We are conditioned to believe that only hard work and determination is the way to achieve our life goals and dreams. We follow the rat race, work on tight schedules, being busy becomes the norm and as a result we lead an unbalanced life that leaves us emotionally, physically and mentally drained.
“At the moment you consciously make a choice, pay attention to your body and ask your body, “If I make this choice, what happens?” If your body sends a message of comfort, that’s the right choice. If your body sends a message of discomfort, then it’s not the appropriate choice.” ~ Deepak Chopra, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams
In the book, ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’ Chopra mentions that such striving to achieve our goals to an extent that our life goes out of whack is unnecessary. A flower doesn’t struggle to blossom and nor does a tree to grow fruit, similarly, when we follow certain mindful practices, we can achieve what we want to in life. When our actions are motivated by love, awareness and courage, we find ourselves in greater harmony with nature.
The Seven Spiritual Laws are guidelines that, when put into practise, place us on a clearer path of awareness and to successfully achieve our objectives.
Let’s dive in and get a clearer picture of The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success –
The Law of Pure Potentiality
“People who don’t know the power of their mind shall only have power without power.” ~ Ernest Agyemang Yeboah
We are pure awareness at our very core, according to the Law of Pure Potentiality.
All possibilities exist in the world of pure awareness. It is the foundation of all types of creation. When we realise our true worth, our true potential, it gives the confidence to achieve any objective we set for ourselves.
From the beginning, right from the time we’re born, our societal structure associates our worth with the possessions we have, the education, the family you are born in, the place you live in and so on, and this forces us to question ourselves and ignore our true nature, it’s an endless cycle of self-doubt and trying to prove your worth.
But when we unravel our truth hidden behind the veil, and become impervious to outside criticism, we realise our true potential. One way is spending some time in nature, going for a walk in the forest helps us distance ourselves from outside interference and connect with who we really are, uncovering our true potential.
Practising the Law of Pure Potentiality develops our capacity to directly experience the field of pure awareness, which is infinite in nature. Imagine what happens when you throw a little stone into a pond, it causes ripples that spread all around the center.
When we practice this law, set your intention silently, it ripples across the field of universal consciousness that connects our desire with everything else.
How to Practice the Law of Pure Potentiality
Mantra
Sit in silence, chant the mantra Om Bhavam Namah, or “I am absolute existence.” Simply think the mantra silently, or say it aloud from time to time throughout the day and during your practice.
Commune with nature
Watch the sunset, sunrise, smell flowers, touch the leaves, hug a tree, and witness the magic within every living thing.
Practice non-judgment.
Begin your day with the statement, “Today, I shall judge nothing that occurs,” and throughout the day remind myself not to judge.
The Law of Giving and Receiving
Thy infinite gifts come to me only on those very small hands of mine. Ages pass, and still thou pourest, and still there is room to fill. ~ Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali
Like the old saying goes, “The more you give, the more you get,” is how the universe operates, it is the fundamental universal principle. In every relationship, giving and receiving are the two actions that represent the universe’s energy flow.
When we tamper with nature’s intelligence, we block the energy flow, this principle is used in fengshui as well as vastu. The most crucial aspect of giving and receiving is our intention behind it. When we give joyfully from the heart, the energy behind it multiplies many times over. However, if it is done reluctantly, means if giving is not genuine, and we feel we have lost something in the process, then there is no energy behind giving, then it will not cause an increase.
The Law of Giving and Receiving is pretty simple: If we want love, practice giving love; if we want attention and appreciation, practice giving attention and appreciation; and if we want material wealth, assist others in achieving material wealth.
Silently bless everyone with all the wonderful things in life if we want to be blessed with everything good in life. We know the effect of sending out positive thoughts and energy, or a small act of giving can have an impact on someone else.
How to practice the Law of Giving and Receiving
Spread joy around
Let’s use each day to spread joy and happiness around us. Today, whoever we meet or come across, bring them a gift. A gift doesn’t mean to buy something but something as simple as giving a compliment, a flower, saying a prayer, giving a blessing.
