Thoughts & quotes from Sir David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D. & Susan Hawkins – Page 55

In the World but Not of It

There is great freedom in the realization that I ‘have’ a body and a mind, rather than I ‘am’ my mind or body. Once the fear of death is transcended, life becomes a transformed experience because that particular fear underlies all others.

From Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior p. 147

Q: To choose to pursue Enlightenment is uncommon in our current society, with its emphasis on worldliness and the dominance of the media that in turn focus on the contentious or glamorize the superficial. What true value can be derived from worldly life?

A: The world can be seen as an optimal stimulus for inner growth as it is merely a projection of the ego in overt dramatic expression. It is best to learn from it rather than to be seduced by its illusions or entrapped by them via identification or attachment.

… Q: How can one simultaneously participate yet not get attached or involved? Does that not lead to avoidance?

A: It is the motive that determines the effects of participation. Activities are merely what one ‘does’, but not what one ‘is’. All seeming events present learning opportunities. One can participate and at the same time experience phenomena from the level of the witness/observer and watch what arises from within the psyche. It is important to differentiate detachment from nonattachment. Detachment can result in avoidance or withdrawal, whereas nonattachment allows for participation without taking a stake in the outcome.

Q: How then should one best relate to the world?

A: To be ‘in’ it but not ‘of’ it. The world is a means and not an end. Nonattached interaction reveals habitual styles and attitudes that are consequent to inner ego positionalities.

From Discovery of the Presence of God p. 101-103

The Energy of Life

… electricity, which is a generic type of energy and therefore ‘impersonal’. When it runs through a toaster or a fan, the device would then mistakenly identify itself as being the primary source and not realize it is only an outlet unit. Without the ‘life’ energy of electricity, each receiving unit would be inert.

… To continue the analogy, the primordial source of life energy is independent of localization as units. The units assume themselves to be the primary rather than merely expressions of the universality. The energy of life is a radiance from the field of consciousness… The capacity for Enlightenment is merely a consequence of consciousness returning to its source…

The ego/self identifies with its various functions and qualities and labels them by ownership as ‘me’ and says that is ‘who I am’.

From Discovery of the Presence of God, p. 211-212

Silence and Peace Can be Chosen

The ego/mind is attracted to novelty and therefore searches frantically for interesting form and sensation. This can be refused and replaced by interest in the silent, formless substrate that is always present and merely has to be noticed. It is comparable to the silent background without which sound could not be discerned.

The phenomenal world is like a giant Rorschach card – the figure ‘means’ whatever one wishes it to. Sound is discernible only because it is superimposed against the background of silence, and thus form can only be recognized because it is superimposed within formless space. Likewise, the content of mind is only identifiable because of its formless, silent background screen. The experiencer can thus be directed to focus on the silent, formless backdrop. The substrate, because of its silence, has an innate feeling of peace. Silence and peace can be chosen, appreciated, valued, and welcomed as relief from the constant tension of the ever-watchful expectancy of the experiencer function. When peace is more valued than the entertainment of the insatiable ego, it will be discovered to be ever present and available.

From Discovery of the Presence of God, ch. 15, pg. 247-248

The Mechanism of Addiction

The mechanisms of the human organism are also regulated by the neurochemistry and structure of the brain, with its inherent pain/pleasure responses. This self-actuating reward mechanism is another trap that has to be bypassed. Human ingenuity has baited this mechanism by the discovery of artificial reward/pleasure devices, such as artificial substances to which the chemistry of the brain is vulnerable and reprogrammable; thus, there is even an inherited genetic propensity to addiction that then eclipses and replaces all other goal seeking.

… Although this recapitulation of the biological roots of the ego may seem obvious, the purpose is to increase awareness of the origin and importance of these mechanisms that are inherent and inborn rather than personally self-created. … It can be accepted compassionately as such without condemnation and is therefore neither good nor bad. Mankind lives in the realm of tension between emotional instincts and the counterbalancing power of spiritual awakening (i.e., the animal/angel conflict).”

From I: Reality and Subjectivity p. 111

There is No Happiness Outside One’s Self

There is anger and resentment, as well as fear at loss of control when loss is involuntary and unexpected. Disruption of life by the unexpected also creates anxiety at the forced readjustment, which may require major decision-making. … all suffering and emotional pain result from resistance. Its cure is via surrender and acceptance, which relieve the pain.

… A basic truth to be realized in the process is that there is no possible, actual source of happiness outside one’s self. Loss really brings long-standing illusions to the surface, along with opportunities to lessen its dominance in the psyche. The ego has a multitude of attachments to beliefs, slogans, objects, people, titles, money, conveniences, entertainment, furnishings, sentimental tokens, and memories of all the above. The ego/mind cherishes that which is temporary and transitory because it is valued as ‘special’ and therefore sees it as a ‘source’ of happiness.

Paradoxically, loss is simultaneously freedom and the opening of new options. Loss services inner adaptations and qualities that represent opportunities for growth. Simultaneously, the mind regrets and would like to undo change and return to the comfort of former circumstances, but evolutionary developmental growth is insistent.

… All forms of loss are a confrontation to the ego and its survival mechanisms. All aspects of human life are transient; therefore, to cling to any aspect eventually brings grief and loss. Each incident, however, is an opportunity to search within for the source of life, which is ever present, unchanging, and not subject to loss or the ravages of time.

Grief or loss, like any stressful situation in life, can be seen as a valuable growth opportunity and a time for reassessment of values and goals. If this is followed, eventually it is possible to let go of all attachments, including belief systems, and experience the source of happiness that emanates from within.

From Transcending the Levels of Consciousness: The Stairway to Enlightenment p. 94-96