As you may know over the last few years I have written a few articles based on Childhood Trauma. What brought my childhood trauma to the forefront is the role reversal in the same kind of scenarios I experienced as a child. Although I’m doing my best not to repeat the generational trauma that has been passed down.
A lot of psychological principles are based on the theories of Freud and Jung, a lot of psychiatrists would actually go out and say that your current issues stemmed from your past traumas and would then just end up counselling you by saying, “So you see, it’s not your fault.”
I used a justification like this that it’s not my fault for being a little broken, a little awkward in social situations, its because of the amount of crap that I had to go through while growing up, has moulded me into what I am today.
I lived in this unknown bubble of comfort until I listened to “The Courage to be Disliked.” This book literally made me see this bubble I had built for myself and got me to poke holes to help me get out of my comfort zone. While I was listening to the book I could feel, it unravelling my triggers and cognitive dissonance kept popping up at times.
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Gratitude is an essential practice in our daily life to keep us grounded, humble, and focused on life. We’re all aware of its numerous health benefits, ranging from reducing stress and anxiety to promoting calmness in our social interactions and reducing inflammation.
But something of interest is that, research suggests receiving gratitude is more potent as compared to giving gratitude. According to Andrew Huberman, when you remember the time when somebody genuinely thanked you for something that you did and the way it made you feel in receiving that gratitude, shifts our body’s neural circuitry in a more effective way as compared to writing down things you are thankful for.
If you can’t think of any event when you received gratitude, then find a story that inspires you, where someone else is receiving help, and that story actually moved you in a profound way. When you think of such a story, it steers your mental and physical health in a positive direction.
“What narrative you select is based on your taste, the story you select doesn’t need to have semblance to your life experience, it’s about the story that moves you. Find a story that is particularly meaningful for you, genuinely expressing thanks, and list down on paper what the struggle was, what the help was, and something about how does that impact you emotionally.” ~ Andrew Huberman
What a story on gratitude does to our physiology?
Stories are a powerful tool in making a difference in a person’s life. Listening to a story coordinated the heart rate of certain individuals based in different places. Even when different individuals were listening from different places at different times, their heart beats in the same rhythm.
Select a story that you will return to, even if it’s not the entire story, and you note down a few points or write a summarized version of that story, and keep coming back to it regularly, even if it’s for 5 minutes a day, will create a perceptible shift in your heart beat and breathing, and will shift your physiology into a more relaxed state.
I have been personally trying to inculcate a regular gratitude practice, first thing is for anything to be effective it has to be done regularly, whether it’s doing yoga, meditation or any form of energy work, to be reaping benefits, repetition is the key here.
Obstacles on the path of a gratitude practice
Dr. Robert Emmons, author of the book Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier, said that rather than adding a task to our existing schedule, you should integrate gratitude into your daily life.
To cultivate a gratitude practice in our daily lives, we do not need to create overwhelming goals or take any specific steps; instead, we can open up our awareness to the gifts that come into our lives daily. Once we set an intention to notice these gifts, we bring in a multitude of benefits into our lives.
He also stated that in order to achieve this, you should firstly be open to receiving gratitude, and here are three ways suggested by Emmons that can unlock the doors for gratitude to find its way to us.
You believe only in self-reliance
It is impossible to have a feeling of gratitude if you aren’t open to receiving, this could be even a helping hand or assistance in daily life. Others contribute to our success, this is how it works, in the course of our lives there’s always someone who lends us a hand, it could be as easy as someone opening the elevator door when you have your hands full of groceries.
Sometimes in office like scenarios when you work as a team, it’s human nature to take credit when things go well and prefer to put the blame on someone else when things go wrong. A situation like this works against the ability to feel gratitude.
Negative biases
It is extremely normal to focus on what’s going wrong as compared to what’s going right; this is just how our mind works. Not only that, if you try to look back in the past, it’s far easier to remember negative memories as compared to positive ones. On a personal note, when I try to recollect positive experiences as a child, I find it far easier to recollect negative experiences.
But then if you try to recollect the positive experiences and express gratitude towards them, it helps amplify the good in our lives and even helps us reduce negativity bias.
Dislike being indebted
Some of us enjoy receiving gifts, but do you ever feel that it’s better to give gifts rather than receive them? That’s probably because receiving it makes you feel like you are now in debt, and you need to return the favor as soon as possible. Again, this behavior puts you in a mode where you feel obligated to give something back, and it’s stuck there at the back of your mind.
