I have completed Hindu priest Dandapani's course on focus, and it was extremely beneficial. I have been meditating for years and want to give people honest reviews on things I have read or done to help them start or take a deeper dive into meditation. Dandapani is a Hindu priest, who is a world renowned speaker and entrepreneur. His focus course is not a meditation course per say but the things learned in the course lay the foundation for meditation. He believes as do I that to be able to meditate effectively you must be able to concentrate. If you can't focus/concentrate you can't meditate. The main point Pani (as I like to call him) instills is that your mind and awareness are two separate things. He shows you examples through some pretty good analogies. The one that hit home most for me was that your mind is a giant mansion and every room is a memory, feeling, and emotion. You are awareness and you have the ability to go from room to room whenever and for however long you would like to stay there. Through your willpower YOU control that awareness and decide where it goes, be it good or bad. Pani's classic line "where awareness goes, energy flows" is simple but very profound. He explains the quote through a garden analogy. Your mind is a garden with countless plants, flowers, and weeds. Your awareness is the gardener and wherever you spend your time watering and taking care of will be what grows strong and healthy. The problem is your mind/garden doesn't discriminate whether something is good or bad for you. So most people have been growing and taking care of anxiety, stress, negativity, and so on. Their awareness has lead them to these places so their energy has been flowing there and making that bond and pathway stronger and stronger. Another point Pani hammers home is people have been practicing being distracted their whole life (technology instruments such as electronic devices and social media ) and that not enough time is spent practicing focus and concentration. The course helps you bring focus into perspective and teaches you how to harness your willpower to control your awareness which in turn controls where your energy flows. It helps you live a more mindful life. One thing that spooked me was his lesson on death and how death is actually the impetus to living a better more focused life. Thinking about death makes you think how you want to live and who and what are your priorities. Enough overview let's talk details, the course is 10 chapters with about 7 lessons per chapter. Each lesson is about 5-10 minutes of Pani speaking in almost a lecture type manner. Pani has a slow monotone way of speaking but if you can get past the simplicity 0f the recording there is some extremely valuable information. There are short quizzes at the end of each lesson followed by a reflection section. You can't fail the course so don't worry. There's also no rushing through the course as you are only given access to the next chapter every 5 days. At the end of each chapter you are given homework to help hold you over until the next chapter is released. There is no trophy or certificate after completion of the course. You can download the course on your phone through Dandapani's app. In the app you have access to a journal, can take notes for the course, and there is a daily quotes section. Pani set up a rituals section that goes with the course that helps you reflect and grade yourself on the things you have been instilling in your life. Now the brass tax the course is $100. You get lifetime access and have the app indefinitely which is well worth it. Once you complete the focus course you have access to his meditation course which is an additional charge, I will be doing it soon. All in all I thought it was a great course and sets a great foundation for meditation, living more mindful, and learning how to really focus. I highly recommend it. Where awareness goes energy flows.
