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Interview With Deepak Chopra

Aired February 06, 2003 - 14:31   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Much of America's focus, of course, is on Iraq right now. Even as the U.S. wages a war against terrorism, more than 120,000 U.S. troops have been deployed to the Persian Gulf region in case of war with Iraq.
The world has always been a violent place, but how do you cope? How do we all cope emotionally, physically, and spiritually?

Dr. Deepak Chopra is the best selling author and creator of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing. He is also creator of the Chopra Foundation, a non-profit organization which promotes wellbeing and world peace.

Great to have you here.

DEEPAK CHOPRA, CREATOR, CHOPRA CENTER FOR WELLBEING: Thank you for having me.

PHILLIPS: So we take a look at America now. We look at 9/11, the economy in a slump. We lost the astronauts just recently. How do we avoid depression and self destruction and find our mental peace right now?

CHOPRA: You wake up every morning and you say to yourself that today, just today, forget about tomorrow -- I will nurture every relationship with love, and with affection and with attention and with appreciation.

And if you can do that, and if a critical mass of people in the world do that, the world will be transformed. Don't worry about things that are happening far beyond your control. You have control over your relationships.

There's evidence, Kyra, that if a critical mass of people think in a certain way, that consciousness permeates everything in society -- public policy, even the behaviors of governments are influenced by how we think.

So what we need right now is a critical mass of people saying, We want peace, that violent solutions are never solutions.

The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. We need the news media, the educational institutions, the entertainment industry, the networks of the world to awaken the neural networks of the global mind so that we can think as one people. You mentioned the tragedy, the Columbia tragedy. If you (UNINTELLIGIBLE) see the pictures that those astronauts took from space, you will see a little speck of dust and water in an infinity void, no boundaries. One humanity, one people, one consciousness, one life. The boundaries are in our imagination.

PHILLIPS: All right. And you call that the intelligence network. How do you tap into that, because you say if we are able to do that, we can cure cancer, we can cure diseases, we can even kind of turn back the time and not age so quickly.

CHOPRA: Well, there's a phrase in physics. When an electron vibrates, the universe shakes. So you have to actually take responsibility for your own wellbeing and for your own peace of mind, and if you can do that, then do it with your family, with your community...

PHILLIPS: How, though? How do you do that? It's so much -- it is easier said than done. All the things that come at us and the confliction that we feel in so many ways. How do you grasp hold of that and take control?

CHOPRA: You have to ask yourself, Who am I, what do I want, what's my purpose for being here? You have to take a little time in silence, and you have to also ask yourself, what can I do to nurture people around me? And if you do that every day as a commitment, I guarantee you the world will be transformed, because the world is us. We are the world. There is no difference between the world out there and us.

PHILLIPS: So how do we deal with the reality of war right now? It looks like, more than likely, we're going to go to war with Iraq. How do you tell a fighter pilot, how do you tell a special operations soldier in the trenches, how do you tell them, You can find emotional freedom, you can find peace of mind, you can be in touch...

CHOPRA: I'm hoping -- I'm really hoping and praying that the collective intent of the world -- everybody's scared. You think the people on the streets of Iraq are not scared of bombs dropping and losing their -- the anguish of losing people they love?

We'll end up calling it collateral damage. You know, it's a term which, in a way, camouflages the deep anguish. What about the anguish of these soldiers who are going to go there and fight in the Middle East? I think we need right now a collective mobilization in the world consciousness that we can find a creative solution to the problems.

Everything is inextricably woven. The economy, what's happening to the crumbling institutions, the stock market, the international arms trade. You know, 40,000 children die every day of hunger. That's 4 percent of the military budget.

PHILLIPS: Finally, just real quickly -- unfortunately, we have to leave it there. I know you have a lot of -- your center and your foundation, you can go on line and see a lot of the great things you are doing.

Today, right now, what can all of us do to start moving our way towards what you talk about, about finding this emotional freedom?

CHOPRA: Pray and nurture the relationships that you have. Do your best, and don't take things personally.

PHILLIPS: Don't take things for granted either, right?

CHOPRA: Don't take things for granted. We're grateful to be alive.

