The Power Within

We asked Dr Deepak Chopra 10 questions about life, secret of happiness and how alternative methods can help us live life to the fullest. We got our answers.

- Nidhi Raj Singh

How can we bring health and happiness into our lives without altering our true self? 

By discovering the true self! Suffering is caused by identifying with illusions, conditioning, habits, and beliefs that we incorporate into our mind and body. The negative ones damage us both physically and mentally. In the whole systems approach I write about in The Healing Self, we use expanded awareness to get at the deeper part of the mind, where the true self is capable of healing us.

Is there an effective way of managing stress? 

Yes, but that’s not the problem. The problem is that stress isn’t taken seriously enough by people in their everyday lives. The reality is that urban dwellers are in overdrive, as far as the nervous system is concerned. Everyone needs to have some quiet time every day. Everyone needs that ‘alone’ time, exposure to nature, good sleep, and some activity. The ideal of working hard, going to the gym, and constantly striving for goals and deadlines overlooks how stressful such a regimen is. How many people bother to get eight hours of good sleep every night? Too few, and yet this is one of the top ways to fight stress. Meditation is another one, and of course a fulfilling job and loving relationships. None of this is a mystery.

How can self-realisation heal?