The Best Way to Get Rid of Evil

By Deepak Chopra, MD

 

The best way to get rid of evil is to change our ideas about it. The two concepts about evil that do nothing to end it are, first, the concept of cosmic evil embodied by Satan, and second, the concept of human evil as a permanent human inheritance, part of our nature.

 

If you Google the phrase “Americans believe in heaven,” you find that about 90 percent do, with 75 percent believing in hell and 70 percent in the devil. Those statistics remain fairly uniform from poll to poll; it’s strange that there’s a drop off between heaven and hell since the two go together in the mind. However, it seems possible that believing in the devil is a matter of having nothing better to put in his place. Evil so perplexes people that attributing it to a cosmic Prince of Darkness provides some explanation at least. It saves the trouble of taking responsibility for evil ourselves.
(more…)

Cardiovascular and nervous system changes during meditation

Photo-Nov-26-4-35-37-AM
Originally published in Frontiers
Steven R. Steinhubl1*, Nathan E. Wineinger1, Sheila Patel2, Debra L. Boeldt1,Geoffrey Mackellar3, Valencia Porter2, Jacob Redmond4, Evan D. Muse1, Laura Nicholson1, Deepak Chopra2 and Eric J. Topol1

  • Scripps Translational Science Institute, USA
  • The Chopra Center for Wellbeing, USA
  • Emotiv Research Pty Ltd, Australia
  • Emotiv, Inc, USA

A number of benefits have been described for the long-term practice of meditation, yet little is known regarding the immediate neurological and cardiovascular responses to meditation. Wireless sensor technology allows, for the first time, multi-parameter and quantitative monitoring of an individual’s responses during meditation. The present study examined inter-individual variations to meditation through continuous monitoring of EEG, blood pressure, heart rate and its variability (HRV) in novice and experienced meditators. Methods: Participants were 20 experienced and 20 novice meditators involved in a week-long wellness retreat. Monitoring took place during meditation sessions on the first and last full days of the retreat. All participants wore a patch that continuously streamed ECG data, while half of them also wore a wireless EEG headset plus a non-invasive continuous blood pressure monitor. Results: Meditation produced variable but characteristic EEG changes, significantly different from baseline, even among novice meditators on the first day. In addition, although participants were predominately normotensive, the mean arterial blood pressure fell a small (2-3 mmHg) but significant (p<0.0001) amount during meditation. The effect of meditation on HRV was less clear and influenced by calculation technique and respiration. No clear relationship between EEG changes, HRV alterations or mean blood pressure during meditation was found. Conclusion: This is the first study to investigate neurological and cardiovascular responses during meditation in both novice and experienced meditators using novel, wearable, wireless devices. Meditation produced varied inter-individual physiologic responses. These results support the need for further investigation of the short- and long-term cardiovascular effects of mental calm and individualized ways to achieve it. (more…)

Why Spirituality Matters More than Ever

By Deepak Chopra, MD

In troubled times, when the world seems to be on fire, people think about God and the religion they were raised in–a source of solace and hope matters more in a crisis. I don’t find myself thinking about spirituality in those terms, however. Like a winter coat that’s put away in spring, for many people spirituality, in the sense of going to church or praying to God, gets put away when the crisis has passed.

 

Crises by their nature, come and go, but the deeper need for spirituality remains. This need is rooted deeper than solace and hope. It’s the need for wisdom.  Wisdom is a word that’s open to cheap shots and automatic dismissal. It’s even alien to the kind of spirituality that’s about issues like self-esteem and love. Wisdom is much less personal and mysterious. It gets at the heart of why we exist and what our purpose is. Wisdom gives you a vision of possibilities that are found in consciousness, bridging all ages and circumstances.  It gets at the heart of reality. Ultimately the search for reality is what binds a loose coalition of people who want to reach beyond organized religion and its perceived drawbacks.

(more…)

OPRAH WINFREY & DEEPAK CHOPRA LAUNCH SEVENTH ALL-NEW MEDITATION EXPERIENCE ‘MANIFESTING TRUE SUCCESS

Registration is now open for the newest 21 Day Meditation Experience, Manifesting True Success.  The experience begins march 16.  Register now.

oprah chopra

Oprah and Deepak’s 21- Day Meditation Experience: Manifesting True Success: 

Week One-Starting Within

In week one, the aim is to begin creating success from the inside out.  Lessons include how to define your own success, align with your inspired path, make it an everyday reality, increase the feeling of love and creativity around your goal, and harness your emotions to work for you and open up infinite possibilities. 

Week Two- Making Every Decision A Success

In week two, the focus is on making dynamic choices.  Lessons include how to avoid static decisions, expand your comfort zone, measure your goals, record your progress, embrace your innate wisdom, identify what really matters the most, and pay attention to the gift of inspiration when it strikes.

Week Three- Putting It All Together

In week three, the intention is to establish order in our busy lives, move away from judgment and put all of these qualities together to manifest true success. Lessons include mastering how to map out your time, turn fear of unpredictability into a welcoming attitude, develop trust, fall into a non-judgmental state of self and others, and release defensiveness.

The Power of Desire—What Do You Want, Anyway?

By Deepak Chopra, MD

 

Desire is inescapable, and one could spend years trying to discover if human desire is a blessing of a curse. But right this minute a more practical question demands attention. How can you get what you want? Beyond the basic necessities for food, water, and shelter, which are enough to satisfy the desire to survive, human beings invent countless other desires. What we all experience is that some of our desires come true while others don’t. That seems clear enough, but in fact people approach this simple fact from very different angles. If asked, “How do you get what you want?” or an even bigger issue, “How do you make a dream come true?” people will offer answers that aren’t at all compatible:

–Desires are fulfilled and dreams come true if you work hard enough and never stop fighting for what you want.

–Dreams come true only if they are meant to. It hardly matters what you do; destiny or karma plays the major role.

–It’s pure luck which desires come true and which ones don’t.

–Making your dreams come true is a spiritual journey. Prayer, meditation, and good karma are critical.

–Dreams come true by the grace of God. To make your dream come true, you must surrender to divine will.

–Desire is self-fulfilling. Every intention includes a path to fulfillment within its structure, however remote fulfillment may seem to be.

–Getting what you want is inevitable, but you have to look deep enough. Fulfillment can occur on the level of fantasy, dream, or imagination. It doesn’t have to be physical. (more…)