Chapter Two
Chapter Two
LIFE IS A SCHOOL
“I hold that when a person dies
His soul returns again to earth;
Arrayed in some new flesh-disguise,
Another mother gives him birth.
With sturdier limbs and brighter brain
The old soul takes the road again.
John Masefield (1878 – 1967)
Life is a strict loving and brutal taskmaster. If we really study the way nature operates we see that reward and punishment are the two main drivers of evolution for both man and nature. If we fail to learn and adapt, we suffer and even die. If we learn and evolve, we are rewarded by increased levels of enlightenment, satisfaction and happiness. A person mired in destructive actions, reactions, emotions and thoughts living in a state of depression, guilt, anger, or hate is simply refusing to learn the lessons being presented by life.
No matter how much we scream and yell and blame and attack others for our fate, nothing is going to change until we take responsibility for our situation and begin to do something about it. What is really interesting is that reality as we perceive it is structured and responsive to individualized learning with no person having the exact same set of lessons being presented.
Once we understand this fact we become much less judgmental of the thoughts, emotions, actions and reactions of others that sap our personal power moment to moment and day to day leaving us depleted and overwhelmed. I am not saying we ignore those around us, only that we mentally and emotionally insulate or remove ourselves from self-destructive people, situations and culture not getting stuck paying for the lessons others are refusing to learn. J For those others quite simply, more suffering in necessary, and we have had enough of suffering already, right?
The one characteristic of all life is that life from the smallest microorganism, right up to all complex life forms is that living things are constantly gathering, processing and storing information. Living things then take this information and use it to survive and prosper if they make the right decisions, or they suffer and even die if they make the wrong decisions based on the information gathered and processed. So we see that even on the most basic level, life is truly a school where learning is rewarded and failure to do so is punished by suffering or death.
One important thing we must learn is that we are not our emotions and thoughts, no more than a carpenter is the tools he uses. We do own our thoughts and emotions just as the carpenter owns his tools, so we are free to pick and choose which emotional and mental tools we need for our journey. But in order to do this we have to take responsibility for our actions, reactions, suffering and the overall unhappy situation or culture we find ourselves in. If we can do that, we are well on our way toward a good mental and emotional housecleaning that propels us forward out of suffering and into an enlightened state of existence or subculture that supports that enlightened state.
When the Buddha became aware of the suffering in life, he left his privileged society and culture behind never to return. In the wilderness and among the counter-culture of his day, he came through trial and error to understand the nature of suffering and its causes. Ultimately, he realized that suffering arises out of ignorance and dissipates with enlightenment. Therefore freedom from suffering comes from an understanding of its root causes, that of ignorance and a general failure to recognize that the material world is in a constant state of flux and change.
No permanent happiness or satisfaction is going to come from trying to make permanent a reality that is ever changing; therefore one has to move with nature rather than against nature by accepting what comes into one’s life as temporary. We appreciate what we have in the present moment of time and when it exists no more we do not cling to the memory of that past experience but rather continue to embrace and remain in the present. Memory, thought and emotion are part of our present, but they should remain in their rightful place in the scheme of things and not impede or obscure the other aspects of our present.
If we don’t get this, what happens is that we not only suffer loss, we fail to grasp the next lesson or opportunity being presented to us and head into a downward spiral of destructive emotions and thoughts. When we allow our thoughts and emotions tied up in our internal dialogue to separate us from perceiving reality, our suffering continues to increase. If we practice a discipline of mindfulness and meditation, we reverse this process letting the internal dialogue subside to become more in touch with reality and experience more of the life sustaining present moment.
Fundamental Lessons
Because humanity is in such a sad state, much of our culture is toxic to us when we are immersed in it. The practice of meditation and mindfulness within an enlightened subculture lifestyle helps us to gain perspective and understand the lessons that we need to learn and are having trouble learning. One lesson of course is developing this ability to back off from our thoughts and feelings that tie us to society as well as that dysfunctional society itself. Once we get some distance and gain some perspective, we can identify the lessons being presented to us that we need to learn. They can be new lessons or perhaps even old lessons that have not been previously learned but are still causing us to suffer.
We all have to struggle with some very basic lessons that if not learned result in anger, depression, fear, insecurity, anxiety, aggression, blame, resentment, lack of forgiveness, procrastination, denial etc. When we have the time to observe ourselves and reflect, we can not only identify the lesson but begin to take actions to learn the lesson and move on to more enjoyable lessons. But first we have to get the hard lessons out of the way because they will and are interfering with our evolution to a happy enlightened state of everyday existence.
Once the lessons are identified we can develop disciplines to address each lesson in a daily constant manner. As hard lessons are identified and learned it frees up time and energy to get at even more lessons in a growing positive feedback cycle that builds a positive inertia. We find that once we have stopped and reversed our destructive mental and emotional habits one by one with great difficulty, the momentum builds and we don’t have to work that hard at enlightenment anymore. Enlightenment builds up a inertia of its own to carry us along.
We talked a little about David Hawkins’ map of consciousness earlier in the book in brief but I would like to spend a little more time on it because of the value it gives us by orientating or fixing our position in consciousness. We do this with consciousness in much the same way that longitude and latitude fix our physical position or location on the globe. Even if we have a navigational map showing us where we want to go, we still need to know our location on the map in order to plot a course. Just as any other navigator, we need a navigation map (doctrine) and a position on that map (scale) as to our level of consciousness. So scale and doctrine can be thought of as enlightenment equivalents of longitude and latitude.
