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# 2020-12-08 - Letting Go by David R. Hawkins
A friend recommended the writing of David R. Hawkins, and i chose
this book because i thought it might help me learn to better forgive
and let go. Several points in this book remind me of points raised
in an earlier book: Focusing by Eugene Gendlin. David Hawkins
proposes muscle testing as a method to discern Truth, but writes that
it is only reliable for people who have tested above a certain level.
I found this concept of "level" interesting. Basically, the author
rates the major emotions on a scale corresponding to his scale of
consciousness ranging from deluded to enlightened. This scale uses
numerical values where a higher score is more enlightened, more
"positive", and more valuable than a lower score. This reminds me a
little of the modern chakra system [1], which is inspired by the
electromagnetic spectrum. It also reminds me of the stage
development model of human progress [2]. It also reminds me of the
power level scores in Dragon Ball Z [3]. Suffice it to say, i am
skeptical of these scales, especially with respect to biological
systems and emotions, which are not directly comparable to the
electromagnetic spectrum. One similarity that i do find valid is
that the electromagnetic spectrum contains infinite possible
frequencies. Likewise, our emotions contain infinite possible
expressions.
One gem i took from the book is the idea of breaking a problem into
components. For example, if you cannot forgive something, then try
to find a smaller part of it that you can forgive. This process
reduces the emotional charge you carry around and it primes your
"forgiveness muscle."
Another gem is the idea that it is more productive to process
feelings than to process thoughts, basically because feelings reside
"under the hood" and nearer to the root cause of our problems. This
might explain why some of my friends value somatic therapeutic
methods more than they value talk therapy.
[1]
(TXT) Chakra, see section Modern history
[2]
(TXT) Spiral Dynamics, see section Overview of the vMemes
[3]
(HTM) List of Power Levels in Dragon Ball Z
Below are excerpts from the book that i noted for future reference.
# Chapter 1, Introduction
The solution to any problem seems to bring only brief relief, for it
is the very basis of the next problem.
Don't worry--everybody's desperate. Intuitively, we know that
somewhere there is an ultimate answer.
What's in the book? It tells of a simple method to reach great
clarity and transcend your problems along the way. It's not by
finding the answers, but by undoing the basis of the problem. The
mechanism of surrender is simple and the truth is self-evident. It
works during daily life. There is no dogma or belief system. You
verify everything for yourself, so you cannot be misled. There is no
dependence on any teachings. It follows the dicta of "Know thyself";
"The truth shall set you free"; and "The kingdom of God is within
you." It works for the cynic, the pragmatist, the religionist, and
the atheist. It works for any age or cultural background. It works
for the spiritual person and the non-spiritual person alike.
The process of surrender will begin automatically, for it is the
nature of the mind to seek relief from pain and suffering and to
experience greater happiness.
# Chapter 2, The mechanism of letting go
Letting go is like a sudden cessation of an inner pressure or the
dropping of a weight. It is accompanied by a sudden feeling of
relief and lightness, with an increasing happiness and freedom. It
is an actual mechanism of the mind...
The surrendered state means to be free of negative feelings in a
given area so that creativity and spontaneity can manifest without
opposition or the interference of inner conflicts. To be free of
inner conflict and expectations is to give others in our life the
greatest freedom. It allows us to experience the basic nature of the
universe, which, it will be discovered, is to manifest the greatest
good possible in a situation. This may sound philosophical, but,
when done, it is experientially true.
We have three major ways of handling feelings:
* Suppression and repression -- These are the most common way we
push feelings down and put them aside. In repression, this happens
unconsciously; in suppression it happens consciously.
* Expression -- With this mechanism, the feeling is vented,
verbalized, or stated in body language, and acted out in endless
group demonstrations. The expression of negative feelings allows
just enough of the inner pressure to be let out so that the
remainder can then be suppressed [out of awareness].
* Escape -- Escape is the avoidance of feelings through diversion.
Escapism is a socially condoned mechanism.
Stress results from the accumulated pressure of our repressed and
suppressed feelings. The energy of our blocked off feelings
re-emerges through our autonomic nervous system and causes
pathological changes leading to disease processes.
Stress is determined by our belief systems and their associated
emotional pressures. It is not the external stimulus, then, that is
the cause of stress, but our degree of reactivity.
Letting go involves being aware of feeling, letting it come up,
staying with it, and letting it run its course without wanting to
make it different or do anything about it. It means simply to let
the feeling be there and to focus on letting out the energy behind
it. The first step is to allow yourself to have the feeling without
resisting it, venting it, fearing it, condemning it, or moralizing
about it. It means to drop judgment and see that it is JUST a
feeling. The technique is to be with the feeling and surrender all
efforts to modify it in any way. Let go of wanting to resist the
feeling. It is resistance that keeps the feeling going. When you
give up resisting or trying to modify the feeling, it will shift to
the next feeling and be accompanied by a lighter sensation. A
feeling that is not resisted will disappear as the energy behind it
dissipates.
When letting go, ignore all thoughts. Focus on the feeling itself,
not on the thoughts. Thoughts are endless and self-reinforcing, and
they only breed more thoughts.
There is a progressive diminishing of dependence on anything or
anyone outside of ourselves.
There is always a feeling to be let up and surrendered. When we are
feeling good, the emotions are merely subtler.
Sometimes you will feel stuck with a particular feeling. Simply
surrender to the feeling of being stuck. Just let it be there and
don't resist it. If it doesn't disappear, see if you can let go of
the feeling in bits and pieces.
# Chapter 3, The anatomy of emotions
Whichever psychology is studied reveals that the primary human goal,
superseding all others, is survival. The mind is, therefore, a
survival mechanism and its method of survival is primarily the use of
emotions.
