A colleague of nobel laureate Linus Pauling, Dr. David R. Hawkins became a spiritual teacher by way of a couple of near-death experiences; a very successful New York psychiatric practice; a temporary retreat into atheism; and at one point seven years in seclusion – not a bad combination for acquiring some pretty advanced spiritual wisdom. The seclusion qualifies him for my Most Memorable Hermits list.
Hawkins’ work resonates with me because it integrates eastern and western spiritual wisdom, intelligently addresses the gap between science and spirituality, and beautifully articulates a spiritual point of view to help us make sense of the senseless.
Hawkins calls his spiritual practice “Devotional Non-Duality” In his own words:
“Devotional Non-Duality means to be loving and kind towards all of life (including your own) at all times, no matter what.”
Sounds like a simple goal, but not an easy one for most of us. But that’s what spiritual work should be about – try to do better, fall back, and try to do better again. There’s never a shortage of relationships and circumstances in which to get extreme practice.
Hawkins has spent many years researching applied kinesiology and interpreting the results of the kinesiologic response as a method of differentiating truth from falsehood – a tool which he believes is available to all human beings with integrity. He has used his cumulative research to rank human emotional, pscychological and spiritual states on a logarithmic scale he calls the Map of Consciousness.
Hawkins most popular book, Power vs. Force details his interpretive work. I’ve read several of Hawkins other books as well and thoroughly enjoyed them, though they are not all easy reads nor intended for the spiritually timid.
Hawkins can come across as a bit too eccentric for the average spiritual seeker (which is more obvious in those other books), but his lectures reveal a wonderful sense of humor about his own eccentricities, something I find very appealing. Most spiritually-learned teachers wind up being defined as (at least) eccentric – I think it’s a natural by-product of winding up “in the world, but not really of it.”
Veritas Publishing, Hawkins’ publisher, has posted some very short videos from Dr. Hawkins’ lectures on YouTube; however, they block embedding. For those interested, the videos can be found here.
Here are some great audio excerpts of Hawkins lecturing:
Though applied kinesiology is a focal point of Hawkins work, using or practicing it is not crucial to benefiting from his spiritual writings. Personally, I’ve played with it enough to acknowledge its existence and presumptive value, but I rarely practice or rely on it. Hawkins’ work is, as I’ve said, interpretive. The following videos were available on YouTube, both posted by fans of Hawkins’ work.
Demonstration of applied kinesiology muscle testing:
Double-blind test of applied kinesiology:
