Journey Into Healing Body, Mind, Spirit At The Chopra Center by Bonnie and Bill Neely

How do I begin to tell about one of the most meaningful experiences of my life.  I have read many of Dr. Deepak Chopra’s books, heard many of his lectures and enjoyed many of his TV and radio programs, always appreciating deeply his dedication to teaching Westerners that we must heal from the inside: body, mind, and spirit.  When I had the opportunity to meet the great doctor in person a few years ago and then go to his Soul of Healing seminar, I was forever changed for a deeper, more meaningly experience of my true Self. Dr. Chopra is a gifted Internist and Endocrinologist, with medical training in the United States at the famous Mayo Clinic and also a specialist in the ancient healing arts of India, Aryuvedic Herbal Therapies.

One of the most meaningful programs of all at the Chopra Center in Carlsbad, California, near La Jolla and San Diego, will be at the end of this month: Seduction of Spirit, in which participants will spend a week learning the ancient form of stretching exercises suitable for any age and adaptable for almost any physical condition.  This care of the body will accompany the all important care of the Spirit through practicing meditation at a deep level with a personal primordial mantra, which is a syllable from ancient Sanscrit and was determined thousands of years ago by ancient seers to be the sound of the Universe at the time you were born.  The silent repetition of the special Sanscrit words lulls your mind away from its busy cares and habitual worries into the bliss of deep silence.  Dr. Chopra encourages everyone to meditate into this Silence thirty minutes to begin each day and thirty minutes at the closing of the day’s work.  This connects body, mind, and spirit for wholeness, peace, and well-being.  Anyone who is able to attend this program will find it to be the most meaningful and life changing seven days you will ever spend.  Seduction of Spirit will also be taught again in June and November this year.

I attended in March the Journey Into Healing at the Chopra Center, located at the beautiful La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, CA.  The last time I was there for a seminar, nearly a decade ago, only about thirty people were in attendance. This time there were nearly 600, coming from 47 states and 27 countries including hundreds from the medical professio.  This proved how Dr. Chopra, through his use of the media at every opportunity, his speaking engagements around the world,  and through more than 64 books he has written, is changing the nature of Western medicine and health for the better.

At this conference Deepak was accompanied on stage by Dr. Andrew Weil for an excellent discussion of the best ways to achieve and maintain perfect health, which includes care of the body through healthful eating of natural foods and regualr exercise; care of the mind through expressing and releasing emotions in constructive ways; and care of the spirit by regular meditation and going within to the true Self and absolute Silence and our Source, by whatever name you choose to call Spirit or Your Higher Power.

Other renowned doctors conducted excellent teaching sessions and panel discussions. These were Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar, BAMS, M.D., a world-renowned Ayurvedic physician from a family of traditional Vedic healers in India. He taught us about eating all the 7 colors and 6 flavors provided as nature’s way to make it easy for us to know what our bodies need for optimum health.
Dr. Sheila Patel, M.D., a board-certified family physician who is passionate about bringing holistic healing practices into the Western medical system. In addition to explaining all about how our bodies work, she helped us determine and understand our own particular Dosha, which is the way our individual bodies connect with spirit and behave and react to stimulae from birth. Dr. Valencia Porter, M.D., M.P.H. is board-certified in both General Preventive Medicine and Integrative Holistic Medicine. Dr. Porter has an integrative approach that incorporates many areas of health and healing, including Ayurveda, biofield (energy) therapies, and functional medicine. She taught us ways to incorporate these new practices of good health into our own life style without being overwhelmed and discouraged. Dr. Tim Brieske, M.D. is a board-certified family physician, mind-body healing expert, and core member of the Chopra Center medical staff. With his characteristic compassion, wisdom, and lighthearted nature he kept us laughing while emphasizing the need for compassionate care of patients and of ourselves and the importance of trust, laughter, and enjoying exercise out of doors. Dr. Anand Dhruva, M.D. a board-certified oncologist and researcher specializing in medical oncology, integrative oncology, and Ayurveda, talked about the ways natural foods and care of mind and spirit can greatly augment the treatment of cancer and alleviate many of the distressful symptoms patients experience with Western oncology treatments. Also an important speaker at Journey Into Healing was V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai, Ph.D, wthe person who invented email at the age of 14 and whose passion for integrating both Eastern and Western systems of medicine led him to develop Systems Health, a new convergent medicine that is fully consistent with the scientific method.

Amanda and Rene Ringnalda serve as host and audio visual manager for the Chopra Programs and made us feel so welcome.
The discussions, panels, and lectures by all these amazing doctors were so informative and stimulating as we learned how their work is integrating the wisdom of Eastern medical practices, which are thousands of years old and proven as therapeudic, with modern Western medical practices to heal the total person, body, mind, and spirit for a vibrant, fulfilling life of joy and purpose. We were given many tools and a large notebook of what we have been taught so we can put it all into practice in our busy lives.

Each morning conference was opened by the excellent Chopra Center operations manager Davidji, who is an excellent speaker and made us laugh over and over. He puts it all into practical living with great encouragement. We practiced Deepak’s Seven Laws of Spiritual Yoga each morning with the well trained Chopra center yoga experts and were led into deep silence to begin our days. It was amazing to hear only total silence for a half hour in a room of about 600 people.  The experience of learning, exercising and meditating with such a large group from all over the world made this one of the most meaningful four days I have spent.  When I returned home I learned that incorporating the new practices into our everyday life is really not difficult and is so very rewarding.  I encourage everyone to subscribe to http://www.Chopra.com where so much of this knowledge is so freely given by Deepak and many of these great doctors.