What do you truly, deeply desire? Or put differently, what are the goals whose fulfillment you believe will make your life more successful and complete? Perhaps you are dreaming of a new career, more money, or more time with your family. Maybe your heart longs for a romantic relationship or the chance to express your creativity.
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Where's Deepak

Dec 1–5 Carlsbad, CA
Jan 7–11 Carlsbad, CA
Jan 14 Istanbul, Turkey
Jan 26 Kauai, HI

Yoga Teacher Training in Sunny Florida!

If your goals for 2009 include physical health, emotional balance, and deeper fulfillment and joy, this transformative Yoga Teacher Training is a perfect next step. Keep Reading

What We Are Listening To

The Magic of Gayatri by Chandra-Shekar

American Dream by Team Illuminati

The Law of Giving

The Law of Giving is easy to put into practice. If you want love, learn to give love; if you want attention and appreciation, learn to give attention and appreciation; if you want success, help others become successful. Read more

What We Are Reading

What We Are Eating

Roasted Tofu and Yams
Our recipe can be found here

Words of Wisdom

“Don't aim at success – the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself”
~ Viktor Frankl

“The highest reward for your working is not what you get for it but what you become by it."
~ Sydney Harris

Chopra Center Spotlight

Asha Maclsaac, Medical Coordinator
Read about Asha here

Congratulations to our Perfect Health Teacher Graduates!

Read more

What's in Store

It’s December again. The last month of the year. The month filled with celebration and holiday, as well as solemnity and release. Yet at a deeper, more subtle level, December marks a time for reflection on all that has transpired throughout the year, and an opportunity to forge a new direction for the coming year. Looking back at our experiences helps us see the choices we’ve made through a more detached lens – were all of our conversations filled with conscious non-violence? Did we do and say the right thing? Did we open our hearts to love? Did we make all of our decisions with grace and ease? Did we choose to thrive or surrender to being a victim? Are we taking accountability for the things that have happened to us over these past 11 months? And do we own each experience, accepting that this moment is exactly as it should be because the universe is exactly as it is supposed to be?

This Namasté celebrates The Seven Spiritual Laws – magnificent translations of timeless wisdom. The laws are designed to help you make the most conscious choices . . . to connect you to your highest power and to give you a road map to break free from your conditioned, constricted self. You know that self – the one that holds you back because you can think of no other option; the one that digs the rut deeper each day; the one that allows limiting beliefs to become real; the one that makes you act less than divine; the one that embraces fear, desperation, and habit instead of openness, freedom, and empowerment. IT is the small self that does or thinks something because it always has – not because it’s the best course of action right now. The greatest alternative is your unconditioned Self – the one filled with infinite possibilities, unbounded love, and cosmic awareness. But finding the path to your unconditioned Self is not always easy.

We’ve all been in a situation that seemed so new, uncertain, or unfamiliar that we wished we had a guide or an expert to point out the way through the darkness. The Seven Spiritual Laws is that guide, the owner’s manual that we’ve been seeking to help us proactively bring peace into our lives. Through a daily process of reading and practicing each day’s law, we become more comfortable with how the world is supposed to work; we fill our lives with sweetness, abundance, and joy; and we connect on a deeper level to the world around us. The laws begin with Sunday – the Law of Pure Potentiality, opening our souls to the power of the divine power of the universe . . . embracing the cosmic flow that brings infinite possibilities into our lives. Then onto Monday – the Law of Giving and Receiving . . . opposite sides of the same coin. On Tuesday the Law of Karma or cause and effect lets us closely examine the choices we make in each moment. Wednesday brings us the Law of Least Effort, which gently gives us permission to work with, rather than struggle against, the power of the universe. Thursday guides us to make a list of all our intentions and desires. Then Friday instructs us to detach and embrace uncertainty since we control our actions but not outcomes. And finally Saturday is the Law of Dharma or purpose in life, where we are encouraged to connect to our unique gifts and special talents for deeper fulfillment.

By using these laws in our daily lives, each moment can be filled with creativity, intuition, calm decision-making, peace of mind, greater compassion, and a deeper understanding of our purpose. When we are living these principles, we are leading with love . . . aligning ourselves with our truest nature . . . making intuitive and creative choices, and living a life that showers us with gratitude.

Each day, chopra.com features our daily devotion tool which includes the law of the day. When you click on daily devotion, it will take you to a detailed page that offers daily guidance and specific steps that you can take right now to weave the law of the day into your life. For a once-in-a-lifetime experience, we also encourage you to join Deepak, David, and The Chopra Center staff at an upcoming Seduction of Spirit event, where you will learn Primordial Sound Meditation, practice the Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga with master certified instructors, and spend each day learning how to live the laws with Deepak and David.

