Feel as though Your Prayers Aren’t Answered?

Today I’m going to discuss six areas for reflection when you don’t feel your prayers are being
answered.

Are You Ready to receive the Answer to Your Prayers?

If you are chanting for a big dream, there must be a change in your thought and feeling nature, You
have to be willing to grow into the answer so you’ll be big enough in consciousness to accept the
answer. The universe is orderly and the results will only come when you’re ready to receive them.
If you look around, the universe does things in an certain way and doesn’t skip steps. For example,
first a seed is planted. Then there is a period of gestation before the plant appears. For
example, the bamboo tree grows an inch a year for four years while expanding and deepening its root
system underground out of sight. Then in the fifth year, it grows to 80 feet. So determine, have
you planted the seed, have you done the work to get ready for the result, laid the groundwork,
learned the skills, taken the necessary actions? Be honest with yourself.
Ask yourself do I actually expect an answer, and could I really accept it if it came?
Sometimes we think we want something but when we envision it actually happening we feel a
reluctance. we wonder if we could actually handle it, or perhaps it doesn’t quite feel right for
one reason or another. If you’re not sure, chant for faith, pray for the perfect solution and
release the problem to the universe.

Have You Made a Decision It’s Going to Happen No Matter What?

If you’re chanting for a big dream have you made a decision, a commitment, that is going to happen,
no matter what, or are you hedging your bets, not really believing it can happen. If you’re
hedging your bets, you have a hope not a determination. The energy of what you are projecting to
the universe is quite different, more wishy washy rather than strong and determined.
A decision is important because the universe doesn’t respond to hopes and indecision. Until that
determination happens the universe can’t bring you the ideas and resources needed to fulfill the
goal.
But that decision has to be made when you can’t see the path and you have no idea how you are going
to find the resources to do what you need to do. You must trust the universe and stop looking
to your circumstances to decide what you can do. This requires a big mental shift. It means going against the training
of a lifetime.

Look Within & Chant to Remove the Block

We know from the Law of the simultaneity of cause and effect and oneness of life and its
environment, that the block is coming from within us. The simultaneity of cause and effect says
that when we think, speak, or act we are setting a seed for a future effect in our life. So if we
are dwelling on what we don’t want, our worries for example, we are setting the cause for future
worries.
Bill Aiken, former SGI-USA vice General Director says in his 2003 World Tribune article, “Rather
than there being one static “environment” that we living beings are all born into, every
environment is uniquely customized, tailored to suit each of us according to the state of our inner
lives. They reflect our past causes and include all of the circumstances of our lives….So, in a
sense, we’re all going around with our personal universe, one that extends from the inner depths
of our hearts outward to all of the phenomena of our surroundings.”
It’s never the Law that isn’t working. It’s always working perfectly. The block is always within
us. We can’t be too rigid in our outlook on life. We have to be willing to change the inner.
So look within and pray to understand what is blocking you.
Ask yourself. “Have I gotten an idea I didn’t want to hear, that I have dismissed for one reason or
another?”
When you pray you have started a dialogue with the universe, so pay attention to anything that
comes to you on the subject and act on it. You won’t see further than the next corner, but when you
take that step then you will see further.
Or, ask yourself, “Am I so attached to looking at life a certain way that I am unwilling to change
my views?”

Are You Binding the Problem to You?

Remember the experiences and circumstances of our lives are our curriculum. They may not be what
we prefer, but they are there for us to grow spiritually. The following behaviors will bind a
problem to you.
Dwelling on criticism and condemnation
Resenting and hating someone who has abused or persecuted you or betrayed you.
Spiritually when you hold on to resentment and hatred, the person being punished is you. It
doesn’t punish the other person. It’s like holding onto a hot coal and expecting the other person
to be burned. When we are attached to talking about a problem, we are projecting that to the universe
and the problem
persists. We’ve all heard the old saw. What we resist, persists.
When we give up our resentment, we are not accepting abusive behavior or saying that it’s all right.
It does not mean being a doormat or having to subject oneself to toxic relationships. You can always set boundaries with people who are
not good for you and simply not see them.
Letting our resentments go, removes a block in us so we can release that energy to experience and
attract our dreams. It changes our lives. The other person may never change, but you will be freed.
We free ourselves. It is a shift in perception, to find a new, more positive way to see what we
have experienced.
So chant for the willingness to see things differently and open up your life.

Would Your Prayer Harm Someone?

I f your prayers aren’t being answered, you might want to reflect on whether your prayer would hurt
someone else?

Are You Praying Daily?

Are you praying sporadically or daily? Praying a little here or there doesn’t generate the
spiritual energy to manifest your desires. You want to set your goal and reflect and pray about it
daily. Be persistent.
But don’t dig it up your goal to see how it is doing. Trust the universe to bring it about in its
own good time, when you are ready.
Finally, pray for the wisdom, courage and strength to live one day at a time. Stop straining and
relax.

In summary: We have discussed
1. Are You ready to Receive the Answer
2. Have you made the decision, a commitment that it’s going to happen no matter what?
3. Look within and chant to remove the block
4. Are You binding the problem to you?
5. Would Your Prayer Harm someone?
6. Are You praying Daily?

Comments: People have contacted me asking questions. If you want Buddhist guidance, I answer
questions by email at margaret@margaretblaine.com. This is my avocation.

For those of you who’ve asked to talk with me, I have a life coaching business where I work with
people who are feeling stuck, to discover what is blocking them from creating a life they’d love.
If you think you’re ready to move forward, go to margaretblaine.coach/strategy and sign up for a 45
minute complimentary session. We’ll look at where you are now, where you’d love to be and determine
the next best step to getting you there.

I want to keep my Buddhist work and my business separate.

Thank you for your questions and comments. I’ll see you the first Thursday of next month.