Deepak Chopra - Radical Beauty: How to Transform Yourself from the Inside Out

You are a wildflower, a beauty unsurpassed. In each soul is the unique imprint of the grace of God. Nowhere in the world is there another exactly like you. Of that you can justly be proud!

Paramahansa Yogananda

Heres a scene being repeated thousands of times a day somewhere in America. You may even see yourself in the scene. Two women have stopped by the cosmetics counter of a large department store. Theyve been lured by a salesperson holding out the latest wonder foundation or skin cream. Or the two women caught a glimpse of themselves in the makeup mirror sitting on the counter.

One woman is twenty-three, in the prime of her youthful looks. But she frowns when she catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her hair doesnt look quite right to her; maybe its the fault of the new hairstylist she tried. Her skin looks dull, and ever since she started reading weekly tabloids, shes been critical of her thin lashes and a neck that isnt glamorously long and thin. With a sigh the young woman sits down and asks to try the new product. Anyway, the beauty game is still fun for her, and it takes only a few minutes before shes eagerly trying several other trendy products.

The other woman has perched on a stool close by. Shes a few years over forty and, looking out of the corner of her eye, shes envious of the young woman. So fresh, so untouched by age. Catching sight of herself in the mirror, this older woman catches every flaw, every wrinkle thats beginning to show, either real or imagined. For her, its work to keep herself looking acceptable, forget beautiful. She needs all kinds of products just to stop feeling insecure.

This is a scene we want to abolish from your life and from the life of any woman, of any age, who devotes time, energy, and emotion in search of beauty. We want you never again to feel insecure about your looks. For most women, feeling beautiful is connected to feeling lovable and desirable. We want you to stop being insecure about those two things, too. Beauty, love, and desirability are yours to possess naturallythis we promise. Theres a great journey awaiting you that will restore you to your natural beauty, rekindling the inner light that shines from every child but somehow got dimmed over the years. What has faded isnt your beauty, because that will always be your birthright. What has faded is your optimism, confidence, and sense of control. This book will show you how to restore them, and then the light of beauty will rekindle itself, naturally and for the rest of your life.

The journey to Radical Beauty begins with the most basic question: what is beauty? We feel that a new definition is sorely needed, and society is ready for one. Beauty is no stranger. In many ways were obsessed by it.

As you move through your daily life, you inevitably encounter the word beauty . If you glance up while shopping at your local pharmacy, youll find numerous aisles stocked with products claiming to make you more beautiful. There are countless magazines and websites dedicated to beauty, teaching us different ways to lose weight, choose the perfect lipstick, create smoky celebrity eyes, and copy the latest hairstyle trends. If you stop and look around at our culture, the concept of beauty seems very important. But what exactly is beauty, and when you think of the word, what does it mean to you?

The mainstream media provides an onslaught of images and messages about beauty that are meant to sell products. If you believe these messages, you might be inclined to think that beauty is defined by the externalhaving perfectly formed facial features, an on-trend hairstyle, and a physical shape that matches up with the current idealized expression of beauty (such as being pencil thin but having a perfectly rounded bottom). If you dont naturally possess these beautiful qualities, youve been led to believe that the primary way to bolster your own beauty is to fill your drawers with makeup and skin-care products while preening your hair with highlights, blowouts, and chemical straightening treatments. It may also seem mandatory to spend a sizable portion of your waking hours at the gym, experimenting with the newest workout class to sculpt the perfect figure. Weve been taught to believe that when it comes to products, treatments, and workouts, more equals better results and therefore more beauty.

Unfortunately, this definition of beauty is all about image. Theres nothing new about defining beauty externally. Its the equivalent of empty calories: they seem appealing at first, and then you end up with an unsatisfied feeling. The specifics of what is considered beautiful may shift as one fad fades in favor of another, but one thing remains constant: our fascination with beauty. People have appreciated beauty and grasped for it for centuries, beginning with the earliest human civilizations. Ancient Egyptians and Babylonians used primitive forms of kohl eyeliners to dramatize their eyes. In ancient Greece women applied rouge made from crushed mulberries to brighten their cheeks. Images of porcelain-skinned, sleek-haired women have been discovered painted onto centuries-old Asian rice-paper scrolls.

While the shape and size of idealized features vary between cultures, there tend to be a few commonly held beliefs about beauty. First, there is the idea that beauty is a limited and fleeting commodity, as if being beautiful is reserved only for the young and a small, genetically gifted portion of the population. Another widely held conviction in many cultures is that beauty is a relative phenomenon, meaning that it is measured by comparison against others. One womans hair or eyes are beautiful only if they are more beautiful than another womans. This idea perpetuates the unfortunate and unnecessary rivalry that is still far too common among women.

In the twenty-first century we all need a new concept of what real beauty is. For both authors, its something we like to call Radical Beauty. What does that mean? Radical Beauty has nothing to do with trendy makeup, fleeting fads, or insecure comparisons with other women. Radical Beauty extends beyond the physical, encompassing all parts of your inner and outer being. It is something that exists universally, and, at the same time, it is completely unique to you. It nurtures and highlights your magnetism and confidence, vitality, and overall health, from your bodily tissues to the outer, visible parts of yourself. You achieve Radical Beauty when you reach the highest and most authentic potential of your natural true beauty. This means that Radical Beauty is a birthright for each and every one of us.