by guest contributor Chantal Botana
Spirituality was high last night at DuJour magazine’s launch party for the Chopra Well. It must have been all that talk of spirit and spirits. (And by “spirits” I mean of the Malbec kind.)
Jason Binn greeted Deepak Chopra, daughter Mallika and son Gotham as the paparazzi snapped away. Also gracing the step-and-repeat were Dr. Oz and Marlo Thomas. Between Deepak, Oz and Marlo there’s no denying that whatever they’re doing they’re doing it right – they are all absolutely defying age. I’ll have what they’re having, if it’s not too late.
Here’s a little on the Chopra Well, who’s tagline-turned-slogan-turned-mantra reads “Be Present for the Future.” It’s a joint venture with YouTube where you can hang out with Deepak, family & friends on a journey of personal, social, global and spiritual transformation.
Not being much of a spiritualist myself I was pleasantly surprised. If you’re expecting pure spirituality (pun intended), think twice. Gotham Chopra brings wit and candor to the endeavor. He’s the self-proclaimed cynic in the family, and I rather enjoyed his webisode Holy Facts #2: Church of the Jedi. “Yes, of the Jedi I said church. Yes, hmmm.” That’s Yoda talk for “Yes, I said Church of the Jedi,” as in George Lucas’ Star Wars. (By the way, I used a Yoda translator for this linguistic challenge. Check it out can you, yes, at the Yoda-Speak Generator. Crazy Brits!)
So what does Dr. Oz have to say about Deepak, “He’s the real thing. Authentic. Raw emotion……With this endeavor, the Chopra Well, he’s taking it where it needs to be. He’s giving people wisdom, clever insights, news they can use. Actionable, accessible information, when they need it, because Deepak realizes better than anybody that most of us are ‘pre-contemplative,’ which means we’re thinking about thinking about changing. When we’re ready to actually make a difference in our own lives – when we’re ready to show up in our own lives – Deepak’s going to be there for us in yet another way.”
Speaking of being there for us, last night’s event at Espace NYC was sponsored by Forever Young – developer Seth Greenberg and entrepreneur Arty Dozortsev’s segue into wine from boutique vineyards worldwide. As Jason via Dr. Oz so kindly reminded us, “a glass of red wine has resveratrol in it and should be imbibed daily.” Resveratrol? Say what? It’s a type of antioxidant that’s said to protect cell membranes and has anti-inflammatory properties. Hmmm, and here I was thinking all these years that alcohol kills brain cells. In the case of red wine (in moderation) the opposite appears true – so says the good Dr., though the debate’s still out according to Wikipedia.
Cheers to fine wine and spirituality with a kick at the Chopra Well!
PS: I’m already thinking about thinking about which wine to drink tonight. In vino veritas.
