|
Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior | 
 enlarge | Author: David R. Hawkins
Publisher: Hay House
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $4.84
You Save: $10.11 (68%)
New (56) Used (84) from $4.84
Avg. Customer Rating:  237 reviews
Sales Rank: 3182
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 300
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 1561709336
Dewey Decimal Number: 155.234
EAN: 9781561709335
ASIN: 1561709336
Publication Date: April 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Standard used condition.
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
David R. Hawkins details how anyone may resolve the most crucial of all human dilemmas: how to instantly determine the truth or falsehood of any statement or supposed fact. Dr. Hawkins, who worked as a "healing psychiatrist" during his long and distinguished career, uses theoretical concepts from particle physics, nonlinear dynamics, and chaos theory to support his study of human behavior. This is a fascinating work that will intrigue readers from all walks of life!
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 232 more reviews...
 A treasure of wise observations about the human condition, development of higher awareness, and the evolution of consciousness August 6, 2008
David Hawkins had a spiritual opening in childhood and pursued further spiritual development throughout his life. He shares in this book ways in which we can understand levels of spiritual development; muscle testing methods for assessing degrees of development of people, books, events, etc.; group validation of these assessments; and the value of the presence of the therapist as an instrument for promoting healing.
Hawkins points out that logical, left-brain approaches to understanding the world are self-limiting. "... the logical arrangement of data serves mainly to enhance a pattern-recognition system that then becomes `truth.' But nothing is ever `true,' except under certain circumstances, and then only from a particular viewpoint, characteristically unstated." (p. 28)
Hawkins strongly advocates for using intuitive assessments for measuring the value of various truths, stating that everyone can use intuition with accuracy and reliability. He reports that he has found these assessments to be entirely consistent across a broad spectrum of questions tested and through assessments of multiple individuals and groups of individuals. Where discrepancies were found, he claims that they were invariably resolved through removal of various blocks, reversals, or limiting beliefs that caused distortions in intuitive perceptions. While this claim is supported by what appears to be impressive, statistically significant research (p. 120), he provided no references where any studies were published. This leaves his research open to questions of procedural validity, at the least.
Using this system, he finds levels of spiritual development along a spectrum that includes Shame, Guilt, Apathy, Grief, Fear, Desire, Anger, Pride, Courage, Neutrality, Willingness, Acceptance, Reason, Love, Joy, Peace and Enlightenment. Through kinesiology, he reports consistent identification of numerical values for each level, ranging from 20 for Shame to 700-1000 for Enlightenment. The scale is logarithmic, so each increment is by a factor of ten times the previous, lower numerical level. Thus, a few enlightened beings can counterbalance and raise the collective levels of human development because their contributions are enormously greater than those of individuals at lower levels.
The average person will advance only 5 points along this scale in a lifetime. Through inner work of psychotherapeutic and spiritual growth, we can progress more rapidly from one level to the next.
He finds that the entire cosmos is imbued with Spiritual inspiration and energy.
Man thinks he lives by virtue of the forces he can control, but in fact, he's goverendd 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. Man is immobilized in his present condition by his alignment with enormously powerful attractor energy patterns, which he himself unconsciously sets in motion. Moment by moment, he is suspended in this state of evolution, restrained by the energies of force, impelled by the energies of power." (p. 37-38)
Force is the use by individuals or groups of physical or psychological means of coercion to achieve their ends at the expense of others. Power is the manifestation of Spirit in the world through the presence of people at higher levels of development. "Whereas power always results in a win-win situation; force produces win-lose situation..." (p. 167) The levels of Courage (200 on his scale) and above are positive; below that, negative in their spiritual effects in the world.
I fully agree with Hawkins' observations that
It's as though every individual is exploring life with a compass that has a unique setting. (p. 113)
Concordance emerges from the organizing patterns hidden behind apparent chaos; thus, the evolution of mankind progresses despite the apparently aberrant signals of individuals at any given moment. Chaos is only a limited perception. Everything is a part of a large whole; everyone is involved in the evolution of the all-inclusive attractor field of consciousness itself. It's the evolution, innate to the overall field of consciousness, which guarantees the salvation of mankind, and with it, all of life. The nobility of man is in his constant struggle with his own unasked-for existence in a world that is a house of mirrors - his sole support, and his faith in the process of life itself. (p. 113-114)
This book is a treasure of wise observations about the human condition, development of higher awareness, and the evolution of consciousness.
