Awareness: Break Free from Autopilot and Reclaim the Power to Choose
Awareness is our capacity to observe without judgment what's happening in the world around us and within ourselves. It disrupts our habit of living on autopilot — so we can see clearly, choose intentionally, and reconnect with the aliveness in our everyday lives. This self-paced module includes 6 micro-practices for everyday moments of anxiety, distraction, and disconnection, plus 9 guided meditations to build awareness of breath, body, and open awareness. Taught by Dr. Shalini B Bahl, PhD — professor, certified MBSR and Search Inside Yourself teacher, and author of Return to Mindfulness.
Did You Know...
95% of your decisions are made unconsciously?*
In the absence of awareness, our unconscious minds dictate our thoughts, feelings, and behavior based on past conditioning.
Awareness is the skill that interrupts this—creating the space to break through habitual patterns and make choices that are good for you, your loved ones, and the world around you.
Awareness is the foundational mindfulness skill. Everything else builds on it.
Note from Shalini:
I created this module after thousands of hours of practice, training with world-renowned teachers, and more than a decade of teaching in my community. The techniques I'll share are grounded in cutting-edge research in neuroscience and psychology, ancient wisdom from Buddhist texts (though this is a secular course), and a personal search to integrate mindfulness into how we live, love, learn, and lead.
Don't take my word for it. Explore for yourself how these practices can benefit you.
What people are saying:
"I've worked with Shalini as her student in mindfulness classes since 2014. To say that she is an inspired, generous, compassionate and wise teacher would be the understatement of the year! Words fail to describe the gifts that Shalini has helped me nurture in my own life and those around me. I owe much of my spiritual, emotional and mental growth in the last 4 years to Shalini's inspired teachings. Her ability to bring mindfulness and the tenets of Buddhism in a secular, thoughtful and science-grounded manner into our community is nothing short of miraculous. I am immensely appreciative, honored and privileged to have had the chance to work with her as long as I have. I will continue taking classes and learning from Shalini for as long as she is willing to teach me!"
~Shiri, CEO & Founder at AuCoDe
"Laurie and I found that committing to this practice as a couple was very important for us as we continue to learn and grow after 34 years together. Shalini has taught us so much about meditation, insight and skillful actions that we try to incorporate into our lives. We find that having someone close to practice with does help reinforce the many benefits of mindfulness. Laurie and I are grateful to have practiced with Shalini as she is a wonderful teacher and an equally nice person. Mindfulness is a permanent part of our lives now."
~John, CFO at G.S. Precision, Inc
“I just finished a six session Executive Series at Downtown Mindfulness with Shalini Bahl. My health depended on learning meditation and stress reduction techniques. My life drastically improved from additional lessons Shalini taught me. I often and highly recommend Shalini to friends who are stressed out; who have an interest in self-improvement; and who’d appreciate that greater perspective translates into greater success. Shalini’s class benefited me most by implementing reminders in my daily life that make me more thoughtful about the potential impact on other people of my words and actions. People I work and socialize with have remarked that they recognize in me a greater calm since I became a student of Shalini’s. I’m grateful for the life-changing perspective she shared.”
Cinda, President W.D. Cowls
"Wonderful meditations that are helping me to bring more mindfulness to my work, which is very stressful at the moment. I am able to be more relaxed and confident, bringing my natural curiosity outward and focusing less on the stress around all that I have to do. Thank you!"
~Michelle, Simple Habit User
"I think Shalini has an uncanny understanding of the human mind. How else could she identify the causes and effects of something seemingly obscure, like procrastination. Thank you Shalini."
~Eileen, Simple Habit User
Praise for the Book
“This book is like sitting next to a kind teacher who guides you through the many distractions of your mind and shows you ways to return to mindfulness, to non-judging awareness. It is full of practical, playful steps to systematically integrate mindfulness into your daily life, ways that Shalini herself has learned while practicing mindfulness as teacher and governmental leader. Whether you are new to mindfulness or have been practicing for decades, you’ll benefit from her guidance toward a calmer, clearer, more loving and compassionate life.”
—Mirabai Bush, author (with Ram Dass), Walking Each Other Home, co-creator of Search Inside Yourself: Mindfulness-Based Emotional Intelligence at Google
“Return to Mindfulness is a mindful companion for navigating the complexities of life. Shalini offers a refreshing and practical approach to mindfulness. Whether you’re seeking clarity with the eight mindfulness skills or embarking on a systematic journey to build your capacity for real-world mindfulness, this book is your trusted guide for joyful living and empowered leadership.”
—Chade-Meng Tan, international bestselling author of Search Inside Yourself and Buddhism for All
“Once or twice in a lifetime, you may come across a book that can change you in a most positive way. Return has this magic and more. I have often wondered why my mind operates like a pinball machine (monkey mind?) and what to do about it. As a teacher, scholar, and public speaker, I now recognize the multiple selves that arise from my past to hijack what I am trying to accomplish in any given moment. This volume not only helps the reader understand the process, but it also shows how to mindfully, successfully, and playfully change reactions into pro-actions that serve our individual and interpersonal needs. My plan is to use the 50 options until they become a part of who I am across situations. Of course, the process never ends, and I will revisit the eight skill chapters over and over, seeking to mine every nugget of mindfulness gold in the foreseeable future.”
