The Benefits of Meditating Together
In the hustle and bustle of today’s fast-paced world, finding time to slow down and connect with your loved ones can be a challenge, especially as you go through the...
Relationships
In the hustle and bustle of today’s fast-paced world, finding time to slow down and connect with your loved ones can be a challenge, especially as you go through the motions of some of the day-to-day responsibilities you tend to either individually or together. But, much like meditating on your own can bring a sense of grounding peace within. “Taking...
Life is all about relationships. We are in relationships with our friends and family, the people we work with, even those we met casually in the grocery store or sit next to on a flight. We are in a relationship with our environment and the world around us and, on a subtle level, every cell in your body is in...
Learn how to improve your life and your outlook with these 7 simple mantras. From improving your daily mood to focusing on success, Chopra has the perfect mantra for you.
One aspect of life that can feel hard to deal with is managing thoughts you don’t want to have. These can be restless thoughts that fill the mind, or compulsive thoughts that keep coming back despite your desire to get rid of them. Anyone who has had the same tune running through his or her mind for a day or...
Forgiveness is an essential part of your spiritual growth and a necessary tool to cleanse karma. It is the key that unlocks the heart and the door to the body of love. If you cannot forgive, you will never be able to truly love. You have karmic connections to everyone in your life past and present—this connection is like a...
Have you ever caught the bug? I’m not referring to something cool like the surfing bug or the rock climbing bug or the bug. I mean the flu bug. It’s the worst, right? A nasty stomach bug can spread quickly throughout families, schools, and communities. Bugs are relentless and uncontrollable, and they wreak havoc when they enter our lives.Wouldn’t it...
From conception, we belong to community. Attachment to our clan is a biological necessity. We are wired to connect—and our bonds are crucial not only for security and survival—but also to thrive and for our well-being.Compassion is an essential element of a healthy community. It’s the awareness of suffering, and subsequent actions to alleviate the suffering. The absence of compassion...
Self-compassion involves becoming aware of the presence of suffering in our bodies, emotions, thoughts, and actions—and then taking steps to diminish the suffering. Compassion is the natural and spontaneous feeling that arises when we witness suffering, and that triggers our taking action to alleviate the suffering. While it may sound easy, practicing compassion for ourselves is the more difficult of...
From time to time we have the opportunity to speak publicly about something that is meaningful in our lives. In these moments, if we can find ways to ground ourselves and connect with our true self, we may be able to say what we really want to say in the way we really want to say it.I recently had an...
Perhaps the greatest gift of meditation is the way in which it cleanses the windows of perception, allowing us to experience our natural state of simple and open awareness. When we’re awake to our essential self, we feel happy, light, and at peace. In contrast, unhappiness is a state of complication and imbalance in our body, mind, and environment. Complications...
One reason that Ayurveda is holistic is that the doshas permeate everything—every quality in Nature, including human nature. We need to look beyond physical health to apply the doshas to how our emotions work, particularly when it comes to relationships and love.For centuries the heart has been considered a spiritual center, and in the system of Yoga, the heart is...
El Ayurveda es un enfoque de bienestar completo que se extiende mucho más allá de un cuerpo sano. Una vez que comprendes tu dosha, o tipo de cuerpo y mente, y las constituciones de tu ser querido, el Ayurveda puede mejorar tu relación de maneras únicas.Este artículo se publicó originalmente en inglés en noviembre de 2021.This article was originally published...
Every month, Dr. Sheila, Chopra’s Chief Medical Officer will be answering questions from our followers. If you have a general question for her around health and wellness, please send us an email to askdrsheila@chopra.com, and your question may be the one she answers next month. This month, Dr. Sheila answers a question about how Ayurveda can provide insights into who...
Ayurveda is a complete wellness approach that extends much farther than a healthy body. Once you understand your dosha, or mind-body type, and the constitutions of your loved one, Ayurveda can improve your relationship in unique ways.Compatibility in RelationshipsIn any relationship the first issue that Ayurveda can help with is compatibility. The doshas give you a good idea about the...
I can feel the clear blue water around my calves. I can see the white sand that’s sinking my toes into its body. It’s cradling my stance as I look next to me and I see my grandmother and her mother standing in a line with all of my cousins, my father, my aunts and uncles, and my grandmother’s cousins....
The current pandemic of the COVID virus has brought in its wake a different pandemic of anxiety and uncertainty.How do people usually adapt to anxiety besides taking tranquilizers? Psychologically the two most common ways are denial and distraction. Neither is helpful. By ignoring your anxiety or doing something that takes your mind off it, you might find temporary relief. But...
Life is full of challenges. Some people seem to meet every challenge with confidence, while others struggle to overcome them. Pittas especially get a sense of satisfaction from facing challenges head on—it brings a sense of accomplishment and can be very fulfilling. On some level, you actually seek challenges. Your highest self wants you to learn and grow, and life’s...
Expressing gratitude is much more than the act of saying “thanks”—it’s the cultivation of a feeling that serves an important biological purpose. Gratitude, according to scientists, is a deep feeling of appreciation. Studies have linked practicing gratitude with an assortment of positive health impacts on physical and emotional well-being, including the following.1. Gratitude Can Lead to Greater Physical and Mental...
Forgiveness is a vital spiritual and emotional practice, and yet it is one of the hardest things to do. The idea of forgiveness can be conflicting as thoughts and emotions swirl around how or even if you could ever forgive someone who has wronged you or hurt you.Forgiveness isn’t easy, but your innate capacity for forgiveness offers hope that it...
The holiday season is typically associated with gatherings of friends and family, cooking traditional favorites, and last-minute gift shopping. In short, it’s a busy time that can be as joyful as it may be stressful. However, for many, the holidays can be a time of loneliness and isolation, whether physical or emotional, making it a challenging time of the year.While...
Almost two decades ago, the term “gut microbiome” was coined to describe the trillions of microbes that reside in your gut. Scientists once thought that these microbes were just hitching a ride and you’d be better off without them. However, we now know they are critical to your overall health and wellness.Clocking in at 3 to 5 pounds, your gut...
In the past three articles in this series, we learned about people who live in Blue Zones (areas in the world where there is a high rate of centenarians) and how cultivating a healthy diet, having a purpose, and staying active are all factors that are involved in their longevity.This series of articles is based on a 2004 study led...
The desire for meaningful social connections is inherent in human nature. Loneliness or perceived isolation results in difficult and painful emotions that arise when a person experiences a discrepancy between her desired and actual social relationships.Loneliness is pervasive. Since 1980, the percentage of American adults older than 45 years who say they are lonely has doubled from 20 percent to...
In my part one of this guide, I discussed some of the lessons I learned about caring for myself while caring for my grandfather. Here is the second half of the guide, highlighting five more self-care tips.Engage in Uplifting ActivitiesThere is a quote by Walt Whitman that states, “Keep your face toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind...
Alone time.Some people are terrified of it, while others can’t function without it. Regardless of which category you fall under, incorporating some quality “me-time” into your busy schedule can have plenty of benefits.And now is a good time to take advantage of all that alone time has to offer. In a world where you are constantly connected, either via text...
The beginning stages of falling in love are magical, new, and refreshing. Everything else in life seems to stop as you move through love. It feels as though you’ve found the one who knows your soul inside and out, and this brings a fresh spark to life. As the years pass, however, this new feeling seems to dissipate like steam...
"When all your desires are distilled You will cast two votes: To love more. And be happy." ~HafizHuman beings are social creatures; we have the desire and passion to deeply connect with one another, to love and be loved, to understand and be understood. These desires are universal, and when they stem from a place of wholeness, our relationships can...
During the dark winter season when there is a limited amount of light, it is especially important to reconnect with friends and loved ones and with our deeper self. Reconnecting gives us emotional nourishment, enlivens our mind, and expands our experience of the inner light of consciousness. While forming the intention to reconnect may feel easy, many of us find...
Learn how to choose love and focus your attention on what really matters in life with these tips from the experts from Chopra.
If you and your sweetie vow “until death do us part,” you may, in fact, be hedging your bets. A recent study by researchers at Duke University suggests that married couples live longer and adapt better to illness or disease than single folks. This study focused on the effects of not having a spouse, or permanent partner, during midlife. The...
Listening seems like a natural skill, yet it requires attention and practice to stay present and truly hear what another person is communicating. The mind tends to wander, and our internal narratives and busy thoughts fragment our attention and sap our ability to stay focused in the moment. Our emotions can also interfere with our ability to listen. For instance,...
As a natural life force, emotions are intended to flow freely through our bodymind, then dissipate once we have fully experienced them and assimilated their valuable message. As we were growing up, however, many of us learned that certain emotions – such as anger, sadness, or even joy – were unacceptable, and we subconsciously began to push them out of...
Commitment is the ultimate assertion of human freedom. It releases all the energy you possess and enables you to take quantum leaps in creativity. When you set a one-pointed intention and absolutely refuse to allow obstacles to dissipate the focused quality of your attention, you engage the infinite organizing power of the universe.There is no limit to your ability to...
In yesterday's post we explored the roots of emotional pain and several practices for healing this pain. Today we will look at another body-centered approach that can help when you feel stuck in repetitive patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting.Tune into Your Body The word emotion comes from the Latin term emovere, which means “to set in motion.” As the...
Every emotion has a beginning and an end. Like an ocean wave, even the most painful feeling crests and dissipates. In our confusion, however, we sometimes block the natural flow of emotions by holding on to resentment, hurt, hostility, regret, or grievance – at great cost to our emotional and physical wellbeing.To release the toxicity of stored emotions and open...
According to The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, when we’re expressing our unique gifts and talents in service of humanity, we expand abundance, joy, and peace in our own lives as well as in the lives of others. This is the spiritual law of “dharma” or purpose in life. As the Chopra Center’s Human Resources consultant, Traci Porterfield uses her...
Bloating is a build-up of gas in the digestive system, which can make your stomach bulge. Bloating is uncomfortable and painful; it’s that bowling-ball-in-the-stomach feeling.Sometimes bloating feels like intense pain that you can’t shake. If you experience bloating, whether it’s on a daily basis or from time to time, avoid these seven foods that have been shown to increase, or...
Whether or not you are in a romantic relationship, Valentine’s Day is a celebration of ALL things love. This could be sharing a day of love with a romantic partner or it could mean sharing love with friends and family. Most importantly, this Valentine’s day it’s time to practice and celebrate self-love.There are two essential elements of a self-love practice:...
Summer is here, and it’s a great opportunity to pick up your green smoothie habit. It’s common for your taste preferences to change with the seasons, and during the winter time, you probably craved more grounding and warm meals. Now that it’s the summer, it’s time to enjoy lighter and fresher foods.If you tend to be someone who rushes in...
So, you’ve discovered the joy of yoga. Now it’s time to spread the love! Grab a good friend, a co-worker, your lover, that guy in yoga class you’ve always wanted to meet, your kids, a neighbor (you get the idea, it could be anyone), and try doing some partner yoga poses together.Todd Walton writes in the book Open Body, “Yoga...
Couples yoga is so much more than a simple yoga practice. When you merge your practice with another’s, you fall into sync with that person. Your breath, movement, and body positions find a rhythm together. Because of this, practicing couples yoga can lead to some of the most intimate and fulfilling times you’ll spend together.Yoga Creates UnityThe word yoga comes...
When you’re fresh into a relationship, everything can feel new and exciting. But, over time, as you share your lives together, you might find yourself in a more stagnant routine with your partner—after all, life is hectic and many of us are just trying to finish everything on our never-ending list of responsibilities. Trying new things together can be a...
After the traumatic experience of the pandemic lockdown, people felt relief at emerging into a more normal life, but during that time relationships had seriously frayed, and domestic violence rose. The result was a questioning about what relationships would look like in the future. Instead of a return to the status quo, there is room for renewing the inspiration that...
Repair is the foundation of building trust. Here are some ways to give a stellar apology and mean it.
We treasure our intimate relationships for an infinite number of reasons. With our partner, we experience joy, rapture, safety, friendship, and pleasure. We create a safe haven from the outside world in which we can nourish and be nourished.When life is going smoothly for us, it’s easy to cultivate this kind of bond. However, when we’re faced with obstacles that...
Relationships are a profound source of joy, support, and engagement in most people’s lives. Yet, over time, connections may fall prey to the monotony of familiar routines, busy schedules, and fixed mindsets, thus, losing their ability to bolster happiness. The good news is that with a little attention and intention, any relationship can be reinvigorated! Whether you are looking to...
If you want to change the world, become an activist. If your goal is inner peace, become a monk. If you wish to know yourself, become a parent. Raising children uncovers aspects of a parent’s nature that otherwise might remain latent. A cooing baby is likely to reveal unfathomable depths of love while a defiant teenager has the potential to...
If you are connected to the outside world, which I think most of us are, then you are probably being inundated with messages about goal setting, new year’s resolutions, and the “new you”. Well, nothing against goal setting or intention creation, but what if instead of the “new you” it became about the “new us?”In my work as a therapist,...
The daily forces that make your life less than peaceful are magnified during the holidays. Holiday bustle is a nice way of referring to added stress, family conflicts, overeating, and enduring winter’s blast.Yet if you can radiate peace, you will bring the joy and grace that the holidays are all about.The first and most practical way to radiate peace is...
At varying times in your life, you may need different people and communities to feel connected and supported. Making new friends – at any age – can be daunting and overwhelming.Self-reflection is one way to explore your intentions in friendship and community. For some, keeping one or two deep friendships is most nurturing and, for others, a wider social circle...
“If you love love, look for yourself.” - RumiLike Rumi centuries before us, we love love. However, unlike the Sufi mystic, we don’t always look for it in the right places. There are 270 million active dating app profiles: a digital testament to our collective longing for love and connection. We search, swipe, and wonder when we’ll find the partner...
When is the last time you felt that warm, gooey, love feeling? You know the one. It gives you tingles all over, maybe you feel some water in your eyes, or maybe it just feels like your heart is going to explode.For some of us, the holidays are a time when we get to experience this lovey, gooey feeling in...
While you may jump at the chance to celebrate, spend time with, or pay homage to your mother or motherhood, relationships with moms can be complex. If you are thinking of ways to strengthen or better understand your relationship with your mom (or any mom in your life), consider looking to archetypes of goddesses. Throughout this article, all mentions of...
You don t have to power through life alone. Open yourself to others and experience the true rewards of connecting with people. Here's how to build connections.
The holidays have gained a bad reputation for being an emotional roller coaster. Instead of experiencing a season of peace, many people dread this time of year as a season of stress and frayed emotions. But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can bring the gift of peace to yourself as no one else can. By following the...
Thanksgiving is a time when family and friends come together in celebration of the bigger, more important things in life—a connection to something more significant than the minutia of everyday life. It’s a time for restoration and rejuvenation, as well as merriment and connection with loved ones and family.Relationships are one of the most crucial aspects of life, and Thanksgiving...
“I just don’t want to go.”“Ugh, I’d rather stay home.” “Just thinking about going to that party is giving me so much anxiety.” “Maybe I’ll go for a little while and hide in the corner.” Though often confused and conflated with being shy or an introvert, social anxiety is a distinct disorder that can have a serious negative impact on...
Most people know that gratitude generates good feelings. But did you know that a dose of thankfulness can also positively impact your health, happiness, resilience, and relationships? Research in the field of positive psychology has shown, time and time again, that purposefully cultivating gratitude can have far-reaching effects in your life. This month of November is a perfect time to...
Are you finding yourself constantly thinking about your to-do list this time of year? Maybe you need to plan a menu, shop for the holiday meal, coordinate travel plans, purchase gifts, and get ready for family visiting from out of town.If you dread the start of the holidays and want to escape, you are not alone. In fact, fleeing from...
The spirit of Thanksgiving is more than just eating a big meal and watching football; this holiday season is about expressing gratitude for the people, places, and things in your life that you often take for granted. A chance to slow down and consider the abundance in your life, Thanksgiving is a time for community involvement and provides countless opportunities...
Who is the best listener you know? Would anyone in your life answer you?Few people are taught how to listen. Aside from being told to “listen up” or “pay attention” as kids, you may think that just because you can hear something you are listening. There is a crucial difference though. Whereas hearing just happens, effective listening is active and...
One of the most important components to a healthy and lasting relationship lies in your ability to communicate within intimate relationships. When communication is lacking or where there’s a breakdown in the lines, your ability to connect with your partner wanes, and you can begin to feel frustrated, anxious, and alone. If this is happening in your current relationship, it...
In your most important relationships, you search for love and acceptance, although you may find that this is not easy to attain. Everyone has an unloving side; everyone has their own stubborn way of doing things. You bring mixed feelings into your interactions with everyone else, this is simply the reality. Finding love and acceptance can turn into a difficult...
Whether you’re currently in a relationship or you’re intending to be in one in the future, it is highly beneficial to consider who you are as a person and what you bring to the table. Are you a spiritually awake, mentally stable, emotionally intelligent individual who can stand on your own, or do you look to your partner to complete...
One of my teachers, the late Dr. David Simon, used to say the purpose of life is to love more and be happy. I believe that each of us has within us, an inherent desire to love and be loved in the truest and grandest of ways. The kind of unconditional, passion-filled love that you experience when you meet your...
As the Beatles told us, “All you need is love” and how sure this is. Your highest vibration, your essence, who you really are, is pure love. When you love, you connect with the deepest part of yourself. The part of yourself which is always ready to present whatever you need in a perfect way, at exactly the right moment....
Retreats offer a rare opportunity to unplug, unwind, and reset. When you disconnect from your daily routines of work, school, children, and smartphones, you reconnect with yourself. You deepen your yoga or meditation practice. You allow for the time and space you need to heal your physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies.Despite the numerous benefits of going on a retreat and...
When you think of the lifestyle choices you make to stay healthy, diet and exercise are typically the first to spring to mind. At a young age, you’re told that fruits and vegetables are nutritious and running around outside is better for you than hours spent in front of the television. According to research, social connections should be added to...
“Thank you.” “I’m so grateful.” “I appreciate you.” When spoken from the heart, these simple phrases express so much. Think about how good it feels to hear them! Sincerely thanking someone honors their help and humanity as well as validates their efforts. You could make someone’s day or week by thanking them. Whether someone in your life has gone above...
Part of being human is experiencing the challenges life throws at you. Sometimes you’re prepared for them and other times you’re completely blindsided. Here’s the good news: while it’s impossible to have complete and utter control over what happens to you, you can control your emotional reaction to whatever external events you face.When you’re dealt a tough hand, your natural...
“Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.”—RumiRight Speech is the third step on the Buddha’s Eightfold Noble Path toward liberation from suffering. It represents a fundamental component of a conscious and mindful life. The word “Right” is not meant to imply a moral judgement of good or bad, rather it refers to the...
Do you remember life before social media? When you showed up to your high school reunion having no idea what your classmates had been up to? When people did yoga poses without photographing them? When you had to watch the news to get your news? It was a simpler time back then, and a time that, if you are under...
When you step into your power, you cultivate self-esteem and personal worth. A new sense of freedom emerges, doubts fall away, and you quit being a marionette to other people’s expectations or vulnerable to external circumstances. This new confidence allows you to let go of the need to judge, criticize, or compare yourself to others. When you claim your power,...
Adults in America spend most of their waking hours at work, and more time at their job than the rest of the world. Considering that less than 50 percent of working people in the U.S. say they are satisfied with their job, it’s no wonder it feels like people are more stressed out, burned out, and unhappy than ever before.If...
Sometimes carrying out small acts of kindness can be a simple way to make a huge difference. When you commit to practicing mindful acts of kindness every day, they become a part of who are and how you engage in the world around you. Here are 20 kind and easy things you can do to cultivate compassion and improve your...
Are you tired of your same old Mother’s Day tradition? Perhaps you always send your mom flowers and a card, or you carve out time for brunch. What if you kicked Mother’s Day up a notch and expressed gratitude to your mom in a unique way?If you are stumped on something special you can do, here are some ideas for...
Confrontations can be overwhelming, disappointing, unpleasant, and sometimes terrifying. Confrontations can also often come with a negative connotation, implying some sort of unfair treatment to another human being or maybe even feel like a type of bullying. However, confrontation is a healthy avenue for you to stand up for yourself and your beliefs—to be heard and not silenced by inaction...
The trademark of an empath is that you feel and absorb other people’s emotions and/or physical symptoms because of your high sensitivity. You filter the world through your intuition and have a difficult time intellectualizing your feelings.When overwhelmed with the effects of stressful emotions, highly sensitive individuals can have panic attacks, depression, chronic fatigue, food, sex and drug binges, and...
Have you ever wondered why other people don’t see things the same way you do? Isn’t it baffling that you don’t necessarily share the same viewpoints or beliefs even when you come from the same family? You absorb and filter information through your own experiences, which affects your viewpoints.Perceptions of Reality“Why can’t they just see it my way? The right...
Learn the meaning of holding space and how it can help you be more present with others. These seven tips will help you be there for those you love.
Do you feel loved when your sweetheart rubs your feet before bed? Does receiving a congratulatory card brighten your day? Or do you feel the most beloved when you get to spend the whole day at the beach with your kids? According to Gary Chapman, author of The 5 Love Languages, there are five primary love languages: Words of affirmation...
What might happen when mindfulness becomes a priority in your relationship? Mindfulness means “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally,” according to creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Jon Kabat-Zinn, in his book, Wherever You...
Winter introduces you to colder temperatures, darker skies, and an overall gloomier feel when you walk out the door. So it’s no wonder your natural inclination is to avoid all of it. Why battle the snow or put on an extra three layers of warm clothing when you have the option to remain in the comfort of your home?Health Consequences...
Focus on giving the gift of yourself with these creative holiday gift ideas. These creative gifts for Christmas, Hanukkah, or any other gifting occasion prove your heart expands more easily than your wallet.
No matter your role in an organization, work can become stressful when you have a difficult coworker. Historically a workplace has been a place to go for teamwork, conversations around the water cooler, and a sense of connection. However, with more people working from home, an increased competitiveness in a world filled with overachievers, and an increase in technology over...
Human life has always been defined and understood through relationships. Whether it be focusing on modern-era couples or looking to the wisdom of the ancients, much of this understanding has come from the dynamic relationships of masculine and feminine energies. Humanity’s earliest exploration into the Divine revealed the presence of both male and female essences on every level of creation.If...
“That is my toy. And you can’t have it!” a frustrated child screams at her brother. “Now, now, it’s nice to share,” scolds the child’s mother. And so begins the training to suppress your needs, wants, and desires.From the time you are young, well-intending parents, teachers, and other caretakers, mold you into socially acceptable beings. In many ways this is...
Do you know your neighbors? In our hurried and often detached society, having neighbors as friends and part of your support system is not as common as it used to be.One of my friends has a theory about why neighbors don’t know each other well. She believes you can attribute the demise of the neighborly bond to the automated garage...
It may seem like the era of internet dating, shortening attention spans, and financial instability has taken its toll on romance—but rather than a producing a generation of hardened cynics, many people hold love in higher regard than ever before.According to data available from the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University, divorce rates are...
Summer is a season that comes with many rituals. For some, summers include a move to a cottage for the season, while others enjoy weekends at the lake or traveling for holidays to the same annual destination or someplace entirely new. These traditions allow you to experience a sense of coming back to a beginning, of sharing connection, and of...
All people, regardless of their gender identity have male and female energy inside them. Follow these 10 tips to keep the scales of your masculine and feminine energy in harmony.
I remember a time when I was young I got upset with two of my friends and stopped talking to them for two years. I can't even remember why I got upset, but at that time it made sense to me to hold on to my hard feelings. At that young age, I thought that my behavior was reasonable and...
Your core values are a fundamental quality of your personality and sense of who you are. They define the concepts and principles that shape your being and influence your choices throughout the course of your life. Most of the time these values work quietly behind the scenes as they subtly influence your thoughts, speech, and actions. However, on occasion you...
Setting and enforcing healthy boundaries can be the thing that enhances or sabotages relationships in any area of your life, having a detrimental effect on your happiness, confidence, and sense of self-worth. Boundaries play a huge role in personal and professional empowerment.As a child, you were (hopefully) taught by your parents and caregivers ways to behave appropriately and how to...
Recently, there seems to be a lot more public debates than ever before. From the way our society should be ran or what is morally correct, to how and if politicians are serving our communities, there are more controversial topics than most of us can keep up with.Why do you see and hear more open debates now vs. previous years?...
Forgiveness is very desirable. For those who receive it, the burden of guilt is lifted. For those who give it, resentment and anger can be released, clearing the slate in a relationship and making room for peace.Despite this, in everyday life forgiveness is not easy to achieve. Let’s see if there is a way to offer genuine forgiveness, especially to...
Loving outside of yourself is a balancing act. You can love from a spectrum of close family members to those who you have never met. Being an empath means you are susceptible to placing your personal love and feelings in the hands of someone else if you do not stay self-aware. To say you are empathetic means you can share...
Are you using your emotions to inform you or are you letting them control you?Your mental and emotional baggage is primarily responsible for creating the discrepancy between what it is that you say you want and what you are actually experiencing on a daily basis. It’s the dominant driver behind your choices and behaviors, and can be the number one...
When you are in the midst of the empty bottles, broken promises, and never-ending lies due to a loved one’s excessive drinking, it can feel like you’re all alone in the world. The shameful and sinking feeling that someone might find out the horror you’re experiencing can make you want to crawl into a hole. You are not alone.In the...
With Valentine’s Day upon us, many emotions tend to surface around dating and love ... or the lack thereof. If answering the question “Why are you still single?” stirs feelings of frustration, self-doubt, insecurity, and/or loneliness, it’s time for an honest check in with yourself. Could your dating attitude be holding you back from finding the love you so desire?...
If you're an empath, chances are you feel the world on your shoulders. Learn how to stay emotionally balanced from the experts at Chopra today.
Kids are incredible and they have so much to teach us about communication. Kids love to communicate. They so are eager to openly express their feelings, ideas, needs, and viewpoints—whether it be positive, negative, or anywhere in between.Kids are beautiful in the way that they don’t have a filter and you never have to guess what they’re thinking or how...
The recent U.S. election, Brexit, climate change, refugee crises, and other social injustices may leave you with a pit in your stomach as the New Year begins. The deep divides between the people of our nation and world seem more defined now than they have ever been. You may feel overwhelmed, you may feel like running away, and you may...
