Hello Dear Friends,
It's been a while since I wrote my blog. Summer seemed to have just flown by and it's been a great summer for me. Read many many wonderful books along with work and spending time with kids, summer just rolled away. With school starting a few weeks ago, life is now getting back to a normal routine. Today I am writing about an amazing book 'Force v/s Power (The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior)' by Dr David R Hawkins, M.D, Ph.D.
"Perhaps the most important and significant book I've read in the past 10 years." - Dr Wayne W Dyer
I think many people will find the book heavy to read as it is filled with a lot of research information. If you like that then it is highly engrossing and you don't like to put the book down once you start reading it. It gives tools and techniques to raise our level of consciousness. One would need to practice these techniques to get really efficient in using them and that needs motivation, commitment and deep desire for change. I think if I had got this book a decade ago, I might even have found it uninteresting. So a lot depends on your state of the mind. True for everything though, right :)
What if EVERYONE had the knowledge to get the correct yes or no answer to any question you had? Questions on career decisions, relationships, family, purpose in life etc etc Wouldn't it be wonderful if we knew the right thing to do always.
Dr Hawkin talks about 'a database of consciousness' that we can all learn to connect to. What is also known as 'Universal Consciousness' in some eastern philosopy. He had based the connection between mind, body and spirituality on decades of research (20 plus years) and factual data.
He uncovered based on research that all subjects went weak from negative stimuli (such as pesticides, fluorescent lights, artificial sweetners), while students of spiritual disciplines, who had advanced their level of awareness, did not go weak as ordinary people did. Something had shifted in the consciousness of spiritual people that as they realized they weren't at the mercy of the world, but rather were affected by what their minds believed.
{KJ-> Imagine if you could know before you ate any food whether that food was good for your body or not, whether the food had ingredients that were harmful to you, BEFORE you ate it, WOW! that would be amazing, real amazing for your overall health. It's what you believe in that really controls how you live your life.)
The individual human mind is like a computer terminal connected to a giant database. The database is human consciousness itself, of which our own cognizance is merely an individual expression, The database is the realm of genius. Everyone by virtue of birth, has access to genius. The unlimited information contained in the database is has now been shown to be readily available to anyone in a few seconds, at any time, in any place.This is indeed an astonishing discovery, bearing the power to change lives, both individually and collectively, to a degree never yet anticipated. The database transcends time, space, and all limitations of individual consciousness.
Man thinks he lives by virtue of the forces he can control, but in fact, he's governed by power from unrevealed sources, power over which he has no control. Because power is effortless, it goes unseen and unsuspected. Force is experienced through the senses, power can be recognized only through inner awareness.
Facts are accumalated by effort, but truth reveals itself effortlessly.
Dr Hawkins has given step by step process for testing the effects of any stimuli on your body. He uses muscle testing. The test response is independent of the tester's physical strength. It's frequently dumb founding to well muscled atheletes when they go just as weak as anyone else in response to a noxious stimulus.
The most profound piece of information in the book to me is the Map of Consciouness. It is calibrated on a scale of 0 to 1000. The higher you are on the level, the more of the emotion in the level you will experience in your life. You can see that Shame, Guilt, Apathy, Fear are all lower levels and take you away from higher consciousness. It is important to remember that the scale is not arthimetic but logarithmic progression. Thus the level 300 is not twice the amplitude of 150; it is 10 to the 300th power (10 raise to 300). An increase of even a few points represents a major advance in power, the rate of increase in power as we move up the scale is enormous.
The MAP is below:
Level Log
Enlightment 700 - 1000
Peace 600
Joy 540
Love 500
Reason 400
Acceptance 350
Willingness 310
Neutrality 250
Courage 200
Pride 175
Anger 150
Desire 125
Fear 100
Grief 75
Apathy 50
Guilt 30
Shame 20
The critical response point in the scale of consciouness calibrates at level 200, which is the level associated with integrity and courage. All attitudes, thoughts, feelings, associations, entities, or historical figures below that level of calibration make a person go weak - those that calibrate higher make subjects go strong. This is the balance point between positive and negative influence.
At the levels below 200, the primary impetus is personal survival, although at the very bottom of the scale - the zone of hopelessness and depression - even this motive is lacking.
The higher levels of Fear and Anger are characterized by egocentric impulses arising from the drive for personal survival.
At the level of Pride, the survival motive may expand to comprehend the survival of others as well.
As one crosses the demarcation between positive and negative influence into Courage, the well-being of others becomes increasingly important. By the 500 level, the happiness of others emerges as the essential motivating force. The high 500's are characterized by interest in spiritual awareness, for both oneself and others, and by the 600's, the good of mankind and search for enlightment are the primary goals.
From 700 to 1000, life is dedicated to the salvation of all of humanity.
Reflecton on the map can bring a profound expansion of one's empathy for life in its variety of expressions. We see, for instance, a person in Grief which calibrates at a low energy of 75, will be in much better condition if he rises to Anger, which calibrates at 150. Anger, itself a destructive emotion, is still a low level of consciousness. If a hopeless can come to want something better (Desire - 125) and then use the energy of Anger at 150 to develop Pride (175), they may be able to take the step to Courage (200) and proceed to improve their individual and collective conditions.
Conversely a person who has arrived at a habitual state of unconditional Love will find anything less to be unacceptable. As one advances in the evolution of his individual consciousness, the process starts to perpetuate and correct itself so that self-improvement becomes a way of life.
