The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire

July 21, 2003
Devotees of the bestselling author (The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success), who founded the Chopra Center for Well-Being, will welcome his latest ideas on how to live a more fulfilling life. He employs his familiar combination of scientific theory and new age mysticism to present this guide to harnessing what he calls synchro-destiny. According to Chopra, an important level of human existence consists of the nonlocal or spiritual domain. Drawing on the example of physics's unpredictable quantum leap, when an electron unpredictably jumps from one orbit to another, he maintains that our own lives too are unpredictable, that it is impossible know what direction life will take. However, such randomness in the universe is actually interconnected. Unpredictable coincidences are, the author maintains, important messages that can be used to achieve one's true destiny. This process of synchro-destiny consists of connecting the individual soul to the universal soul through a number of mental exercises, provided here. Although Chopra's theories are expressed in a confusing and repetitive manner, the techniques he advocates may prove interesting to those who enjoy his humanistic, if convoluted, approach to self-help. Among the seven principles for achieving synchro-destiny are the daily practice of meditation, a continued focus on one's deepest desires and the acknowledgment of emotional pain. 15-city author tour.

June 15, 2003
Chopra insists that anything is possible.

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2003
Chopra is at it again, finding yet another way to share his mystical knowledge by helping us get to know ourselves better, or live fuller lives, or learn how to forgive some childhood slight, or rewrite our destinies, or explore the mystical realms that dwell within us. In this book, Chopra focuses on the coincidences that occur in our lives. Using a rather complicated assemblage of scientific-sounding information, combined with vintage Chopra-isms, the author teaches that coincidences are messages, clues about our lives that we need to follow more closely. He claims that if you live your life with a better appreciation of coincidences and become sensitive to the underlying meaning of these events, you will achieve the spontaneous fulfillment of your deepest desires. Per usual, the book includes exercises and steps to lead you along the way to the promised conclusion, a happier and more fulfilling life. Chopra has established a name for himself in the self-help genre, so librarians might want to be sure they have a copy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)