Power vs. Force by DAVID R HAWKINS (rare books)

Book Summary

Power vs. Force delves into how varying levels of human consciousness shape behavior, decisions, and the quality of life. Here’s what you need to know:

• Core Premise: Hawkins differentiates power—which is rooted in truth, life-affirmation, and higher consciousness—from force, which stems from ego, coercion, and negative motivations.

• Map of Consciousness: The author introduces a logarithmic scale from 1 to 1,000 that maps emotional and spiritual states—ranging from low-energy, destructive levels such as Shame, Guilt, Fear, Desire, Anger, and Pride, to empowering, elevated states like Courage, Acceptance, Reason, Love, Peace, and Enlightenment.

• Kinesiology as a Method: Hawkins claims to measure these consciousness levels through muscle testing (applied kinesiology). Statements or stimuli aligned with higher truth supposedly strengthen the muscle, while those aligned with lower, negative energy patterns weaken it.

• Structured Framework:

  1. Tools: Describes the underlying methodologies—such as energy fields, attractors, and kinesiology—that support the Map of Consciousness framework.

  2. Work: Contrasts patterns of power versus force across different domains. For instance, leaders like Mahatma Gandhi embody power, while authoritarian figures employ force.

  3. Meaning: Explores how collective consciousness, perception, and alignment with higher states influence personal and societal transformation.

• Key Takeaways:

  • Levels below 200 are rooted in force and held to be destructive; Courage (200) marks the threshold into true power.

  • People can elevate their consciousness through practices like meditation, therapy, surrender, and living by truth and principle.

  • Power, though less overt, is more sustainable and unifying than force, which breeds resistance and collapse.

• Reader Response: While many find these ideas inspiring and transformative, critics view the reliance on kinesiology as unscientific or pseudoscientific.

About the Author

David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D., was a psychiatrist, physician, researcher, and spiritual teacher renowned for blending psychology, medicine, and spirituality:

• Founding Director of the Institute for Spiritual Research (1983) and later Path of Devotional Nonduality (2003).

• Co‑authored Orthomolecular Psychiatry (1973) with Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling—pioneering work in psychiatric medicine.

• Served as Medical Director at the North Nassau Mental Health Center and Director of Research at Brunswick Hospital, leading one of the largest outpatient psychiatric practices in the U.S..

• Lectured widely at venues like Westminster Abbey, Harvard, the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and more; was involved as an advisor to religious and diplomatic bodies .

• Honored with numerous awards—such as the Huxley Award, AMA recognition, Orthomolecular Medicine Hall of Fame, and a knighthood in the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem in 1995 in recognition of his humanitarian and spiritual contributions.

• Critics question aspects of his academic credentials and the scientific rigor of kinesiology, with some labeling his methods as pseudoscientific