Let's look briefly at the levels. You can get the book to read more.
Energy Level 20, Shame
Early life experiences that lead to Shame - such as sexual abuse - wrap the personality for a lifetime unless these issues are resolved by therapy. (Hypnotherapy is highly effective). The shame based personality is shy, withdrawn and intorverted. Shame based individuals compensate with perfectionism and rigidity, becoming driven and intolerant. Shame results in a vulnerability to other negative emotions, and, therefore, often produces false pride, anger and guilt.
Energy Level 30, Guilt
Guilt is used in our society to manipulate and punish, it results in a gamut of symptons of victimhood. Unconscious Guilt, results in psychosomatic disease, accident-proneness, and suicidal behaviors. Many people struggle with Guilt their entire lives while others deny it altogether.
Energy Level 50, Apathy
This level is characterized by poverty, despair and hopelessness.It is a state of helplessness, its victims, needy in every way, lack not only resources but the energy to avail themselves of what may be available. Unless external help is available by caregivers, death through passive suicide can result.
Energy Level 75, Grief
This is the level of sadness, loss and dependency. We may experience this at times, but those who remain at this level live a life of constant regret and depression. This is also the level of habitual losers and gamblers who accept failure as part of their life. In Grief, one sees sadness everywhere.
Energy Level 100, Fear
At this level a lot more energy is available - fear of danger is healthy. From this level the world looks hazardous, full of traps and threats. Once Fear is one's focus, the endless worrisome events of the world feed it. Fear becomes obsessive and can lead to jealousy, high stress levels. Because it takes energy to move to higher levels, the oppresed are unable to reach a higher level unaided.
Energy Level 125, Desire
Desire moves us to expend great effort to achieve goals or obtain rewards. Desire is also the level of addiction, where it becomes a craving more than life itself. Some people become addicted to the hunger of attention and drive others away by their constant demands. Desire has to do with accumalation and greed. But desire is unsatiable so the satisfaction of one itch is merely replaced by another. Desire can start us on the road to achivelment, to moving to higher levels of awareness.
Energy Level 150, Anger
Anger can lead to either constructive or destructive action. Anger expresses itself most often as resentment and revenge and is therefore, volatile and dangerous. Anger as a lifestyle, is expressed by irritable, explosive people who are oversensitive to slights, and become, "injustice collectors", quarrelsome, belligerent, or litigious.
Since Anger stems from frustrated want, it's based on the energy field below it. Frustration results from exaggerating the importance of desires. Anger leads easily to hatred, which has an erosive effect on all areas of a person's life.
Energy Level 175, Pride
Pride has enough energy to run the United States Marine Corps. People feel positive as they reach this level. The rise in self-esteem is a balm to all the pain at the lower levels of concsiousness. Pride generally has a good reputation and is encouraged by society. Yet, it is below the critical level of 200 on the map of consciousness. That is why pride feels good only in contrast to the lower levels. The inflated ego is vulnerable to attack. Pride remains weak as it can be knocked out to Shame, which is the threat that fires the fear of loss and pride. The downside of Pride is arrogance and denial.
Recovery from addictions is impossible because emotional problems and character defects are denied. The whole problem of denial is one of Pride.
Energy Level 200, Courage
At this level Power first appears. This is the zone of exploration, accomplishment, fortitude and determination. Life is seen as exciting, challenging and stimulating. It denotes willingness to try new things and deal with the changes and challenges of life. One is able to cope with and handle opportunities of life. At 200, the energy to learn new job skills is available. Growth and education become attainable goals. Capacity to face fears and character defects and to grow despite them. Anxiety also does not cripple endeavor. People at this level put back into the world as much energy as they take. This is where productivity begins.
The collective level of consciousness of mankind remained at 190 for many centuries and, curiously only jumped to 207 within the last decade.
Energy Level 250, Neutrality
People at this level have a sense of well-being, confident capablity to live in the world. People at this level are easy to get along with and safe to be around and associate with because they are not iinterested in conflict, competiton or guilt. They are comfortable and undisturbed emotionally. Thier attitude is nonjudgemental and doesn't lead to any need to control other people's behavior.Correspondingly due to Neutral people's value of freedom, they are difficult to control.
Energy Level 310, Willingness
This level can be seen as a gateway to higher levels. Willingness implies one has overcome inner resistance to life and is committed to
participation. People become genuinely friendly, and social and economic success seem to follow automatically. The willing aren't troubled by unemployment; they will take any job when they have to, or create a career of self-employement for themselves; they don't feel demeaned by service jobs or by starting at the bottom. They are helpful to others and contribute to the good of society. They are also willing to face inner issues and don't have major learning blocks. Self Esteem is high.
Willingness is sympathetic and responsive to the needs of others. With their capacity to bounce back from adversity and learn from experience, they tend to become self-correcting. Having let go of Pride, they are willing to look at their defects and learn from others. People become excellent students. They are easily trainable and represent a considerable source of power for society.
And he goes on to explain the other levels. Do pick up a copy if this write up sparks your interest. I think the book is excellent and definitely worth reading.
Would love to have your feedback so leave me a comment. Let's make this world a better place to live in.
Keep having fun and enjoying the present.
Cheers,
Karuna.
Labels: Power v/s Force
Hiking is a great walking exercise for mind and body.
