Insight of the Month: “The Spiritual Keys to Success”
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Welcome Members to the December 2008 Edition of SGM. Kevin Schoeninger here.
This month, we discuss Deepak Chopra’s book “The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success” (SSLS, pocketbook version, Amber-Allen Publishing, 2007). This abridged version of Deepak’s earlier book of the same title is a wonderful condensation of Chopra’s essential message. As most of you know, Deepak Chopra is a world-renowned teacher, writer, speaker, entrepreneur, and humanitarian. His publications and programs distill the essence of great spiritual traditions into a form that is accessible and meaningful to millions all over the planet.
What I have come to know about Deepak through people I know who have met him, is that he is a person of the highest integrity. He is unpretentious, generous, compassionate, and a true example of practicing what he teaches. He lives his wisdom and passes it on through his actions and his body of work.
In this Month’s Messages, we’ll talk about the essence of Deepak’s teaching. Though he has written numerous volumes on various subjects, the heart of what Deepak has to say is timeless and unchanging. He always brings us into the core of the great spiritual teachings in a way that we can readily apply in our day to day consciousness.
You’ll notice that the title of this month’s insight is “The Spiritual Key to Success.” Not the Key to Spiritual Success, but the Spiritual Key to Success. As Deepak says, “spirit lies at the source of all achievement in life.” (P. 13, SSLS)
Understanding the spiritual nature of reality and the spiritual nature of our Self is the key to knowing how to be successful in life. Without this fundamental knowledge we are missing the point and wandering in the dark. Truly successful people understand certain things about the nature of reality and about themselves and understand how to put this knowledge to work in the world.
In Week One, then, we’ll talk about Deepak’s teaching on the nature of reality as expressed in the Seven Spiritual Laws. In Week Two, we’ll talk about how to practice these spiritual laws so that we can see our lives with spiritual sight and achieve better results. In Week Three, we’ll ask the question, “Who Are You?” and show how the spiritual laws answer this question in a way that opens you to express your true potential and realize your highest purpose.
So let’s get right to the heart of the matter. What do the seven laws tell us about the nature of reality? And why is each law important to our lives?
Law #1: The Law of Pure Potentiality: “our essential state is one of pure potentiality.” (P.17 SSLS)
“Our physical body, the physical universe—everything in the material world—comes from the same place: a field of silent, unmoving awareness from which anything is possible. There is no separation between this field of energy and our spiritual essence, our Self.” (P.17-18 SSLS)
One of the characteristics that I’ve always appreciated in Deepak Chopra is his willingness to embrace new experiences. When I think of him, I think of someone who welcomes life, expects unexpected good fortune, and inspires us to see how things can come together magically if we allow ourselves to be open to new possibilities.
This is not some airy-fairy promise about how reality can be. Deepak shows us how it is a mindset that we can cultivate. Even more strongly, it the nature of reality on a primordial level. As physics shows us, as we penetrate inside the deepest layers of matter, what we find are tendencies and possibilities. How we interact with the level of possibility determines what is realized in our lives.
If we are set in our ways, if we see things only according to what we already know, we’ll experience more of the same in our lives. If we want to experience something new, we must open our minds to the unexpected, to that which we might normally disregard or dismiss, to the wider possibilities that are inherent in each moment.
Law #2: The Law of Giving and Receiving: “everything in the universe operates through dynamic exchange.” (p.29 SSLS)
“Every relationship is one of give and take because giving and receiving are different aspects of the flow of energy in the universe. If we stop the flow of energy, we interfere with nature’s intelligence.” (p.29-30 SSLS)
This law reminds me of the basis of Traditional Chinese Medicine, t’ai chi, and qigong meditation. The goal of these practices is to promote smooth qi or life energy flow. Where there is smooth qi flow, there is health, happiness, and success. Where energy flow is disrupted or impeded, there is tension, disease, and conflict.
You can learn to sense energy flow, and, conversely, energy disruption, in your life, through moment by moment inner sensing. In qigong and energy meditation, we practice these inner sensing skills so that we can sense our energy field in a real palpable way.
The bottom line with this law is to use it to interpret what is going on in our lives. When we sense that we are stuck or when we sense conflict, we can ask: “How am I stopping the flow of energy by the way that I am thinking, feeling, or acting right now?”
The law of giving and receiving is the basis of receiving what we want in our lives. It tells us to give that which we desire to receive. By giving, we increase the flow of that which we are giving.
Law #3: The Law of Karma or Cause and Effect: “what you sow is what you reap.” (p.39 SSLS)
“Actions have consequences” is another way to state this law. Whatever you do creates certain results for yourself and those around you. You can view these results immediately and long-term. Immediately, what you do shapes your own experience and the experience of those around you in the moment. You effect the energetic field right here and now by what you do, and, even more subtlely, by what you think and feel.
You also effect what will happen in the future by what you think, feel, and do right now. The Iroquois nation had a wonderful application of this law in their saying to “consider the effect of your actions on the next seven generations.” Our dominant culture is just now, perhaps, catching up to this idea.
