Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior (Power vs. Force, #1)

by David R. Hawkins

Simple kindness to one’s self and all that lives is the most powerful transformational force of all. It produces no backlash, has no downside, and never leads to loss or despair. It increases one’s own true power without exacting any toll. But to reach maximum power, such kindness can permit no exceptions, nor can it be practiced with the expectation of some selfish gain or reward. And its effect is as far-reaching as it is subtle. In a universe where “like goes to like” and “birds of a feather flock together,” we attract to us that which we emanate. Consequences may come in an unsuspected way. For instance, we are kind to the elevator man, and a year later, a helpful stranger gives us a hand on a deserted highway. An observable “this” does not cause an observable “that.” Instead, in reality, a shift in motive or behavior acts on a field that then produces an increased likelihood of positive responses. Our inner work is like building up a bank account, but one from which we cannot draw at our own personal will. The disposition of the funds is determined by a subtle energy field, which awaits a trigger to release this power back into our own lives.

On examination, we will see that power arises from meaning. It has to do with motive, and it has to do with principle. Power is always associated with that which supports the significance of life itself. It appeals to that in human nature which we call noble, in contrast to force, which appeals to that which we call crass. Power appeals to that which uplifts, dignifies, and ennobles. Force must always be justified, whereas power requires no justification. Force is associated with the partial, power with the whole.

Power is infinite games while force is finite.

If we analyze the nature of force, it becomes readily apparent why it must always succumb to power; this is in accordance with one of the basic laws of physics. Because force automatically creates counter-force, its effect is limited by definition. We could say that force is a movement. It goes from here to there (or tries to) against opposition. Power, on the other hand, stands still. It is like a standing field that does not move. Gravity itself, for instance, does not move against anything. Its power moves all objects within its field, but the gravity field itself does not move. Force always moves against something, whereas power does not move against anything. Force is intrinsically incomplete and therefore has to constantly be fed energy. Power is total and complete in and of itself and requires nothing from outside of itself. It makes no demands; it has no needs. Because force has an insatiable appetite, it constantly consumes. Power, in contrast, energizes, gives forth, supplies, and supports. Power gives life and energy. Force takes these away. We notice that power is associated with compassion and makes us feel positively about ourselves. Force is associated with judgmentalism and tends to make us feel badly about ourselves. Force always creates counterforce; its effect is to polarize rather than to unify. Polarization always implies conflict; its cost, therefore, is always high. Because force incites polarization, it inevitably produces a win/lose dichotomy; and ...

The sources of power, however, are beyond argument and are not subject to proof. The self-evident is not arguable. That health is more important than disease, that life is more important than death, that honor is preferable to dishonor, that faith and trust are preferable to doubt and cynicism, that the constructive is preferable to the destructive—are all self-evident statements not subject to proof. Ultimately, the only thing we can say about a source of power is that it just “is.”

Force has transient goals; when those goals are reached, there remains the emptiness of meaninglessness. Power, on the other hand, motivates us endlessly. If our lives are dedicated, for

instance, to enhancing the welfare of others and everyone we contact, our lives can never lose meaning. If the purpose of our life, on the other hand, is merely financial success, what happens after that has been attained? This is one of the primary etiologies or causes of depression in middle-aged men and women.

The disillusionment of emptiness comes from failing to align one’s life with the principles from which power emanates. A good illustration of this phenomenon can be seen in the lives of great musicians, composers, and conductors of our own times. How frequently they continue productive careers into their eighties and nineties, often having children and living vigorously until a ripe old age!1 Their lives have been dedicated to the creation and embodiment of beauty; beauty incorporates and expresses enormous power. We know clinically that alignment with ...

intelligence machines in the world are unable to feel joy or happiness. Force can bring satisfaction, but only power brings joy. Victory over others brings us satisfaction, but victory over ourselves brings us joy.

Another useful concept is Rupert Sheldrake’s notion of morphogenetic fields, or M-fields.4 These invisible organizing patterns act like energy templates to establish forms on various levels of life. It is because of the discreteness of M-fields that identical representations of a species are produced. Something similar to M-fields also exists in the energy fields of consciousness and underlies thought patterns and images—a phenomenon termed “formative causation.” The idea that M-fields assist learning has been verified by wide-scale experimentation.5 When Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile, he created a new M-field. The belief system prevailing in human consciousness had been that the four-minute mile was a limit of human possibility. Once the new M-field was created, many runners suddenly began to break the four-minute mile records. This occurs every time mankind breaks into a new paradigm, whether it is the capacity to fly (an M-field created by the Wright Brothers), or the capacity to recover from alcoholism (an M-field created by Bill W., the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous). Once an M-field is created, everyone who repeats the accomplishment reinforces the power of that M-field. We are all familiar with the fact that new ideas often seem to arise in the minds of several far-removed people at the same time. Somehow, the M-field acts as an organizing principle, like a sort of general magnetic attraction. An M-field does not have to move anywhere. It is a standin...

