A Quote to engrave in our lives!

This is from the same person I posted about the other day! Here is her follow up. 
Thank you soooo much for writing and sharing your determination and one of my favorite quotes ever! 

"Thank you Jamie for your encouragement. I haven't chanted for two days but now I realized that I didn't know what type of job I wanted but thanks to doing the homework assignment (even thought I didn't get the interview) and chanting I realized it's a position I am interested in and I think that's the kinda job I want to focus on getting! I would never have discovered that if I didn't do the required research to gain more insight on the position.

Also last night this quote popped up on my facebook page

"When your determination changes, 

everything else will begin to move in the direction 

you desire. 

The moment you resolve to be victorious, 

every nerve and fiber in your being 

will immediately orient itself toward your success.

 On the other hand, if you think 

"This is never going to work out," 

then at that instant every cell in your being 

will be deflated and give up the fight, 

and then everything really will move in the direction 

of failure."- President Ikeda 

Today I am making a determination to get a job at a better company that will hire me for the same position.I will be getting back in touch with you to share my victory:)

THANK YOU FOR BEING SUCH AN INSPIRATION AND FOR TAKING THE TIME OUT TO ENCOURAGE ALL OF US"

And thank YOU for writing to me and allowing me to share your encouraging experience! I am really looking forward to hearing of your brilliant success! With this kind of attitude you will definitely WIN!!!

Why don't we get everything we want - and how do we deal with disappointment and keep our determination STRONG?

I received this comment/question from a reader today:

"So I've been chanting a lot for this one job 60-90 mins a day +morning/evening gongyo+studying+attending meetings.It was my dream company and a position I was really interested in.I got a phone interview after which they gave me an assignment to complete and if I passed that they would call me for an interview.I kept chanting and worked really hard on the assignment. 3 weeks later they sent me an email saying I didn't pass the homework round.I am so confused and upset because I gave it my all and I chanted with a lot of determination focusing all my daimoku on getting this position. I know I shouldn't doubt the practice but how am I suppose to have faith when my prayers go 

unanswered?" 

Thank you so much for writing to me. 

I know how hard this is...when you feel like you've been making all the right causes and your benefit is still on its way. 

This is a crucial moment for you...a crucial moment to REALLY grow and learn and deepen your faith. 

This is the HARD WORK OF HUMAN REVOLUTION. 
THIS is why I say this practice is not easy, and why we say a sword will be useless in the hands of a coward. 
It is important to not turn outward and blame anyone or anything for the fact that you did not get this job. The "Universe" is not to blame, and neither are you. Now is the time to reflect upon yourself. Now is the time to continue taking action and avoid feeling sorry for yourself. 
Just dig in, make a new determination, make your list of what you want and keep chanting and encouraging others no matter what! 

Please do not lose hope or give up your faith. Did you read kathy's experience in finding a job. I don't want to discourage you, but she did take quite a while...and there were many jobs along the way that she thought were "HER" jobs, that turned out NOT to be her jobs at all. 

She did not give up...she stayed the course. She continued chanting, helping and encouraging others, studying, chanting and chanting and taking steady action every single day towards finding her job. And the job she found has benefits overflowing in about a million different ways. I posted her experience about a month ago and I am going to ask her to write more. She wrote her experience before she started, and since then she has had benefit after benefit unfold every day for her at work. It really IS her job!!!  Do not give up!!! Be even MORE determined. Many of us have not had our prayer answered yet...but it is our fierce determination that strengthens our characters and I ASSURE you...your prayer will be answered if you don't give up!!!

From Daisaku Ikeda: 

"There are many times our prayers seem to take ages to be fulfilled, or when they remain unrealized despite the most impassioned chanting of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. But the important thing to remember is to keep chanting until they ARE answered. Our continued chanting gives us the chance to take a good hard look at ourselves, leading to positive changes on our daily lives. It's like work ~ you get a job, and go to work but you don't get paid on the first day. Or it's like gardening ~ you plant a sapling and water it every day, but it still takes a long time for it to grow into a tall tree...all good things come from continual, repeated efforts." 

Encouragement !

I just got off the phone from speaking with a young woman. I am now offering personal coaching by phone. As soon as I have it set up I will let you know about it. In the meantime I am going to share with you the encouragement I gave her this morning. It is universal encouragement and should help all kinds of suffering. 

She called me in a deep state of suffering and discouragement. She is having health problems, relationship problems and depression. 

I understand. 