There is something special about eating your meals around a table—it has always signified a time to connect, and enjoy good food and good company.As we get older those around-the-table meals often become food on the run, shoveling a breakfast bar into your mouth on the way to school or work or grabbing a salad between meetings or classes. Working...
The neuroscience behind human connection has broad implications for how we live our daily lives. Whether you're an introvert (fills their cup through time alone), an extrovert (needs high levels of social time with others), or even ambivert (a person whose personality has a balance of extrovert and introvert features), science is proving that in order to feel happy and...
Trying to be perfect all the time can be exhausting. Feeling like you’re never measuring up can wear you down in ways you didn’t think were possible. If you let it, perfectionism can negatively impact your self-esteem, affect depression and anxiety, and promote other forms of maladjustment.The good news is there are healthy ways to manage your perfectionism.What Does It...
It’s the holiday season—time for parties and play! Whether you’re feeling joyous or lonely, connection is what we all long for. In the book The Gifts of Imperfection, author Brené Brown reminds us, “A deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need of all women, men, and children.”As we put down our smart phones long enough to notice...
Learn about spirituality and relationships and what is means to be spiritually evolved and how to get attuned with your partner.
Learn how to show kindness in small simple ways and make the world a better place with these examples of acts of kindness.
Feeling annoyed by your co-worker or that person who just cut you off?
Learn what tolerance is and how to practice acts of tolerance to bring harmony to your life.
We are born with a purpose to fulfill; our soul has a personality and a plan with our time here on earth. This is our authentic self—what the soul radiates and enjoys. More often than not our parents, society, teachers, etc., have other plans in mind for us. We become more and more programmed as time rolls by, forgetting who...
It has often been thought of as a selfless act, but now research is also showing that altruism may benefit the giver as much as the receiver.In fact, the reach of kindness is so large that even witnessing kindness is good for you.Kindness begins when you initiate an action for the good of another without expecting anything in return. This...
Whether you're wondering how to stop feeling vulnerable in a relationship or avoid being overly emotionally vulnerable in a work confrontation, it's crucial to find ways to feel secure in your life.
Every relationship you have with an individual is unique. You have expectations in your mind of how you think others should interact with you. When these expectations fall short, you react internally, externally, or both. It can be difficult to build or maintain friendships and intimate relationships from this place of tension. In the end, intention and attention can make...
Peace is not absence of conflict; it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.- Ronald ReaganEffective communication is without a doubt one of the most important skills you can develop. In every area of life, you rely on communication to effectively translate your thoughts into words and to impart information to others. An inability to easily convey your...
Spiritually conscious individuals see and feel the greatness in people and the world. If you’re one of them, you might also feel negativity, oftentimes deeper than others. You may feel an obligation to take a stand for those being spoken down to, belittled, or treated unjustly. You want to be the protector or warrior who fights for that person, animal,...
Psychologists tell us we’re born afraid of just two things. The first is loud noises. Do you recall the second? Most people guess “abandonment” or “starvation,” but neonatal dread was simpler than that: It was the fear of falling. Today we all have a much richer array of consternations, but I’ll bet falling is still on your list. Why give...
Our intimate relationships can be the most incredible, nurturing, and fulfilling relationships we can have as human beings. When two people come together in marriage or any long-term commitment, it is usually with the heartfelt intention of making the relationship and each other the primary focal point of their lives. Of course there are other areas of life that are...
Most families are starved for time to spend together, and dinner may be the only time of the day to reconnect. As a mother of three children (ages 14, 12, and 7), I know firsthand that it can be difficult to get the family to all sit down, let alone share a meal that everyone enjoys.Yet, the sense of community...
Sometimes, it’s difficult to see your place in the world. Western society teaches us that we are individuals are who separate from others, the environment, and the cosmos. Greater emphasis is placed on uniqueness. This isn’t bad. However, there is a balance between being an individual and acknowledging that you’re part of a whole.To find that balance, you must get...
Relationships can be one of the most joyful and fulfilling aspects of our lives, and they can also challenge us beyond comprehension. We've all heard that communication is the most important thing in any relationship. Yet, in the book The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country's Foremost Relationship Expert, author John M. Gottman, Ph.D.,...
There’s no perfect season for finding love. It’s always a good time to add more love in your life.If you struggle to attract loving relationships, try this exercise to help you determine what you really want. Instead of wishing for love, you set a conscious intention and become the co-creator of what you want.We carry a lot of thoughts—too many—in...
Self-love is a term that gets tossed around a lot—and it’s often misunderstood.Self-love is not just about feeling good or taking time for yourself. It’s a state of appreciation for oneself that grows from actions that support your physical, psychological, and spiritual growth. Self-love allows you to accept your weaknesses along with your strengths, and to have compassion for yourself...
Valentine’s Day provides a reminder that you don’t need anyone else to make you feel loved and important. You can choose to approach Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to be grateful, love, and take care of yourself, not as a commercial holiday that requires the validation of a mate. This Valentine’s Day, try these 10 ways to honor yourself by...
I've been thinking lately about how long it takes to become wise. A few weeks ago, I was driving around with a friend, and we were talking—as friends do—about our troubles. I was talking about a rift I had recently with another friend, and how it had been causing me to suffer for many months.I am a person who likes...
Do you go out of your way to please other people so they will like you? Is it difficult for you to say no or express your opinion when it’s different from what others think or want? Do you often try to be a person others want you to be to fit in?If you answered yes to any of the...
The beginning of the year inspires change. Perhaps it’s the closing of one year and the beginning of the next that prompts us to reflect and set goals for the future.During this time of reflection, bring some focus to your relationships, and try to determine if they’re healthy or damaged. As you evaluate your current relationships or seek out new...
Do you think you have a bad attitude? Fortunately, this is a fixable issue. Learn how to improve your attitude from the experts at Chopra today.
The essential nature of the universe is the coexistence of opposites. You cannot be virtuous if you do not have the capacity for evil. You cannot be wise if you do not have an inner fool. And you cannot be generous if you do not have a stingy person inside you. In fact, the most enlightened people are those who...
Parenting is a role where even the most conscientious and intentional people can lose perspective. No matter how much you prepare, things rarely go according to plan, especially when those plans involve kids.Luckily, children are the greatest teachers of detachment, if you allow yourself to learn from them. Once you release the need to control their behavior and just model...
If you’re single, don’t fret. Use this alone time to raise your consciousness and let your intuition guide you. This will help you prepare for the right partner and find that soulful connection.Once you’ve found a mate, there are steps the two of you can take to help cultivate that spiritual relationship. Here’s what we have learned in our search...
Schools are doing a bang-up job teaching our children how not to treat each other. Kids learn about bullying the moment they enter kindergarten. However, most schools could use some help when it comes to teaching kids how to treat each other.How do I know? I lead compassion education programs in schools and this is how I begin every presentation:...
Adding a dose of compassion to someone else’s day not only uplifts their spirits, but makes you feel happier, too. And while most of us intend to be compassionate beings every day, our hectic schedules and busy lives can often get in the way of simply being kind to one another.The amazing thing though, is that even the smallest, most...
Compassion is a way of connecting the love and self-awareness within yourself to another person. Compassion is more than kindness; it’s a natural expression of kindness and understanding when you love yourself. Without a sense of love inside, compassion has no foundation in consciousness.There is a path to loving compassion, as with any spiritual quality. The path has a beginning,...
When the toils of everyday life creep in, parents can get so bogged down in schedules that the relationship with their children can seem distanced and disconnected.Busy parents can build up and strengthen those connections by taking a few simple steps such as guiding your children through a bedtime meditation, asking for their opinion, and actively observing your children without...
In a world with so much suffering and pain, compassion has the ability to connect and heal. Starting with our families and friends, and extending into larger communities, and out to the world in general, compassion can open our hearts and souls to a greater way of living.The trick is that compassion means different things to different people. A lot...
Compassion is changing before our eyes. A religious concept associated with Jesus and Buddha (known as “the Compassionate One”) is being researched today through brain scans and positive psychology. In positive psychology your aim is to reach a state of well-being. The actions of a compassionate person, being kind and sympathetic, turn out to bring personal benefits as well. This...
There’s nothing more attractive and inviting than someone who is confident in who they are and what they believe in. There’s a grace and ease about them. Better yet, when you can live that way, you can share that grace with others and life is more fulfilling.Contrary to that is someone who doesn’t know him or herself well, someone who...
“Remember, in our inmost being, we are all completely lovable because spirit is love. Beyond what anyone can make you think or feel about yourself, your unconditioned spirit stands, shining with a love nothing can tarnish.” - Deepak ChopraAll of us have the innate need to love and be loved. When we are born, we enter the world with a...
The greatest memories are often tied to the even greater friendships. It’s not always what happened that’s important, it’s who you were with when you experienced it. Good friends are a gift that you get to share life with—they are there through the ups and downs, the celebrations and the heartaches. You rely on your friends to be confidants who...