You want to pay it back, and you feel indebted instead of actually feeling grateful that you have received a gift. You have to learn to be ok with being indebted and accept the gift with gratitude, enjoy it and be thankful, don’t get stuck in a negative pattern when there’s something good going on.
The Science of Gratitude Practice
Conclusion
All you need to do is live life from a place of gratitude, to see that there are so many givers and receivers in your life, and to know that each of them has a place. Incorporating gratitude practice is as simple as when you sit down for a meal or walk to your car, think of the same story (either personal or the story you selected) when someone was genuinely grateful to you, and how touched you were with that gesture. This simple gratitude practice, done regularly, leaves a long-lasting impact on our health as it gets you into this mode of gratitude, and neural circuits get activated more easily with repetition of this practice.
Dr. Andrew Huberman is a neuroscientist, associate professor in the department of neurobiology and psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Ethnobotanicals have always been of interest to me, from my Ayahuasca experiences and even other plant medicines have had a major role to play in my own inner work and path corrections. Then when you combine it with Visionary art you have my undivided attention.
I recently came across this painting across this piece of artwork “The Stoned Ape Theory” and found it fascinating, for those of you who don’t know about what that is, this article on mushrooms will get you up to speed. So here’s a little interview with Jim Figora the creator of this piece of art.
The Stoned Ape Theory
When did you know that art was your calling?
I think there is a difference between being born as an artistic person, and choosing to pursue the arts as a career path. I don’t think I ever had a calling to become an artist, it was just something I had to do, a kind of compulsion to create. Some of my earliest memories involved making art as a young child, an inherent need to express my thoughts and feelings through visual representations of what was on my mind.
I was lucky enough to have a very devoted art teacher in high school, Caroline Freese, who pushed me to develop my techniques and knowledge of art, and eventually encouraged me to go to college and major in 2-dimensional design with a focus on oil painting.
Since then, making paintings has really just been a hobby of mine, a kind of meditation that keeps me sane, and a way for me to express my feelings and explore subjects that interest me. It’s really only the last couple of years that my creations have attracted a decent amount of attention and commercial success, which has allowed me to support myself and turn my passion into more of a career.
How was your relationships with your parents and siblings as a child?
I had a pretty “normal” childhood in the suburbs of Chicago, the typical middle-class American experience. I have 2 older brothers that I love dearly, who were always a source of inspiration, encouragement, and a healthy dose of competition. My parents were both blue-collar, responsible, hard-working people. They definitely pushed me and my brothers to strive for success, both academically and spiritually.
They were strict about the aspects of life that they valued, such as work ethic, honesty, integrity, and devotion. But they gave us a certain amount of freedom which allowed us to explore the things that brought us happiness, and I’m grateful for that.
What drew you to ethnobotanicals?
My interest in psychoactive plants started at a pretty early age. I think it began when I first really began listening to the Grateful Dead as a teenager, which is a body of music that absolutely spoke to my soul. It was my curiosity of the 60s counterculture that led me to start experimenting with cannabis and LSD, both of which changed my life forever. I became fascinated with altered-states of consciousness, initially because I wanted to know what influenced my favorite artists to create such unique music.
This was the early 2000s in Prohibitionist America, so it wasn’t necessarily easy to find all of the compounds I wanted to explore. But a pivotal point in my explorations of consciousness came when I discovered the website Erowid, which is an extensive online vault of information regarding plants and drugs. It is a library of knowledge, containing ethnobotanical information, pharmacology, trip reports, historical usage, cultural impacts, and preparation and dosage information.
Erowid was a game changer for me, and I soaked up as much information as I could. Many of the most interesting drugs were still legal at the time, either because of their obscurity, grey areas in the language of the laws, or novelty on the market. So thanks to Erowid and the online world-marketplace, I began ordering, collecting, and using anything that interested me. I didn’t need an Owsley manufacturing LSD when I had easy access to Hawaiian Baby Woodrose seeds, morning glories, mescaline-containing cacti, salvia divinorum, and a pharmacopeia of yet-to-be-scheduled, novel research chemicals delivered to my mailbox.
It’s only been the last 3 years that I’ve taken my love of ethnobotanicals to the next level, having travelled to the tropics of central and South America to work for organizations dedicated to the responsible use, preservation, and knowledge of psychoactive plants.