Nonlinear dynamics has verified that there really is no chaos in the universe; the appearance of disorder is merely a function of the limits of perception. This came as a disturbing revelation to left-brain people, but seemed self-evident to right-brain people. Creative people merely write, paint, sculpt, or design what they already see within their own minds. We do not dance from logic, we dance from feeling patterns. We make our choices from values, and values are associated with intrinsic patterns.

Powerful patterns are associated with health; weak patterns are associated with sickness, disease, and even death. If you hold forgiveness in mind, your arm will be very strong. If you hold revenge in mind, your arm will go weak. For our purposes, it is really only necessary to recognize that power is that which makes you go strong, while force makes you go weak. Love, compassion, and forgiveness, which may be mistakenly seen by some as submissive, are, in fact, profoundly empowering. Revenge, judgmentalism, and condemnation, on the other hand, inevitably make you go weak. Therefore, regardless of moral righteousness, it is a simple clinical fact that in the long run, the weak cannot prevail against the strong. That which is weak falls of its own accord.

The demagogue or the zealot tries to sell us imitators as the real thing. Demagogues, to this end, put forth a great deal of rhetoric. In contrast, those who move from power need say very little.

Moreover, the universe does not forget. There are many sides to the question of karma, but every choice of who and how to be is a choice of great consequence. All of our choices reverberate through the ages. Thousands of reports of near-death experiences have been given over the centuries, as currently reflected in such best-selling books as Dannion Brinkley’s Saved by the Light or B. J. Eadie’s Embraced by the Light (which calibrates at 595); these reports confirm that we shall eventually have to accept responsibility for every thought, word, and deed we beget and re-experience exactly whatever suffering we have caused others. It is in this sense that we each create our own heaven or hell.

The universe holds its breath as we choose, instant by instant, which pathway to follow; for the universe, the very essence of life itself, is highly conscious. Every act, thought, and choice adds to a permanent mosaic; our decisions ripple through the universe of consciousness to affect the lives of all.

Everything in the universe constantly gives off an energy pattern of a specific frequency that remains for all time and can be read by those who know how. Every word, deed, and intention creates a permanent record. Every thought is known and recorded forever. There are no secrets; nothing is hidden, nor can it be. Our spirits stand naked in time for all to see. Everyone’s life, finally, is accountable to the universe.

The pen is indeed mightier than the sword, because power originates from the mind, whereas force is rooted only in the material world.

Violence is force; because Gandhi was aligned with power instead of force, he forbade all use of violence in his cause.4 And because he expressed universal principles (which calibrate at 700), he was able to unite the will of the people. When the will of the people is so united and aligned with universal principles, it is virtually unconquerable. Colonialism (which calibrates at 175) is founded on the self-interest of the ruling country. Gandhi demonstrated, for the world to witness, the power of selflessness versus the force of self-interest.5 (The same principle has also been demonstrated quite dramatically in South Africa by Nelson Mandela.)

A distinctive characteristic of force in politics is that it cannot tolerate dissent. Both rulers depended on the pervasive use of force through secret police; Joseph Stalin, who also put millions to death, relied on his KGB, as Hitler did his Gestapo.

Force is seductive because it emanates a certain glamour, whether that glamour is manifested in the guise of false patriotism, prestige, or dominance; conversely, true power is often quite unglamorous. What could be more glamorous than the Luftwaffe and the Waffen SS of Nazi Germany during the Second World War? These elite branches embodied romance, privilege, and style, and certainly had enormous force at their disposal—including the most advanced weapons of the day and an esprit de corps that cemented their might. Such is the glamour of the formidable. The weak are attracted to and will even die for the glamour of force. How else could something so outrageous as war even occur? Force often seizes the upper hand temporarily, and the weak are attracted by those who seem to have overcome weakness. How else could dictatorship be possible? One characteristic of force is arrogance; power is characterized by humility. Force is pompous; it has all the answers. Power is unassuming.

