Thoughts & quotes from Sir David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D. & Susan Hawkins – Page 78

The Ego

Q. Is the ego the source of karma?

A: It is the locus and repository. It is very important to realize that the ego and karma are one and the same thing.

… In Reality, there is only one life with periodic reincarnations because conditions are favorable for the resolution of certain problems.

From I : Reality and Subjectivity p. 165

The psychological ego mechanisms most frequently found are:
1. Undoing – one repeats past patterns in order to have the opportunity to make better choices this time.

2. Reaction formation – one takes an extreme opposite view in this lifetime to keep its opposite repressed and out of awareness.

3. Projection – that which is painful to own about oneself is projected onto others.

4. Return of the oppressed – in this lifetime, what one did to others one now suffers in reverse as the victim.

5. Denial – the motivations and thoughts are completely repressed and dismissed as ‘not me’.

…these concepts need to be available for quick recall, as these mechanisms are involved in spiritual purification.
From I : Reality and Subjectivity p. 439

The ego’s survival relies on the defeat of truth… For one thing, spiritual truth challenges the ego’s presumption that it is sovereign. This is seen socially in the rising popularity of secularism… The current appeal of relativism… is that it subserves the ego’s wish to reign supreme by virtue of the statement that there is no absolute truth at all. This currently promoted philosophy is actually based on nihilism…

From Discovery of the Presence of God p. 116-117

Abandon the Ego

It may be dismaying at times to discover that surrender to the Self for one’s salvation and spiritual evolution is in conflict with the ego’s devious machinations to maintain control. One can be sure that the narcissistic core of the ego is certainly not going to welcome humility or the fact that the ordinary mind, unaided, is intrinsically not even capable of knowing the difference between truth and falsehood.

It is also well to know in advance that all suffering is not intrinsic to spiritual gain but strictly due to resistance to it. Suffering is due to dragging one’s spiritual feet and the ego’s insistence on having its own way. Abandoning the ego as God and turning to Divinity is what serves the evolution of consciousness.

If all life experiences are surrendered as they occur, they become transformed by gratitude into the miraculous and seen as gifts. This transformation is not within the province of the human will but is a gift of the Grace of God. To turn over one’s life to be a servant of God, to grow spiritually, and to commit to the service of Divinity are very powerful acts of the human will. Faith is reinforced by remembering the promises of the Ninety-first Psalm and Upanishads that “all who call upon Me by whatever name are Mine and dear to Me.” Faith in the infinite benevolence of Divine Love is itself transformative. At times, that is the only thing to which one clings in times of desperation.

From Transcending the Levels of Consciousness, Ch. 19, pg. 333-334

The Mind

The mind acts as a processor of data simultaneously from both within and without. It categorizes, sorts, prioritizes, contextualizes, and interprets simultaneously as it concordantly draws on memory banks, emotional centers, and conditioned responses and their correlations. All the above are orchestrated contextually with emotional/animal instincts that are sorted, rejected, accepted, or modified. In addition, this multilayered complexity is simultaneously subject to options, choices, and the will. Options and choices related to meaning and value overall are under the influence and dominance of an all-inclusive, overall field of consciousness having concordant and variable levels of power to the level of consciousness that is also influenced by karmic propensities. Simultaneously, the mind assesses degrees of relative truth, credibility of information, and suitability and probabilities of action within similarity multilayered behavioral social limits, including moral, ethical, social, and religious principles.

…To choose to forgive by giving up the ‘juice’ of justified resentments and grudges disconnects all the associated thoughts and grievances from them, along with their multiple rationalizations and memories…By removing the motherboards of each level, one witnesses that everything merely is just what it is, and judgmentalism is surrendered to God.

From Discovery of the Presence of God p. 109, 117-18

An Unfortunate Truth

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.

From Reality, Spirituality and Modern Man p. 158

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!

From The Eye of the I p. 229