Category: Buddhism

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Take Responsibility and Change Your Story

Take responsibility

“If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, and then make a change.” – Michael Jackson, “Man in the Mirror”

At some point in my journey, it dawned on me that although I had friends who cared about me, in reality, the only person I could fully count on was myself. After continually being let down by friends and being estranged from my family, I felt quite depressed. I felt that no one really gave a sh*t about me.

My friend Paul pointed out that it wasn’t my friends that were making me unhappy, it was my expectations of them. After a while, I realised that I was responsible for my own Happiness, and I wasn’t responsible for anyone else’s. It was such a relief!

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Why I practice Nichiren Buddhism with SGI

Nicherin Buddhism

I’m reluctant to call myself a Buddhist, even though I practice Nichiren Buddhism on a daily basis. Having being part of a few different religions and practiced various forms of spirituality, I am reluctant to put a label on it. I have to admit though that out of everything I’ve done, practicing Buddhism with Soka Gakkai International (SGI) has had the most profound effect on my life.

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Changing My Story

Changing my story

It’s been a few weeks since I posted. I’ve had a challenging time. I must admit I’ve been feeling quite low since coming off my anti-depressants. My businesses are not going as well as I would like. My finances are shocking. I’ve had to take a job in a call centre on minimum wage. I have felt like a failure. I have felt as though the hope has run out. As if the light at the end of the tunnel has been extinguished.

I keep catching myself telling this story to myself and others and to a certain extent I know I’m wallowing in self-pity. After one particular evening where I’d been telling my ‘woe is me’ story to anyone who would listen, I realised that I need to change my story or as Abraham Hicks would say ‘Get off the subject’. I wrote about this back in 2013 in my post How to Get What You Want – Change the Subject and five years later in 2018, it seems I am still learning the same lesson.

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Life after anti-depressants

Life after anti-depressants

Life After Anti-depressants

As you may know I’ve been weaning off my anti-depressants since the latter part of 2017. I’ve been on them for 26 years – since I was 17! I’ve tried to come off them many times before and each time I had a relapse. I had a relapse this time as I mentioned in my previous post Coming off the meds (again!). The difference is I was able to work through my feelings using my toolbox of Happiness techniques. I continued to cut down the meds and I took my final dose a couple of weeks ago. I must admit I’m feeling pretty chuffed and proud of myself. Continue reading “Life after anti-depressants”

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Coming off the meds (again!)

Happiness

Coming off the meds (Again!)

I’ve been on anti-depressants for over 25 years! I’m currently weaning myself off them. Every time I’ve tried to come off them before I’ve had a relapse, as you may know from my previous posts. This time I was, and am, determined to stick with it and work through any feelings that come up. I know that negativity is bound to come up as the medication has been suppressing my feelings for such a long time. Continue reading “Coming off the meds (again!)”