Life Hacks from the Universe: The 7 Spiritual Laws You Need to Know

“Success is a journey, not a destination.”

-Deepak Chopra

Feeling a little lost or stuck in your progress this year? You're not alone. After the whirlwind of energy in the first half of the year, things might feel like they’ve slowed down. It’s the perfect time to realign, and what better way than by turning to the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Dr. Deepak Chopra. This book serves as a template on how to succeed at living, without burnout.

Before you delve into each law its also important to reflect on how you personally define success. It’s different for each person. In modern times success often translates to material wealth. While society may tell us it’s our status, money and external accoutrements, your heart and inner happiness would tell you otherwise.  Take a quick inventory of what is actually important to you. Does success mean reaching a level in your career, money, fame, or having the power to choose how you spend your time? Is it about health, loving relationships, eating decadent desserts in 87 different countries, sending your kids to the best of schools, or having boundaries that protect your peace? The list is endless, but the answers are uniquely yours.

In the book Chopra defines it lucidly; “True success is the ability to enjoy a continued expansion of happiness. Good health, energy, fulfilment, relationships, creative freedom and an overall sense of well-being are all needed.”  Money doesn’t always translate into success or even happiness.

When we align with the seven spiritual laws we create the life we are dreaming off. In a western context, we’ve been told to strive, hustle, grind - to work towards what we want and take it. This book suggests a different approach: work for it, lay the foundation and effortlessly co-create with the universe. Rather than struggle and fight, tap into pure potentiality.

1. The Law of Pure Potentiality

The law of pure potentiality unlocks your true self, all our answers come from spirit. Being in alignment with your true self in all our actions and deeds, connection to consciousness means acting from a place of spirit. When your internal reference point is the ego, it is always acting from  a place of fear and seeking some form of external validation. But when you act from the soul as your internal compass, things are naturally drawn to you.

To know your true self, you need to practice silence and meditation. Something that in today’s world proves to be difficult for everyone. Most of us don’t know how to simply be. When was the last time you allowed yourself to feel bored, to daydream, sat in stillness and silence (outside of a meditation) without reaching for your phone, remote, food or a book, and instead decided to just be? If you struggle with this, a great way to do it is to get out & into nature, and connect with the space. This is why forest bathing and mediation walks are gaining popularity. Or if you are ready to meditate and are too agitated, do gentle yoga fist to prepare your body and mind for the meditation. Yoga is the union of the body and mind after all.

The book is full of examples of different methods you can use to help yourself realise the 7 spiritual laws. It really lends itself to my coaching and meditation clients and students.  I had initially struggled with the whole concept of “trusting the universe”, of surrender. My very western outlook and anxious nature rebelled at the idea. But realising what had brought me to my state of stress before I had embarked on my journey back to self and good health ,made me open to the idea of relinquishing the false sense of control we have. We can only put in the work, we cannot control every aspect of the outcome, or how things will turn out. We can’t control others, or factors outside ourselves. That is our ego saying we can. So, I started trusting in these practices, and life is an easier dance. (Reality check – I still have to consciously and actively remind myself to follow these laws each day. I’m not going to pretend to be perfect. I am a work in progress.)

2. The Law of Giving and Receiving

The Law of Giving and Receiving is simple. We give to receive. Don’t hold onto anything or you will cause it to stagnate. What you want more of is what you have to give more of. To create abundance, give joyfully and unconditionally, without resentment or expectations. If you want more love, give more love and so forth. In coaching this is a very powerful tool, because sometimes the very things we crave we forget we can also give to ourselves and we need to be open to receiving it as well. Many of us chase love, or appreciation externally, while internally being our harshest critic and tormentor. Instead give freely, no strings attached to others and to yourself.

The Law of Giving and Receiving is not about giving away wealth or possessions. A kind word, a helpful act or service, can attract the very things you desire. In India during the festivals like Holi or Diwali, people give those less fortunate, new clothes, good food, and some money. It’s done in the spirit of abundance, of trusting the universe that you’ll have enough, despite being generous. Silently bless those around you, it will attract positive energy to you. When we give and share we create a positive flow of energy, the universe doesn’t like a void, so it will attract more of these things to you. This doesn’t mean you start handing out money like there’s no tomorrow, thinking it’ll attract more to you! Because now you are no longer doing it selflessly without expectation.

Think of this law in terms of the times when you’ve need things to happen for you, you have money or time saved up for it, in the meantime a chance to help someone else comes up and you have helped them ungrudgingly, even if it means you’ll have less time or money for what you needed. Somehow afterwards you found you were in a better position that before. Serendipity or synchronicity, chance, call it what you want. It’s the universal law in action.

3. The Law of Karma

The third law, the law of Karma (cause and effect). Actions and the consequences of those actions or inaction. This law is about conscious choice making. What are the consequences of the choices you make, for yourself and those around you? Every choice we make, what we say and do or don’t,  has a ripple effect, reverberating out around you.

