my care2
make a difference

healthy & green living

more than 4,000 ways to enhance your life

customize your free newsletter

Customize your Healthy & Green Living newsletter now


Gaiam_pilates_160x133
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
hagl_soular

Renew Yourself, Die to the Old

posted by Deepak Chopra Mar 7, 2008 4:00 am
8 comments

Adapted from The Third Jesus, by Deepak Chopra (Harmony Books, 2008).

Jesus spoke about death as a prelude to resurrection, and he also spoke about
the need to be born again. The connection between the two was summed up by Paul
as “dying unto death.”

Christian doctrine has focused almost entirely on
trusting in the resurrection of Jesus as a sign that every soul will be
resurrected one day. But when he said, “You must be born from above,” Jesus put
the emphasis on transformation in this lifetime, not some faraway future.
Being born from above means a rebirth in spirit. Spiritual rebirth usually isn’t
a single event, a blinding epiphany that causes one’s life to change from that
moment forward. For most, spiritual rebirth is a process akin to the long
process that causes people to mature psychologically. The spiritual process
brings transformation steadily, one step at a time, yet the overall result is
dramatic. One’s attachment to the ego and its belief in separation, including the ultimate separation of death, is being jettisoned.

Right now, you accept a fixed set of labels that define you. These include your
name, age, family, occupation and social status. From Jesus’perspective,
however, none of these labels is the true you; they distract from the reality
that you are spirit embodied in flesh. If you wanted to, you could redefine
yourself every day. As the fixed self gives way to a dynamic, fluid self that is
open to the unknown, freedom dawns. In that freedom, you go beyond death by
discovering that you encompass life and death in a state of pure being.

Stay tuned for Part II: An exercise to eliminate your labels and redefine
yourself.

More on Deepak Chopra's Tips (221 articles available)
More from Deepak Chopra (233 articles available)

8 comments

Go to the Source

The Third Jesus

The Christ We Cannot Ignorebuy now

8 comments

add your comment »
8 Comments       add a comment »
Lois W.
  • Lois W. says
  • Mar 21, 2008 5:43 PM

I just purchased this book and have been looking forward to starting it. I think I might put down everything else I have been reading in favor of an immediate start. For so long I have been reluctant to use the terms "recreate" or "redefine" myself. The thought of rebirth resonates so very much more sincerely within me.

Mik Mik
  • Mik Mik says
  • Mar 21, 2008 4:27 AM

yeah-yeah, that's right ..

Stephen A.

Ummmh!!Ummmh!!!!

Norma Scott

An Individual/ A Trinity of ONE Aspecial thanks to Ms Nannette Adams for your personal grip of the situation

Dave O.
  • Dave O. says
  • Mar 20, 2008 1:11 PM

THANK YOU DEEPAK. AT HE MOMENT I AM ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL (BIPOLAR DISORDER).I GOT THESE PROBLEMS AFTER GIVING BIRTH TO MY DAUGHTER, JOSIEN, 21 YEARS AGO.DOCTORS GAVE ME LITHIUM AND NOW I SEEM TO BE ALLERGIC TO IT. I WAS SEVERAL TIMES IN HOSPITAL AND "SWALLOWED " ALL THE MEDICATION THEY TRIED ON ME. THE LAST 5 TIMES IN HOSPITAL (POTUGAL AND UK I WAS COVERED IN EXCEMA AND CHANGED SKIN ALL THE TIME. I LOOK YOUNGER AND YOUNGER.ALTHOUGH I WILL BE 50 THE 3RD OF NOVEMBER, I WAS ESTIMATED BY OTHER PATIENTS TO BE 21. I AM A STAR CHILD AND ALTHOUGH I HAVEN'T BEEN ON THIS EARTH MANY TIMES, THIS LAST INCARNATION IS THE FULLEST.THEY CALL ME A "FOOL" BUT I KNOW I'M NO 1 OR NO 9 IN NUMEROLOGY. I BELIEVE I'M ALL OF THEM NUMBERS, INCL 0 11 22 33 ETC.(SO ALSO THE FOOL ) IF I WOULD LIKE TO GO BACK TO MY SOURCES(SIRIUS), THAT WOULD BE EASY TO DO.BUT I DON'T WISH TO BECAUSE I WANT TO GROW OLD WITH THE MAN I MET,AND MY DOG CALLED "AMOR", BOTH ABOUT 5 YEARS AGO. BECAUSE THEY HAVE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE FOR ME.BLESS THEM. THEY ARE THE CLOSEST GUIDES FOR ME IN THIS COUNTRY. JOSIEN ON A DISTANCE, LIKE MY FATHER AND BROTHER AND SISTER(ALL IN HOLLAND) AND MY SISTER IN AUSTRIA.2 BROTHERS ARE STILL NOT BACK TO ME BUT THAT IS OK. AND NOT TO FORGET MY MOTHER WHO DECIDED TO LEAVE THIS WORLD 21 YEARS AGO...AGAIN BLESS THEM.
IN LIGHT AND LOVE, MARJOLEIN, WALES

Judy Bloom

I often think that Christ was the important message for rebirth. He was here to show us how to be now. I believe that to be reborn is as you said, Deepak. I believe that we can grow so much spiritually that we can overcome death and become pure spirit as Christ did on the cross. His death was pure overcoming of this material world and the release of the spirit from the body or the ability to have body with the spirit if desired. It was His message that was so important....He was enlightenment not just a crucified messenger.

Nannette Adams

I admire most of your views on the spiritual being in ourselves, but I do wish you would stop equating Jesus, christianity, and the bible with spirituality. I do not think what the bible says is necessarily "THE TRUTH" any more than any other book of old fables with a moral. To me, the Universal Spirit within all of us is an all-encompasing field of dynamic enery which we come in and out of during birth and death. This belief allows us to overcome the feeling of duality and feel the unity of all life. with respect, Nan Adams

Steven Levy

What a bunch of nonsensical gobbledygook!

Please enter your comment.
1500 characters remaining

who's talking about this story?

Adapted from The Third Jesus, by Deepak Chopra (Harmony Books, 2008). Reprinted by permission of the author.

Disclaimer: Care2.com does not warrant and shall have no liability for information provided in this newsletter or on Care2.com. Each individual person, fabric, or material may react differently to a particular suggested use. It is recommended that before you begin to use any formula, you read the directions carefully and test it first. Should you have any health care-related questions or concerns, please call or see your physician or other health care provider.

23649

Gaiam_weight-loss_300x250
Get a Care2 Tee
Copyright © 2008 Care2.com, inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved