David R. Hawkins

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

David Ramon Hawkins (born June 3, 1927 in Milwaukee , Wisconsin , † September 19, 2012 in Sedona , Arizona ) was an American mystic , doctor, psychiatrist , spiritual teacher and author.

Hawkins worked as a psychiatrist and ran a large psychiatric practice in New York State . After retiring from clinical practice in 1980, Hawkins spent seven years preoccupied with spirituality and consciousness . In 1995 he published the book "The Levels of Consciousness".

Hawkins' main concern was the promotion of spirituality in humans. According to his teaching, spiritual growth is the most fundamental and profound means of alleviating suffering in this world. According to his ideas, people live on different levels of consciousness and perceive reality and truth in relation to their level.

Life

Hawkins grew up in Wisconsin, USA. According to autobiographical information, he already had extraordinary spiritual experiences as a child and adolescent. He studied psychiatry at the Medical College of Wisconsin and was a minesweeper for a short time during World War II. In his early professional life he was a staunch atheist. A long and serious illness / alcohol addiction brought him to the brink of death. He reports that one day he physically collapsed and after a period of unconsciousness woke up with altered consciousness and a strong knowledge of the existence of God. From then on he endeavored to develop spiritual awareness.

Until 1980, Hawkins ran the North Nassau Mental Health Center in Manhasset , New York, which was then the largest mental health practice in the country. When he was 38 years old, he said he had "sudden enlightenment". Afterwards, clients from all over the world came to him who had learned of his alleged healing abilities. In 1979, he moved to Sedona , Arizona , to become a hermit "spiritually perfecting himself in silence." After his re-entry into society, he was henceforth engaged in spiritual consciousness research, with lectures and as an author. Through his book “Power vs. Force ”( The Levels of Consciousness ) became known to Hawkins in the field of spiritual literature. The book has been translated into 15 languages ​​so far and was on bestseller lists in several countries. Hawkins received awards from various quarters. In particular, he was given the honor of "Tae Ryoung Sun Kak Tosa" (Great Soul and Leading Teacher on the Path to Enlightenment) in Seoul in 2000 .

Hawkins' teaching on consciousness and spirituality

In addition to lectures, Hawkins summarized his teaching, especially in his own books. His first spiritual book The Levels of Consciousness is an introduction to his theory of consciousness. The scale of consciousness presented here is probably the most famous part of his teaching. The following two books The All-Seeing Eye and The Reality of the Divine (published as "Light of All “) Are more extensive, more demanding and deeper and in the subject matter exclusively spiritual. Hawkins would like to give the spiritual seeker insight and understanding of the central issues at hand in the search for God. Topics are therefore u. a .: Levels and development of consciousness, structures of the ego , integrity , understanding , causality and linear thinking, non-duality , properties of God and help with problems on the way to God. In the fourth book, Truth vs. Falsehood (not yet published in German) summarized Hawkins' statements about consciousness and then lists in great detail various topics of American culture with consciousness values ​​in tables.


Hawkins levels of consciousness
Measured value level emotion
700-1000 Enlightenment indescribable
600 peace Bliss
540 joy Serenity
500 love Adoration
400 understanding understanding
350 acceptance forgiveness
310 willingness optimism
250 neutrality trust
200 courage affirmation
175 Proud contempt
150 Anger Hate
125 Covetousness Desire
100 fear anxiety
75 Grief Remorse
50 apathy hopelessness
30th Sense of guilt Blame
20th shame Humiliation

The levels of consciousness

Hawkins developed a "scale of consciousness" from his own spiritual experiences and his kinesiological tests . On this he assigned things like people, concepts, books, films etc. values ​​between 1 and 1000. The scale is limited downwards from zero (death / no consciousness) and upwards through the thousand, according to his statement the highest level of consciousness attainable by humans. It should be noted that a person can be at different levels in different areas of life / situations.

According to Hawkins, the 200 on his scale represents a special threshold value which separates the non-integral levels from the integral levels. Hawkins describes things that test “weak” in the kinesiology test and that he describes as “turned away from life” as “non-integrity”. Levels below 200 on its scale are dominated by animal instincts that would have been impressed on us due to the history of development. But man can free himself from these by means of his will and orientation towards the positive and the truth. However, according to Hawkins, this is not always possible for the individual alone, but in certain cases requires external help. With the development of consciousness above 200, emotional reactions are increasingly reduced and logical understanding as well as love and empathy are built up. The recognition of the rights of others is a clear characteristic for levels above 200. Understanding and empathy for others increases with higher levels.

According to Hawkins, the next major hurdle in the development towards an enlightened being is the level of the mind (400s). This is the level of modern democracies, which value objectivity and scientific achievements as social norms. However, it would be precisely the properties of the mind, with its dualistic thinking, that would form an obstacle to further development. Higher levels of consciousness such as love, joy and peace and the existence of God have a suspicious effect on the rational worldview and, as subjective levels of experience, evade scientific-objective investigation. The transition from the intellectual level of the 400s to the level of love of the 500s would therefore require a paradigm shift in thinking.

From the threshold 500, the principle of causality slowly gives way to a non-dualistic, non-linear mode of perception, according to Hawkins. In the 500 range, there is a subdivision that is numbered 540 and which represents the beginning of the level of consciousness of unconditional love - the level of joy. From 600 Hawkins speaks of peace and from 700 of enlightenment. He equates level 1000 with Christ consciousness, Buddha nature and the consciousness of the great avatars of human history : Jesus, Buddha and Krishna.

Hawkins emphasized that the scale represents a gradual progression and should not lead to comparisons of better / worse, which from his point of view is a division of dualistic thinking. The levels and levels of awareness are not intended to be an assessment, but rather a description of quality, says Hawkins. Each level has its own characteristics. What is seen as right and worth striving for on one level can be "wrong" on another level. Evaluations of right and wrong, and thus the evaluation of truth, depends on the point of view or perspective of the viewer and therefore on the consciousness of the viewer: "Truth is a variable quantity, relative to an absolute constant," writes Hawkins in Truth vs. Falsehood , S. ix.

Consciousness development

According to Hawkins, life generally evolves from lower levels of consciousness to higher levels. In his fourth book, Truth vs. Falsehood the slow development of consciousness in the development of life from bacteria to animals to humans. Compared to animals, humans would have more freedom of choice and therefore more opportunities to align and develop their own consciousness through higher consciousness.

Focus of teaching

Integrity vs. Non-integrity

In teaching, the concept of integrity is key for Hawkins. He described behavior with integrity as an important distinction to negative, non-integrity behavior, which he equated with the range below 200 on his scale. According to Hawkins, integrity is an alignment with the truth that results in life-oriented, positive behavior. According to Hawkins, the level of integrity is an important requirement for kinesiology testing. The tester as well as the person being tested must, according to his statements, be more than 200 in consciousness and the intention of the question must also be of integrity and must therefore not be linked to selfish goals or confirmations of viewpoints.

Content and context

Hawkins recommended greater attention to context in his teaching . In his view, many problems arise from simply having content , e.g. B. an event is considered and the context (the surrounding conditions) is not or only to a small extent considered. In developing consciousness, the higher the level, the more context is perceived. In the area of ​​non-linearity (above 500) the relationship is reversed: context becomes the actual focus and content becomes the edge aspect. The highest level of pure consciousness, the divine, is the infinite context. No more content is possible here.

Ego and self

In psychology, according to Hawkins, the term ego is used for properties of the ego that are aimed at physical survival and dealing with everyday demands. According to Hawkins, the term ego has an expanded meaning in spiritual usage and, in general terms, denotes an obstacle to knowledge, since it is structured linearly and dualistically. The higher the consciousness develops, the less it identifies with the ego as ego. Hawkins describes the ego as a negatively aligned structure that denies the existence of God and wants to live independently. Out of this structure would come the basic fears of death and dying. The ego itself fears its dissolution. And this comes closer when the consciousness turns to God and reaches higher levels of consciousness. It sets in motion strong counter energies to prevent the consciousness from further developing towards God. Hawkins describes these ego energies as satanic and equivalent to descriptions of temptations from religious sources. The death of the ego - Hawkins describes it as a burst - is a difficult transition that requires a lot of courage and determination. The ego conveys the fear that without it there would only be emptiness, which, according to Hawkins, contradicts itself as a construct and does not exist. The death of the ego is designated with the term “the final door” or “the final moment” and represents the completion and perfection of the subjective reality of enlightenment. The exact calibration is never specified in his works. The death of the ego is irreversible after the “final moment” or the “last threshold”.

Non-duality and non-linearity

Linear Non-linear
shape Formlessness
ego G EIST
visible invisible
scientific mystical
property essence
content context
Cut united
material spiritually
move quiet
observe knowledge
effect source
illusion reality
Characteristics of the consciousness
of non-linearity
Hawkins, Das All-Seehende Auge , p. 413ff

Hawkins emphasized in his teaching that there are no opposites in the non-linear, non-dualistic reality of the higher levels of consciousness. Pairs of opposites are practicable in everyday language use, but would quickly lead to incorrect thought constructs. Hawkins cited the contrast between hot and cold as an example. From a physical point of view, these are not opposites, but gradual differences on a dimension / scale. Cold is just a relative absence of warmth, depending on your point of view and point of view. From a spiritual perspective, this applies to all things in everyday life that are perceived as opposites. Hawkins said that in "being one" there can be no separation, everything is completely still, with no images, words or concepts.

Within its scale model, the permeation of non-linearity / non-duality consciousness begins at 500 and increases upwards. Linearity and duality are always contained in non-linearity and non-duality, since they do not represent an opposite, but a difference in degree. The threshold of 500 is significant. It represents a great hurdle for the mind, since for it important concepts such as causality, materiality, controllability, objectivity and delimitation cease to exist or lose their meaning beyond this limit. In contrast, qualities of experience such as love, inspiration, respect, joy, contentment and fulfillment gain in importance. Things that are not in the focus of the 400th level of science and logic.

life and death

In the view of non-dual levels of consciousness there are generally no opposites (duality). Accordingly, there can be no contradiction in life either. The death is in the opinion of Hawkins only a separation from the body, a change of shape. Life itself cannot be threatened in its existence. A real death, an end of the self is just as impossible as non-existence, non-presence of God or non-love. Only a greater or lesser presence is possible. Hawkins said that physical death is not perceived by the self. Self-identity leaves the body at the time of death without any noticeable interruption. This identity would also be perceived as continuous over different lifetimes. The ego does not die through the physical exit, but remains.

The nature of God

According to Hawkins, God / the divine does not lie in the realm of knowledge, logic or what can be proven, but can only be verified through subjective experience. As is customary in mystical writings, Hawkins also described ultimate reality with various expressions: God, the divine, all-being, ultimate reality, source of all existence, infinite potential, primal ground, in-being, infinite context, self, infinite I, Ultimately being home, being one.

In Hawkins' view, the divine is not subject to any negative human traits such as greed, gainful advantage, preference, partiality, fear, anger, envy, or anger. Hawkins wrote in The All-Seeing Eye on page 222: “The Almighty, All-Knowing, and Omnipresent is not vulnerable or susceptible to threat or emotional upset. So God is not the prey of feelings of revenge, jealousy, hatred, violence, vanity, egoism or the need for flattery or compliments. The beneficiary of worship is the worshiper. ” One cannot deal with God, cannot talk to him or manipulate him. Any statements that give God / the divine negative human characteristics are severely distorted and, from a spiritual point of view, simply wrong. In his opinion, this applies to large parts of the Old Testament (exceptions: Genesis , Psalms , Proverbs ) and the Revelation of John in the New Testament. According to Hawkins, all negativity is the product of the ego alone. “It is the ego that is the source of guilt, sin, suffering, damnation and creation of all the hells. It seeks redemption by blaming everything on God, " wrote Hawkins in The All-Seeing Eye, p.

