Daisaku Ikeda, For Today and Tomorrow, page95.
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I had a recent exchange with a reader who said to me "I am my own worst enemy when it comes to chanting." And my first thought, of course, was "stop saying that!" When you speak you make your words come true.
What he said may be true...in his mind. And people may have told him that. But that is not a belief that will empower him. And we ALL have the power to change our beliefs...and master our minds. Here's how it works:
Think about it... saying "I am my own worst enemy" is actually a form of self-slander. Self-slandering is not a cause we want to make!
Our words express our thoughts, and our thoughts make up who we are. When we proclaim anything about ourselves we bring it into being. We give it life. And we have the choice to change our thoughts about ourselves.
How? First by realizing that we CAN...by realizing that any belief is not SET...and that we can change at a fundamental level whenever we want. We are Buddhas!
When we are thinking a thought like that, a thought that doesn't serve us, we can ask ourselves
"Do I really want that thought to create my future?
Can I choose a better one?"
And see what appears. We can change "I am my own worst enemy" to "I am my own best cheerleader."
And we say it over and over and over. After saying this over and over,we come to believe it - that is the power of our words!
Just ask yourself - "which would I rather be?" And think about this whenever you call yourself negative names. You're a Buddha, through and through. Talk to yourself as the Buddha you are!