To fully comprehend the dichotomy we are discussing, it is necessary to consider the difference between a politician and a statesman. Politicians, operating out of expediency, rule by force after gaining their position through the force of persuasion and rhetoric—often calibrating at a level less than 200. Statesmen represent true power, rule by inspiration, teach by example, and stand for self-evident principles. Statesmen invoke the nobility that resides within all men and unifies them through what can best be described as “the heart.” Although the intellect is easily fooled, the heart recognizes the truth. Where the intellect is limited, the heart is unlimited; where the intellect is intrigued by the temporary, the heart is only concerned with the permanent. Force often relies upon rhetoric, propaganda, and specious argument to garner support and disguise underlying motivations. One characteristic of truth, though, is that it needs no defense; it is self-evident. That “all men are created equal” requires no justification or rhetorical persuasion. That it is wrong to gas people to death in concentration camps is self-evident; it requires no argument. The principles upon which true power is based do not require vindication, as force invariably does—there are always endless arguments about whether force is “justified” or not.

It is clear that power is associated with that which supports life, and force is associated with that which exploits life for the gain of an individual or an organization. Force is divisive and, through that divisiveness, weakens, whereas power unifies. Force polarizes.

Power attracts, whereas force repels. Because power unifies, it has no true enemies, although its manifestations may be opposed by opportunists whose ends it does not serve. Power serves others, whereas force is self-serving. True statesmen serve the people;10 politicians exploit people to serve their own ambitions. Statesmen sacrifice themselves to serve others; politicians sacrifice others to serve themselves. Power appeals to our higher nature, and force to our lower nature. Force is limited, whereas power is unlimited.

John Lewis vs. Ted Cruz

Through its insistence that the end justifies the means, force sells out freedom for expediency. Force offers quick, easy solutions. In power, the means and the end are the same, but ends require greater maturity, discipline, and patience to be brought to fruition. Great leaders inspire us to have faith and confidence because of the power of their absolute integrity and alignment with inviolate principles.

Because we fail to differentiate principle from expediency, the average person lacks the discernment to understand the difference between patriotism and true Patriotism, between americanism and Americanism, between god and God, between freedom and Freedom, between liberty and Liberty. Thus, “americanism” is used as a justification by white supremacy groups (calibrated at 150) and lynch mobs, just as warmongering throughout history has been conducted in the name of “God.” The misinterpretation of liberty as license tells us that many people do not know the difference between freedom as license and true Freedom as principle.

To be a success, it is necessary to embrace and operate from the basic principles that produce success, not just imitate the actions of successful people. To really do what they do, it is necessary to be like they are.

opposites. Whereas power always results in a win-win solution, force produces win-lose situations; the consequent struggle indicates that the correct solution has not been found, as when the assertion of one group’s interests violates those of another, or the rights of the accused conflict with those of the victim. The way to finesse a high-energy attractor field solution is to seek the answer that will make all sides happy and still be practical. Such solutions involve utilization of both the ameliorative right brain as well as the judgmental left-brain.

the problems of the social marketplace: support the solution instead of attacking the supposed causes. Attack is in itself inherently a very weak attractor pattern (150), leading through fear to intimidation, coercion and, eventually, moral corruption. The “vice squad” becomes just that, turning city streets into jungles of crime. Objective examination reveals that most intractable “social problems” appear unsolvable due to the persistence of either sentimentality or juvenile moralizing.

High states of consciousness, also, are frequently experienced by athletes. It is well documented that long-distance runners frequently attain sublime states of peace and joy. This elevation of consciousness, in fact, often inspires the prolonged transcendence of pain and exhaustion necessary to achieve high levels of performance.

It is notable that this transcendence of the personal self and surrender to the very essence or spirit of life often occur at a point just beyond the apparent limit of the athlete’s ability. The seeming barrier is predicated by the paradigm of one’s own past accomplishments or of what has been recognized as theoretically possible, such as the historic “four-minute mile.” Until Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile, it was universally accepted that it was not humanly possible to run any faster than that; Bannister’s greatness was not just in breaking the record, but in breaking through that paradigm to a new model of human possibility. This breakthrough to new levels of potential has correspondences in every field of human endeavor; in many diverse enterprises, those who have achieved greatness have given parallel accounts of the circumstances surrounding their accomplishments.

The hallmark of true greatness in athletic achievement is always humility (such as that exhibited by Pablo Morales after winning his Gold Medals in the 1992 Summer Olympics). Such athletes express gratitude, inner awe, and an awareness that their performance was not merely the result of personal effort—that maximum personal effort brought them to the breakthrough point from which they were then transported by a power greater than that of the individual self. This typically is expressed as the discovery of some aspect of the greater Self hitherto unknown, or unexperienced in its pure form. Through kinesiology, we can demonstrate that if one is motivated by any of the energy fields below Courage, one goes weak. The notorious Achilles’ heel that brings down not just athletes but also the potentially great in all areas of human achievement is Pride. Pride, calibrated at 175, not only makes the performer go weak, but it cannot provide the motivational power of love, honor, or dedication to a higher principle (or even to excellence itself).

