Deepak & Eckhart: Forces of Nature

Photo by Bekah Wright

There's a lot of chit chat going on in my brain. I began noticing this more frequently after a friend rescued/ushered a group of us into a daily practice of Deepak Chopra's The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. Obviously, the aforementioned chit chat was getting so loud and rambunctious, even my dear friend could hear it. From the brains of the bunch of us!

Every time the Law of Pure Potentiality rolled around during this daily practice, a certain aspect stood out -- communing with nature.

Per The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: "Spending time in nature enables you to sense the harmonious interaction of all the elements and forces of life, and gives you a sense of unity with all life. Whether it be a stream, a forest, a mountain, a lake, or the seashore, that connection with nature's intelligence will also help you access the field of pure potentiality."

"Oh, I've got that down," I thought. Indeed, now that I'm training for the Via Francigena Pilgrimage, I'm outdoors hiking more than ever.

But did I have it down? True, I have copious photographs from every trail I embark upon. I scour them often, trying to recapture those moments with Mother Nature.

And then I realized -- I'd been so busy "capturing these memories" with photographs, I wasn't truly in the moment.

Rectifying this conundrum was vital. After all, in November, I'll be leading a group on the hike of a lifetime. Not only did I need to be in the moment, they deserved to savor every single second on the trail. It's my job to make sure brain chit chat about worries and To Do lists take a backseat to the beauty that is Tuscany's landscape.

A crash course was necessary for getting off my cell phone and into the real world. The timing couldn't be better. Deepak Chopra and Eckhart Tolle were going to be in Los Angeles discussing Awakening to a Higher Consciousness.

Photo by Bekah Wright

The venue was LA's Shrine Auditorium. As a journalist, it brings back memories of red carpet events, such as the Emmys.

This particular evening just happened to be the night before the Oscars. In the traffic en route to the event, my excitement grew and I wondered -- who could possibly be more excited? Those people headed to pre-Academy Awards parties, or the group pulling into the Shrine's parking lot?

What I knew for sure? How incredibly lucky I was to be attending this momentous conversation between two great thought leaders.

Photo by Bekah Wright

Prior to the event, there was a VIP gathering in the auditorium's bar area. My eye caught sight of Marie Forleo and Josh Pais. I'll admit it, I geeked out with excitement. I've been loving on MarieTV for years now. Marie was just as kind, warm and bubbly as you'd imagine. As was Josh, who'd I'd just been watching on an episode of Law & Order: SVU.

Soon enough, the audience was beckoned into the theatre.

Photo courtesy of The Chopra Center

The host for the evening, Gabrielle Bernstein, introduced Eckhart Tolle, who spoke first.

Photo courtesy of The Chopra Center

I found myself busily readying my digital recorder, updating social media about the event and... snapping photos. Then my camera caught sight of another audience member --

Photo by Bekah Wright

Deepak Chopra. He was immersed in Eckhart Tolle's speech. I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment.

Here I was, so busy trying to "be present" and "capture the moment," I was defeating the purpose of being in attendance. Even Deepak Chopra, who'd be taking the stage himself, was absorbing the night's message.

I settled back. Tucked the digital recorder and cell phone away. Yes, I'm a journalist, and sharing such stories is important, but... I was missing, well, everything!

Photo courtesy of The Chopra Center

Happily, this realization struck early on. I was able to immerse into all the spiritual knowledge being shared with the crowd.

A quote from Eckhart Tolle in the program could have been chosen with me in mind: "If your mind carries a heavy burden of past, you will experience more of the same. The past perpetuates itself through lack of presence. The quality of your consciousness at this moment is what shapes the future."

Gulp. There was the lesson. The very one I'd been seeking out. The one I'd almost missed.

Photo courtesy of The Chopra Center

I'd like to say the chit chat in my brain was silenced. No, but it did go from a roar to a whisper.

Image by Joe Parks from Berkeley, CA (Pinnacles Night Sky) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

And what I noticed on the drive home? Mother Nature, lighting the way. No photo necessary, as this moment was just for me.

Here's Change Your Life Travels' first video. We wanted to take you along with us and give you some sound bytes from the evening. Enjoy!