Hawkins' delimitation and classification of his teaching

His criticism of religion

Hawkins assigned his teaching to spirituality and clearly separated it from religion and esotericism . Although historically strongly linked to religion, Hawkins described spirituality as independent and independent of religion or religiosity.

In his view, religion is a form of human organization with the initial intention of preserving and passing on the original teaching of a great teacher. Hawkins noted the following difficulties, which have shown themselves repeatedly in the course of historical development: Students who try to record the teaching and pass it on usually do not bring with them such a high level of consciousness as the original teacher. So there is a certain inaccuracy and distortion of the original statements right from the start. "This type of falsification is often due to the fact that the ego tends to understand the words literally rather than paying so much attention to the spirit or essence of the teaching." (Hawkins, The All-Seeing Eye, p. 75)

In the course of the development of religion and its subsequent institutionalization, various selfish interests and power structures within the created organization are added. Hawkins wrote ( The All-Seeing Eye , p. 75): “The second type, which obviously leads to grosser adulteration, is spiritual doctrine arising from what is commonly referred to as 'church doctrine'. These regulations, often in the form of guilty prohibitions, were in fact drawn up entirely by official representatives and so-called authorities of the church, who in reality had no claim to authority, but instead had a certain political power in the structure of the respective institution the relevant time. "

The teaching is thus more and more blurred over time and thus falls into the truth content. In extreme cases, statements would result that turn the original meaning into the opposite (inquisition, religious wars, etc.). For these reasons, a constant renewal of the original teaching would be necessary. Changes within religions have often not been allowed because they contradicted the opinions and interests of those in power, according to Hawkins. Mystics and wise men would therefore often not have been heard, were persecuted or even killed.

Differentiation from esotericism

In delimitation of the teaching to esotericism , Hawkins et al. a. the following concepts for simply wrong (test kinesiologically weak, i.e. untrue): the 12-strand DNA theory, the existence of UFOs , concept of indigo, crystal and star children , creation of crop circles by aliens, existence of aliens on earth , Bible Code Theories by Michael Drosnin . Hawkins cautioned against doctrines and concepts that are spectacular or highlight certain things / people as very special (as in the case of indigo children). These contents would only feed the ego, but not lead to a greater closeness to God, which is the meaning of spirituality or his teaching.

Assignment to spirituality

For Hawkins, spirituality was a consistent focus on God / the divine. The seeker must remove the obstacles that stand in the way of recognition. Hawkins focused on the negative influence of the ego structures. However, he restricted that the viewfinder can only make the beginning and the alignment. The ultimate breakthrough to the deep experiences of the higher levels of consciousness cannot be achieved willingly: here the seeker is dependent on the grace of God.

The basic tenets of spirituality, according to Hawkins, are universal and across all cultures and religions the same over time. The obvious differences between the major religions are only due to culture and time. The spiritual core is the same for everyone. In Light of Space , p. 396, Hawkins wrote: “Once the context is right, all differences in understanding the levels of consciousness dissolve. If we look at the Avatars, great teachers, and enlightened sages through history, their descriptions of ultimate reality (God) are the same. There is absolute agreement that the divine is infinitely compassionate, loving, peaceful, silent, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and full of goodness. ” Statements about the divine that do not agree would be a distortion of the human ego and an expression of a lesser one Understanding or would reflect a lower level of consciousness. Hawkins describes Jesus, Buddha and Krishna as avatars, who among all beings would have reached the highest possible level of consciousness on earth (1000).

criticism

Hawkins has been criticized primarily for its application and special interpretation of kinesiology . Since the instrument of kinesiology is not scientifically recognized, its results are neither scientifically nor objectively comprehensible. Some kinesiologists themselves criticize the fact that Hawkins interprets kinesiology very specifically, which is no longer in accordance with the classical method. Kinesiologists tend to see a local body reaction to a stimulus in testing, while Hawkins emphasized that this is a (non-local) reaction that is independent of the person being tested.