Because our level of consciousness positions us in our advancement toward enlightenment, it is important to know what our level of consciousness is and by working to raise that level we advance forward in enlightenment. I am not sure if I agree completely with some of Hawkins’ ideas as to measuring consciousness through reflexology, but what I do like is that any person can look at these emotional states on the map (scale) and determine an average level. Of course we can see that we fluctuate up and down the scale moment to moment day to day but we can approximate an average by noting how much time we spend in different emotional states.
Once we note where we are we can pay attention to the level we are operating on in the present and change it for the better by altering our thoughts, emotions and behavior. If you don’t think you can alter your thoughts, emotions and behavior, then you are operating below 200 the level in which one takes responsibility for one’s thoughts, emotions and behavior. As Hawkins correctly points out this is a difficult level to get through because it’s easy below 200 to shift blame or responsibility for the unhappy situation one finds oneself in. Rather than take responsibility or blame, we shift responsibility outside of ourselves giving our power away to others and getting angry or depressed in the process.
The other thing that David Hawkins points out is the existence of attractor fields where a person, group or environment directly or indirectly influences other people, groups or events for better or worse depending on the level of consciousness of the attractor field. David points out that not only can one navigate toward enlightenment by changing one’s own actions and reactions toward others but also by seeking out and interacting with those in more advanced levels of consciousness. Some of us were taught by parents to be very careful who we took close to us as friends knowing that poor friends would soon get us into trouble.
One thing that I have noticed is that many people get into trouble and fall down the scale of consciousness not only because they have not become good judges of character but also because they fail to understand that people are embedded in networks of their choosing either consciously or unconsciously. If we deal with one person we not only are dealing with that one person but the network in which they operate. We may be attracted to a person or a group because there is something there for us yet fail to realize that in interacting with that person or group we are also affecting other people and groups in that network.
I have developed a friendship with a person who took a fall in consciousness after her husband’s death. She had tried to do a good deed by protecting an old man being preyed upon only to be framed and thrown into jail. It was only years later after much enforced reflection under house arrest that she was able to piece together the whole predatory environment or network into which she had stumbled. Millions of dollars were involved where predatory lending and several business people and friends conspired to take down one of their own who had grown old and weak. Human predators are not amused when somebody gets between them and their meal ticket and they know how to corrupt and manipulate the criminal justice system to their advantage against naive people interfering with their criminal operations.
In the same manner that this friend was brought down by this criminal network with its own attractor fields, the process is reversed when one becomes aware enough to seek out environments and attractor fields that raise one’s level of consciousness rather than lower it. It’s tricky business for a person under 200 to find people and environments that are truly uplifting and not a fraud and a scam. It’s a kind of situation where one needs to have the vision of levels above 200 to be able to discriminate the true from the false. Fortunately even when we are below 200 on the average, we on occasion, when clear and well rested, can move above 200 so we can act on that above 200 vision, to find others and positive attractor fields and establish ourselves above level 200.
Once we can break the 200 barrier and establish our consciousness above that level, it’s much easier sailing through life till we get to the 500 level of unconditional love and compassion for others no matter how hard their learning experiences are. We have to learn how to protect ourselves from predation but do so through compassion and love. Hawkins is right about this 500 level being difficult to get through because it’s not easy to be compassionate and loving when we are being preyed upon.
The following article can be found on the internet as well as other good articles, video and books by David Hawkins for those who wish to pursue this line of inquiry further. [8]
"David Hawkins (or David R. Hawkins) is a psychiatrist who not only tackled years of clinical experience, but has conducted extensive research. His career spans from 1952 when he earned his MD from The Medical College of Wisconsin (established as Marquette University School of Medicine). In 1995, he also earned his PhD. in Philosophy from Columbia Pacific University. In his lifetime, he has founded and led several research laboratories and clinics."
Levels of Consciousness in "Power VS Force"
The most well-known publication of Dr. Hawkins is "Power VS. Force - The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior" (Hawkins, 2002). In the book, Hawkins extrapolates a hierarchical model of personality development. Hawkins argues that the personality can be described in a scoring system which ranges from 0 to 1000 (0 being the lowest score, 1000 being absolute enlightenment or pure awareness) (Hawkins 2002, 75-85). It is of interest to note that Hawkins argues that objective truth is not only existent, but may be reached and understood by any individual using a technique called kinesiology. By accessing the "Database of Consciousness," an individual may have questions answered with 100% certainty. His research shows that results are repeatable and accurate (Hawkins 2002, 29-30), regardless of the individual who performs the kinesiologic testing.
Each energy level outlined by Hawkins is extrapolated in the book. These levels of consciousness permeate the individual's entire perspective and dictate the way they relate to their life experiences. For Hawkins, moving upward into higher states of consciousness is the only way to make meaningful progress in one's life. Sadly, the average individual only moves up 5 points in their entire lifetime. However, a focused effort to move into higher states can lead to incredible leaps of awareness in relatively short periods of time. Individuals will fluctuate between different points on the scale, but an overall average number can be calculated using kinesiologic testing. Briefly, here are the energy levels outlined by David Hawkins:
•20: Shame•30: Guilt•50: Apathy•75: Grief•100: Fear•125: Desire•150: Anger•175: Pride•200: Courage•250: Neutrality•310: Willingness•350: Acceptance•400: Reason•500: Love•540: Joy•600: Peace•700-1000: Enlightenment
Although Hawkins goes into great detail about the various levels of consciousness, he points out two turning points as most crucial. "On our scale of consciousness, there are two critical points that allow for major advancement. The first is at 200, the initial level of empowerment: Here, the willingness to stop blaming and accept responsibility for one's own actions, feelings, and beliefs arises - as long as cause and responsibility are projected outside of oneself, one will remain in the powerless mode of victimhood. The second is at the 500 level, which is reached by accepting love and nonjudgmental forgiveness as a lifestyle, exercising unconditional kindness to all persons, things, and events without exception." (Hawkins 2002, 238).
