Deepak Chopra is the founder of the Chopra Center for Well Being in California and a world renowned author and speaker in the area of holistic health
He has published over 60 books in this area translated into over 35 languages with over 20 of his books appearing on the New York Times Bestseller list.
He is trained in internal medicine and endocrinology and is a fellow of The American College of Physicians.
He is a vocal proponent of meditation…
” Everyone thinks that the purpose of meditation is to handle stress, to tune out, to get away from it all. While that’s partially true, the real purpose of meditation is actually to tune in, not to get away from it all, to get in touch with it all. Not to just de-stress, but to find that peace within, the peace that spiritual traditions talk about that passes all understanding. So, meditation is a way to get in the space between your thoughts. You have a thought here, a thought here, and there’s a little space between every thought.”
In the short video below Deepak tells Oprah Winfrey of the mantra he gave to rapper 50 Cent.
Deepak Chopra – Mantras
“In his case, I gave him a very specific mantra.
First of all, let me tell you what a mantra is, it has two roots..
Man……which means mind
Tra…..means instrument
So mantra is an instrument of the mind, that goes beyond the mind, it takes you, like taking a cab.
When I take a cab to go somewhere I don’t need the cab anymore, so mantra is a vehicle to take you to the source of thought.
The most basic mantra in all traditions is I AM.
When Moses asks god ‘ what is your name ?’ he replies‘ I AM THAT I AM ‘
Jesus says, ‘ before Abraham was I AM ‘
If nothing else you can just close your eyes and repeat I AM mentally and it will quieten your mind.
You’re using the mantra like a cab to get to the destination, and once you get to the destination, you don’t need it anymore.”
You can get more quotes from Deepak here