If you’ve taken any of my classes, either online or in person, you may have noticed that I like to end my classes with this quote:

But Awareness of what?

It is helpful to clarify what I mean by awareness. It is not awareness of one specific thing, but of many. Depending on who you are and what your current situation is, your focus might shift to any one or two of the following:

Awareness

• Of the breath - which establishes you in the present moment.
• Of yourself and who you are on a deeper level.
• Of your body and the knowledge it has.
• Of what is important to you.
• Of the things that are holding you back.
• Of your purpose in this world.
• Of your connection to Source.

What does it mean to be aware?

When you act without awareness, it is like you are sleepwalking - you have no idea where you are or where you are going. You’re acting on impulse - your mind is controlling you instead of the other way around.

You need to be able to wake up and know who you are, where you are, where you are going, and what is truly important.

When you can relax into a gentle and loving awareness, your mind becomes clear. This allows you to make better decisions and to better direct your energy. You can now focus on the things that truly matter. Creativity flows. Your heart opens. You know what needs to be done. You are aware.

What does it mean to “open” to awareness?

You can’t force your awareness to expand. You have to be able to relax and let go. You must become open to new possibilities. Only then will your awareness gently expand. This is why yoga places emphasis on both effort and surrender.

Why for the benefit of all beings?

We are born into this world and our first focus and awareness is only of ourselves and our mothers. As we grow and develop, we become aware of the perspectives and needs of others. Our circle of compassion grows to include our family members, our friends, and our pets. In the next levels, our circle of compassion expands to the people in our country, or the people that look like us, or the animals that we like. In the highest level, our circle of compassion goes beyond all people to include ALL beings.

Bodhisattva Vow

From the Oxford dictionary:

“Bodhisattva (in Mahayana Buddhism) is a person who is able to reach nirvana but delays doing so out of compassion in order to save suffering beings.”

Bodhisattvas take a vow of compassion for all beings including people, animals, plants, and life itself. They are selfless beings working for the greatest good.

How Can I Expand My Circle of Compassion?

One technique is Metta meditation, also called loving kindness meditation. In this meditation, you start by sending love to yourself:

“May I be safe. May I be happy. May I be at peace.”

Next you can expand your meditation to a loved one:

“May you be safe. May you be happy. May you be at peace.”

As you continue the meditation, you can bring to mind other friends, neighbors, acquaintances, animals, and people that you find difficult or actively dislike. Finally, you can progress to focusing your loving kindness energy towards all beings:

“May all beings be safe. May all beings be happy. May all beings be at peace.”

Feel free to use the phrases listed above in your meditations. At the same time, feel free to make up your own phrases that better represent the loving-kindness you feel toward these beings.

Mantra for Expanding Compassion

Mantra can be another technique for expanding your circle of compassion. Set an intention and repeat the following mantra:

This mantra translates to:

If we truly want to expand our circle of compassion to include all beings, then we have to look inward and question ourselves about our motivations. We have to question how we live, how we eat, what we buy, how we speak, and how we think.

If you are interested in learning more about yoga & meditation or want to practice with me, please consider joining my mailing list by hitting the subscribe button at the top of this page. I offer online and in-person classes as well as private sessions.

About Max:

Max Baker is a certified Yoga Teacher based in Raleigh, NC whose passion is helping people find the tools and the confidence to reconnect with the most authentic version of themselves. He does this through his website, online courses, memberships, and in-person classes.