Customer Reviews

Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior

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I bought a copy of David Hawkins' "Power vs. Force" at the recommendation of a good friend and fellow spiritual seeker who has been quoting Hawkins at me for a couple of years. I am certainly glad to have read this book, and will add that I found it intriguing enough to order the two subsequent books in Hawkins' trilogy. At the same time, I have rather mixed feelings about what I read-- which is reflected in this review.

Whereas I tend to keep an open mind, I have considerable skepticism of any teacher, mystic or expert who claims to have "THE answer." Although he'd like us to think he has the "definitive answer," what Dr. Hawkins has-- and offers readers-- is a PERSPECTIVE, much the same as most other Teachers. And whereas it may be an intriguing and possibly life-altering perspective for some, it is none-the-less still just that: a perspective. Since the majority of the reviews written so far seem to be offering largely *opinions* I'll start by trying to explain what this book is actually ABOUT.

This is mostly a spiritual book, masquerading under a facade of questionable science. Loosely speaking, Hawkins pokes at the fringes of Nonduality, vaguely drawing on traditions of Teachers ranging from Sri Ramana Maharshi to Eckhart Tolle. Yet, at the heart of Hawkins' theories about life, and "How Things Work" is the "science" of Applied Kinesiology (AK). AK is not exactly new, having first gained some attention in the 1960s. It is basically a kind of "muscle testing" which posits that we simply "know" whether something is truth or not-truth, regardless of intellect, training, experience or anything else. Thus if something is "bad," "untrue" or "evil," our muscles will be "weak" in its presence. Conversely, if something is "good," "truthful" or "benevolent," we will be "strong" in its presence.

The basic process of this muscle testing *appears* straightforward enough. The test involves two people-- one who holds out his/her arm to the side, parallel to the ground, and one who asks a simple yes/no question about an object, person or idea. Depending on how the object "calibrates" the person holding their arm out will either test "strong" or "weak." What is NOT straightforward are the particular conditions and limitations Hawkins claims must be met to make muscle testing viable and accurate. And herein lies one of my (and many other reviewers') hesitation with the concept: There's a distinct tone of "We have this fabulous and 100% accurate method, but almost nobody is qualified to execute it, and it's almost impossible to create the environment in which it is completely accurate."

It's tempting to dismiss AK as "complete quackery" since there is very little scientific evidence to support it. At the same time, there may be more to it than meets the eye-- a "version" of it has been used by several large "canned music" providers to select music that makes people "test weak" to be played as background music in retail environments; the implication being that you'll be "weak" with your wallet. For my money, it amounts to "Strange Theory" which Hawkins presents in a highly "scientific-sounding" style, perhaps in the hope that readers will be convinced that "if it SOUNDS like science, it must BE science."

According to Hawkins we, as humans, live at vastly different "levels" of consciousness. All these levels, along with the "truth level" of ANY true/false style inquiry, can be tested for truth and numerically "calibrated" through muscle testing, on a logarithmic scale of 1-1000. According to Hawkins, any person, concept, thought or object that calibrates at 200 (The level of Integrity) or above is positive ("power"); anything below 200 is negative ("force"). So far, so good. Hawkins' "map of the levels of human consciousness" is highly consistent with most spiritual teachings, running the range from Shame (lowest) to Enlightenment (highest). Hawkins' descriptions of the levels are accurate; his coverage personal growth, positive energy and similar concepts are spiritually sound.

The book is a "mixed bag" that is both fascinating and may certainly be eye-opening, if not enlightening, to many people-- while some individuals (especially those of a scientific bent) will probably find it distressing that the work presented appears to be based on some "dicey math" and some philosophical "leaps of faith" that don't necessarily hold water in double-blind tests in a controlled environment. To which I feel compelled to reiterate that-- HOWever it may be presented, and WHATever he may want us to believe-- Hawkins' work is really more "spiritual" than "scientific." My point? The spirituality is predominantly sound; the science is.... dubious.

