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Defeating Entropy

posted by Deepak Chopra Jan 7, 2009 5:00 am
Defeating Entropy
18 comments

The world is a dangerous place for life to survive in, and if we look beyond the localized dangers of our planet, a cosmic force stands ever ready to destroy life. It is called entropy, the universal tendency for order to break down into disorder.

Entropy came into existence at the instant of the Big Bang; starting with the creation of the universe, heat, light, and all other forms of energy have dissipating, spreading out over time as the universe expands. This tendency to spread out, moving energy to less concentrated areas, is entropy. Entropy is a one-way arrow. An aged body doesn’t automatically turn young again.

Whenever matter and energy collect into orderly patterns, entropy is defined, The breakdown of orderliness is inherent in the physical makeup of the universe, and it is at the core of the reason why our bodies deteriorate and age over time. If we want to defeat aging, we must first learn how to defeat entropy.

In purely material terms, physics doesn’t describe a force working against entropy. Yet it is obvious that the universe hasn’t just expanded after the Big Bang; it has evolved. Evolution, or growth, creates more complex structures from less complex ones. The growth of one cell into two, two into four, four into eight, and so forth, is evolution in action. There is nothing random about it.

Yet, the human body exists in utter defiance of entropy, since it is incredibly orderly and capable of adding to its order with even more complexity. Why, then, are we alive to begin with? What force works against chaos to assert higher and higher complexities of order?

Adapted from Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, by Deepak Chopra (Three Rivers Press, 1998).

More on Deepak Chopra's Tips (515 articles available)
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18 comments

18 comments

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18 comments add your comment
Jose Maria Rodriguez Leli

SOME TIMES IS SIMPLE TO THINK ON ENTROPY AS A MEASURE OF DESORDER. ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW RELATES TO ITS PROPERTIES: POINTS OUT THE DIRECTION OF PROCESSES, AND RELATES TO THE QUALITY OF ENERGY. I.E., HIGH ENERGY OR LOW ENERGY STATES. IT ALSO CAN BE RELATED TO SPONTANEUS PROCESS, FRO EXAMPLE, THE TRANSICION OF DEAD. IT SI NOT ONLY THE REDUCTION OF ENTROPY WHAT IT SHOULD BE OVERCOME, BUT RATHER ITS FUNCTION IN NATURE AND ITS RELATION TO CHANGING STATES.

Rae En
  • Rae En says
  • Jan 15, 2009 2:10 PM

Ok, my question/comment is why do we believe that our right is to end thusly as deterioration? What if we were meant to fully evolve into a form which does not undergo so called entropy? Why must we believe that so fully while not investigating precisely what the mind and all its forms are capable of? [ok more than one question/comment :-) ]

Nina D.
  • Nina D. says
  • Jan 14, 2009 8:37 AM

why can't humans just be happy with the short life given to them, what is the fixation with life as good and entropy/decay/death as bad? Death is part of a natural cycle which humans are defying at the expense of other natural cycles on earth. The bitter irony is that evolution, through elimination by death, has made a earth-consuming monster out of man. I'm just wondering whether humanity as a whole will see and respond to the light before its existence on earth is proved to be finite. Without a miracle, I think the former is impossible, and the latter preferable.

Tina R.

shell, to give an example of how its begins within. if i donated 1000.00 dollars to save the whales it would have to pay salaries and buy equipment and create paperwork that kills trees. it would travel through the mail which would consume more and kill more. the money used to create the car and the gas to get the check to the save the whales foundation. the list is never ending. now if we all choose to live life from within the soul it would make a bigger difference. i have learned from my journey in life through things that have happened to me that if i live simple then i create less harm. i buy less,i consume less, my family in turn comsumes less and my children are taught to live on need and not want. with less purchase of packaged foods, packaged goods, plastic toys, cars, gas, and the list goes on because each of these items have transpertation involved for distrubution and for the workers who make it. then their is the health problems that occur from those things being made. i can go on with this forever but ill stop here. but can you see how one persons choice with how they live can do more for life in general then picking a cause. It is not lack of caring.....it is being spiritual and learning to live and learn from whatever comes in your path. to some this makes sense to others it sounds absurb. it all depends on your individual spiritual journey. i love deepaks words and i love to read them but think about what i am doing when i buy a book.....gas?trees?workers?car

Tina R.

leafson.....it takes a personal journey to understand life in your eyes. i agree totally.
inner peace to you.

Tina R.

shell, thats where love comes in. When you find God within, you become God guided. with knowing that, the word care does not even come into play. nor does the words "not care". Being an instrument of God there is no room to crowed your inners with anything but love. love good love (evil) if that is what you want to call it. but one would not "be" without the other. what i learned from my house burning down is that very few material things are needed to live in this world. do i harbor hate for the one that burned it down......no!!!! my journey in my life would not be where it is today if it did not happen. hence, there is no "evil" other then in the eyes of the beholder. i see beauty everywhere i look. i also see the natural order of things. Entrophy is part of the natural order of the way creation works. i do not want to live forever in the worldly sense. In the spiritual i will be eternal. the soul is eternal. life....the breath from God....that begins the cell division in a baby... is the eternal soul......the part of God within us all....that we will all return to.

Leafson Pert

Could it be that chaos is the asserting force to higher complexities. Using trial and error (evolution) to find a path to greater success, higher complexity. Embracing chaos, pain, change, etc...generally leads to great growth. Through chaos, Life finds a way.

Shelly Smithberger

Ms. Rutkowski, OMG! You, me, us, we, all! we all need to care about our world, our earth, our lives, our people, our animals, our creatures, our children! Will you disregard the enviroment, and creatures in your "eternal life" why not practice being kind, compassionate, empathetic, active, responsible etc. in this life! You should very much care, cause, just maybe, this might be the only life you get. Vegan Peace, Shelly Smithberger, Granville ohio

Walt Heim

Entropy meerly is. Just like evolution meerly is. It's the natural order of life, completing itself in a continuum. Yin versus yang, complementary states that depend on each other. Entropy, like evolution, are not finite...they exist because of the other. Similarly, if a ball is bounced there is a continuing reverse relationship between kinetic and potential energy. As the ball bounces, it's kinetic eneregy decreases over time as it's potential energy increases until it reaches it's apex, wherein the kinetic energy is at 0% and the potential energy is at 100%. At this point, the process inverts. When the ball begins to fall, it accellarates, thereby increasing it's kinetic energy and decreasing it's potential energy, until it comes to rest. Then, the ball maintains 100% potential energy and 0% kinetic eneregy. Gradually, over time, the ball deteriorates thorough entropy whereby it changes state, or evolves back into it's constituent parts, whence it originated. It's all the circle of life.

Tina R.

reni K,
we were made with love and we will be recieved back with love!!!! no the creator does not err.

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