These two thresholds are primary challenges for many individuals today. Moving beyond them represents a significant barrier which can only be overcome through a significant shift in personality. After moving beyond these realms, progression into increasingly higher states is very natural and less challenging.
Measuring Collective Consciousness
Through kinesiologic testing, David Hawkins and his researchers estimate the energy state of humanity's collective consciousness to sit around 207 (Hawkins 2002, 95). This is just above the 200 threshold, in which we move from an overall destructive force to an overall creative force on the planet. Therefore, Hawkins is very optimistic about the progress being made. However, Hawkins warns that "Any meaningful human satisfaction cannot commence until the level of 250, where some degree of self-confidence begins to emerge as a basis for positive life experiences in the evolution of consciousness." (Hawkins 2002, 96).
Counterbalancing Lower States of Consciousness
Individuals in states below 200 are explained as counterproductive to society. Their actions, in general, cause more harm than good. Furthermore, Hawkins warns that more than 85% of humans alive today still calibrate below the critical 200 level threshold (Hawkins 2002, 95). This is not surprising given that the majority of humanity still lives in extreme poverty, in which development of consciousness is nearly impossible.
The reason that our collective score sits at 207 is because the scale is logarithmic. Individuals who maintain higher states of awareness counterbalance large numbers of minds in lower states. Although only 4 percent of people alive today have reached the critical energy field of 500, individuals in these states have extremely powerful influence on the wellbeing of society as a whole. In fact, Hawkins points out that only .4 percent of the population reaches 540, and only 1 in 10 million people will ever reach the level of 600 (Hawkins 2002, 95). He also points out that there are currently 12 persons on the planet who calibrate at 700 (Hawkins 2002, 282).
To gain perspective of the power of individuals who reach higher states - and it emphasize the importance of our individual capacity to reach these higher states - Hawkins lays out the mathematics (Hawkins 2002, 282):
"One individual at 700 counterbalances 70 million individuals below level 200 • One individual at 600 counterbalances 10 million individuals below level 200 • One individual at 500 counterbalances 750,000 individuals below level 200 • One individual at 400 counterbalances 400,000 individuals below level 200 • One individual at 300 counterbalances 90,000 individuals below level 200 • Twelve individuals at 700 equal one avatar at level 1000"
Because of the logarithmically increasing power of individuals at higher states of consciousness, humanity has finally reached a level above the critical threshold of 200. Hawkins stresses that each person has the capacity to have significant influence on the wellbeing of society by prioritizing progression of their individual consciousness
David Hawkins and Attractor Fields
Rather than simply affecting events on the linear physical level, Hawkins (Hawkins 2002, 46-53) argues that alignment with "attractor fields" is a much more wise approach to accomplishing peak performance in one's life. While there is no doubt that Newtonian physics accurately describes events as happening in a sequential fashion, Hawkins argues that this is a gross oversimplification of the way we interact with the environment.
Physics correctly predicts the following: A->B->C Hawkins argues that underlying this physical chain of events are fundamental forces which can be amplified in one's life. In other words, awareness upon the attractor field [ABC] necessitates A->B->C. The entirety of Hawkins' work can be conceptualized as an effort to encourage others to align themselves with powerful attractor fields which necessitate positive outcomes. Entertaining higher attractor fields is a natural co-requisite to personality development and progression into higher states of consciousness. Indeed, our attitudes will change as we embrace different attractor fields. He describes the attractor fields as the determinants of human behavior (the subtitle of his book on the topic).
David Hawkins: Power VS Force
A person who is powerful engages from the level of higher attractor fields. Their lives are lived in synchronicity and joy, their work is effortless and fruitful, and their success is continuous and always growing. Again, entertaining higher energy fields progresses the personality on both the level of individual awareness and external success. As the individual moves into higher states of consciousness, they embrace power over force as the means to accomplish their goals.
"Power is associated with that which supports the significance of life itself. . . Power appeals to what uplifts, dignifies, and ennobles. Force must always be justified, whereas power requires no justification. Force is associated with the partial, while power is associated with the whole. . . Because force automatically creates counter-force, its affect is limited by definition. We could say that force is a movement - it goes from here to there (or tries to) against opposition. Power, on the other hand, is still. It's like a standing field that doesn't move. Gravity itself, for instance, doesn't move against anything. its power moves all objects within its field, but the gravity itself does not move."
"Force always moves against something, whereas power doesn't move against anything at all. Force is incomplete and therefore has to be fed energy constantly. Power is total and complete in itself and requires nothing from outside. It makes no demands; it has no needs. Because force has an insatiable appetite, it constantly consumes. Power, in contrast, energizes, gives forth, supplies, and supports. Power gives life and energy - force takes these away. We notice that power is associated with compassion and makes us feel positively about ourselves. Force is associated with judgment and makes us feel poorly about ourselves."
