Customer Reviews

Truth vs. Falsehood: How to Tell the Difference

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I'm beginning to wonder if kinesiology isn't as absolute as Dr. Hawkins claims. Don't get me wrong. I find his writings on the subject of spirituality as fascinating and as accurate as I can imagine. His spiritual teachings strongly resonate within me. I also greatly appreciate the sections with calibrations of religion, spiritual teachings, and spiritual teachers.

However, as a moderately liberal person, I find his use of kinesiology as a means to certify his political position more than a little crass. Despite the fact that he carefully assures that the calibrations don't represent his political views, he proceeds to "explain" the results of his research and in doing so reveals that, yes, they are most *definitely* his views! This is part of what I find rather disingenuous - even though I find I agree with 95% of his dissertations on the problems of society and its lack of responsibility and victim/perpetrator scenarios. The difference being that he seems to be blaming it almost entirely on liberal views.

Realistically, it seems highly unlikely to me that any specific political position can be 100% right or wrong. Yet Dr. Hawkins' research appears to be saying exactly the opposite. Apparently, conversatives are right - 100% right, absolutely correct, not a chance of error there at all! Uh-huh!

In fact, every single political and social calibration seems to validate the positions of conservatives on...well...everything! Liberal views are just flat out inferior in every way, socially, fiscally, domestically, foreign policy-wise. Just name a way, and they are inferior.

Sorry, but that just seems a little extreme to me.

I know I was capable of influencing the results of kinesiology whenever, at least, the results were deeply personal. My brother and I tried to produce my own calibration level. It resulted in the most random and unpredictable results of the entire session - while everything else we did could be and was independently verified as completely accurate! Perhaps Dr. Hawkins' own personal presence is so strong that his own personal opinion (as a life-long octogenarian conservative) influences the results of his own students. However, that might be considered "sophistry" in his argument.

After all, his results seem to contradict the teachings and views of many other enlightened teachers (many of whom are verified as enlightened by his own calibrations), including my own guru - Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.

Not only that, his own calibrations of the chapters on politics and society calibrate much lower than most other chapters on spirituality, albeit still within the level of enlightenment (600+).

My conclusion is simply this: when one is talking about the spirit and of God, it is easier to calibrate a universal truth. The deeper one delves into the realms of duality, the more and more subjective the results become. In any case, regardless of what political view is the subject, they calibrate with integrity unless of an extreme nature. In addition, his results equally condemn fascism and right-wing fundamentalism. This at least partially reassures me that he is on a "middle path" as the Buddha suggests.

Therefore, I've decided to take his political chapters with a grain of salt and generally skim past the political aspects of his book, having read them once, and concentrate on his spiritual teachings, as well as the teachings of my own teacher. After all, I didn't get into a spiritual life to follow politics, but instead to transcend the dualistic game-playing of the majority of society.

If his book is helpful to some people because of its political views, then I'm glad, but generally speaking, it was probably a mistake to delve into the territory at all, as I suspect it will divide and turn more people away than it will unify or invite.

"Truth vs Falsehood" is Hawkins' 4th book. In my mind, it is his greatest gift yet, but not in the sense that one might think. This will be explained in the closing. I will also preface by saying that I am in no way political. Truth is all that I am interested in.
In Hawkins' previous 3 books, the kinesiological response was portrayed as infallible. His language was very absolute in its tone, giving the technique more credibility than it has ever received. Being so absolute with one's tone was the first obvious clue. When one becomes absolute in their tone, they often put an inordinate amount of faith in something outside themselves and overlook the inherent limitations. This is true for everything from religious absolutism to the mythical cure-all in medicine. The person who uses the absolute tone acts as if your salvation lies with this one particular thing.
I am a traditional naturopath. I was using kinesiology before Hawkins' books, and I am closely connected to practitioners of kinesiology who've used it in excess of 20 years. An observant and curious practitioner quickly realizes that the intent of both the testee and tester influences response. In some cases, a strong-willed practitioner who thinks he knows the cause of imbalance or dis-ease is affecting testee response and in essence using kinesiology to validate his own opinions and beliefs, albeit unknowingly. He will get the positive response he desires, whereas the practitioner with no vested interest in anything except the truth will get a different response on the same testee.
It has been difficult for me to bridge the gap between Hawkins' theory/ doctoral thesis on his use of kinesiology and the understanding that most experienced practitioners of kinesiology have. Nearly all experienced practitioners simply don't find the technique to be infallible. Certain criteria must be met for accurate response. Those criteria are training, impartiality, and the sincere and humble desire to put absolute truth above all things. Truth is absolute, but the technique is not. Remaining neutral is an ongoing challenge for the practitioner.

