What we are aware of determines what we can do or can’t do. If we become aware that some attacker is sneaking in on us, we can defend ourselves. If we become aware that some mannerism of ours is considered ill-mannered in certain circles, we can avoid it.

Awareness enables us to not just avoid the negative but also tap the positive. We may have some undiscovered talents. If we strive to be more self-aware while doing various things in life, we can note our emotions and actions. We may realize that while doing certain things, we are internally comfortable and externally competent. Such comfort and competence may point to an undeveloped talent. To find that we really have a talent for something can be thrilling.

When discovering an untapped potential can be so thrilling, just imagine how thrilling it would be to discover a whole untapped side of ourselves. That untapped side is our spiritual side. The Bhagavad-gita (02.13) explains that we are at our core non-material beings. As souls, we are parts of the whole, the all-attractive source of everything, Krishna. At the spiritual level, we have the potential to relish joys far higher than those available at the bodily level.

Just as musically gifted people stay deprived of the joy of music as long as they are unaware of their gift, we stay deprived of spiritual fulfillment as long as our awareness is stuck at the material level. Yoga practice, especially bhakti-yoga practice, expands our awareness to the spiritual level, thereby granting us access to a whole new world of richer emotion and deeper meaning. Even if we are spiritual practitioners already, we can enter more into this world by cultivating greater awareness during our practices.

Ultimately, by expanding our spiritual awareness, we tap our potential for everlasting happiness.

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