He’s authored 90 books. A Fellow of the American College of Physicians. Teaches meditation (with Oprah!). Been a husband for 49 years. A devoted father and grandfather. And he’s beloved by Lady Gaga. So, other than his daily coffee, yoga, and more cushion time (“Om”) than a geriatric dog, what more could a guy want? Plenty, it turns out. Nothing short of enlightenment. And not just for himself, if humanity’s going to make it. Good thing he’s written the book on that.

I feel ridiculously blessed to welcome Dr. Deepak Chopra on the Beautiful Writers Podcast today. It’s his FIRST tour stop for MetaHuman: Unleashing Your Infinite Potential, which pubs next month via Harmony Books. Our mutual friend, Arielle Ford, is our special-sauce guest co-host. She’s widely credited with making Deepak a household name back in the day as his longtime book publicist. (Arielle helped facilitate the rapid growth of self-help, launching clients like Marianne Williamson, Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer, Neale Donald Walsh, and her sister, Debbie Ford, before authoring eleven books herself.) Deepak and Arielle are like family, the kind forged over lifetimes, she says. Doesn’t sound too farfetched after hanging out with them.

No stuffed shirts here! As Arielle promised, Deepak is delightfully FUN. Sure, I couldn’t get him to complain or gossip—not even about politics (well, he did mention some “thugs”). But girlfriends had to break it down, and Arielle and I got our fix at the end once he hung up. Here’s to hoping the big D is too busy contemplating the universe (or lack of one—just wait) to care that we closed the show talking about him behind his back. Just balancing the scales, Deepak. You drew first blood with those names you called my girl at the top of our show. (Smiley.)

We’ve got a lot to cover, including how haters caused Deepak to take the MD off his books for a time (say what?!); ways in which meditation increases our creative genius, and his especially enlightening answers to our rapid-fire Q’s. If you’ve ever hoped to get off the rat wheel (BEYOND the wheel), you’re going to love this new book, as well as his advice for accessing “the window of infinite creativity.” We talk silencing the inner bullies in our heads, and his favorite author & book, which I ordered immediately.

Of course, he’s got a meditation schedule you’ll never in a million years be able to replicate, but may find wildly entertaining. Pretty much the same thing for his nighttime sleep rituals—how can anyone remember all this stuff, much less implement them? Ahh. A girl can dream. Or, go beyond the dream. Isn’t that the point? I mean, it’s all an illusion, right?

All I know is the guy’s voice makes me happy. “Like champagne bubbles in my head,” Arielle says. Here, here. Drink up.

Welcome.

Linda xo