Choosing inaction also has a cause and effect and a consequence associated to it. We always have a choice. If you have trouble making decisions, take a deep breath get centred into the present moment and be guided by your body for making spontaneous right actions, tune into the feelings of discomfort or comfort. Fear is a different matter and usually it is in our heads, so always tune into your body. This is incredible if you apply it to how you communicate, and for honing your intuition. The body never lies, the mind falls victim to our ego many times, but the body never lies, its telling you what to do, if you listen.

4. The Law of Least Effort

The law of least effort is such a simple law but so difficult for some. To allow things to unfold in your life effortlessly with ease, we have to expend less energy. This means we accept people and events as they are. When things are unfolding we can’t change the moment, so we must accept people and circumstances as they are and change our response to it. We also relinquish the need to convince or defend our point of view. We start living in the present. I really struggled with this one and there are times I slip back into this. But the days I can follow it are joyfully filled with ease and everything flows. We use wonderful exercises in coaching for this.  But a quick way you can do this on your own is to question your resistance, what are you resisting exactly? Where is the resistance coming from?

5. The Law of Intention and Desire

The fifth law is of Intention and desire. Inherent in every desire are the mechanics of its fulfilment. Enter attention and intention. Attention energises and intention transforms. Intention is desire without attachment to the desired outcome. Attention should be present moment awareness. The past and the future do not exist. Do not get side tracked with hurdles. If this doesn’t seem to go your way, know that the universe has other plans for you. Sounds very mysterious and vague and hard to trust! But imagine just trying it, what do you have to lose? Just remember where attention goes energy flows. Especially when you are putting off the things that matter to you and opting for some Netflix, insta, tik-tok or in some cases all three!

6. The Law of Detachment

When we give up our attachment to the outcome of our desires, we are practising the Law of detachment.  This doesn’t mean we give up on dreaming, on wanting things, or on intention. It simply means things will come to us, but perhaps not in the way we envisioned. After we do the work to create the conditions, we let go. Relinquishing our fears of stepping into the unknown, realising its okay not knowing what will happen is freeing. Fear is from our ego, the self is sure and secure.

7. The Law of Dharma

The purpose of life is that we are here on this journey to  discover our true self, uncover our talents and to have the courage to use them. This is the Law of Dharma. We are also here to serve others with that talent, to share it. We go with the energy of how I can help, instead of what’s in it for me. The law of dharma is not simply doing our work but authentically being ourselves, in every sphere and aspect of our lives. To realise our full potential. This is a tall order, for some of us it takes the largest part of our lives or our whole life, to get to this stage to be fearless and authentically ourselves. To even know what that looks like.

But that’s the beauty of all these practices, there’s no timeline of when you should have achieved all this, it’s your journey and when you get there or when you begin, is when you were meant to. Who knows if you would have been ready earlier. I first read this book when I was 15 years old, it resonated on some levels but some things just didn’t make sense to me back then. I re-read this in my twenties and it resonated and I walked away with some insights. But It would take years and life to bring me to my knees, before I realised and appreciated the lessons held in this book. We all have access to everything but until we are ready, we remain in the dark.

Conclusion

This book is small but it packs a punch. If it sounds familiar it’s because these laws are there in the Bhagavad Gita as well. But not distilled down to these basic elements in a modern context. This book is good to keep coming back to, fabulous to gift to teens and young adults. I also use it for coaching and try to apply the laws daily to my life. Realistically its hard at times, but that’s what makes us human. The beauty of it is we can keep trying and the day I do succeed, the day flows beautifully. Try it for yourself, the only side affects you could have would be less stress, experiencing happiness and living in the moment. Sounds terrible I know! 😊

Forget New Year resolutions, Cultivate Atomic Habits instead!

“Everything starts with awareness – you need to be aware of your habits before you can change them.” – James Clear

In the journey towards holistic wellbeing, the role of habits cannot be overstated. James Clear's book, "Atomic Habits," provides a roadmap for transforming lives by making small changes that compound over time. As a Wellbeing Coach I help my clients cultivate positive routines that contribute to their overall health and happiness, enabling them to implement systems that make sustainable changes and habits.

Goals and systems

Goals, goals, goals. We all set goals, SMART goals, long term, short term, performance etc. The point is, we all know how to set goals, but why is it that we ace some and others stay in the realm of fantasy? Because while we set goals and plan for them, we don’t set ourselves up for success. I can say I want to become a marathon runner, but unless I get up and start running, I will never be one. It isn’t about will power, motivation or a perfect plan. It’s about the system I have in place and my why. As Clear states “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” Knowing your when, what, and why is great, but how are you making it more accessible, and reducing your own resistance?

If my goal is to save money and eat healthy meals, planning a menu, shopping based on the menu on Saturday and doing meal prep on Sundays not only supports both habits, but creates a system specific enough for me to allow this to happen. But if I buy lots of junk food instead of healthy options, I am creating a very different system for myself which is far removed from my goals. Remember, you fall to the level of your systems. This is helpful when everyone only talks about goals and not what it takes to get from A to B. Its important to have a clear road map and a system on how to do it.