Criticism of the scale: Critics see the assigned consciousness values ​​of 1–1000 as too reductionist . The informative value of a single number is too low and cannot serve as a characteristic description. Critics see further problems when comparing different objects on the scale.

Conjecture of hubris : Hawkins had his own books very high values on the scale. E.g. he calibrated the light of space at 999.8 and thus at the upper end of its scale, far higher than many other religious or spiritual documents in human history. Hawkins also described himself as spiritually advanced. Critics see this as a self-exaltation with which he makes himself immune to argumentation and criticism.

Honors

  • Huxley Award, 1979 ( Orthomolecular Psychiatry )
  • American Medical Association Physicians Recognition Award, 1992
  • Induction into the Orthomolecular Medicine Hall of Fame, 2006
  • American Psychiatric Association 50-year Distinguished Life Fellows honor, 2006

Publications

Spiritual literature

  • The levels of consciousness - Of the power we radiate . VAK, Freiburg 1997, ISBN 3-932098-02-1 .
    • Original title: Power vs. Force: An Anatomy of Consciousness - The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior . Original: Veritas, Sedona 1995 / Revised new edition: Hay House Carlsbad 2002, ISBN 978-1-56170-933-5 .
  • The all-seeing eye - “The Eye of the I” . Sheema-Medien, Wasserburg / Inn 2005, ISBN 3-931560-19-8 .
    • Original title: The Eye of the I - From which nothing is hidden . Veritas, Sedona 2001, ISBN 0-9643261-9-1 .
  • Light of All - The Reality of the Divine . Sheema-Medien, Wasserburg / Inn 2006, ISBN 3-931560-20-1 .
  • Original title: Truth versus Falsehood . Veritas, Sedona 2005, ISBN 0-9715007-2-X / Axial, Toronto 2005, ISBN 0-9715007-3-8 .
  • Enlightenment Is Possible - How To Step Through The Levels Of Consciousness . Sheema-Medien, Wasserburg / Inn 2007, ISBN 978-3-931560-21-8 .
    • Original title: Transcending the Levels of Consciousness - The Stairway to Enlightenment . Veritas, Sedona 2006, ISBN 0-9715007-4-6 .
  • Devotion to God. The mystical way out of duality . Sheema-Medien, Wasserburg / Inn 2009, ISBN 978-3-931560-22-5 .
    • Original title: Discovery of the Presence of God - Devotional Nonduality . Veritas, Sedona 2006, ISBN 0-9715007-6-2 .
  • Spiritual essence and worldly appearance . Sheema-Medien, Wasserburg / Inn 2012, ISBN 978-3-931560-23-2 .
    • Original title: Reality, Spirituality And Modern Man . Veritas, Sedona 2008 / Axial, Toronto 2008, ISBN 978-1-933391-88-5 .
  • Healing and recovery . Sheema-Medien, Wasserburg / Inn 2012, ISBN 978-3-931560-24-9 .
  • Letting go of the path of resilient surrender . Sheema-Medien, Wasserburg / Inn 2014, 89 ISBN 978-3-931560-25-6 .

Medical literature

Web links

Criticism (german)

Criticism (English)

personal data
SURNAME Hawkins, David R.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hawkins, David Ramon (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American doctor, mystic, and author
DATE OF BIRTH June 3, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Milwaukee , Wisconsin
DATE OF DEATH 19th September 2012
Place of death Sedona , Arizona