War of the Worldviews

How did the universe emerge? What makes us human? Did Darwin go wrong? Is consciousness a function of the brain, or are we all waves in the cosmic ocean? What is life? What is God?

In their just released book, War of the Worldviews: Science vs Spirituality, Deepak Chopra, a leading figure in the field of emerging spirituality, and Leonard Mlodinow, a theoretical physicist who teaches at Caltech, offer an insightful  exploration of contemporary thoughts and theories of science and spirituality, expanding the discussion and propelling it into new directions.

Now available on Amazon.com.

What people are saying about this phenomenal contribution to the age-old debate:

“We need a worldview grounded in science that does not deny the richness of human nature and the validity of modes of knowing other than the scientific. If we can bring our spirituality, the richness and wholesomeness of our basic human values, to bear upon the course of science in human society, then the different approaches of science and spirituality will contribute together to the betterment of humanity. This book points the way to such a collaborative endeavor.”—His Holiness the Dalai Lama

“Leonard Mlodinow is a lucid thinker and engaging writer who excels in making science and the scientific method accessible.”—Stephen Hawking

“Whether you root for science or spirituality, you will find in these incisive, insightful essays more than enough ammunition to get you through your next debate over the two opposing ways of seeing the world. And you just may find that ‘the other side’ scores some points, too. A fascinating, thought-provoking tour through some of the deepest questions of existence.”—Sharon Begley, author of Change Your Mind, Train Your Brain

Watch a live debate between co-authors Deepak Chopra and Leonard Mlodinow today (Tuesday, October 4, at 1 p.m. (EST). You can send them your questions and comments.  Click here for more information and to watch the debate.

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Deepak will also be a guest on the Anderson Cooper show this Wednesday, October 5. Check your local listings for air times.

“In Live Like a Fruit Fly, Gabe Berman shares his recipe for living a more joyful,worthwhile, and abundant life in every way. A witty, entertaining, and insightful read.” ~Deepak Chopra

In his newly released book, native New Yorker Gabe Berman shares his engaging perspective about following our passions, staying present, and practicing active appreciation. Filled with insightful musings, humor, and stories everyone can relate to, Live Like a Fruit Fly will help you awaken to the joy and meaning available in every moment.

An interview with Gabe Berman

Why should we live like a fruit fly?
Gabe: Fruit flies usually die of old age within ten days of being born. Seizing the day is their
only option. Likewise, your tomorrows aren’t guaranteed either. You may have your
whole life ahead of you, but as you grow older, it seems as though less and less time
elapses between birthdays. If you haven’t felt this yet, you will.

Q: What prompted you to write the book?
Gabe: After college, I jumped from one sales job to another. Towards the end of my tenure of
trying to coax people into buying things they weren’t interested in, I hung up the phone
after a making a sales call and thought, “My life is too short for this. I can’t waste it. I
need to live like a fruit fly.”

Q: Your writing style is unusual for the self-help genre. It’s more conversational
and less dogmatic. Is there a reason for this?
Gabe: I’ve plowed through many books in the self-help, new age and eastern philosophy
sections and I don’t relate to writers who preach to me so I vowed not to do the same.
My goal was to sound like a trustworthy friend.

Q: Which authors have influenced you the most?
Gabe: On the spiritual side, there’s Neale Donald Walsch, Deepak Chopra, and U.S. Anderson.
I’ve also made plenty of room for J.D. Salinger, Kurt Vonnegut, and Hunter S.
Thompson. But it was a book I read as a kid that made me want to be a writer –The Spy
in the Ointment by Donald E. Westlake. In this spy novel, the main character speaks to
the reader in parenthesis as if he’s talking to the camera in a movie. My book is similar
but I’ve made myself the main character and all I do is talk to the camera.

Q: You sporadically quote others throughout your book. Can you pinpoint the one
that means the most to you?
Gabe: I used a quote from Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor E. Frankl. I believe life boils
down to the choices you make and I couldn’t have said it better than this, “We who lived
in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting
others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but
they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the
last of all human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances,
to choose one’s own way.”