I also know that she can be happy. She knows about the mystic law. She can chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. She doesn't have a Gohonzon yet, but she can make a determination to get one. 

Here is my main message to her...and I share this with you to encourage you or anyone you know who needs encouragement. 

Encouragement: (meaning to give courage!)

Your life can change profoundly as of this very moment. 
This conversation, these words that I am speaking and you are reading now can be the beginning of a totally new outcome and new life for you. It all depends on you and on your determination. Make a bold new determination. Up to now your life has been pushing you this way and that way. 

Now it is time for YOU to take charge and tell your life what it is you want. And you can do that because you know how to chant! 

Chant to strengthen your body, mind and emotions. 

Chant to be strong NO MATTER WHAT is going on in your life. 

Chant to experience life as the strong wonderful BUDDHA you already are. 

Chant to feel that power welling forth in your life. 

Chant to get a Gohonzon if you don't have one - as soon as possible! And to connect with the Soka Gakkai International (The BSG in India) and to connect with the life blood of faith and President Ikeda! Read his guidance and chant, chant, chant,chant!!!

Look in the mirror and say "TODAY IS A NEW DAY! I AM CHANGING FROM NOW ON! I AM USHERING IN A NEW LIFE OF HAPPINESS,  STRENGTH AND FULFILLMENT, and I know sometime in the future I will be able to help others with what I have been through!" 

Write your new determination and put it up on the wall. 
"All the best is coming to me now!!!
I am DETERMINED TO become stronger every single day! I am becoming happier every day." And chant to make it so. 
When you feel negative thoughts creep into your mind tell those thoughts: "NOT TODAY! I am NOT thinking negative thoughts today! Today I am chanting to be strong and happy and to PRAISE MY LIFE!" 

And keep chanting!

Have a great day!!!

It's Sunday Morning Here in Chicago

And we have another spectacular day!

I'm just about to sit down and chant for all of you. 

I am chanting for each of you to become so happy that you can't NOT introduce others to this practice. I'm chanting that your lives are overflowing with benefit and that you feel the power of this practice with every cell in your body. 

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo is like the Roar of a Lion! What Sickness can therefore be an obstacle? 

In this case, "sickness" can be anything. It can be any suffering we are still encountering...everything from a broken heart to an actual physical sickness. This week was filled with obstacles for me. I woke up unable to move because of pain in my back (that was a first, and hopefully a last) and my windshield broke for no reason while just sitting in a parking lot. Those were annoying obstacles, but I kept going on and I kept chanting. 

On Friday I attended an all day workshop about providing blog readers with really cool benefits...I'll let you know as soon as I have some things up and running. 

In the meantime, please tell me what you want! What can I do for you? Are there subjects you want me to write about? Are there questions you have about chanting? Questions about life? Please write me! 

Keep Your Spirits High

Chanting always works. 

Even if you don't believe it works.

That's part of the beauty of chanting. 

AS LONG AS YOU KEEP CHANTING! 

Here are some of the things I do to bolster my mood and keep moving forward:

I have a saying that I've embedded in my mind, and I say it to myself whenever I feel myself losing a little energy, or getting a bit discouraged...I say 

"ALL THE BEST IS COMING TO ME NOW!" and "ALL GOOD THINGS ARE ON THEIR WAY TO ME!" 

I have posted these signs for myself and I really use them and appreciate them! 

And the best part is...they are true! All the best IS coming to me now! All GOOD THINGS are on their way to me! I joyfully receive them! I am open to receiving all kinds of wonderful people into my life, wonderful experiences, love and laughter and fun!

The first thing I think when I open my eyes in the morning is "All the best is coming to me today!" Then I list at least ten things I am grateful for in my life before I even get out of bed. This helps to set the tone for the entire rest of the day. 

Then I get up and chant in an attitude of gratitude for my wonderful life. Chanting in gratitude is such a joy. See if you can generate this for yourself! 

I am chanting for you every day! 

How to Chant for the First Time!

How to Chant. Please share with anyone interested in becoming happy!

How to be Happy! How to Chant for the first time. 

A great post to share with first time chanters.  Please forward this on!

(I had a request from a reader to teach her how to chant - this is my response, and part of the book I'm writing. Please forward this to anyone you'd like to introduce to this amazing practice!)

Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life!

Here you will learn how to chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!

First of all make a list of what you really want in life. Take a new look at your desires and write them down.  Dream big. What do you really want? What do you want for yourself? What do you want for others? What do you want for the world? Make a list. There is no such thing as a “bad” desire as long as you wish no harm on others. Many Buddhists began chanting with desires that later turned into other desires. Don’t worry about it. Chant for what is really in your heart. Be true to yourself. 

