Golf for Enlightenment: The Seven Lessons for the Game of Life
Product 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.
Golf for Enlightenment: The Seven Lessons for the Game of Life
Anonymous said,
Wrote on April 17, 2010 @ 2:27 pm
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.
Rating: 5 / 5
Chris said,
Wrote on April 17, 2010 @ 3:41 pm
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.
Rating: 4 / 5
M. Bell said,
Wrote on April 17, 2010 @ 4:37 pm
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!
Rating: 4 / 5
Blaine Greenfield said,
Wrote on April 17, 2010 @ 6:20 pm
Heard the CD version of GOLF FOR ENLIGHTENMENT: THE SEVEN LESSONS FOR THE GAME OF LIFE, written and read by Deepak Chopra . . . don’t be put off by the title; even if you’re not a golfer, you can get value from this material . . . the first part of each chapter, “The Lesson,” contains a story about a golfer named Adam and his search for ways to improve his game . . . that material was only fair . . . what I did enjoy much more was the second part, “Playing the Game” or what the lesson taught Adam about life . . . and the third part, “Applied to Life,” made the book really come alive, as it dealt with the relationship of golf to a happier, more spiritual life.
I have not played golf since I was a kid . . . however, if I ever
pick up the game again, I’d make it a point to reread this book . . . it showed me how the sport could be not only played, but enjoyed as well.
As Chopra notes toward the end, in talking about the hidden keys
to both golf and life:
When you laugh at a bad shot, you’ve transcended sorrow.
When you can take genuine pleasure in someone else’s victory,
you’ve transcended jealousy.
When you can feel satisfaction with a round of 97, instead of 80, you’ve transcended self-importance.
The point is that only when you set your sights to go beyond
outcome can you allow in the possibility of defeating the voice
of self-criticism and ending the frustration that holds in check
deeper, darker fears.
Rating: 5 / 5
Fernando said,
Wrote on April 17, 2010 @ 6:28 pm
I’ve been playing golf for many years and have tried all instructional books and tapes with very poor and inconsistent results. For sure I discarded the possibility of learning golf thru instructions on the mechanics of the golf swing, after so many years I’m convinced that my brain can’t process the many nuances of the golf swing to produce a consistent one.
I’ve had more success when using mind and feeling techniques in the way that Jim Flick or W. Timothy Gallwey teaches in his book the Inner Game of Golf. Although it has improved my game and lower my handicap apparently my right side of the brain is underdeveloped and is still very hard for me to have consistent success.
In Dr.Chopra’s approach to golf instruction he raises the level from the mechanical and the emotional all the way to the spiritual level. Maybe it has been that I’ve been searching for a different approach to the game and at the same time I love all this spiritual literature but the reality is that by using this book as an instructional guide and appplyng his techniques with an irrational faith has make me play the most sublime golf I have ever played in my life. Not necessarily by lowering my score wich I have done lately but by hitting the golf ball with a joy and a pleasure that I didn’t have before.
A friend lend me this book the night before a tournament and I finished reading it in my car in the way to the tournament ( is a short book and I was in heavy traffic). In the first tee I imagined a line from the ball to my heart and did as he recommends and for some reason I hit the longest and most beautiful drive I’ve ever hit, I still go to sleep with the memory of that shot in my mind. Needless to say I played a wonderful round and won the tournament.
I’m still inconsistent but when I can really connect and truly play from my heart the results are beautiful. In my case this book has really impacted my golf game and my life is also fine, thank you.
Rating: 5 / 5