Just the other day when I was listening to one of my favorite radio shows on NPR called “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!”, I was excited, intrigued and humored (They always make me laugh!) by the guest speaker they had on the show. This week the guest was Deepak Chopra, who as you all probably know, is a well-known medical physician as well as an extraordinarily influential alternative health practitioner and best-selling author. To listen to the show or read the transcript (It’s really funny!), click here: http://www.npr.org/2013/06/01/187529359/not-my-job-deepak-chopra-plays-yes-we-cannes
Between the humor and jokes from the panel they have on the show, my interest truly peaked when the host, Peter Sagal asked Deepak what made him make the transition from being an “extremely accomplished physician” in Western medicine to studying Eastern medicine and alternative medicine. Was he dissatisfied, or what happened? Deepak answered with describing that his training was in neuroendocrinology or the study of brain chemicals. He stated that in the 70’s, it became obvious to him that there was a connection between what happens in our mind or consciousness and our biology. In other words, how he interacted emotionally with people had an effect on their brain chemistry. The rest is history.
Was Deepak truly meeting himself for the first time? Something incredibly life-changing that seemed deeply aligned with his truth happened here. The image that comes to my mind is when you stand alone at the fork in the road facing a choice of which direction is truly aligned with who you really are. How do you make that choice? How do you know? You are actually meeting yourself in this very crucial moment. Have you ever taken the time to feel the real you in those life changing “choice points”? In my life, one example where I was at this fork in the road was when I met my soul-mate Dixon. I knew immediately in my heart the direction that I wanted to go. I felt fully aligned with who I am and what felt right for me in that moment. I believe that I truly met myself in that moment. My life was changed from that point forward.
So even though Deepak kept his medical practice open in two locations, his true passion turned him in a whole new direction and toward a whole new life and a new understanding of himself. Deepak showed his true passion in his answer to Peter Sagal’s question about how he felt about being called a “new age guru”. Deepak asked him to spell guru. When Peter spelled, “guru”, Deepak so wisely answered, “You’ve got it, gee, you are you!”
By Valorie de Leña