I am not familiar with the testing methods used for Hawkins' doctoral thesis "Quantitative and Qualitative Calibration of the Levels of Consciousness". However, for it to withstand any scientific scrutiny, both the tester and testee would have to be without any knowledge on the subject matter. There would also have to be at least 20 different testers for the 3000+ test subjects, with each tester coming up with their own test responses to a given list of questions. Responses would not be compared until all testers have compiled their findings. For his thesis, something along these lines was most likely used.
Throughout "Power vs. Force", a healthy skepticism was maintained towards Hawkins putting so much faith in this technique. Part of this was based on an inability to get the same responses he was getting. The information presented in "The Eye of the I" and "I" was absolutely astounding, and skepticism was temporarily set aside. Apparently, his intent was pure and sincere enough to allow him to experience absolute truth on spiritual inquiry. Much of this can be attributed to his description of a life-changing experience. He was atheist (or possibly agnostic... don't remember which), hit a major crisis in his life, and finally called out in total humility to be shown the truth of God. I feel his pure intent allowed him to access the truth he did.
However, once Hawkins gained confidence in the technique, he apparently fell into the trap of thinking he could divorce himself from influencing response. The methods used for gleaning the information found in "Truth vs Falsehood" would surely not withstand any scientific scrutiny. The simple fact that the subject matter was familiar to the tester(s) and testee(s) disqualifies it. Asking about the nature of life, death, and other unknown spiritual matters is not the same as asking about one's perceived reality, which one already has strong opinions and emotions about and attachments to. Both testers and testees would have to be completely unfamiliar with the line of inquiry to have any guarantee of neutrality.

Within 30 seconds of opening "Truth vs Falsehood", it was clear something wasn't right. Hawkins' 3 previous books have helped us to discern truth from falsehood more clearly. Many of us have reached a place where now we `just know' the truth. It is often a clear gut feeling, and at that point the kinesiological response seems unnecessary. In a way, it turns out the technique was only a tool to guide us to our own inner knowing.
Hawkins acknowledges the existence of ignorance and untruth, but does not address the issue of deliberate deception. It is ironic that after years of devotion to the truth, Hawkins still does not fully grasp the nature of deception. The world citizenry is currently experiencing one of the most elaborate mass brainwashes in history.
In fact, Hawkins even engages in deception when he explains the Iraq situation. He indicates that the primary reason to be there is to protect the world's (and specifically America's) economic and oil interests. Yet the primary reason given to the public for going to war was weapons of mass destruction. Whether or not it was a fact that there were actually WMDs misses the point. It was given as the main reason, and it was not. That is deception. For Hawkins to agree with the idea of justifiable deceptions is a clear indicator that he is not neutral here.
More importantly, for Hawkins to act as if outright deception is not occurring speaks to one's ability to deal with reality. For a person with 80 years of conditioned perception of reality to have reality turned on its head, a person could have a serious breakdown.

The gift in this 4th book is that Hawkins has shown us what the kinesiological technique can and cannot be used for. It can be used by the sincere truthseeker for his/herself. However, it is not to be used to show one a reality they are not ready to see. There is no technique to make one see the truth. One's clear and sincere intention is all that can do that. And even then, one may not be ready to handle the fullness of reality. The process of how one "wakes up" is yet to be known.
Who better than Hawkins to show us that experience is no substitute for impartiality? So, the readers of his 4th book get the opportunity to discern what is truth and what is his belief. The first 3 books prepared us, and the 4th is the test. Although he didn't intend it to work this way, it is the greatest gift of all. And just as importantly, it shows us that one can be quite enlightened in one area, while not having it all together in another. Even when one crosses the 600 line, one is still assailed by falsity and ignorance and must be constantly vigilant and unattached to one's beliefs.

And realistically, it couldn't have happened any other way. Given Hawkins' first 3 books and his audience, if he gave us the absolute truth about all the deceptions that make up the current perceived reality, it could have seriously messed some people up. It could result in serious mental breakdown if it was said that there aren't actually arab terrorists creating terror in America. So, the book had to be presented this way. And those of us who know the real truth know it through our own inner knowing already and don't need Hawkins to tell us.
In `The Art of War', Sun Tzu said, "All warfare is based on deception." Well, currently we have warfare in nearly every form. Even `necessary' and `justified' wars have deception as their roots.

