The path to love Renewing the power of spirit in your life

Review by Booklist Review

Over the course of writing his 16 books, several of which have been spectacularly popular, Chopra has tried out different variations on his signature theme of the importance of the mind-body connection to health and well-being, including an unfortunate flirtation with the Arthurian legends. Here he keeps it simple, using his accessible and practical blend of Eastern and Western thought to illuminate the aspect of life that bedevils people the most, love. Chopra believes that people have lost the sense of love and of being lovable and attributes this to a "split between love and spirit." To heal this rift so that they can follow the "path" to love, he offers a series of meditations to open and purify the heart, rekindle faith in romance, understand the difference between attachment and love, stop fearing true passion and intimacy, and achieve ecstasy. A tall order, of course, but Chopra has many cogent, mature, and valuable things to say about the spirituality of love and commitment, and his broad frame of reference, including real-life examples, will inspire a feeling of hopefulness. --Donna Seaman

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Chopra has moved in his writing career from a focus on the body and healing (Ageless Body, Timeless Mind) toward more overtly spiritual subjects, skillfully tying bits of wisdom about the spiritual underpinnings of life to materialistic Western concerns (The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success). Here, he gently weans his readers from what he sees as the addictive, culture-fueled belief that love is to be found outside one's self, urging readers to shift their focus to the inner experience of their own hearts so that they might come to discover that true love comes from the Self, which Chopra sees as identical to God. Affirming the value of psychotherapy for chasing down the demons behind low self-esteem, Chopra maintains that "a lasting solution to whether you are deserving or not will only come spiritually." Making his discussion of the divine energy of love user-friendly by providing exercises for evaluating the hidden feelings and expectations that strangle our experiences, Chopra bravely tackles difficult subjects like the suffering of attachment and karma. Although inquiring readers will long for more detail and more discriminating wisdom about the secrets and the pitfalls of the "Way," Chopra convinces that love really does come from within. Simply and encouragingly describing the Vedic concept of the divinity of the Self, he proves himself here to be the most effective disseminator and translater of ancient Vedic wisdom for Western audiences in recent times. Major ad/promo; BOMC alternate selection; One Spirit Book Club and QPBC main selection; author tour. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by Library Journal Review

A dozen books, a PBS series, and 30 audio tapes to his credit, Chopra is now director of the Chopra Center in California. He introduces here a combination of Eastern and Western philosophy, presenting Shakti and Shiva, the female and male aspects, respectively, of spirit. The author discusses not only romantic love and sexual intimacy but also compassion for one's fellow humans. Through spiritual exercises, Chopra guides readers to the openness of living on a more spiritual level in love and peace. Through his sessions with patients, readers can experience a therapy working toward unblocking the receiving and sending of love. Chopra commands a wide audience, and this title will be in demand in public libraries. [BOMC alternate.]‘Lisa Wise, Broome Cty. P.L., Binghampton, N.Y. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

A road map to spiritual renewal, with the crossroads marked by a popular guide who seems to have lost his footing. In his earlier nonfiction works Chopra (Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, 1993, etc.), a medical doctor, successfully balanced medical science and intuitive healing. Ayurvedic medicine from his native India was not incompatible with Western medical technology, he proposed, as he wooed many Americans to an exploration of a body/mind connection with good health. Now based at his newly established Chopra Center for Well Being in southern California, the doctor is exploring--and stumbling over--more ephemeral areas like love. That may be because his subject is so chameleon-like, a four-letter word at the service of saints and sinners, of lusting couples, charismatic preachers, suffering artists, and self-sacrificing parents. Chopra limits his exploration to the love of romantic relationships and launches the trek from babyhood, where ``I am completely loved./I am completely lovable,'' to the experiences between man and woman that are labeled ``love.'' Chapters include attraction, infatuation, courtship, intimacy, surrender, passion, and ecstasy, each a stepping stone to connections with god or the cosmic spirit. The image of god is fairly flexible here but gives major weight to Shakti, the wife of Shiva, as the representative of ``cosmic passion.'' Along the way are thoughts about courtship as ``shared birth,'' and introductions of concepts such as Dharma (unity), Karma (cause and effect), and Moksha (liberation, ascension). Included are excerpts from poetry (among them Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, the Indian Rumi and the Upanishads), checklist exercises, and limp case histories. A concluding chapter set in a New Mexican twilight is reminiscent of Carlos Castaneda's desert dialogues. ``Know thyself'' is the message here. Neither as direct as the Bible nor as engaging as Shakespeare, Chopra's pathway may nevertheless serve as an on-ramp for some bewildered lovers. (Book-of-the-Month Club featured alternate; Quality Paperback Book Club main selection; author tour)

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Falling in love feels like an accidental occurrence to many people, but in spiritual terms it is not--it is the entrance point to love's journey. Romance has several distinct phases of its own for us to explore--attraction, infatuation, courtship, and intimacy--each partaking of a special spiritual significance. In the dawning of the next stage, falling in love turns into a committed relationship, usually marriage, and the path changes. Falling in love is over; being in love begins. Spiritually, the word being implies a state of the soul; it is this state that a couple learns to nurture through surrender, the key word in every spiritual relationship. Through surrender, the needs of the ego, which can be extremely selfish and unloving, are transformed into the true need of the spirit, which is always the same--the need to grow. As you grow, you exchange shallow, false feelings for deep, true emotions, and thus compassion, trust, devotion, and service become realities. Such a marriage is sacred; it can never falter because it is based on divine essence. Such a marriage is also innocent, because your only motive is to love and serve the other person. Surrender is the door one must pass through to find passion. Without surrender, passion is centered on a person's craving for pleasure and stimulation. With surrender, passion is directed toward life itself--in spiritual terms, passion isthe same as letting yourself be swept away on the river of life, which is eternal and neverending in its flow. The final fruit of surrender is ecstasy: when you can let go of all selfish attachments, when you trust that love really is at the core of your nature,you feel complete peace. In this peace there is a seed of sweetness perceived in the very center of the heart, and from this seed, with patience and devotion, you nurture the supreme state of joy known as ecstasy. This, then, is the path to love described in much greater detail in my new book, although it isn't the only path. Some people do not fall in love and enter into relationships with a beloved. But this does not mean that there is no path for them, only that the path has been internalized. For such people, the Beloved is entirely within themselves from the very outset. It is their soul or their image of God; it is a vision or a calling; it is a solitariness that blossoms into love for the One. In its own way, such a love story is also about relationship, because the final realizations are the same for all of us. To realize "I am love" is not reserved only for those who marry. It is a universal realization, cherished in every spiritual tradition. Or to put it most simply, all relationships are ultimately a relationship with God. Excerpted from The Path to Love: Renewing the Power of Spirit in Your Life by Deepak Chopra All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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