"Force always creates counterforce; its effect is to polarize rather than unify. Polarization always implies conflict; its cost, therefore, is always high. Because force incites polarization, it inevitably produces a win/lose dichotomy; and because somebody always loses, enemies are created." (Hawkins 2002, 132-133)
Here, we can see that a person who lives in lower states of awareness is caught in endless cycles of fruitless labor. Surface level, superficial accomplishments may come to pass, but there is no real intrinsic reward and inner happiness is never achieved. This is the unfortunate result of engaging reality from lower attractor fields. Rather than harnessing the true "power" of higher states of consciousness and elevated attractor patterns, an individual continuously uses "force" to endlessly fight external circumstances from lower states. Although the effort might be significant in terms of the physical and psychological exertion associated with forceful work, no meaningful progress can be made until the individual engages higher attractor patterns. Societal development is only possible as an increasingly large portion of individuals embrace higher attractor patterns and can therefore support each other in moving into higher states. The natural consequence of embracing power over force is development of consciousness.
The Intellect
Although intellectualism can only occur in relatively higher states of awareness (in the 300s and 400s), its power is limited. "The achievements of pure reason are the great landmarks of cultural history. They've made man the master of his external environment; and to some degree, on the physical plane, of his internal environment. But reason has its limits, in more ways than one: The intellectual brilliance of the 400 level, so dazzling and enviable to those in the 300s, quickly pales for those who have transcended it. From a higher perspective, it’s all too clear how tedious and trivial reason's infatuation with itself can become. Reason is the mirror of the mind's vanity; ultimately, there are few things more boring than to observe self-admiration." (Hawkins 2002, 268) Hawkins returns to this topic later in the book:
"Contrary to its delusions of grandeur, the intellect not only lacks the ability to recognize falsehood, but it also grossly lacks the necessary power to defend itself, even if it had the capacity for discernment. . . And it's clear from the common human conduct that even if the intellect could reliably arrive at this basic conclusion, it still lacks the power to stop the effect of negative fields. We remain unconscious of the causes of our afflictions while the intellect dreams up all kinds of plausible excuses, hypnotized by these same forces. Even when a person intellectually knows his behavior is self-destructive, this knowledge has no necessary deterrent effect whatsoever; intellectual recognition of our addictions has never given.
What is an Attractor Field?
Attractor Fields by Dr. Kurt Ebert, Ph.D.
Attractor fields are non-physical energy fields generated by each individual’s attitudes, beliefs and on-going thought stream. These energy fields interact not only with your body, but further with the energy fields and bodies of others as well. It is as a result of these energy fields that you view the world the way that you do, and those fields are why you have the attitudes and reactions toward life that you do.
Attractor fields are self-perpetuating. They limit the range of thoughts and perspectives that you have of, on, and about the world. Thoughts themselves are a form of nonphysical energy and have true power in and of themselves. This is why prayer has healing power. No matter how fleeting, each thought adds to the energy balance of your background energy pattern, your Level of Consciousness.
Disease of all forms is a result of our patterns of thinking and habitual response to events and people in the world. You cannot avoid creating attractor fields, they are the result of the process of thinking. You can only help by shifting your thought pattern away from negative thoughts.
Hawkins’ research indicates that energy fields, including attractor fields, are “impersonal”. They influence all living things the same way: loving thoughts are life promoting and negative thoughts are life impairing. The energy field of enlightened teachers elevates the energy level of those around them. This is the source of their charisma. Everyone who came in contact with Mother Teresa was impacted by the energy associated with her compassionate thoughts and perspective, or context, toward life. Since energy fields are impersonal, and “rub off” on us, association with individuals, thoughts, activities and behaviors associated with negative energy will lower our Level of Consciousness and have a destructive impact on our lives.
By the way of analogy, our consciousness is like a pile of iron filings subjected to the influence of a myriad of magnets, each having its own particular impersonal influence on how, and in which direction, the filings are pulled. Each magnet that is removed or added will have its incremental impact on the final shape assumed by the pile: the overall influence is the sum total of the individual magnetic fields involved. So too, the sum total of your thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and actions results in the You that you are at the moment.
Our choices are important and influence our destiny: we have a choice in which “magnets” we allow into our lives. Ultimately it’s the application of our free will that maintains an elevated level of consciousness, and frees us from the entrainment of lower energy fields. The Creator gave us free will. We must use it wisely lest we create that which we do not want. If you want the world to be a beautiful place, first make your mind a beautiful place.
Attractor Field Technique is an independent outgrowth of the seminal work of David R. Hawkins, MD, PhD, author of “Power Vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior“. “In this work, Dr. Hawkins presents the results of 25 years of historic research into human consciousness, and provides a wakeup call to humanity.” Dr. Hawkins’ book, and video tapes provide the background necessary to begin to understand attractor fields, and their influence in our lives.”
While the Hawkins’ scale or map of consciousness could be considered the latitude of an enlightenment navigational system, religious-scientific doctrine could be the longitude of such as system as well. We can use the consciousness scale in conjunction with an accurate doctrine to get a fix or perspective on the whole enlightenment contextual framework in which we are moving. Obviously both the scale and doctrine must be expansive and accurate in order to navigate well. In the case of doctrine we can build an individualized doctrine from case studies of NDEs, OBEs, reincarnation, meditative studies, extraterrestrial contact, and psychoactive drugs in conjunction with religious and scientific doctrines developed over thousands of years.
