we are all in the search for true
happiness but in reality our search
should be for our life purpose and
finding our unique talent to serve
others because with that comes true
happiness my guest on today's show is
Dr. Deepak Chopra the renowned author
and speaker he will be with us talking
about finding your purpose serving
others and happiness and we'll return
with him in just a moment
what would you do if you had to choose
between the buffalo
and the giraffes
between a flower or an elephant
what would you choose what if you had to
decide between a hundred year old tree
beach
between drinking clean water or breathe
in clean air would you make the right
choice
there'd be a right choice
now there's a way to help not just warm
but all these things earth share the
world's leading environmental groups
working together it's one choice we can
all live
ask your employer about workplace giving
and we're back with my guest for today's
show dr. Deepak Chopra dr. Chopra is
author of 25 books his latest book how
to know God is out now he is also the
author of over a hundred audio and video
programs including five that are
critically acclaimed in public
television he has also got these books
translated into over 32 different
languages and he was awarded 1999 by
time magazine the award for the icon and
hero of the year for the actually hero
the century and they actually called him
the poet philosopher of alternative
medicine now he is the CEO and founder
of the Chopra Center well being here in
La Jolla were actually filming welcome
to the show Dr. Chopra thanks for having
me thank you a one thing on a personal
note I wanted to let you know is I've
been a fan of yours for a very long time
and you've helped change my life in many
ways and you've kind of jumped started
my spirit I wanted to thank you for this
well thank you thanks one of the things
that you talk about a lot is human
potential and I think for a lot of
people from many different walks of life
have a very difficult time really
realizing the unlimited possibilities of
human potential would you be able to
explain why you believe that that exists
for all of us well the potential exists
in your soul in your spirit not in your
mind not in your physical domain but in
a domain of awareness that is infinite
and unbounded and it's your own spirit
it's the place where you have in spirit
insight and intention and imagination
and intuition and decision making and
free will and creativity and
understanding and meaning and purpose so
beyond the corridors of mind there is
this field of pure potentiality and it's
your own soul is your own spirit from
here you can create anything that you
want anything that the human mind can
imagine as possible and even beyond that
more as possible and this is part of the
wisdom tradition of every culture it's
there in the Bible when Jesus Christ
says the kingdom of heaven is inside
your same thing or ask and you shall
receive that's the intuitive response
that allows us to access this field of
creativity do you think that a lot of
people have a hard time grasping
unlimited potential in themselves
because they don't actually know
themselves they haven't gotten to know
who their spiritual self is yeah that
they haven't spent any time with
themselves and also i think we are
programmed in this society anyway people
are programmed by the culture and by
their parents to believe that they have
limited potential all the msgs be here
in our childhood play like muffled tape
loops in our mind all the time right and
the Western world you mentioned do you
think it is harder in the Western world
for us to to do that because of the way
we've been raised in a way society talks
to us like that it's true everywhere to
indecent world all songs I mean
a few luminaries in every culture who
have said from time to time that the
field of human potential is infinite but
the vast majority of people are indeed
programmed to believe that they only
have limited potential so when we do
find out who we are as our spiritual
self we do start to be able to believe
that that vastness is out there and
we're part of it yeah that last miss as
I said as part of the spiritual domain
and that level of awareness has three
components first there's your soul then
there's the collective unconscious which
called young spoke about which is our
spiritual inheritance where we have
access to all the great masters of
history and then there's a universal
domain which is the imageable potential
of everything well that was all that is
and all that will ever be and they all
operate in the same time to actually
time doesn't exist I'm doesn't exist it
that domain time exists only in the mind
do you believe that when we know who we
really are our purpose comes to be very
aware it comes to note be known to us
yeah you would say that if you're sit
down close your eyes and quiet me a mind
and ask yourself Who am I what do I want
what's my purpose if you just ask those
three questions the answers will
spontaneously emerge if you do spend
time though in quietness then that
happens now that's something we don't
get a lot of time to do we don't make a
lot yeah yeah meditation has been part
of the teaching of every wisdom
tradition though in the world and you
know again in judeo-christian tradition
be still and know that I am God so if
you are able to sit quietly close your
eyes watch your breath or repeat a
phrase like the Lord is my shepherd or
that will be done and by and by your
mind gets quiet
and then it becomes completely still in
that stillness you can eavesdrop on the
mind of the cosmos if you were the mind
of the universe here the Chopra Center
we teach something called primordial
sound meditation which is very specific
way of quieting the mind using ancient
sounds called mantras that are based on
the date of your birth and the place of
in place so everybody has a different
style well there are different sounds
for most people they're over a hundred
and eight different sounds that are
specific to the latitude the longitude
and the time the space-time event that's
your birth here and this is this is a
method that really works for the general
public yeah this lots of people come
here to the center and we offer courses
in this every week and we have teachers
now throughout the world teaching this
form of meditation which is not an
improvised home with some very ancient
as a several thousand years of history
right it's worked for thousands of years
so work for us today it's like a
well-trodden pot right right now that
would be the first step then for us to
know first of all quiet ourselves
