Dear Deepak,
On my walk this evenng, I kept my gaze on the moon, and then the thought occured to me,
perhaps,
just perhaps -
the moon was keeping its gaze on
me
;)

You mention in this interview - the shift in perception that allows one to see - heaven is here right now. I have discovered the joy of knowing that 'heaven' exists in me, and I in it.
(Unless I have a forgetful moment - which thankfully is not too often :)

love,
~ Kate

Dear Deepak,

Thank you for explaining your latest book so very clearly.

Yes, heaven on earth is inside and it is a gift of evolution that can be received by those most open to it and it seems there are more and more people to receive it in this era.

It even seems we have almost arrived at point Omega, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin has described. This has become possible for many people who are becoming aware that it takes an individual responsibility. If one is aware of what it means to live in the Kingdom of heaven one has received that responsibility also.

Because only to those who are aware of the serious responsibility it will be given.

It was given to Jesus, to Mohammed, to Moses, to Rumi, even to Achnaton in Egypt and perhaps nowadays to Barack Obama.

One very important message of Teilhard was: "Take from me what suits YOU, and form your OWN home". Teilhard was very conscious of the individual within the holistic whole.

And as you have written before: every One acts from ones own level and there are many levels or as Jesus said: "In the house of my Father there are many homes".

Only thing we can do now is go with the evolutionary flow in the Universal Kingdom and take full responsibility for ones life through surrendering to That What Is and acknowledging that evolution has Its own plan to place us on a higher plane when 'time' is there.

I have developed now a simple mantra:

My father and mother created new horizons for us, their children.

We as parents did the same for our children.

Now, our children are doing the same for their children.

And every cycle of evolution will bring us on a higher plane.

All perfectly in The Scheme Of Things.

With much love and respect,

Mieke

I think folks here would love this. Obama answers about faith, politics, religion and spirituality (and heaven.)

Obama's Fascinating Interview on Faith with Cathleen Falsani (2004) unearthed, can be found here:

"Tuesday November 11, 2008

The most detailed and fascinating explication of Barack Obama's faith came in a 2004 interview he gave Chicago Sun Times columnist Cathleen Falsani when he was running for U.S. Senate in Illinois. The column she wrote about the interview has been quoted and misquoted many times over, but she'd never before published the full transcript in a major publication.

Because of how controversial that interview became, Falsani has graciously allowed us to print the full conversation here."

"At 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 27, 2004, when I was the religion reporter (I am now its religion columnist) at the Chicago Sun-Times, I met then-State Sen. Barack Obama at Café Baci, a small coffee joint at 330 S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago, to interview him exclusively about his spirituality. Our conversation took place a few days after he'd clinched the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat that he eventually won. We spoke for more than an hour. He came alone. He answered everything I asked without notes or hesitation. The profile of Obama that grew from the interview at Cafe Baci became the first in a series in the Sun-Times called "The God Factor," that eventually became my first book, The God Factor: Inside the Spiritual Lives of Public People (FSG, March 2006.) Because of the staggering interest in now President-Elect Obama's faith and spiritual predilections, I thought it might be helpful to share that interivew, uncut and in its entirety, here."
--Cathleen Falsani

http://blog.beliefnet.com/stevenwaldman/2008/11/obamas-interview-with-cathleen.html

Some exerpts related to the ongoing discussion here:

[...]

FALSANI:
Do you pray often?

OBAMA:
Uh, yeah, I guess I do.

Its' not formal, me getting on my knees. I think I have an ongoing conversation with God. I think throughout the day, I'm constantly asking myself questions about what I'm doing, why am I doing it.

One of the interesting things about being in public life is there are constantly these pressures being placed on you from different sides. To be effective, you have to be able to listen to a variety of points of view, synthesize viewpoints. You also have to know when to be just a strong advocate, and push back against certain people or views that you think aren't right or don't serve your constituents.

And so, the biggest challenge, I think, is always maintaining your moral compass. Those are the conversations I'm having internally. I'm measuring my actions against that inner voice that for me at least is audible, is active, it tells me where I think I'm on track and where I think I'm off track.

It's interesting particularly now after this election, comes with it a lot of celebrity. And I always think of politics as having two sides. There's a vanity aspect to politics, and then there's a substantive part of politics. Now you need some sizzle with the steak to be effective, but I think it's easy to get swept up in the vanity side of it, the desire to be liked and recognized and important. It's important for me throughout the day to measure and to take stock and to say, now, am I doing this because I think it's advantageous to me politically, or because I think it's the right thing to do? Am I doing this to get my name in the papers or am I doing this because it's necessary to accomplish my motives.