LIFE IS A SCHOOL
“I hold that when a person dies
His soul returns again to earth;
Arrayed in some new flesh-disguise,
Another mother gives him birth.
With sturdier limbs and brighter brain
The old soul takes the road again.
John Masefield (1878 – 1967)
Life is a strict loving and brutal taskmaster. If we really study the way nature operates we see that reward and punishment are the two main drivers of evolution for both man and nature. If we fail to learn and adapt, we suffer and even die. If we learn and evolve, we are rewarded by increased levels of enlightenment, satisfaction and happiness. A person mired in destructive actions, reactions, emotions and thoughts living in a state of depression, guilt, anger, or hate is simply refusing to learn the lessons being presented by life.
No matter how much we scream and yell and blame and attack others for our fate, nothing is going to change until we take responsibility for our situation and begin to do something about it. What is really interesting is that reality as we perceive it is structured and responsive to individualized learning with no person having the exact same set of lessons being presented.
Once we understand this fact we become much less judgmental of the thoughts, emotions, actions and reactions of others that sap our personal power moment to moment and day to day leaving us depleted and overwhelmed. I am not saying we ignore those around us, only that we mentally and emotionally insulate or remove ourselves from self-destructive people, situations and culture not getting stuck paying for the lessons others are refusing to learn. J For those others quite simply, more suffering in necessary, and we have had enough of suffering already, right?
The one characteristic of all life is that life from the smallest microorganism, right up to all complex life forms is that living things are constantly gathering, processing and storing information. Living things then take this information and use it to survive and prosper if they make the right decisions, or they suffer and even die if they make the wrong decisions based on the information gathered and processed. So we see that even on the most basic level, life is truly a school where learning is rewarded and failure to do so is punished by suffering or death.
One important thing we must learn is that we are not our emotions and thoughts, no more than a carpenter is the tools he uses. We do own our thoughts and emotions just as the carpenter owns his tools, so we are free to pick and choose which emotional and mental tools we need for our journey. But in order to do this we have to take responsibility for our actions, reactions, suffering and the overall unhappy situation or culture we find ourselves in. If we can do that, we are well on our way toward a good mental and emotional housecleaning that propels us forward out of suffering and into an enlightened state of existence or subculture that supports that enlightened state.
When the Buddha became aware of the suffering in life, he left his privileged society and culture behind never to return. In the wilderness and among the counter-culture of his day, he came through trial and error to understand the nature of suffering and its causes. Ultimately, he realized that suffering arises out of ignorance and dissipates with enlightenment. Therefore freedom from suffering comes from an understanding of its root causes, that of ignorance and a general failure to recognize that the material world is in a constant state of flux and change.
No permanent happiness or satisfaction is going to come from trying to make permanent a reality that is ever changing; therefore one has to move with nature rather than against nature by accepting what comes into one’s life as temporary. We appreciate what we have in the present moment of time and when it exists no more we do not cling to the memory of that past experience but rather continue to embrace and remain in the present. Memory, thought and emotion are part of our present, but they should remain in their rightful place in the scheme of things and not impede or obscure the other aspects of our present.
If we don’t get this, what happens is that we not only suffer loss, we fail to grasp the next lesson or opportunity being presented to us and head into a downward spiral of destructive emotions and thoughts. When we allow our thoughts and emotions tied up in our internal dialogue to separate us from perceiving reality, our suffering continues to increase. If we practice a discipline of mindfulness and meditation, we reverse this process letting the internal dialogue subside to become more in touch with reality and experience more of the life sustaining present moment.
Fundamental Lessons
Because humanity is in such a sad state, much of our culture is toxic to us when we are immersed in it. The practice of meditation and mindfulness within an enlightened subculture lifestyle helps us to gain perspective and understand the lessons that we need to learn and are having trouble learning. One lesson of course is developing this ability to back off from our thoughts and feelings that tie us to society as well as that dysfunctional society itself. Once we get some distance and gain some perspective, we can identify the lessons being presented to us that we need to learn. They can be new lessons or perhaps even old lessons that have not been previously learned but are still causing us to suffer.
We all have to struggle with some very basic lessons that if not learned result in anger, depression, fear, insecurity, anxiety, aggression, blame, resentment, lack of forgiveness, procrastination, denial etc. When we have the time to observe ourselves and reflect, we can not only identify the lesson but begin to take actions to learn the lesson and move on to more enjoyable lessons. But first we have to get the hard lessons out of the way because they will and are interfering with our evolution to a happy enlightened state of everyday existence.
Once the lessons are identified we can develop disciplines to address each lesson in a daily constant manner. As hard lessons are identified and learned it frees up time and energy to get at even more lessons in a growing positive feedback cycle that builds a positive inertia. We find that once we have stopped and reversed our destructive mental and emotional habits one by one with great difficulty, the momentum builds and we don’t have to work that hard at enlightenment anymore. Enlightenment builds up a inertia of its own to carry us along.
We talked a little about David Hawkins’ map of consciousness earlier in the book in brief but I would like to spend a little more time on it because of the value it gives us by orientating or fixing our position in consciousness. We do this with consciousness in much the same way that longitude and latitude fix our physical position or location on the globe. Even if we have a navigational map showing us where we want to go, we still need to know our location on the map in order to plot a course. Just as any other navigator, we need a navigation map (doctrine) and a position on that map (scale) as to our level of consciousness. So scale and doctrine can be thought of as enlightenment equivalents of longitude and latitude.
