The Law of Detachment is the 6th law presented in Deepak Chopra’s The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.
Detachment is a common spiritual concept, but it is widely misunderstood. Many people think that to detach from the world means to isolate oneself from it, or give up the things that are most important in life, but that’s not the true spiritual meaning of detachment.
In this post, I’ll outline exactly what is meant by The Law of Detachment, and how you can apply it to your life.
The Spiritual Meaning of The Law of Detachment
In order to get anything in the physical world, you have to detach from the outcome, and be in the process.
The real meaning of detachment is not that you are not involved in the world, but it has to do with how you respond and react to the world. If you are completely absorbed in the events that happen to you in the world, then you will be at the mercy of everything around. Every little challenge or upset would have the potential to trigger you, and create a negative spiral in your life.
If, however, you take the time to develop a higher state of awareness, you can become aware of the origin of negative emotions, and begin to detach from them. You detach from your desires, while still wanting them.
Many people think this means giving up the things that they want, and associate detachment with sacrifice, but in reality detachment is freedom, and is the gateway towards experiencing everything that you want in life.
3 Steps to Live with Detachment
As with each of the 7 laws, Chopra outlines three simple steps that you can take in order to apply this law to your life and begin living from a state of higher spiritual awareness.
- Commit to Staying Detached. The first step is simply to commit to this idea. While it sounds simple, it is a lot easier to intend to detach than to actually remain uninvolved when stresses crop up throughout your day. As they do, try to remember your decision, and do your best to step back from the situation at hand and respond more positively to it.
- Accept Uncertainty. Like it or not, uncertainty is a part of life. When we try to control every detail of our lives, we are almost always very attached to them. We need everything to go perfectly, or else risk a spiral of negative emotions. Recognizing that uncertainty is a fact of life helps you to remain centered when things don’t go according to plan.
- Step Into The Field of Possibilities. Remember the teaching on The Law of Pure Potentiality from day 1? Here’s where you get to apply it. Whenever you feel attached to an outcome or circumstance you’re faced with, remember that it is but one expression of the infinite field of energy, within which lie all possibilities.
These three steps are not difficult, but they do take practice. Don’t worry if you can’t follow them the first few times you try to. With practice, it will become easier and easier to detach and observe the world around you, simultaneously integrated with and apart from it.
You can check out our introductory course on quieting the mind to learn more.
Deepak Chopra Interview with Sarah Finger
This is a really great conversation with Deepak Chopra and Sarah Finger on The Law of Detachment. This video focuses on detaching through the practice of yoga.
As Chopra points out, asana – the series of postures you do in yoga – can also be interpreted to mean the seat of awareness. So, when you are doing true yoga, you are moving with a high level of awareness, which is also detached from the physical body.
It’s this balance between awareness and detachment that helps you to develop presence of mind and learn how to be present and live in the now.
Quotes on Detachment and The Law of Attraction
Let us recognize that engagement and detachment aren’t opposites. The more engaged we become, the more detached we have to be.
Deepak Chopra
Holding onto anything is like holding onto your breath. You will suffocate. The only way to get anything in the physical universe is by letting go of it. Let go and it will be yours forever.
Deepak Chopra
Today I will commit myself to detachment. I will allow myself and those around me the freedom to be as they are. I will not rigidly impose my idea of how things should be. I will not force solutions on problems, thereby creating new problems. I will participate in everything with detached involvement.
Deepak Chopra
Through the wisdom of uncertainty, I will find my security.
Deepak Chopra
