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Why he loves La Jolla, Oprah and SNL
Deepak Chopra
He’s friends with Oprah and wears diamond-encrusted glasses, but he doesn’t let that get in the way of his meditations. This month the La Jolla resident and prolific author delves beneath the surface with his new book, Super Brain.
What is something most people don’t know about you? I never take myself seriously.
What makes you belly laugh? Saturday Night Live and Jon Stewart.
What’s most exciting to you about your new book? The book goes against the mainstream idea that we are our brains. Dr. Rudy Tanzi and I propose that we are the users of our brains and we can use our brains not only for health and happiness, but also for spiritual experience.
What do most people not know about their brains? That we can change the wiring of our brains, and that as we grow older we can influence processes such as biological age.
You meditate—any advice for newcomers? I have meditated for 40 years, and these days I mostly meditate for two hours a day. Newcomers should sit quietly with eyes closed for 10 minutes with no agenda, or just observing their breath.
Have you learned anything from your friendship with Oprah? Absolutely. She is always present and focused. Her energy is tireless and immensely curious and open-minded.
What’s one amazing experience you’ve had in the natural world? I have had transcendent experiences looking down the Grand Canyon, visiting Sedona in Arizona and Glastonbury in England, as well as the foothill of the Himalayas in India. In the supernatural world? I live there all the time.
You travel extensively. What’s your favorite thing to do when you get home? Go to the beach at La Jolla Cove with my grandchildren.
Advice for future generations: Unleash your imagination. The best use of imagination is creativity. The worst use is anxiety.
What’s the most important virtue a person can have? The divine qualities of loving kindness, joy, compassion, and equanimity.
You have lived a blessed and exciting life meeting incredible minds around the world—what still takes your breath away? I am perpetually surprised by the fact that I exist and therefore, for me, every moment is breathtaking—literally.
Super Brain: Unleashing the Explosive Power of Your Mind to Maximize Health, Happiness, and Spiritual Well-Being (Harmony Books), by Deepak Chopra, M.D., and Rudolph E. Tanzi, Ph.D., is available November 6. The PBS show about Super Brain airs November 24.