Michael
Santa Fe, New Mexico

I'm very grateful to live synchronously in a world with a man the likes of David R. Hawkins. Through his teachings, I've become more introspective and have learned to look within as the source of my own frustrations as well as my happiness. Truth v. Falsehood is just another example of how he helps guide those of us willing to be guided to the truth.

I've read with amusement, some of the more scathing criticisms by readers of T v F, where great offense was taken by the results Hawkins obtained - especially regarding politics. Contrary to these readers' beliefs, this book was not written by him as a vehicle of propaganda to voice his own opinions. Had they simply read the "Caveat: A Note to the Reader" on page xi, this would have been clear. There he states: "Emotional reactions are personally determined by one's inner positionalities and belief systems... As [readers] ... have discovered, an initial response dissolves, upon reflection, into a broader understanding and compassion for oneself and others... For those who are aligned with truth, the path lights up; for those who refuse it, the path is darkened. All of us are free to choose."

This caveat indicates to me Hawkins realized far in advance the risk he was taking in alienating people by presenting the truth. He could have taken the easy (and safe) road and simply stayed silent about his findings. Instead, for the betterment of all, he chose to courageously share the results, in spite of the outcome to him. That anyone would take offense to the truth is bewildering - why condemn so noble a messenger?

The findings he presents certainly toppled many of the beliefs I had been attached to for a long time. But that's why I read the book to begin with! I wanted to know which, if any, of the "illusions" my ego clung to should be surrendered.

For those willing to open their hearts and open their minds, Truth vs Falsehood, as with all of Hawkins' works, is truly liberating.

As a spiritual student of Dr. Hawkins since 2001, I want to encourage people to understand that Dr. Hawkins doesn't teach kinesiology. Truth is absolute yes, but this type of research is not linear. Think about it. Can you prove that you love your child? How much? Can you even prove that you had the dream you dreamt last night? Consciousness is subjective and non-linear folks! The scale of consciousness that Dr. Hawkins has developed is a relative scale. It's a tool. It's the map. Don't confuse the map with the territory. Also in regards to politics, Dr. Hawkins points out that extremism on both the left and the right side are dangerous. Too far to the left, you have Marxism; too far to the right you'll find Fascism. In Truth Vs. Falsehood, Dr. Hawkins provides you with a re-contextualization of many belief systems that we take for granted. For instance, you can't get a scorpion not to sting you by just being nice to it. Likewise, extremist radical terrorist groups will not embrace peace just because America tries to make nice. Another example, giving poor people and poor nations more money actually doesn't make them more affluent. I originally approached Dr. Hawkins' work with only the deep appreciation for the resonance of truth I felt with every message he conveyed. I tried kinesiology myself without a great deal of luck. I didn't lose interest in his teachings because I couldn't master his technology. Later, I found a kinesiologist who I worked with for almost 5 years. She was able to confirm truths for me that sometimes took years for me to substantiate experientially. I owe a great deal of my successes at avoiding big pit falls in my life to her ability to calibrate things. After a while, I noticed that I would get a gut feel on every question I asked her. I would hear a yes or no in my head the moment I asked a question. My stomach would tighten up when thinking of non-integrous thoughts or situations. I've come to rely much more on my own intuitions about things. All along, I've aligned myself more and more with Dr. Hawkins' teachings. If you focus too much attention on the kinesiology bit, then you will miss the rich, deep, and profound wisdom that he can share with you about the spiritual path. His teachings helped lead me straight out of a hellish existence into a place of joy and abundance and sincere happiness. I've learned to live my life like a prayer. I've let go of positionalities and learned how to forgive people in my life. Dr. Hawkins has such a way of synthesizing his teachings that I believe that his insights make up for thousands of books on religion and God one would have to read in one lifetime. I am deeply grateful for his work.

I have admired David Hawkins and use his scale of consciousness in my psychotherapy practice. I am accomplished at muscle testing and use this technique routinely. The book, Truth vs Falsehood, is filled with False and misleading conclusions! Hawkins has strayed from the purity of Power vs Force and offered contradictory suggestions in this work. These false calibrations are carefully woven into many true and insightful observations. The reader must be VERY discerning.

