Energy vs. Pressure

PowerFull Wisdom
Wow! So good. This book needs to be read with quite contemplation. Deep, yet basic common sense easy to understand. That you Dávid Hawkins for this wonderful inspiring useful information.

Great except his view on music
This book is phenomenal and deserves to be a classic in spirituality and psychology. I would encourage anyone who is interested to read it.However, I feel compelled to make the point that he misunderstands music to the point that it’s upsetting. He demonizes several genres of music for having negative lyrical content while praising others. He writes that some music puts people into a hypnotic trance that then makes them act out in unconscious ways. That’s garbage. If you’re acting out in unconscious ways, it’s because there’s a lot stored up in you that is trying to get worked out. One of the important things that this “demonic” music does is it gives people a medium through which they can feel heard and express their emotions. It isn’t caused by the music. Of course, we could just as well start blaming classical music for the world wars, but I don’t think anyone is so misguided to genuinely believe that. People are drawn to music because it resonates, so he should be asking why it resonates and what purpose it serves their spiritual and psychological evolution. Some of the kindest people I have ever met listen to aggressive and angry music. It can be a wonderful source of therapy in a world that has repressed and suppressed all people in myriad ways. Would Jesus or Buddha listen to it? I’d be willing to bet yes because such spiritual teachers would see the value that it has for helping people evolve.That being said, the rest of the book is great.

the power of ideas always outlasts the force of violence
The founder of behavioral kinesiology, Dr. John Diamond, was a very spiritual man, believing that all human wellness originated from an inner Life Energy akin to the ancient Chinese concept of Qi. He saw that all of us humans are connected via an all-encompassing metaphysical structure of humanity. A spiritual ‘whole,’ that once realized, can be truly metamorphosing. In 1957, Diamond graduated from medical school in Sydney, Australia, with a degree in psychological medicine. It was there that he developed a lot of his theories on human consciousness and connectedness. In the late 1970’s, he founded the field of behavioral kinesiology, the synthesis of his time studying psychological concepts in science and spiritual concepts in life. This connection between body and mind is the basis for Hawkins’ further exploration of these same concepts in Power vs. Force.Our mind and body perform in tandem in all endeavors; our thoughts affect how our body operates and our body’s relationship to our mind affects it considerably as well. If we think negative thoughts, our body will ‘feel it.’ This is exemplified by the numerous studies done on the impact of stress on the body: it has been proven that mental stress can have profound and long-lasting physical health effects. Similarly, if you force yourself to smile, you will indeed feel happier. Walking into a room with your shoulders back will make you feel more confident in the presence of others. The mind and body work off of each other in both positive and negative ways.The single practicable idea posited in this book is the ability to ‘test’ ideas as they are received by the body. The test itself is simple: one person holds their arm out straight, parallel to the ground, and a second person applies pressure to their wrist in an attempt to push the arm back down to the first person’s side. When ideas like love, compassion, reason, acceptance, willingness, and courage are held in mind, they will ‘test positive,’ and the first person’s arm will stay strong in the face of resistance. When pride, fear, anger, grief, apathy, or shame are thought of, they will ‘test negative’ and their arm will succumb to pressure and be easily pushed down. It’s that simple. It is not about physical strength, as bodybuilders and grandmothers alike are susceptible to this test; it is the body’s manifestation of ideas in its physicality. “The body can discern, to the finest degree, the difference between that which is supportive of life and that which is not.” This is also true for physical stimulants as well. Putting organic sugar under one’s tongue will test positive and the arm will remain strong, for example, whilst processed sugar will test negative and the arm will go weak.Once we have accepted this premise, the further differences between power and force can be explored. “Power appeals to that which uplifts, dignifies, and ennobles,” Hawkins says of things that test positive. Force, on the other hand, is descriptive of conflict and condemnation. “Force always creates counterforce; its effect is to polarize rather than to unify.”Napoleon Bonaparte, looking back over his years of conquest, is reported to have said: “Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I have built great empires. But upon what did they depend? They depended on force. But centuries ago Jesus started an empire built on love, and even to this day millions will die for him.” The difference between power and force is the difference between Jesus and Napoleon. Napoleon built an ‘empire’ via force, whilst Jesus created a following based on the powerful uplifting sentiments of love and peace. Napoleon came and went in the span of decades. Jesus’ lessons have survived millennia. The same comparison can be made between Hitler and Churchill. Hitler amassed the largest military force the world had ever seen, yet was foiled by the power expressed by Winston Churchill, “who unified the will of his people through [the] principles of freedom and selfless sacrifice.”Power and force are the two main overarching tools used by those who desire to change the world. The powerful change the world via ideas whilst the forceful change the world via violence. When the two meet, power always eventually succeeds; on a long enough timeline, the power of ideas always outlasts the force of violence. This is because power originates in the mind, whereas force can only manifest itself in the physical world. Through this lens, we can see that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword. Force creates opposition. Power creates unity. It is not a secret which is more effective, and which we should prefer.By testing our body’s responses to different stimuli, we can gain a tremendous amount of information both individually and collectively. Holding a specific relationship in mind, for example, can produce surprising results: perhaps our significant other makes us go weak, indicating a problem. “By testing, we can prove that a false premise such as ‘the end justifies the means’ is operationally negative, yet this is a routinely accepted justification for much of human behavior.” While it is not a definitive test, it can tip us off to parts of ourselves we were unaware of. The benefit of realizing that an idea is not as foolproof as we first thought is important. This field of behavioral kinesiology is the crossroads between biology and spirituality, between mind and body, and we would be wise to tap into this knowledge.

Amazing work,

This books gives map of consciousness which is a scientific framework to man kind all that the sages and saints practiced I. Centuries is explained in convincingly mathematical and cosmic explanations which I liked about this book.This books is manual to refer to our consciousness and our behavior from it and to break from that pattern of u wanted emotional turmoil by raising ourselves to higher consciousness levels to operate in higher powerful energy fields.Highly recommended to people who want to find spiritual power and want to live life with high consciousness.This book is the best book after many years of research of Dr David Hawkins