On the first read, this book annoyed me-- possibly because I had expected to be "wow'ed" to a greater degree than I was. However, once I got comfortable with the idea that I was being offered another "puzzle piece" on my spiritual journey (as opposed to "the Truth"), I found it a reasonably enjoyable and interesting read. I was disturbed by a number of (mostly trivial) contradictions that brought into question how the material in the book could ostensibly calibrate at 800+ (level of enlightenment). For example, Hawkins states that it is unlikely that a person's level of consciousness will rise enough to calibrate more than a few points higher in their lifetime-- yet the mere process of "being exposed" to the material in the book can raise consciousness by 30 calibration points. Huh? Likewise, I take issue with Hawkins' persistent undertone that unless you're highly intelligent, well educated (and basically from the "priviliged classes") you have very little hope of reaching enlightenment. Whereas I can recognize this thinking as a reflection of Hawkins' own neo-conservative life philosophy (which is entirely HIS business, I don't care), its INCLUSION here detracts from the integrity of the work. However, if you can overlook such nitpicks, there are some very sound spiritual and self-development principles presented throughout the book-- largely following path of Non-duality.

Final thoughts: Recommended (7 out of 10 possible bookmarks), with some reservations. Some interesting premises, but probably not for the "lightweight" spiritual seeker-- better suited to the intermediate to advanced student. Gets a bit repetitive and subtly self-congratulatory at times; Hawkins could probably have said everything needed in 100 fewer pages. DON'T buy it for the "science," buy it for the spiritual angle.

Thanks for reading!

--Peter

The new science of Kinesiology ushered in a powerful diagnostic tool called "muscle testing". (Muscle testing is a simple procedure for testing strong/weak responses, such as that of an outstretched arm, in response to questioning). Despite the revolutionary nature of these discoveries, most people are willing to rationalize that something other than the "conscious mind" is at play, something whose function it is to oversee the well-being of the individual and manage the body's myriad complex subsystems. It could then be extrapolated that this benign functionality - "subconscious mind", "field" or whatever - would be willing to communicate with the "outside world" when matters regarding the well-being of its charge were concerned.

Dr. Hawkins, however, has taken a quantum leap with the idea of muscle testing. Rather than simply regarding the field or subconscious mind as the governing mechanism of the individual's body, he applied muscle testing in the context of traditional metaphysical paradigms stating that all things are connected, that all events, actions, thoughts and emotions are written into the unlimited Database of Consciousness, and that as participants in this universe, we all have access to that Database. Thus through muscle testing we have the ability to get the answer to any question we can formulate (except pertaining to the future, which has not yet been written into the record). The implications of this are staggering. Did aliens put a face on Mars? Is the government telling the truth about thus-and-such? We now have the means for direct knowledge.

Most authors would be content to base an entire book solely on these revelations, but surprisingly this is merely the groundwork laid out by Dr. Hawkins for the rest of the book! Based on thousands of studies using these methods, striving for 100% repeatability on the tests, he explains many aspects of human experience including a Scale of Consciousness. Based on a logarithmic scale of 1 to 1000, all ideas, emotions, concepts, thoughts, works of art, literature and science, resonate at some level. Above the level of 200 these energies are considered nurturing, positive and "good" (Power). Below 200 are energies that are destructive, negative and "evil" (Force).

Dr. Hawkins explores how "attractor" energies (mathematics from chaos theory) influence art, science, medicine and sports and examines the specific mechanisms leading to health and disease. He examines the quality of our institutions and discusses the nature of Consciousness and the path to Enlightenment. All concepts are presented with exceptional clarity and lucidity, without any sign of pedantry. Finally, as the title of the book suggests, one may attain a quantitative understanding of the difference between Power and Force.

This book is an absolute must for anyone searching for a better understanding of "how reality works".

