Category: Thoughts & quotes from Sir David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D. & Susan Hawkins

Everything is now, and everything is here.  The reason is that within consciousness everything is recorded forever.  Everything that ever happened is recorded forever, and it’s not filed according to past, present, or future — it’s all present right now.  Everything that ever happened is equally present right now, right here.

In an infinite universe, where is the center? The center of an infinite universe is everywhere. In an infinite time, when is now? Now is all time.  So, these are different levels of abstraction, and in the enlightened state, no such problem would be mentalized because it’s not seen as a problem.  There’s only the awareness of awareness of awareness.  I think of it more in terms of aesthetics and shifting your brain function from left-brain, linear, logical, sequential, volitional thinking to more right-brain appreciation.  When you are walking through the beautiful woods and you can hear the birds singing and the beautiful flowers from the spring, you’re not thinking with your left brain.  You’re just into appreciation, aesthetics.

The understanding of spiritual realities is increased by aesthetics.

Beautiful music, dance, paintings, cathedrals – beauty is intrinsic to celebrating divinity.

New! In the World but not of It, pg. 41-42

Over two thousand years ago, the Buddha made the observation that the basis of all human suffering was due to desire and attachment, and human history has merely proven the truth of his teaching. What is the solution to that dilemma? As we can see, it is only the small aspect of oneself that becomes attached. The smaller self buys into the frightened, inadequate set of programs that we have unwittingly allowed to run us. The purpose of letting go is to de-energize these programs so that they no longer run us; then, we are free to expand into the greater awareness of our Higher Self.

That part of us to which we refer as our “greater Self” loves rather than seeks love. Consequently, there comes the awareness that we are at all times surrounded by love, which is unlimited. Love is automatically attracted to the person who is loving.

By constantly letting go of our negative feelings, we thus cure present pain and prophylactically prevent the occurrence of future pain. Fear is replaced by trust and with it comes a profound sense of wellbeing. Immunity to grief of loss occurs when we replace dependence on the small self (the personality) with dependence on the Self (the Divinity within). We look for security to the Self, which is eternal, instead of to the small self, which is transitory.

Letting Go: The Pathway to Surrender, Ch. 5, pg. 85

It used to be said, “Keep your mind where your body is,” meaning in the exact moment of now.  The average person is worrying about the future or hanging on to the past.  For the future, you’re going to anticipate positive responses, but also you anticipate fear.

Beginners in spiritual consciousness research tend to get confused because they mix consciousness levels.  What’s meant in one context cannot be criticized from another context.  You can’t contradict a statement from a different level of consciousness any more than you can criticize theology from the viewpoint of science.  There are different paradigms. You can’t criticize mathematics from the viewpoint of spirituality. That’s mixing levels.  For instance, a person might say, “Well, yes, I’m living in the now when I worry; I’m worrying right now.  I’m living in the present when I regret the past; I’m regretting the past right now.  So if I live in the right now, I’ve got regret over the past and anxiety about the future.  Then that’s what I’m worried  about right now.  And that’s my now, my now is full of anxiety and regrets.”

Then they say, “Well to get rid of regret and anticipatory fear, I need to get out of the now.  By tomorrow, I’ll have figured it all out.” This is also denoting time.  Just because you’re paying attention to something doesn’t make it the now.  A contemplative life style…can help take you out of the ambiguity about now and not now and the future and the past; because when seen from the viewpoint of the witness of consciousness itself, there isn’t any now, there isn’t any past, there isn’t any future.

Phenomena are unfolding, but they’re not unfolding within a linear track.  There isn’t a time track within consciousness.  In consciousness, all things are equally present all the time because it’s beyond time.  There is no place within the infinite field of consciousness because it’s infinite.

New! In the World but Not of It: Transforming Everyday Experiences into a Spiritual Pathway, Pgs. 40-41

 

As you progress along the spiritual path, you begin to see that you are sufficient unto yourself and are answerable only to yourself.  The question becomes simple: Am I fulfilling my greatest capacity to God, to myself, to my fellow man, and to those I love? Your obligation to divinity is to be all that you can be to yourself, to God and to everyone.  In this way, you are fulfilling your promise.  Therefore, what could approval do for you? Approval doesn’t do anything  but build up your ego.  If you’re lacking nothing, that approval is unnecessary.  If you’ve done the best you can, you don’t need other people’s approval.

…What is the purpose of human life then? It facilitates the evolution of consciousness to the realization of our ultimate reality.  It’s a part of the pathway to enlightenment.

New! – In the World but Not of It, ch. 2, pg. 24-25

This book will be released on March 28th.

One benefit from a life crisis is greater self-awareness. The situation is overwhelming, and we are forced to stop all of our diversionary games, take a good look at our life situation, and re-evaluate our beliefs, goals, values, and life direction. It is an opportunity to re-evaluate and let go of guilt. It is also an opportunity for a total shift in attitude. Life crises, as we pass through them, confront us with polar opposites. Shall we hate or forgive that person? Shall we learn from this experience and grow, or resent it and become bitter? Do we choose to overlook the other person’s shortcomings and our own, or instead do we resent and mentally attack them? Shall we withdraw from a similar situation in the future with greater fear, or shall we transcend this crisis and master it once and for all? Do we choose hope or discouragement? Can we use the experience as an opportunity to learn how to share, or shall we withdraw into a shell of fear and bitterness? Every emotional experience is an opportunity to go up or down. Which do we choose? That is the confrontation.

We have the opportunity to choose whether we want to hang on or let go of emotional upsets. We can look at the cost of hanging on to them. Do we want to pay the price? Are we willing to accept the feelings? We can look at the benefits of letting go of them. The choice we make will determine our future. What kind of a future do we want? Will we choose to be healed, or will we become one of the walking wounded?

In making this choice, it is well to look at the payoff we get from hanging on to the residuals of a painful experience. What are the satisfactions we are getting? How little are we willing to settle for? Anger. Hatred. Self-pity. Resentments. They all have their cheap little payoff, that little inner satisfaction. Let’s not pretend that it’s not there. There is a weird, quirky pleasure when we hang on to pain. It certainly satisfies our unconscious need for the alleviation of guilt through punishment. We get to feel miserable and rotten. The question then arises, “But for how long?”

…The part of us that wants to cling to negative emotions is our smallness. It is the part of us that is mean, petty, selfish, competitive, cheap, conniving, mistrusting, vindictive, judgmental, diminished, weak, guilty, ashamed, and vain. It has little energy; it is depleting, demeaning, and leads to the lowering of self-respect. It is the small part of us that accounts for our own self-hatred, unending guilt, and seeking for punishment, sickness, and disease. Is that the part with which we want to identify? Is that the part we want to energize? Is that the way we want to see ourselves? Because if that’s the way we see ourselves, that’s the way others will see us.

The world can only see us as we see ourselves. Are we willing to pay those consequences? If we see ourselves as cheap and petty, it’s unlikely that we’ll be at the top of the company list for a raise.

The price of holding on to smallness can be demonstrated with muscle testing. The procedure is fairly simple (Hawkins, [1995], 2012). Hold in mind a mean, petty thought and have someone press down on your arm while you resist; notice the effect. Now choose the exact opposite view. Picture yourself as being generous, forgiving, loving, and experiencing your inner greatness. Instantly, there will be an enormous increase in muscle strength indicating a surge of positive bio-energy.

Smallness brings weakness, sickness, disease, and death. Do you really want that? Letting go of negative feelings can be accompanied by another very healthy maneuver which will greatly assist your inner transformation, and that is to stop resisting the positive emotions.

Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender, Ch. 3, pg. 44-47