meditation and meditation can it start
with a few minutes a day and it expands
into whatever works for you is that how
it is yeah generally though to be
effective it should be about 20 minutes
per day put twice a bit twice a day yeah
better on the beginning of the day and
then the end of it yes early in the
morning and then about late afternoon I
know personally to meditate for myself
the only time I get raising a family and
that kind of thing is to grab it the
very first part of the day yes and
that's what I'm freshest anyway yeah and
then if you do it later afternoon when
you're fresh again for the rest of the
evening because meditation lowers your
stress hormone levels it gives you
depressed and as you know if you're
deeply rested and you feel very dynamic
yeah one of my favorite laws of the
universe is a law of Dharma and if I may
quote this I'd like
quote it everyone has a purpose in life
a unique or special talent to give to
others and when we blend this unique
talent with service to others we
experience the ecstasy and exultation of
our own spirit which is the ultimate
goal of all goals could you can you
explain that a little bit but every
child that is born has a couple of
unique talents or unique gifts what we
do as a society and as parents is that
we frequently focus on the weaknesses
and not on the strengths for example if
your child is weak in mathematics and
good at music then usually get him a
math tutor not a piano teacher and if
you did in fact focus on the strengths
and not the weaknesses and that same
child might become a very great musician
and he could easily hire an accountant
to do his math for him what we do though
is just the opposite we focus on the
weaknesses and not on the strengths if
you look at children and what they
really enjoy doing you know when do they
do something that is almost playful and
they playfully express their talents so
each of us has a unique gift and a
unique way of expressing it and when we
express our unique talents in our unique
grades and one of the symptoms is that
we lose track of time we're having such
a good time it's not even work it's play
so again if you could sit down close
your eyes quite in your mind and ask
yourself if I had all the money in the
world and I had all the time in the
world what would I do well that's your
unique expression that's your song and
when you're singing your song and
helping other people as well then you're
practicing the law of time so that's
what you did the Chopra Center
well-being is for you absolutely
and one aspect for me is this show yes
absolutely and one thing that I also
wanted to let the public and the
audience know is that everybody has at
least one of those purposes and the
thing about it is when you experience
that joy you feel unstoppable
unstoppable and it give me anything if
it's traveling you love traveling and
you should work in the travel agency
fill of food create a restaurant
whatever you love use that to help other
people the best way to get what you want
to help other people get what they want
and you do that by singing a song right
and when you're singing your song you're
also instrumental in making them realize
that hey they can do that too if she can
detain that he can attain yeah you're
also away and i think this with you
you're a leader in showing the world
that hey this is what i am supposed to
do I'm not any different than you I'm
not any different than any of you and we
all have that potential good we're going
to take a quick break and then we come
back I've got a couple more questions or
you so we'll be right back in just a
second
Brian's a student that I had in my
resource class um came from a very poor
background Brian just needed a friend so
we paired him with a community leader he
would take him to rodeos and then he
would take him to plays and different
things that this child would never have
been exposed to this man taking his time
to come and have lunch with him meant
more than anything point a kid in the
right direction this is General Colin
Powell of America's Promise call us and
help keep America's Promise
you
and we're back with dr. Chopra the next
question I have for you I read an
interview where you said that you
believe the state of poverty that
poverty and wealth or a state of
consciousness and kind of continuing on
with our question that we were talking
about if you're following your life
purpose are you going to be in the state
of consciousness of wealth automatically
is it going to be a natural yeah wealth
consciousness is a state of awareness
where you don't worry about money
because you know that the source of
well-being and the source of wealth and
the source of economic freedom is within
you it's the source of everything else
and being pure potentiality there's an
infinite supply of it so if there's an
infinite supply if you knew that you had
you know X billion dollars in your bank
you wouldn't be worried yes and what you
do and you do have it all in your own
consciousness when you worry about money
then it doesn't matter how much actual
money you have in the bank and you're a
poor person so you know if you're
thinking about it all the time if it's a
source of concern if you're worried what
will happen to your bank balance when
the stock market crashes if you are
constantly concerned about paying your
bills then actually it doesn't really
matter the physical amount of cash you
have you're still a poor person because
your state of consciousness as one of
concern so it's a state of awareness now
when you don't have that concern because
you know there's an infinite supply and
that you're singing it you know there's
a poem by Rumi is one of my favorite
birds he says I want to sing like birds
saying not worrying who hears or what
they think when you're expressing your
unique abilities in your unique way and
you're at the same time of service to
your fellow human rings then where it
comes from
there's always more coming you know when
we do projects here sometimes we don't
even look at how much money there may or
may not be in the cash supply right you
know the money will come from wherever
it is in the moment and where is it in
the moment it's in the universe in every
seed there's the promise of thousands of
forests every seed has the promise of
thousands of forests if you look at
nature nature is lavishly extravagantly
wastefully abundant and that's God's
mind if you are on the mind of the
universe when we align our mind with
that mind then there is no there is no
dearth of abundance but again remember
the rule the rule is if you want to make