I have a rule: never take seriously anything that discusses quantum physics unless it contains equations. Although Dr. Hawkins makes numerous references to "advanced theoretical physics" he never ties it to anything in his work. Thus the book is full of questionable science. (For a really good book tying quantum phenomena to consciousness, see "The Physics of Consciousness" by Evan Harris Walker.) For example, when he gives the power, in megawatts, of a negative and positive thought, there is no discussion of how he derived those numbers. Nor is there any real explanation of how he derived his scale of levels of consciousness or why it is logarithmic. Nor are all of his terms mutually exclusive. It seems to me he has built a self-referential system that is true because the system tests as true using kinesiology.

Whis is unfortunate, because I have seen kinesiology used to diagnose serious illnesses. Yet in the hands of untrained people who might be working an agenda, this could be, to be charitable, misleading. And why would just reading his book increase one's level of consciousness? What will be the noticeable effects upon one's outer life?

I also have a problem with his use of the term "strange attractor." It seems clear he has little understanding of chaos theory, since a "strange attractor" is a mathematical abstraction that explains certain observed phenomena. He treats is as though it is a real, physical entity, and goes on to discuss "attractor fields" as though they are real and measurable. Even the discussion in "Chaos" by James Gleick, which is a brilliantly written book for the layman, goes beyond what Dr. Hawkins knows. A more complete discussion can be found in "Fractals Everywhere" by Michael Barnsely. Read these, then see if anything Hawkins says makes sense as anything other than an analogy. A simple magnetic field would be a better analogy, however.

Something else I have always wondered about is why organically-grown fruit and such are always so much better for us than those grown with fertilizers. I can understand the harm of pesticides, but not simple inorganic chemicals that are transformed by biological processes. And why has life expectancy increased so dramatically in countries that use both chemical fertilizers and pesticides? If these things are so inimical to life, why don't they kill us quickly?

Hawkins' discussion of the value of twelve-step groups is quite good, and he even has his points about consciousness. However, as for much of the rest of his work, I just don't like something so poorly substantiated to be offered as good science. I'd like to see his statistics on the double-blind studies, for example. So read this with a critical eye and questioning mind if you read it at all.

If a doctor were to tell you that your backache was caused by "halitosis of the femural artery located in the sternum", you would know that he doesn't know what he is talking about. This is exactly what Dr. Hawkins does with mathematical terms.

Dr. Hawkins rates everything in the universe on a scale of 1 to 1000 based on how good or bad it is. To explain this scale he uses a lot of technical-sounding mathematical terms, but he uses those terms incorrectly- to the point of being gibberish. Since he knows his discussion would be above most readers' heads Dr. Hawkins can get awy with it.

He claims that the scale is "logarithmic" and base 10, but in his explanation of what a logarithm is, he confuses logarithmic functions with exponential functions and repeats this mistake throughout the book. Essentially,someone at level 201 has ten times the power of someone at 200, someone at 202 has 10 times the power of someone at 201 and so on.

This "logarithmic progression" is then completely contradicted by his chart which states how many people at one level counterbalance someone at another level. One of the statements on this chart is that "12 people at level 700 equals one avatar at 1000". On his "logarithmic"(actually exponential) scale it would take 10^300 people at level 700(that's a one with 300 zeros in front of it) to equal the power of one person at level 1000. Since when does 12= 10^300?

He uses the calculus term "critical point" and claims that his scale has a critical point at 200. In mathematics a critical point is the point where the derivative of a function equals zero. On a graph, it is the point where the tangent line is flat-the point where you are neither rising nor falling. What Dr. Hawkins didn't realize was that neither logarithmic functions nor exponential functions have critical points. Their derivatives are always positive. In this case, he just threw in a mathematical term without bothering to find out what it means.

He discusses chaos theory, because it is new and trendy, but he misses the point entirely. He seems to think that chaos theory implies that the world is more orderly and easily explained than previously thought, when in fact chaos theory implies just the opposite.He does this because he likes the word "attractor" which he overuses throughout the rest of the book

In other cases, bad math like this could be overlooked. He is after all a psychiatrist, not a mathematician. In this book, however, the technical terms are used to impress the readers with how scientific the system is, and the claim is that it is based on research. If you can understand what these mathematical terms actually mean, it becomes clear by the gibberish that he is just making this stuff up. If his "mathematical" system was revealed to him through muscle-testing (as opposed to outright fiction), then it shows just how unreliable this system is.

