We live in times when it seems like a duty to be worried. Two wars, global warming, an out of control oil spill. More than anytime I can remember, people are uniformly glum about the future prospects of the planet. If you aren’t worrying, you feel that somehow you aren’t doing your part. (more…)
When You Help Yourself, Which Self Are You Helping?
Millions of people today are following the path of self-help—buying books, joining groups, going away on retreats—all in the hopes of transforming their lives. But is this mass of information really getting us anywhere? Deepak Chopra sorts through the hype to uncover the real benefits of self-help and how you can best use it to change your life. Read more at Oprah.com
Ask Deepak: Take Control of Your Depression
Each week, spiritual teacher Deepak responds to Oprah.com users’ questions with enlightening advice to help them live their best lives.
Q: After an emotionally abusive childhood, I am still trying to find happiness. I have been diagnosed with dysthymia. I call it a low-grade depression. I do not find anything enjoyable, other than eating, lying in bed, watching TV and sleeping. When I look back on my childhood, these are the only things I found comfort in then as well. How do I break that cycle? I have tried other things for fun, (more…)
How to Deal with Difficult People
We have all met people who are so prickly and difficult that no one wants to handle them. In most situations walking away is an option, and you escape with no more than ruffled feathers. But some situations are inescapable. You can wait until the thorny personality is gone and moan “He’s just impossible” to a friend. Far better, though, to begin to develop skills in practical psychology. (more…)
Tea Parties or “Yes We Can” — Choose Your Epidemic
It’s time for people to realize the power of “social contagion.” That’s a term invented by researchers to describe how influence spreads from one person to another. At the level of common sense, we all know that gossip and rumors have a life of their own, as do urban legends. Yesterday’s conspiracy theories about the Kennedy assassination give way to shadowy paranoia about President Obama’s birth certificate. But social contagion reaches deeper than common sense ever realized. (more…)