PHILLIPS: Dr. Deepak Chopra, thank you. Always a pleasure.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired February 6, 2003 - 14:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Much of America's focus, of course, is on Iraq right now. Even as the U.S. wages a war against terrorism, more than 120,000 U.S. troops have been deployed to the Persian Gulf region in case of war with Iraq.
The world has always been a violent place, but how do you cope? How do we all cope emotionally, physically, and spiritually?

Dr. Deepak Chopra is the best selling author and creator of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing. He is also creator of the Chopra Foundation, a non-profit organization which promotes wellbeing and world peace.

Great to have you here.

DEEPAK CHOPRA, CREATOR, CHOPRA CENTER FOR WELLBEING: Thank you for having me.

PHILLIPS: So we take a look at America now. We look at 9/11, the economy in a slump. We lost the astronauts just recently. How do we avoid depression and self destruction and find our mental peace right now?

CHOPRA: You wake up every morning and you say to yourself that today, just today, forget about tomorrow -- I will nurture every relationship with love, and with affection and with attention and with appreciation.

And if you can do that, and if a critical mass of people in the world do that, the world will be transformed. Don't worry about things that are happening far beyond your control. You have control over your relationships.

There's evidence, Kyra, that if a critical mass of people think in a certain way, that consciousness permeates everything in society -- public policy, even the behaviors of governments are influenced by how we think.

So what we need right now is a critical mass of people saying, We want peace, that violent solutions are never solutions.

The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. We need the news media, the educational institutions, the entertainment industry, the networks of the world to awaken the neural networks of the global mind so that we can think as one people. You mentioned the tragedy, the Columbia tragedy. If you (UNINTELLIGIBLE) see the pictures that those astronauts took from space, you will see a little speck of dust and water in an infinity void, no boundaries. One humanity, one people, one consciousness, one life. The boundaries are in our imagination.

PHILLIPS: All right. And you call that the intelligence network. How do you tap into that, because you say if we are able to do that, we can cure cancer, we can cure diseases, we can even kind of turn back the time and not age so quickly.

CHOPRA: Well, there's a phrase in physics. When an electron vibrates, the universe shakes. So you have to actually take responsibility for your own wellbeing and for your own peace of mind, and if you can do that, then do it with your family, with your community...

PHILLIPS: How, though? How do you do that? It's so much -- it is easier said than done. All the things that come at us and the confliction that we feel in so many ways. How do you grasp hold of that and take control?

CHOPRA: You have to ask yourself, Who am I, what do I want, what's my purpose for being here? You have to take a little time in silence, and you have to also ask yourself, what can I do to nurture people around me? And if you do that every day as a commitment, I guarantee you the world will be transformed, because the world is us. We are the world. There is no difference between the world out there and us.

PHILLIPS: So how do we deal with the reality of war right now? It looks like, more than likely, we're going to go to war with Iraq. How do you tell a fighter pilot, how do you tell a special operations soldier in the trenches, how do you tell them, You can find emotional freedom, you can find peace of mind, you can be in touch...

CHOPRA: I'm hoping -- I'm really hoping and praying that the collective intent of the world -- everybody's scared. You think the people on the streets of Iraq are not scared of bombs dropping and losing their -- the anguish of losing people they love?

We'll end up calling it collateral damage. You know, it's a term which, in a way, camouflages the deep anguish. What about the anguish of these soldiers who are going to go there and fight in the Middle East? I think we need right now a collective mobilization in the world consciousness that we can find a creative solution to the problems.

Everything is inextricably woven. The economy, what's happening to the crumbling institutions, the stock market, the international arms trade. You know, 40,000 children die every day of hunger. That's 4 percent of the military budget.

PHILLIPS: Finally, just real quickly -- unfortunately, we have to leave it there. I know you have a lot of -- your center and your foundation, you can go on line and see a lot of the great things you are doing.

Today, right now, what can all of us do to start moving our way towards what you talk about, about finding this emotional freedom?

CHOPRA: Pray and nurture the relationships that you have. Do your best, and don't take things personally.

PHILLIPS: Don't take things for granted either, right?

CHOPRA: Don't take things for granted. We're grateful to be alive.

PHILLIPS: Dr. Deepak Chopra, thank you. Always a pleasure.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com