Perhaps the most blatently incompetent statement he makes is that a loving thought has the energy of " 10^-35 million megawatts"(I'm using the symbol ^ because this this font won't allow superscripts) and claims that the quantity is "so enormous as to be beyond the capacity of the human imagination to comprehend" The truth is that this quantity is so miniscule as to be beyond our capacity to comprehend. 10^35 million is a one with 35 million zeros in front of it- a huge number indeed, but 10^-35 million is 1/10^35 million -- a mind-bogglingly tiny fraction. If you were to multiply the mass of the entire galaxy by a fraction that tiny, you wouldn't even have enough mass for a single electron. If the minus sign was a typo, without it the energy level described would be great indeed -probably be along the order of the big bang and our heads would have exploded (and caused a supernova) a long time ago. In this case, he just threw together the most confusing notation he could think of, without a clue as to what it meant. He did this to make it appear scientific. He figured that his readers would be too dumb to know the difference. I don't think this can be written off as a mere honest mistake

Other laughable statements are that organically grown tobacco is actually healthy, and that taking one gram of vitamin C per day will counter all of the harmful effects of smoking.

He also states that adrenaline causes the muscles to go weak. Adrenaline is the stimulant hormone associated with the fight/flight response and its entire purpose is to give you EXTRA strength and energy in an emergency. As a doctor, he should know this

This book would be funny if it wasn't so scary.This man claims to be an MD and as far as I know still has a license.

If you have a degree in math, physics, engineering or something similar, this book can pretty entertaining. It is fun to pick apart,but as a source of truth it is worthless.

For those who are not familiar with the basis of Kinesiology, the basic theory is that all living things have an energy field. This energy field is connected to all other energy fields in some way or another. In short, we are all connected to each other in some way. Nothing we say or do or that has been said, done or felt occurs in a vacuum and so has an effect on energy. Because of this, everything that is or was is written into an energy record of the collective unconscious. The problem is how to access this information. This is where David Hawkins and his research comes in.

Through thousands of scientific experiments David Hawkins and others have found that muscle testing can be applied to determine when a field is positive or negative and things that change those fields. What makes Dr. Hawkins' research different is that while most kineseologists have worked with the individual and concerned themselves with how an individual's fields change based on their views, he has worked with determining the truth of information that is not known to the individual. How could this work? If everything is written into this collective unconscious then we all have access to it, we just don't know how we do or how to do it purposely. Enter Dr. Hawkins' methods for how to access information on anything that has happened or is happening even if you were not a party to the event yourself. Since you are accessing the record of the collective unconscious it only applies to things that have happened or are happening and not to any future event.

Written in a style that makes a fairly complex topic easy to understand and follow, the book is an easy read, but demands close attention to the details. A recommended book for those interested in such things, I will have to admit that I tested out some of his comments and found that they were surprisingly accurate.

The new science of kinesiology ushered in a powerful diagnostic tool called "muscle testing". (Muscle testing is a simple procedure for testing strong/weak responses, such as that of an outstretched arm, in response to questioning). Despite the revolutionary nature of these discoveries, most people are willing to rationalize that something other than the "conscious mind" is at play, something whose function it is to oversee the well-being of the individual and manage the body's myriad complex subsystems. It could then be extrapolated that this benign functionality - "subconscious mind", "field" or whatever - would be willing to communicate with the "outside world" when matters regarding the well-being of its charge were concerned.

Dr. Hawkins, however, has taken a quantum leap with the idea of muscle testing. Rather than simply regarding the field or subconscious mind as the governing mechanism of the individual's body, he applied muscle testing in the context of traditional metaphysical paradigms stating that all things are connected, that all events, actions, thoughts and emotions are written into the unlimited Database of Consciousness, and that as participants in this universe, we all have access to that Database. Thus through muscle testing we have the ability to get the answer to any question we can formulate (except pertaining to the future, which has not yet been written into the record). The implications of this are staggering. Did O.J. do it? Is the government telling the truth about thus-and-such? We now have the means for direct knowledge.