Implied in this law, then, is the necessity of conscious decision making. Every moment offers us many choices. Deepak tells us that “When you make any choice, ask yourself two things: ‘What are the consequences of this choice?’ and ‘Will the choice I’m making bring happiness to me and to those around me?’ There is always one choice that will create maximum happiness both for you and for those around you. This choice is the spontaneous right action.” (P.41 SSLS)
Law #4: The Law of Least Effort: “nature’s intelligence functions with effortless ease, with carefreeness, harmony, and love.
As Deepak says: “This is the principle of ‘Do less, and accomplish more.’ When we learn this lesson from nature, we easily fulfill our desires.” (P.51 SSLS)
How contrary this notion is to our current culture of massive action. How often have you heard it said “It’s a numbers game,” which means that you just put out massive amounts of output and you will get a certain percentage of positive results. You just “pound the pavement” until you bust the doors down to your success. This law tells us that that is a recipe for stress and wasted energy.
Instead we would do better to observe nature and learn from her ways. Witness how a river carved the Grand Canyon: massive result by going with the flow. It is consistent right effort that makes for success.
Rather than doing as much as you possibly can, take time to listen, feel, and discern the right action at the right moment. You will not only be more successful, but you will enjoy the process because you will be more present and aware in each moment. Rather than looking to enjoyment in the future after achieving your goals through massive effort, you will enjoy the path to your goal and appreciate the satisfaction in feeling and acting in just the right way for the task at hand.
Law #5: The Law of Intention and Desire: “our intentions and desires, when released in the field of pure potentiality, have infinite organizing power.” (P.61 SSLS)
As Deepak says, “Inherent in every desire are the mechanics for its fulfillment.” Because we are each a part of the One Field of Life, our Core Desires are desires of the Field itself. Since we are intimately connected to the resources of the Field, when the Field has a desire through us, we have access to the means for the fulfillment of that desire.
This is a crucial point to get our minds around. Again, it flows from our realization that we are one with the whole. We are expressions of the Field. Understanding our intimate relatedness to all that is is the foundation for successful living.
The second aspect of this Law is discernment of Core Desires. Many desires course through our being. Some come from an ego sense of self, a sense of being an isolated individual who is seeking to secure and bolster its individuality.
The second kind of desire is Core Desire which arises from our realization of our oneness with all that is. This is the kind of desire that arises through us from Being itself. These desires are easily fulfilled because they have the support of the whole from which they arise.
This brings us to the next Law.
Law #6: The Law of Detachment: “the way to acquire anything in the universe is to relinquish our attachment to it.”
We saw in the last Law that there are different types of desires: desires of the ego and Core Desires. Ego desire is about building up a sense of individual self, it’s about personal gain without regard for the whole. Ego is a construct that is by its nature fragile and transitory. The ego is always incessantly trying to build up itself with titles, labels, and possessions. It tries to accumulate a sense of self in a world of impermanence. Therefore, ego desires are always associated with fear and insecurity. We attach to them strongly, because if we let them go, we fear we will be nothing.
Core Desires on the other hand, come within the realization of our unity with all that is. Inherent in this realization is the security that we can trust the flow of Life. When our Desires arise from within an experience of wholeness and what is good for all, we no longer fear for the outcome. This type of desire is a desire without attachment to results because within it we recognize that whatever needs to happen for the good of the whole is what will be done.
The Law of Detachment is based on trusting that what is best for all will prevail. It is based on faith in Life itself as a positive evolutionary process. We can relax, let go, and go with the flow when we know that everything is part of a bigger plan. It is up to us to simply sense our small part and add our small actions to the larger movement.
This brings us to the next Law.
Law #7: The Law of Dharma or Purpose in Life: we are spiritual beings who have taken a physical form to fulfill a purpose.
As Deepak says: “Everyone has a purpose in life—a unique gift or special talent to give to others, and for every unique talent and expression of that talent, there are also unique needs. When we blend this unique talent with service to others, we experience the ecstasy and exultation of our spirit.” (P.84 SSLS)
We are each here for a general purpose and specific purposes. Our general purpose is spiritual realization: to know ourselves as part of the wholeness of Life. Our specific purposes are unique to our particular affinities, skills, and gifts. It is up to us to cultivate our spiritual awareness, and then, sense our unique talents, train them to fruition, and use them in service to the whole.
When we combine our spiritual realization with the expression of our unique purposes we have access to the abundance of the universe. We find that we have everything that we need to accomplish what we are here to do now.
In next week’s messages, we’ll talk about specific ways that we can practice each of these Seven Laws. We’ll make the Seven Laws concrete and practical.
My suggestion for you this week is to absorb each of these Seven Laws slowly. Contemplate each of the Laws one at a time, then, see how it applies in your life. A good way to do this is to keep one of these Seven Laws in your awareness each day for the next week. Write it on a post-it and put it where you will see it often during the day. Relate that Law to what is happening at any moment that you remember it during that day.
I would love to hear your experiences with the Seven Laws in the Comments section below this message.
Until next time,
Happy Practicing
Kevin