Tuesday,
January 10, 2006
Deepak
Chopra. It is a name you've probably have heard and a person of which
you are not too familiar. He is a medical doctor, born 1947 in New Delhi,
India, who is also a popular contemporary writer in the United States
on spirituality, synchronicity, integrative medicine and Ayurveda. I
happen to come across a book of his by accident at the time I was completing
high school in 1981 and read other writings by him. While I don't agree
with all he advocates, I would like to share with you today what Deepak
Chopra states as his Ten Keys to Happiness.
In
this start of a new year, take a moment to peruse them and then decide
for yourself how many you would put on your Top Ten list for happiness.
And possibly include them on your to-do list into this new year.
Ten
Keys to Happiness by Deepak Chopra
Physical
well being is inseparable from emotional well being. Happy people are
healthy people. The wisdom traditions of the world tell us that happiness
does not depend on what you have, but on who you are. As we begin the
new year, it may be worthwhile to reflect on what really creates happiness
in us. The following ten keys, gleaned from the wisdom traditions, may
give us some insight.
-
Listen
to your body’s wisdom, which expresses itself through signals
of comfort and discomfort. When choosing a certain behavior, ask your
body, “How do you feel about this?” If your body sends
a signal of physical or emotional distress, watch out. If your body
sends a signal of comfort and eagerness, proceed.
-
Live in the present, for it is the only moment you have. Keep your
attention on what is here and now; look for the fullness in every
moment. Accept what comes to you totally and completely so that you
can appreciate it, learn from it, and then let it go. The present
is as it should be. It reflects infinite laws of Nature that have
brought you this exact thought, this exact physical response. This
moment is as it is because the universe is as it is. Don’t struggle
against the infinite scheme of things; instead, be at one with it.
-
Take time to be silent, to meditate, to quiet the internal dialogue.
In moments of silence, realize that you are recontacting your source
of pure awareness. Pay attention to your inner life so that you can
be guided by intuition rather than externally imposed interpretations
of what is or isn’t good for you.
-
Relinquish
your need for external approval. You alone are the judge of your worth,
and your goal is to discover infinite worth in yourself, no matter
what anyone else thinks. There is great freedom in this realization.
-
When
you find yourself reacting with anger or opposition to any person
or circumstance, realize that you are only struggling with yourself.
Putting up resistance is the response of defenses created by old hurts.
When you relinquish this anger, you will be healing yourself and cooperating
with the flow of the universe.
-
Know
that the world “out there” reflects your reality “in
here.” The people you react to most strongly, whether with love
or hate, are projections of your inner world. What you most hate is
what you most deny in yourself. What you most love is what you most
wish for in yourself. Use the mirror of relationships to guide your
evolution. The goal is total self-knowledge. When you achieve that,
what you most want will automatically be there, and what you most
dislike will disappear.
-
Shed
the burden of judgment – you will feel much lighter. Judgment
imposes right and wrong on situations that just are. Everything can
be understood and forgiven, but when you judge, you cut off understanding
and shut down the process of learning to love. In judging others,
you reflect your lack of self-acceptance. Remember that every person
you forgive adds to your self-love.
-
Don’t
contaminate your body with toxins, either through food, drink, or
toxic emotions. Your body is more than a life-support system. It is
the vehicle that will carry you on the journey of your evolution.
The health of every cell directly contributes to your state of well
being, because every cell is a point of awareness within the field
of awareness that is you.
-
Replace
fear-motivated behavior with love-motivated behavior. Fear is the
product of memory, which dwells in the past. Remembering what hurt
us before, we direct our energies toward making certain that an old
hurt will not repeat itself. But trying to impose the past on the
present will never wipe out the threat of being hurt. That happens
only when you find the security of your own being, which is love.
Motivated by the truth inside you, you can face any threat because
your inner strength is invulnerable to fear.
-
Understand
that the physical world is just a mirror of a deeper intelligence.
Intelligence is the invisible organizer of all matter and energy,
and since a portion of this intelligence resides in you, you share
in the organizing power of the cosmos. Because you are inseparably
linked to everything, you cannot afford to foul the planet’s
air and water. But at a deeper level, you cannot afford to live with
a toxic mind, because every thought makes an impression on the whole
field of intelligence. Living in balance and purity is the highest
good for you and the Earth.
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