Does How You Chant for a Goal, Matter?

I have had a question this week. What is the difference between visualizing a goal as already accomplished and forcing a goal?

When we envision a goal we can visualize it with a light touch, trusting the infinite to work it out. When you do this you envision the goal as already done, thereby telling the universe that this is what you would prefer.

You might feel strongly about your goal. There is a difference comes between chanting as though a goal is already accomplished and forcing it to happen. Forcing happens when you are trying to drive the bus, to make your goal come about in a certain way. If you’re just chanting intensely focusing on the end goal in mind until you feel that it has been accomplished by the universe, you are not forcing.  When we force a goal, we’ve decided how we want it to happen and then chant strongly for it to happen that way. When we assert ourselves aggressively into the process then we can interfere with the way the universe would handle it.

If you are having trouble achieving a goal, it may be that you are too attached to the outcome happening in a certain way. If you are pushing, shoving, self-assertively determined to have things go your own way you may be binding yourself to the problem.
When this is the case, and I think it happens frequently with relationship goals, then you may well be blocking the path that the universe would have taken. For example let’s say someone wants a relationship badly. They think they can’t be happy until they’ve  gotten a particular person. They’ve made the decision that this particular person is the only way their happiness might come about. Because they are so zealous about it, so needy, that energy may well be projected to prospective mates who are put off.   They may not be willing to look at the fact that their happiness might not lie there.

But if you can chant for that goal and relax, trusting that the universe will bring you the life that will make you the happiest. Then turn your attention to creating a life you would love living, while allowing the universe work out the solution in its own way. Because you are relaxed about it, you are projecting an entirely different energy and producing different results.

There is a difference between visualizing your goal as achieved and then relaxing and letting go of the path to getting there. This is when you stop fighting struggling and grasping for what you want and relax, and leave everything to the universe, trusting that it will work out perfectly. When you chant this manner you are holding the goal with an open hand. This means being open to the possibility that what is best for everyone may not be what you think you want now. If you can trust that the universe is always leading you to happiness, then, even though you could end up with a different solution than you anticipated, you can trust that it is the best solution. Keep chanting and at some point you will understand why you didn’t get what you thought you wanted.

For example a young man was looking for a different job in another city, thinking there were no jobs in his home town. He and his wife put their house on the market and even though other houses on the street were selling well, there house didn’t sell. They didn’t understand it as it had been remodeled and redecorated and was curbside ready. Six months passed without a bid. When the husband landed his out-of-town job, the only requirement was that they be 15 minutes from an airport. They never needed to sell the house, that was perfect for them.

Frequently people write to me that they want to change someone else. And they aren’t getting results chanting to change that person. Every human being has the Buddha nature within, that connection to the infinite. The Gohonzon has the power to change the person who is chanting. If we want someone else to change, it is only through changing ourselves, that the situation will resolve. When we change ourselves we are creating a different cause for our future, which produces a different effect. Remember the Buddhist concept of oneness of life and its environment.

The following is a story told by Satoru Izumi, which illustrates this point.  He was famous in Japan for his effective guidance.

One day President Toda was giving individual guidance at his office. ” A woman complained,’ My mother-in-law is perverse, malicious and will not change her ways no matter how often I ask her’. She called the older woman all the names she could think of. “As young as you are, you are still unable to correct your own disposition,” the president said to her. “How then can you expect your aged mother-in-law to change hers?” He gave her detailed guidance. Finally the woman realized that the fundamental source of her problem was not her mother-in-law but she herself. When she returned home, she found that her mother-in-law’s attitude towards her had undergone a profound change for the better.”

Let go and pray that what will manifest is for everyone’s highest good,  while trusting that the universe is always leading you in the direction of happiness.

Summary:

Today we looked at the difference between chanting strongly for a goal with the end in mind, versus trying to drive the bus and make that same goal come about in a certain manner.

Then we discussed the fact that if you want to change another person, you must change yourself in accordance with oneness of life and its environment.

Comments:  You’re welcome to share these vlogs with anyone if you think they will be helpful.  I love hearing from you, your questions and comments.  Keep them coming.

If you have someone new, I think you will find my two books that can be downloaded from this website to be be useful. Your Path shows how we use the practice to handle the problems of everyday life and gives you the basics.  Stepping Stones is a guide to how to set goals and use the chanting practice.  They were written to help you guide a  newcomer. Or, if you are a newcomer, they will be helpful to you.

URL’s

How to Chant To Change Another Persons Behavior       https:// wp.me/p3V1J9-1dS

Did You Know Your Life is Your Curriculum?  https://wp.me/p3V1J9-1bl

Is It Possible to be Too Attached to a Goal? https://wp.me/p3V1J9-1bl

I’ll see you again the first Thursday of the month.