I suggest having some sort of journal to write in. Writing in a journal helps you become aware of your progress and benefits.

Choose a place to chant comfortably. You’ll want to sit in a comfortable chair. Where would you feel most at ease chanting out loud? It is helpful to have something on the wall to focus on. It's helpful to rest your eyes on something slightly above eye level. It can be anything. When I first started chanting in my little two room apartment in San Francisco, I sat on the mattress on the floor and gazed up at the moon in a poster of Mono Lake. Choose something soothing to rest your eyes on. I find it helpful to have a table nearby for my tea, and other things I like to have close when I chant. You may want to put a little table up as an altar, but you don’t need that to begin. 

Write the words Nam Myoho Renge Kyo on a piece of paper (or use the card enclosed in this book). The words are pronounced as follows: 

Nahm, rhymes with Mom, 

meeyohoh, with three long vowels, 

rain gay, 

key oh. 

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. 

Nahm Meeyohoh Rain Gay Key Oh

Hold your hands with the palms facing in and touching each other in front of your heart. Sit with your back as straight as possible and say the words over and over and over again. 

You do not have to concentrate about what is in your mind at first. Just say the words. Breathe whenever you have to for as long as you like. See if you can chant for a few minutes, then a few minutes more. Chant for as long as you can!  

The rhythm should sound like a train moving, or horses running. There should be some energy to it. You can chant as fast or as slow as you wish. Speed of chanting is up to you. 

If you want to hear how it sounds you can go to the top left corner of this blog and chant with me. I begin slowly and speed up with more energy. 

See how it makes you feel. Can you chant for a little longer? Maybe even a little longer than that. Can you get to the point where you don’t have to think about the words, but can actually think about what you want? It may take a little time. Naturally you will begin to chant for what you want. You’ll see. 

When you are finished chanting you can write in your journal.

Start by writing an assessment of your life right now. What’s going well, what you’d like to improve on. Then write how you felt before chanting and after chanting. In your journal set a goal for how much you want to chant every day.  When I started, I could only chant five minutes a day in the morning and five minutes in the evening. I had a timer next to me and I’m sure there were times I stopped before I’d even reached five minutes! You will build up momentum! Commit to chant twice a day every day. Keep your goals in mind and you’ll remember your reasons for chanting! 

These words and this vibration go deep into the heart of your life itself. They summon forth your highest wisdom, vitality and sense of purpose. They also uproot the karma that is making you suffer, and give you the opportunity to change this karma forever. You will still have challenges and problems in life when you chant...but eventually you will see them as the opportunities they are. Problems are the FUEL you need to catapult your life into a life of happiness and joy. You have begun a journey to uncover the true happiness that exists in your shining Buddha life. Congratulations!
Also - make sure to search on Soka Gakkai followed by whatever country you live in. This site will help you to connect with people who will be happy to help you learn to chant, overcome your problems, and reveal your brilliant, wonderful self!  Fellow Soka Gakka members love to help each other. 
and go to IKEDAQUOTES.org to read Daisaku Ikeda's words. He is lighting the way for us all...and for YOU!

Obstacles are SUPPOSED to Happen

Last night I was reading from one of my favorite books "The Hope Filled Teachings of Nichiren Daishonin. SGI President Ikeda's lecture series in order to prepare for the Wednesday night meeting at my house. 
I read the Dragon Gate Gosho on page 113. It talks about the difficulty of obtaining Buddhahood and how easy it is to give in to our obstacles...unless we make a great vow and fight alongside our mentor. And it reminded me that obstacles are supposed to happen. They are a necessary part of our practice. Oh Yes, right! I know, I know, but sometimes it is good to be reminded. 
I have been chanting to share President Ikeda's heart and prayer for world peace. I have been chanting alongside my district members for them to overcome their problems. It is only natural that I should experience some obstacles of my own! 

Please do not let your problems defeat you! 
Remember that the Gosho 
"The Ship to Cross the Sea of Suffering" 
says 
"Doesn't a fire burn more brightly when more logs are added?" 

Our problems, challenges and obstacles are exactly the logs that we need to fuel the fire that ultimately creates our happiness...even if it doesn't really look like it, or feel like it at the time. As long as we do not give up, ans we stay in the circle of faith...WE WILL ALL WIN!!! 
Have a great day!