PDF Summary:The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, by Deepak Chopra

Many people measure success in terms of how much they achieve or accumulate. According to best-selling author and world-renowned well-being practitioner Deepak Chopra, this definition of success limits you and keeps you trapped in a cycle of achievement and accumulation that creates more anxiety than success.

In The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Chopra redefines success, arguing that your entire reality springs from an invisible, spiritual world of consciousness pulsing with energy that connects everything in the universe. He explains that true success comes from aligning with the flow of this spiritual energy.

In this guide, we’ll explain how your connection to this spiritual energy impacts your experiences. We’ll also provide methods to help you align with the flow of this energy, appreciate your significance in the world, and experience true success. Additionally, we’ll expand upon each of Chopra’s key points with research, advice, and actionable ideas from other self-improvement practitioners.

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Inevitably, Chopra argues, you’ll place greater precedence on your awareness of your true nature as a spiritual being than your awareness of your external reality. Realizing that your external reality can only ever match the energy that you send out encourages you to focus more on how you feel internally than external “success.” Consequently, you pay more attention to your overall well-being and the impact you have on other people and your environment. This change in focus inspires you to commit to goals that feel meaningful to you and contributes to a joyful and sustainable feeling of success.

Awareness of Your True Nature Creates Positive Energy

In The Power of Now, Tolle has a different take on how awareness of your “true nature” inspires you to act. According to him, the internal energy you emanate impacts everything around you, including your ability to feel happy. Therefore, instead of explaining how spiritual awareness changes your behaviors and goals, as Chopra does, Tolle focuses on how increased awareness changes your entire outlook on life, improves your internal energy, and positively influences the world around you.

Tolle argues that acting under the influence of your ego creates negative energy that harms your relationships and damages the planet. We previously explained how your ego’s job is to form and protect your identity. All aspects of this identity revolve around external factors, such as your nationality, culture, education, career, relationships, and achievements. You believe that these external factors define you, and when something happens to threaten your identity (for example, losing your job), you feel distress, contaminate the world with your negative energy, and get stuck in a cycle of negativity.

On the other hand, being aware of and acting under the influence of your “true being” creates peaceful energy that promotes harmony in your relationships and restores the environment. Tolle argues that your “true being” doesn’t need things to be a certain way to avoid distress because external forces and circumstances don’t affect it—your “true being” is always at peace. Instead of viewing every interaction and experience as a potential threat to your identity, you view it as something that simply is.

This stance allows you to accept things that happen without feeling the need to fight the situation or coerce others. As a result, you send peaceful and positive energy out into the world and feel inspired to maintain this positive energy.

How to Align With the Spiritual Realm

Chopra claims that you can align yourself with the flow of thought-energy and experience success in all areas of your life by practicing five interrelated methods.

Method #1: Silence Your Internal Monologue

Chopra argues that practicing silent meditation restricts your internal monologue and allows the thought-energy to flow freely through you. He explains that most of your thoughts focus on analyzing, judging, and classifying your experiences. These thoughts cloud your experiences with thoughts of how you think things should be and prevent you from experiencing the flow of energy in the moment.

(Shortform note: Research confirms that practicing stillness through meditation or other mindfulness techniques calms your internal monologue, reduces common symptoms of overthinking such as stress and anxiety, and encourages mental well-being. In Mindfulness in Plain English, Bhante Gunaratana recommends making time for daily mindfulness practice, either in the morning or the evening, and meditating for at least 20 to 20 minutes.)

Method #2: Recognize How Your Reality Reflects Your Thought-Energy

According to Chopra, your thoughts and feelings are always contributing to the mix of thought-energy that makes up your reality—even when you’re not aware of it. Let’s explore how your thoughts impact your thought-energy and experiences in more detail.

Your Experiences Reflect Where and Why You Direct Your Thought-Energy

Chopra explains that all matter in the universe is made up of two things: thought-energy and the information carried within this energy. The information within the energy defines the specific details of the object in question. For example, the thought-energy that creates and flows through a frog includes all of the biological needs the frog needs to survive. This information is different from the thought-energy that lives within and flows through a bird.