I started my journey as a naïve kid interested in altering his mind, but eventually realized the importance of respecting traditions, ceremony, and botanical knowledge. I plan on furthering my understanding in the next year, by immersing myself into some of the cultures of the Amazon who have been stewards of these plants for millennia.
What kind of influence have psychedelics and medicinal plants have on you?
Its hard to know who I would have been if I never got into psychedelics. I’ve always been an adventurous, outgoing person, so I’m not sure my personality would be much different. I think the strongest influence they’ve had on me deals with motivation issues. There have been times in my life where I’ve been lazy, complacent, content with just going through the motions of working a 9-5 job during the day and watching mindless entertainment at night.
But a heroic dose of psychedelics a couple times a year has a way of making me more driven and dedicated in many aspects of my life. They have a way of showing you your life’s purpose, explaining the importance of leaving a legacy, and give many lessons about how to maximize fun, adventure, and love.
So I think they’ve definitely made me a better, more patient artist, because my body of work is the main legacy that I will leave this planet after I die, so I need it to be the best work I can possibly do. I also doubt I would have taken so many open-ended, international trips without my mind being opened by psychedelics.
Once you take 5 grams of mushrooms, buying a one way flight to a country you’ve never been to before seems like an easy endeavour!
Exploring Ancient Knowledge
What do you believe your purpose as an artist is?
Like I said in the question above, for me it’s about leaving a legacy. It’s a gift to be alive, and I’m especially grateful to be born with the opportunities and talents that I have. I think it’s important to show your gratitude to this amazing planet by devoting yourself to something that will transcend the short amount of years you have.
Some people might achieve this by having kids, inventing new technology, writing a book, recording music, or even simply planting a tree. For me, it will be the body of artwork that I create, and I’m just getting started!
As far as the psychedelic subject matter goes, I do hope that it makes people curious and more open to experience these plants and drugs. If humans still exist in a couple hundred years, then we will have fully incorporated psychedelic sacraments into our way of life. So the more artists who help break down the stigma, the better.
I’m just a small piece in the puzzle, but if humans are going to get our shit together and learn how to live harmoniously with each other and the planet, it needs to happen soon. And psychedelics will be a major tool to help us get there. So psychedelic artists are very important in my opinion, as the world depends on us!
Do you manage to make a decent living only based on your art or would you say it’s more of a hobby, do elaborate?
For many years, it was really just a hobby. I’ve done a fair amount of commissions over the years, vended at festivals, and sold some prints online, but it was never close to enough income to support myself without a day job. I’ve always resisted the temptation to make art that I thought would be commercially successful. First and foremost, it has to be meaningful for me.
Because of my unusual interests and strange way of expressing them, I never had much of an audience until recently. The internet and social media definitely helped me out though, and the last couple years I’ve definitely “found the others” of people who understand my work, and resonate with the obscure subject matters that I find interesting.
So now I’m happy to say that my income from art has finally reached a point where I don’t need to work a dreaded day job. I’m incredibly grateful to all of the patrons who have bought originals and prints from me.
How long does it take you to create your work, describe the process in brief please!
I usually work on one painting for maybe 2 or 3 months. I take a many breaks and spend lots of time staring at the canvas to see how it wants to evolve. It always starts with a strong idea, with an emphasis on content. It has to really mean something and tell a story.
But the composition, colors, and visual elements evolve throughout the whole process. The paintings are alive and know how they want to look, it’s up to me to just kind of be the medium between the muse and the brush.
Name two of your favourite pieces that you have created and why did you choose them?
I think “The Stoned Ape Theory” and “Exploring Ancient Knowledge” are my two best so far, for a couple different reasons. First of all, my technique on these works has definitely improved compared to my earlier work. The brush work is tighter, the compositions are better, and the overall look is harmonious and visually pleasing to look at.
But these 2 also strongly focus on content. There are layers of meaning in these paintings, which has been a culmination of the years I’ve spent researching the subject matter (mushrooms influencing human evolution, and psychoactive snuffs of the Amazon, respectively.) I think there is a lot of visionary art nowadays that is visually and technically impressive, but lacks much meaning.
For me, content is always most important, as I believe the purpose of art is to give the viewer a lot to think about.
As Above So Below
What do you think of the world we live in ?
