Deepak Chopra – Golf For Enlightenment – Book Review
Dr. Deepak Chopra ha…
Dr. Deepak Chopra has written an interesting fictional story about a man named Adam and his quest for the perfect swing. Through Adams story, Dr. Chopra illustrates the insightful parallels between golf and life. There are seven important lessons anyone playing golf should think about. The book is a great read and you’ll find it hard to put down once you start.
I wasn’t expecting much when I first picked up this book that was bought by someone else in the house. I thought it would be pretty boring because of the title, “golf for enlightenment”. However as soon as I started reading it I found it hard to put it down.
The story is a about a man named Adam, a guy who is obsessed about golf but walks off the course in a bad mood. A situation that most of us can relate to. That’s the reason why this book is really enjoyable, because we can relate to it as Adam is a typical golfer.
‘A New Way to Play’ and ‘Master of the Game’
There are actually two chapters before this, and a foreword by Jesper Parnevik. The chapters are titled “A New Way to Play” and “Master of the Game”. In the first chapter, Dr Copra addresses golf in spiritual terms, which is something that hasn’t been done before or is very rare. As he is himself a golfer, he talks about needing the sensations going through your body just before you hit the ball to be just right as that will determine where the ball will go and that “clear perception” is needed to master the game of golf. Dr Chopra also discusses the need for creativity in golf due to different lies you might get and the many situations you find yourself in while playing. He also mentions that you don’t need to be a “metaphysical bent” to read the book but any golfer can read it and benefit.
Deepak rightly says that the self shouldn’t be forgotten while playing because the self is all important in golf. He proposes a method where you forget about being technically perfect because you lose an element of yourself.(Unless of course it comes naturally to you or you start when you’re young). He talks about his experiences while playing his rounds and how he goes about it. He relates his golf experiences to life extremely well and in an easy to understand manner.
Typical Golfer
Introducing Adam Seaver, a golfer from the Boston Metro Area. He is introduced while playing a frustrating round with his friends. He can hear his friends laughing at him. At this point he gets really mad and just swipes at the ball, slicing it into the rough. When he gets to his muddy ball, he’s far from his friends, it’s drizzling, dark and he’s in a pine covered area like a forest. A voice says “You are going to be a master of the game”. The stranger tells Adam to meet him the following day at a weird location.
The Lessons
What follows is seven brilliant chapters titled, “Be of One Mind”, “Let the Swing Happen”,”Find the Now and You’ll Find the Shot”, “Play from Your Heart to the Hole”, “Winning is Passion with Detachment”, “The Ball Knows Everything”, “Let the Game Play You” and then the Epilogue – “Leela”.
Conclusion
This book contains so much practical information that anyone can use, for life and for anything. It’s highly entertaining and once you start, you’ll just want to keep reading. For a golfer, it’s a must read. It’s something different from all the technical magazines out there and more entertaining as well.
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