Health: Deepak Chopra's 7 keys to Joy and Enlightenment
Deepak Chopra is an author and practising endocrinologist (the
branch
of
biology
dealing
with
the
endocrine
glands
and
their
secretions,
especially
in
relation
to
their
processes
or
functions) and he believes meditation is the way to a better, healthier life. 
He has written fifty-five books that have sold tens of millions and his admirers include Oprah Winfrey, Prince Charles and Bill Clinton. Time Magazine also
named Chopra one of the top 100 icons of the 20th Century.
I became interested in 'Synchrodestiny', a book he wrote in 2003, as I felt unlike Rhonda Byrne's 'The Secret' and other such spiritual-based books of little evidence, his offerings are more plausible.
He
seems to represent a link between spirituality and science, between
eastern and western approaches to healing, between the ancient and the
modern. He reckons that both science and religion (well the ones that don't contradict evolution because it is scientific fact) will eventually merge and there will more likely be a secular spirituality in the future at least.
With
a background in medicine and an on-going interest in spiritual healing, he believes we can take guidance from both fact and faith. For example, in Christian theology "it talks about being in a world but not of it. Our spiritual nature is external and transcendent. It exists outside space and time" he says.
As a physician, he is fascinated by healing and specifically the idea of spontaneous remission. What he discovered was that a shift in consciousness can lead to a shift in biology. "If you are stressed, the cells in your body reflect that. We ignored the impact on the body of all the states of consciousness we call holiness, love, compassion, joy or just plain happiness. It's only in the past 10 to 15 years that research has shown that when a person is in love, their biology is different". Healing, he says, is a return to a memory of who you really are.
The following are his seven keys to joy and enlightenment:
1. Be Aware of Your Body
By listening to your body and responding to it with awareness, you tap in to the field of infinite possibility, where the natural experiences is peace, harmony and joy.
2. Find True Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is not the same as self-image, which is based on what others think of you.
3. Detoxify Your Life
When you are not in joy, peace and spontaneous fulfilment, some contamination is present in body or mind. Contamination can be the result of toxic emotions, habits, relationships and toxic substances.
4. Give Up Being Right
Enormous amounts of energy become available when we give up the need to be right. In a state of defencelessness, we find invincibility, because there is no longer anything to attack.
5. Focus On The Present
If you focus on the present, your life will be constantly renewed. The present moment is the only time that is eternal. It never dies, nor can never be taken away from you.
6. See The World In Yourself
Once you see the world in yourself, there are no more outward obstacles to happiness. If your inner consciousness vibrates at the level of love, then love will be present in both your inner and outer worlds.
7. Live For Enlightenment
To seek enlightenment is to seek your true self. It is the most aware and most natural state of existence, because it is where you came from. When you return there, you will experience profound peace, love and joy.