FALSANI:
Checking for altruism?

OBAMA:
Yeah. I mean, something like it.

Looking for, ... It's interesting, the most powerful political moments for me come when I feel like my actions are aligned with a certain truth. I can feel it. When I'm talking to a group and I'm saying something truthful, I can feel a power that comes out of those statements that is different than when I'm just being glib or clever.

FALSANI:
What's that power? Is it the holy spirit? God?

OBAMA:
Well, I think it's the power of the recognition of God, or the recognition of a larger truth that is being shared between me and an audience.[...]

FALSANI:
Who's Jesus to you?

(He laughs nervously)

OBAMA:
Right.

Jesus is an historical figure for me, and he's also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith, and one that I think is powerful precisely because he serves as that means of us reaching something higher.

And he's also a wonderful teacher. I think it's important for all of us, of whatever faith, to have teachers in the flesh and also teachers in history.

[...]

FALSANI:
Do you try to take some time for whatever, meditation prayer reading?

OBAMA:
I'll be honest with you, I used to all the time, in a fairly disciplined way. But during the course of this campaign, I don't. And I probably need to and would like to, but that's where that internal monologue, or dialogue I think supplants my opportunity to read and reflect in a structured way these days.

It's much more sort of as I'm going through the day trying to take stock and take a moment here and a moment there to take stock, why am I here, how does this connect with a larger sense of purpose.

[...]

FALSANI:
Jack Ryan [Obama's Republican opponent in the U.S. Senate race at the time] said talking about your faith is frought with peril for a public figure.

OBAMA:
Which is why you generally will not see me spending a lot of time talking about it on the stump.

Alongside my own deep personal faith, I am a follower, as well, of our civic religion. I am a big believer in the separation of church and state. I am a big believer in our constitutional structure. I mean, I'm a law professor at the University of Chicago teaching constitutional law. I am a great admirer of our founding charter, and its resolve to prevent theocracies from forming, and its resolve to prevent disruptive strains of fundamentalism from taking root ion this country.

As I said before, in my own public policy, I'm very suspicious of religious certainty expressing itself in politics.

Now, that's different form a belief that values have to inform our public policy. I think it's perfectly consistent to say that I want my government to be operating for all faiths and all peoples, including atheists and agnostics, while also insisting that there are values tha tinform my politics that are appropriate to talk about.

A standard line in my stump speech during this campaign is that my politics are informed by a belief that we're all connected. That if there's a child on the South Side of Chicago that can't read, that makes a difference in my life even if it's not my own child. If there's a senior citizen in downstate Illinois that's struggling to pay for their medicine and having to chose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer even if it's not my grandparent. And if there's an Arab American family that's being rounded up by John Ashcroft without the benefit of due process, that threatens my civil liberties.

I can give religious expression to that. I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper, we are all children of God. Or I can express it in secular terms. But the basic premise remains the same. I think sometimes Democrats have made the mistake of shying away from a conversation about values for fear that they sacrifice the important value of tolerance. And I don't think those two things are mutually exclusive.

FALSANI:
Do you think it's wrong for people to want to know about a civic leader's spirituality?

OBAMA:
I don't' think it's wrong. I think that political leaders are subject to all sorts of vetting by the public, and this can be a component of that.

I think that I am disturbed by, let me put it this way: I think there is an enormous danger on the part of public figures to rationalize or justify their actions by claiming God's mandate.

I think there is this tendency that I don't think is healthy for public figures to wear religion on their sleeve as a means to insulate themselves from criticism, or dialogue with people who disagree with them.

FALSANI:
The conversation stopper, when you say you're a Christian and leave it at that.

OBAMA:
Where do you move forward with that?

This is something that I'm sure I'd have serious debates with my fellow Christians about. I think that the difficult thing about any religion, including Christianity, is that at some level there is a call to evangelize and prostelytize. There's the belief, certainly in some quarters, that people haven't embraced Jesus Christ as their personal savior that they're going to hell.

FALSANI:
You don't believe that?

OBAMA:
I find it hard to believe that my God would consign four-fifths of the world to hell.

I can't imagine that my God would allow some little Hindu kid in India who never interacts with the Christian faith to somehow burn for all eternity.

That's just not part of my religious makeup.