Because our level of consciousness positions us in our advancement toward enlightenment, it is important to know what our level of consciousness is and by working to raise that level we advance forward in enlightenment. I am not sure if I agree completely with some of Hawkins’ ideas as to measuring consciousness through reflexology, but what I do like is that any person can look at these emotional states on the map (scale) and determine an average level. Of course we can see that we fluctuate up and down the scale moment to moment day to day but we can approximate an average by noting how much time we spend in different emotional states.
Once we note where we are we can pay attention to the level we are operating on in the present and change it for the better by altering our thoughts, emotions and behavior. If you don’t think you can alter your thoughts, emotions and behavior, then you are operating below 200 the level in which one takes responsibility for one’s thoughts, emotions and behavior. As Hawkins correctly points out this is a difficult level to get through because it’s easy below 200 to shift blame or responsibility for the unhappy situation one finds oneself in. Rather than take responsibility or blame, we shift responsibility outside of ourselves giving our power away to others and getting angry or depressed in the process.
The other thing that David Hawkins points out is the existence of attractor fields where a person, group or environment directly or indirectly influences other people, groups or events for better or worse depending on the level of consciousness of the attractor field. David points out that not only can one navigate toward enlightenment by changing one’s own actions and reactions toward others but also by seeking out and interacting with those in more advanced levels of consciousness. Some of us were taught by parents to be very careful who we took close to us as friends knowing that poor friends would soon get us into trouble.
One thing that I have noticed is that many people get into trouble and fall down the scale of consciousness not only because they have not become good judges of character but also because they fail to understand that people are embedded in networks of their choosing either consciously or unconsciously. If we deal with one person we not only are dealing with that one person but the network in which they operate. We may be attracted to a person or a group because there is something there for us yet fail to realize that in interacting with that person or group we are also affecting other people and groups in that network.
I have developed a friendship with a person who took a fall in consciousness after her husband’s death. She had tried to do a good deed by protecting an old man being preyed upon only to be framed and thrown into jail. It was only years later after much enforced reflection under house arrest that she was able to piece together the whole predatory environment or network into which she had stumbled. Millions of dollars were involved where predatory lending and several business people and friends conspired to take down one of their own who had grown old and weak. Human predators are not amused when somebody gets between them and their meal ticket and they know how to corrupt and manipulate the criminal justice system to their advantage against naive people interfering with their criminal operations.
In the same manner that this friend was brought down by this criminal network with its own attractor fields, the process is reversed when one becomes aware enough to seek out environments and attractor fields that raise one’s level of consciousness rather than lower it. It’s tricky business for a person under 200 to find people and environments that are truly uplifting and not a fraud and a scam. It’s a kind of situation where one needs to have the vision of levels above 200 to be able to discriminate the true from the false. Fortunately even when we are below 200 on the average, we on occasion, when clear and well rested, can move above 200 so we can act on that above 200 vision, to find others and positive attractor fields and establish ourselves above level 200.
Once we can break the 200 barrier and establish our consciousness above that level, it’s much easier sailing through life till we get to the 500 level of unconditional love and compassion for others no matter how hard their learning experiences are. We have to learn how to protect ourselves from predation but do so through compassion and love. Hawkins is right about this 500 level being difficult to get through because it’s not easy to be compassionate and loving when we are being preyed upon.
The following article can be found on the internet as well as other good articles, video and books by David Hawkins for those who wish to pursue this line of inquiry further. [8]
"David Hawkins (or David R. Hawkins) is a psychiatrist who not only tackled years of clinical experience, but has conducted extensive research. His career spans from 1952 when he earned his MD from The Medical College of Wisconsin (established as Marquette University School of Medicine). In 1995, he also earned his PhD. in Philosophy from Columbia Pacific University. In his lifetime, he has founded and led several research laboratories and clinics."
Levels of Consciousness in "Power VS Force"
The most well-known publication of Dr. Hawkins is "Power VS. Force - The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior" (Hawkins, 2002). In the book, Hawkins extrapolates a hierarchical model of personality development. Hawkins argues that the personality can be described in a scoring system which ranges from 0 to 1000 (0 being the lowest score, 1000 being absolute enlightenment or pure awareness) (Hawkins 2002, 75-85). It is of interest to note that Hawkins argues that objective truth is not only existent, but may be reached and understood by any individual using a technique called kinesiology. By accessing the "Database of Consciousness," an individual may have questions answered with 100% certainty. His research shows that results are repeatable and accurate (Hawkins 2002, 29-30), regardless of the individual who performs the kinesiologic testing.
Each energy level outlined by Hawkins is extrapolated in the book. These levels of consciousness permeate the individual's entire perspective and dictate the way they relate to their life experiences. For Hawkins, moving upward into higher states of consciousness is the only way to make meaningful progress in one's life. Sadly, the average individual only moves up 5 points in their entire lifetime. However, a focused effort to move into higher states can lead to incredible leaps of awareness in relatively short periods of time. Individuals will fluctuate between different points on the scale, but an overall average number can be calculated using kinesiologic testing. Briefly, here are the energy levels outlined by David Hawkins:
•20: Shame•30: Guilt•50: Apathy•75: Grief•100: Fear•125: Desire•150: Anger•175: Pride•200: Courage•250: Neutrality•310: Willingness•350: Acceptance•400: Reason•500: Love•540: Joy•600: Peace•700-1000: Enlightenment
Although Hawkins goes into great detail about the various levels of consciousness, he points out two turning points as most crucial. "On our scale of consciousness, there are two critical points that allow for major advancement. The first is at 200, the initial level of empowerment: Here, the willingness to stop blaming and accept responsibility for one's own actions, feelings, and beliefs arises - as long as cause and responsibility are projected outside of oneself, one will remain in the powerless mode of victimhood. The second is at the 500 level, which is reached by accepting love and nonjudgmental forgiveness as a lifestyle, exercising unconditional kindness to all persons, things, and events without exception." (Hawkins 2002, 238).