Anger is one of the most destructive emotions. It ruins relationships, intimidates co-workers, and creates bad feelings. So it's surprising that it's often an overlooked issue. In some quarters anger is actually considered positive, a tool for getting what you want.At some point, however, many angry people realize they have to change their tactics. They begin to see how negative...
Sometimes just getting everything done in a day feels like success. But success shouldn’t be measured by tasks completed. How happy you are when you complete those tasks should be your driving force.If you’re in a rut that has your family rushing from school to dance to soccer to bed with little time for connection, balance, or fun, it’s time...
Emotional well-being flows from the ability to clearly communicate what you want in life. This isn’t an inborn gift but a learnable skill. If you’re not adept at expressing your needs, it’s because you learned from people who were not proficient.The key principle of conscious communication is making it as easy as possible for another person to meet your need...
There are more tools than ever to help you when it comes to personal growth. Consider social media: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram all connect people instantly. Sometimes the conversation is intimate, as when you reach out to a close friend. Sometimes it’s a global conversation.There’s tremendous untapped potential here. You can literally participate in a worldwide nervous system without leaving...
Don't let a difficult person get you down. These tips and books on dealing with difficult family members will help you rise above and find compassion in difficulties.
Family relationships can be challenging at the best of times—sibling rivalries, power struggles, and unresolved jealousies are common issues that can arise. At this chaotic time of year, fragile relationships can become even more strained. Details like who is hosting the holiday dinner, which relatives are going where, and how to afford gifts can all create stress.If substance abuse is...
The New Year is a time for renewal and rebirth. It's a time to shed what doesn't serve you and set goals and intentions for what you want to draw into your life. Better than having personal goals is setting family intentions, things that you can work toward as a group. Not only does this help to bring the family...
Overreact: to react or respond more strongly than is necessary or appropriate.We’ve all been there. At some point we’ve all had the experience of having a psychological or emotional reaction that was disproportionate to the event that triggered it. We jump to conclusions, fly off the handle, and lose control of our emotional and mental balance.Unfortunately, the end result is...
Have you ever had the experience of finding yourself on a new path in life and suddenly you feel like you’re all alone? You’ve just stepped into a new version of yourself. You’re becoming more aware and you’re paying closer attention to the choices you’re making. Things that used to be your ‘norm’ no longer interest you, and creative ideas...
Editor’s Note: The following excerpt was adapted from The Wheel of Healing: An Easy Guide to an Ayurvedic Lifestyle.Did you know that it’s just as important to process your emotions as it is to process your meals? When you don’t process your food properly, your body accumulates toxins, develops free radicals, and creates cellular instability that leads to illnesses such...
Listening to each other, listening to yourself, and listening to your own wisdom may be rarer than it seems.One ExampleRecently, a friend asked me to come to California to watch her perform in a show. Unfortunately, the performance was scheduled for a weekend that I'd made another important commitment that I didn't feel I could break. She got pretty upset...
You step into the party feeling reasonably confident. True, your favorite little black dress feels somewhat tight, but it’s still elegant, and the wind outside only tousled your hair a little. Then, just as you’re preparing to mingle, it happens: You pass a mirror and glimpse your reflection—your horrifying reflection. The dress isn’t just tight; it fits like Luciano Pavarotti’s...
For those seeking love, the questions surrounding love can be plentiful. Once I do find it how do I keep it alive? Here is how to become a love magnet.
Just for a moment, pause and consider all of the roles you have played so far in your life. For example, my life roles have included son, brother, husband, father, student, doctor, author, speaker, and teacher. These have all been fulfilling roles yet they are not who I really am. The real me—and the real you—is infinite and unbounded. Yet...
Arielle Ford is a speaker & author of several bestsellers including The Soulmate Secret. Her mission is to make sure everyone finds a soul mate.
Learn what your emotional needs are in a relationship and how to communicate that with your partner from Chopra.
Many years ago I wrote the book Hot Chocolate for the Mystical Lover: 101 True Stories of Soul Mates Brought Together by Divine Intervention. Through the course of writing that book, I discovered some of the many ways soulmates ï¬nd each other. It’s pretty empowering to realize that even the most mystical, magical encounters required the soon-to-be lovers to take...
In my book, The Joy Diet, I wrote that yearning is the internal map of the course your life was meant to follow. I believe I wrote something like, “Your destiny pulls you through life by the heart.” Recently, I’ve realized that yearning is, indeed, a valuable indication of our best future, but it contains an energy that can push...
About 2,600 years ago, when Siddhartha Gautama (the soon-to-be Buddha) sat down under the bodhi tree, his resolve was to realize his true nature. Siddhartha had a profound interest in truth, and the questions “Who am I?” and “What is reality?” impelled him to look even more deeply within and shine a light on his own awareness.As a Zen story...
February is a month that celebrates love in all its manifestations, including romance, intimacy, acceptance, passion, forgiveness, friendship, joy, ecstasy, and communion. This is also the second month of the new year, and as Valentine’s Day approaches, you may be reflecting on some of the intentions you have set to expand your experience of love, happiness, and connection in 2013.In...
Deepak Chopra’s bestselling book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success is a guide to the universal laws that govern every creative process – from the birth of a baby to the development of a new business. The second of the seven laws is the Law of Giving and Receiving, which states:The universe operates through constant and dynamic exchange . ....
Most of us did not receive formal instructions on how to love. As we were growing up, we learned by observing our parents, siblings, and caregivers, who may or may not have been competent at managing and expressing their emotions. If your parents, like so many, were emotional amateurs, you likely have experienced challenges in meeting your love needs as...
Most people envision an ideal intimate relationship based upon shared interests, open communication, mutual nurturing, and passion. When they’re unable to create this level of emotional connection, they conclude that they need to work harder to create “serious” relationships. It has been my experience, however, that lighthearted relationships are generally more desirable and longer lasting.Although there’s no proven formula that...
Articles
Relationship with the One
Life is all about relationships. We are in relationships with our friends and family, the people we work with, even those we met casually in the grocery store or sit...
7 Mantras to Create the Life You Want
Learn how to improve your life and your outlook with these 7 simple mantras. From improving your daily mood to focusing on success, Chopra has the perfect mantra for you.
How to End Restless Thoughts
One aspect of life that can feel hard to deal with is managing thoughts you don’t want to have. These can be restless thoughts that fill the mind, or compulsive...
13 Steps That Lead to Forgiveness
Forgiveness is an essential part of your spiritual growth and a necessary tool to cleanse karma. It is the key that unlocks the heart and the door to the body...
How to Make Compassion Contagious
Have you ever caught the bug? I’m not referring to something cool like the surfing bug or the rock climbing bug or the bug. I mean the flu bug. It’s...
Cultivating Compassionate Community
From conception, we belong to community. Attachment to our clan is a biological necessity. We are wired to connect—and our bonds are crucial not only for security and survival—but also...
10 Steps to Awakening Self-Compassion
Self-compassion involves becoming aware of the presence of suffering in our bodies, emotions, thoughts, and actions—and then taking steps to diminish the suffering. Compassion is the natural and spontaneous feeling...
The Art of Grounding
From time to time we have the opportunity to speak publicly about something that is meaningful in our lives. In these moments, if we can find ways to ground ourselves...
Clear Clutter and Enhance Your Environment
Perhaps the greatest gift of meditation is the way in which it cleanses the windows of perception, allowing us to experience our natural state of simple and open awareness. When...
Your Doshas and Your Heart
One reason that Ayurveda is holistic is that the doshas permeate everything—every quality in Nature, including human nature. We need to look beyond physical health to apply the doshas to...
Cómo el Ayurveda Ayuda a las Relaciones
El Ayurveda es un enfoque de bienestar completo que se extiende mucho más allá de un cuerpo sano. Una vez que comprendes tu dosha, o tipo de cuerpo y mente,...
Ask Dr. Sheila: Ayurveda and the Doshas in Relationships
Every month, Dr. Sheila, Chopra’s Chief Medical Officer will be answering questions from our followers. If you have a general question for her around health and wellness, please send us...
How Ayurveda Helps Relationships
Ayurveda is a complete wellness approach that extends much farther than a healthy body. Once you understand your dosha, or mind-body type, and the constitutions of your loved one, Ayurveda...
Ancestral Healing: An IFS Approach
I can feel the clear blue water around my calves. I can see the white sand that’s sinking my toes into its body. It’s cradling my stance as I look...
Settling Your Mind in the Crisis
The current pandemic of the COVID virus has brought in its wake a different pandemic of anxiety and uncertainty.How do people usually adapt to anxiety besides taking tranquilizers? Psychologically the...
How To Face & Overcome Challenges In Life With Confidence
Life is full of challenges. Some people seem to meet every challenge with confidence, while others struggle to overcome them. Pittas especially get a sense of satisfaction from facing challenges...