Accurate muscle testing requires that the focus for the test be very clearly worded and the intent for the question identified as well. For example, it is not meaningful to judge bodywork as a field for there are thousands of bodyworkers, each resonating at different level of consciousness. It is the LOC of the therapist that makes all the difference! The same is true for physicians and other practitioners. A surgeon's knife in the hand of a loving person is a far different situation than the same knife in the hands of a psychopath...

If killing others is never supported at higher levels of consciousness, then capital punishment is contradictory to true social evolution, as Hawkins points out in Power vs Force. Aggression through war is thus never a meaningful solution (using force) for global evolution yet Hawkins supports and jutifies the United States' Iraqi intervention. Hawkins also goes so far as to support George Bush's policies as having high levels of consciousness, even though those policies and actions are founded on falsehood and personal agendas, not the greater good of the American people.

Hawkins has twisted his levels of consciousnes and orientation of the testing to suit a political agenda. Muscle test on that statement.

In his earlier books Hawkins offers clarity and scientific underpinnings into higher states of consciousness.

"Truth vs Falehood", has taken a giant step backwards as it pretends to be objective when it is not. This is most dangerous for the student of the work must now take a very enlightened state of mind in order to evaluate the book's conclusions. No longer can one simply trust the accomplished writer's authority and seek to learn through osmosis. Test the conclusions in this book against your own understandings and recognition of truth.

Both my husband and I found this book very disheartening. I can only recommend it for anyone who read and believed Power vs Force so they can decide for themselves how much truth is in his form of kenisiology. Also, each needs to be warned that if they are seeking a purely spiritual book, be prepared this is book is also full of a lot of politics.
I had imagined that this book would be merely lists of Dr. Hawkins' Level of Calibrations (LOC's) of people, places and things. Had it been so, perhaps I may not have questioned its content. Ironically, coming from a man who says the fastest way to reach God is to give up every positionality to God, this book is full of.........positionalities. And for someone who has supposedly let go of his ego, this book is full of it. I personally would have called this book the "Hawkins Pontifications" but perhaps "Truth vs Falsehood" IS the most revealing title.
As pointed out in other reviews, his political biases are extremely conservative. He exposes his flawed kenisiology method within his sources he uses to defend his LOC's (ie. opinions), especially glaring in the political arena. For example, page 206 he uses Bill O"Reilly(2005) as his source that "[spreading memes and their disguised hatred] is now being played by Far Left financiers of organized extremist attacks that plant spurious stories with a network of `bloggers'". Apparently Hawkins (I doubt Bill O'Reilly) is completely unaware how many far right blogs exist on the internet. Its this lack of balance, found throughout this book, which screams at the "falsehood" of many of his arguments.
Normally I would not point out errors found in manuscripts, however Hawkins has heralded his kenisiology to catch all errors and "falsehoods" by "testing" every sentence in a book before it goes to publication. Therefore, it is glaringly obtuse that he would list (pg 32) snakes, alligators, dinosaurs, song birds and doves as PREDATORY MAMMALS and cats, family cats and dogs as GRAZERS. (He says that grazers have higher LOC's than predators but cats and dogs rated pretty high, even though cats are obligate carnivores and canines are also in the order carnivore.- Mine eat a mostly raw meaty bones diet). It seems that if you cannot resolve a carnivore having a high LOC, you resolve it by listing them as a grazer!! I bring up this LOC specifically because it is objectively and scientifically wrong, and therefore should have been easily caught, and can easily be pointed out. All other LOC's in the book are subjective and opinionated, and are so numerous the ideas/sources/biases could be debated ad nauseum.
It becomes obvious to me that all he is testing is his emotional response to any subject.
Perhaps this explains how he rates great Saints and Sages in the 700's yet his own writings in the high 900s (with the highest and Christ being 1000). It would explain how he vacillates in his opinions, er,... I mean LOC's, of many ideas- from his ratings on astrology changing from a radio program to this book, and those on Gandhi's ideas of changing politics without war in previous writings certainly changing with this book, which dismisses non violence and argues for war. Other opinions also contradict within the book itself.
That this is simply emotional testing could also explain why one reviewer of Power vs Force found her friends tested strong to the thought of saccharin (maybe they thought it would help them lose weight), as compared to real kenisiolgy when held against the body would make one weak. In my own experience while testing with my husband, we can get completely different LOC's on the same subject and question depending on how we each feel about it. And although Hawkins recommends in Power vs Force to use his methods for business, I warn that this can be self delusional and may lead to bad business decisions.
Kenisiology in its original physical-body-test application is not innately flawed, in my opinion. Hawkins' mind-thought application of it does not work/tap into the highest universal mind. (God considers Fox news to be more integritous (380) than Dan Rather(205)?And the BBC to be only 15 pts above al-Jazeera?) (Pg 113) If Hawkins does achieve consistency within his close circle of testers, I agree with another reviewer that it is very possible he is subconsciously energetically influencing those around him. Or perhaps, like some political pundits, only surrounds himself with those who agree with him.
I disagree with reviewers who choose to accept his religious calibrations and not his political ones. Hawkins has presented this as the "Truth", take it or leave it. In this framework, if you question some parts, you must do the same to all calibrations.
Hawkins' strength is in his experiential teachings, such as his book, "I". This is the only book of his I can now recommend, although there are many more spiritual teachings I would now put ahead of even this book.

