Where's Your Awareness?

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Awareness is the key to understanding the mind and controlling where our attention goes. Our mind remains static, but our awareness moves within the mind. By being aware of our thoughts, we can direct our attention to different areas of the mind. Distractions occur when our awareness drifts away from the present moment. The distinction between being physically present and having our awareness engaged with the situation is crucial. Wherever our awareness goes, our energy flows. Energy is vibrating at a certain frequency, and by investing energy into something, we can manifest it in our life. Our mind is like a garden with different areas, and as our awareness goes to those areas, energy flows there and strengthens them. The stronger an area becomes, the more magnetized it is, attracting similar frequencies and influencing our thoughts and actions.

When you were a kid, teachers and parents probably told you to concentrate. And as an adult, you likely often think about how much more productive, present, and happy you'd be if only you had better focus. But despite how much we think about our desire to improve our focus, no one ever gets any training in how to do it and even explains what focus is, exactly.

My guest today is an exception to that rule. He was taught the secrets to concentration when he spent ten years as a Hindu monk, and today he's on a mission to share them with others. His name is Dandapani, and he continues to live as a Hindu priest, though he's now also an entrepreneur and author, with a book just published called The Power of Unwavering Focus. Today on the show, Dandapani defines focus and shares the existential reasons why developing yours is so vital. He explains how that development begins with understanding how the mind is different from awareness, that where awareness goes, energy flows, and the need to bring awareness to attention. We walk through how to stop practicing distraction and start practicing concentration by making each of your daily activities a focused practice, and ultimately, making your whole day a practice. We also discuss how daily sessions of meditation are inadequate for developing focus, how mindfulness is different than concentration, and how the ability to control and direct your awareness is one of the greatest powers you can possess.