Over the weekend I watched Annie Hall again for the countless time. This scene holds a little humor related to recent blog posts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aaddWJtRoQ
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Deepak Chopra's The Happiness Prescription
In study with a partner, we've been working with Deepak Chopra's The Happiness Prescription. It is a 2-DVD set I highly recommend. The first DVD is a talk with an audience. The 2nd DVD includes practical exercises which are presented more in an introductory sort of way.
To apply and grasp each practice it's best to take notes, create cue pages for inquiry or a design journal or workbook-style formats. Some practices ask for writing, others silent reflection. It's fairly easy to navigate around the chapters.
This week we're working with #6, the concept of Self-Knowledge. He offers a list of 9 inquiries, the first 2 to be reflected in each daily 2-minute practice with 1 of the remaining 7 added in as well. It doesn't matter which of the 7 is chosen. Below is the "cue page" with notes that I wrote out to put in front of me for the daily, 2-minute inquiry. Without this summary sheet the DVD moves too quickly and that's okay because he's just providing an overview.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL SELF-KNOWLEDGE
The world is a mirror of states of consciousness. We think we're seeing the world but we're seeing ourselves as the world.
2 minutes daily: ask the first 2 questions plus one additional from the bottom 7. It's more important to ask then to have an answer. It's in the asking!
-------
WHO AM I?
WHAT DO I WANT?
-------
What is my life purpose?
What contribution do I want to make to the world?
What creates joy for me?
Who are my heros and heroines?
What are my unique skills and talents?
What are the qualities I look for in a best friend?
What are the best qualities I can express in relationships?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I appreciate Deepak Chopra's light-handed approach. He doesn't put forth rules or doctrines but asks that we ask... that's all he's asking.
To apply and grasp each practice it's best to take notes, create cue pages for inquiry or a design journal or workbook-style formats. Some practices ask for writing, others silent reflection. It's fairly easy to navigate around the chapters.
This week we're working with #6, the concept of Self-Knowledge. He offers a list of 9 inquiries, the first 2 to be reflected in each daily 2-minute practice with 1 of the remaining 7 added in as well. It doesn't matter which of the 7 is chosen. Below is the "cue page" with notes that I wrote out to put in front of me for the daily, 2-minute inquiry. Without this summary sheet the DVD moves too quickly and that's okay because he's just providing an overview.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL SELF-KNOWLEDGE
The world is a mirror of states of consciousness. We think we're seeing the world but we're seeing ourselves as the world.
2 minutes daily: ask the first 2 questions plus one additional from the bottom 7. It's more important to ask then to have an answer. It's in the asking!
-------
WHO AM I?
WHAT DO I WANT?
-------
What is my life purpose?
What contribution do I want to make to the world?
What creates joy for me?
Who are my heros and heroines?
What are my unique skills and talents?
What are the qualities I look for in a best friend?
What are the best qualities I can express in relationships?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I appreciate Deepak Chopra's light-handed approach. He doesn't put forth rules or doctrines but asks that we ask... that's all he's asking.
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson, the astrophysicist and self-described agnostic, has an inspiring wisdom in his ability to communicate scientific findings.
"Recognize that the very molecules that make up your body, the atoms that construct the molecules, are traceable to the crucibles that were once the centers of high mass stars that exploded their chemically rich guts into the galaxy, enriching pristine gas clouds with the chemistry of life. So that we are all connected to each other biologically, to the earth chemically and to the rest of the universe atomically. That's kinda cool! That makes me smile and I actually feel quite large at the end of that. It's not that we are better than the universe, we are part of the universe. We are in the universe and the universe is in us."
"You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that kindness is a virtue."
"Recognize that the very molecules that make up your body, the atoms that construct the molecules, are traceable to the crucibles that were once the centers of high mass stars that exploded their chemically rich guts into the galaxy, enriching pristine gas clouds with the chemistry of life. So that we are all connected to each other biologically, to the earth chemically and to the rest of the universe atomically. That's kinda cool! That makes me smile and I actually feel quite large at the end of that. It's not that we are better than the universe, we are part of the universe. We are in the universe and the universe is in us."
"You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that kindness is a virtue."
Diane Roach of Virginia Beach
"Everything in life is designed to help us expand because it is an expanding universe. And when we expand and feel connected and one with that universe then we are a hologram of God. Instead of "I'm a drop in the ocean", the ocean being God, you're not a little drop in the ocean, that sounds very isolated. No, you're a drop but you're a hologram. You bring the ocean into the drop. And that's what I like, that's the kind of feeling I like to facilitate."
Her words bring to mind Kahlil Gibran's words on love: When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God."
And these words of Diane's have rested with me too this week:
"Enlightenment is a stress-free physiology"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LydCw_2YK0
I don't know Diane Roach but a friend has experience with Diane and her work.
http://dianeroach.com/
Her words bring to mind Kahlil Gibran's words on love: When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God."
And these words of Diane's have rested with me too this week:
"Enlightenment is a stress-free physiology"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LydCw_2YK0
I don't know Diane Roach but a friend has experience with Diane and her work.
http://dianeroach.com/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)