For thousands of years the great Vedic seers have proclaimed that the purpose of attending to the body is to support the state of being known as enlightenment. In this state our internal reference point shifts from the ego to spirit, and we recognize that the knower, the process of knowing, and that which is known are one and the same. The boundaries of time and space become fluid as we remember ourselves as unbounded beings temporarily masquerading as individuals. This state of wholeness is the basis of all healing. More>>
Featured Workshop
Are you experiencing Synchronicity? Ask yourself these questions: Do I see coincidences everyday? Am I happy? What do coincidences tell us about our destiny?
Based on the New York Times Bestseller Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire, SynchroDestiny features Deepak, David, and Chopra Center educators guiding you to discover your true power, essence, and reality. Does "chance" exist? What do coincidences teach us? Find out May 3-6 in Lake Tahoe, Nevada>>
Bring wellness into your organization! The Chopra Center now offers a variety of half- or full-day educational sessions, weekend work/life seminars, and three- and five- day stress management programs for corporate groups, departments and organizations interested in bringing balance into their collective lives. Learn More>>
Q: Since reading the Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire, I find myself resonating with the daily affirmations and mantras. While I appreciate the essence of what I am repeating during meditation, could you tell me the exact translation of mantras such as Aham Brahmasmi?
A: Mantras actually have no meaning. They are the vibrations and sounds of the universe that allow you to experience non-local consciousness. Sutras, however are mantras with meaning: an intention is coded in the sound. In practice, you could use a mantra to transcend, then you could use an actual word - a sutra - to embed a particular intention into your consciousness.
The sutra aham brahmasmi, in short, is Sanskrit for "the core of my being is the ultimate reality, the root and ground of the universe, the source of all that exists." The meditation room at the Chopra Center has aham brahmasmi painted on one of the walls.
Your body is precious. It is your vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care. —Siddhartha Gautama
Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn, a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter. If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things, This is the best season of your life. —Wu-Men
Tip Having trouble printing Namaste? Try changing your printers settings to "Landscape" format instead of "Portrait" to make bedside reading even easier.
Bring Wholeness Back
In the balancing act of life, we seek fulfillment through a quest for wholeness – searching for the one thing that will bring integrity back to a certain aspect of ourselves. As we interact with the world around us we ingest information through our five senses. We hear words that make us feel or think certain things. We utter statements, make comments, and communicate feedback to those within earshot. And we do things – essentially performing actions that place our stamp on what was while charting our course for what will be.
When our needs are met, we settle into a realm of wholeness. When our needs are not met, the balancing act continues...like a tightrope walker moving his arms up or down, back and forth in order to maintain equilibrium. Sometimes the physical gestures are barely perceptible; other times they are sweeping motions designed to shift his body weight drastically to one side or the other. It’s an ongoing process, until he reaches the platform at the end of the rope where he then stands on solid footing.
It has been said that we achieve wholeness in a particular area of our life when what we think, say, and do is aligned. Since each of us is on this path each day...each moment...each breath...this Namaste honors the Ayurvedic approach to balance – bringing physical, emotional, and spiritual wholeness back into your life.
Every thought in our mind confirms the other trillions of thoughts in our mind while giving birth to a potential new thought, a new direction, and a new course of action. From this seed comes the birth of our choices which flower when we act. Ayurveda says that all things exist in a connected state. Which means that the thought you are having right now – even if it is a very private one – will impact the people around you and the state of the world around you. What you think is who are and what you do confirms that with every choice that is acted upon.
Whether you are bringing stillness and silence into your life through a daily meditation practice or whether you have decided to give everyone you meet a kind look, ultimately that becomes you. From that vantage point, all new actions containing stillness, silence or kindness stem from you as well. The cycle is an ever reinforcing one and one that consistently co-creates, ultimately giving rise to deeper flowerings of the self. That is where your new “reality” comes from. It is not imposed by events around you but rather flows from within.
Ayurveda always looks at the whole – the whole person, the whole situation, the whole world to provide ever-balancing solutions. Practicing Ayurvedically sound mindbody behaviors can bring balance to your emotional state, to your physical body, to your relationships, and to your soul.
In this Namaste, Deepak shares his thoughts on the Ayurvedic blueprint of life while David reaches back into ancient Sanskrit texts and opens our ears to the beauty of listening. Based on your feedback from a recent Namaste survey, we have re-formatted a few of our features to make them more easily accessible and have added a few more. This Namaste also highlights our most recent Seduction of Spirit where over 250 meditating individuals from all over the world tapped into their collective souls with Deepak and David; we also spotlight April’s yoga retreat, Albuquerque's Renewal Weekend and Deepak’s signature workshop on manifesting your destiny – SynchroDestiny.
