Deepak Chopra is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation.  He is the founder of The Chopra Foundation, a non-profit entity for research on well-being and humanitarianism, and Chopra, a modern-day health company at the intersection of science and spirituality.  Deepak is also a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego.  He is the author of over 90 books, including numerous New York Times bestsellers, the latest one titled Total Meditation: Practices in Living the Awakened Life.  TIME magazine has described Dr. Chopra as “one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century.” 

 

Some interesting insights from this episode:

• Western medicine is necessary for acute intervention but for chronic disease, other than when caused from a gene mutation, lifestyle heavily influences the outcome. Sleep, stress management, exercise, breathing, nutrition, and self-regulation have a significant impact on the onset and management of chronic disease.
• Modern industrially produced food is ruining the body’s ecosystem which is causing inflammation of the microbiome which is causing inflammatory disease including chronic disease.
• Total meditation is the practice of bringing the mind into a meditative state whenever you want. So when you notice that you’re feeling stressed or anxious, you just simply return to the mind’s natural state of inner peace and quiet. 
• Total consciousness is pure knowing which is beyond perception and thought. You know without knowing.
• We’re “asleep” when we act unconsciously and we’re “awake” when we act consciously. Examples of being asleep include speaking without thinking, arriving at snap judgments, and acting out of habit. Examples of being awake include thinking before you speak, anticipating consequences of your actions, and not jumping to conclusions.
• If you had the answers to just three questions whenever you wanted them, you would achieve all your goals and your life would thrive. Those three questions are: What am I doing right? What isn’t working for me? What is my next step?
• “Excellence is the ability to actualize worthy goals, the ability to love and have compassion, and the ability to always be in touch with your deeper awareness.”

 

Links:

Deepak Chopra website

Total Meditation book

Chopra Meditation and Well-Being iPhone app

The Chopra Foundation

Never Alone mental and emotional health resource