December 2, 1996
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.