daily encouragement: August 12

“In the face of rejection, you must learn to be courageous. It is important to believe in yourself. Be like the sun, which shines on serenely even though not all the heavenly bodies reflect back its light and even though some of its brilliance seems to radiate only into empty space. While those who reject your friendship may sometimes fade out of your life, the more you shine your light, the more brilliant your life will become.”
-Daisaku Ikeda

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“His aim was not to acquire but to realise, to enlarge his consciousness by growing with and growing into his surroundings. He felt that truth is all-comprehensive, that there is no such thing as absolute isolation in existence, and the only way of attaining truth is through the interpenetration of our being into all objects. To realise this great harmony between man’s spirit and the spirit of the world was the endeavour of the forest-dwelling sages of ancient India.”
-Rabindranath Tagore

daily encouragement: june 07

“Faith and daily life, faith and work–these are not separate things. They are one and the same. To think of them as separate–that faith is faith, and work is work–is theoretical faith. Based on the recognition that work and faith are one and the same, we should put one hundred percent of our energy into our jobs and one hundred percent into our faith, too. When we resolve to do this, we enter the path of victory in life. Faith means to show irrefutable proof of victory amid the realities of society and in our own daily lives.”
–Daisaku Ikeda

daily encouragement: April 13

How ironic that I open sgi.org only to find this daily encouragement waiting for me to share. Enjoy friends!

“Thoreau, a renowned American Renaissance thinker, wrote in his journal: “Nothing must be postponed. Take time by the forelock. Now or never! You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.” We shouldn’t put anything off but seize the moment, living with all our being in the present. If we do that, he says, each moment will become eternity.”
Daisaku Ikeda

daily encouragement

And what better daily encouragement to go with my last post then this:

“When we are aware that each moment of each day, each gesture and step we take, is truly mystical and full of wonder, we will live our lives with greater thought and care. We will also have greater respect and appreciation for the lives of others.”
Daisaku Ikeda

Enjoy!

daily encouragement: do something

And a lovely daily encouragement from one wise man that I love to read about, Mr. Ikeda:

“Rather than sitting around idly and rusting, we must act, give of ourselves and contribute something to the world. The French scholar Robert Arnauld (1588-1674) declared, “Have we not all eternity to rest in?” Why do you seek to rest while you are still alive? he asks. These are venerable words indeed. When young people make truly dedicated efforts, almost punishing themselves, their true brilliance will shine forth.”

Daisaku Ikeda

daily encouragement: creativity

And to go along with my last blog post, here’s a daily encouragement on creativity

“It is important that we have the inner richness to be able to look up at the stars or the moon and compose a poem once in a while. When we open wide our minds and fix our gaze on the universe, we fix our gaze on our own life.” -Daisaku Ikeda

daily encouragement

“Many things happen in life. There are joyous days and times of suffering. Sometimes unpleasant things occur. But that’s what makes life so interesting. The dramas we encounter are part and parcel of being human. If we experienced no change or drama in our lives, if nothing unexpected ever happened, we would merely be like automatons, our lives unbearably monotonous and dull. Therefore, please develop a strong self so that you can enact the drama of your life with confidence and poise in the face of whatever vicissitudes you may encounter.”
–Daisaku Ikeda

strengthen your mind

“No matter how healthy, intelligent or affluent we may be, if our minds are weak, then our happiness will also be frail and brittle. Our minds of faith, moreover, enable us to bring out the full potential in all things and situations, so it is crucial that we strive to forge our minds of faith.”  Daisaku Ikeda

The point of this blog is to let you in on my life and my thoughts and my experiences as I travel down this path of spirituality and my desire to seek Truth. Despite all of these great experiences and adventures I’ve been having, I forget my purpose and fall back in to the daily routine of life which includes home and work. 

This daily encouragement could not have come at a better time. I’ve been slacking on my meditation–a tool that I believe is one of the best ways to sharpen and strengthen your mind. I can’t say this is true or not, but to me the mind is a path to your soul, and your soul is the seat of your inner truth. Our mind is such a powerful, yet such an underused instrument in our lives. I forget this, and when I forget I begin to slack. Time to get back on a routine that involves meditation. Funny how these reminders come at exactly the time you need it the most. For me? I’m about to start a very stressful and anxiety-ridden couple months. I need my mind to be on point 24/7. Meditation time folks. Gotta get back in touch with myself. 

daily encouragement

“To possess both wisdom and compassion is the heart of our human revolution. If you have wisdom alone and lack compassion, it will be a cold, perverse wisdom. If you have compassion alone and lack wisdom, you cannot give happiness to others. You are even likely to lead them in the wrong direction, and you won’t be able to achieve your own happiness.”
–Daisaku Ikeda