(Shortform note: This raises the question: Who thought up the frog? Chopra’s belief in an intelligence at the heart of creation (he once openly rejected Darwin’s theory of evolution) has invited significant criticism from scientists and skeptics who perceive his vague descriptions of God’s role in a conscious universe as “pseudoscience.”)

Further, Chopra argues that thought-energy and the information carried within this energy also define each of your experiences. However, your thoughts directly influence the nature of this information—specifically, your motivation for thinking a thought defines the information within your thought-energy and creates experiences that reflect this motivation. Let’s break this down into two parts to explore exactly how this works:

1. Where you're directing your thought-energy: According to Chopra, what you give your attention to directs your thought-energy to specific areas in your life.
2. Why you’re directing your thought-energy: Chopra explains that your intentions for thinking about something define the information within your thought-energy and create life experiences that reinforce those intentions.

For example, you may think about wanting more money and direct your thought-energy to the topic of money. However, if you’re thinking about money because you’re scared of being poor, this fear shapes the information within your thought-energy. Consequently, your thought-energy creates experiences in your life that fuel your insecurities about money.

Change Your Self-Image Before Attempting to Change Your Thoughts

Chopra’s explanation of how your thoughts create your experiences implies that you can change your life simply by taking control of what you think about and why you think about it. However, this isn’t as easy as it sounds: While you may attempt to change your thoughts when you’re aware of them, the majority of your thoughts take place beneath your awareness in your subconscious mind.

In Psycho-Cybernetics, Maxwell Maltz explains that your subconscious mind learns from your habitual thoughts and feelings to create your self-image. It then influences you to think and behave in ways that reflect this self-image and actively discourages you from thinking or behaving in ways that are inconsistent with your self-image. Maltz goes so far to say that your subconscious mind sabotages your conscious attempts to make your habitual thoughts more positive.

For example, if you habitually think about money because you’re afraid of being poor, you’ve trained your subconscious mind to include poverty as a part of your self-image. As a result, your subconscious mind influences you to automatically think and act in ways that keep you poor. It might influence you to think thoughts that make you feel powerless or encourage you to overspend. Additionally, it may sabotage any attempt you make to increase your income—for example, influencing you to procrastinate about opening a savings account or applying for a job.

Unlike Chopra, Maltz argues that you can’t rely on your thoughts to change your experiences unless you consciously change your self-image and retrain your subconscious mind. He suggests that you can achieve this by regularly visualizing yourself behaving in ways that align with what you want and who you want to be.

You Can Consciously Influence Your Thought-Energy to Create What You Want

Chopra argues that since everything you have and experience is just a reflection of your thought-energy, you can transform your experiences by paying attention to what you think and why you think about it. If you don’t have what you want, consider how the content of your thought-energy prevents you from experiencing these things.

(Shortform note: Like Chopra, many self-help practitioners claim that you just need to focus your thoughts on the right things to improve your life. For example, Louise Hay (You Can Heal Your Life) argues that you can “affirm” what you want to make it come true. For instance, if you want more success in your life, she would suggest that you change the statement “I’m not successful” to “I am successful” and repeat this multiple times a day. Eventually, you’ll come to believe this thought and you’ll automatically think and behave in ways that lead to more success.)

Method #3: Trust and Accept That Every Moment Is as It Should Be

In this section, we’ll explore how letting go of resistant thoughts and the need to control everything encourages inner silence and the flow of positive thought-energy.

Learn From Each Moment Instead of Resisting It

According to Chopra, every moment that occurs is as it should be. Your experiences are neither good nor bad; as noted, they’re simply a reflection of your thought-energy. However, unawareness of this fact leads you to misperceive and resist certain experiences. When you resist your experiences, you also resist your connection to the flow of thought-energy and deny your role in creating your experiences.

