by Deepak Chopra: Success and abundance are desirable things, yet the path to achieving them, the path that has entered popular mythology, involves struggle, arduous work, competitive drive, stress, and if you want real riches…
a ruthless streak. This path runs contrary to leading a happy life, and most people therefore feel discouraged by the struggle before they have gone very far on such a path.
The Inner Path to Abundance
But there is an alternative, an inner path to abundance that rests upon a simple belief: “I am enough.” If you truly feel complete, your life is already abundant. How much money you earn doesn’t have to be enormous, because money isn’t where “I am enough” comes from. It comes from your own consciousness. If your underlying belief, on the other hand, is “I am not enough,” you will operate from a sense of lack that no amount of money can change.
The path of ‘I am enough” is totally consistent with Yoga, not simply the positions taught in yoga class but the larger, all-embracing system of Yoga. Yoga illuminates an entirely new reality. In this reality the things we normally keep separate are united (in Sanskrit the word Yoga means to join or unite). The two biggest things we keep separate are the two worlds each of us inhabits. One world is “out there,” the physical world of things and other people. The other is the world “in here,” where the mind is constantly active, producing thoughts and sensations. The purpose of Yoga is to bring these two worlds together. If you can do that, you will be whole, and “I am enough” will be your baseline attitude towards life.
Yoga and the View of Success
That’s why the vision of Yoga is so magnificent. It measures success by the only measure that matters: Your experience of joy and fulfillment. If you want to follow your bliss, Yoga can achieve this much more simply, quickly, and painlessly than you probably imagine. By following the principles of Yoga, you will lead the life you were meant to live, one of sustainability, abundance, and joy.
Along the way the money to support this life will come to you. Given the hard realities, particularly in these troubled times, most people would be skeptical about “the money will come” part. Money is the chief worry that pollsters find in people’s lives. Money implies hard work and struggle. To survive you must have money; to thrive you need even more. Yet even in the wealthiest Western economies, according to data gathered by the Gallup Organization, only around one-third of respondents say that they are thriving.
“The money will come” implies a very different approach to the whole subject of money. A shift in awareness is required, and no bigger shift can be imagined, because the two worlds—in here and out there—must come together. When this happens, life flows along a hidden path. You are no longer ruled by the outward path of work, finances, family, relationships, duties, and demands. All those things constitute only half of life. On the other hand, you are not ruled by inner beliefs, old conditioning, worry, whims, confusion, conflict, and the other discordant elements of the psyche. That world is also only half of life.
Connection with the Generosity of Spirit
The whole point of Yoga, when it unites the two worlds of “in here” and “out there,” is to harmonize them. The real purpose of life is the same for everyone. It is this: Connect with the generosity of spirit, and let it provide everything you need. Is need the same as desire? Will Yoga make all your wishes come true, showering you with wealth? Those are the wrong questions. Yoga brings inner joy, which is the only true measure of success. The connection with bliss also connects us to the things we most value—love, compassion, beauty, truth, creativity, and personal growth—all are available in consciousness.
In the Indian tradition one word, Dharma, harmonizes inner bliss with the life you are meant to live. Dharma is about meaning and purpose. The life you are meant to live is meaningful to you personally. Second, dharma is about working at something you love and are good at, which is what comes most effortlessly. Work that feels like a struggle isn’t your Dharma. Third, Dharma is real when you can say “I am enough.”
Become Your Own Guide
I’ve given you the vision that Is unfolded in detail in my new book, Abundance. It outlines the inner path so that anyone can find their Dharma. This isn’t an arduous or complicated path. If you can tell the difference between a positive experience and a negative experience, you will be able to become your own guide. Your true self is always present, and it knows exactly what you need and how to achieve it.
The path does involve removing mental obstacles that maintain the belief, “I am not enough.” In Yoga these obstacles are known as Vrittis. You get past them the same way you sense how to move forward. You sense that something doesn’t feel right, and that you are blocked and frustrated. You know that feeling instinctively. There is nothing complicated to do. The simplest way to counter a Vritti is simply to be aware and centered. then the healing power of awareness takes over.
I urge you to align yourself with Yoga’s vision, because it has proven itself for thousands of years. Bliss shouldn’t be an occasional glimpse of elation and joy. It should be the baseline of how you feel, think, and act. Nothing more is needed to achieve abundance along the inner path.
Deepak Chopra™’s new book, Abundance, is an enlightening guide to success and fulfillment, offering practical advice on how to cultivate abundance in times of fear and insecurity. It is available now everywhere books are sold.
