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IAM ALWAYS looking for a connection to the divine in my everyday life.
I want to relax, to know everything is all right. And on my spiritual journey I have searched for a sense of well-being, a feeling that I have the answer to living life in peace and joy.
Not only that, but I feel compelled to explore the creative possibilities of our minds.
So when I heard Deepak Chopra was to speak in Crystal City, I was eager to go. I had read a couple of his books that really resonated.
He focuses on spiritual fulfillment--good health, peace and joy: an experience of the miraculous or the unfolding of the divine within us.
Deepak Chopra is a renowned physician, an endocrinologist who was once chief of staff at Boston Regional Medical Center, who incorporates Eastern religious teachings into his medical knowledge. He has written more than 30 books.
Chopra's talk was part of the Consciousness and Healing conference of the Institute of Noetic Sciences at the Hyatt Regency in Arlington last month.
The conference was about exploring new possibilities of physical and spiritual healing.
Many of the participants were medical professionals and scientists sharing their holistic philosophies for healing--in an individual as well as a world view.
This is right up my alley. Before I heard of this conference, I was not aware of the Institute of Noetic Sciences. In fact, I didn't know what "noetic" meant. (It means "of or having to do with the mind.") But since I had a cancer scare almost 15 years ago, I have been intrigued by the possibilities of the mind for miracles in healing.
I was fortunate to undergo surgery that removed the cancer entirely, but I continued to pursue the mind-body connection to stay well.
Chopra's four-hour talk (with no notes) was delivered in a large ballroom with several hundred people in attendance. The crowd seemed to be kindred spirits, and the women on either side of me were warm and friendly.
I went by myself to the event, but didn't feel alone at all. Chopra himself was approachable, signing autographs at a break as well as after the talk.
During the afternoon, he affirmed many of the beliefs I hold. He incorporated spiritual awareness and an exploration of healing involving medicine and physics.
Also, Chopra echoes many of the same truths found in "A Course in Miracles," which is a self-study spiritual thought system I have been undertaking for several years. Its object is to remember God, or experience universal love and peace, through forgiveness of others.
Although it sounds simple, it has been a daily practice (and struggle) for me. The "miracle" is when I shift my perception from fear to love.
I identify with many of Chopra's teachings because they resonate with me in my gut.
One example is when he says relationships are mirrors. I have found that if I am dishonest (who, me?) then it will be reflected in disharmony in my life. Vice versa, if there is disharmony, such as feeling unfairly treated by a co-worker or boss, for instance, it is a signal to check my motivations, look more deeply where I am coming from.
Chopra started the event with a question, asking, "Who are you?"
He answered: Your presence, or soul, transcends birth and death. This awareness (your presence) has all memory and experience.
He said people struggle to learn when they should be remembering--remembering we are not our bodies or our ego, but are in a relationship with God.
He had the profound realization, he said, that the real you is not in your body.
The real you can't be localized in space and time. We broadcast ourselves through our bodies, he said.
He talked about how our brains have no direct experience of the world. They respond to hormones, chemicals, light, heat, electrons, protons, cell membranes. They translate sight, taste, feeling. As a result, our perception of the world is unreliable, he said.
And one of my favorites among the things he said was that our brains edit out anything that we think doesn't exist.
I know I have experienced this. When I have been so certain I was right about something, and then I became aware of some new information and my perception totally changed, I remember thinking, "But I was so sure "
Another thing he said that helps me understand the connection between the spiritual and physical, which I have found to be true in my life, is: The mystery will be manifest only when you participate, or, in other words, God is present in my experience when I request it, when I pray and when I practice forgiveness.
As I continue to examine how our emotions affect our biochemistry, I listen to Chopra's audiotape, "The New Physics of Healing," which I bought at the conference.
Chopra advocates meditation, and during the session participants did a short meditation and a couple of exercises, including creating our own "soul profile."
He mentioned something from one of his most recent books that affirms what I have learned in "A Course in Miracles." That is: "I will see the world in me instead of me in the world."
A shift in me changes the universe. When I smile, give, forgive or make any gesture of love, it sends a ripple in the universe. An angry word or thought also is sent into the world.
Attending this event made me realize I am on the right track, but still have much to learn about the powers we have to heal. As I experience life, I feel as if I am putting together a jigsaw puzzle, and on this day, so many pieces seemed to fit together.
But the picture isn't finished yet.
The happier we are, the more joy there is in our lives, the more we are able to experience peace. For me, that requires a relationship with God, and I believe the way is through forgiveness.
I am learning to stop judging. I realize that when I judge, it comes from fear. And the opposite of that is love.
That is what I always return to, and it gives me a sense of well-being: When faced with any problem, love is always the answer.
Nancy Gilmore is a copy editor at The Free Lance-Star and attends a meditation group that meets at her church, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fredericksburg.
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