Our meditation and yoga Q&A has expanded to incorporate your questions, and throughout this edition of Namaste you will find tips and routines to bring balance into your body, mind, and soul. Our contest features Journey into Healing where Deepak, David and a host of special guests magically fuse modern western medicine with the healing arts of Ayurveda. And of course we treat you to some wholeness tips from our most popular weekly program – Perfect Health – where individuals come each week from around the world to make that commitment to balance, wholeness, and transformation.
As always, we encourage you to send your insights, comments, and questions to feedback@chopra.com. We also encourage you to forward this Namaste to at least one person you know so that the voice of peace, balance, and transformation reaches as many people as possible. It is our goal to make Namaste the most widely read newsletter on the planet – sign up here. On behalf of Deepak, David and the Chopra Center Staff, thank you for helping us achieve this goal.
Peace. The Chopra Center
Contest
You Discovered Your Truth last month, and we offered a way for you to further your discovery with our first ever Yoga Retreat . We are pleased to invite:
Laraine Craig of Ontario, Canada Barbara Haydon of North Carolina
Congratulations!
This month we are offering complimentary admission to Journey into Healing June 7-10, at Lake San Marcos Resort just minutes away from the Chopra Center California. We've found this relaxing setting to be perfect for delving deeply into ancient medical wisdom with modern interpretations and applications, allowing you to deepen your knowledge of herbs, foods, meditation, yoga, and cutting-edge science. Learn More>>
To qualify, and be our guest, you can choose to either set Daily Devotion as your home page and share the page with 10 friends, or send your Namaste email to 10 friends and a copy to namaste@chopra.com.We will reveal the winner in the next Namaste. Manifest it!
Strengthen your spine, relieve back and neck pain, and let your stress and fatigue go More>>
Looking for a part-time way to soothe others? Teach Yoga>>
Meditation Q & A
Q: I'm wondering why we should close our eyes during meditation?
A: When meditating, close your eyes to help draw your attention inward. When your eyes are open, your attention is usually drawn outward and you can be easily distracted and drawn to activity. Do not try to meditate while walking, driving, or during an activity. If you use a mantra (sound) for meditation and it comes up in your mind in the middle of the day, gently release it and turn your attention back to whatever you are doing.
“Meditation is not forcing your mind to be quiet; it’s finding the quiet that is already there.” — Deepak Chopra, MD
I’ve recently come across the Jain concept of Anekantevada, a Sanskrit word that directly translates as “non-one-sidedness.” This principle reminds us that as human beings, we have the inherent tendency to see the world from a particular point-of-view, and therefore rarely see the whole picture. Anekantevada reminds us to cultivate flexibility in our perspective, so we do not indulge in the mindset of right and wrong. More>>
Living Perfect Health
The Six Tastes The human brain sends hunger signals when it becomes aware of the need for energy and information. As we eat, our taste buds send messages to the brain informing it if we have ingested foods that provide the energy and information we need. The six tastes, known in Ayurveda as sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent are the codes that inform our nervous systems of a meal’s nutritional content.
If we sample foods that correspond to each of these tastes throughout the day, our meals will provide a wide assortment of health-promoting nutrients. If we do not have all flavors available, the brain will not be satisfied and continue to send signals to eat more. As a result, we take in too many calories yet remain malnourished.
Emotion always has its roots in the unconscious and manifests itself in the body. —Irene Claremont de Castillejo
Every time you don't follow your inner guidance, you feel a loss of energy, loss of power, a sense of spiritual deadness. —Shakti Gawain
Good for the body is the work of the body, good for the soul the work of the soul, and good for either the work of the other. —Henry David Thoreau
Nurturing Touch
Random Reflexology This is going to be one of your favorite foot massage techniques. It really helps tired, achy feet feel better. Even if you have only one minute to spare, some Random Reflexology could make a person’s day. More>>
According to Ayurveda, each of us inherits a unique mix of three mind/body principles which creates our specific mental and physical characteristics. These three principles are called doshas. Most of us have one or two doshas which are most lively in our nature, with the remaining one(s) less significant.
In the balancing act of life, we seek fulfillment through a quest for wholeness – searching for the one thing that will bring integrity back to a certain aspect of ourselves. As we interact with the world around us we ingest information through our five senses. We hear words that make us feel or think certain things. We utter statements, make comments, and communicate feedback to those within earshot. And we do things – essentially performing actions that place our stamp on what was while charting our course for what will be.
day...each moment...each breath...this Namaste honors the Ayurvedic approach to balance – bringing physical, emotional, and spiritual wholeness back into your life.
a kind look, ultimately that becomes you. From that vantage point, all new actions containing stillness, silence or kindness stem from you as well. The cycle is an ever reinforcing one and one that consistently co-creates, ultimately giving rise to deeper flowerings of the self. That is where your new “reality” comes from. It is not imposed by events around you but rather flows from within.
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Q: 
. It is very insightful and goes deep in the nature of non-locality. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
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