I read this book after it first came out. I was so excited I ordered it in advanced. Then I read it. I was extremely offended, no, thats an understatement, I WAS OUTRAGED. As a life long Quaker, agnostic, pacifist/peace protester and Green party member, I could not believe what I was reading."Liberals" less evolved than "Conservatives"? Atomic bomb justified as "triage"? Just one more zealot pushing his agenda and morality down our throats. I was tempted to throw it in the fireplace, but I tossed the book in a box to be packed away for my upcoming move. I Just finished my second reading of the book. This book (as well as the author's other works) is amazing. It is possibly the most controversial book regarding spiritual matters (or politics or anything else) you will ever read. If you are serious about spiritual evolution, you should definitely consider it. Not easy stuff. This book is not "spirituality lite". If you are looking for a gentle, politically correct presentation, it will not be found here. This book takes the events unfolding in the world today and over the course of human history and brings them down hard into your lap. If you read it with serious intention, the material presented will challenge everything you think you know. It will get under your skin, kick down barriers in perception and belief, and will do it by poking the ego in it's most sensitive spots. If youre seeking Truth, are unafraid to challenge your belief systems, and are possessed of a genuinely open mind, this book is for you. If you need the security of your personal opinions, and are only interested in being "right", this book is not for you. Political (left or right), religious or secular "fundamentalists" will not be comfortable with this book. Dr. Hawkins is not afraid to "tell it like it is" and doesn't evade issues many in the "spiritual circus" are afraid to tackle or would rather white wash with pious sounding talk. He does not limit his teachings to only the spiritual realms or only spiritual people, he deals with the entire spectrum of human consciousness. "The good the bad and the ugly" are all here. So those who misunderstand his teachings on "global conflicts" or "the current administration" mistake his explanations of "the way things are" for a personal endorsement. He has no personal stake in the matter. Dr. Hawkins is presenting the information his research has revealed, and has no political ax to grind. Those who would like to limit him to a specific political opinion are only doing so out of ignorance. Although some of his comments could be taken as "conservative," or "neo conservatism" many (like those concerning universalism, reincarnation, scriptural infallibility, abortion, birth control, population control, death penalty, the war on drugs, current foreign policy of spreading democracy, civil rights, racial issues, comments on the Clinton Presidency and government responsibility) could comfortably be labeled as "liberal". Let me point out that most "neo cons" do not believe in or support evolution, Freudian and Jungian psychoanalysis, the dependence of truth on context, gay marriage, or the basic unity of all religious truth. There is plenty of material here to upset everyone. I think that might be part of the point. It seems having ones positionalities shredded makes us so sore because it exposes our true motivations to us...Do I say what I say because I believe it? Do I just want to sound morally superior? For me this was true. Do I believe Clinton or Bush is always wrong, or do I just hate them because they are on the wrong team? I Hated Mr. Bush...don't really know why. Is the other team (lifestyle, religion, ideology, thought system) always wrong? About everything? Do I support what I believe or do I just oppose the other team (because the leaders of my team say so)? For me I didn't even know what I believed, just knew what I opposed, but didn't know why. Are my opinions really valid? At all? Are they based on any real knowledge? mine were not. Dr. Hawkins goes far beyond political and spiritual categories and clarifies many of the solutions to the massive problems facing our world today. He provides an in depth analysis of what exactly "truth" is, the benefits that spring from it, and the consequences of "falsehood" (or as Buddha taught, ignorance). He then goes on to apply his discoveries to the entire range of human activity. So if you are curious about or dedicated to uncovering the Truth for yourself, buy this book. If you want to have your personal opinions reinforced, go buy something else. The most powerful thing I found in this book had nothing to do with the outside world. It had everything to do with who I am and my sense of integrity.