5 Health Benefits of Gratitude
Expressing gratitude is much more than the act of saying “thanks”—it’s the cultivation of a feeling that serves an important biological purpose. Gratitude, according to scientists, is a deep feeling...
Why Forgiveness Is Important for Your Health and Well-being
Forgiveness is a vital spiritual and emotional practice, and yet it is one of the hardest things to do. The idea of forgiveness can be conflicting as thoughts and emotions...
5 Ways to Reduce Loneliness During the Holidays
The holiday season is typically associated with gatherings of friends and family, cooking traditional favorites, and last-minute gift shopping. In short, it’s a busy time that can be as joyful...
13 Health Conditions Linked to the Gut Microbiome
Almost two decades ago, the term “gut microbiome” was coined to describe the trillions of microbes that reside in your gut. Scientists once thought that these microbes were just hitching...
5 Lessons for Focusing on Community from Those Who Live to 100
In the past three articles in this series, we learned about people who live in Blue Zones (areas in the world where there is a high rate of centenarians) and...
Loneliness Harms Your Health: Here’s How to Find Meaningful Connections
The desire for meaningful social connections is inherent in human nature. Loneliness or perceived isolation results in difficult and painful emotions that arise when a person experiences a discrepancy between...
The Caregiver’s Guide to Self-Care: Part II
In my part one of this guide, I discussed some of the lessons I learned about caring for myself while caring for my grandfather. Here is the second half of...
Alone Time: 4 Reasons You Need It and 4 Ways to Enjoy It
Alone time.Some people are terrified of it, while others can’t function without it. Regardless of which category you fall under, incorporating some quality “me-time” into your busy schedule can have...
How to Maintain a Healthy Relationship With Spiritual Unity
The beginning stages of falling in love are magical, new, and refreshing. Everything else in life seems to stop as you move through love. It feels as though you’ve found...
Using Nonviolent Communication to Nurture Your Relationships
"When all your desires are distilled You will cast two votes: To love more. And be happy." ~HafizHuman beings are social creatures; we have the desire and passion to deeply...
Winter, Stress, and Vedic Astrology
During the dark winter season when there is a limited amount of light, it is especially important to reconnect with friends and loved ones and with our deeper self. Reconnecting...
Choose Love
Learn how to choose love and focus your attention on what really matters in life with these tips from the experts from Chopra.
Love Longer, Live Longer
If you and your sweetie vow “until death do us part,” you may, in fact, be hedging your bets. A recent study by researchers at Duke University suggests that married...
The Art and Practice of Mindful Listening
Listening seems like a natural skill, yet it requires attention and practice to stay present and truly hear what another person is communicating. The mind tends to wander, and our...
Emotional Spring Cleaning
As a natural life force, emotions are intended to flow freely through our bodymind, then dissipate once we have fully experienced them and assimilated their valuable message. As we were...
To Have More, Give All
Commitment is the ultimate assertion of human freedom. It releases all the energy you possess and enables you to take quantum leaps in creativity. When you set a one-pointed intention...
Healing the Source of Emotional Pain, Part II
In yesterday's post we explored the roots of emotional pain and several practices for healing this pain. Today we will look at another body-centered approach that can help when you...
Healing Wisdom
Every emotion has a beginning and an end. Like an ocean wave, even the most painful feeling crests and dissipates. In our confusion, however, we sometimes block the natural flow...
Find the Perfect Partner for You
According to The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, when we’re expressing our unique gifts and talents in service of humanity, we expand abundance, joy, and peace in our own lives...
Avoid These 7 Foods to Reduce Bloating
Bloating is a build-up of gas in the digestive system, which can make your stomach bulge. Bloating is uncomfortable and painful; it’s that bowling-ball-in-the-stomach feeling.Sometimes bloating feels like intense pain...
5 Sweet and Healthy Chocolate-y Treats for Valentine’s Day
Whether or not you are in a romantic relationship, Valentine’s Day is a celebration of ALL things love. This could be sharing a day of love with a romantic partner...
Sensational Summer Smoothies: 3 Healthy Recipes
Summer is here, and it’s a great opportunity to pick up your green smoothie habit. It’s common for your taste preferences to change with the seasons, and during the winter...
5 Partner Yoga Poses to Inspire Connection
So, you’ve discovered the joy of yoga. Now it’s time to spread the love! Grab a good friend, a co-worker, your lover, that guy in yoga class you’ve always wanted...
How to Increase Intimacy With Couples Yoga
Couples yoga is so much more than a simple yoga practice. When you merge your practice with another’s, you fall into sync with that person. Your breath, movement, and body...
How Trying New Things Together Can Strengthen Relationships
When you’re fresh into a relationship, everything can feel new and exciting. But, over time, as you share your lives together, you might find yourself in a more stagnant routine...
New Inspiration for Relationships
After the traumatic experience of the pandemic lockdown, people felt relief at emerging into a more normal life, but during that time relationships had seriously frayed, and domestic violence rose....
How to Repair Your Relationships
Repair is the foundation of building trust. Here are some ways to give a stellar apology and mean it.
Building Resilient Relationships
We treasure our intimate relationships for an infinite number of reasons. With our partner, we experience joy, rapture, safety, friendship, and pleasure. We create a safe haven from the outside...
Add More Zest to Your Relationships
Relationships are a profound source of joy, support, and engagement in most people’s lives. Yet, over time, connections may fall prey to the monotony of familiar routines, busy schedules, and...
Parenting as a Spiritual Practice
If you want to change the world, become an activist. If your goal is inner peace, become a monk. If you wish to know yourself, become a parent. Raising children...
The Surprising Secret to Better Relationships
If you are connected to the outside world, which I think most of us are, then you are probably being inundated with messages about goal setting, new year’s resolutions, and...
How to Radiate Peace During the Holidays
The daily forces that make your life less than peaceful are magnified during the holidays. Holiday bustle is a nice way of referring to added stress, family conflicts, overeating, and...
How to Make New Friends and Find Your Community
At varying times in your life, you may need different people and communities to feel connected and supported. Making new friends – at any age – can be daunting and...
How to Incorporate Self-Love and Mindfulness in Your Dating Life
“If you love love, look for yourself.” - RumiLike Rumi centuries before us, we love love. However, unlike the Sufi mystic, we don’t always look for it in the right...
Warming Up with Secure Attachment: How to Feel the Love in Any Situation
When is the last time you felt that warm, gooey, love feeling? You know the one. It gives you tingles all over, maybe you feel some water in your eyes,...
Which Goddess is She? Four Archetypes to Better Your Relationship with Your Mom
While you may jump at the chance to celebrate, spend time with, or pay homage to your mother or motherhood, relationships with moms can be complex. If you are thinking...
10 Ways to Deepen Your Connections With Others
You don t have to power through life alone. Open yourself to others and experience the true rewards of connecting with people. Here's how to build connections.
Emotional Release: A Perfect Gift to Yourself
The holidays have gained a bad reputation for being an emotional roller coaster. Instead of experiencing a season of peace, many people dread this time of year as a season...
4 Reasons to Be Thankful for Your Family This Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a time when family and friends come together in celebration of the bigger, more important things in life—a connection to something more significant than the minutia of everyday...
6 Healthy Ways to Manage Social Anxiety
“I just don’t want to go.”“Ugh, I’d rather stay home.” “Just thinking about going to that party is giving me so much anxiety.” “Maybe I’ll go for a little while...
10 Gratitude Activities to Do with Your Family This Thanksgiving
Most people know that gratitude generates good feelings. But did you know that a dose of thankfulness can also positively impact your health, happiness, resilience, and relationships? Research in the...
5 Practices to Help You Be More Present This Thanksgiving
Are you finding yourself constantly thinking about your to-do list this time of year? Maybe you need to plan a menu, shop for the holiday meal, coordinate travel plans, purchase...
10 Ways to Give Thanks to Your Community This Thanksgiving
The spirit of Thanksgiving is more than just eating a big meal and watching football; this holiday season is about expressing gratitude for the people, places, and things in your...
Why and How to Become a Better Listener
Who is the best listener you know? Would anyone in your life answer you?Few people are taught how to listen. Aside from being told to “listen up” or “pay attention”...
5 Tips for Improving Your Listening in a Relationship
One of the most important components to a healthy and lasting relationship lies in your ability to communicate within intimate relationships. When communication is lacking or where there’s a breakdown...
How to Have a True Spiritual Relationship
In your most important relationships, you search for love and acceptance, although you may find that this is not easy to attain. Everyone has an unloving side; everyone has their...
5 Ways to Become Empowered in Your Relationship
Whether you’re currently in a relationship or you’re intending to be in one in the future, it is highly beneficial to consider who you are as a person and what...
How to Identify Your Soulmate
One of my teachers, the late Dr. David Simon, used to say the purpose of life is to love more and be happy. I believe that each of us has...
