Book Review

The Shadow Effect: Illuminating the Hidden Power of Your True Self by Deepak Chopra

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"... without wholeness, all we can create is superficial change."

" Denial is a false solution."

"Love doesn’t need seeking. Like the air you breathe, it exists as part of nature; it’s a given."

"Big, blown-out fantasies about our lives stem from the pain of our unrealized potential,"

"Those we project on hold pieces of our unclaimed darkness as well as pieces of our unclaimed light."

I gave this book 4 stars more for it's subject matter rather than how it is written. For those of us who find the Law of Attraction doesn't work, or, worse, works in reverse, and therefore seems like so much smile-an-be-happy bullshit the Shadow is the other half of the equation the Law of Attraction is missing. This book asserts that the Shadow, compulsive behaviors, self-sabotage, bad decisions, life messiness, dramas, or even our pet peeves with other people, rather than being denied, turned off, or turned away from should be, must be, looked at as another way the universe shows us ourselves, as a source of knowledge, wisdom, creativity, and energy. Instead of banging our heads against the wall wondering why these things show up in our lives again and again we should look under the hood to see what kind of pain and fear we're hiding from and compensating for.

As to how it is written: Deepak Chopra goes first with a broad collage of the spiritual, metaphysical source and reason for the Shadow and how to approach it. I must say the first part of his essay is some of the messiest writing of his I've waded into. He puts forth divergent subjects in one paragraph but doesn't connect the dots between them. But stick with it. He soon settles down and gives us some gems we can use. Debbie Ford's part is next and it contains the most nuts and bolts we can use to turn our Shadows from destructive forces into positive, creative energy. But after Chopra's and Ford's encouragement to build a stable core and expand our awareness to encompass our Shadow and make it part of our Whole, along comes Marianne Williamson with her judgement and separation saying the shadow must be "gotten rid of". I found Ms. Williamson's writing the least useful and plowed through it as quickly as possible, although I did find a couple of gems, such as: "Rather than self-hatred, I was flooded with compassion for myself, because I realized how much pain I would have had to be in to develop that sort of coping mechanism to begin with."

This book is a good starting point for learning about the Shadow and I plan to explore more, mostly through Ms. Ford's work since she has the best concrete details for how to tap into its positive force.



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Unrealized Potential

"Big, blown-out fantasies about our lives stem from the pain of our unrealized potential," - Debbie Ford

It's a Given

"Love doesn’t need seeking. Like the air you breathe, it exists as part of nature; it’s a given." - Deepak Chopra, The Shadow Effect

Book Review

Creating Affluence: The A-to-Z Steps to a Richer Life by Deepak Chopra

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"...the right response comes...to every situation as it occurs."

Dictionary.com defines affluence as: "abundance of money, property, and other material goods; riches; wealth." But it's also "an abundant supply, as of thoughts or words; a profusion," and "a flowing toward; afflux."

While the title sounds like the worst kind of "think and grow rich" new age schlock, Deepak Chopra takes the idea of wealth beyond a bank account to mean a rich, meaningful life. He points out that even with millions in the bank, if you're worried about every penny that's still poverty. He identifies and defines the different aspects to wealth, abundance, and affluence and how to identify what's already present in our lives and expand from there. A short, sweet read well worth the time.



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The Right Response

"...the right response comes...to every situation as it occurs." - Ancient Vedic Saying, Deepak Chopra, Creating Affluence

Random Events

Karma

" Don’t get mad. Don’t get even. Do better.  Rise above. Become so engulfed in your own success that you forget it ever happened.” – Donald Driver

What should I do today?

Confusion--this manifests as not setting clear priorities because the path ahead doesn't look clear and decisive.

Distraction--this manifests as a hundred small things that pull your attention this way and that.

Disorganization--this manifests as a lack of orderly thinking that leads to productive results.

Confusion is solved by getting your priorities straight.

Distraction is solved by getting better at focusing your attention.

Disorganization is solved by throwing out non-essentials and tending to the important things first and foremost.

...the unsettled mind comes about through one thing only--losing sight of who we really are. You can't be a puppet of outside demands and pressures unless you see yourself as secondary while the world "out there" is primary.

Deepak Chopra

https://www.deepakchopra.com/blog/article/5325

The Return Of Merlin by Deepak Chopra

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“...if one has courage, the whole enormous load of fear, the dead weight of the past, can be shed.”

"...behind the door to freedom, past the demons of fear, there is nothing but love."

The Return of Merlin is a fantasy tale. In his first foray into fiction Deepak Chopra takes the legend of Camelot and continues the story into current times. The implements, the sword and the cup, reappear and the characters, Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Mordred and Merlin are reincarnated. Their task is to rediscover their purpose before Mordred dooms the future. The novel is an allegory in which Deepak Chopra illustrates his spiritual ideas through the trials and adventures of the characters. It is a surprisingly good first novel with engaging three dimensional characters. Both adults and young people will find it engaging. And he gets across fairly advanced, complex metaphysical ideas in clear, easily understandable prose and dialog. The writing is a little bit clunky in it's word choice and going from chapter to chapter is a bit jolting because each chapter is illustrating a different lesson and is very different from the ones before and after. But I liked it very much. The book made clear in new ways some important ideas; seeing ourselves in everything around us, seeing everything as connected and as light, being able to create ones own life, seeing clues and importance in everything, knowing this earthly life is temporary and an illusion. Very much recommended.



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Quote: The Dead Weight of the Past

“...if one has courage, the whole enormous load of fear, the dead weight of the past, can be shed.” - Deepak Chopra

Quote: Mirrors

"...those we love and those we hate are both mirrors of ourselves." - Deepak Chopra

Quote:

"The best use of imagination is creativity.

The worst use of imagination is anxiety."

 -DeepakChopra