Deepak Chopra's book is touted as "A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE FULFILMENT of YOUR DREAMS". Browsing through the markup of my first read-through made me step back and question my dreams. It also made me consider what success means to me.

By the end of last week's post, I wasn't sure which book I'd tackle next. Then it occurred to me. There was a common thread in last week's post, Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing, and that commonality was the number seven. In addition to the number being a key focus of her book, author Caroline Myss refers to the Seven Chakras in Eastern philosophies, the Seven Sacraments in Christianity and the Ten Sefirot of Judaism, which are grouped into Seven levels. As I scanned my bookshelf last Sunday night, and in keeping with the theme of 'Seven', Deepak Chopra's The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success was an obvious choice.

This is another book I bought when I was part of a book club. I bought it on the first of June 2003 and read it in July/August of that year after someone else had read it. The library-like post-it note system we used to track who'd read the book is still on the inside back cover, and the book scored an eight out of ten by both readers. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success is a very quick read, so it was easy to work through, which was great given that this is a busy time of the year with many other things to focus on. I'd marked up the book some, but not an awful lot, so I wasn't immediately sure where the 8/10 came from, but by the third Law, I started to remember why. When I first started to re-read the book, I agonised over how to approach the work because it deals with manifesting wealth, and I've been iffy about this throughout my journey and certainly in my last couple of posts. I have copped to a lack of understanding around manifestation in general. While I was tempted to refer to this as a shortcoming, I had a little breakthrough while reading the 5th Law, which helped me decide on the approach to this week's post. I'll work through the seven laws individually and, where possible, relate them to my experience.
Law #1 - The Law of Pure Potentiality

Deepak Chopra opens each Chapter (or Law) with a quote like the one below the image on the right. I'll include these quotes alongside each law. However, what he also does at the end of each chapter is include steps on how to implement these laws, and this is perhaps where his book is most helpful (at least to me) because I could relate it to some of the other texts I have read and worked through over the last eleven weeks.
Concerning the 'Law of Pure Potentiality', Deepak Chopra writes that the law is grounded in the notion that our essence is pure consciousness, a state that goes beyond our ego and limitations. He suggests that we can achieve abundance and fulfilment by accessing this state of pure potentiality.
Deepak Chopra encourages commitment to the following steps to put the 'Law of Pure Potentiality' into effect:
Simply Be. Sit in silence/meditation twice a day
Commune with Nature
Practice Non-Judgment
Favourite quote from 'The Law of Pure Potentiality':
"Wherever you go in the midst of movement and activity, carry your stillness with you."
This reminded me of what I learned from Eckart Tolle's The Power Of Now. In his bestselling book, Tolle famously said. "No-mind is consciousness without thought". A mind without thought is 'still'. The presence that Tolle promotes is the same stillness that Chopra speaks of.
Law #2 - The Law of Giving

I'm not keen on the word "abundance" either. In self-help terms, it's not my purpose. Mine is not a pursuit of abundance or the manifestation of wealth, so this Law was challenging. Granted, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success is not only about success in material terms - it also encourages the pursuit of joy, balance and purpose - but I struggled to extract deeper meaning from this Law. My appreciation for it only came from Chopra's advice on putting the law into effect.
Deepak Chopra encourages commitment to the following steps to put the 'Law of Giving' into effect:
Bring a gift to anyone you encounter, whether it's a physical thing (even something as simple as a flower), a prayer or a compliment
Be open to receiving the gifts that life has to offer. Here, Chopra mentions nature and gifts from others - tangible or spoken. This reminded me of my friend, Melshir, who, of compliments, advised me to accept it graciously and without self-effacement
Circulate life's most important gifts: that of care, affection, appreciation and love
Favourite Quote from 'The Law of Giving'
"The gifts of caring, attention, affection, appreciation, and love are some of the most precious gifts you can give, and they don't cost you anything."
I haven't covered much of this topic during my self-help journey, so I couldn't relate it to any of my readings. In next week's post, my last for the year, I'll touch on giving, receiving and gratitude.
Law #3 - The Law of "Karma" or Cause and Effect

I love everything about this Chapter/Law and will have to pace myself with this one, or I'll go off on a tangent again. It is filled with so many relatable points. I think almost everyone understands the Law of Karma. In scientific terms, it's the law of cause and effect. In Christian terms, one might say it's "As ye sow, so shall ye reap".
Chopra writes that we can better understand and maximise karmic law by being consciously aware of our choices in every moment (the power of now?). I've mentioned the observer effect a couple of times during this blog, most notably in the Dr Joe Dispenza post, Spoiler Alert, and in my favourite quote from Chapter 3, Deepak Chopra references it too:
"If you step back for a moment and witness the choices you are making as you make those choices, then in just this act of witnessing, you take the whole process from the unconscious realm to into the conscious realm."
Remember, the observer effect is the phenomenon where observing something influences its outcome or behaviour. To date, I have had a Pavlovian response to specific triggers related to things that impact my mental health - anxiety particularly. I haven't quite nailed the observer effect (or experienced the power of now or stillness). So, like many of the other books I have written about since beginning this journey, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success encourages the same practice.
What also struck me about this Law is Chopra's reference to the body's two mechanisms influencing our choices: the solar plexus and the heart. Given my battle with anxiety and the troubles I've had with my stomach, it's evident that a lot of the choices I make are linked to my solar plexus because that's where I feel a lot of my stress. The author writes that the heart is intuitive - it's more closely linked to the "field of pure potentiality", so if I can switch to making more decisions from that space, where I can trust my instinct (or heart), perhaps I can alleviate my anxiety.
Deepak Chopra encourages commitment to the following steps to put the 'Law of Karma' into effect:
Being mindful of the choices we make in every moment
Considering the consequences of every choice
Seeking guidance from your heart
Law #4 - The Law of Least Effort

