Deepak Chopra - Magical beginnings, enchanted lives: a holistic guide to pregnancy and Childbirth

A HOLISTIC GUIDE TO PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH

Magical Beginnings,
Enchanted Lives

Deepak Chopra,M.D.,

David Simon, m.d. & Vicki Abrams, c.c.e., i.b.c.l.c.

Contents

A Conscious Pregnancy

CREATING A BABY

WOMB ECOLOGY

NOURISHMENT FOR TWO

MAINTAINING YOUR BALANCE

WEATHERING THE CHANGES

PARTNERS IN LOVE

THE BIRTHING JOURNEY

NURTURING MOTHER AND BABY

FATHERHOOD FUNDAMENTALS

HEALING THE WORLD ONE CHILD AT A TIME

To the children of humanity, whose innocent hands hold the future of our world

A Conscious Pregnancy

T he creative impulse of life is the most powerful force in the universe. Mysterious and inexplicable, it is more substantial than matter, subtler than thought, and more enduring than time. Since the beginning of humanity we have sought explanations of how life emerges from inanimate elements. Despite the unraveling of the genetic code, life remains as much a mystery now as in ancient times.

The perennial wisdom traditions tell us that archetypal gods and goddesses brought us forth in their image so that we could re-create and honor them in our image. Science ponders the organizing principles that seduce atoms into molecules, molecules into complex biochemicals, and biochemicals into self-replicating systems. Do life-forms exist to reproduce DNA molecules or do DNA molecules exist to reproduce life-forms? Whether you see the universe as personal or impersonal, from a spiritual or a scientific perspective, you have to marvel at the animating vital force that orchestrates the creation of all living beings.

The universe is re-created in every individual life. Birth and death are merely parentheses in the never-ending story of creation. Each human birth holds the promise of adventure, drama, love, and loss. In the process of creation, the universal ocean of love temporarily flows in rivers of individuality seeking their return to the source. Your babys conception and birth are the first pages of a new talethe first steps on her path through this world of infinite possibilities.

Our book, Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Lives, is a celebration of birthan exultation of each flower of individuality that blooms on the tree of life. The magic and the mystery of lifes creative process enable each individual and each new generation to recapitulate the entire history of life while seeking ever-new expressions. As your baby takes her first breath and the umbilical cord is cut, she becomes an individual. She separates from your body and formally begins her journey of self-discovery. Intuition and research clearly show us that long before your baby is launched through the birth canal, she has begun exploring her own personhood.

Your babys sense of self-awareness dawns early as she grows inside your watery womb. As soon as her sensory awareness develops, she perceives and responds to subtle sounds, sensations, sights, tastes, and smells from inside your body. Your interpretations of the world filter through your body to your unborn baby. She readily learns to associate her experiences with feelings and emotions and has pleasures and discomforts of her own. For nine months while your baby is linked to you as her mother ship, she is continually tapping into your database of the world. Your baby learns to associate sensory impulses with feelings and identifies those that bring nourishment and those that feel toxic. Life learning clearly begins before birth.

This book is designed for pregnant women, their partners, women who wish to become pregnant, and for anyone who wants to participate in the wondrous process of bringing new life into this world. We have also sought to include information for people whose work addresses the common childhood problems of modern lifeteachers, counselors, therapists, and health providers will find this book invaluable. This is not simply a book about fetal health, for we believe that the knowledge provided can improve the health of society at large. The suffering, depression, and crime that surround us each day are strong statements about a loss of balance between body, mind, and spirit. This loss often starts at the very beginning of a life before birth. The tendency toward a balanced state of health and wholeness and the tendency to lose this intrinsic but delicate balance are both present in seed form at the moment of conception.

The book has been incubating in our hearts and minds for many years. In caring for people at the Chopra Center with a wide range of imbalances and illnesses, we have learned that experiences are metabolized into biology. We can heal our bodies by making different choices. Many of our patients and guests express the wish that they had received guidance on living a balanced life as children. Through extensive research we became aware that developing human beings learn about life and the world even while in the womb, and the choices made by their parents have lasting effects. To put this knowledge into practice, we developed the Magical Beginnings birth education program and have trained prenatal educators around the world. Our experience in teaching Magical Beginnings to pregnant couples at the Chopra Center has convinced us that the principles and practices presented in this book can profoundly enhance the experience of pregnancy and birth for both the parents and the baby.

Experiences long before birth affect and mold personality. A baby can show the signs of stress even before he or she is born. Feelings and desires are shaped by our intrauterine experiences. Science has demonstrated that every wisp of experience is metabolized into the substance of our minds and bodies, both before and after we are born into this world. Nourishing experiences from conception through life are transformed into healthy bodies and healthy minds, while toxic experiences create unhealthy ones.

Health is not the mere absence of disease; it is a state of physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual well-being. We can even go further and define health as a higher state of consciousness, in which we recognize that the same field of intelligence that underlies our life underlies every living being. In a true state of health, we become incapable of hurting others or ourselves. To achieve this state it is important that we feel loved, nourished, secure, contented, and happy, right from the beginning. From the moment of conception, the unborn baby experiences the thoughts and actions of her mother. This is because mind and body are inseparably one. Wherever a thought goes, a molecule follows. The impulses in our minds are instantly translated into a palette of neurochemicals. These chemicals communicate with cells and tissues throughout our body. The unborn baby is a part of her mothers body. Therefore, a mothers thoughts, emotions, and feelings translate into molecules that enter into the body of her fetus.