Deepak Chopra - The Essential Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: The Essence of Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence

CONTENTS

To Rita, Mallika, Gotham, Candice,
Sumant, Tara, and Leela:

You orchestrate the synchronistic
dance of my universe

AUTHORS NOTE

There are few things in life that I find more gratifying than learning and teaching. We are all born with an insatiable curiosity about the world around us, and I was fortunate to grow up in a home that encouraged that appetite. Now, as an adult, I enjoy the best of both worlds: I can explore science, ancient wisdom, health, and spirit on the one hand, and on the other I can share what Ive learnedhelping others to satisfy their own curiositiesthrough my books and lectures.

When I speak to audiences, I find myself presenting my ideas in a manner that is concise or expansive depending on the length of time I have at my disposal. A five-minute segment on a morning television show requires a very different presentation from an hour on my weekly Sirius radio program, which in turn is very brief compared to one of the week-long courses I teach around the globe. It occurs to me that the same holds true for what we read. After all, we dont always have the luxury of taking the time to explore the book-long articulation of a new idea, but we might have the time, say, to take in the essence of that idea.

It was from this thought that the Essential series was born. This series begins with three books that have attracted substantial followings in their expanded versions: Ageless Body, Timeless Mind: The Quantum Alternative to Growing Old; How to Know God: The Souls Journey into the Mystery of Mysteries; The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence. In these new essential volumes, I have distilled the most important elements from the full-length originals. It is my hope that this series will be of value to first-time readers of my work, as well as to those who may have already read these books, but wish to be inspired by these ideas all over again.

The Essential Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: The Essence of Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence is a book for anyone who has wondered about the significance of a moment when you were thinking about an old friend with whom youve lost contact and the phone rings; its your friend! Or a moment when youve been deeply hoping for an event and suddenly every obstacle to your vision seems to melt away. Coincidence? Perhaps. Still, such experiences are nothing to dismiss. For the word coincidence means happening at the same time, and such moments are actually glimpses of a place where everything happens at the same time, a place where past and present and future are one. This book not only shows you how you can benefit from such clues, but how you can see more and more of them as you become aware of their presence and their meaning. In this way you are opening a doorway into a realm of divine intelligence, where you can consciously create your own good luck in all areas of your life. Its not just coincidence. Its a gateway to fulfilling your every desire.

INTRODUCTION

MIRACLES HAPPEN EVERY DAY. NOT JUST IN REMOTE country villages or at holy sites halfway across the globe, but here, in our own lives. They bubble up from their hidden source, surround us with opportunities, and disappear.

Although we think of them as extraordinary, miracles also streak across our consciousness every day. We can choose to notice or ignore them, unaware that our destinies may hang in the balance. Tune in to the presence of miracles, and in an instant, life can be transformed into a dazzling experience, more wondrous and exciting than we could even imagine. Ignore it, and an opportunity is gone forever. The question is, Would you recognize a miracle if you saw one? If you recognized it, what would you do? And if you could somehow orchestrate your own miracles, which miracles would you choose?

Beyond your physical self, beyond your thoughts and emotions, there lies a realm within you that is pure potential; from this place anything and everything is possible. Even miracles. Especially miracles. This part of you is interwoven with everything else that exists, and with everything yet to come.

We have all experienced events that might be considered amazing or uncanny. Perhaps you were cleaning out a closet and found a gift from someone you hadnt spoken with in years; then an hour later, out of the blue, that person rings you on the phone. Or perhaps your car breaks down on the side of a deserted road, and just when you had resigned yourself to being stranded for hours, the very first vehicle that comes along is a tow truck.

Can such moments be ascribed to mere coincidence? Of course they can, but on closer examination they can also prove to be glimpses of the miraculous. Each time we have an experience like these, we can choose to dismiss it as a random occurrence in a chaotic world, or we can recognize it for the potentially life-altering event it may prove to be. I do not believe in meaningless coincidences. I believe every coincidence is a message, a clue about a particular facet of our lives that requires our attention.

When you live your life with an appreciation of coincidences and their meanings, you connect with the underlying field of infinite possibilities. This is when the magic begins. This is a state I call synchrodestiny, in which it becomes possible to achieve the spontaneous fulfillment of our every desire. Synchrodestiny requires gaining access to a place deep within yourself, while at the same time awakening to the intricate dance of coincidences out in the physical world. It requires understanding the profound nature of things, recognizing the wellspring of intelligence that endlessly creates our universe, and yet having the intention to pursue specific opportunities for change as they appear.

MY FATHER SERVED in the Indian army as personal physician of Lord Mountbatten, the last Governor-General of the British Empire in India. While performing his duties my father spent a great deal of time with Lady Mountbatten, and they became friends. Through this friendship my father was encouraged to apply for a scholarship to become a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, which took him away to England when I was about six years old. Soon after, my mother also left India to join my father for a while, and my younger brother and I were left in the care of our grandparents.

One day, my father sent a telegram from England saying that he had finally passed all his examinations. This was a momentous day for everyone. My grandfather, so proud of his accomplished son, took us out to celebrate. The whole day was a glorious whirlwind of happiness. But later that night, my brother and I were awakened by the sound of wailing. Although we did not learn this immediately, my grandfather had died, and the sound that had woken us was the anguished cry of women in mourning.

This affected my brother and me profoundly. I lay awake nights wondering where my grandfather was, and whether his soul had survived in some way after his death. My brother had a different reactionhis skin started peeling, as though from a bad sunburn. There was no physical reason for this, so we consulted several doctors. One wise physician recognized that the recent traumatic events in our lives may have left my brother feeling vulnerable and exposed, and that peeling skin was an outward sign of his vulnerability. He predicted that the peeling would stop when my parents returned to India. And, indeed, when they returned, it disappeared.