When Deepak Chopra first directs the question, "Who are you?" to Jersey Shore's Vinny G., Vinny answers as many of us would: with his first name. It's a habit most of us learned at childhood. We define ourselves by our name, our gender, our age, our profession, and countless other labels. But who are we, really?
On Monday of this week, The Chopra Well launched an exciting new show, aptly named Who Are You. In the show's premiere episodes with guest star Vinny G. from Jersey Shore, Deepak and Vinny come together, from seemingly opposite sides of the cultural spectrum, to unpack the intricacies of identity. Think: frat party meets vipassana retreat. Who said personal growth couldn't be fun?
Frat boy persona aside, Vinny maintains his distinct identity: a New Yorker with an Italian background, an actor and ex-aspiring lawyer, a young adult drawn to personal growth, with a mind for philosophy and a taste for wild revelry. His recently-published book, Control the Crazy, recounts his journey battling "generalized anxiety disorder" and the tools and wisdom he has accumulated along the way. Vinny is expressive, playful, and surprisingly relatable. He and Deepak make for a wickedly-captivating duo.
Naturally, Deepak is unsatisfied with Vinny's initial response and asks again. "Who are you?" Vinny pauses a moment and then replies, "consciousness." Not your typical club chat fare. It is a particularly relevant question to ask a celebrity, whose identity is often confused in the mire of exploitation and representation. Throughout the show, Deepak will pose this and other questions to his celebrity guests (Perez Hilton, Smosh, Vsauce, to name a few) and we can't wait to hear them share their worldviews and beliefs. You can catch all the episodes by subscribing to The Chopra Well on YouTube. It's not often you find these well-known figures under Deepak's spiritual spotlight!
Do you know who you are? Are you a noun or a verb? Send us your thoughts!
Written by Antonia Blumberg
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I presume the intention of this "program" is to rally the youth around a different though process--one which my encourage them to think outside of themselves instead of having such a narrow frame of mind. But I wonder if this format is just "catering" to the belief that future generations will have a much shorter attention span. Is the intention to create change or feel like change will be created? Will this really catalyze a desire in youth to want to read books and become less alliterate?
I dunno. I find this presentation of philosophies a bit demeaning overall.
The self is empty. The 'I am' is empty.
A stream cascades down over a rocky ridge splayed in sheets of white as it thunders into the boulders below. Where the water calmed into a gently flowing brook a youth was wading in its midst enjoying the cool liquid on a sultry summer afternoon. A wanderer with staff, weather beaten brow and grizzled beard stooped over the bank and called out to the youth, "you cannot step into the same river twice. This has been said by a great sage in the dawn of our age."
The youth regarded the wanderer as a crazed old fool. But his statement echoed in his ears and he soon began to wonder how this brook with its ever changing face can be the same creek. He asked himself, "During times of drought this brook becomes a mere pebble laden riverbed. When the rains approach, it rages as a mighty stream pulling at the roots of trees and carrying boulders on its back. But rests tranquilly as like a reflecting pool in the stillness of early morning. And yet in spite of all these changes in its appearance, it remains the same. How be it?" .
Vinnie seems to be trying to please Deepak with stock answers. I'd have found this more interesting if his answers weren't textbook "correct" answers.
That said, I'm enormously grateful to see Chopra spotlighted instead of another insipid article about the Kardashians.