Deepak Chopra on the Mental Field

The mind has remained a metaphysical riddle
For centuries because it inhabits
The physical world like a ghost.

But that’s a Western perspective
Based on our bias for solid, tangible things.
We insist that the brain
Must be the source of mind
Because the brain is a visible object,
Which is like saying that a radio
Must be the source of music
Because it is a visible object
From which music emerges.
The Vedic rishis adopted the opposite perspective,
Insisting that visible objects couldn’t be the source
Of mind since the physical plane
Is the least conscious of worlds.
Our Western prejudice against the invisible
Isn’t easy to overcome.
Mind will only be proved to exist outside the brain
If it leaves some kind of footprint,
A visible sign that is as convincing as the MRIs
That provide concrete evidence of neural activity.

Right now you are a bundle of information
In mind and body.
You have unique memories;
Your cells have undergone chemical changes
Shared by no one else in the world.

When you die, none of this information will vanish,
Because it can’t.
There is nowhere for plus and minus,
Or positive and negative to go
Since the field contains nothing but information.

Therefore their only alternative is to recombine.
There is growing evidence that in fact
We do share the same mind field.
The brain belongs to “me,”
But if ideas belong to “us,”
Then we are participating together in a field,
Sometimes quite mysteriously

Theragatha

If your mind becomes firm like a rock

And no longer shakes

In a world where everything is shaking,

Your mind will be your greatest friend

And suffering will not come your way.

Prajnaparamita

Empty and calm and devoid of self
Is the nature of all things.
No individual being
In reality exists.
There is no end or beginning,
Nor any middle course.

All is an illusion,
As in a vision or a dream.
All beings in the world
Are beyond the realm of words.
Their ultimate nature, pure and true,
Is like the infinity of space.

Prajnaparamita

The eye of clarity is so called
Because it brings sight to everyone.
It enables every single one to enter
The uncreated and unconditioned reality,
Each in his own way.

Deepak Chopra on Second Attention

Through second attention, you can perceive yourself
As awareness itself,
Not as one of its products and creations.
There are many ways to catch such glimpses:
Meditating to reach inner silence;
Sensing the purity of nature;
Sudden flashes of innocence; an impulse of love;
An intuitive connection to your muse;
Sensing inner guidance, a source of wisdom;
A feeling that you belong in the larger scheme of life.

Consider if you have ever experienced such things;
Begin to notice them now, and be on the lookout
For those moments when you can sense
Something lies behind the veil of appearances.

Even though we all live by first attention
And therefore lose our selves in constant activity,
We are also equipped to perceive the world
Through second attention.

Whenever you have a flash of love,
Innocence, inspiration, awe, wonder, or joy,
Remind yourself: This is the real me.
Don’t let such moments simply pass you by.
Stop and appreciate them,
And ask that you receive more in the future.

In this way you open a feedback loop
Between first and second attention.
You will continue to view the physical world as such,
But its significance will change.
You will start to see consciousness at work,
Being in motion.

In this way, the realms of change and non-change
Begin to merge.
Light starts to enter the world,
Until the world is eventually seen as made of light
And nothing else.

Hsueh-yen

One moon appears everywhere in all bodies of water;
The moons in all bodies of water are contained
In one moon.
This is a metaphor for one mind producing
Myriad things
And myriad things producing one mind.

This refers to dream illusions, flowers in the sky,
Half-seeming, half empty.

Releasing Shadow Enegies, Deepak Chopra

To find your shadow energy,
You have to be dedicated to a journey of descent.
Think of this journey as going back to retrieve parts
Of your life that have been abandoned because
You felt so ashamed or guilty about them.

The anger that erupts from the shadow
Is attached to past events that were never resolved.
Now those events are over and gone,
But their emotional residue isn’t.

Shame, guilt, and fear cannot be accessed by thinking.
The shadow isn’t a region of thoughts and words.
Even when you have a flash of memory
And recall such emotions,
You are using a part of the higher brain–the cortex–
That cannot touch the shadow.

The journey of descent begins only when you find
The doorway to the lower brain,
Where experience is sorted out
Not according to reason
But according to intense feelings.

No matter how free you feel from shadow energies,
They exist inside you. If they didn’t,
You would be in a state of total freedom, joy,
And unboundedness.
You would be in unity, the state of innocence regained
When the hidden energy of the shadow
Has been purified.

Shadow energies make themselves known
Whenever a controlled situation
Turns unexpectedly anxious
Or causes unexpected anger or dread.
If you feel guilty or ashamed of yourself
After you experience these,
Then you have touched, however briefly,
On the shadow.

An eruption of irrational feeling isn’t the same
As releasing them.
Venting is not purification.
So don’t mistake an outburst for catharsis.
When a shadow energy truly leaves,
There is no resistance anymore,
And you see something you didn’t see before.