Loving Practices: 8 Ways to Bring More Love Into Your Life
As the Beatles told us, “All you need is love” and how sure this is. Your highest vibration, your essence, who you really are, is pure love. When you love,...
10 Reasons to Retreat with a Friend
Retreats offer a rare opportunity to unplug, unwind, and reset. When you disconnect from your daily routines of work, school, children, and smartphones, you reconnect with yourself. You deepen your...
4 Health Benefits of Adult Friendships—and How to Create New Ones
When you think of the lifestyle choices you make to stay healthy, diet and exercise are typically the first to spring to mind. At a young age, you’re told that...
11 Creative Ways to Express Gratitude
“Thank you.” “I’m so grateful.” “I appreciate you.” When spoken from the heart, these simple phrases express so much. Think about how good it feels to hear them! Sincerely thanking...
6 Ways to Find Happiness in Tough Times
Part of being human is experiencing the challenges life throws at you. Sometimes you’re prepared for them and other times you’re completely blindsided. Here’s the good news: while it’s impossible...
Skillful Speech: 5 Ways to Use Words to Heal and Create Peace
“Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.”—RumiRight Speech is the third step on the Buddha’s Eightfold Noble Path toward liberation from suffering. It...
3 Tips to Regulate Your Social Media Habit
Do you remember life before social media? When you showed up to your high school reunion having no idea what your classmates had been up to? When people did yoga...
5 Tips to Cultivate Personal Power and Self-Confidence
When you step into your power, you cultivate self-esteem and personal worth. A new sense of freedom emerges, doubts fall away, and you quit being a marionette to other people’s...
7 Ways to Increase Your Happiness at Work
Adults in America spend most of their waking hours at work, and more time at their job than the rest of the world. Considering that less than 50 percent of...
20 Tiny Acts of Kindness to Make a Positive Impact
Sometimes carrying out small acts of kindness can be a simple way to make a huge difference. When you commit to practicing mindful acts of kindness every day, they become...
11 Ways to Show Gratitude to Your Mother
Are you tired of your same old Mother’s Day tradition? Perhaps you always send your mom flowers and a card, or you carve out time for brunch. What if you...
Mindful Confrontation: 9 Steps to Handle Conflict in a Healthy Way
Confrontations can be overwhelming, disappointing, unpleasant, and sometimes terrifying. Confrontations can also often come with a negative connotation, implying some sort of unfair treatment to another human being or maybe...
10 Traits of an Empath
The trademark of an empath is that you feel and absorb other people’s emotions and/or physical symptoms because of your high sensitivity. You filter the world through your intuition and...
What Makes You Think You’re Right?
Have you ever wondered why other people don’t see things the same way you do? Isn’t it baffling that you don’t necessarily share the same viewpoints or beliefs even when...
Holding Space: The Art of Being Present with Others
Learn the meaning of holding space and how it can help you be more present with others. These seven tips will help you be there for those you love.
6 Ways to Express Love That You May Not Have Thought Of
Do you feel loved when your sweetheart rubs your feet before bed? Does receiving a congratulatory card brighten your day? Or do you feel the most beloved when you get...
10 Reasons to Be Mindful with Your Partner
What might happen when mindfulness becomes a priority in your relationship? Mindfulness means “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally,” according to creator...
7 Ways to Avoid the Winter Hibernation Trap
Winter introduces you to colder temperatures, darker skies, and an overall gloomier feel when you walk out the door. So it’s no wonder your natural inclination is to avoid all...
10 Creative and Cheaper Ways to Spice Up Holiday Gifting
Focus on giving the gift of yourself with these creative holiday gift ideas. These creative gifts for Christmas, Hanukkah, or any other gifting occasion prove your heart expands more easily...
5 Steps to Take the High Road at Work
No matter your role in an organization, work can become stressful when you have a difficult coworker. Historically a workplace has been a place to go for teamwork, conversations around...
5 Lessons to Glean from Divine Couples
Human life has always been defined and understood through relationships. Whether it be focusing on modern-era couples or looking to the wisdom of the ancients, much of this understanding has...
Setting Boundaries: How to Put Your Needs First
“That is my toy. And you can’t have it!” a frustrated child screams at her brother. “Now, now, it’s nice to share,” scolds the child’s mother. And so begins the...
5 Ways to Cultivate Connection in Your Neighborhood
Do you know your neighbors? In our hurried and often detached society, having neighbors as friends and part of your support system is not as common as it used to...
4 Ways to Rekindle Romance with Your Partner
It may seem like the era of internet dating, shortening attention spans, and financial instability has taken its toll on romance—but rather than a producing a generation of hardened cynics,...
How to Create Summer Rituals to the 5 Elements
Summer is a season that comes with many rituals. For some, summers include a move to a cottage for the season, while others enjoy weekends at the lake or traveling...
How to Balance Your Female and Male Energy
All people, regardless of their gender identity have male and female energy inside them. Follow these 10 tips to keep the scales of your masculine and feminine energy in harmony.
How to Forgive Others When You Feel Hurt
I remember a time when I was young I got upset with two of my friends and stopped talking to them for two years. I can't even remember why I...
How to Stand Up for Your Beliefs Without Confrontation
Your core values are a fundamental quality of your personality and sense of who you are. They define the concepts and principles that shape your being and influence your choices...
How to Set Healthy Relationship Boundaries
Setting and enforcing healthy boundaries can be the thing that enhances or sabotages relationships in any area of your life, having a detrimental effect on your happiness, confidence, and sense...
4 Tips to Have a Healthy Debate
Recently, there seems to be a lot more public debates than ever before. From the way our society should be ran or what is morally correct, to how and if...
The 7 Steps to Forgiveness
Forgiveness is very desirable. For those who receive it, the burden of guilt is lifted. For those who give it, resentment and anger can be released, clearing the slate in...
How to Escape Empathy
Loving outside of yourself is a balancing act. You can love from a spectrum of close family members to those who you have never met. Being an empath means you...
How to Harness the Power of Your Emotions
Are you using your emotions to inform you or are you letting them control you?Your mental and emotional baggage is primarily responsible for creating the discrepancy between what it is...
What to Do When Your Loved One is an Alcoholic
When you are in the midst of the empty bottles, broken promises, and never-ending lies due to a loved one’s excessive drinking, it can feel like you’re all alone in...
5 Ways to Shift Your Dating Mindset
With Valentine’s Day upon us, many emotions tend to surface around dating and love ... or the lack thereof. If answering the question “Why are you still single?” stirs feelings...
How to Stay Emotionally Balanced If You’re an Empath
If you're an empath, chances are you feel the world on your shoulders. Learn how to stay emotionally balanced from the experts at Chopra today.
8 Ways to Teach Your Kids Conscious Communication
Kids are incredible and they have so much to teach us about communication. Kids love to communicate. They so are eager to openly express their feelings, ideas, needs, and viewpoints—whether...
10 Ways to Weave More Kindness into the New Year
The recent U.S. election, Brexit, climate change, refugee crises, and other social injustices may leave you with a pit in your stomach as the New Year begins. The deep divides...
3 Reasons to Eat Your Meals Around a Table
There is something special about eating your meals around a table—it has always signified a time to connect, and enjoy good food and good company.As we get older those around-the-table...
The Science of Cultivating Connection
The neuroscience behind human connection has broad implications for how we live our daily lives. Whether you're an introvert (fills their cup through time alone), an extrovert (needs high levels...
5 Ways to Manage Perfectionism
Trying to be perfect all the time can be exhausting. Feeling like you’re never measuring up can wear you down in ways you didn’t think were possible. If you let...
5 Party Games to Encourage Connection
It’s the holiday season—time for parties and play! Whether you’re feeling joyous or lonely, connection is what we all long for. In the book The Gifts of Imperfection, author Brené...
Navigating Spiritually in Relationships & Dating
Learn about spirituality and relationships and what is means to be spiritually evolved and how to get attuned with your partner.
99 Simple Ways to Show Kindness
Learn how to show kindness in small simple ways and make the world a better place with these examples of acts of kindness.
8 Tips to Build Tolerance in Your Life
Feeling annoyed by your co-worker or that person who just cut you off? Learn what tolerance is and how to practice acts of tolerance to bring harmony to your life.
Why Authenticity is the Key to Success in Life, Business, and Relationships
We are born with a purpose to fulfill; our soul has a personality and a plan with our time here on earth. This is our authentic self—what the soul radiates...
4 Magical Side Effects of Kindness
It has often been thought of as a selfless act, but now research is also showing that altruism may benefit the giver as much as the receiver.In fact, the reach...
5 Ways to Feel Less Vulnerable
Whether you're wondering how to stop feeling vulnerable in a relationship or avoid being overly emotionally vulnerable in a work confrontation, it's crucial to find ways to feel secure in...
10 Ways to Strengthen Your Relationships
Every relationship you have with an individual is unique. You have expectations in your mind of how you think others should interact with you. When these expectations fall short, you...