Most authors would be content to base an entire book solely on these revelations, but surprisingly this is merely the groundwork laid out by Dr. Hawkins for the rest of the book! Based on thousands of studies using these methods, striving for 100% repeatability on the tests, he explains many aspects of human experience including a Spectrum of Consciousness. Based on a logarithmic scale of 1 to 1000, all ideas, emotions, concepts, thoughts, works of art, literature and science, resonate at some level. Above the level of 200 these energies are considered nurturing, positive and "good" (Power). Below 200 are energies that are destructive, negative and "evil" (Force).

Dr. Hawkins explores how "attractor" energies (mathematics from chaos theory) influence art, science, medicine and sports and examines the specific mechanisms leading to health and disease. He examines the quality of our institutions and discusses the nature of Consciousness and the path to enlightenment. All concepts are presented with exceptional clarity and lucidity, without any sign of pedantry. Finally, as the title of the book suggests, one may attain a quantitative understanding of the difference between Power and Force. (Examine the handling of the Elian Gonzales case based on these criteria).

This book is an absolute must for anyone searching for a better understanding of "how reality works". And so we thank those who calibrate high on the Scale Of Consciousness, who lead the rest of us forward, kicking and screaming, on the path of enlightenment...

Now here is a funny thing: I find myself in agreement with all of those reviewers who say that this book contains hogwash. I do not believe in the author's imputed 'calibration' of various of the world's great religions (that reads more like politics than kinesiology to me). I do not see any necessary correlation between a 'primitive' society (itself a most dubious descriptor) and 'low' calibrations, and, no, my arm does not go down depending upon the degree of pesticide implicated in my innocent-looking but market-bought (non-organic) apple. Further, while I appreciate and respect the author's own experience of enlightenment, he does not read like a Master to me.

I am not telling you all what you don't already know but as an attorney my daily experience is that the more one actually listens to people and their views of things, 'truth' frequently does not provide a 'yes' or 'no' answer, so the claim that it can be captured or contained by this method overshoots the mark. Truth to me is more like a fractal pattern: it actually becomes more complex the deeper you look into it.

AND YET...
and yet. Credit to you, Dr Hawkins, reading the book did have an unmistakeable impact upon me. In particular its evocation of lovely qualities and virtues did indeed affect my mood and my own 'consciousness' in positive ways.

Perhaps this book, like many others, reminds us of what is 'the good' and also the potential for each human soul in each of the myriad decisions we make each day. It reminded me of how I would like to live (whatever my doubtless measly calibration might suggest!).

My advice? Read it and laugh at it, but also see if it inspires you to choose a little better from day to day.