Examples of resistance include: blaming others for not behaving in ways that you want them to, defending your opinions to convince others to agree with you, worrying about bad things that might happen, or complaining about things because you think they should be different.

By their nature, resistant thoughts influence you to focus more on what you don’t want than on what you do want. Chopra argues that they increase your internal monologue and influence you to think in ways that negatively influence the content of your thought-energy.

(Shortform note: The negative tendencies that Chopra refers to as examples of “resistance” underpin a victim mentality—the belief that bad things always happen to you through no fault of your own. This victim mentality creates feelings of apathy because when you feel like external factors are always trying to thwart you, you lack the motivation to take positive action and change your life. Instead, people with a victim mentality often magnify their problems and their perceived injustices in an attempt to gain attention (comfort, sympathy, reinforcement of their beliefs) from others. The attention they receive from others validates their powerlessness and keeps them from moving forward.)

To calm your resistant thoughts and take control of your thought-energy, Chopra suggests that you focus on learning. He suggests that you ask yourself what your role is in each of your experiences and consider how to align your thought-energy with what you want to experience. The point of asking yourself these questions is not to blame yourself for the things that happen but to proactively seek ways to improve your thought-energy.

(Shortform note: Grant Cordone (The 10X Rule) extends this idea by explaining that you must first take responsibility for your experiences before you can learn from them. Taking total responsibility for everything that happens in your life empowers you to view negative experiences as opportunities for growth. As a result, you proactively seek ways to amend your thoughts and behaviors to prevent problems from reoccurring, and you free up energy to focus on getting what you want. On the other hand, denying responsibility for your experiences encourages a victim mentality: You waste energy blaming others, feel powerless to change your situation, and stay focused on what you don’t want.)

Schools of Thought on Acceptance Versus Resistance

Many different philosophical traditions mirror Chopra’s view that you should accept the present moment for what it is instead of resisting it. However, they all offer different reasons for acceptance:

• Stoicism (for example, Meditations) says that your experiences are what the gods and Nature have decreed for you. Since a human can’t hope to resist the will of the gods, it’s better to just accept whatever happens.

• Hinduism (for example, the Bhagavad Gita) says that everything you perceive and experience is illusory and that God is the only true reality. Since your experiences are unreal and temporary, you mustn’t let yourself be affected by them.

• Buddhism teaches that you should welcome your experiences, but not let them rule you. In other words, your experiences shouldn’t affect your thoughts or your actions. Tara Brach explores this topic from a Buddhist perspective in Radical Acceptance.

• Less religious schools of thought talk about the benefits of “living in the moment,” or being fully present instead of lost in thought. For example, Tolle’s The Power of Now teaches that being fully present in each moment is the only way to find happiness, peace, and fulfillment in your life.

Whatever the given reasons, it’s clear that a wide variety of philosophies value accepting your experiences for what they are, instead of trying to judge and resist them.

Stop Trying to Control Everything

Another way to tame resistant thoughts is to let go of what you want and accept things as they are. According to Chopra, this will help you overcome a common mindset of resistance: that because things aren’t going a certain way, they’re “wrong.” He explains that holding onto your expectation of how things should be causes you to perceive problems where there are none and limits your ability to accept and benefit from your experiences. On the other hand, letting go of what you want and accepting things the way they are broadens your perspective and allows you to effortlessly experience the best in every interaction and situation.

(Shortform note: By suggesting that you let go of what you want in favor of acceptance, Chopra seems to contradict his earlier advice to intentionally direct your thought-energy toward the things you want. To clarify, he’s not suggesting that you reject what you want. Rather, he’s advising you to rise above your negative thoughts to see the potential benefits of every situation—especially those that don’t align with what you want. Staying focused on these benefits helps you to easily meet any challenges you face as you move forward.)

Method #4: Contribute Positively to the Flow and Exchange of Thought-Energy

According to Chopra, each time you choose to respond to your experiences and other people with a positive attitude, looking to benefit yourself and others, you align yourself with the positive flow of thought-energy and dramatically improve your experiences. Specifically, you direct your thought-energy to flow to and create the experiences that you want. He explains that your intention to benefit others naturally curbs your resistant thoughts—instead of seeing situations as problems and focusing on what you don’t want, you see them as opportunities to seek solutions and focus on what you (and others) do want.