Q: Although you mock yourself for doing so, you make a few references to the Star
Wars movies. Care to comment on this?
Gabe: I grew up with Star Wars and thanks to the prequels, my young nephews are doing so as well.
As with Harry Potter, I believe people are so attracted to these stories because it shows how
one unassuming person can make such a difference. Luke Skywalker was just a farm
boy with a bad haircut who ends up saving the universe from evil. What’s there not to
love?

Q: You mention the events of 9/11 in the beginning of the book. It’s a significant
day for everyone but what does it mean to you?
Gabe: If 9/11 doesn’t show you how unpredictable life is, nothing will. All the planning and
all the worrying ended up meaning nothing for those people caught in the buildings that
day. We need to worry less and live more. We need to live for today.

Q: Do you have advice for aspiring writers?
Gabe: It’s the same advice I’d give to anyone who’s aspiring to do anything bold. You must
kick the first door open to have other doors open for you. It’s rare that the first door
opens without a bit of force. People are always telling me that they’d like to write a
book. But how many of them have actually started writing? Almost none. You need to
start writing if you want to be a writer. You need to start juggling if you want to be a
clown in the circus. It seems as if the Universe doesn’t budge from your desire alone.
It needs to see some action.

Q: Are you working on a new book?
Gabe: Yes, you can see it unfold at blog.livelikeafruitfly.com.

Read reviews of Live Like a Fruit Fly and order your copy at Amazon.

Even when you know that your essential nature is spirit, you can easily be deluded by the incessant activity of your mind and ego . . . the continuous cascade of thoughts, sensations and emotions. The mind can get mired in a conditioned pattern of thinking, returning again and again to thoughts of anxiety, stress, depression and limitation.

In truth, you are always free. You can go beyond mental conditioning by using the timeless tool of meditation to expand your consciousness and access the field of pure potentiality. Meditation allows the mind to become quiet and experience the silence and peace of pure awareness. Numerous studies also show the many health benefits of meditation, including lowered blood pressure, stress reduction and increased immune function.

Expanding Your Spiritual Awareness
With a regular practice, the expansive awareness you enter during meditation begins to permeate your life outside of your meditation sessions. You might experience flashes of elation and notice feelings of well-being sweeping over you at unexpected moments. You will begin to walk with more buoyancy and feel a warmth and peace in your heart. These are all signs that you are opening to spirit.

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To experience the benefits of meditation firsthand, we encourage you to join us for the Chopra Center’s 21-Day Meditation Challenge. The Summer Challenge begins August 15.  Register for free here.

1.)  Who or what inspired me today?
2.)  What brought me happiness today?
3.)  What brought me comfort and deep peace today?

We invite you to try this practice and share your responses with the Chopra Center community. Your stories may just help others connect to the beauty in their own lives.  Whatever we put our attention on expands, so taking a few moments to focus on the gifts of our daily experience can open our hearts just a little bit more and may even blow the doors completely open . . . letting us feel our original, blissful nature.

If you’ve never gone on a retreat and wonder if it’s for you, here are just 5 of the best reasons to join us for Seduction of Spirit:

1.) Take Time for Yourself . . to Renew and Restore Balance
Seduction of Spirit is an opportunity to leave behind the demands and pressures of everyday life and experience a week of deep meditation, inner transformation, and blissful silence. Away from the daily needs of your children, partners, and co-workers, you will be free to finally let go and move beyond the mind’s noisy internal dialogue . . . drifting effortlessly into the profound peace of pure awareness.

2.) Meditate with Deepak
Seduction of Spirit is one of the Chopra Center’s most popular events, where Deepak will guide you in advanced meditation practices and teach you ancient meditation sutras that will take you to deeper levels of your spiritual self. The meditation retreat is a rare opportunity to experience Deepak’s wisdom, teaching, and insight; deepen your meditation practice; and open yourself to higher states of consciousness.