Compromise, Negotiate, Mediate: 3 Factors for Conflict Resolution
Peace is not absence of conflict; it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.- Ronald ReaganEffective communication is without a doubt one of the most important skills you...
How to Communicate Your Opinion Peacefully
Spiritually conscious individuals see and feel the greatness in people and the world. If you’re one of them, you might also feel negativity, oftentimes deeper than others. You may feel...
Landing in Love: How to Fall into Intimacy Without Resistance
Psychologists tell us we’re born afraid of just two things. The first is loud noises. Do you recall the second? Most people guess “abandonment” or “starvation,” but neonatal dread was...
Conscious Communication: A Key Ingredient to Your Marriage
Our intimate relationships can be the most incredible, nurturing, and fulfilling relationships we can have as human beings. When two people come together in marriage or any long-term commitment, it...
4 Ways to Connect with Your Family at the Dinner Table
Most families are starved for time to spend together, and dinner may be the only time of the day to reconnect. As a mother of three children (ages 14, 12,...
5 Ways to See Your Reflection in Others
Sometimes, it’s difficult to see your place in the world. Western society teaches us that we are individuals are who separate from others, the environment, and the cosmos. Greater emphasis...
8 Ways to Practice Compassion for a Healthier and Stronger Relationship
Relationships can be one of the most joyful and fulfilling aspects of our lives, and they can also challenge us beyond comprehension. We've all heard that communication is the most...
The Season of Love: 3 Exercises to Attract Your Beloved
There’s no perfect season for finding love. It’s always a good time to add more love in your life.If you struggle to attract loving relationships, try this exercise to help...
5 Steps to Cultivate Self-Love
Self-love is a term that gets tossed around a lot—and it’s often misunderstood.Self-love is not just about feeling good or taking time for yourself. It’s a state of appreciation for...
10 Ways to Be Your Own Valentine
Valentine’s Day provides a reminder that you don’t need anyone else to make you feel loved and important. You can choose to approach Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to be...
Life Lessons: Wisdom Seeps in Slowly
I've been thinking lately about how long it takes to become wise. A few weeks ago, I was driving around with a friend, and we were talking—as friends do—about our...
How to Break the People-Pleasing Cycle
Do you go out of your way to please other people so they will like you? Is it difficult for you to say no or express your opinion when it’s...
What Are Your Relationship Goals for the New Year?
The beginning of the year inspires change. Perhaps it’s the closing of one year and the beginning of the next that prompts us to reflect and set goals for the...
Do You Have an Attitude Problem?
Do you think you have a bad attitude? Fortunately, this is a fixable issue. Learn how to improve your attitude from the experts at Chopra today.
Free Yourself With the Mirror of Relationship
The essential nature of the universe is the coexistence of opposites. You cannot be virtuous if you do not have the capacity for evil. You cannot be wise if you...
7 Keys to Happy Parenting
Parenting is a role where even the most conscientious and intentional people can lose perspective. No matter how much you prepare, things rarely go according to plan, especially when those...
10 Everyday Tips for Cultivating a Spiritual Relationship
If you’re single, don’t fret. Use this alone time to raise your consciousness and let your intuition guide you. This will help you prepare for the right partner and find...
6 Ways to Raise Compassionate Kids
Schools are doing a bang-up job teaching our children how not to treat each other. Kids learn about bullying the moment they enter kindergarten. However, most schools could use some...
Compassion in Action: 15 Easy Ways to Spread Kindness
Adding a dose of compassion to someone else’s day not only uplifts their spirits, but makes you feel happier, too. And while most of us intend to be compassionate beings...
Spreading Compassion from the Inner to Outer World
Compassion is a way of connecting the love and self-awareness within yourself to another person. Compassion is more than kindness; it’s a natural expression of kindness and understanding when you...
5 Ways to Connect With Your Child
When the toils of everyday life creep in, parents can get so bogged down in schedules that the relationship with their children can seem distanced and disconnected.Busy parents can build...
The Difference Between Compassion and Pity
In a world with so much suffering and pain, compassion has the ability to connect and heal. Starting with our families and friends, and extending into larger communities, and out...
The Health Benefits of Practicing Compassion
Compassion is changing before our eyes. A religious concept associated with Jesus and Buddha (known as “the Compassionate One”) is being researched today through brain scans and positive psychology. In...
5 Keys to Being Yourself
There’s nothing more attractive and inviting than someone who is confident in who they are and what they believe in. There’s a grace and ease about them. Better yet, when...
The Path to True Love
“Remember, in our inmost being, we are all completely lovable because spirit is love. Beyond what anyone can make you think or feel about yourself, your unconditioned spirit stands, shining...
3 Ways to Be a Better Friend
The greatest memories are often tied to the even greater friendships. It’s not always what happened that’s important, it’s who you were with when you experienced it. Good friends are...
How to Manage Your Anger
Anger is one of the most destructive emotions. It ruins relationships, intimidates co-workers, and creates bad feelings. So it's surprising that it's often an overlooked issue. In some quarters anger...
Quiz: How Happy Is Your Family?
Sometimes just getting everything done in a day feels like success. But success shouldn’t be measured by tasks completed. How happy you are when you complete those tasks should be...
What Is Conscious Communication?
Emotional well-being flows from the ability to clearly communicate what you want in life. This isn’t an inborn gift but a learnable skill. If you’re not adept at expressing your...
Friend Yourself: Social Media and Your Personal Growth
There are more tools than ever to help you when it comes to personal growth. Consider social media: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram all connect people instantly. Sometimes the conversation is...
7 Steps for Dealing With Difficult People
Don't let a difficult person get you down. These tips and books on dealing with difficult family members will help you rise above and find compassion in difficulties.
How to Address a Family Member’s Addiction
Family relationships can be challenging at the best of times—sibling rivalries, power struggles, and unresolved jealousies are common issues that can arise. At this chaotic time of year, fragile relationships...
How to Set New Year’s Resolutions With the Whole Family
The New Year is a time for renewal and rebirth. It's a time to shed what doesn't serve you and set goals and intentions for what you want to draw...
Reaction Management: How to Make Conscious Choices
Overreact: to react or respond more strongly than is necessary or appropriate.We’ve all been there. At some point we’ve all had the experience of having a psychological or emotional reaction...
I’ve Found My Path, But Wait! Where Did Everyone Go?
Have you ever had the experience of finding yourself on a new path in life and suddenly you feel like you’re all alone? You’ve just stepped into a new version...
How to Establish a Healthy Emotional Life
Editor’s Note: The following excerpt was adapted from The Wheel of Healing: An Easy Guide to an Ayurvedic Lifestyle.Did you know that it’s just as important to process your emotions...
Literal Listening: Advice to Improve Your Relationships
Listening to each other, listening to yourself, and listening to your own wisdom may be rarer than it seems.One ExampleRecently, a friend asked me to come to California to watch...
How to Cure Self-Consciousness
You step into the party feeling reasonably confident. True, your favorite little black dress feels somewhat tight, but it’s still elegant, and the wind outside only tousled your hair a...
5 Ways to Become a Magnet for Love
For those seeking love, the questions surrounding love can be plentiful. Once I do find it how do I keep it alive? Here is how to become a love magnet.
Create the Next Chapter of Your Life’s Story
Just for a moment, pause and consider all of the roles you have played so far in your life. For example, my life roles have included son, brother, husband, father,...
Manifest the Relationship of Your Dreams
Arielle Ford is a speaker & author of several bestsellers including The Soulmate Secret. Her mission is to make sure everyone finds a soul mate.
How to Communicate Your Emotional Needs in Relationships
Learn what your emotional needs are in a relationship and how to communicate that with your partner from Chopra.
6 Steps to Finding Your Soulmate
Many years ago I wrote the book Hot Chocolate for the Mystical Lover: 101 True Stories of Soul Mates Brought Together by Divine Intervention. Through the course of writing that...
The Formula for Happiness
In my book, The Joy Diet, I wrote that yearning is the internal map of the course your life was meant to follow. I believe I wrote something like, “Your...
The Three Qualities of Awareness
About 2,600 years ago, when Siddhartha Gautama (the soon-to-be Buddha) sat down under the bodhi tree, his resolve was to realize his true nature. Siddhartha had a profound interest in...
7 Ways to Inspire Love in Your Life
February is a month that celebrates love in all its manifestations, including romance, intimacy, acceptance, passion, forgiveness, friendship, joy, ecstasy, and communion. This is also the second month of the...
The 5 Secrets of Joyful Giving
Deepak Chopra’s bestselling book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success is a guide to the universal laws that govern every creative process – from the birth of a baby to...
Awaken to Love
Most of us did not receive formal instructions on how to love. As we were growing up, we learned by observing our parents, siblings, and caregivers, who may or may...
The 7 Laws of Enlightened Relationships
Most people envision an ideal intimate relationship based upon shared interests, open communication, mutual nurturing, and passion. When they’re unable to create this level of emotional connection, they conclude that...