With this final Namasté of 2008, we wish you and your loved ones a joyous holiday season!
The Chopra Center Staff

P.S. As always, we encourage you to send us your comments, insights, and suggestions to feedback@chopra.com.

Living Perfect Health

Meditation for Mind-body Healing

Most of us can remember getting so absorbed in a suspenseful movie or masterful novel that the rest of the world dropped away and we were completely identified with the plot and characters. It is just as easy to get caught up in our own stories and emotions – becoming so identified with a mood that it completely colors our worldview. We may even start to believe that the core of who we are is an angry, sad, or fearful person. Our emotions jump into the driver’s seat, and our ability to be fully, present, creative, and responsive is compromised.

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Meditation Q&A

Q: Several years ago I learned Primordial Sound Meditation and soon realized the benefits and became very faithful to my twice-daily practice. In the past few weeks, however, I’ve noticed that almost every time I sit down to meditate, I start to fall asleep. It never used to be this way, and I’m feeling discouraged and not keeping up with my regular meditation practice. I would appreciate any insight or guidance into my situation.

A: Keep on meditating even if you continue to feel sleepy or even fall asleep. The quality of rest that you are getting is deeper than you typically get at night and it is still helping you release old conditioning and impressions. Sometimes there are periods of meditation that are characterized by this kind of foggy progress. Don’t be discouraged or put off because your meditation isn’t sharp right now. Eventually the blocks will clear and meditation will bring a more obvious sense of awakening in your awareness. For now, the best thing to do is make sure you go to sleep earlier at night to give yourself more sleep.

Featured Workshop

Learn how to find the calm in life’s stormy weather.

Join Deepak Chopra for Seduction of Spirit in 2009.

Seduction of Spirit is our classic meditation retreat – a unique opportunity to learn from the author of the international best-selling book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Deepak Chopra, as he guides you in the essential practices for peace of mind and true success.

In this time of economic challenge and uncertainty, Seduction of Spirit will help you connect to the spiritual wisdom and healing within. Each day, Deepak teaches advanced meditation techniques that give beginners a very solid foundation in meditation – and take experienced meditators to the next level. Experience blissful group meditations and daily yoga sessions. Connect with like-minded individuals as you learn timeless practices for higher states of consciousness.

Offered only a few times a year, the next Seduction of Spirit retreat will take place this March in beautiful New Orleans. Then in August, Seduction of Spirit is returning to the mystical setting of Whistler, British Columbia.

Call us today at 888.736.6895 to enroll. Be sure to ask about our special companion rates. Read more here

The essence of yoga is awakening to who you really are – your true nature. You are not a bundle of conditioned reflexes; you are not, in the words of Alan Watts, a “skin-encapsulated ego” separated from your environment. At your core you are pure consciousness, inextricably connected to the universal intelligence that brings the Unmanifest into manifestation. Keep Reading

Our New 2009 Events Brochure is here!

Learn more about our 2009 events, retreats, and workshops. Download the brochure here or receive one by mail by calling us at 760.494.1639 or 888.736.6895.

New Feature:
Namasté Reader Spotlight

Featuring Vera Quijano, Odell Johnson, and Camille Carrión

Read about Vera here
Read about Odell here
Read about Camille here

How We Are Stretching

In the Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga and other hatha yoga traditions, bandha (bahn-dah) is a powerful practice for stimulating the flow of prana or vital energy to different parts of your body.   Keep Reading

Teacher Feature

Aiko Watanabe, Tokyo, Japan
Primordial Sound Meditation Instructor
Read about Aiko here

Find a teacher in your hometown

Balancing Your Doshas

In Ayurveda, Vata is called “the king of the doshas” because it is the most active dosha, responsible for perception, thought, speech, circulation, elimination, and all bodily movement. Keep reading

What We Are Watching

Zen & Yoga:
The Art of Flow
Just Released! Featuring Claire Diab, Director of The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga program

SynchroDestiny
January 7–11, Carlsbad, CA
30-day special ends Dec 7

Journey into Healing
May 28–31, Chicago, IL
90-day special ends Feb 28

Seduction of Spirit
March 8-14, New Orleans, LA
90-day special ends Dec 8

Our Six-Day Wellness Program
Perfect Health
Jan 12-17
30-day special ends Dec 12
Feb 16-21
60-day special ends Dec 16

You may combine The Gift with any of these specials.

The Chopra Center’s Newest Family Member!

Congratulations to new parents Vijay and Reena Singh, who welcomed their son, Ishan, into the world on November 14. Ishan weighed in at a healthy 7 lb, 20 oz. Both mother and baby are doing well. Read more about Vijay here

Dream On

The Chopra Center & Spa@Dream New York in New York invites you to be part of “Sundays for Peace.”  Each Sunday afternoon from 2 to 3:15, we meet to meditate and explore the ideas of Deepak Chopra’s book Peace Is the Way. Please visit the Chopra Center NY website for more information.