Chopra suggests aligning your thought-energy to benefit yourself and others by considering the consequences of your actions. Only act in ways that have a positive impact.

(Shortform note: While considering the consequences of your actions helps you to avoid taking actions that negatively impact others, it’s not so effective at helping you to come up with solutions to your problems. Tony Robbins (Awaken the Giant Within) suggests a practical way to generate these positive solutions: Ask yourself empowering questions. Empowering questions encourage your mind to effortlessly come up with proactive and positive solutions and stay focused on what you want. For example, if you’re in the midst of a disagreement with someone, ask yourself, “What can I do to resolve this situation in a way that makes us both happy?”)

Further, Chopra suggests that you direct your thought-energy to create specific positive things by proactively giving others what you want to receive or experience. Since your experiences always reflect your thought-energy, your positive intentions flow back to you to create happy, beneficial experiences. For example, if you want others to respect you, show them your respect.

(Shortform note: While it’s difficult to prove whether proactively giving others what you want will create similar experiences for you, scientific research confirms that contributing to the wellbeing of others does make you happier. The studies show that when you give (knowledge, assistance, time, or money) with the intention of helping others, you activate the same parts of your brain that are stimulated by pleasurable activities such as eating good food or having great sex.)

Method #5: Choose Goals That Feel Meaningful to You

Chopra argues that you have innate gifts and talents that you’re meant to contribute to the world and that you should choose goals that align with these natural tendencies because they feel more meaningful and enjoyable to pursue. He claims that aligning your strengths, interests, and positive intentions in this way creates the perfect environment for success.

Chopra notes that directing your natural talents and positive intentions toward goals you enjoy increases your engagement, keeps you focused on what you want to experience, discourages resistant thoughts, and creates an easy and natural momentum. As a result, your thought-energy flows to what you want to experience, reflects your positive energy, and creates experiences that feel meaningful and satisfying. In contrast, goals that don’t align with your natural strengths and interests deplete your energy and move you further away from satisfaction and joy. These goals distract you from what you’re meant to be doing: Instead, you wastefully direct your thought-energy to things that you think you should do.

(Shortform note: According to research in the area of positive psychology, Chopra’s advice to align your goals with your natural inclinations rather than what you think you should do does indeed improve your chances of successfully achieving these goals: You’re more likely to feel motivated and experience an upward emotional spiral (increased feelings of happiness and satisfaction) when you pursue goals that genuinely interest you. This positive mental state allows you to access the best parts of yourself—your unique strengths and talents—and apply them to successfully achieve your goal.)

Why would you choose misaligned goals that can never satisfy you? According to Chopra, it’s because you’re allowing your concerns regarding money, time, or what other people expect you to do to prevent you from discovering your natural inclinations. He suggests that you give yourself permission to discover your natural strengths and learn more about what brings you joy.

Distinguish Between Aligned Goals and Misaligned Goals

The authors of Minimalism offer a more specific explanation for why you would choose misaligned goals based on what you think you should do, rather than your natural talents. They claim that there are four obstructions holding you back from discovering your natural inclinations and interests: identity, status, certainty, and money. For example, you may focus on career goals that drain your energy rather than trying to find goals that align with your interests because your financial security and sense of identity are tied up with your career status.

Become aware of how these obstructions influence you, and distinguish between the goals and activities that satisfy you (aligned) and the ones that don’t (misaligned), by tracking all of the activities you take part in over the next few weeks. Next, reflect on each activity by asking yourself the following questions:

• Is this something I want to do or am I fulfilling external expectations?

• Do I enjoy this? If so, what’s the most enjoyable aspect of it?

• Does this make me feel energized or drained? Motivated or unmotivated?

• How can I create opportunities to engage more in the activities that I enjoy?