Stand For Something Big

The following has been adapted from Episode 035 of The Goal Wizard Show for publication here.

When I was younger, I rebelled against my upbringing, religion and society. Unlike some of my peers, I didn't get into drugs or alcohol (though I did get into alcohol abuse later on.), I choose instead to become a Marxist-Leninist Communist. I thought that was a Great Cause, the emancipation of the oppressed caught in wage slavery. However, the party I choose to involve myself with, the U.S. Socialist Workers Party which by the time I formally joined in May of 1981 was a thoroughly reformist party. I only became involved with the SWP because it was a love-at-first-sight infatuation after I read a few issues of The Militant, the Party's weekly newspaper. Had I been exposed first to the Spartacist League or even the Revolutionary Communist Party I would've probably joined them instead. But, be that as it may, I found far-left political activism to be a dead-end street.

The second phase of my rebellion after I left the SWP and had a very brief membership in the Socialist Labor Party. I had made friends with a colorful individual who had far-out ideas that intrigued me. A few months after I met him, he joined the Nichiren Shoshu Soka Gakkai of America (NSA). He wanted to shakabuku (convert) me, but at first I thought chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to a piece of paper (the Gohonzon) I couldn't read was silly. However, in 1984 I had limited prospects (I was working a horrible job-with great people in a plant nursery) and few friends so I gave it a try. 

I first started chanting while I was driving tractor around the nursery. When I did so, much synchronous events unfolded before me. By May of 1984 I was convinced, and on Memorial Day week-end I received Gojukai (formal acceptance of Nichiren Shoshu religion) and my first Nichiren Shoshu Gohonzon.

However, I soon found myself, as a member of the Young Men's Division (I was 25), required to be caught up in activities at least 5 days a week, endless meetings, "training" activities, study of Nichiren Daishonin and Daisaku Ikeda writings. I was upset, however, that most of the membership was not permitted to go to the Temple (I received Gojukai and Gohonzon @ Nichiren Shoshu Myoshin-ji Temple) Many of us had to make do with meetings at the community centers and homes of senior leaders. (Though the Joju Gohonzon at the Sacramento community center was a very powerful object of worship).

During the late 1980s, though, my alcohol addiction was getting worse and worse, finally leading me to homelessness and despair in 1988. I stopped drinking (both for physical and financial reasons-too poor to afford booze) and joined Alcoholics Anonymous-though later on I discovered that AA was a very malignant cult. I went into the first of 6 rehabs and I cut back on Gakkai activities.

Through a series of misadventures I won't relate right now, I became homeless again, discovered the WWW and material about the Soka Gakkai that opened my eyes. It turned out that in 1991-92 the Gakkai split away from Nichiren Shoshu and went their own way. I had stayed with the Gakkai for 5 years, at one point having exchanged my original Nichiren Shoshu Gohonzon for a copy the Gakkai had started to manufacture. Well, as soon as I started chanting to it, my misfortunes multiplied. I finally left the Gakkai for good on October 6, 1996 and re-joined Nichiren Shoshu on December 12, 1996.

I finally began my personal awakening a few years after I went on Tozan (formal pilgrimage to Head Temple Taiseki-ji in Japan). Clarity began to emerge, and I have become stronger and stronger in my own recovery. I've finally quit booze for good and I have now meaningful work and peace of mind.

So do what you can to-day to live above mediocrity.

Always take The Red Pill
Tim

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Talk Less, Listen More

The following is based on episode 034 of The Goal Wizard Show. It has been adapted for publication here.

Use the WAIT formula

Why Am I Talking? Probe for your motives behind a conversation. This is a powerful question to ask yourself. Do you want to engage in real dialog with another individual? Are you listening to what is being said (or unsaid?)? Or do you just want to talk about yourself?

And don't be afraid of this simple answer - "I don't know. Let me find out more about it' when...you don't know! Avoid being stubborn and dogmatic - nobody likes to be around a "know-it-all".

Know what to listen to

We are constantly being bombarded with messages from the mass media, politicians, religions, our parents and relatives, schoolteachers, bureaucrats...learn to filter out the noise. Be selective in what you choose to expose yourself to. I don't watch commercial or cable television, I don't watch local news, I don't read the local daily newspaper, I don't listen to the radio; I'm very selective in what I do decide to watch, listen to or read.

When in conversation, notice the body language, tone of voice and patterns of behavior if you have a history/relationship with this individual.

Question more

That's the slogan of one of my favorite news channels RT. Ask questions, but don't come across like an interrogator. Show you're really listening, not just hearing the words. Be present with the individual, don't be there just bodily, be there bodily, mentally and emotionally.

Have a Great Week!

Always take the Red Pill
Tim

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Pursue Passion, Not Money

The following is adapted from Episode 033 of The Goal Wizard Show for publication here.

Definition of "passion" from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition:

"intense or overwhelming feeling or conviction; a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object or concept; an object of desire or deep interest"

I am very fortunate now that I have meaningful work in life, but it wasn't always that way. I, like a lot of other people, had to settle for jobs that were miserable and soul-deadening. It took many years to wake myself up, and I've done it. 

To be trapped in a horrible job or line of work is a waste of time and life. Waiting for that day when you reach retirement age, or when you win the Lotto or the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, or when your rich Aunt Agatha (if you have one) passes away and you inherit her fortune...do you really want to do that?

I have no easy answers if you're stuck on the hamster wheel of life. I thought 10 years ago that I wouldn't be able to work again, that I would receive a benefit check from the government and have to be on psychiatric medications the rest of my life, and I would live in a halfway house for the rest of my life. That's how low things got for me.

But I turned things around, utilizing the power of my faith in Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism (Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo) and Law of Attraction I was able to not only get a job, but also move out on my own(I was told repeatedly by those who said they had my "best interests" in mind that I couldn't do it) and now I have this blog, a Internet Radio Show and a small presence on Twitter.

Today I do what I love to do, and make a comfortable living. I am completely satisfied and I want more but I do not approach it from a feeling of need. When I focus on what feels good and detach my ego from needing achievement and results, I get what I desire. Funny how that works, huh? Earning money is good, and when I focus on enjoying the journey and being clear on the direction I want to go Life flows a lot smoother. Yes, there are going to be rough spots but I always keep the 80/20 Rule  in mind. 

So do what you must and LIVE!

Always Take The Red Pill
Tim

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