The Power Within

Deepak Chopra brings his message to Honolulu for the first time in 15 years

People often believe they will be happy if they have robust health, enough money, professional success or a meaningful relationship. But really, "it's the other way around," according to Deepak Chopra. "If you're happy, you'll be successful. You'll be healthy. And you're likely to have good relationships. And the most powerful way to achieve that bliss? Quite simply, to make someone else feel good.

Though extensive research has shown no correlation between economic wealth and happiness, he conceded to an amused audience that "it's better to be rich and miserable than poor and miserable."

Best-selling author, inspirational speaker and spiritual leader Chopra doesn't need an introduction, and certainly didn't before the 2,000 people who flocked to his 212 hour lecture at the Hawaii Convention Center earlier this week.

In the middle of a whirlwind world tour that began in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Jan. 1 and finishes April 12 in Dublin, Ireland, Global Media Productions arranged for Chopra to stop in Honolulu for the first time in 15 years.

Wearing jeans, a sport jacket and glasses with red rims that sparkled in the spotlight, Chopra warmed up the crowd with tales of his arrival as a young, financially strapped physician in the United States in the early 1970s, when he set about spending money he didn't have to buy things he didn't need to impress people he didn't like. As a result of the furious pace in his life and in the hospital where he worked, he became a "lousy healer, because I knew nothing about the human spirit."

In a presentation emphasizing metaphysical topics, such as reality and perception and the infinite possibilities in discontinuity, he spoke about the relationship between the mind and the entire body, including the immune system, as well as the connection between the brain and the gut. "You can trust your gut cells a little more," he said. "They haven't learned to doubt their own thinking."

The physician and spiritual leader has developed a worldwide brand in his pursuit of the scientific understanding of consciousness, using ancient wisdom as his guide. "There's happiness in ignorance, and there's happiness in enlightenment," he said. "The highest form of human intelligence is the ability to observe yourself without judging yourself."

Most important, looking outside ourselves for satisfaction will lead only to discontent, he said. All fulfillment comes from within. And that requires a certain level of awareness. He reminded everyone that the people we love possess qualities we seek, and those we despise have qualities we deny in ourselves. Just realizing this can transform the way we relate to the world.