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Empower Yourself

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”
~ Albert Camus

In the final days of 2008, many of us are experiencing a bewildering range of emotions. Simultaneous joy along with stress when spending the holiday with loved ones. The celebration of sacred traditions and faith at the same time as religious wars rage around the world, and gratitude for the many blessings of our lives intermingled with feelings of sorrow and loss – whether we’ve lost money, a job, or someone dear to us.

In the midst of economic turbulence, political controversy, and uncertainty, it’s easy to be thrown off balance or become paralyzed with fear. With this issue of mini Namasté, we invite you to take a few minutes to connect with your true source of strength and harmony – your higher Self – and to empower yourself by remembering that, though you may be temporarily disguised as a human being, your essential nature is infinite spirit – unbounded, immortal, and invincible.

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The Fire in Your Eyes

Conscious inner dialogue is another powerful tool for connecting to your true Self. Whenever you look in the mirror, even if just for a few seconds, make eye contact with yourself and silently repeat the three principles of self-referral:

I am totally independent of the good or bad opinion of others.
I am beneath no one, and no one is beneath me.
I am fearless in the face of all challenges.

Look into your eyes to see these attitudes reflected back at you. Look just in your eyes, not at your facial expression. Look for the shine in your eyes that reflects the fire in your soul. If you do this exercise a few minutes every day, it can create profound shifts in your life.

Experience the Power of Self-Referral

Whenever you feel powerless or fearful, it’s because you are in a state of object-referral. You define yourself through objects, which include people, situations, titles, possessions, accomplishments.

By their very nature, objects change, so as long as your identity is tied to objects or the opinion of others, your life will feel unstable. In object-referral, you feel good when your investments are appreciating, business is strong, or your romantic partner is happy with you. But when the market plummets, sales are down, and your relationship is challenged, you feel insecure and worried.

Self-referral, in contrast, is identifying with your inner self – the unchanging essence of your soul. In this state you have an internal sense of joy regardless of what is happening around you because you aren’t identified with transient objects or events. You pierce the mask of illusion that creates separation and fragmentation and know that you are part of the field of infinite intelligence.

Release Given our magnificent spiritual nature, why do so many of us feel powerless or afraid?

A major reason for this fear is the hypnosis of social conditioning. From childhood on, most of us learn to see ourselves from the ego’s perspective – as isolated beings struggling to survive in a hostile environment. What the world calls "power" is really fear that leads to manipulation and control of others. Real power comes from the experiential knowledge of our deepest Self, which is the field of all possibilities – unbounded by space or time.

One of the best ways to directly experience your true Self is meditation. When you meditate, you move beyond the emotions, thoughts, and memories that usually preoccupy the mind – into the pure awareness and peace that are your essential nature.

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The Chopra Center Empowerment Resources

Learn how to make 2009 the most amazing year of your life. Read more about the SynchroDestiny workshop led by Deepak Chopra & David Simon.

Chopra Center On-Line Library. Read about Ayurveda, mind-body healing, and more in our on-line library.

Free Intro to Meditation Class. Learn about our free introduction to meditation class, offered each week at The Chopra Center in Carlsbad, California.

Spend a week at The Chopra Center, where you will learn the healing practices of Ayurveda, meditation, and Ayurvedic massage therapy.

Locate a Primordial Sound Meditation instructor in my hometown.

Speak with a program consultant at 888.736.6895 or ask your question here.

Commitment Podcast

Enjoy a podcast from davidji here (~30 minutes)

Sound:Seven Metals by Benjamin Iobst
You will need a free mp3 player like Quicktime or Windows Media Player to listen to this. If you would like to save the mp3 file to your computer, right-click and choose "Save target as" (PC) or "Save link as" (Mac) and save the file to your computer.

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.”
~ Alice Walker

Now Available Online - Exclusive Podcasts by Deepak Chopra

Listen here

Focus Your Intentions for 2009

In every moment we are sowing the seeds of our future through our thoughts and intentions. A powerful way to focus your intentions is to write them down. Although this may seem like an obvious first step, many people ignore it, and their intentions remain vague and unrealized.

As we enter the new year, set aside some time to think about what you really want. Be as specific as possible and don’t limit yourself. You are planting your seeds in the fertile ground of intention.

Material Abundance: What do you want on the material level? Your own house with a garden? Write that down. Consider your desires for sensory gratification – sound, touch, sight, taste, and smell. What do you want to see, hear, and feel in 2009?

Relationships: Write down all your desires for your relationships – your romantic partner, friends, children, parents, co-workers, and any others.

Spiritual: What would nourish your heart and soul? Do want to go on a meditation retreat? Start a journaling practice?

Personal Goals: What areas of your life would you like to nurture this year? Do you want a new intellectual challenge such as studying a language or learning new software?

Community: What do you want to contribute to your neighborhood, country, or the world? Consider how you might use your unique talents to serve others.

Health: What are your health goals for the new year? Learning how to meditate? Regular, restful sleep? Releasing old emotional wounds? Write down everything you desire for your physical and emotional wellbeing.

In Practice
Keep this list with you and look at it once or twice during the day as well as just before you meditate. When you meditate, you go beyond the ego-mind into the field of all possibilities. Detach from the outcome and let the infinite organizing power take care of the details.

Share your intent and find support and content to help you achieve it. Support Deepak Chopra's and David Simon's intents.

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