Atomic Habits and Habit stacking

An atomic habit refers to a tiny change, the gain being a 1% marginal improvement. But this tiny change adds up & becomes quite significant. When paired with our current routines, or habits, it packs a mighty punch and has a domino effect. A Similar concept to what Charles Duhigg says in the Power of habit, about one habit changing others. However, in Atomic Habits, Clear puts across an idea of stacking your habits with an already existing habit, so you tie your desired habit to something you do automatically each day. Example: To prevent snacking, I will brush my teeth immediately after dinner, or I’ll journal for 5 minutes, with my morning cup of tea. When helping set daily powerful habits for Ayurveda, we start building routines with something as easy as, having warm water first thing in the morning, oil pulling while making the bed, abhyanga before a shower, meditation, and then Yoga. Later, the second phase would be to graduate to warm water with lemon in it, and oil pulling for longer, etc.

Habit stacking plays into life changes when we work with intentions. Remember what I said about it having a domino effect? When we start changing one aspect of our life in one area, we tend to shift others more naturally to be in alignment with this new identity. Clear’s suggestion of building habits by first only doing two-minute versions of it is brilliant. Because despite knowing all this and having the best intentions, I’ve found it works best to have a two-minute version of all our plans. That way we don’t feel like we’ve failed. Working towards your goal, whether its two minutes or 20minutes is better than zero. I say the same thing to meditation students, the ideal duration for meditation is 30mins, but two minutes or 15mins is better than none! I love the aspect of having new habits integrated around established ones and having a two-minute version of habits to begin with. The hurdle to do it is less. That said, if you know anything about your Doshas, e.g., I know that this works brilliantly for a Vata as they hate routine, but for a Pitta, they need a little bit more of a challenge, so they need to integrate a plan that increases the challenge gradually and varies a little for the next phase as motivation. Kapha will need to tie in an external source for motivation.

 Mindset and Identity

Your mindset shapes your inner and outer worlds and what kind of energy you attract, it affects all your choices, your habits, how you sit, eat, talk and walk. Shifts in mindset are pivotal for any transformation to occur. James Clear gets to the heart of the matter by saying when we identify with the new identity that we want, we change our mindsets and behaviour accordingly. See the difference and power in saying; I wish I could eat healthy meals, to instead saying I am a healthy person who eats nutritious meals. The commitment to a new habit solidifies when you integrate it into your identity, your ego gets roped into protecting it.  This resonates with what I do when I coach around exploring your archetypes and envisioning how your archetype would navigate situations as a compass for change in all forms. Working towards the best version of yourself requires you to continuously edit your beliefs and expand your identity, and that benchmark for the best version of you keeps changing and expanding as a result. This is exactly why we should never chase perfection; it’s a myth!

Change

The purpose of habits is to solve a problem we are facing. Tired- we drink coffee. Lonely- scrolling on social media. Clear suggests designing your environment for success. Designing your environment for success again feeds into how Ayurveda believes your environment affects you through all your senses and your output. Our environmental cues trigger a lot of our habits, we tend to drink more in social gatherings, we feel lazy and tired and then watch TV. After that, we end up feeling bad that we watched TV; it makes us feel lazy. It becomes a negative loop, so it’s best to make it “invisible” by removing the cue. I used to take one route to work crossing a bakery where I’d grab breakfast and a coffee. When I was trying to quit coffee I changed my route, otherwise without thinking I would be inside ordering a chocolate croissant and espresso! In meditation, we call these deeply ingrained habits as software to the soul.  In Clears book, he doesn’t sugar coat anything by telling you bad habits don’t just go away because you form new ones, we can only remove or avoid the cues for bad ones. It’s designing your life with intention that allows you to help build and maintain new habits. The biggest takeaway from change is make it obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying. To break habits, you do the opposite. Sounds easy but it’s hard to do. Understanding you underlying motives for anything we do is half the battle, we are genetically wired and engineered to fulfill certain desires, Clear lists them in that chapter 10 on how to fix the causes of your bad habits. Put simply, your Basic Needs like Physiological & safety needs need to be met first. The reminder of your needs can be summed up as the 4 A's of Emotional needs as described Dr Deepak Chopra, Attention, Affection, Acceptance and Appreciation. Our current habits are modern day habits attached to primitive desires. The brain makes associations, we stop thinking about that habit and start doing without thinking. Each time we repeat the habit we engrain it further. Change can only occur once we break these loops. So, figure out what the underlying need is, and feed the craving for it with a habit that’s in alignment with what you are trying to achieve.

Conclusion

James Clear's "Atomic Habits" provides a powerful framework for fostering positive change in our lives. I thought this was a perfect book to come back to in January, as a refresher after the Holiday season disrupting many routines. This book is a good starting point for building habits and facilitating change. It enhances your coaching experience as it explains a lot of things and why we do them, which you can read at your own pace. This book has useful insights for anyone at any stage and age in life, a refreshing change to many self-help books. It also has research and other books backing it up. It’s doable, not a fad and has great examples and suggestions. I enjoyed reading it and it’s a book I happily recommend for people to read and use.