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

by David R. Hawkins

Slight errors in the formation of questions result in gross errors in the answers that follow.

Being articulate & under control is a superpower

Society constantly expends its efforts to correct effects instead of causes, which is one reason why the evolution of human consciousness proceeds so slowly.

Always look for casuality and not the effect.

All of us have available at all times a computer far more advanced than the most elaborate artificial intelligence machine—the human mind itself.

By taking responsibility for the consequences of their own perceptions, observers can transcend the role of victim to an understanding that “nothing out there has power over you.” It is not life’s events, but how one reacts to them and the attitude that one has about them, which determine whether the events have a positive or negative effect on one’s life, whether they are experienced as opportunity or as stress.

Opportunity or stress? It's our choice

whenever force meets power, force is eventually defeated.

Motive in questioning is highly significant. Always ask first, “I may ask this question.” Never ask a question unless you are prepared for the answer; the facts may be quite different from what you currently believe. Although there is a potential for emotional upset through the unwise use of this method, experience has shown that continuing the line of inquiry will enlarge the context and heal the disturbance. Let us say a young woman states, “My boyfriend is honest” or “He is good for my life” and the answers are negative. She is disappointed to find that his love is selfish and his interest exploitative. But further questions provide a resolution: “This relationship would end in emotional pain.” (Yes.) “I am saving myself a lot of misery now by knowing this.” (Yes.) “I can learn from the experience.” (Yes.) Thus we see the benefit when the line of inquiry is completed.

Asking the question

The failure to eradicate certain diseases or find their cure is often due to the fact that reason is its own limitation. False answers often preclude searching for true causes.

Condemnation disappears with understanding, as does guilt.

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.

In = out

In the process of examining our everyday lives, we can find that all of our fears have been based on falsehood.

you cannot compromise principle and still retain your power.

Principality = power