I feel that a caution must be sounded, however, regarding Hawkins' overconfident statements about the certainty of his intuitive assessments and those of others he has tested. My own experience is that intuition is correct some of the time but not all of the time. The degree to which it is reliable appears related to the levels of development of the individuals making the intuitive assessments.
There are also questions raised by several specific statements in the book. I find a glaring discrepancy between Hawkins' assessment of Walmart as a business that cares for its employees and those of most of the reports from Walmart employees - finding that Walmart is a crass exploiter of manufacturers and staff, and primarily dedicated to earning profits, regardless of the human costs. Hawkins also contradicts himself, stating on the one hand that no "...reliable result [can] be obtained from inquiry into the future; only statements regarding existent conditions or events will produce consistent answers." (p. 61) Yet he makes diverse recommendations later in the book for using intuition to predict successes in business and other endeavors, suggesting that one can rely on these predictions.
 Power vs. Force August 2, 2008
This is probably one of the most important books of our times. Everyone, yes everyone should read it.
It is a gift July 29, 2008
Power vs. Force is a book like none other. It truly lays the ground for further spiritual work/evolution by allowing one to see all aspects of the human experience and how, in its innocence, it 'just is' and people simply are who they are. From there, compassion and forgiveness is even more of a possibility as one sees that everyone (including one's self) are simply operating with our only available tools based on our awareness. This understanding allows for the inspiration to truly see that people cannot help being what they are. This books lays this foundation and, for me, has made it much more difficult to come to hard and fast judgments about others or if I do, it at least allows for a quicker recovery from it. But the beauty of this is, that as the work (that of Dr. Hawkins') continues and one begins to maneuver through the teachings that at some point it becomes abundantly clear what the Buddha meant when he said ... "Holding onto anger is like grasping onto a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else. You are the one who gets burned." So in forgiving, we are released from the negativities we are holding onto and, in turn, benefit from releasing the burden. Hearing that may sound simple, yet truly hearing why people are the way they are (Levels of consciousness) really provides, at least it did for me, at least a moment to stop and ponder before reacting or coming to quick judgments. This book changed my life and I would recommend it to anyone who was the slightest bit dissatisfied with their angers, resentments and judgmentalisms and simply, perhaps, dissatisfied with just the way their lives are currently going. We are here to grow and be our best. Dr. Hawkins provides the tools to so and in doing so, we seem to be surrendering a very basic set of animal behaviors and trading them in for something better, something higher, something that is in alignment with spiritual principles that have been taught for thousands of years. And it seems to simply take a mere willingness to first admit that we could use improvement and then to surrender to a higher authority (God, Divinity, Almighty, etc) in stead of allowing our minds to be that authority. With God, all things are possible. That is not just a sentence, that is a very powerful reality. May we all fulfill Divine potential!
The "science" in this book makes me go weak July 29, 2008
I had very different reactions to the two main components of this book. Hawkins' musings about new age philosophy I often found compelling and even convincing. But his attempts to quantify truth through kinesiological science are presented in such an unscientific manner that it drags much of the book down. Even if you wanted to believe in the method he describes, Hawkins doesn't bother to address any of the obvious challenges that would come to the mind of any thoughtful reader. Instead, we are supposed to believe that his method works every time, perfectly. I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if Hawkins had presented this research as a sidebar of intriguing new experiments instead of trying to claim that there is a foolproof method for answering every great philosophical question and using it as a framework for his entire discussion. I give the book 4 stars for philosophical intrigue, but -2 stars for it's "science."
Profound Yet Flawed June 29, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a very good book and the core of it is valuable and amazing, however there are some flaws in the kinesiological method and results, and some annoying generalizations 'metal music makes one go weak' without saying what specific music was being tested. When doing kinesiological or energy testing, one must be very specific about the subject of the test. Also, one's personal feelings and mentation can at times override proper testing (this is why he says one has to be at '300' or above to get proper results).
Dr. Hawkins has done us a great service with his research however, and seems to be very sincere. The levels of consciousness diagram is worth the price of admission.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
