Golf for Enlightenment: Seven Lessons for the Game of Life (Random House Large Print) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Deepak Chopra (Author)

Book Description

Series: Random House Large Print | Publication Date: March 4, 2003

Deepak Chopra has discovered the delights—and frustrations—of golf, and he is passionate about the game. Confronted by the wild ups and downs of his own play, he consulted with golf professionals and developed a new approach to the game that any golfer can follow—from the novice to the expert. The results can be measured not only in increased enjoyment and skill, but also in greater wisdom about life beyond the 18th hole.

Chopra’s own game has improved dramatically since incorporating the elements of his program. Instead of focusing on the mechanics of a “perfect” swing, Chopra reveals how golf can be mastered through mindfulness, a form of awareness that combines sharp focus and relaxation at the same time. Expanded awareness, he tells us, can accomplish much more than external mechanics to improve one’s game.

But Golf for Enlightenment is also an engrossing story about Adam, an Everyman who is playing a terrible round of golf when he meets a mysterious young teaching pro named Leela. In seven short but profound lessons detailing spiritual strategies, she teaches Adam the essence of a game that has much to explain about life itself.
Chopra has spent the last year taking the unique message in Golf for Enlightenment nationwide, teaching the essential tenets of his program at lectures and seminars to golfers everywhere. His message continues to help players turn an obsession into a positive life path.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Chopra turns his mind-body eye on golf, a recently acquired personal hobby. Unfortunately, he juxtaposes his metaphysical approach to enjoyment and mastery of the game with a less-than-masterful fiction about Adam Seaver, a 36-year-old Bostonian who often lets his emotions and ego interfere with his golf swing. Adam encounters a mysterious male stranger during a particularly horrendous round of golf. When Adam follows the stranger's instructions and shows up at an isolated shack for some much-needed lessons, a young, attractive woman named Wendy appears and proceeds to teach Adam about his inner game. Each lesson is separated into three parts: The Lesson (the fiction), Playing the Game (what the lesson taught Adam about golf) and Applied to Life (the relationship of golf to a happier, more spiritual life). Adam eventually falls in love with Wendy and achieves the perfect swing, only to have both suddenly disappear. Chopra posits that life and golf are similar games and each can be mastered-offering maxims such as, "You and the ball are one," "Play from your heart to the hole," and "Let the game play you"-but the appeal to the average golfer may be limited.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Look who has taken up the Scottish game: the global proselytizer of health and spirituality, New Age style. Given golf's susceptibility to soakings of mysticism, it's remarkable that Chopra has gone 30 books into his consciousness-raising career before recognizing what a lucrative mark the sport might be for his shtick. What will the myriad purchasers of this book take away from Chopra's ruminations? Not much technical advice: the author seems shrewd enough to know that few hackers would be gulled by tips from a relative novice. Rather, Chopra affords the unhappy player a chance to drain the mind of anger and ready it for transformation into a soothing spiritual comity with the universe. Said player is asked to identify with Adam, who, on a day particularly productive of shanks and slices, is accosted by an apparition who adjures the despairing soul to consult golf pro Wendy, likewise an ethereal being. In a seven-part "fable," Wendy heightens Adams' awareness of "now," relieves him of his control compulsions, and restores his golfing life to balance and harmony. The authorial brand and publicity ensure that Chopra's confection will be highly, if transiently, popular. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Random House Large Print (March 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375431934
• ISBN-13: 978-0375431937
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,870,814 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Deepak Chopra, M.D.
Founder of The Chopra Foundation
Senior Scientist, The Gallup Organization
www.deepakchopra.com
www.facebook.com/DeepakChopraCommunity
www.twitter.com/deepakchopra

As a global leader and pioneer in the field of mind-body medicine, Chopra transforms the way the world views physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social wellness. Known as a prolific author of over sixty books with eighteen New York Times best sellers in both the fiction and non fiction categories.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get out of your own way... enjoy golf!, March 23, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Golf for Enlightenment: The Seven Lessons for the Game of Life (Hardcover)

I love all golf books: biographies, histories, instruction, especially sports psychology/ peak performance... Guy Rotella, Richard Coop, Zen Golf, and even hardcore Csikeszentmihalyi... I love them all. This book I love the most since it has helped me with my game the most. I still revere the others for the great golf stories and thoughts, but this is tops.

Deepak has brought "mindfullness" to the masses in a long string of books... he has fine tuned his craft and skills. Deepak has utilized those skills to help make this book effective and palatable to the golf masses... key being "effective". His history and experience helping people has led through example, story, and recommended practices, to real, action-able solutions for the golf game.

Sounds corny but my life and game has improved... my enjoyment of golf has massively improved! (I am one who's scores bounced just above 80 but not breaking through... pushing, pushing for that (ego) kept me from both letting it fly and enjoyhing the game)

A key concept that has lightened it all (golf, family, work) up for me is "leela"... life, though serious, is a game... not mortal combat, not suicide. Wheh. Also, a Bobby Jones quotes, 'a lot of people mistake worry for concentration', and 'golf is most enjoyed when played well'. I'd rather have wildly high emotions than 17 holes of wildly low emotions.

NOTE: "Mindfullness" does not mean you have to play boring, iron off the tee Grandpa Golf to avoid the big number... it means being 'mindful' of what you are trying to do... going for the lowest possible score with lowest variability, or going for the lowest possible score and the thrill of the miracle shot... it leads you to accept your goal and let go (eg. if you go for the 250 yd 3wd over water to get on in two, and it goes in the water, you don't try to break your club) I feared that "good" golf would be "boring" golf.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Deep and thought provoking, July 12, 2003

By 

Chris (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Golf for Enlightenment: The Seven Lessons for the Game of Life (Hardcover)

I found this book is quite deep and quickly gets into the realm of conceptual and spiritual ideas. Just as the well-known book "The Inner Game of Golf" deals with the mental side of the game, this book addresses the spiritual side. Having read this, I'm not totally convinced that I understand all the points that are being made, and some are easier to take on board than others. My interpretation of the overall message of this book is that it is all about coming to understand your own place in things and learning to transcend the tensions that exist within life. This is mirrored in golf and the way we approach the game. It should be pointed out that the book isn't really about lowering your golf handicap as such. Like any text concerning spiritual matters, faith and a willingness to suspend cynicism play a big part in determining how much you get out of this. Overall this book is enjoyable and intriguing at the same time, but some of the concepts might be better explained.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thank God Deepak Chopra Discovered Golf!!!!, August 2, 2003

By 

M. Bell (Tampa, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Golf for Enlightenment: The Seven Lessons for the Game of Life (Hardcover)

I've been a golfer now for 12 years and a serious reader for even longer. Having devoured books like 'The Legend of Bagger Vance', 'Golf in the Kingdom' and others, the golf/mysticism genre is one that seems to grow stronger and better all the time. Dr. Chopra's book 'Golf for Enlightenment' is another one in this long line of greats. Taking the now popular stance that golf is truly a metaphor for life, he gives us a mystical novel with after chapter commentary on how that segment applied to the game and to life. Think of it as a seven-step program to freedom and enlightenment through the game of golf. I can say with complete honesty that golf has positively changed my life in so many ways. This is why it's so refreshing to read an entertaining story of how it has shaped other people's lives as well. The book is also a very quick read which will leave you imagining the possibilities of your next round. If you love golf and can't get enough of it's endless mysteries and riddles, then this book is definitely for you!