In part one of this article, I outlined five of Deepak Chopra’s recommendations of how to nurture your spiritual life. He made several points about your intentions and seeing yourself and others in the light. From my understanding of Chopra’s article, I’d like to put forward the last five ground rules he suggests to enhance your spiritual life, followed by my reflections.
6. Learn to Forgive Yourself
You will recall from the section on seeing people in the light, that others are doing their best and to have understanding for them. Here, Deepak prompts us to apply this understanding to ourselves and forgive ourselves. He says that you are doing your best too, with what you know and where you’re at now.
My reflections: By keeping this powerful healing notion in mind of forgiving yourself, letting go of the past and letting go of guilt can be so much easier. Also, by being forgiving of yourself, your ability to forgive others skyrockets.
7. Learn to Let Go
Chopra presents us with an interesting perspective that we can be right and wrong at the same time and it’s part of being spiritual. He insists that yesterday’s beliefs and conclusions must be abandoned for today’s realizations, even if you were quite attached to them.
My reflections: Other things that can exist at the same time is feeling you know everything and nothing. Just when you think you know everything about a subject one day, the next day when presented with new information, you can quickly feel you know nothing about the subject. The same with people: just when you’ve reached a great set of conclusions about a person one day, the next day you may realize something that dramatically changes your views about them. You- today- is better than the you from yesterday.
8. Revere What is Holy
“Our society teaches us to be skeptical of the sacred. But every saint is your future and every master is reaching over his shoulder to look at you, waiting for you to join him. Human representatives of God constitute an infinite treasure. Dipping into this treasure will help you open your heart.”
My reflections: Point 8 above is verbatim from the article and from it I saw some questions you may like to ask yourself: (a) What do you feel is sacred that you would like to have less or no skepticism about? (b) What is the next level (emotional or spiritual) that beckons you.
9. Allow God to Take Over
I love this one too- Chopra points out the all too familiar habits most of us seem to have- wanting to control everything and forgetting to have faith. If we allow things to work out naturally, we can let go of worry and allow ourselves to have a better reality than the one we thought would be best for us. If we hand over our lives to God, like ‘let go and let God’ just one percent every day, in three months we’d be the most enlightened person in the world. He says surrender something, anything on a daily basis.
My reflections: Letting go and letting God can be one of the best habits to get into and it can help you with everything! You can say to yourself “I let go and let God sort out: my relationship; my finances; my career; my future…” anything that fits. A massive load can be lifted and energy previously spent on worrying about failing, can be redirected into activities that move your life forward.
10. Embrace the Unknown
Deepak Chopra explains that people come to realize the illusion of who they thought they were, as they approach death. He challenges us with a wonderful test to embrace the unknown- an unknown person, situation or attitude. When the unknown is presented, to welcome it with the same joy that you might feel for something you really want.
My reflections: Embracing the unknown is not staying in situations because you’re scared. Embracing the unknown is to leave a situation when it becomes automatic, when a spark to start it up or an engine to keep it going is no longer required. Embracing the unknown is to develop great strength and to be a light in the dark for others and yourself.
From my perspective, Chopra’s ground-rules for a richer spiritual life can be summarized into several themes: working with intention; channeling light; forgiving yourself and others; allowing intuition not skepticism to rule; letting go and letting God and taking a risk with unknown people and situations. Advice for enriching your spiritual life is everywhere, from other authors, from things your family or friends may say, from realizations you have and especially from nature. Just be aware.
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