Worthwhile

“We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment, but it is transient. It is a little parenthesis in eternity. If we share with caring, lightheartedness, and love, we will create abundance and joy for each other. And then this moment will have been worthwhile.” – Deepak Chopra

East Meets West

In 1993, Deepak Chopra wrote an amazing book called ‘Creating Affluence: Wealth Consciousness in the Field of All Possibilities’. He followed it up in 1994 with my personal favorite, ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’. This was a small book in size, but it was chocked full of information that lent itself to becoming a great how-to book. The subtitle is ‘A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams’. Yes, please! I read the book straight through once and then continued to read a chapter a day every morning, over and over again until I had the concepts ingrained within me. The practical advice, scientific and spiritual wisdom, and simplistic applications have helped me develop into the type of person I want to be. And isn’t that success?

Deepak Chopra, MD, is a 78-year-old Indian-American who began mixing science and spirituality with an East meets West sensibility in medicine. Today, he has written over 90 books, many of them New York Times bestsellers. He is the founder of The Chopra Foundation, a well-being research facility, and rated as one of the top 20 influential thinkers in the world by Huffington Post. His ability to make spiritual wisdom make sense to the modern western world is evident in the increase in meditation practices. I have personally read nine of his books and appreciate his writing style that makes all this so easy to understand.

Practical Success

Before he became a staple on Oprah, before he became the leader of his foundation, before he became such a prolific writer and in-demand speaker, Chopra’s little book of wisdom that is ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’ captured a way of looking at success that made the hustle and bustle for materialistic wealth look like a waste of time. He advises readers to look into the field of pure potentiality and the greater consciousness that is the divine. He is very mindful of using words like God, spirit, divine so as not to offend, but draw everyone in for a better understanding. His premise is that by following these seven basic laws, the path to success becomes clear and its results are effortless to attain. He breaks down each law into the basics of biology and cosmology, showing us how we can compare our lives to the operations of the smallest cells of our beings as well as the largest expanses of space. Chopra says it is all the same, this universality, and it can allow us to see how futile all of our stressful efforts are when reaching for success. All we really need to do is be at one with these universal flows and the flowing will continue to us. Make no mistake, this is not a sit back and just wish for it approach. The laws Chopra presents in each chapter are well-defined, followed by anecdotes and examples, and then a to-do list of practical steps to incorporate in to your life to achieve the level that allows the flow. Some of the steps are easy, like starting a meditation practice. Some are a bit more challenging to achieve, like letting go of rigidity in how things should be. But as you work through the lists, you begin to understand that, just like a meditation practice, these are not items to check off and think, “Okay. I’m done.” These are things that we need to remind ourselves of consistently. Some days will be better than others. Some of the items will be more readily achieved or more often. And there will be those that are a constant struggle. Sounds like life.

Neverending Story

This is the reason I chose to use the book for daily reading every morning. By the time I got through to the end and started back over, sure enough, there would be a premise or strategy that I had forgot. It’s almost like juggling everything in the air. If you want to be successful, you have to keep all the balls in the air all the time. I remember feeling that way when I read Leo Buscaglia’s books. I felt like I needed to pour those thoughts into my head every day or else I would forget and start to slip back to the old patterns that I didn’t want in my life. Makes sense. You can’t pour yourself a glass of tea and expect to drink from it forever. You are drinking from it. It is being consumed. And it will run out and need to be filled again. And again. And again. That’s what I did with Chopra’s book about success. I filled myself with it every morning, consumed it. Practiced those ideals and laws throughout my day and came back every morning, needing to fill it up again. That’s how I know it’s a good book. A useful book. If I get something out of a book, not just for one time, but something that has ideas I need to practice, use up, and need to fill again, these are the books that live in my house with me. These are the books that stand at the ready to fill me up with their knowledge whenever I crack them open.

‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’ is such a book. In fact, when I knew I’d be writing about self-help guru Chopra this week, I didn’t need to go dig through the shelves for this book. I knew right where it was. However, in skimming the pages for reminders to write about, I almost missed my writing time for I found myself reading every word instead of skimming. I was remembering how those words had touched me and taught me when I had first read them over 20 years ago. They are surely like old friends, warming my soul every time we meet. I am reminded of the quote with which I started this piece. “… then this moment will have been worthwhile.” Whenever I revisit the pages of this book, the moments are indeed worthwhile.