These two thresholds are primary challenges for many individuals today. Moving beyond them represents a significant barrier which can only be overcome through a significant shift in personality. After moving beyond these realms, progression into increasingly higher states is very natural and less challenging.
Measuring Collective Consciousness
Through kinesiologic testing, David Hawkins and his researchers estimate the energy state of humanity's collective consciousness to sit around 207 (Hawkins 2002, 95). This is just above the 200 threshold, in which we move from an overall destructive force to an overall creative force on the planet. Therefore, Hawkins is very optimistic about the progress being made. However, Hawkins warns that "Any meaningful human satisfaction cannot commence until the level of 250, where some degree of self-confidence begins to emerge as a basis for positive life experiences in the evolution of consciousness." (Hawkins 2002, 96).
Counterbalancing Lower States of Consciousness
Individuals in states below 200 are explained as counterproductive to society. Their actions, in general, cause more harm than good. Furthermore, Hawkins warns that more than 85% of humans alive today still calibrate below the critical 200 level threshold (Hawkins 2002, 95). This is not surprising given that the majority of humanity still lives in extreme poverty, in which development of consciousness is nearly impossible.
The reason that our collective score sits at 207 is because the scale is logarithmic. Individuals who maintain higher states of awareness counterbalance large numbers of minds in lower states. Although only 4 percent of people alive today have reached the critical energy field of 500, individuals in these states have extremely powerful influence on the wellbeing of society as a whole. In fact, Hawkins points out that only .4 percent of the population reaches 540, and only 1 in 10 million people will ever reach the level of 600 (Hawkins 2002, 95). He also points out that there are currently 12 persons on the planet who calibrate at 700 (Hawkins 2002, 282).
To gain perspective of the power of individuals who reach higher states - and it emphasize the importance of our individual capacity to reach these higher states - Hawkins lays out the mathematics (Hawkins 2002, 282):
"One individual at 700 counterbalances 70 million individuals below level 200 • One individual at 600 counterbalances 10 million individuals below level 200 • One individual at 500 counterbalances 750,000 individuals below level 200 • One individual at 400 counterbalances 400,000 individuals below level 200 • One individual at 300 counterbalances 90,000 individuals below level 200 • Twelve individuals at 700 equal one avatar at level 1000"
Because of the logarithmically increasing power of individuals at higher states of consciousness, humanity has finally reached a level above the critical threshold of 200. Hawkins stresses that each person has the capacity to have significant influence on the wellbeing of society by prioritizing progression of their individual consciousness
David Hawkins and Attractor Fields
Rather than simply affecting events on the linear physical level, Hawkins (Hawkins 2002, 46-53) argues that alignment with "attractor fields" is a much more wise approach to accomplishing peak performance in one's life. While there is no doubt that Newtonian physics accurately describes events as happening in a sequential fashion, Hawkins argues that this is a gross oversimplification of the way we interact with the environment.
Physics correctly predicts the following: A->B->C Hawkins argues that underlying this physical chain of events are fundamental forces which can be amplified in one's life. In other words, awareness upon the attractor field [ABC] necessitates A->B->C. The entirety of Hawkins' work can be conceptualized as an effort to encourage others to align themselves with powerful attractor fields which necessitate positive outcomes. Entertaining higher attractor fields is a natural co-requisite to personality development and progression into higher states of consciousness. Indeed, our attitudes will change as we embrace different attractor fields. He describes the attractor fields as the determinants of human behavior (the subtitle of his book on the topic).
David Hawkins: Power VS Force
A person who is powerful engages from the level of higher attractor fields. Their lives are lived in synchronicity and joy, their work is effortless and fruitful, and their success is continuous and always growing. Again, entertaining higher energy fields progresses the personality on both the level of individual awareness and external success. As the individual moves into higher states of consciousness, they embrace power over force as the means to accomplish their goals.
"Power is associated with that which supports the significance of life itself. . . Power appeals to what uplifts, dignifies, and ennobles. Force must always be justified, whereas power requires no justification. Force is associated with the partial, while power is associated with the whole. . . Because force automatically creates counter-force, its affect is limited by definition. We could say that force is a movement - it goes from here to there (or tries to) against opposition. Power, on the other hand, is still. It's like a standing field that doesn't move. Gravity itself, for instance, doesn't move against anything. its power moves all objects within its field, but the gravity itself does not move."
"Force always moves against something, whereas power doesn't move against anything at all. Force is incomplete and therefore has to be fed energy constantly. Power is total and complete in itself and requires nothing from outside. It makes no demands; it has no needs. Because force has an insatiable appetite, it constantly consumes. Power, in contrast, energizes, gives forth, supplies, and supports. Power gives life and energy - force takes these away. We notice that power is associated with compassion and makes us feel positively about ourselves. Force is associated with judgment and makes us feel poorly about ourselves."