True athletic power is characterized by grace, sensitivity, inner quiet, and paradoxically, gentleness in the noncompetitive lives of even fierce competitors. We celebrate the champion because we recognize that he has overcome personal ambition through sacrifice and dedication to a higher principle. The great become legendary when they teach by example. It is not what they have, nor what they do, but what they have become that inspires all of mankind, and it is that which we honor in them. We should seek to protect their humility from the forces of exploitation that accompany acclaim in the everyday world. We need to educate the public that the abilities of these athletes and their great performances are gifts to mankind to be respected and defended from the abuse of the media and corporate commerce.

In fact, the founders of the world’s great religions would be shocked at the profoundly unspiritual deeds wrought in their names throughout history—much that would make a heathen shudder. Force always distorts truth for its own self-serving purpose. Over time, the spiritual principles upon which religions are based become distorted for expedient ends, such as power, money, and otherworldliness. Whereas that which is spiritual is tolerant, religiosity is commonly intolerant; the former leads to peace—the latter to strife, bloodshed, and pious criminality. There remains, however, buried within every religion, the spiritual foundation from which it originated.4 Like religions, entire cultures are weakened when the principles on which they are based are obscured or contaminated by false interpretation.

The fine arts have always provided the venue for man’s highest spiritual strivings in the secular realm.

The bequest of the arts to mankind is internal, too: in beholding realized beauty, a sensitivity to the beautiful is inculcated in us, enabling us to discover, and create, our own aesthetic rewards in the apparently disordered jumble of existence. Art and Love are man’s greatest gifts to himself. There is no art without love. Art is always the making of the soul, the craft of man’s touch, whether that touch is corporeal or the touch of the mind and spirit; so it has been since Neanderthal times, and so it will always be. Thus, we find that computer-generated art and even great photographs never calibrate as highly as original paintings. A most interesting kinesiologic experiment, which anyone can reduplicate, is to test the strength of a person who is looking at an original painting and then repeat the test looking at a mechanical reproduction of that painting.

The scientific proof to Walter Benjamin’s aura theory

Jung himself (and his work) calibrate highest out of all the famous psychoanalysts in history. (Many of the others, aligned with such attractor patterns as material determinism, produced much lower scores.)

An architecturally ugly neighborhood becomes part of a feedback loop of blight and violence; the sleazy, dehumanized housing projects of urban ghettos manifest their weak power patterns as a matrix of squalor and crime—although it must be remembered that depending on which attractor pattern one aligns with, the destitution of the ghetto can be an excuse for depravity or the inspiration to rise above it. (It is not the facts of one’s environment, but one’s attitude toward them, that determines whether they will be the occasion for defeat or the inspiration to victory.)

Grace is the expression of the power of aesthetic sensitivity, and power is always manifested with grace, whether in beauty of line or style of expression. We associate grace with elegance, refinement, and economy of effort.

Gracious power patterns acknowledge and support life. They respect and uphold the dignity of others. Grace is an aspect of unconditional love. Graciousness also implies generosity—not merely material generosity, but generosity of spirit, such as the willingness to express thanks or acknowledge the importance of others in our lives. Grace is associated with modesty and humility. Power does not need to flaunt itself, though force always must because it originates in self-doubt. Great artists are thankful for their power, whatever its expression, because they know it is a gift for the good of mankind, entailing responsibility to others.

Creativity and genius are the center of powerful, high-energy attractors. No human talents are more germane to the creation of new M-fields or the unfoldment of the enfolded universe; in fact, these are the explicit domain of creativity and genius. Yet these closely allied processes remain shrouded in mystery; there is a paucity of information about the essential nature of either creativity or genius. Human history is the record of man’s struggle to comprehend truths which to those of genius appear obvious. Genius is by definition a style of consciousness characterized by the ability to access high-energy attractor patterns. It is not a personality characteristic. It is not something that a person “has,” or even something that someone “is.” Those in whom we recognize genius commonly disclaim it. A universal characteristic of genius is humility. The genius has always attributed his insights to some higher influence.

The process of animating genius most commonly involves first formulating a question, and waiting an indefinite interval for consciousness to work with the problem; then, suddenly, the answer appears in a flash, in a form that is characteristically nonverbal.

