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A ExploringConsciousnessWithHawkins
A ExploringConsciousnessWithHawkins
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S H I F T:
AT
THE
F RONTIERS
OF
CONSCIOUSNESS
Exploring Consciousness
with David Hawkins
Interview by Pamela Becker
Drawing by Leonardo da Vinci
Since the publication of his
book Power vs. Force:
The Hidden Determinants
of Human Behavior (over
200,000 copies sold in 17
languages), David Hawkins,
MD, PhD, has become a popular and at times controversial figure
in the world of consciousness studies.
In attempting to chart levels of spiritual
maturity and the veracity of any claim or statement by
using a technique called behavioral kinesiology, he has
attracted a vast audience of both readers and therapists
intrigued by his work and has sparked debate among
scientists and others who challenge both the technique
and his application of it. Hawkins and his wife, Susan
(his exclusive kinesiology partner and coresearcher),
have used simple muscle-testing to calibrate belief
systems, historical events, and the levels of consciousness of various human beings, from the beginning of
history up to the present time. While acknowledging the
high resonance of saints and inspirational leaders (such
as Gandhi), certain documents (such as the Bible and
the U.S. Constitution), and emotional states (bliss and
joy, for example), he also claims that global warming
is caused not by humans but by magnetic activity
on the surface of the sun and that most of humanity
calibrates at a level of less than 200, which he describes
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Veritas Publishing
David Hawkins
truth-tests a
statement on
the arm of
Susan, his wife
and research
partner.
S H I F T:
AT
THE
F RONTIERS
OF
CONSCIOUSNESS
and are seeking to profit. They will tell you they can raise
your consciousness 100 points, and it will only cost $350.
For $5,000, one guy calibrates you every hour and claims
you will become enlightened in two weeks. I tell people
to go back to what Ive written and listen to my lectures
before trying to use or manipulate the technique. People
are always trying to put me in a position of trying to
convince others [of the validity of my work]. I am not
interested in persuading people; I just give them the evidence. If they are truly interested in the truth, they will
be drawn to it, and if they are not, they will find some
way to negate it.
PB: According to your calculations, the overall level
of consciousness of the world recently dropped a few
points. If this is true, might it affect the ability of an
individual to rise?
DH: I havent researched whether the capacity to
advance individually is independent of the overall level.
[Hawkins tests the statement on his partners, Susans,
arm. It stays strong, thus confirming that ones capacities
are independent.] Its an individual matter. You are not
controlled by the prevailing consciousness level of the
world. We are at the effect of our own experience of
the world.
PB: It is hard for people to find the voice of guidance
within, and even if they do, such as through the use of kinesiology, following through is difficult. Do you have any
advice for people trying to find or listen to this voice?
DH: It is not so much a voice as an inclination to expand the depth of the field. We follow that inclination
when we begin to practice spiritual concepts and feel an
immediate result. You are very angry, for example, and
suddenly you remember to see things differently: You
remember the intrinsic innocence of people, that they
dont know any better, or that they couldnt have done
it any differently or they would have. Negative feelings
become less and less tolerable, which increases your
desire to see things differently in the future.
PB: You had a spiritual breakthrough in 1965, and Im
curious about fluctuations in consciousness and choice.
Was your own path a roller coaster? Did you feel like you
were moving two steps forward, one step back, or was it
a smooth transition?
DH: No, it moves in phases. You could say, in general, [that] you transcend the various levels. Each one
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AT
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OF
CONSCIOUSNESS
You cant really say that one is better than another because you are projecting preference. Being a hippo is
a hippo, and being a crane is something else. It isnt a
matter of better than: Its that it is what it is. Identity
and meaning are identical. If you live in the world of essence, then you see and experience the world differently.
You see that everything is just being that which it is in
that point of evolution, and eventually the perfection
of all things dawns on youeven toward an adolescent
who has been brainwashed into thinking that violence
is holiness. That is all he or she can believe at that point
in this lifetime. This world isnt celestial, nor is it hell.
To my view, it is purgatorial. You have a choice between
heaven and hell right here, right now.
PB: You spend a lot of quiet time in contemplation and
meditation with nature. Then you are out in the world as
a therapist, doctor, and spiritual teacher. How does one
navigate these seeming polarities and stay in integrity?
DH: They are not polarities; they are all potentialities.
Like a pipe organ, on this one I play the bass notes, and
on this one I play the high notes. So the overall orientation is to be of service to the world in whatever way you
can be. When your own needs are met, you try to fulfill
the needs of the world, to complete the fulfillment of
your own potentiality. Each person has a gift.
PB: Your writings and lectures emphasize that peace
begins within an individual. The world is in such a state
of distress these days. Could you speak briefly about
how individuals might integrously be involved in the
peace movement today?
DH: Peace as a movement . . . is very provocative, and
it provokes its opposite. Why? Because it has become
politicized, and when politicized, it wants to control.
From the viewpoint of yin-yang, it gives you something
to oppose. The way to have peace is to be peaceful. If you
have it, why would you be protesting about it? Peace is
an inner state.
PB: Then would you say the peace movement is a
waste of time?
DH: Id say it is very provocative of its opposite.
PB: How would one access choosing peace?
DH: Peace is an inner decision, you see. How do you
bring about peace? Through the collective. Each person, by choosing peace within themselves, raises the
overall level of consciousness. As each person chooses
truth rather than falsehood and with integrity moves
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www.ninegates.org
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