"Force always creates counterforce; its effect is to polarize rather than unify. Polarization always implies conflict; its cost, therefore, is always high. Because force incites polarization, it inevitably produces a win/lose dichotomy; and because somebody always loses, enemies are created." (Hawkins 2002, 132-133)
Here, we can see that a person who lives in lower states of awareness is caught in endless cycles of fruitless labor. Surface level, superficial accomplishments may come to pass, but there is no real intrinsic reward and inner happiness is never achieved. This is the unfortunate result of engaging reality from lower attractor fields. Rather than harnessing the true "power" of higher states of consciousness and elevated attractor patterns, an individual continuously uses "force" to endlessly fight external circumstances from lower states. Although the effort might be significant in terms of the physical and psychological exertion associated with forceful work, no meaningful progress can be made until the individual engages higher attractor patterns. Societal development is only possible as an increasingly large portion of individuals embrace higher attractor patterns and can therefore support each other in moving into higher states. The natural consequence of embracing power over force is development of consciousness.
The Intellect
Although intellectualism can only occur in relatively higher states of awareness (in the 300s and 400s), its power is limited. "The achievements of pure reason are the great landmarks of cultural history. They've made man the master of his external environment; and to some degree, on the physical plane, of his internal environment. But reason has its limits, in more ways than one: The intellectual brilliance of the 400 level, so dazzling and enviable to those in the 300s, quickly pales for those who have transcended it. From a higher perspective, it’s all too clear how tedious and trivial reason's infatuation with itself can become. Reason is the mirror of the mind's vanity; ultimately, there are few things more boring than to observe self-admiration." (Hawkins 2002, 268) Hawkins returns to this topic later in the book:
"Contrary to its delusions of grandeur, the intellect not only lacks the ability to recognize falsehood, but it also grossly lacks the necessary power to defend itself, even if it had the capacity for discernment. . . And it's clear from the common human conduct that even if the intellect could reliably arrive at this basic conclusion, it still lacks the power to stop the effect of negative fields. We remain unconscious of the causes of our afflictions while the intellect dreams up all kinds of plausible excuses, hypnotized by these same forces. Even when a person intellectually knows his behavior is self-destructive, this knowledge has no necessary deterrent effect whatsoever; intellectual recognition of our addictions has never given.
What is an Attractor Field?
Attractor Fields by Dr. Kurt Ebert, Ph.D.
Attractor fields are non-physical energy fields generated by each individual’s attitudes, beliefs and on-going thought stream. These energy fields interact not only with your body, but further with the energy fields and bodies of others as well. It is as a result of these energy fields that you view the world the way that you do, and those fields are why you have the attitudes and reactions toward life that you do.
Attractor fields are self-perpetuating. They limit the range of thoughts and perspectives that you have of, on, and about the world. Thoughts themselves are a form of nonphysical energy and have true power in and of themselves. This is why prayer has healing power. No matter how fleeting, each thought adds to the energy balance of your background energy pattern, your Level of Consciousness.
Disease of all forms is a result of our patterns of thinking and habitual response to events and people in the world. You cannot avoid creating attractor fields, they are the result of the process of thinking. You can only help by shifting your thought pattern away from negative thoughts.
Hawkins’ research indicates that energy fields, including attractor fields, are “impersonal”. They influence all living things the same way: loving thoughts are life promoting and negative thoughts are life impairing. The energy field of enlightened teachers elevates the energy level of those around them. This is the source of their charisma. Everyone who came in contact with Mother Teresa was impacted by the energy associated with her compassionate thoughts and perspective, or context, toward life. Since energy fields are impersonal, and “rub off” on us, association with individuals, thoughts, activities and behaviors associated with negative energy will lower our Level of Consciousness and have a destructive impact on our lives.
By the way of analogy, our consciousness is like a pile of iron filings subjected to the influence of a myriad of magnets, each having its own particular impersonal influence on how, and in which direction, the filings are pulled. Each magnet that is removed or added will have its incremental impact on the final shape assumed by the pile: the overall influence is the sum total of the individual magnetic fields involved. So too, the sum total of your thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and actions results in the You that you are at the moment.
Our choices are important and influence our destiny: we have a choice in which “magnets” we allow into our lives. Ultimately it’s the application of our free will that maintains an elevated level of consciousness, and frees us from the entrainment of lower energy fields. The Creator gave us free will. We must use it wisely lest we create that which we do not want. If you want the world to be a beautiful place, first make your mind a beautiful place.
Attractor Field Technique is an independent outgrowth of the seminal work of David R. Hawkins, MD, PhD, author of “Power Vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior“. “In this work, Dr. Hawkins presents the results of 25 years of historic research into human consciousness, and provides a wakeup call to humanity.” Dr. Hawkins’ book, and video tapes provide the background necessary to begin to understand attractor fields, and their influence in our lives.”
While the Hawkins’ scale or map of consciousness could be considered the latitude of an enlightenment navigational system, religious-scientific doctrine could be the longitude of such as system as well. We can use the consciousness scale in conjunction with an accurate doctrine to get a fix or perspective on the whole enlightenment contextual framework in which we are moving. Obviously both the scale and doctrine must be expansive and accurate in order to navigate well. In the case of doctrine we can build an individualized doctrine from case studies of NDEs, OBEs, reincarnation, meditative studies, extraterrestrial contact, and psychoactive drugs in conjunction with religious and scientific doctrines developed over thousands of years.