Developing Higher Levels of Awareness
Awareness is one of the most fascinating and important techniques that we all need to master, not only in our meditation practice but throughout all of our lives. Fortunately, meditation provides direct and systematic methods to develop awareness.
What is Awareness?
Our world is directly influenced by our past experiences, memories, and thinking processes. It’s essential to be aware of what is happening within the depths of our minds and in our external environment. The secret to understanding, taking control, and transforming the mind is to develop higher levels of awareness.
In broad terms, awareness refers to where the mind is, what the mind is observing, and where you choose to focus your attention. There are various modes of awareness that I teach in the Transformational Meditation Method.
Internal awareness is when your awareness is directed inwards to the activities of the mind, and conscious knowledge of your character, feelings, motives, desires and thinking process.
External awareness is when your awareness is directed outwards to the sense impressions of the physical body, other people, and events in your life.
Timeline Awareness is awareness of the past, the present and the future.
Transformational Awareness
On a higher level, awareness can be expanded to develop knowledge in your subconscious mind, your individual consciousness, universal consciousness.
Why is Awareness so Important?
Many people are living in a state where habitual thoughts and emotions are directing their lives like a ship without a rudder.
Past memories, many from childhood, and past experiences stored in the subconscious mind trigger automatic responses and we make unwise decisions we later regret.
We all have this challenge, some of our habits can positive and useful, however, many can be life treating, and detrimental to our health and wellbeing.
Therefore, it’s important that we develop the ability to become more aware of our emotions, thinking process, surroundings, the people we interact with within our daily life, and the effects they have on our lives.
On top of that, it’s very important to be aware of the past, the present and the future during your meditation practice. I like to call this transformational awareness. Not just the present moment as is often advocated.
The reason why is because it’s essential to be aware of and learn from the past and it helps purify the subconscious mind of unhelpful thinking processes and emotions.
Additionally, becoming aware of the future is also important as it helps you come up with solutions to anything holding you back, and helps you envision and create positive outcomes for a brighter future.
Otherwise, people get stuck in the present moment, always stressing about the past, and worrying about the future.
More about Meditation and Awareness are covered in my program Transformational Meditation Teacher Training. If you are interested to learn more about this program, I invite you to book a call with me below.
How Awareness Helps You on a Physical Level
Number 1. Awareness strengthens your nervous system. Awareness helps you shift your body and mind out of the fight-flight response and into the relaxed rejuvenating parasympathetic nervous system, therefore reducing stress and anxiety.
Number 2. Awareness helps boost your immune system and minimizes the risk of stress-related diseases such as hypertension, heart attack, depression, diabetes, stroke, and many other stress-related diseases.
How Awareness Helps You on a Mental Level
You become more aware of your automatic thinking processes and habits so you can transform them. You will feel more at ease with whatever you’re experiencing during your meditation practice and your life.
You will also be able to build a strong foundation of the fundamentals of meditation so you to teach meditation with confidence.
Awareness paves the way to develop a positive mindset, boosted self-confidence, self-esteem, and optimism.
Meditation is the key for you to develop Higher levels of Awareness.
How to Develop Higher Levels of Pure Awareness
The trick to developing higher levels of awareness is to first practice Pratyahara techniques at the beginning of your meditation practice. This technique is derived from the ancient Patanjali Yoga Sutras. Pratyahara techniques guide your body and mind into deep peaceful states of consciousness where it’s very easy to develop higher levels of awareness.
In this heightened state of conscious awareness, you develop the ability to understand the preconceptions, emotions, flow of thoughts, past memories, and limiting beliefs that are holding you back in life. This is very powerful because you begin to become aware of the inner world of your mind and understand the link between the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious mind.
4 Step process that integrates pratyahara techniques to help you develop higher levels of awareness
Step 1. Practice awareness of the breath (Sanskrit prāṇa; “life force”, or “vital principle”) I am breathing in; I am breathing out.
Step 2. Practice awareness of the Body (kāya) Major Body Parts.
This is achieved by systematic rotation of body parts.
Step 3. Practice awareness of the senses during your meditation practice (Indriya)
- Sights.
- Sounds
- Smell
- Taste
- Touch
The reason why these methods are so important:
Number 1. When we are consciously aware of the breath, the body, the senses it becomes a process of the more evolved brain.
Number 2. De-excites the Sympathetic Nervous System. ( Fight or Flight Response)
Number 3. Deeply Relax’s the body and mind.
Step 4. Awareness of the mind or cognition (the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.)
The reasons why this method is important
The first step in transforming the mind is to be consciously aware of what occurs in the mind. Without awareness, meditation is not possible.
Sometimes, just being aware of the intricacies of the minds thinking process can have powerful transformative effects.
Awareness sets a solid foundation to practice additional key transformative meditation practices such as Analytical, concentration, visualisation and higher states of consciousness meditation techniques which I go into fine detail in the Transformational Meditation Teacher Training Program.
Awareness tips to integrate into your meditation practice
- Remember, it’s important to not try and stop your thoughts during your meditation practice. Because your thoughts are arising unto your conscious awareness to be understood, resolved and transformed.
- Witness the content of your mind like you are watching a movie.
- Remember to beware of over analysing and rumination. Redirect your thinking processes to more constructive outcomes and take action if you become aware of this occurring.
- The trick to developing higher levels of awareness is to practice the pratyahara techniques in the initial stages of your meditation practice. ( It’s Easier to develop awareness and manage your mind when you follow this process.)
- This process will build a strong foundation to integrate all of the powerful meditation techniques we will be practising in the up and coming lessons of this course.
- Remember developing higher levels of awareness is like any skill in life it takes practice and patience.
We hope you enjoyed learning about the importance of Awareness in Meditation. In my program The Transformational Meditation Teacher Training Method, I do a deep dive on topics about all the aspects of meditation and more.
If you want to advance your meditation knowledge and skills, and would be interested in becoming a meditation teacher, then I invite you to book a complimentary call with me below.
During the 30-minute call, I will help you get crystal clear clarity on how to:
- Gain clarity and confidence in creating a successful lifestyle business aligned with your life purpose.
- Get more and retain more clients by facilitating transformative out-come based meditations.
- Become a confident highly respected and sought-after meditation teacher in 90 days.
- Produce scalable world-class high ticket products and services.
- Create more financial freedom and abundance without stress and overwhelm.