This is how one can initiate the process of spreading joy, wealth, and affluence in our own life and in the lives of others. Be open to receiving from others – be it a compliment, a good deed, or anything. Receive the gifts of nature – sunlight, tune in to the sound of the birds and the wind, or the waves.
Express Gratitude
Express gratitude for everything that is going right in our life, and also for everything that isn’t – because both are required to support personal growth and development. It makes us the person we are right now and contributes towards balance.
Mantra
Sit silently in a comfortable position, close your eyes and chant “Om Vardhanam Namah,” or “I nourish the universe and the universe nourishes me.”
The Law of Karma
“Karma, when properly understood, is just the mechanics through which consciousness manifests.” ~ Deepak Chopra
The third spiritual law of success is The Law of Karma – based on the expression, “What you sow, is what you reap.” It is our action and the consequence of that action.
We must learn to plant the seeds of happiness if we want to cultivate happiness in our lives. The Law of Karma therefore suggests that we must be aware of the decisions we make in our lives. 95% of the time, we operate from our subconscious mind, that is based on our conditioning, so our decisions or actions are often triggered by people or circumstances.
It is only when we become consciously aware of the choices we make every moment, can we be aligned with the higher force, and reap the benefits of our karma.
For example – when we get angry and react, we might not even realise, because it has become a habitual pattern. But when We become aware about it and witness it, the emotion soon fades away. Every moment, we have a plethora of choices available to us, which makes us in control of every moment. Think about the consequences of your action, and then choose to react or not react at all.
Chopra suggests to pay attention to the sensations in our body – does it cause comfort or discomfort? If your body sends a message of comfort, that’s the right choice. If we feel uneasiness in our body even as we ask the question, then it might not be the right choice.
How to practice the Law of Karma
Become aware of our choices
Be aware of the choices you make every moment.
Ask yourself two questions: “What are the consequences of this choice that I’m making?” and “Will this choice bring fulfillment and happiness to me and to those who are affected by this choice?”
Often the heart knows what it wants, so connect with it and see how it feels before you react. What is the best response to this situation? If it feels comfortable and confident, then go ahead with it.
But if the heart feels discomfort of any kind, take pause and gauge the consequences of our actions in our life and for those around you. Instead of being reactive, respond with creativity, kindness, intuition and awareness.
Mantra
Chant the mantra, Om Kriyam Namah: My actions are aligned with cosmic law
The Law of Least Effort
“Nature’s intelligence functions with effortless ease.” ~ Deepak Chopra
Nature functions in complete harmony and rhythm, with effortless ease. There is least resistance, it simply adapts, and surrenders to the situation. If a plant growing in shade needs more sunlight, it will move towards it, and often the branch stoops in the direction of the sun. It simply adapts without any resistance.
The Law of Least Effort is about minimizing our effort and maximising our effect. Just like Occam’s Razor, “shave away”, let go of what is unnecessary from our lives. The razor represents our need for striving toward simplicity and consistency despite complexity and inconsistency.
Let go of the need to struggle, worrying about the future or about things we cannot change and accept the present moment as it is, and simply go with the natural flow of life.
How to Practice the Law of Least Effort
Acceptance has always been the key to lead a more fulfilling life. When we accept the situation, people or circumstances in our present life, there will be less struggle and less resistance. This takes off the burden that we carry all the time, and can help remove judgment and resentment from our lives.
When we accept a situation, we also take responsibility for our actions and choices, and not blame anyone else or ourselves for the way the situation has turned out. This opens up the opportunity to transform pain into wisdom, demons into diamonds and darkness into light.
When we take charge, we also don’t feel the need to defend our point of view. In other words: we give up the need to be right, or convince others to believe our viewpoint.
Mantra
The mantra for the Law of Least Effort is Om Daksham Namah which means my actions achieve maximal benefit with minimal effort. Sit quietly in a comfortable position and chant the mantra and believe that we can accomplish more by doing less if we are not wasting energy through struggle and strain.
