The Seven Spiritual Laws

With an effortless power and simplicity, The Seven Spiritual
Laws of Success is a supreme example of contemporary selfhelp
writing. You could throw away all other self-help
books and live by this one alone.
The emphasis on success and prosperity may not seem "spiritual"
enough for some, but this is the very point of the book. Unless you are
a self-sufficient hermit, you are an economic actor who must be able to
reconcile wealth generation with the spirit. In being both a devotional
tract and a prosperity manual, The Seven Spiritual Laws acknowledges
this and is therefore an emblematic work of our times.
Identifying immutable laws of success is the great challenge of the
self-help literature. Karma (cause and effect) and dharma (purpose in
life) have been with us for eons, and they form two of Chopra's seven
laws. Here we look briefly at his other five.
The law of pure potentiality
The field of pure potentiality is the silent realm from which all things
flow, from which "the unmanifest is made manifest." In this state of
pure consciousness, we have pure knowledge, perfect balance, invincibility,
and bliss. When accessing the field, we experience our higher,
pure selves, and are able to see the futility and waste of living through
the ego. While the ego is based in fear, the higher self exists in loving
security:
"It is immune to criticism, it is unfearful of any challenge, and it feels
beneath no one. And yet, it is also humble and feels superior to no one,
because it recognizes that everyone else is the same Self, the same
spirit in different guises."
When the veil of the ego drops, knowledge is revealed and great
insights are normal. Chopra refers to Carlos Castaneda's remark that if
we could stop trying to uphold our own importance, we would start to
see the grandeur of the universe. We can access the field of pure potentiality
primarily through meditation and silence, but also through the
practice of non-judgment and appreciation of nature. Once you know the
field, you can always retreat to it and be independent of situations, feelings,
people, and things. All affluence and creativity flow out of the field.
The law of giving
Have you ever noticed that the more you give, the more you receive?
Why does this seem infallible? Chopra says it happens because our
minds and bodies are in a constant state of giving and receiving with
the universe. To create, to love, to grow keeps the flow going; not to
give stops the flow and, like blood, it clots. The more we give, the more
we are involved in the circulation of the universe's energy, and the more
of it we will receive back, in the form of love, material things, serendipitous
experiences. Money does makes the world go around, but only if
it is given as much as it is received.
If you give, give joyfully. If you want to be blessed, silently bless
people by sending them a bundle of positive thoughts. If you have no
money, provide a service. We are never limited in what we can give
because the true nature of humankind is affluence and abundance.
Nature provides everything we need, and the field of pure potentiality
provides the intelligence and creativity to produce even more.
The law of least effort
Just as it is the nature of fish to swim and the sun to shine, it is human
nature to turn our dreams into reality, with ease. The Vedic principle of
economy of effort says "do less and accomplish more." Is such a concept
revolutionary—or crazy? Are hard work, planning, and striving a
waste of time?
Chopra suggests that when our actions are motivated by love, not
by the desires of the ego, we generate excess energy that can be used to
create anything we want. In contrast, seeking power over others or trying
to get their approval consumes a great deal of energy. We are trying
to prove something, whereas if we are acting from the higher self, we
simply make choices about how and where we will affect evolution and
bring abundance.
The first step is to practice acceptance. We cannot hope to channel
the universe's effortless power if we are fighting against it. Say to yourself,
even in very difficult situations, "This moment is as it should be."
Secondly, practice defenselessness. If we are continually defending our
point of view or blaming others, we can't really be open to the perfect
alternative that waits in the wings.
The law of intention and desire
This is the most complex law, and of course the most alluring. Chopra
notes that while a tree is locked into a single purpose (to put down
roots, grow, photosynthesize), the intelligence of the human nervous
system allows us actually to shape the mind and the laws of nature to
bring about the achievement of a freely imagined desire. This occurs
through the process of attention and intention.
While attention on something will energize it and make it expand,
intention triggers energy and information and "organizes its own fulfillment."
How does this happen? The author uses the analogy of a still
pond. If our mind is still, we can toss into it a pebble of intention,
creating ripples that move through space and time. If the mind is like a
turbulent sea, we could throw a skyscraper into it and there would be
no effect. Once the intention is introduced, in this receptive stillness we
can depend on the infinite organizing power of the universe to make it
manifest. We "let the universe handle the details."
The law of detachment
Though you may have an intention, you must give up your attachment
to its realization before it can manifest itself. We can have a onepointed
focus on something, but if we are attached to a specific outcome
it will produce fear and insecurity at the possibility of its not
happening. A person who is attuned to their higher self will have intentions
and desires, but their sense of self is not riding on the outcome;
there is a part of them that cannot be affected.
In Chopra's words:
"Only from detached involvement can one have joy and laughter. Then
the symbols of wealth are created spontaneously and effortlessly.
Without detachment we are prisoners of helplessness, hopelessness,mundane needs, trivial concerns, quiet desperation, and seriousness—
the distinctive features of everyday mediocre existence and poverty
consciousness."
Without detachment we feel we must force solutions on problems; with
detachment, we are free to witness the perfect solutions that spontaneously
emerge from chaos.
Don't let this outline suffice. For the detail and rich prose that
makes Chopra a delight to read, buy the book. It may take a while to
get on to his wavelength and understand his terms, but persevere—the
laws can have a real effect. On subsequent readings you may find yourself
discovering new meanings in the text, the familiar mark of a
classic.
Final comments
The genius, intended or not, of the last century's self-help writing is
that spiritual messages have been delivered through instructions of a
more material kind. We buy a book about prosperity and find it telling
us about the universe's benign and perfect intelligence; we find another
that promises the laws of success and are surprised to see that the
answer involves maintaining good karma in our actions and detaching
ourselves from the fruits of success. Chopra is often accused of promoting
spiritual values as the means to becoming wealthier. That is true,
but it is nothing to be ashamed of: When the nature of the universe
itself is abundant, a life lived in poverty consciousness is a wasted life.
The motif of the book is the unity of everything in the universe.
Though it is overtly concerned with "success," perhaps the real theme
is power. By becoming more open to that unity and perfection we
assume more of its power, while the illusion of separateness pits us
against the world, making us weaker in the process. The best personal
development writing, exemplified by The Seven Spiritual Laws of
Success, is transforming the genre's idea of success from being "master
of the universe" to achieving oneness with it.