A New Way to Play

Golf for Enlightenment is the story of an Everyman named Adam who begins with a terrible round of golf and ends up mastering the game, an achievement he never dreamed possible. He does this through an extraordinary and mysterious teacher, a young woman named Wendy. She instructs him in things that at first seem fantastic and mystical but which, in time, turn out to contain great practical wisdom.

I didn't play the game when this book was conceived. Golf was just an image caught out of the corner of my eye as I walked past airport televisions. Then one day on a long flight from Atlanta to California I was seated next to a man who was studying a golf magazine with rapt attention. Every few minutes he called on his cell phone to Dallas, anxiously inquiring about tee times.

"You must love the game," I said casually. He turned a twisted smile toward me.

"I think I almost hate it," he replied. "I obsess about golf, and you know what? I walk off the course mad as hell. My scores don't go down. Nobody can talk to me without getting an earful of my whining. It's the worst thing I'll never let go of."

The seed of this book was planted in that moment, when a stranger blurted out his love-hate relationship to the game. If golf doesn't bring joy and satisfaction, I mused, something has been lost. Perhaps it could be brought back. The next step occurred when I met my first actual golf pro. She showed up at the Chopra Center in San Diego to be treated for a lifelong history of migraines.

"I was destined for golf from birth," my visitor told me. "Or perhaps before. I think I got my first lessons in the womb, since my mother watched so much golf on TV. It worked. I had talent, I got good. But for as long as I can remember, I've also been crippled by these agonizing headaches."

I decided to learn more about her game while focusing on curing the migraines, since the two had been connected almost from the beginning. We talked about the spiritual side of playing. Golf has always had its mysteries, but they have rarely been addressed in spiritual terms. After the visiting pro was relieved of her headaches with a course of mind-body treatments, she began to agree that golf could be approached a new way. We formed a team. She would begin a program to teach golf as part of the Chopra Center (it became the most successful first-year offering in our history), and I would try to articulate exactly what makes golf spiritual and to explore the wisdom golf can bring to everyday life. That is the goal of this book.

Why are we here? We exist not to pursue happiness, which is fleeting, or outer accomplishment, which can always be bettered. We are here to nourish the self. The self is the source of your personal reality. All perceptions come back to the self. All emotions come back to the self. All ideas come back to the self. In golf you succeed or fail according to all three.

First, perception. Golf begins and ends with seeing the ball. Minuscule sensations streaming into your body affect where the ball will go, down to one blade of grass on the putting surface. When your perception is clear and concentrated, the ball seems to aim itself directly at the hole with the force of inevitability. Golf can't be mastered without totally clear perception.

Next, emotions. Tournaments are won on Sunday because when players of equal skill attack the course, their emotions decide the outcome. Fear and anxiety are enormously amplified in this game; the tiniest tension in a major muscle group can throw the swing off drastically. Golf can't be mastered until you confront your emotions.

Finally, ideas. Golf requires...

 

 

"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."

 

"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."

 

"Golf for Enlightenment is an eloquent reminder that there is a Garden of Eden just waiting to be discovered in all of us."

 

"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."

 

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.


From the Hardcover edition.

 

Golf for Enlightenment by Deepak Chopra
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