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Book Review of "Power vs. Force" by David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D.

Review by Michael Laughrin, Michael@jyotish.ws

Power Vs. ForceDr. David Hawkins, a former psychiatrist, has quantified the most important aspects of human behavior to help us clearly be able to not only separate the good from the bad but also to rank the "good" in some sequence.

How does he do this? By muscle testing. Yup, just like at your chiropractor or natural health doctor. Everything that people can do or attain (even perfect Enlightenment) is assigned a number between 1 and 1000. Jesus Christ and Lord Buddha are at 1000. Normal enlightenment starts at 700.

The critical number, however, is 200. Everything above it is useful and necessary for civilized behavior to maintain itself. Under 200 gives us bestial and dangerous actions and attitudes such as pride, anger, guilt and shame. The 300's relate to craftsmen, managers and common useful skills. The 400's correspond to intellectual endeavors; the 500's to excellence in action. The 600's are ruled by compassion and Love.

The reason this volume has the words "power" and "force" in the title is that they are key concepts indicating the guiding spirit of the book as a whole. Force calibrates at a low level (under 200) while true power comes from skill, clarity of Mind, Love and even enlightenment - all of them calibrate at 300 or above. It is interesting to note that humanity as a whole calibrated at below 200 until the late 1980's when it firmly established itself above 200. Now, apparently, humanity calibrates at 207. But the vast majority of living humans (over 70%) still calibrate at under 200. Luckily, one person with a high calibration makes up for many thousands in rank ignorance (under 200).

I attended a one-day seminar with Dr. Hawkins in 2004 and it was a delight. The one thing that is not represented in his many books (I believe there are six now) is his wonderful sense of humor and the lightness of his presence. It was a sheer delight to be in his presence. I disagree with some of the calibration numbers that he has come up with, but I do find his teachings, on the whole, to be exceedingly useful and valid (and uplifting!).

Buy the book(s). Read the book(s). I am pretty sure that most of you lovers of Jyotish and non-dualistic Vedic philosophy will find the ideas in this book a natural outgrowth of your own experiences and beliefs.

Review (c) copyright 2006 Michael Laughrin.

From the October/November 2006 issue of Michael Laughrin's North American Jyotish Newsletter. Click to subscribe to this free Jyotish newsletter.


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