Part of the reason I think it's always difficult for public figures to talk about this is that the nature of politics is that you want to have everybody like you and project the best possible traits onto you. Oftentimes that's by being as vague as possible, or appealing to the lowest commong denominators. The more specific and detailed you are on issues as personal and fundamental as your faith, the more potentially dangerous it is.

FALSANI:
Do you ever have people who know you're a Christian question a particular stance you take on an issue, how can you be a Christian and ...

OBAMA:
Like the right to choose.

I haven't been challenged in those direct ways. And to that extent, I give the public a lot of credit. I'm always stuck by how much common sense the American people have. They get confused sometimes, watch FoxNews or listen to talk radio. That's dangerous sometimes. But generally, Americans are tolerant and I think recognize that faith is a personal thing, and they may feel very strongly about an issue like abortion or gay marriage, but if they discuss it with me as an elected official they will discuss it with me in those terms and not, say, as 'you call yourself a Christian.' I cannot recall that ever happening.

FALSANI:
Do you get questions about your faith?

[...]

FALSANI:
Do you believe in heaven?

OBAMA:
Do I believe in the harps and clouds and wings?

FALSANI:
A place spiritually you go to after you die?

OBAMA:
What I believe in is that if I live my life as well as I can, that I will be rewarded. I don't presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die. But I feel very strongly that whether the reward is in the here and now or in the hereafter, the aligning myself to my faith and my values is a good thing.

When I tuck in my daughters at night and I feel like I've been a good father to them, and I see in them that I am transferring values that I got from my mother and that they're kind people and that they're honest people, and they're curious people, that's a little piece of heaven.

FALSANI:
Do you believe in sin?

OBAMA:
Yes.

FALSANI:
What is sin?

OBAMA:
Being out of alignment with my values.

FALSANI:
What happens if you have sin in your life?

OBAMA:
I think it's the same thing as the question about heaven. In the same way that if I'm true to myself and my faith that that is its own reward, when I'm not true to it, it's its own punishment.

FALSANI:
Where do you find spiritual inspiration? Music, nature, literature, people, a conduit you plug into?

OBAMA:
There are so many.
...

I can be transported by watching a good performance of Hamlet, or reading Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, or listening to Miles Davis.

FALSANI:
Is there something that you go back to as a touchstone, a book, a particular piece of music, a place ...

OBAMA:
As I said before, in my own sort of mental library, the Civil Rights movement has a powerful hold on me. It's a point in time where I think heaven and earth meet. Because it's a moment in which a collective faith transforms everything. So when I read Gandhi or I read King or I read certain passages of Abraham Lincoln and I think about those times where people's values are tested, I think those inspire me.

FALSANI:
What are you doing when you feel the most centered, the most aligned spiritually?

OBAMA:
I think I already described it. It's when I'm being true to myself. And that can happen in me making a speech or it can happen in me playing with my kids, or it can happen in a small interaction with a security guard in a building when I'm recognizing them and exchanging a good word.
[...]

FALSANI:
... An example of a role model, who combined everything you said you want to do in your life, and your faith?

OBAMA:
I think Gandhi is a great example of a profoundly spiritual man who acted and risked everything on behalf of those values but never slipped into intolerance or dogma. He seemed to always maintain an air of doubt about him.

I think Dr. King, and Lincoln. Those three are good examples for me of people who applied their faith to a larger canvas without allowing that faith to metasticize into something that is hurtful.
[...]

Thanks for sharing this interesting interview. The unityfm video series found on deepakchopra.com is an excellent narrative on this book.

Oh and don't forget King David enlightenment, as he is my second favorite other than Jesus in the Bible, since he struggles with divinity as I (many?) do. I suppose I relate most with King David, while hoping to be more like Jesus. :-)

(((Deepak)))

Love, Char

Tonight, there will be a full moon (100%), so I'll be out gazing up into the night sky.

BTW: I just read Pres. Obama's interview and enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing.

Beautiful....

Whatch out Deppak.. You might inherite the cross..

But I think you have already inherited his courage..so the cross will be yours to bear

Love

Simon xx

Beautiful....

Whatch out Deppak.. You might inherite the cross..

But I think you have already inherited his courage..so the cross will be yours to bear

Love

Simon xx

Storytelling takes a quantum leap because we, the people, hunger and thirst for nourishment. There are so many storytellers, teachers, healers doing inner work. That ground is the only story to tell.

This blog is provides food and drink. From this nourishment we nourish others. Such is the circuitry of a whole system with parts engaged and...happily humming the story.

Trish~~

Excellent video.

I believe the outstanding work that George W. Bush did in Africa will be greatly amplified by Barack Obama, this time, less out of paternal benefit and more out of identification.