Reading all the other reviews, I want to add a point to view from the perspective of A Course in Miracles (which Hawkins cites in his books and comments on) and The Disappearance of the Universe, a related title.

Hawkins agrees with ACIM that that we live in a universe of effects, not one of causes. We are seemingly located as separate individuals in a universe; but in truth we are the Love and Oneness that lies beyond form. So in terms of Who and What We Really Are the universe is essentially illusory, and the 'answer' to the 'problem' that we seemingly find ourselves in - being born into a separate body in this world - is never going to be found by focusing on the illusory universe as something to be judged and calibrated, and so made real. One very helpful way home (as given in ACIM) is to train the mind to recognize the meaningful as being internal and the meaningless as being external. This book encourages one to make the meaningless very real and significant, and indeed spiritually powerful.

And so to me, this book - and Hawkins' system of calibration into hierarchies - presents a great temptation for the ego. The indentification with conscious and unconscious thoughts of separation and specialness which we call the ego, needs above all else to be right and 'know the truth'. This is its main way of protecting itself from being wrong and vulnerable: by confidently projecting onto *outside* forms that *they* are mistaken, wrong or 'guilty'. All this bolsters its specialness and separation. To have a divination system which can tell you infallibly what is true and what is false; what is right and what is wrong; and produce hierarchies of what is better than what and what is worse than what.... What heaven for the ego! And indeed what heaven for the sincere seeker who just wants to know the best way and find the best teacher...

I have read reviews where people wrote something along the lines of: "Well my beliefs have been thoroughly challenged which is great, and I'm now adjusting them in the light to this book, which is causing some emotional challenges but lots of growth and it's all good really." To radically adjust your beliefs in the light of what you read in this book would only make sense to me if you had a good way of knowing that the book was right or wiser, and your previous beliefs were wrong or unhelpful. And yet plenty of highly experienced kinesiology practitioners have written reviews on this site. They all explicitly discredit kinesiology as a replicable system for discerning truth.

I was very excited by Hawkins until the penny dropped about why my ego loved him! I think the real wake-up call from this - certainly for me - is to acknowledge that the yearning for a Source of guidance is huge; and to remember once more at this can only be fulfilled by contacting It internally. Whether that be through your heart, your meditation practice, your intuition, by learning to hear a Voice of guidance through ACIM..... it doesn't matter. But ultimately, Guidance is never something outside of yourself. It is never some external divination system or person which can obligingly be relied upon to be infallibly accurate.

I would also agree with reviewers who say that there are things of use to people in Hawkins' work. I do think he has had a genuine awakening. Personally I found his map of consciousness gave me greater awareness of my ego structure, and obstacles to peace. It's also potentially helpful to a coach/therapist. I see it as a flexible, fluctuating map, whose roots are all in guilt at one side (an understanding gleaned from ACIM) and in Love at the other.

ACIM teaches that unconscious guilt is the cause of *all* effects in this universe of perception and indeed of the universe's existence. Forgiving every effect, person and form in this universe as an innocent illusion that cannot touch us is how we re-experience our own innocence and invulnerability, and so undo our guilt, and wake up to Truth.

Now who knows if that is true. But judging things as true or false, better or worse, (and so, *real*)and putting them in hierarchies is pretty much antithetical to the ACIM/ Disappearance path. I think this is worth pointing out as Hawkins sells a DVD of a workshop where he lectures at length to ACIM students. It's important to realize that he isn't a greater authority on ACIM than the Voice of the text itself. And for his readers to appreciate that his 'take' on ACIM is not necessarily true. But that certainly doesn't make the one path better than the other, or the one path true and the other path false.

There are different teachings, different paths up the illusory mountain, different systems which all work in some way in the end. You end up on the path which feels right to you. I don't think there is likely to be a teacher on the planet who speaks pure infallible truth. If there were, queues would form of seekers wanting to give their power away to him or her.

