For the week of May 29 - June 4, 2002

Chopra extols aspects of timeless body, ageless mind

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By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer

What is the real nature of what we’re looking at, asked Dr. Deepak Chopra Sunday night at the Sun Valley Inn’s Limelight Room.

It depends on who is looking. And for Chopra, a leader in mind/body well being, a world renowned speaker, author—and, so we discovered Sunday night, a raconteur—950 people looked at him and saw someone whose ability to inspire and provoke thought was extraordinary.

As the keynote speaker of the 5^th Annual Sun Valley Mountain Wellness Festival, Chopra could have kept his lecture to a tight two hours. Instead, he held the audience rapt for over three hours. He covered many aspects of his timeless body, ageless mind principles.

"The number one disease on the planet is addictive behavior," he said early on. "Addicts are most people on the planet, isn’t that a paradox? They’re also the most creative."

Addiction, in its many manifestations, is a substitute for exaltation, he said. "Do not be an addict to the melodrama of your life."

Chopra spent the rest of the evening not only backing up this premise but shuttling off onto tangents and weaving them back. He cited evidence for his points, amused the audience, and led them though meditations accompanied by taped music and readings of Rumi poetry and healthful affirmations.

Chopra stressed the importance of understanding the difference between mind and body and soul. "Like TV or radio, our body is the instrument through which the soul transmits."

Intention broadcast through our body, also known as free will, is how people operate, not he stressed, through some file cabinet in the brain. In fact, it has been scientifically proven that free will can override signals from the brain, he said. "Be aware of your soul, this is the ticket to freedom. It is the corridor to the infinite mind. Nothing is more important."

Chopra’s appearance at the festival was due to the efforts of Gary Quinn, annually a featured speaker at the festival.

Quinn and Chopra have a connection through their respective practices in Southern California. However, just as Chopra was in Sun Valley this weekend, he believes there are no coincidences.

He relayed three incidences of his own that illuminated his ideas on the "conspiracy of synchronicity."

"This happens when a person gives up all notions of accident, coincidence, and random events, and instead claims responsibility for each and every incident, however trivial. Events no longer happen out there but are guided by one’s own intentions."

Chopra’s visit, which was underwritten by several Wood River Valley residents, was the main reason, said Carol Waller, executive director of the Ketchum Sun Valley Chamber Visitor’s Bureau, the festival was more widely attended than in the past.

Chopra reminded the audience about the power of prayer and collective intention. "We all want the same thing, so go for it."

 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.