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REINVENTING THE BODY, RESURRECTING THE SOUL

by Deepak Chopra, MD

Summary & Insights: Chpt, 5, Live Timelessly

Readings Facilitator, R. Kajuth, MLS, EdS, DD

“The body’s greatest flaw . . . is that it breaks down for no better reason, apparently, than the negative effects of the passage of time” (p 88).  Chopra points out though, that we still have a choice and hand in living somewhat outside of the ravages of time.  The problem, he states, is that one’s body erodes and evolves simultaneously, both quite invisible forces battling for supremacy.  On the one hand we suffer natural entropy, that is, the body tends to break down over time as previously stated.  However, on the other hand, out DNA by nature is constantly renewing our body with boundless energy to be called upon, having an astounding life force to last for 6.8 million years before it breaks down!  Knowing this, we can make a choice to resist aging through attitudes and beliefs about ourselves (p. 89).  “There is no need to buy into any belief that promotes entropy.  Far better to assume . . . that awareness can change any energy pattern at will” (ibid.).

There is good reason to assume this is culturally happening in the West.  It used to be that people thought 65 was the beginning of old age.  Now, surveys show that 70 is considered by most to be late middle age and 80 and upwards is now considered old age.  People have begun to think that they can ‘expect’ to be vigorous, alert, and useful for years more than thought just a few decades ago.  This is due, in part, to new medical technologies, and thanks to better health outcomes and lifestyle changes, but attitudes have also shifted to maximize the effects of the “new old age” movement.  When we feel expansive, optimistic, and forward looking, one naturally enhances the body’s repair mechanisms and allows one, living in the moment with these attitudinal changes, to live somewhat timelessly regardless of one’s numerical age (p. 89).  “To the physicist, your body is an island of ‘negative entropy’ because as long as it’s alive it refuses to cool down (p. 91).

What’s important to note is that as soon as you force any fears or negative thoughts and feelings about time and aging, one’s troubles begin.  For example, take the simple belief that there’s not enough time to get things done you want to accomplish.  One root of the self-imposed problem may be simple procrastination about starting things.  Then you create deadlines which causes stress as your mind races to do the things you need to speedily accomplish.  Firing up every cell engages catabolic processes which  breaks down tissues in the body.  You have trapped yourself in time (p. 92).

The way to make time your ally is to abide by a set of behaviors that will paradoxically tend to free you and make you functionally timeless.  Chopra lists 18 of them:  Keep regular hours, eat and sleep on a regular schedule; avoid drastic changes in diet and activities; set up an orderly work environment; rest in quietude twice a day; remove yourself from self-imposed stressful situations; don’t rush; make decisions as they arise . . . don’t procrastinate; focus on one thing at a time . . . be present; don’t multitask; avoid high risk situations or deals; don’t stray too far from your comfort zone (just enough to stretch yourself); put your finances in order; address any underlying anxieties; learn to release repressed anger without hurting others; renounce violence in thought, word, and deed; work to become more emotionally resilient; eliminate chaotic challenges at work and in primary relationships and; live as if you have all the time in the world! (pp. 95-96).  Remember, time will pass anyway.  You can either spend it creating the life you want or spend it living the life you don’t want.

Chopra states that once you realize it is your mind that gets you in trouble with time, it is consciousness of the body that will get you out.  How?  The body lives in the moment, one flowing into another . . . the eternal now . . . in one continuous flow.  Getting in touch with that ‘nowness’ can be accomplished and reinforced through an appropriate meditation practice that takes you to a place of quietude and stillness outside of the confines of the mind, the aim of true Yoga: ‘Yogash chitta vritti nirodhaha’ . . . Yoga is the cessation of the mental chatter of the mind’ [Yoga Sutras 1.2].  “If you want to have all the time in the world, you can train yourself through the following simple exercises” (pp. 100-103) recommended by Chopra to induce stillness and to release stuck energy and tension of thoughts and feelings.  With time, your brain will adapt to become more steady, still, and quiet even in times of the everyday turmoil everyone encounters.