This book has many good philosophical/spiritual concepts mixed in with much that is questionable. I question the fact that according to the author this book calibrates at a higher level than most of the world's greatest literature and spiritual writings. Perhaps a subjective bias crept in when Mr. Hawkins started calibrating his own book. I also think that this type of material creates a methodology for the judgement of others. After all no one objects when Mr. Hawkins states that Hitler has a low level of calibration, but they might object if Mr. Hawkins calibrates their own political or spiritual leader as low on the scale. Perhaps anyone Mr. Hawkins does not agree with could find themselves low on the calibration scale (as calibrated by him). Calibration creates a form of spiritual elitism. Of course in all humility, a man like Mr. Hawkins would not say come out and say he himself calibrates higher than anyone else, but the implication is there. This questionable "scientific" method could also be used as a way to justify judging or even punishing others. It kind of reminds me of the tests they used to determine if someone was a witch or not. It also smacks of the "God is on our side" mentality. In the past we knew he was on our side because our religious leaders said so, now we know Why? because we calibrated it. I also think some of the so called stats Hawkins uses (e.g. for every one "Avatar" at a high level (1000) a gazillion negative people are counterbalanced) comes straight out of a subjective fantasy land. Mr. Hawkins recently lead a seminar for a bookstore in the Chicgo area. There was a V.I.P. meal with a high admission fee for this event. It seems strange that Jesus (calibration level 1000) never had V.I.P. dinners with expensive admission fees. He hung out with people (publicans, prostitutes, tax collectors, etc) with very low calibration levels. He told us not to judge (or in other words "calibrate") others. He just told us to love them. If he was so highly evolved (a 1000 on Mr. Hawkin's scale) and so in touch with the truth, how come he said "judge not that you be not judged". I am not a christian, but I believe Jesus basic teachings and he never mentioned calibrating people. Another issue I have with this whole testing thing is didn't Jesus say we needed faith. Why would anyone need faith if AK testing could determine the absolute truth of everything. We could just test whether or not there is a God and belief could be a thing of the past. It would greatly simplify all the great mysteries of life. We could also then establish a state religion based on AK testing. No one could disagree because after all we tested it and we KNOW what is the truth. I know there are Hawkins fanatics so I am going to keep this review anonymous because I do not want to get into a mud slinging contest. However, I am sure someone will say I calibrate low, because I am not jumping on the Hawkins bandwagon. In conclusion, I believe Mr. Hawkins is on the right track with some of his spiritual ideas, but I think he is using the tool of Applied kinesology to forward his own views and agendas and establish a following. I think that there really are no simple answers to all of life's questions and this book could lead to some possibly dangerous fascistic and simplistic viewpoints.

Dr. Hawkins' ideas are the most significant I have found since discovering Ken Wilber in the 80's. Basically, he says that you can discover the truth of any proposition with kinesiological(muscle) testing. While I admit to some skepticism about the value of such tests, i.e., the subject could be influenced by knowing in advance what the tester is looking for, I found in my own case that a number of such tests worked 100% , despite my best efforts to confuse the tester. But my point is that he has a wonderful map of consciousness, and I believe that his model could be life changing, and at the very least will change your perception of "reality". I found his writing to be beautiful, and in his second book, _The Eye of the I_, he does a better job of explaining the ineffable (beyond language), than anything I have read. I urge everyone to read these books, reflect on the wisdom they contain, and apply same to their own lives. Simply superb.

David Gleick and others have been knocking on this door for a long time. Dr. Hawkins finally bridges the gap between science and spirit with this brilliant description of the nature of human reality.

Dr. Hawkins has discovered that the kinesiological response of the muscles, which was formerly thought to be localized to one person, is actually a response of universal consciousness. For example, it has long been the practice of many alternative health practitioners to use a muscle response to discover the source of physical ailments in the body. You hold one arm out to the side at shoulder height, hold an object up against your middle, and if you are allergic to that object (e.g., a carrot) you will not be able to continue to hold your arm out straight if someone puts just very slight pressure on your arm.

In other words, if you are allergic to the carrot, your muscles go weak when you hold it, and the strongest man in the world wouldn't be able to resist the slightest pressure from the practitioner.

You can also take a picture of Hitler -- in a blind test where neither tester nor testee knows who is the subject in the picture -- and hold it up against your middle, and your arm would also go weak. You can repeat this test with a room full of hundreds of subjects. Use a picture of Ghandi, the arm stays strong. Hitler, weak. Mother Theresa, strong. Sadam, weak.

Hence the verifiability of a connected human consciousness. From there, Dr. Hawkins develops the focal point of this book, the scale of consciousness, his arbitrary creation of a scale from zero to 1,000 with 1,000 representing the most advanced consciousness level possible for humankind, that of Christ, Buddha, Krishna, and a very few others.

This book provides profound (and verifiable) insight into the nature of human evolution and spiritual development. This is a book to spend time with, to get to know, to be read over and over and over in random order. Not a book for the religiously fixed or academically uninquisitve mind. But for those who have continuously pushed themselves beyond the limits of their own beliefs, be prepared for a joyful surprise.