Desire and Fulfillment

In 1993, Deepak Chopra was on the Oprah Winfrey Show. To demonstrate the power of thoughts, he had her hold a string weighted with a metal washer steady in one hand. He then instructed her to start thinking about the washer moving side to side without moving her hand. While her hand appears to remain steady, the washer soon begins to move. Check out the video below for the intriguing moment.

Chopra explains, “Every single cell in your body is eavesdropping on your internal dialogue.”

Now, a more ”woo woo” yoga teacher might use this as an explanation for how everything in the universe and our bodies are connected and manifestation is “for real.”

I take it as demonstration of the power of our neurology and the very real brain-body connection. Though her hand appears to remain still, just her thought about moving that washer activates motor-neurons in her hand that create the desired movement through the string. In other words, expectancy determines outcomes.

Chopra relates this to life: “Inherent in having the desire is the mechanics for its fulfillment.”

While I won’t stretch it that far, I think it’s a useful instruction for moving a human body. When we consciously think about the movement we do while we’re doing it, we strengthen our brain-body connection and allow for movement to become transformational in our lives.

Thoughts, and how we choose to direct them, are more powerful than we are able to understand.