Golf for Enlightenment: The Seven Lessons for the Game of Life
- Book Review,
by Deepak Chopra
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.
From AudioFile
While golf as a head game is not a new idea, it's never been taught with the deep understanding of the mind-body connection that Chopra brings to this audio. The seven life principles, right out of Chopra's teaching and even more inviting in a golf context, are offered as an allegory that pits a struggling golfer against the things in himself that get in his way on the golf course. His young teaching pro, Leela, offers him guidance that, expressed with Chopra's usual elegance, transforms the overzealous scorekeeper into a person fully connected with the beauty of the game. A seminal resource for anyone who loves the game or is trying to love it and for anyone wanting to love life. T.W. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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
Review
“This is the finest book on golf that I have ever read. If you are interested in taking your game to the next level, this is a must-read.”—Dave Stockton, Jr., PGA professional
“Deepak Chopra has done as much as anyone in recent years to promote understanding of our spiritual potentials and the connections between mysticism and science. But now he has embraced a more difficult subject: the relations of spirit and golf. This is not an easy undertaking, but he is equipped for the job. If you are interested in both spiritual practice and the ancient game, Golf for Enlightenment will help you join them.”—Michael Murphy, author of Golf in the Kingdom and founder of the Esalen Institute
“This book walks hand in hand with the Bible in how to live. This is a great connection between everyday life and your athletic one.”—Sterling Sharpe, ESPN analyst and golfer
“Golf for Enlightenment is an eloquent reminder that there is a Garden of Eden just waiting to be discovered in all of us.”—Marcus Allen, CBS football analyst and golfer
“Too many players make the game of golf a results-based game instead of an experience. The perspective in this book will help players get past that and the result will be a higher level of enjoyment for this game.”—Tom Addis III, former president of the PGA of America
Review
?This is the finest book on golf that I have ever read. If you are interested in taking your game to the next level, this is a must-read.??Dave Stockton, Jr., PGA professional
?Deepak Chopra has done as much as anyone in recent years to promote understanding of our spiritual potentials and the connections between mysticism and science. But now he has embraced a more difficult subject: the relations of spirit and golf. This is not an easy undertaking, but he is equipped for the job. If you are interested in both spiritual practice and the ancient game, Golf for Enlightenment will help you join them.??Michael Murphy, author of Golf in the Kingdom and founder of the Esalen Institute
?This book walks hand in hand with the Bible in how to live. This is a great connection between everyday life and your athletic one.??Sterling Sharpe, ESPN analyst and golfer
?Golf for Enlightenment is an eloquent reminder that there is a Garden of Eden just waiting to be discovered in all of us.??Marcus Allen, CBS football analyst and golfer
?Too many players make the game of golf a results-based game instead of an experience. The perspective in this book will help players get past that and the result will be a higher level of enjoyment for this game.??Tom Addis III, former president of the PGA of America
Book Description
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.
From the Inside Flap
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.
From the Back Cover
“This is the finest book on golf that I have ever read. If you are interested in taking your game to the next level, this is a must-read.”—Dave Stockton, Jr., PGA professional
“Deepak Chopra has done as much as anyone in recent years to promote understanding of our spiritual potentials and the connections between mysticism and science. But now he has embraced a more difficult subject: the relations of spirit and golf. This is not an easy undertaking, but he is equipped for the job. If you are interested in both spiritual practice and the ancient game, Golf for Enlightenment will help you join them.”—Michael Murphy, author of Golf in the Kingdom and founder of the Esalen Institute
“This book walks hand in hand with the Bible in how to live. This is a great connection between everyday life and your athletic one.”—Sterling Sharpe, ESPN analyst and golfer
“Golf for Enlightenment is an eloquent reminder that there is a Garden of Eden just waiting to be discovered in all of us.”—Marcus Allen, CBS football analyst and golfer
“Too many players make the game of golf a results-based game instead of an experience. The perspective in this book will help players get past that and the result will be a higher level of enjoyment for this game.”—Tom Addis III, former president of the PGA of America
About the Author
DEEPAK CHOPRA’s books have become international bestsellers and classics of their kind. Dr. Chopra is founder of the Chopra Center for Well Being in Carlsbad, California. Visit his website at www.chopra.com.
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