Issue 4 PDR

PDREIMAGINED ISSUE4

It is the month of love, and we are thrilled to be able to shower you with extra love and appreciation! This is only possible with connection and relationships - not just with other people but also with yourself! How often do we take the time to truly connect with ourselves and find out how we are doing? How can we love and appreciate ourselves when we don’t even know who exactly we are, or what we are really striving for. And isn't that concept fluid and ever moving? How do the labels we have taken on help or restrict who we might become?

Our next guest is Poonacha Machaiah (the CEO of the Deepak Chopra Foundation). He explains how comparison and conformity always lead to conflict. But young children do not naturally compare or conform - they simply are and they revel in the novelty of the present. So when and how do these traits develop? And could there be a way that we can release ourselves of the illusory "self", and get to know our authentic selves a little better?

Absolutely! Deepak Chopra (who the New York Times described as "one of the most lucid and inspired philosophers of our time") recommends asking yourself the following four questions:

Who am I?

What do I want?

What is my purpose?

What am I grateful for?

I recently undertook this exercise, and learned a lot. For the first question I realized that my answers would shift depending on the environment, but Deepak explains that this is not the true self - there are three versions of self: (1) the outward self that we like to portray, (2) the inward self that we try to hide because they attach to our fears and shame, and (3) the subconscious or shadow self, that may appear like an unknown driver of self. He goes on "The three selves we identify with right this moment are only perceptions, constructs or models we hold in our heads. Abandon the constructs, and what is left is the “real” reality, the field of pure consciousness." So much to unpack!

From the PDR team with ❤

loveyourself thisvalentine'sday andbeyond!

As I was researching Valentine's Day, I had no idea that the holiday, celebrating Saint Valentine (often heralded as the saint of love), has very little to do with history, and actually more to do with belief.

There are many blogs and historical accounts of how Valentine's Day came to be. Whether you believe it was any of the three different Valentine martyrs that died on Feb 14 (none of whom were particularly romantic according to historical accounts), or the cover up of the rowdy Lupercalia pagan festival, or the link that Geoffrey Chaucer (the famed author of Canterbury Tales) made to love birds and their mating season in mid February, the true origins of this Hallmark holiday remains entirely elusive. So what better reason than to reflect on what it should mean to you!

I have yet to meet anyone that does not like love in their life. For me, I like to be reminded to celebrate love in all its forms - the love of my pets, my friends and family, the beauty of nature, the extraordinary wonder of existence, and yesmy favorite bottle of wine.

To love yourself you must know your real self, not your relative, conditioned self. Instead of trying to manufacture a sense of emotional self-love through affirmations, it will be more useful to let the direct experience of your inner consciousness reveal itself naturally.

- Deepak Chopra

Deepak Chopra, M.D., a world-renowned speaker and author on the subject of meditation and alternative medicine, recently shared with GMA, these 5 self-care strategies that he makes sure he gets every day for his self-care:

Sleep! It sounds simple but is elusive for so many of us - but Deepak shares how sleep is "the best way to consolidate memories and cultivate a reflective, alert mind"

Deep meditation, self-inquiry or any kind of mindful exercise, all of which "counter stress and over-ride the exaggerated fight/flight response". Movement, exercise & yoga for mind body cognition. Deepak explains that improves more than just physical strength and fitness, it is "also the best ways to integrate mind and body".

Focus on healthy emotions, like love and joy, compassion, empathy and gratitudewhich Deepak claims actually decrease the inflammation in the body!

Eat healthy, organic, plant-based diet with maximum diversity!

Reflect on how your mind and body reacted to these strategies. Which ones did you discount as not fitting, and which do you think you could try to commit to? Remember there is no one-size-fits-all formula, so find what works for you - just aim for small achievable changes!

RIDDLE

What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?

Activity

Sometimes we have to search through a jumble of thoughts and ideas for the best answers in life, so what better way to practice than to complete a word search! Find your zen by searching for the words listed below!

Q: What did one light bulb say to the other?

A: I love you a whole Watt!

Do you have a date for Valentine's day?

Yes, February14