And just to be clear, I think that the dedicated student of Hawkins' spiritual teachings and methods will in the end steer clear of the temptations of the ego and awaken to Truth, just as any seeker will one day.

Good luck to us all!

I have read Hawkins' other books. I have listened to him on tape and on online radio shows. And I have seen him in person in Sedona. So, it was with great anticipation that I awaited the arrival of my copy of Truth vs. Falsehood. My excitement was met with disappointment after my initial cursory read of the book. Not wanting to have "contempt prior to investigation", I continued reading.

This wasn't the first time that he has raised my ire. And I know that that is the job of any good spiritual teacher. I struggled with acceptance of the whole Walmart thing. So, I guess I shouldn't have been so blindsided by this new book, but I was.

I admit to resistance with many of his calibrations and the book, in general. Conservatism. The War in Iraq. Fox News. "Bill O'Reilly is a belweather for truth..."(or something like that.) Nevermind. It was more of a political and social commentary (represented as Truth) than I had anticipated.

I realize that everything serves to further our spiritual growth. Hawkins provides a doorway to the spiritual for people who need facts and numbers. I used to be one of those people. Hawkins didn't change, I did. As evidenced by several of the other reviews, this book has been very meaningful for some people. With the publication of this book I was once again reminded not to look outside of myself for someone else to define my spiritual experience for me--to make note of the signposts left by others and trust my own truth within.

Hawkins has spoken often of Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj and the path of advaita, the path to the heart via the mind. I guess I was hoping for more heart, and less mind. Regardless of whether or not I agreed with his calibrations, the whole thing was just too mental for my liking. Too much content. I'll stick to reading Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj.

So, maybe I don't calibrate as highly as my ego would like. And it is very possible that I don't have the spiritual or mental acumen to see the larger picture or the greater wisdom of things. I feel good about not blindly either ascribing to or resisting someone else's version of the truth. Like the Buddha said, "don't take my word for it, go out and find it out for yourself."

When I say Hawkin's first 3 books changed my perception of reality, I believe most readers will know what I mean. The primary calibration I had trouble reconciling from the first 3 books (as well his audio tapes) was the idea of "the exact moment of death is set at the moment of birth". Somewhere, somehow, I expected a clarification in all 4 books which never appeared. Does this mean this moment is inviolable? Is it a time frame that can in no circumstances be changed through accidents, suicide, etc.? I have no problem with a predetermined length of time, but I do have a problem with putting this pre-ordained time span into terms of inviolable predestination. I just can't reconcile it.

Also, some of the data seems to contradict itself. For example, kinesiology tests "no" to extraterrestrials, but on virtually the same page, it tests "yes" to life forms on Mars, not to mention the high calibration of the Drake Equation which postulates a minimum of 10,000 et civilizations in our galaxy alone. Wouldn't whatever life is on Mars be extraterrestrial even if nothing more complex than a microbe? In all fairness to Hawkins' calibrations toward all the allegedly "channeled" info from ets, he doesn't dismiss all of them as negative or marginal, but he does say that less than 5% of entities who come through channels calibrate above 455. That's a little lower than I expected but not much lower, and I can live with it, but it should be pointed out that the work that Hawkins seems to hold in incredibly high regard is ACIM, which is channeled info. So therefore, how far is one to extrapolate his dire warnings regarding channeling? There is little doubt that Hawkins does take a profoundly dim view of most things "New Age", but he seems sometimes to clump integrous and non-integrous items together which of course would produce a negative or significantly lowered calibration (if he is indeed doing this sometimes). New Age is a term he seems to apply rather broadly. His primary point, which to me is a pertinent one, is that many New Agers operate from an incredible level of naivete, and that there are indeed dark forces which seductively lure many by appealing to the ego's desire for specialness, elitism, etc. The point is well taken. However, the term "New Age" is a very big umbrella which appears capable of covering most things spiritually unconventional - including Hawkins himself. In other words, is he sometimes throwing out the baby with the bathwater? Another example of what I'm saying is the concept of Atlantis which almost everyone not "new age" would label as a "new age" concept. Yet Hawkins himself in one of the charts kinesiologically assigns the historical political system of Atlantis a calibration of 290 which happens to be the highest of all the historical governmental systems listed. Interestingly, not another word in the entire book that I could find mentioned this. I presume an entire book could have been written on this alone. Reading this book, unlike the first 3, requires some reading between the lines, or it seemed to do so for me.