—Ronald Hill, Dean’s Professor of Marketing and Public Policy, American University; Editor-in-Chief, Responsible Research in Business and Management Honor Roll
“A Return to Mindfulness is what we need in this moment. Shalini offers a profoundly thoughtful guide and reminder for us to be and see one another as deeply human. The 8 mindfulness skills—awareness, compassion, curiosity, energy, appreciative joy, inner calm, focus, and equanimity—are shared with ease and clarity. This means that each of us, as leaders, can more skillfully navigate division, conflict, and competing needs, as we extend compassion and take wise action that inspires new ways of being and thinking that inform how we do what we do. Return calls us to co-create the conditions and solutions that help bring people together, find common ground, and flourish. The beauty of Return is that it applies to all that we do at home, at school, in business, in politics, and more. Everywhere we are, Return should be.”
—Michelle Lopes Maldonado, Virginia state representative and founder of Lucenscia
“How many town councilors do you know who practice and teach mindfulness—and bring it into their day-to-day life? Not enough! Shalini Bahl has done just that. This book is a testament to both the practical and profound impact of the practice of mindfulness and the way of life it promotes. Return to Mindfulness is a rich treasury of insights, methods, and playful illustrations, and also an honest account of a real journey to openness that all of us can relate to.”
—Barry Boyce, founding editor, Mindful magazine and mindful.org
“Return to Mindfulness masterfully articulates the barriers we all face in being mindful during our everyday lives. Whether you’re a leader or seeker, this book will serve you as a wise guide—a calm, clear whisper in a noisy, distracted world.”
—Amishi Jha, Ph.D., neuroscientist and best-selling author of Peak Mind
This Program Is For You If:
- You feel stressed, overwhelmed, or stuck on autopilot
- You've been practicing mindfulness but keep falling into the same reactive patterns
- You want to catch yourself in the moment—before you snap, overcommit, or check out
- You want a practical, evidence-based way to build awareness into everyday life
- You took the mindfulness quiz and want to strengthen this foundational skil
In this course, you will:
- Understand what awareness is and the autopilot habit it disrupts
- Learn through six doorways—your senses, body, thoughts, emotions, relationships, and whole life
- Practice 6 micro-practices for real-world moments where decisions are made
- Go deeper with 9 guided meditations on breath, body, and open awareness—each with a 10-minute and a longer 30–40 minute option, so you can keep practicing even when you're busy
- Watch a video teaching from a live class on awareness
How is this program different from other mindfulness programs?
- More than meditation. Real change happens when we also cultivate insight—seeing the bigger picture and the consequences of our actions—and then use those insights to act more skillfully.
- Wisdom grounded in science. Rooted in original mindfulness teachings and backed by research in neuroscience, psychology, and management.
- Secular and practical. If you've taken MBSR and want to deepen your integration of mindfulness, this module gives you a way to do that.
- Built for real life. Micro-practices meet you where decisions are actually made: between meetings, in difficult conversations, in moments of overwhelm.
About Your Teacher
My approach is grounded in research. I can point to our award-winning research paper that first acknowledged the transformative potential of mindfulness. It highlighted the importance of going beyond meditation to cultivate the space for insight—which weakens our habitual patterns and creates the opportunity to make better choices. In my next project, a book chapter on the Paradoxes of Teaching Mindfulness in Business, I went further: exploring the importance of not just meditation and insight, but actively developing skillful habits—the thoughts, speech, and actions that enhance the long-term well-being of all involved.
But while my publications give credibility to what I teach, it's really the thousands of hours of meditation practice that brought me here—learning from some of the best teachers, including Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, Joseph Goldstein, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Mirabai Bush, Mark Coleman, Tyohar, and Arthur Zajonc, along with professional training from leading mindfulness institutions in the US.
Then politics pushed me to rediscover the value of mindfulness in leadership—and the real challenge of walking the talk. As an elected official in my town, I had many opportunities to apply what I was learning in the real world. There were moments when I faltered at crucial times. Those moments became the practice. They let me revisit my strategies, discern the default habits that hindered clarity, and return. That journey changed my practice and my life—and it became the work I now share with you.
Your Instructor
Hi there! I'm Shalini, and I'm thrilled you've found your way to my mindfulness courses. For over 15 years, I've been on a mission to help people like you build practical mindfulness skills that lead to more intentional living.
I'm honored to have been named one of the 10 Most Powerful Women in the Mindfulness Movement by Mindful.org, but what truly drives me is seeing how these practices transform lives, relationships, and communities.
My journey has taken me through many roles—researcher, entrepreneur, business professor, and even elected municipal leader—but my passion has always been the same: helping people break free from automatic patterns to make choices that feel truly aligned with what matters most to them.
I believe mindfulness isn't just about feeling calmer (though that's a wonderful benefit!). It's about developing specific skills that help you navigate life's complexities with greater awareness and purpose. Whether you're feeling overwhelmed, seeking more meaningful connections, or wanting to make choices that better align with your values, the practices I share here are designed to help you build those capabilities in practical, accessible ways.
I'm especially passionate about the connection between our individual choices and our collective wellbeing. When we become more intentional in how we live and consume, we naturally create positive ripples that extend to our relationships, communities, and our planet.
My approach blends ancient wisdom with insights from modern neuroscience and psychology. I've spent years researching these connections (my work has even been recognized by the American Marketing Association!), and I've distilled what I've learned into straightforward practices you can apply in your everyday life.
My recent book, "Return to Mindfulness" (which won the International Impact Book Award), outlines the systematic approach to mindfulness skill-building that you'll experience in these courses.
I'm so glad you're here, and I look forward to accompanying you on this journey toward more purposeful living. Together, we'll explore practical ways to make choices that benefit both you and our world. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or want to discern if this is a good fit for you - shalini@knowyourmind.training
Let's get started!