money then you have to help other people
make money whatever you do whatever you
want in your life you want success you
have to make other people successful if
you want love you have to make other
people feel loved if you want respect
you have to make other people feel
respected if you want money then you
have to help other people make money so
you're always need to service the always
being of service and its circulation the
so nobody should ever have a personal
consciousness of poverty if they are
following their patrulla Dharma they're
following their song that's right why
does he I think always think in terms of
giving human beings are meant to serve
to give to love and if you just have
those as your main priorities then
you'll never have to worry but in it so
why do we worry again it's not the
hypnosis of social conditioning in
social conditioning is telling us that
this is what's important out here the
best car the
the best-looking wife the best house and
yeah if you look at what people really
want in ultimately you know they'll say
I want money I want a nice car I want a
house well that's a means to something
that they're really seeking and what are
they really seeking they're seeking
peace of mind harmony love and laughter
peace harmony laughter and love are the
goals of all other goals so you say oh
you know you want a nice job why do you
want a nice shop I want money why do you
want money I want this I want this why
do you want that I want to be happy well
find the happiness within first and then
everything else will come so simple that
it seems hard again it's part of the
teaching again and even in the West seek
first the kingdom of heaven and all else
shall be added I spontaneously now thus
kingdom of heaven is not you know so
nothing there it's just a state of
consciousness which is intrinsic which
is primary which is your essential state
which is before everything else first
bottom line and you live the law of
Dharma because you're fulfilling your
life purpose with the center or the
books you write etc I'm having a good
time you're having a good time at the
same time I could tell you're happy now
are you going into another stage I read
somewhere that you're possibly going to
be doing something else you have another
purpose in mind or you're going to be
doing a different we are starting a
multimedia company that will have an
interactive website will have will have
film division where we'll make
documentaries on the subjects we talk
about music and publishing so we're
combining everything and of course we
have the Chopra Center where all of it
becomes really practical so it's not
theoretical anymore
we have a website now coach oprah.com
www chopra com we have an interactive
website called how to know God calm
where people can actually come to the
website with a problem and find the
tools to solve the problem themselves
wait how do they solve the problems I'm
sorry if they come to the website they
are taught how to access the intuition
how to access their creativity and
vision so the answer to every problem
that exists the solution to it is within
you you just need lean need to learn how
to access that part of yourself and
that's one of the things we do on this
how to know God com site it's free
mm-hmm and we also have dialogues here
at the Chopra Center at least once or
twice a month which we announced on the
Chopra com website and we invite famous
people to come and speak here and engage
with us in a dialogue and it's also free
to the public now you also have chat
rooms and you have something to answer
questions on the site every day but the
dialogues are life over here right
people will come from all over the world
to engage in those dialogues and as I
said they're open to the general public
you just have to come so this multimedia
business that's the future for you is is
more of a hands-on way of people not
having to necessarily come here that
they can be in your home yeah it's been
more than a business it'll be worldwide
it'll be more than a business one of the
goals we have is to show people the
means to heal the ecosystem ecology it's
a priority for us to make people aware
of that and also the elimination of
poverty from the world economic freedom
now I heard that I was also a goal of
Europe's almost specifically good and
and that is training other people to to
realize yeah we'll do it
to the world so the website is is the
key one of the components you know does
everything has a role the web is a great
place to to connect people at the global
level we are moving slowly beyond
national boundaries into a global
society and a global culture and beyond
our tribal mind once we go beyond that
tribal mind we can do a lot for each
other and the last question I have for
you I read that you said that was very
important for those of us on the path to
seek people that are also on the path
and that one of the things that you and
we kind of adjust it just now but maybe
you could span a little bit you're going
to be having authors you're going to be
having other people that you work
hand-in-hand that help people on the
panel we're going to have a faculty of
50 or more experts in the
mind-body-spirit area and some of them
are very well known internationally and
some are not well known but they're very
good so we're going to champion even the
people who are starting out in this
field or beginning to write books but
don't have a publisher etc once again
being of service to other people and all
of us in like mine we're going after
singing singing our song together right
absolutely thank you so much for coming
on the show spin is such a pleasure to
meet you and I both she ate your time
and we'll be back in just a second
mr. mrs. Jones Sally's having some
behavioral problems I guess that reward
system isn't working well the timeouts
weren't either you know parents do find
that timeouts aren't seed well you're
just too lenient well you're too strict
no you are you are no you uh no you are
when adults don't have the answer is
they can feel as frustrated as kids
connect four kids dot org has thousands
of resources for helping kids in your
community yeah connect four kids org
guidance for grownups
my guest has taught us that when we find
the true balance of mind body and spirit
find the purpose to our life and we
serve others we find the true happiness
that is meant to be ours I hope you've
enjoyed the show we hope to see you next
time my name is Ivan Richardson with a
balanced life if you're interested in
speaking with myself or my guest our
emails will be at the end of the show in
the credit section I wish you
inspiration
