QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS DEEPAK CHOPRA, Mysticism, reading, forums, Numerology, Sun Signs, Divination

Posts: 4978 · Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 6:40 am

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I hung up the phone last night after talking to my best friend of 30 years. I haven't been able to think of anything else, since then. So, I decided I needed to ask someone I admire to help me understand. She and I have spent so much time learning about different paths to spirituality, reading The Power of Now, Conversations With God together, and traveling to Las Vegas to see all of you wonderful teachers at the "I Can Do It" Events. So my question is this: She told me on the phone that the Mexican immigrants are ruining everything in CA. They take jobs away from us and don't want to work just drain the government, etc. She called President Obama the Anti-Christ. She said he's going to make medical care into socialism, etc.

How can I reconcile this behavior with who I thought she was and accept or help her see exactly what she is saying. I tried to ask her where she got those facts and she said, "I do my research". Am I crazy? It just seems that the "right wing extreme positions" (I don't know how to describe that) cannot coincide with A Course in Miracle's teaching of love and acceptance and abundance for all. Help me, I don't want to lose my dear friend but I don't know how to talk about things with her anymore. Thank you for any insight you may have for me.

Answer:

It helps to remember that her political views are only her views, they aren’t who she is. You can still love and respect her fully for who she truly is, regardless of whether you agree with her positions on immigration and health care. I understand that this is a big adjustment from your long-term friendship of 30 years, where you enjoyed sharing ideas of self-empowerment through love and the development of consciousness.

This is a far cry from worrying about the Anti-Christ and Socialism, but for whatever reason, that is a part of her path now. Even though it is not your path, you can still hold her as a friend if you can agree to interact in the other areas of interests you hold in common that are non-confrontational. You don’t need to try to convince each other of your respective ideas. Then agree to respect each other based on who you actually are, not based on your beliefs.

Love,
Deepak

Has your friendship evolved over the personality manifested by belief ? The belief may change tomorrow and you may start liking the person again.

You need to identify your friend little more deeper than belief and ideas and then decide to reconnect.

Best wishes
Login or register to post comments Posted by desh kapoor on Monday, June 8th, 2009 very interesting question. and very similar to my own experience.

I have a friend, with whom I spent almost 16-18 hours a day during my school time. He taught me so many things. From an effervescent personality with no serious thought, he made me look at things seriously. He taught me to question. He taught me to look beyond. He was my first "Guru" if there ever was. He is also one of the few "balanced" people I have met in my life.

He went through a different career path.. and I different one. He came to the US and I remained in India. Then one day I landed in Texas. 3 years later he also came to a city near mine.

During those years, as I went on my spiritual journey and started questioning relentless, I looked at a lot of things in ways I hadn't before. In that effort, I came at loggerheads with his beliefs. He follows a certain very popular sect within Hinduism and when I critically looked at it, I found it wanting in many things.

I remember one night at his house, we kept arguing until 2 am... often at high pitch while our families slept in a separate room on our religious beliefs - something that we had NEVER done in our school days or ever since!

That night was a very difficult one for me to sleep. How could someone who had taught me to look critically at every thing.. suddenly get tied to a belief system with out proper evaluation?

In any case, we came back from his house.... but I learnt the fallacy of collision of beliefs and friendship. He is someone who makes me feel grounded. When I am lost, he becomes my compass. I do not agree with him on many things (vehemently) but I respect his beliefs. After all as Vasistha says so aptly in Yoga Vasistha that Knowledge and Ignorance are non-different.. for both are product of the mind!!

we are very often tied to a "Spiritual Ego" and "Righteous Ego". That is very unproductive. Spiritual progress - if you have been through so many such experiences - should lead you to look at your "Spiritual Ego" very very critically!

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