Early in this chapter, the author encourages the reader to consider how effortless nature is and how things in nature occur with very little effort. It reminded me of the biblical quote, "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin." (from Matthew, I think). What I get from Chopra's advice here is to 'let go and let God', which is easier said than done. Our capacity to think sets humans aside from the other species, and herein lies the problem. I speak for myself when I admit I obsess about everything. It has improved over the last few months but is a work in progress, and I was grateful when I re-read this chapter because it reminded me of two key texts from the last few weeks. This chapter once again reminded me of Eckart Tolle's book The Power of Now, when Chopra writes, "If you do this consistently - if you stop fighting and resisting - you will fully experience the present, which is a gift." This resonated because if you're present - in the now - there's nothing to obsess about.
Deepak Chopra encourages commitment to the following steps to put the 'Law of Least Effort' into effect:
Practicing acceptance
Taking responsibility for one's actions
Surrendering to defenselessness (or relinquishing the ego)
Law #5 - The Law of Intention and Desire

Deepak Chopra heads into the same territory as Dr Joe Dispenza when, in this chapter, he writes about the quantum field and its endless possibilities - or the Law of Pure Potentiality.
It was hard for me to pick just one quote from this chapter because there were so many good ones. Still, I've opted for the following one because it helped me understand "intent" from a self-help and mindfulness perspective and (gasp!) dulled the edge of my resistance to the word and concept of manifesting outcomes in one's life.
"As long as your attention is in the present, then your intent for the future will manifest, because future is created in the present. You must accept the present as is."
For so long, I'd associated the word "manifesting" with worldly pursuits, but the above quote changed that. It also helped me define what my dreams are and what I consider to be success. My attention is on this self-help journey and all the texts I read. My intent is to manifest peace in the future that I am creating in the present. My focus is here... now, and I accept it as it is. In that quantum field of infinite possibilities - of Pure Potentiality, is peace made manifest destined because of the work I am doing now? Time will tell, I guess.
Deepak Chopra encourages commitment to the following steps to put the Law of Intention and Desire into effect:
Focus on what you want
Trust that things happen as they should
Practice present-moment awareness
Law #6 - The Law of Detachment

The Law of Detachment is the process of relinquishing your attachment to the outcome or result of your intention. It's a challenging concept, and I selected the first image of this blog post ("Dream Out Loud") precisely because of this. There is a risk when one puts oneself on the line like this - when you show vulnerability to anyone willing to listen, read and know. The purpose of this blog was not to manifest anything other than a rosier (than now) outcome for myself in terms of my mental health, so of course, I'm invested in this journey. I'm attached to it to a large extent. Detachment, in this instance, is tantamount to indifference to me, so it wasn't easy to come to terms with this law. However, on the third page of this chapter is my favourite quote related to 'The Law of Detachment', and it gives me hope.
"Anything you want can be acquired through detachment, because detachment is based on the unquestioning belief in the power of your true Self. Attachment, on the other hand, is based on fear and insecurity - and the need for security is based on not knowing the true Self."
Deepak Chopra encourages commitment to the following steps to put the Law of Detachment into effect:
Detached involvement to everything and everyone
Embracing uncertainty
Considering all possibilities
Law #7 - The Law of "Dharma" or Purpose in Life

The Law of Dharma consists of three components:
We're here to discover our true selves, which is that we're spiritual beings manifested in physical form
We all have a unique talent that nobody else can mimic
Service to humanity
Utilising this unique talent to benefit humanity is the ideal purpose in life. The key is to find what that talent is. Many people do, while lots never have the good fortune. I don't know my purpose, but I hope to find it on this journey. I hope you do, too.
Deepak Chopra encourages commitment to the following steps to put the Law of "Dharma" or Purpose in Life:
Paying attention to the spirit within
Listing your unique talents and express them
Asking yourself how you can help
Coming Up Next Week
I'll be wrapping up 2024 and going on a wee break. Next week's post will be a bit of a mishmash, and while I'll likely mention a book, it will be in very broad strokes.
FOOTNOTE: Atomic Habit 11

I love the ocean in a way that I can't quite describe. Some of my earliest childhood memories are of the beach and the absolute bliss of swimming in the sea and playing in the sand. Now, as an adult, I enjoy it for the same reasons, but it has also become my happy place. Auckland has just come out of a pretty long winter, and on a personal level, that winter transcended the weather to include life events, too. Deepak Chopra promotes communing with nature to experience "the elements and forces of life" in the first of his seven spiritual laws of success. That happens at the beach. From the crunch of sand under your feet to the roll of waves over your body to the rays of sun warming your face, the ocean allows for an all-encompassing communion with nature. It's easier to nurture this habit in summer, and I'm undertaking to do that, but I aim to let this habit run throughout the year so that I'm in nature, even during the cold months. I do not doubt that I'll be better off for it.
#mindfulness #selfhelp #anxiety #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #youarenotalone #thereisnostigma
Comments