I think we’re all a bunch of monkeys trying to evolve before we blow ourselves up, myself included. Sometimes the world can be a scary place and it can feel like there’s nothing we can do as individuals to create real change. I used to worry about the big picture a lot more, but these days I try not to focus too much on the negative aspects of humanity.
I try my best to be a good person, respect other people and the planet, and leave a light footprint. Overall, this world is an incredible place, with so much opportunity to create the life you want. I’m grateful to be alive in this exciting time and space, and I guess without the negative aspects of the world, the positive ones wouldn’t feel so good.
If you had one message that you could give people, what would it be?
Follow your bliss! You don’t want any regrets on your deathbed, so don’t waste any time with finding out what makes you happy, and pursuing that everyday.
Do you think art helps in raising or changing the consciousness/perspective of a person viewing it, do elaborate?
Of course, that’s the whole point. Art should be a catalyst for thought, emotions, and feelings in the viewer. There should be a lot of subjective meaning for the viewer, and each person will have a unique experience with any given piece. Since consciousness is essentially thoughts, then a successful work of art can certainly raise consciousness.
Even though I believe that to be true, it isn’t really my goal. To be honest, it’s a pretty selfish endeavor for me. It’s just subject matter that I find interesting and want to explore. I don’t spend much time thinking about what it will do for other people.
But I do find it incredibly flattering when someone reaches out and lets me know that my art has an impact on their life. That feels really good when something I have created has benefited someone’s life and helped change their perspective.
We do hope you enjoyed this interview if you would like to check out some more visionary artists, head over to our Artwork section.
“What fascinates me is that hardly anyone is wondering what we’re actually doing on this planet. Most accepted the work-eat-entertainment -sleep cycle as life and have no desire for a deeper understanding of our purpose in this universe.” ~ Jim Carrey
Life consists of so many things; the more you begin to unwind and discover who you are, the more self-work comes into the picture. I’m someone who has always liked to uncover and work on myself without any assistance, but books definitely have helped expand my perspectives and light up my path.
Today, I’m putting down a few books that have helped, not enlightened me, but really helped steer me, to put the wind in my sails, whether it comes to understanding myself, past traumas, or even questioning my beliefs, or stirring up some new ones.
These books have guided me on my life’s journey, and I’m confident they will help you with yours. Here are 7 books to help light up your path.
1. When the Body Says No
With decades of experience and interactions with patients, Dr. Gabor Maté talks about how stress due to multiple reasons, but mostly focused on childhood trauma, is a root cause of diseases in adulthood. In his book “When the Body Says No” Maté puts forth his conversations over decades with his patients suffering from a range of chronic illnesses.
The book puts forth a case that the way we have been conditioned to live our lives can contribute to illness. To look at the body as a whole and not separating the mind and body, psychoneuroummunology, is not a new concept, in fact one of Plato’s dialogues, Socrates quotes a Thracian doctor criticizing one of his Greek colleagues, “This is the reason why the cure of so many diseases is unknown to the physicians of Hellas; they are ignorant of the whole. For this is the great error of our day in the treatment of the human body, that physicians separate the mind from the body.” You cannot split mind from body, said Socrates
The book dives deep into emotions and their effects on the body, parent-child relationships, and how they affect adult life. Multiple behavioral patterns that do not serve us stem from acts of people pleasing that get incorporated from an early age. Maté also includes the Seven A’s of Healing to understand how we can conduct ourselves in a way where we can avoid letting our body be taken over by negative emotions.
2. Ikigai: The Japanese secret to a long and happy life
Who doesn’t want to live a long life if it’s a happy one, this book by authors Héctor García and Francesc Miralle is an international bestseller for a reason. Okinawa in Japan has the highest life expectancy, where reaching a 100 years is normal, as a matter of fact 80 years is still considered young there as most people are absolutely fit at that age.
In the simplest lesson the book teaches us that, “Life is not a problem to be solved. Just remember to have something that keeps you busy doing what you love while being surrounding by the people who love you.”
That itself is a valuable lesson to learn, the book talks about the lifestyle of people who are happy and live long, surprisingly, simplicity places a big role in it but combined with other things like living close to nature, socializing with people who you love or who are fond of you, eating till you are 80% full, never retire even if you have retired professionally and a lot more.
3. Becoming Supernatural: How Common People Are Doing The Uncommon
If you ever underestimated the human body’s potential for achievement, this book is a must-read. From healing to manifesting your destiny, Joe Dispenza puts forth multiple case studies along with his research and documents to support his claims.
