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March 2008

A Letter From Deepak

The highest aim of any spiritual path is surrender. Although you may associate the word surrender with defeat or weakness, it is the most powerful spiritual action, offering you infinite freedom and possibilities. Surrender is trusting that God, the Universe or a higher intelligence can accomplish anything – even when you can’t foresee the outcome of a situation. Keep Reading


Where's Deepak
Mar 6 Los Angeles
Mar 9
Albuquerque, NM
Mar 11-13 Costa Rica
Mar 17-21
Carlsbad, CA
Mar 20 San Diego, CA
Mar 31-Apr 5 Austin, TX


The Third Jesus

Third Jesus

Deepak's new book, The Third Jesus, is now available!
Read more here

A free download with a special note from Deepak is available for a limited time March 7–9!


Deepak and Yahoo!
"How can an organization help you fulfill your life dreams?"
Answer Deepak's question


What We're Reading

Living Deeply
Living Deeply: The Art and Science of Transformation in Everyday Life
By Marilyn Schlitz


What We're Eating

Chili
Spicy Mexican Rice
Our recipe can be found here


Words of Wisdom

“Everything is the same spirit watching itself through the eyes of different observers.”
– Deepak Chopra

"Once you can accept the universe as being something expanding into an infinite nothing which is something, wearing stripes with plaid is easy."
– Albert Einstein

"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough."
– Rabindranath Tagore



Chopra Center Spotlight

Monica Mifflin
This month our Chopra Center Staff Spotlight features Monica Mifflin. Read about Monica here


SynchroDestiny
May 14, Sedona, AZ

30-day special ends Apr 1

Emotional Freedom
April 21–25, Carlsbad, CA
30-day special ends Mar 21

Journey into Healing
June 19-20, Lake Lanier, GA
60-day special ends Apr 19

Seduction of Spirit
July 7-11, Dublin, Ireland
60-day special ends May 7

The Signature Chopra Center Wellness Program
Perfect Health
April 14-18
30-day price ends Mar 14


Featured Massage Treatment

Gandharva The Gandharva is based on the ancient Indian tradition of sound healing. Keep reading...


On the Air

Deepak Sirius

Tune in to Sirius Stars Channel 102 every Saturday at 10am EST for your weekly dose of Chopra balance and wellbeing.Learn more about Deepak's Wellness Radio show


Seduction of Your Spirit

Cosmos

You are a multidimensional being made up of many realms of existence. You have a physical body, a subtle body – which includes your mind and emotions – and a causal body encompassing your soul, the collective soul, and the infinite field of spirit. Last month, we explored your bodymind and the inseparable link between your physical and emotional being. This edition of Namasté celebrates Spirit and the breadth of its expanse, from the most personal to the universal.

At your very core you are stillness and silence – pure unbounded consciousness. Yet as a multidimensional being, your DNA is wrapped in a layer of food known as flesh; your mind is filled with emotions, beliefs, intellect, and conditioning; and your soul, containing your unique desires and memories, is your personal connection to the divine flow of the cosmos. Since EVERYTHING is Spirit, these dimensions of yourself are all aspects of the same consciousness, wearing different disguises.

At the moment of your birth, you are pure, perfect, whole, enlightened . . . it is the first instant that the nonlocal, unmanifest aspect of your being breaches the realm of form, physicality, time, space, and individuality. From that moment on, however, you start to forget your spiritual nature. Throughout your life, you accumulate layers of social conditioning, physical and emotional experiences, relationships, and the impressions of everything you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. These layers can mask your your true essence – which is divine stillness and silence.

Survey

This realm of stillness and silence is infinite. It is pure consciousness pregnant with possibilities. It exists within you and outside of you. It exists in every breath you take and in the space between every thought. Each time you access this realm of pure potentiality and tap into its flow – even for a few seconds – you experience a small transformation. You shift from a reflexive state of reactivity into a higher state of consciousness known as restful awareness.

The key to integrating this state of consciousness into your daily waking state is the practice of meditation. Millions of people around the world meditate every day and enter the realm of stillness and silence known as the “gap.” More important, during the rest of their day, when they are back here interacting with the rest of us – each breath they take, each thought they think, and each beat of their heart contains a tiny piece of that stillness and silence. This thimble-full of pure potentiality flows into their words . . . their actions . . . their perspective of life, love, being, and existence. The result is a deeper appreciation and a profound awareness of the divine quality of existence.

While there are many ways of entering the gap, meditation is an easy and effective method that helps you effortlessly disconnect from the activity of thoughts, sounds, and sensations that you experience in the physical realm.

Whether you practice Zen, mindfulness, vipassana, Primordial Sound Meditation or any of the many techniques for accessing stillness and silence, Namasté invites you to join us in celebrating the infinite possibilities that meditation brings into our lives and into the world.

To your good health and happiness,
The Chopra Center Staff

P.S. Please share your comments, questions, and suggestions with us


The Happiness Prescription

PBSThis month Deepak Chopra will appear on several Public Broadcasting Stations around the United States. The program, titled The Happiness Prescription, features Deepak guiding you on an inspiring journey into the Buddha’s teachings and tools for happiness and well-being.

The Chopra Center is helping to spread the benefits of mindfulness by gifting the Public Broadcasting System with a series of free Primordial Sound Meditation classes for those who donate to their local station at the highest gifting level. Please watch the telecast and support your local public broadcasting station.

