Although commonality of belief is persuasive, it is not indicative of truth. As will be pointed out later, media play into this back and forth gaming of manipulation as politicized ‘spin’. Threat of media attack is now used to intimidate via orchestrated ‘blog’ attack composed of well-crafted malevolent falsity… Under the banner of ‘free speech’, plus propagation via the Internet, ‘hate’ Website malevolence has gained ground and facilitated the decline of Western civilization.
Category: Thoughts & quotes from Sir David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D. & Susan Hawkins
Hello, we want to share thoughts and quotes from Dr. David R. Hawkins and his wife, Susan Hawkins. We will keep you informed of upcoming events, as well. For available books, CDs, DVDs, and the Map of Consciousness, visit the Dr. David R. Hawkins product page. Find a Dr. Hawkins Study Group in your area.
The Physical Body
Q: “You seldom mention the physical body. What is its importance in spiritual work?
A: The body is a product of nature and part of the animal world. One might say it is owned by nature but rented to us provisionally. It has only a temporary existence and thus does not justify undue attention or importance. Its value is its capacity for communication, a means of conveying information and sharing awareness. If adequately tended, it is hopefully a source of pleasure and a means of accomplishing work and expressing affection. Essentially, it is a temporality, an experience of perception or position in space and time. Perception claims it as ‘me’, or at least ‘mine’. This is a major restriction and limitation of identification of the self with physicality and form. Like any other living thing in nature, the body responds to kindness, respect, and consideration. It can be cared for and loved like a cherished pet without necessarily identifying with it or becoming unduly attached to it.One of the most difficult areas for clarification of the differentiation between self and body is the functioning of the senses. These are experienced and believed to be functions of the physical body itself. As strange as it may seem, the actual locus of sensory experience is within the invisible domain of the inner energy body that activates the physical body. The physical body in and of itself has no capacity to experience anything at all!
A: The body is a product of nature and part of the animal world. One might say it is owned by nature but rented to us provisionally. It has only a temporary existence and thus does not justify undue attention or importance. Its value is its capacity for communication, a means of conveying information and sharing awareness. If adequately tended, it is hopefully a source of pleasure and a means of accomplishing work and expressing affection. Essentially, it is a temporality, an experience of perception or position in space and time. Perception claims it as ‘me’, or at least ‘mine’. This is a major restriction and limitation of identification of the self with physicality and form. Like any other living thing in nature, the body responds to kindness, respect, and consideration. It can be cared for and loved like a cherished pet without necessarily identifying with it or becoming unduly attached to it.One of the most difficult areas for clarification of the differentiation between self and body is the functioning of the senses. These are experienced and believed to be functions of the physical body itself. As strange as it may seem, the actual locus of sensory experience is within the invisible domain of the inner energy body that activates the physical body. The physical body in and of itself has no capacity to experience anything at all!
The Greatest Opportunity for Growth
The difficulties of this world appear to be the consequence of all different levels of evolutionary development being thrown together simultaneously, which results in social turbulence. Simultaneously, however, the availability of such a wide spectrum allows for the greatest opportunity for growth and the undoing of ‘bad karma’ and, by choice, accumulating the merit of ‘good karma’ . Thus, this domain is one of maximum spiritual opportunity with a great multitude of options and choices that provide maximum potential for the evolution of consciousness about which one can be grateful instead of resentful. As the Buddha taught, “Rare is it to be born a human being, rarer still to have heard of Enlightenment, and even rarer still to pursue it.”
From Transcending the Levels of Consciousness ch. 14, pg. 255
The Love of God
… The Buddha taught that to be a human is already a great good fortune and the opportunity should not be wasted, therefore, waste no time for life is fleeting. He stressed the importance of taking advantage of the golden opportunity and not to spend it in world pursuits, for they are ephemeral and based on transient illusions. This admonition was also repeated by Jesus who taught that it is better to store up treasures in heaven where they are eternal, rather than on earth where they are transient…”
From I : Reality and Subjectivity p. 161-162
To choose love for God activates the love of God by prayer and worship. Therefore, despondency may be the very trigger that opens the door to the emergence of spiritual interest and progress. Many have found God only in the pits of hopelessness and despair. The ego is so strong that sometimes only severe ‘hitting bottom’ is a strong enough stimulus to activate the willingness to surrender allegiance to the ego’s domination. When activated, the spirit within is renewed, and apathy is replaced by hope. To ‘pray ceaselessly’ may be the only option available to work through some severe or prolonged periods of karmic debt. It is sometimes referred to as a ‘test of faith’, which is best traversed by conviction that ‘this too shall pass’, and “They also serve who stand and wait.”
Only Look to God
… it will become apparent that the underpinning of the ego’s responses is the pleasure that is derived from them. There is an inner satisfaction that is the payoff of self-pity, anger, rage, hate, pride, guilt, fear, etc. This inner pleasure, as morbid as it may sound, energizes and propagates all these emotions. To undo their influence, it is merely necessary to be willing to forego and surrender these questionable inner secret pleasures to God and look only to God for joy, pleasure, and happiness.
Although the mind will at first deny that it gets secret pleasure from suffering, it will reveal upon rigorous self-examination that the reason it clings to its content is for the ‘juice’ it gets out of its positionalities. With even a little self-honesty, this is a rather easy fact to discover.
Everyone gets a secret pleasure from resentments, from being the martyr or the victim, and from feeling misunderstood, unappreciated, etc. Society and the law even reinforce these benefits with legal and monetary rewards so that one can be compensated for ‘having their feelings hurt’, for being ‘slighted’ on the job, for enduring ‘stress’, for ‘feeling uncomfortable’, etc.
When the payoff is no longer valued, these feelings disappear. They persist only so long as they serve a purpose. When this ‘ego juice’ is abandoned, it is replaced with inner peace.