CHOPRA BEGINS WITH THE 9/11 ATTACKS, AND ENDS WITH AFFIRMATIONS
Author Deepak Chopra wrote in the Preface to this 2001 book, “On September 11, 2001… I was leaving New York on a jet flight that took off 45 minutes before the unthinkable happened. By the time we landed in Detroit, chaos had broken out… My wife and son were also in the air… one to Los Angeles, one to San Diego. My body went absolutely rigid with fear. All I could think about was their safety, and it took several hours before I found out that their flights had been diverted and both were safe… my body still felt as if it had been hit by a truck… it seemed to feel a far greater trauma that reached to the thousands who would not survive and the tens of thousands who would survive only to live through months and years of hell.
“And I asked myself, why didn’t I feel this way last week? Why didn’t my body go stiff when innocent people died through violence in other countries?... As we hear the calls or tightened American security and a fierce military response to terrorism, it is obvious that none of us has any answers. However, we feel compelled to ask some questions… what was the root cause of this evil?... Does this evil grow from the suffering and anguish felt by people we don’t know and therefore ignore? Have they lived in this condition for a long time?...
“When we have secured our safety once more and cared for the wounded… it will be time for soul-searching… None of us will feel safe again behind the shield of military might and stockpiled arsenals. There can be no safety until the root cause is faced… Although the idea for this book was born out of the tragic incident on September 11, 2001, the intent of this book evolved so that it has become a manual that can be used to heal the deeper wound no matter what the cause… It is my hope that as you create the state of spontaneous joy for yourself by reaching into the depths of your soul, you will also contribute to the restoration of harmony in the world. Because you are the world.” (Pg. 13-16)
He states, “Everyone suffers. In times of war or calamity or natural disasters, everyone suffers together. Yet no matter how far the dark ripple of pain might spread, suffering is always individual… Suffering can be defined as the pain that makes like seem meaningless.” (Pg. 31)
He explains, “There are simple, basic, remedies for dealing with shock. But numbness and tears lead to the second stage, in which powerful emotions rise to the surface, often after being buried for years of decades… The third stage of suffering comes when you feel that you must take action, either to heal or to strike out against the attacker of to lend a hand to other victims.” (Pg. 32-33)
He notes, “Our minds can’t accept random, meaningless pain… We need to find out the facts, certainly, yet they cannot make this catastrophe have any meaning. The same quandary haunts every victim of crime, disease, injustice, and loss. Why did this happen to me? What did I do to deserve it? If there is a God, how can He allow such suffering to exist? In the search for meaning, three large answers have emerged. You find them in every culture. THE FIRST ANSWER: Suffering is inevitable because it is part of life. THE SECOND ANSWER: Suffering is inevitable, the result of sin and wrongdoing. THE THIRD ANSWER: Suffering contains a hidden spiritual message. It exists until the message is heard… The third answer… is very different from the other two. It says that out of suffering can come love. Love is the hidden message within all fear and pain, no matter how horrible they make you feel.” (Pg. 59-62)
He observes, “What of religious fanaticism? Isn’t it evil? Yes, of course, but religion doesn’t teach evil. It gets called into the service of evil once the mind s made up… In a savage irony, terrorists always feel righteous in their actions. The same is true for all the great evildoers in the twentieth century, from Hitler to Pol Pot. The wrongdoer holds him- or herself up as the victim.. But if you plot revenge against an evildoer, you are harming yourself… because negative thinking reinforces the source of negativity.” (Pg. 81-82)
He says, “Inner healing involves moving from darkness to the light. ‘Light’ is a word that has different meanings yet is generally understood as love and understanding. Love nurtures the emotional body: understanding fills the voids created by pain.” (Pg. 99)
He then suggests 100 meditations/affirmations; e.g.: “My true need is to know myself as my souls know me.” (Pg. 107) “I will be open to the support that spirit is giving.” (Pg. 128) “As the observer, I feel no need to blame anyone.” (Pg. 136) “I will ask the dark energies to teach me.” (Pg. 146) “When I feel opposition, I will not oppose in return.” (Pg. 161) “I will break through the illusion of being abandoned.” (Pg. 181) “Evil is the absence of being.” (Pg. 196)
More about Chopra’s other book emphases than about 9/11, this book will appeal to his many readers.