Learn more about the Happiness Prescription


Meditation Q&A

Vijay meditating

Q: At a recent meditation session, the instructor said that we could sit on the floor or in a chair, but that we should rest our feet on the floor if we used chairs. I wondered, why do our feet need to touch the floor in meditation?

A: The most important posture is one that will make you comfortable for 30 minutes. Crossing your legs can lead to a foot or a leg falling asleep. This will bring you back into the local domain. Many people recommend putting your feet on the floor because it can help your legs relax while connecting you to the earth. There are also several schools of thought that say crossing your hands, arms or legs blocks the natural flow of energy throughout your body.

Find the position that’s most comfortable for you – one that lets you forget about your physical body for 30 minutes. If you can do that, then you have found the “right” position. Keep meditating . . . and we'll see you in the gap.


Treasures from the Namaste Archives:
When the Student is Ready

Life is a story we weave together from the thoughts, feelings, and emotions we experience each moment. Yet we live the majority of our life in the memories of our past and the expectations of the future. Rarely do we live in the purity of the present. These past memories and future expectations that we embrace throughout the course of our lives are what breed the stresses we feel in each day. In fact, the average person is a bundle of conditioned reflexes and nerves which is constantly triggered by situations and circumstances. Often the circumstances are simply the ups and downs of living each day. But there are times in our lives when the stresses, pressures, disappointments, and anxieties can become overwhelming. Keep reading...


Featured Workshop: Seduction of Spirit

Have you been wanting to give yourself the gift of a regular meditation practice? At Seduction of Spirit, Deepak and David will guide you in a week of deep meditation and inner discovery. This classic meditation retreat is offered only a few times a year, and your next opportunity to attend is this April in beautiful Austin, Texas.

In July, Seduction of Spirit is coming to Dublin, Ireland for the very first time. Right now is the perfect time to plan a spiritual holiday that will continue to nourish every level of your being for years to come. Learn more about Seduction of Spirit


The Great Shift Dialogues

Will historians look back on our time as one of a great shift on planet earth? And how can we each play our optimal role?

Our allies at the Institute of Noetic Sciences have just launched an extraordinary visionary dialogue series on creating a Great Shift, along with live weekly teleseminars, and the 2008 Shift Report. It’s a wonderful resource for us all to come together and create a movement for positive change.

By participating, you can receive the latest insights of Deepak Chopra, Michael Bernard Beckwith, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Neale Donald Walsch, Van Jones, Shiva Rea, and many more. Join the Great Shift today


Words of Wisdom

"If you should take the human heart and listen to it, it would be like listening to a seashell; you would hear in it the hollow murmur of the infinite ocean to which it belongs, from which it draws its profoundest inspiration, and for which it yearns.”
– Edwin Chapin

"How can it enter into the thoughts of man, that the soul, which is capable of such immense perfections, and of receiving new improvements to all eternity, shall fall away into nothing almost as soon as it is created?"
– Joseph Addison


A Word from Dr. Simon

The universal field of awareness underlying our individuality is imperceptible. Its very nature transcends sensory experience, and therefore our mind can only infer the presence of spirit. We can experience spirit directly, however, by going beyond our mind through the silent spaces between our thoughts. To connect with spirit, we have to go out of our conditioned mind.
Keep Reading


The Global Peace Event
of 2008

This July in Dublin, Ireland, Deepak Chopra and David Simon will lead Seduction of Spirit, a peace event where more than 1,000 people will come together to meditate for six days.

Meditation is one of the most powerful tools for transformation, and when a large group gathers to meditate and experience inner silence, the effects ripple out into the universe beyond. Our intention for this event is to help people cultivate peace in their lives, which in turn creates positive changes in the outer world.

Read more about Seduction of Spirit in Ireland


Balancing Your Dosha

Music
Sound has a profound effect on the entire mind-body physiology. Each dosha is balanced by certain tones and disturbed by others. Learn to balance your dosha with sound Dosha Quiz


Teacher Feature

Daniel Bastacky
Daniel Bastacky
Atlanta, Georgia
Perfect Health instructor
Read about Daniel here

Learn about becoming a Chopra Certified Instructor or find a teacher in your hometown


What's in Store

Tea
Restore balance and vitality with Chopra Center Organic Teas. Choose your dosha below:

Vata
Pitta
Kapha


In Their Own Words

When people learn how to tap into stillness and silence through the ancient practice of Primordial Sound Meditation, they are often profoundly transformed. Here is what a few of those on the path have to say


How We're Stretching

Heart ChakraThe Standing Bow, or Dandayamana Dhanurasana opens up your 4th chakra, the heart chakra. Keep reading....


Living Perfect Health

Perfect Health ProgramAyurveda divides the year into three seasons that correspond to each of the major doshas: Kapha season falls in spring; Pitta season bridges summer and early autumn; and Vata season stretches from late autumn through winter. Read more about Ayurvedic seasonal routines


Alliance for a New Humanity

Alliance
Human Forum: March 11–13 Costa Rica Read more


Dream On

Discover balance, healing, and transformation
CCNY
This April 17–19 the Chopra Center & Spa@Dream in New York is offering Perfect Health Rasayana, where you will receive daily Ayurvedic massage treatments, instruction in Primordial Sound Meditation, and guidance to help you balance and revitalize. To learn more, please call 212.246.7600, Option 2, or visit the Chopra Center NY website


Survey Winners

Congratulations to the winners of our Namasté Survey drawing! See the list of winners here

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