Indeed, one of the main problems of genius is how to transform that which is perceived in one’s private understanding into a visible expression that is comprehensible to others. The revelation itself is usually complete and self-explanatory to the person who receives it, but to make it so to others may take a lifetime.3 Genius, thus, seems to proceed from sudden revelation rather than from conceptualization, but there is an unseen process involved. Although the genius’s mind may appear stalled and frustrated with the problem, what it is really doing is preparing the field. There is a struggle with reason that eventually leads, like a Zen koan, to a rational impasse from which the only way forward is by a leap from a lower to a higher attractor energy pattern.

Attractor energy patterns have harmonics, as do musical tones. The higher frequency the harmonic, the higher the power. What the genius arrives at is a new harmonic. Every advance in human consciousness has come through a leap from a lower attractor pattern to a higher harmonic. Posing the original question activates an attractor; the answer lies within its harmonic. This is why it is said that the question and the answer are merely two sides of one coin, and that one cannot pose a question unless the answer already exists—otherwise, there would be no pattern from which the question could be formulated.4

Recognized geniuses may be rare, but Genius resides within all of us. There is no such thing as “luck” or “accident” in this universe. And not only is everything connected to everything else, but no one is excluded from the universe. We are all members. Consciousness is a universal quality, like the quality of physicality. Because genius is a characteristic of consciousness, genius is also universal. That which is universal is, therefore, theoretically available to every man. The processes of creativity and genius are inherent in human consciousness. Inasmuch as every human has within himself the same essence of consciousness, genius is a potential that resides within everyone. It awaits only the right circumstances to express itself. Each of us has had moments of genius in our lifetimes, perhaps only known to ourselves or to those closest to us. We suddenly make a brilliant move o...

Genius and creativity, then, are subjectively experienced as a witnessing. It is a phenomenon that bypasses the individual self, or ego. The capacity to finesse genius can be learned, though often only through painful surrender, when the phoenix of genius arises out of the ashes of despair after a fruitless struggle with the unsolvable. Out of defeat comes victory; out of failure, success; and out of humbling, true self-esteem.

Genius is one of the greatest untapped resources of our society. It is no more specific than it is personal. People of great gifts not infrequently have multiple talents. A genius may be a genius in different realms and might have answers to a diversity of problems.

The lifestyle of those whom we term genius is typically simple. Genius is characterized by an appreciation for resources and the economy of ingenuity, because the genius values life and sees the intrinsic worth of all its expressions. Inasmuch as time and resources are precious, doing more than is necessary is viewed as a waste; therefore, people of genius often lead very quiet lives and only reluctantly sally forth when there is a cause that must be supported. There is no need to “get” when you already “have.” Genius, because it is in touch with an endless source of supply, experiences only a minimum of need. (Such simplicity seems a common characteristic of true success in general.) The basis of this non-materiality, this seeming naïveté, is a radical understanding of the nature of the universe itself: that which supports life is supported by life; survival is thus effortless, and giving and receiving are one and the same thing.

What characterizes this type is the capacity to utilize exhaustively what experience they have, and to capitalize on it by the dedication necessary to reach a high degree of mastery. Many productive geniuses are not recognized until years after their death. In fact, the gift—or curse—of genius often brings about unfortunate consequences during an individual’s earthly lifetime.

One characteristic of genius is the capacity for great intensity, which is often expressed in a cyclic form. When inspired, the person of genius may work twenty hours a day to realize a solution while it is still fresh in mind. These periods of intense activity are interspersed with intervals of apparent stasis that are in actuality intervals of fermentation, a necessary part of the creative process.

It is not just that such people have gotten too much wealth, too much fame, or too much attention, but that these influences distorted their egos and reinforced what might be called the small self instead of the big Self. The small self is the part of us that is vulnerable to flattery; the big Self is an aspect of our more evolved nature, which is humble and grateful for success. The self aligns with weak attractor patterns; the Self is aligned with high power energy fields. Whether it uplifts or destroys us depends not upon success itself, but on how it is integrated into our personalities. Whether we are proud or humble; whether we are egotistic or grateful; whether we deem ourselves better than others because of our talents or consider them a gift for which we are thankful—these are the determining factors. We all know people for whom even a bit of success is corrupting, who become arrogant, officious, and controlling when given a little authority. And we all know people of much greater authority who are cordial, sensitive, and caring.

The truly successful have no inclination to act arrogantly, because they consider themselves not better but more fortunate than others. They see their position as a stewardship,