Of course, that’s not going to be enough for most people. his work has been claimed as pseudoscience, but to be honest, he’s not the first person to put forth claims such as these. With case studies of self-healing, to achieving a life that one desires, Dispenza’s book will walk you through understanding your energetic system, drawing your energy back to put it to use in your life, clearing your brain with meditations and breathing exercises, and even manifesting your desires to make your life better.
The book showcases the power of self belief and the ability to reprogram your mind to enable healing and higher wellbeing. It will teach you how to be in a state of gratitude to enable receiving, if you want to know more read Going Supernatural ~ Unlocking your True Human Potential ~ Part 1
4. Taking Charge: Your Life Patterns and Their Meaning
As compared to all the other books on this list, the probability of you hearing about this one is quite low. Gudrun Burkhard was a physician and therapist who specialized in Biography, and she lectured around the world. Taking Charge combines her years of work as a therapist with Rudolph Steiner’s seven-year maps of human life from the age of 0 to 70 years.
According to Steiner each of these cycles put forth their own challenges and rewards, Gudrun, puts forth multiple biographies of her patients and showcases how when hardships are ignored they keep coming back after a period, with vengeance until either we work on it or it gets the better of us.
It’s fascinating to see that more or less each of us as humans has a broad, similar pattern to our lives that we unfold uniquely to our being. At the end of the book, Taking Charge allows you to create your own life biography to understand yourself better and gives you some clarity on your own milestones. If this interests you, our article on the cycle patterns of our existence is a must-read!
5. The Love for Imperfect Things
The love of imperfect things is written by a Zen Buddhist South Korean Monk, Haemin Sunim. He is well known and was actually involved in a controversy with his app that charged for his meditations. He has travelled the world lecturing and finally decided to go back to monastic life.
The Love for Imperfect things does involve a lot of personal experiences, simple quotes and wonderful lessons. It also taught me how to accept the father-son relationship which I had quite some trouble with. The book really helps you understand who you are and why you do the things you do.
It engages inner dialogue and help you come alive and love your imperfect self. The book is filled with little stories that help shine some light in the darkness, its a tiny little book that makes for a quick insightful read.
6. The Courage to be Disliked
At this point of this article I would like to say that none of these books are in order of best to worst, the courage to be disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga would be the book I would recommend you to read if you have no time to read any of them.
Our world moves via principals generated by Freud and Jung, where trauma plays such a massive role in shaping who we are today. But the book takes the contrary views of Alfred Adler that says that we’re basically shaped by our lifestyle or rather that none of our past creates who we’re today but us ourselves.
That statement can be very blunt to just read like that, but the book builds it up very nicely, where a young man who does not like his life talks with a philosopher. The entire book is based on multiple encounters, or to say so, debates between the two of them shifting through insights of Adlerian psychology.
Being someone who has held trauma responsible for shaping my life, there were so many tada moments that the conversations were nudging me out of my comfort zone. I’m going to be doing an article for members on this one soon!
7. The Gene Keys: Embracing Your Higher Purpose
Let me be honest with you, I haven’t fully finished working with the Gene Keys completely, and in all honesty, it will probably take me a long time to completely embrace all it has to offer. But this book by Richard Rudd has immense potential in steering you on your path, and it has to be put here.
The Gene Keys is deep work on what we in India call the Kundalini, the Chinese call the IChing, where your life path or so to say destiny is already pre planned based on the time and place you were born. Now don’t get me wrong, you still have a major part to play as the choices you make send you in different directions on this map.
Something like a game of Snakes and Ladders, but with different outcomes, the gene keys come with a set of codes to help you find the ladders on this game, leading you to find your genius (your talents, not just intelligence) and live your best life possible. While the concept is fairly simple, you can imagine that it’s very in-depth as it takes into account these ancient systems that are still used and combines them along with years of research into a massive book that can help guide you on your life’s path!
I do hope you enjoyed this selection of books, I’m positive each one of them has something that can assist you on your path. But remember it’s always you who has to take the steps and convert this knowledge into wisdom! All the very best.
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 striving to achieve our goals to the extent that our lives go out of whack is unnecessary. A flower doesn’t struggle to blossom, nor does a tree grow fruit. Similarly, when we follow certain mindful practices, we can achieve what we want 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 practice, 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.