And the new story will unfold of Imam's who drop their violent oaths and take up new oaths that honor God wholly. It will be hip to be peaceful.

Israeli's who now don't feel threatened and will compromise and share possibilities.

Those who espouse violence will be--to quote somebody completely out of context--"rendered quaint" and pushed to the margins.

A new upswelling of REAL wealth generated by small businesses all over the world, Palestine, Egypt, throughout Africa, Iraq, Iran, The United States, -isms blunted, schisms bridged, and those who have blustered and have blown spinning clouds of fear and fabrication will then fade like trifling old men: slow and inconsequential.

To Borrow a phrase from baby D....Whoahahahahaaha!!

That interviewer dude, hitched up his pink lacie panties...and actually asked the question..."Is Barack Obama the Messiah!!" I like to fell off my chair laughing.....Deepak's expression and his answer were priceless......he wanted to say it, he needed to say it....he just couldn't quite bring himself to...

Oh Baby....this is so cool....

He walks on water....

:)

Hope he doesn't walk on your water, Skinny. We might lose sight of him in the steam ;)

Do we think Earth and her surrounds will settle down to a new peace of Mankind? (Devil's Advocate here)
She may quake and bluster the more......not to mention what Universe may hurl her way.
Will Science be our Saviour.......oh my God!

Just my note of skepticism ;)

Deepak Chopra on Fox News tracing the untold story of Jesus...

Hannity to Chopra: I'll Punch You

http://www.thedailybeast.com/video/item/hannity-to-chopra-what-if-i-punch-you

Why is Deepak Chopra on "Hannity & Colmes," and why is he calmly discussing what he'd do if Hannity punched him AND a crackhead tried to rape his daughter? See the video above if you seek answers; visit Fox News [click my display name for the link] for the full segment.

#14 Yo Preity, whilst I do agree with Deepak's answers on this, I would remind him that it is written that we should not tempt the Lord our God. He could be Psychotic ;)

Hi Trish # 9,

Well what you write is what it is all about :):

"We hunger and thirst for nourishment".

Here is a message from the Lightworkers, represented by Steve Rother and his wife Barbara:

"treat each other with respect, nurture one another and play well together".

Each month they have such a wonderful message, given in their Beacons of Light. The moment I discovered their website I felt at home at once:

http://www.lightworker.com

Lightworkers are people who are aware of the comming changes.

About lightwork: 'not a light work' :)

Love and light from the heart labyrinth,

Mieke

What I have noticed is that the homeless folks that I have personally met appear to be poor in spirit, which is what I believe the Bible is really referring to when Jesus says feed the poor, as he talked about this food from heaven being the food from God, which is rich, thereby, causing those who eat of it to be rich as well. So the poor are indead materially poor as well as spiritually poor and need to be feed both types of food, but the heavenly food is the nurishment that will change their life and make it rich. "Eat the Heart of God," is what I use to hear from Spirit, so I think this is what it means. Therefore, I think that I no longer need to experience the life of the homeless to understand them, as I am ready to move back into richness. :-)

Love, Char

Hey Skins,

I know the interview dude Alan Steinfeld, he is a trip, energetic fellow.

Well the next book which should come out any day now the story of Mohammed and His Enlightenment and my man Moses and His Enlightenment, should make Jews and Moslem feel all warm and fuzzy.

Boy the Messiah business is sure getting crowded these days, need a program to tell who is who.

Cheers,

Steve

Trish mentioned story telling.

Check out the http://StoryLine.me

Based on a true story.

Click my name.

The master plan is buried in the some Socratic dialog. A list found here
http://socratic.me

Be in the know, get a clue.

Click my name.

http://clues.me

As for the messiah, the true messiah would tend to remain anonymous, but you could find one's works everywhere.

I am sure the one would have plenty of spokespeople and authors to convey until that time of the greatest of all revelation.

Books published by Deepak Chopra:

Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment

Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment

"Well the next book which should come out any day now the story of Mohammed and His Enlightenment and my man Moses and His Enlightenment, should make Jews and Moslem feel all warm and fuzzy." #18

In work:

Mohammad: A Story of Enlightenment

Moses: A Story of Enlightenment

Unfair to Hindus!

How about

/snark

"Chopra: Quantum of Consciousness" by Daniele Craig

"Deepak: A Life Story in Delusion" by Richard Dawkins

"Deepak, Dalai and Dobson: An Eternal Golden Braid" by Douglas Hofstadter