The Law of Intention and Desire
“Inherent in every intention and desire is the mechanics for its fulfillment . . . intention and desire in the field of pure potentiality have infinite organizing power. “ ~ Deepak Chopra
Energy flows, where attention goes. What we give your energy to, will grow. If we keep thinking negatively in our life, we end up attracting negativity and giving it space to grow, and when we feed ourselves only positive thoughts, we attract positivity in our life or at least we can see a positive side to any situation.
When we really desire something, and we intend to achieve it, we have already sent out our intention in the universe to achieve it. The two go hand in hand. If we desire something, but still have doubts and fear about it, then there is still an element of negativity. Focus on what we want, and not on what we don’t want.
How to practice the Law of Intention and Desire
Write down all the things you desire, or want. Carry the list wherever you go. Read the list before you sit for your daily meditation, or let it be the last thing you read before going to bed, and the first thing you read on waking up.
Trust the universe in the process. Even if things don’t go according to plan or as desired, trust that it’s part of something bigger to follow. Release your desires into the infinite potential of the universe.
Always do your best to hold space for your intent, through the day, be fully aware of what you desire and you find yourself working to it and the universe putting stepping stones that lead you to your intention.
Mantra
The mantra for the Law of Intention and Desire is “Om Ritam Namaha”, this mantra brings our awareness, understanding, and beliefs into accord with cosmic reality.
The Law of Detachment
When you think of detachment, we often tend to associate it with isolation, or becoming cold-hearted, and uninvolved. The Law of Detachment means to be involved and yet not be affected by the outcome, to loosen the rein, let go of controlling the outcome of any situation and give in to the uncertainty of life.
When you are fully attached to something, it keeps us rooted in insecurity and fear, what if it doesn’t happen or if
I lose it. Attachment is the ego’s dramatisation, that takes away the true power of our self.
We live our lives in this pursuit of happiness by gaining wealth, goals, achievements, power and so on. This pursuit keeps us attached to material gains, which simply breeds instability.
Our intention gets locked into a rigid mindset, and how can we create new circumstances and opportunities if we’re attached to a specific mindset? We will only find the same outcomes.
So when we practice the law of detachment, it brings in a sense of freedom, freedom from our past conditioning, freedom from our habitual patterns that forces us to remain attached to our beliefs, our intentions and desires.
“Let us realize that engagement and detachment aren’t opposite-the more engaged we become, the more detached we will have to be.” ~ Deepak Chopra
How to Practice the Law of Detachment?
Practicing detached involvement – Give everyone around you permission to be what they are. Don’t impose your ideas on others of how things should be, or try to solve issues by force, which would just lead to more issues. Step back from the situation, so you can respond more positively to it.
Be comfortable with uncertainty. Don’t try to control every detail of your life, and expect things to be perfect. Find order in the midst of chaos, find stability in the midst of insecurity, and when you adopt that approach, solutions spontaneously emerge, and you remain centered when things don’t go according to plan.
Mantra
The mantra for this law of detachment is “Om Anandham Namah” which means, my actions are blissfully free from attachment to outcome. Practice this mantra during your meditation, or make the time to sit quietly and chant this mantra.
The Law of Dharma or Purpose in Life
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
We all have a purpose in life, a unique gift that we can offer others, some have realised their true purpose, while others are still in the process of finding it.
How to practice the Law of Dharma
The first step towards practicing the Law of Dharma is to understand that each of us is here to learn who we truly are. “I will awaken myself to this deep stillness within my heart. I will carry the consciousness of timeless, eternal being in the midst of time-bound experience.”
Discover your unique talents, and how those unique talents can be used to serve others.
When you are in a flow state, and your purpose has found its highest expression, you are in complete alignment with your purpose, it creates a positive impact for all.
You continue this work and ask yourself, “How can you serve and how can you help others?” When you keep an attitude of being in service to others, you become aware of your own limitlessness.
Mantra
The mantra to chant for the law of Dharma, “Om Varunam Namah” – My life is in harmony with cosmic law.
A Guided Meditation on the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success
We hope this article assists you on achieving what your heart desires, here’s a guided meditation to assist you in the process.
Resources
Deepak Chopra on the Spiritual Success Laws
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