University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
The Power of Unwavering Focus
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The Power of Unwavering Focus

Dandapani and Shilpa Maniar
Talks at Google, 2022
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  • Inspiring

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The metaphorical concept of the human mind is a tricky idea to grasp. In this fascinating interview with Talks at Google host Shilpa Maniar, Hindu priest Dandapani describes the mind as a dark, vast cave, which you can navigate armed with a torchlight – your awareness. This notion may seem ethereal, but Dandapani makes it accessible even to laypeople with no experience in meditation. By learning to hone your awareness, you can achieve focus, which is a prerequisite for discovering your purpose, happiness, and more. 

Summary

To harness the power of your mind, learn to hone your awareness.

Imagine that your mind is a vast cave. Each emotion resides in a specific area of the cave. Visualize your awareness as an orb of light that illuminates your path as you move through the cave. For instance, if you feel angry, your lantern of awareness will cast its light on the anger zone.

Happily, you get to direct the lantern. With deliberate practice, you can control what areas of your mind your awareness illuminates. To harness the power of your mind, learn how your awareness functions, how to focus, and how to use your focus to discover your purpose and define your priorities.

Your awareness time travels between the past, present and future. Stay present.

Is your awareness grounded firmly in the present, or does it stray to the past or the future? This tendency controls your emotional state. For instance, consider times you’ve felt worried. Worry occurs when your awareness leaves the present moment and travels to the future, invents a phony story there, then returns to the present to worry about that work of fiction. Worriers aren’t mired in a past...

About the Speakers

Dandapani is an entrepreneur, a Hindu priest and the author of The Power of Unwavering Focus. Shilpa Maniar is a manager of Global Solutions at Google and a frequent Talks at Google host.

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