21 day Meditation with Deepak Chopra

I recently posted about the benefits of meditation and recently had the joy of participating in Deepak Chopra's 21 day meditation.  When the notification came out about it I was a bit hesitant as the experience was titled "Energy of Attraction" and I was unsure that it would relate to me.  However, I was pleasantly surprised that a great deal of it actually meant a lot to me and had me looking at my life in a different way.

Right out of the gate the first question on day 1 was "What are your hopes and desires for this experience?" So instead of thinking too hard, since I was unsure what exactly I was getting into with the topic, I just wrote the first thing that came to mind PEACE.  I wanted to be able to find peace within my mind, with my body and through my soul.  I would like to touch on a few highlights from the experience, just to give you an idea of what these experiences are like.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes & moments.

"The deeper the desire the easier it is to manifest it"
     ◈ This seems backwards from the thoughts I had, always seems like the bigger it is the harder to manifest.  I am hoping to be able to see this throughout my life soon.

"How can someone with bad self-image harness power. Just being yourself, you direct the energy of attraction in the direction it needs to go"
     ◈ This has always been a tough thing to for me to realize.  It always seemed to me that I needed to BECOME something to be something...truth be told it is as simple as learning just to BE ME.

"Our true self is not of our creation - but Gods"
     ◈ Right on the heels of the last one...couldn't be more true.  If we remember that we are not completely alone in becoming our true self it takes off so much pressure and gives just a bit of support to help us find the right path.

"Have a clear intention. Don't muddy it with compromises or excuses. Have positive emotions around your desire. Be open to what the universe will send back once you send out your desire"
     ◈ This was a great realization.  Be clear and positive with your intentions but also be open to what comes back as it may not be exactly what you were expecting.  Instead of getting upset that it doesn't match...learn to go with the flow, something I have always struggled with but am slowly working through.

"Say yes to life and see how life suddenly starts working with you rather than against you"
     ◈ This one came to me prior to this experience but it was great to hear it and know it is important to becoming your true self.  If you are so busy focusing saying no to the life we have it is amazing that it can and will actually work against you.  We have to be open to what is sent our way and learn to enjoy each moment.

"Magic comes from 2 things that seem to contradict themselves: Unbounded awareness & focused awareness"
     ◈ This is going to be an interesting thing to learn...how to have both unbounded and focused awareness.  Seems that they can't go together but somehow in order to manifest our true selves it is necessary to learn how they can exist together.

"Nothing in your life is happening out of order"
     ◈ I have always felt like I have done my whole life out of order.  Everything seemed so backwards but pondering on this thought...it is ok.  The way our life happens is for a reason and we all find our true self in the end no matter the order.

"We ARE miraculous beings. You know who you are and that is enough"

Probably the one of the most enlightening days for me was day 4 Effortless Creation.  For me detaching myself from anything has always been really hard because to me it truly felt like I was either giving up or just not caring.  This day completely turned those thoughts upside down.

Deepak said "Detachment is not the same as Indifference" The journaling showed me that I not only have a hard time detaching when needed but I hold on to control so tightly it strangles any connection I could have to creativity and my true self.  I am nowhere near being able to detach completely yet but at least now I know the difference and what I need to work on to be able to invite more creativity into my life.

Though I did not achieve complete peace that was my goal for this experience, I was able to at least tap into some of the potential of it and give a good start to heading toward true and lasting peace.  I am excited to continue with my daily meditation to be able to keep heading in the right direction towards living mindfully.

If you have never participated in one of these 21 day programs I highly recommend them, it gives you a great foundation to grow your meditation practice and they are truly a rounded program with mantras and journal prompts. You can purchase them or sign up for updates on the next free 21 day experience here and look for my next post on tips to begin your own meditation practice.