Mindful Day with Meditation, Deepak Chopra, and Eckhart Tolle
Spiritual and enlightened gurus Deepak Chopra and Eckhart Tolle were the reasons a group of Angelenos came together in Venice Saturday, February 27 before heading downtown for a discussion on consciousness and awareness in the packed Shrine Auditorium.
Photo credit: Peak Mind
With the help of Peak Mind, the community curator for the evening, over 5,000 guests joined to experience this meeting of the minds. Peak Mind Founder Michael Trainer started this new endeavor after his father was diagnosed with dementia, as a way to bring the peak minds of our time together to inspire us to our highest possibility. After extensive research on the brain and his dad’s illness, he shared with us the profound benefits he learned that meditation can bring about in the mind and body. He is also on his own daily meditation quest. Michael’s past achievements include founding Global Citizen, a social movement and music festival dedicated to ending poverty that gathers over 70k people in Central Park every year.
Deepak Chopra with Peak Mind Founder Michael Trainer. (Photo credit: Michael Trainer)
The beautiful peaceful afternoon pre-party with meditation and music in Venice sponsored by Michael Trainer brought together like minds and many of our good friends – Rochelle Robinson, Michael Kaliski, Kim Kessler, Mark McDavitt, and Sri Mummaneni. A beyond moving guided mediation was led by Leah Santa Cruz where we practiced our breathing, stillness, thankfulness, and reflection reminding ourselves to be content with the present moment. Juices from Renew Juicery like Glow and bites from Coco Bakes kept guests happy as we later jammed to a riveting musical performance by Dustin Thomas.
Photo credit: Melissa Curtin
Micahel Trainer shared later on social media how one of his favorite moments was when Deepak Chopra talked about President Obama’s dog. He said a dog has no notion of power, or the constructed identity of an individual, they just respond in the moment based upon who that person is being, how they have treated them in the past, and the love they express in the moment.
Photo credit: Peak Mind
A quote that echoed in my mind was one by Eckhart Tolle –
“The Ego weeps for what you have lost but your spirit rejoices by what you have found.”
Other thoughts you may want to reflect on that I wrote down from the event included:
That which you cannot see or feel or touch or think about is real.
There are five causes of human existential suffering: not knowing the true nature of reality, grasping and clinging to an activity, being afraid of impermanence, Ego, and fear of death.
Happy for no reason? That’s joy! Like a giggling baby.
Look into the eyes of a dog. Nothing is obstructing that sense of connectivity. It’s awareness, the expression of consciousness. A dog has no judgment of you, like a baby. A dog doesn’t have a conceptual mind like a baby.
The degree of absence of thought is real progress on a spiritual path. Being free of thought means you are connected with the depths of who you are.
The space between, where there is no thought, that is where you are free!
Meditation maven Leah Santa Cruz (center). Find her at @lesant on Instagram.
As a freelance travel and food writer, Melissa's articles have been published on AAA World Magazine, Lonely Planet, Zagat Stories, Roadtrippers, Canadian Traveller, Business Insider, MoneyInc, Resident Magazine (NYC), JohnnyJet, World Footprints, and many more. Her favorite travel articles can be found on Darling Magazine. She also writes for local print magazines such as SoCal Life Magazine, Malibu Coast Lifestyle Magazine, Conejo Valley Lifestyle Magazine, LA Travel Magazine, and LA Downtowner. Her love of adventure and learning were fueled while traveling around the world at age 20 on Semester at Sea. She received a Master's degree in Education, taught in England on a Fulbright scholarship, and has been an educator for over 20 years.
After growing up in Connecticut and a decade in Washington, DC, west coast living has won her over. Living in LA the last 13 years has brought Melissa so much joy - thus why LaLaScoop was born. A desire to cover and discover the Best of LA became a shared passion that expanded to numerous guest writers bringing the 'LaLaScoop. Besides teaching children on Zoom and writing during the pandemic, Melissa spends her free time gardening, baking, savoring the Malibu coastline, discovering new hikes, and taking DIY to a whole other level. Contact her at Melissa@lalascoop.com.
View all posts by Melissa Curtin
Love this!
Malia and Kailani started a company called Conscious Kids – mindfulness for minis!
If you have any more mindfulness tips please do pass along! We love mindfulness!!
Thank you,
Kalika
Kalika, I love that! I will have to learn more tips from the girls.
Thank you for this lovely article, it was so nice to meet you ladies at this special event!!