3) Awaken Your Spirit
The most powerful tool we have for connecting to our unbounded nature and the field of all possibilities is meditation. A meditation retreat allows you to transcend the mind’s internal chatter and reconnect with your spirit and the truth within you. The Seduction of Spirit retreat is an opportunity for an extended and intensive meditative experience that will take you to deeper levels of stillness spiritual awakening. Once you have glimpsed your soul, everything else that happens in life seems to shine with the brilliance of bliss.

4) Ignite your Creativity
In a busy mind filled with repetitious thoughts, conditioned beliefs, and emotional turbulence, there is little space for creativity to enter. Meditation takes you beyond the rational mind to the source of all creativity: the domain of pure consciousness. As you expand your consciousness, you tap into your hidden potential. Your expanded awareness ripples out into your daily life, and as you go about your daily activities, you will begin to notice new insights, ideas, and inspiration flowing into your mind.

5) Nurture Your Body
Seduction of Spirit nurtures your body as well as your spirit. Each day you’ll cultivate a deep state of body-centered restful awareness with morning and evening sessions in the Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga. During the retreat you’ll dine on delicious ayurvedic meals created from fresh, healthy foods that will nourish and energize you during your stay. You may be inspired to make improvements to your diet and daily routine when you return home! You’ll also celebrate with dancing and laughter and special performances by guest performers, including Beth Nielsen Chapman.You’ll also enjoy time for optional nature walks and self-reflection.

Learn more about Seduction of Spirit and our special price for Georgia residents here or call 888.736.6895 to speak to a program consultant.

Dharma is much more than one’s career or focus of activity in life. Dharma is the unstoppable force of evolution in the cosmos that impels everything forward
toward self-awareness. Everyone has a purpose or dharma. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t exist at all. You don’t need to search the world to find your purpose. The clues lay hidden deep in your heart. Your purpose boils down to what it is that you have to give back to the world, and for that you need to know who you really are, for that is what you have to give. The impact of your life’s gift is not dependent upon your particular personality or specific skills. Who and what you fundamentally are, constitutes your gift to others. In truth, when you find your true Self, you find your love and joy, and you will express that in every thought and action in your life.

Love,
Deepak

Learn more about dharma and the seven  spiritual laws for success  here.

Learn more timeless teachings for creating greater health, balance, and joy in your life

Subscribe to the Chopra  Center’s free online newsletter, Agni and receive new monthly columns from Deepak Chopra, M.D. and David Simon, M.D., guided meditation podcasts, ayurvedic recipes, and other tools and techniques for getting into the best mind-body shape of your life. Click here to sign up for Agni and browse our rich archive of past issues.

The Answer is Inside!

This month we invite you to connect to the rich inner wisdom of your body, mind, and spirit . . .

Begin by taking the Dosha Quiz to identify your mind-body type; join davidji for a guided meditation; practice a powerful technique to let go of food cravings; awaken your intuition through chakra-opening yoga; and watch our new video about our upcoming Journey into Healing workshop, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, and David Simon weave their messages together. In his letter, Deepak discusses how discovering and embracing your shadow can help you reclaim your hidden power, while David Simon writes about the journey to the heart and shares a special guided meditation on love.

We wish you a wonderful month filled with peace, self-acceptance, joy, and love.

In gratitude,
The Chopra Center Staff

STREAM: Use the control panel below to stream the audio. Please be patient as the meditation may take a few moments to begin.

(Turn up your volume.)

DOWNLOAD: Right-click on the download link or (for Macs, use control click) and hit “save link as” to download the podcast to your computer. (~ 13 minutes)

Click here to listen to more guided meditations from the Chopra Center

To learn more about SynchroDestiny and how you can find your deepest desire, click here.

Question:

Answer: From the first time you sit down to meditate, you begin to benefit. If you continue to meditate on a regular basis, transformation will unfold at whatever pace is most comfortable and appropriate for you. Some people notice benefits immediately, while others may meditate for weeks or months before they really see the changes. Sometimes our friends or family members notice how we’re changing before we do!

As long as you are meditating on a regular basis, transformation is happening. It’s like the process of bleaching a cloth in the sun . . . you repeatedly wash the cloth and let it dry in the sunlight. Each time, the material changes imperceptibly until the cloth is pure white.