I arrived in NYC a short time ago to start production on the our new YouTube channel, TheChopraWell.
Rewind…several months ago we signed a deal with the fine folks at YouTube to build out a premium channel in the health and wellness space that launches this July. Ever since, we’ve been think tanking on what that actually means. Is it daily yoga poses and meditation techniques? 7 steps to reversing your aging? 10 lessons for finding your soulmate?
Or maybe it’s really a spirituality channel. Less how to and more how come, you’know? Like, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” or “What happens to me when I die?”
What about tone? More Deepak and the nature of consciousness? Or more Gotham and the nature of cynicism? Or more Mallika and the nature of goodness?
And then: the revelation. It’s YouTube, people. The greatest incubator in the world. Just do it…and the will come. Or they won’t. Then just do something different …and they will come. Or they won’t. You see a pattern here? YouTube analytics will show us the way.
Which brings us to The Chopra Well: Manhattan Project. Here are the details:
This Thursday, April 19th
Ask Deepak at 10 am, Meditation Flash Mob at 11am
Union Square (West Plaza) NYC
The idea? I’m bringing my dad off the mountaintop and putting him in the heart of Manhattan to see what happens when the rubber hits the road. Our conceit is that spirituality shouldn’t just be for the 1%, the folks willing to visit spas and ashrams and meditation retreats. On the contrary. We want to create a dialogue that engages normal people curious about the meaning of their lives and their connection to the cosmos around them. We want cultural conversations around purpose and significance. We want to plunge down the rabbit hole together and explore together this vast conspiracy of miracles that is the Universe around us.
Will it work? That depends on you. On who shows up. On the questions you ask and the conversations that ensue. We’re throwing in a flash mob meditation around lunchtime because, well, that just sounds cool.
Back to one: Please come and join us on Thursday morning if you are in and around the NYC region. You’ll get a chance to meet my dad and question and ask him your deepest questions about health, spirituality, and life in general. If it works, we’re taking this show on the road and maybe we’ll come to a location near you. Subscribe to our channel and become a part of our community. Join the conversation. Be a part of the critical mass that will change the conversation. Start by asking a question. And oh yeah, there are no stupid questions, just spiritual answers.
Gotham Chopra is a multi-media voice on issues of spirituality, culture, and news.
As an anchor for Channel One News -- an in-school educational news
broadcast seen daily by upwards of 8 million American students --
Gotham reported from Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, Egypt, China, India,
Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Colombia, Russia, Chechnya,
Mexico, Honduras, all across Europe and the United States. He has
interviewed a wide range of Global leaders -- from President Bush to
the Dalai Lama to associates and foot soldiers of Osama Bin Laden. He
has hosted events as diverse as the Pope's pep rally in St. Louis to
the action at the fifty-yard line at the Superbowl. Gotham's global
assignments have sent him on patrol with anti-militant commando units
in war torn Kashmir and had him detained by secret police in China,
Iran, and Pakistan.
Gotham is the author of Familiar Strangers (Random House 2002)
-- a non-fiction and spiritual chronicle of his travels and encounters
at the frontlines of areas in conflict and transition.
Gotham served as Story Editor on the Bulletproof Monk -- a
comic book about bullets, monks, gangs, and seekers. He also served as
Executive Producer of the feature Film with John Woo's Lion Rock Films
and MGM Studios, which appeared in theaters in 2003. He is also author
of Child of the Dawn, a novel published in 1996 and translated in 13
languages internationally. He recorded The Mythical Lover on A Gift of
Love -- a recording of sensual poetry by the 13th Century poet Rumi,
and has served as researcher and lyrical advisor to Michael Jackson on
the multi-platinum albums Dangerous and HIStory. He has also served as
Producer on television specials for PBS.
As co-founder of 5K Entertainment, Gotham wrote, is producing,
and will direct the indy feature Swindle. He is also the co-creator of
K Lounge -- a Kama Sutra bar and lounge in New York City with more to
launch internationally in 2005.
As co-founder of Chopra Media and a partner in Intent Media (with
Deepak Chopra and Shekhar Kapur), Gotham is involved in a wide-array of
creative media ventures. He is the President of development for Gotham
Studios Asia, the largest comic book studio in India.
Currently Gotham is serving as creative consultant to Current TV, a new
television network co-founded by former Vice-President Al Gore, and
scheduled to launch in 20 million American households in August 2005.
Identified by Newsweek Magazine (March 04) as one of the "most
powerful and influential" South Asians worth watching, Gotham speaks
nationally on issues of youth and spirituality, conflict resolution,
and develops workshops to create a language for young people to bring
out the internal and external issues that important to them.
I was at Union Square today and it was an awesome experience, especially the meditation. Mega thanks to you and your Dad…and good luck with the youtube channel…I'll be watching for it!!!
Yesterday I had the pleasure meeting your dad and asking him a one-on-one question as part of the Q&A on Union Square. I was interested in learning about his strategies for processing emotions, since research has shown that suppressing emotions can have serious consequences on our mental and physical health. I wrote an article about it for Books for Better Living. http://www.booksforbetterliving.com/2012/04/deepa…
Very cool!
Great questions to be asking… you create a channel, what do you DO with it? nature of consciousness? nature of cynicism? nature of goodness?
The good news is, the different approaches will appeal to different people — the point is whether the message makes a difference.
That's the mission of http://www.RebootTheMedia.com — Celebrating Media That Makes A Difference.
We'll have our eye on you… Best wishes!
I was at Union Square today and it was an awesome experience, especially the meditation. Mega thanks to you and your Dad…and good luck with the youtube channel…I'll be watching for it!!!
Yesterday I had the pleasure meeting your dad and asking him a one-on-one question as part of the Q&A on Union Square. I was interested in learning about his strategies for processing emotions, since research has shown that suppressing emotions can have serious consequences on our mental and physical health. I wrote an article about it for Books for Better Living. http://www.booksforbetterliving.com/2012/04/deepa…