{"id":9669,"date":"2017-11-10T05:45:52","date_gmt":"2017-11-10T10:45:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newvinegrowing.wordpress.com\/?p=9669"},"modified":"2022-06-10T14:50:50","modified_gmt":"2022-06-10T18:50:50","slug":"the-seven-spiritual-laws-of-success-6-the-law-of-detachment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/the-seven-spiritual-laws-of-success-6-the-law-of-detachment\/","title":{"rendered":"The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: #6, The law of detachment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deepak Chopra<\/a>\u2018s book, \u201cThe Seven Spiritual Laws of Success<\/a>,\u201d has been such a touchstone for me that I\u2019m writing about each of the seven laws.<\/em><\/p>\n

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To learn more about the Seven Spiritual Laws or order a copy, click here<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I spent most of my adult life as a type-A linear thinker \u2013 I firmly believed I needed a plan for my career and life, and that success would come from working hard to achieve the steps on that plan.
\nThen I saw people, most notably my husband, getting where they wanted to be through serendipity and good luck.
\nIt was hard to release my white-knuckled grip on my plan, in part because I so feared poverty and failure<\/a>, but I began to see that sometimes it takes releasing your original plan to open up to something even better<\/a>.
\nDeepak Chopra talks about the value of flexibility in the sixth spiritual law, detachment. In my 20s and 30s, I would have heard detachment as being in conflict with goals, but Chopra says, no.
\n\u201cThis doesn\u2019t mean you give up your intention to create your desire, you don\u2019t give up the intention and you don\u2019t give up the desire, you give up your attachment to the result.\u201d
\nLet\u2019s say you\u2019re planning a road trip. You map your direction and head out, only to run into a huge traffic jam. (This analogy plays better for people who remember traveling before apps that warn you of heavy traffic, but stay with me \u2026) You see the tail lights and detour onto side roads, which could lead you to some unexpected stop, or maybe even cause you to you re-evaluate your destination, instead of fuming as you sit idling on the highway.<\/strong>
\nChopra applies this idea to your life\u2019s goals and intentions, saying, \u201cYou want to go in that direction, you have this goal, but between point A and point B, there is an infinity of possibilities. With uncertainty factored in, you might change direction in any moment if you find a higher ideal or if you find something more exciting.\u201d
\nWhy do we \u2013 and I confess I have often been guilty \u2013 get so attached to our original plans that we can\u2019t see Plan B promises something just as good or better?<\/strong>
\nFor me, it\u2019s wanting security. I know, or at least thought I knew, what’s in store on my planned path, while altering course feels risky. What if I fail or get hurt on that alternative route?<\/strong>
\nApparently, I\u2019m not alone in wanting to feel safe from the dangers of the unknown<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s a study guide to the Seven Spiritual Laws, from a now-defunct blog called My Morning Coffee.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cPeople are constantly seeking security. Even attachment to money is a sign of insecurity. And you will find that this seeking of security is actually a very ephemeral thing. You might say, when I have X million dollars, then I\u2019ll be secure. Then I\u2019ll be financially independent and I will retire. Then I will do all the things I really want to do. But it never happens. Never happens!\u201d Chopra says.
\n\u201cThose who seek security chase it for a lifetime without ever finding it,\u201d he adds. \u201cIt remains elusive and ephemeral because security can never come from money alone. Attachment to money will always create insecurity no matter how much money you have in the bank. In fact, some of the people who have the most money are the most insecure.<\/strong>\u201d
\nI\u2019ve learned in recent years that the known and the planned feel<\/em>\u00a0safe but that\u2019s not necessarily true. My mom had landed a good corporate job when she developed cancer and died at 51. Plenty of people have built the trappings of middle class happiness only to get laid off, have their spouse leave, get gravely ill.
\nLife plants little surprises along our paths, no matter how carefully we choose our steps. So instead of trying to avoid the landmines of the unknown, Chopra counsels that we accept life’s uncertainties.<\/strong>
\n\u201cSecurity and certainty are a result of rigid attachment to the known, however the known is nothing other than the prison of past conditioning,\u201d he says. \u201cUncertainty on the other hand is the fertile ground of pure creativity and freedom.”
\n\u201cWithout uncertainty and the unknown, life is just a stale repetition of outworn memories. You become the victim of the past and your tormentor today is yourself left over from yesterday<\/strong>,\u201d he adds.
\nDo you really want to Groundhog Day<\/a> your way through your life?
\n\u201cThe known is our past. It\u2019s just the prison of past conditioning. There\u2019s no evolution in that.\u201d
\nAt what stage in your life do you think you’ve done enough already and you only need to repeat what already feels comfortable? Only go to restaurants you’ve tried before, only socialize with existing friends, only engage in hobbies you know?\u00a0<\/strong>
\nWhy not try something new once in a while?
\n\u201cYou\u2019re also less likely to force solutions on problems, which enables you to stay alert to possibilities,\u201d Chopra says.\u00a0\u201cGood luck is nothing but preparedness and opportunity coming together.<\/strong>\u201d
\nHow to put the law of detachment into practice:<\/a><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Allow yourself and those around you the freedom to be as they are.<\/strong>\u00a0Don’t impose your idea of how things should be. Don’t force solutions on problems, thereby creating new problems.<\/li>\n
  2. Accept uncertainty as an essential ingredient of your experience.<\/strong> In the uncertainty, solutions will spontaneously emerge out of problems, out of confusion, disorder and chaos.<\/li>\n
  3. Enjoy the excitement that comes from remaining open to an infinity of choices.<\/strong>\u00a0By being open to possibilities, instead of locking down on a single plan, you will experience all the fun, adventure and mystery of life.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Past posts in this series:<\/strong><\/p>\n