Arcadia California in the LA area. 

We were having a spirited conversation last night about all things LA and San Francisco and the Medical Profession (Kathy and her husband are both doctors) and we suddenly realized that Christina lives in my same lovely apartment community and we're all going to the White Coat Ceremony at Loyola in the morning, followed by the party at Versailles (my apartment community) in the afternoon! 

I'm looking forward to getting to know them both better, and it will be great for Christina to know she has a new "Mom"and friend just doors away! Don't you just love making new friends? I do! Lately I am making new friends all the time...new friends I plan to have in my life for a long, long time! 

Seriously, this medical school is amazing. It is a school with heart. It is a Jesuit university and the people I have met are filled with love for our students. That is their constant message to us...that they will love our sons and daughters and help them in any way possible. And I believe them. I see it and I feel it. 

I am so grateful to be on this journey with Aaron!

There is so much to appreciate isn't there? My goal every single day is to live life to the fullest and touch as many lives as I positively can. Every morning I start the day with a solid hour of chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo...connecting with the universe of power inside me and every other person anywhere! 

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know I am constantly chanting to expand my capacity. While I am chanting I am telling my life to expand my capacity for love, expand my capacity for fun, expand my capacity to help people, expand my capacity to reach people, expand my capacity to spread love, light, and hope to all who are suffering? My prayers are being answered! Nam Myoho Renge Kyo! 

And thank you all for helping! Every time you respond to one of my posts and every time you forward a post by email or share it on facebook, YOU make a positive cause for your own happiness too! Together we make such a difference in the world! Thank you!!!

This has been an amazing week.  I've had the opportunity to be at the bedside of a dear friend who is new to chanting. His name is Kevin Haddle and he's a loving, wonderful soul. This week he had to have surgery for a bowel obstruction. So painful. Now he is recovering from the surgery, but still in pain. Please chant for Kevin! 

As you know we had six guests at the meeting on Wednesday night and more and more people keep learning about this practice, trying it and changing their lives for the better! 
Expanding my capacity - expanding ALL of our capacity  - that's what it's all about! 

Have a great Saturday!!!

Mother's Day Filled With Gratitude for my Sons!

Me and my two wonderful sons. 

Aaron just graduated from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. He was graduated from the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the division of Molecular and Cellular Biology with Distinction. After this, as I've mentioned before, he goes on to Loyola Medical School at the end of July. 


My younger son Ben just finished his first year at Miami of Ohio. He's on a running scholarship there. 


On Wednesday we leave for California on what I am calling "Aaron's Victory Lap". We will see my Buddhist mentors and our dear friends. We will travel our whole stomping ground....from the Bay Area to LA to Aliso Viejo and Soka University. I am bringing my computer and will continue to blog from California...just like I did when I travelled there two years ago. 


What words can possibly describe the joys of motherhood? 


I, along with their father, brought these two beautiful, loving beings into existence. 


And from then on I have concentrated my daimoku and energy in the direction of their happiness, their development, their growing faith and their happiness. Yes. I said happiness twice. I think happiness is the most important of all. 
So many things flow from happiness! 


And right now my heart is filled with gratitude....
gratitude for knowing 
these these young men are kind, thoughtful men...
these young men know the law of cause and effect...
never bullied each other...
never bullied others...
they would never start a war...
they are sweet, loving...
know what they want...
and how to get it...
they can stand up for themselves
and for others...
they are intuitive...
strong...
self-motivated...
talented in brain-power
creativity...
leadership...
mentors to others...
and wonderful and thoughtful and appreciative of their parents, and grandparents and all the goodness around them in the world. 
They can chant to make a better life...
and a better world for their children...
What could be better than this. 


Oh, Happy Mother's Day!