64 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Help Yourself Overcome Emotional Trauma!, December 11, 2001
The Deeper Wound is the first book I have seen specifically aimed at dealing with the psychological and spiritual issues raised by the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. The book is also designed to be of help to people struggling with any emotional wound. I was pleased to see that a portion of the publisher and author receipts will go to the Red Cross and other humanitarian charities.
Dr. Chopra left for Detroit from New York City on a flight that departed 45 minutes before the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center. His flight was diverted, and he worried as he realized that both his wife and his son were in the air on separate flights to Los Angeles and San Diego at the same time. "My body went absolutely rigid with fear." Even after he found out that they were all right "my body still felt as if it had been hit by a truck." Later, he thought, "Why didn't my body go stiff when innocent people died through violence in other countries?" As he traveled over the next few days, people everywhere reached out to him for guidance and support. That is what inspired this book. The book also contains an introduction by Dr. Chopra's son, Gotham. He comments on having interviewed a mullah in Pakistan just a month before the attacks who described some Muslims as feeling betrayed by the United States for stopping its support of Afghanistan after the Soviet troops were ousted. The mullah described himself as a friend of Osama bin Laden. "He's an old friend. And a good man."
Dr. Chopra uses these perspectives to point out that we have to move beyond hate and revenge. Intense hate in the name of religion has fired these attacks. Unless we help remove the sources of the hate, the deeper wound that caused the attacks will continue and cause new problems. I thought that this was an unusually wise and helpful comment.
He goes on to honor three people who died in the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center. Two of the people, Ruth Clifford McCourt and Paige Farley Haskel, were best friends on their way to the Chopra Center in California to learn to be healers. Ms. McCourt was accompanied by her four-year-old daughter, Juliane, who was to visit Disneyland. In honoring them, he encourages us to take up the torch to becoming the healers whom we all need so much now.
If you know Dr. Chopra's work, it comes primarily from the perspective of Transcendental Meditation and the ancient writings upon which that practice is based. There is also an overlay of reincarnation, and an expression of reality in quantum physics terms. Although I am familiar with all of these areas, I had never seen them applied to the issues of how to handle mass death of innocents, grieving, and recovery. So my personal understanding was widely expanded. Naturally, if your religious beliefs give you direct support in these dimensions, you should expect that your religious teachings will not exactly match what Dr. Chopra describes.
He takes on the tough issues. How should we think about the people who leapt from the inferno on the towers? What is the meaning of all of these deaths? What does the act say about good and evil in the world? And most importantly, what can we do to help others and ourselves deal with this terrible tragedy and other more personal tragedies? I admired his honesty and candor in addressing the most troubling issues so directly. Where possible and appropriate, he shares his own experiences with tragedy, death, and grieving.
Half of the book is a series of essays on subjects related to the tragedy. The other half is devoted to 100 days of spiritual guidance expressed as affirmations, insights, lessons, and exercises. Each thought is supplemented with a page worth of material to explain how to use the idea. Some will cause you to meditate. Others will shift your focus. Others will expand your awareness. For example, one thought is "As I give loving awareness, so I receive it also." Another is, "I will break through the illusion of numbness." The final one is, "The only reality is love."
The basic focus of the book is to move you away from focusing on your ego, to the concerns of your soul expanded to their widest perspective. This is because "evil is an extreme form of egotism." At the same time, your focus should move from darkness to light. At the most open of 7 circles of existence, you will know "joy with detachment."
He also describes the emotional states that people go through after a traumatic event: fear; shock; numbness; helplessness; vulnerability; panic; anger; anxiety; and depression. The book has excellent thoughts for how to reshape your focus to help move your emotions beyond those specific stages . . . so you don't become stalled in any of them.
I am sure that if Dr. Chopra had had 3 years to do this book instead of less than 3 months, it would have been an even better book. On the other hand, it is a terrific book as it is. And I, for one, am very grateful that it is available so soon . . . when so many people need it!
Love and live in peace and joy!
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
SPIRITUAL HEALING AND RECOVERY, January 3, 2002
Deepak Chopra is no stranger to those of us who seek meaning and purpose to life. Many of his books are based on the concepts and beliefs which form the basis of Buddhist Philosophies, but that is not to say one needs to be a Buddhist follower to appreciate the messages and teachings delivered through his books.
There is no question the world at large mourned the loss of lives in the tragedy of September 11th. Terrorism can happen just as easily in my country, or any country, but I believe Canadians were extraordinarily saddened because of the closeness we feel towards our American neighbours. Chopra has once again, written a book that is sure to reach the hearts and souls of readers.
With the September 11th tragedy as a theme for "A Deeper Wound", Chopra provides us with exercises, insights and daily affirmations to ease the burden of loss. He shows us how the true self contains light that no darkness can attack. He also explains the overwhelming emotions we go through after trauma. As one who has counselled trauma victims, it is evident there are a host of emotions one goes through, but some of the most common ones include denial, anger, fear, panic, anxiety, depression, withdrawal, and gradual acceptance. Through it all, there is one insurmountable question that remains unanswered, why? What meaning does this horrific event have it life's overall plan? Chopra helps us come to terms and understand the emotional turmoil that exists inside us following loss so that we are able to overcome these negative emotions and restore the power of life. In every aspect of our lives there must be balance. Chopra has once again written a book that touches the reader to the very core. It is highly recommended and most deserving of a five star rating. "A Deeper Wound" leaves us with much to ponder as time goes by.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Scars of deep wounds with recent riots in Gujarat......, April 7, 2002
The scars of deep wounds are not yet healed when terror knock down the WTC Towers six months ago and here again, the endless natural and man made catastrophe leaves its trails of unforgetful memories of deeper wounds - trauma and hurt with recent Communal Riots in India and Earthquake in Afghanistan. Deepak Chopra in Deeper Wounds describes the emotional states that people go through after a traumatic event so as not to get a person mired with stages of fear, anger, anxiety, shock, helplessness and depression. Deepak uses the perspective to spill off hate from the heart to scratch off the emotional wounds. The author explains that healing yourself comes in two stages-first releasing the energy of suffering, then replacing it with the soul's energy. In the face of tragedy, the first section of the book defines suffering as painful and way of life to a `Hundred days of Healing', daily assertion, exercises, lesson plans and insight to sparkle up the spiritual flame to heal the wounds inside. Deepak's book is in response to the affected people in the tragedy of the twin towers, a portion of the proceeds earned by the author and publisher would be donated to Red Cross and charities on humanitarian grounds. A deeper wound is an exceptional book that raises psychological and spiritual issues raised by the attacks at WTC. Chopra deals with spiritually acceptance of `Where was God when you need him most?' by helping to understand and cope up with trauma situations and overcome negative emotional hurt to restore strength and faith back to gear. He believes and pens down that evil is a form of egoism and describes the power of compassion and awareness. I wish Deepak would once again inspire, encourage and heal the pain of victims of Communal riots in Gujarat and help them tackle to overcome emotional outbursts of hate, waning tolerance, ego, anxiety, fear and violence. A human relationship is on threshold of shattering faith and during these times, Religious differences blur the image of God's world of peace.
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