Chandresh Bhardwaj - Break the Norms: Questioning Everything You Think You Know About God and Truth, Life and Death, Love and Sex

ABOUT SOUNDS TRUE

S ounds True is a multimedia publisher whose mission is to inspire and support personal transformation and spiritual awakening. Founded in 1985 and located in Boulder, Colorado,

we work with many of the leading spiritual teachers, thinkers, healers, and visionary artists of our time. We strive with every title to preserve the essential living wisdom of the author or artist. It is our goal to create products that not only provide information to a reader or listener, but that also embody the quality of a wisdom transmission.

For those seeking genuine transformation, Sounds True is your trusted partner. At SoundsTrue.com you will find a wealth of free resources to support your journey, including exclusive weekly audio interviews, free downloads, interactive learning tools, and other special savings on all our titles.

To learn more, please visit SoundsTrue.com/freegifts or call us toll-free at 800-333-9185.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A vision and a hope, which started in my consciousness during my school years, took many journeys and turns. Now, finally it has manifested into a book. During the past few years, many inspirations walked into my life to support and encourage me to write this book, and I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude.

I humbly acknowledge all the Gurus in the world, the masters who decode the mysteries of life. The great Gurus of the universe led me through intuitive guidance and used their ways to send me inspirations.

I am just a medium. This is the voice of all masters who wanted us to question everything we think we know.

To my sister, Pooja, and best buddy, Abhishek, your passings shattered many illusions in my life. You both gave me a purpose for questioning life and death. Things would have been different if you were around. I miss you two.

To beloved Naana Ji, Daada Ji, and Daadi Maa. I feel your blessings, always.

Mom, your love constantly reminds me of all that is divine and beautiful in the world. May these writings reflect your amazing upbringing and values. Love you!

Thank you to my best friend, my truly better half, Rupali. Your presence

inspires me to continue my mission in the world. I love you.

To His Holiness the Dalai Lama, your blessings manifested this book. I am so incredibly thankful to you for contributing the foreword. Your presence made this book so precious.

To Deepak Chopra Ji, your humbleness and wisdom are the foundations of my spiritual journey. The world will not see another Deepak Chopra. Your work will continue to shape many lives and inspire the generations to come.

To Mallika Chopra, you have been a great friend and guide. Knowing that I could always count on you for guidance helped me sail me through the process. I look forward to the unfolding of many of our intents to transform the world together.

To Georgy Bhaala Ji, yes! The book is finally out. Thank you for having faith and encouraging the writer in me.

To Sanjeev Sharda Ji, your efforts and support will motivate me for years to come. I am deeply thankful.

To Maureen Berrios, you saw why I am here and encouraged me to leave the financial industry for a better and higher purpose. I am so grateful to have you in my life.

To Merle English, thank you for acknowledging my columns in the college newspaper and for having the faith to spread my work all over. It was a turning point in my life.

To my schoolteachers at St. Josephs Convent in Pathankot, India, and Baruch College in New York, I must confess that my obsession was the unfolding spiritual world always, but I am glad I continued my journey in school and college. It shaped me to better face the world. Thank you.

To my lifelines, who always treated me like a bestselling writer, even when I didnt know the ABCs of book writing. To our lifelong friendship! Thank you, my dearest Nikhil, Siddharth, Sahil, Jojo, Jaskaran, Gurbani, Megha, and Tripti. I love you all with my heart and soul.

To Kelly Notaras and Kate Sciolino, thank you for shaping my words and helping me to bring the book out in a much, much better way. This book wouldnt have been what it is without both of you. I am so grateful

to have your energy behind me throughout the writing of this book.

To Bill Gladstone, thank you for being a fabulous agent and guide. I look forward to a great journey ahead with you.

Above all, to my fabulous publisher, Sounds True. I am incredibly thankful to Jennifer Brown and Tami Simon for acknowledging my message and giving me the opportunity to share it.

To Jennifer Holder, my editor at Sounds True, for her efforts to bring out my message so concisely. I will be forever grateful.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

C handresh Bhardwaj is a spiritual advisor and international speaker. Based in Los Angeles, Chandresh started his Break the Norms Movement with the intention to awaken human awareness from its conditioned self. He is a world traveler and gives talks all over the globe, including Europe, Asia, and North and South America.

Chandresh was born into a lineage of spiritual healers in India that has been enriching lives for more than seven generations. He combines this ancient wisdom with a modern approach to spirituality. Chandresh is a disciple of his father, His Holiness Shree Chamunda Swami, who is a universally recognized authority in Tantric spirituality. His grandfather gave him the name Chandresh, which means Master of Consciousness.

Chandresh has long been fascinated by the incredible power of the inner self. At a very young age, he joined His Holiness Shree Chamunda Swami to visit various spiritual places in India where he would meditate

under His guidance to seek the answers within. Chandresh strongly believes that the truth has to be realized from within. No one from the outside can tell us; we must discover the truth ourselves. Know more about his work at iamChandresh.com.

THE UNLEARNING BEGINS

T oo many souls suffer the disillusionment that comes from following a destiny that is not their own. Instead of waking up joyful and energized, many of us feel like robots, pushing forward like a machine to keep life going. We feel trapped by our commitments and lost without material things we believe we must have. We struggle to behave in ways that are respectable and work to arrive at what we think we should achieve.

We follow paths that are normal in our culture. I call these external patterns that shape our lives norms. My definition of a norm is any thought or behavior that has been learned from outside sources, such as parents, religion, culture, or society at large. Norms may or may not reflect our internal truths, but most of us dont take the time to notice how they fit. Instead, we blindly follow a norm laid before us by othersa path that always leads to a dead end. This is because if we never examine these norms that influence our choices, we may have a persistent, haunted feeling. We may suffer with anxiety or feel lost. To distract ourselves from this harrowing emptiness, we may drink more alcohol or get hooked on reality TV. Maybe well seek fulfillment by going to one self-help workshop after another or following strict diets. Or perhaps well try to find an idealized romantic relationship or dream of the freedoms wed have by leaving the relationship we are in. In so many ways, we look outside ourselves for the fulfillment we wish we could find inside.

And what if we do look deeper, only to discover we feel culturally unacceptable emotions like anger or sexual urges? We may try to hide or suppress these feelings in order to maintain our sense of stability. But instead, they come out in ways that make us feel crazy. We look at the long line in the grocery store and want to push people out of our way, or we find it painful to sit in the car while traffic moves at five miles per hour. We might become addicted to pornography, or even want to participate in sexual violence.