There is a simple way to become conscious of the underlying goal
behind any activity through the use of the question, "What for?" With
each answer, "What for?" is asked again and again until the basic
feeling is uncovered.
## Scale of Emotions
600 Peace
540 Joy
500 Love
400 Reason
350 Acceptance
310 Willingness
250 Neutrality
200 Courage
175 Pride
150 Anger
125 Desire
100 Fear
075 Grief
050 Apathy
030 Guilt
020 Shame
According to scientific findings, all thoughts are filed in the
mind's memory bank under a filing system based upon the associated
feeling and its finer gradations. (Gray-LaViolette, 1982).
Consequently, there is a scientific basis for the observation that
self-awareness is increased much more rapidly by observing feelings
rather than thoughts. The thoughts associated with even one feeling
may literally run into the thousands. The understanding of the
underlying emotion and its correct handling is, therefore, more
rewarding and less time-consuming than dealing with one's thoughts.
In an overwhelm [AKA an emotional crisis] it is often advisable to
utilize them [suppression, expression, and escape], but doing so
consciously. The purpose of this maneuver is to reduce the sheer
overwhelming quantity of the emotion itself so that it can be
disassembled and let go of in bits and pieces. Thus, in this case,
it is alright consciously to push away as much of the emotion as we
are capable of at the moment. When the feeling has been reduced in
its sheer quantity and intensity, it is best to start letting go of
small aspects of the situation rather than the overall situation and
the accompanying emotion itself. [This reminds me of self-soothing
strategies.] The purpose of surrendering these smaller aspects... is
that it gets the mind into letting-go mode. After using the above
four methods (suppression, expression, escape, surrender of smaller
aspects), a fifth now becomes apparent. Every strong emotion is
really a composite of a number of subsidiary emotions and the total
emotional complex can be disassembled. Thus, as the disassembled
emotional complex is taken apart into its component parts, each
component part now has less energy and can be surrendered
individually.
There are numerous benefits to handling a life crisis successfully.
For one thing, the amount of suppressed or repressed emotion is now
much less. The crisis has forced it up to be relinquished and,
therefore, the amount that is left in the reservoir is much less.
There is a greater feeling of self-esteem and confidence because
there is the awareness that one can survive and handle whatever life
will bring. There is an overall reduction of the fear of life, a
greater feeling of mastery, greater compassion for the suffering of
others, and an increased ability to help them through similar
circumstances. Paradoxically, after a life crisis, there often is a
period of variable duration of peace and calmness, sometimes
approaching the level of mystical experience. The "dark night of the
soul" frequently precedes states of heightened awareness.
One of the best-known examples of this paradox is illustrated by
persons who have had near-death experiences.
We take on a different attitude about the past difficulty or trauma,
and we acknowledge the hidden gift in it. The value of this
technique was first recognized by Viktor Frankl. He explained the
approach--which he called "Logo therapy"--in his famous book Man's
Search for Meaning.
One benefit from a life crisis is greater self-awareness. The
situation is overwhelming, and we are forced to stop all of our
diversionary games, take a good look at our life situation, and
re-evaluate our beliefs, goals, values, and life direction. Life
crises, as we pass through them, present us with polar opposites.
Every emotional experience is an opportunity to go up or down
[Hawkin's scale of enlightenment.] Which do we choose?
# Chapter 4, Apathy and depression
Apathy is the belief, "I can't." It is hopelessness and
helplessness. The way out of apathy is to remind ourselves of our
intention, which is to get higher and freer, to become more effective
and happy, and to let go of the resistance to the technique [of
surrender] itself.
Apathy and depression are the prices we pay for having settled for
and bought into our smallness. It's what we get for having played
the victim and allowed ourselves to be programmed. The way out is to
become more conscious. What does it mean, "to become more
conscious?" To begin with, becoming more conscious means to start
looking for the truth for ourselves... start questioning everything.
One of the biggest blocks to overcome in getting out of depression
and apathy is that of blame. Perhaps the biggest payoff of blame is
that we get to be the innocent victim and the other party is the bad
one.
Blame is the world's greatest excuse. It enables us to remain
limited and small without feeling guilty. But there is a cost--the
loss of our freedom.
The first step out of blame is to see that we are choosing to blame.
Blaming others or ourselves is simply not necessary.
Another cause for apathy is the residual of a previously experienced
traumatic overwhelm which has not been resolved. But, because in the
unconscious mind there is no such thing as time, we can choose at any
time in the present to heal the past event.
We all did what we thought was best in the moment. "It seemed like a
good idea at the time" is what we can say about our past actions and
those of others. We've all been unwittingly programmed without our
conscious assent. Out of our confusion, ignorance, and naïveté, we
bought into the negative programs. We let them run us. But now we
can choose to stop. We can choose a different direction.
Another valuable technique for getting out of apathy, depression, and
situations which are predominantly being run by the thought, "I
can't," is to choose to be with other persons who have resolved the
problem with which we struggle. This is one of the great powers of
self-help groups. Merely being in their presence is beneficial. It
is not necessary to know how it happens, but merely that it does
happen. Simply put, we are either positively or negatively
influenced by the company we keep.
# Chapter 5, Grief
Grief can be precipitated by the loss of a belief system, a
relationship, a capacity or role, a hope about ourselves, or an
overall attitude toward our life, external circumstances, or
institutions. It's the feeling: "I'll never get over this. This one
is too difficult. I tried, but nothing helps." Most of us carry a
great deal of suppressed grief. Men especially are prone to hide
that particular feeling, as it is considered unmasculine and unmanly
to cry. Suppressed grief is responsible for many psychosomatic
conditions and health-related complaints. Instead of suppressing the
feeling, if it is allowed to come up and be relinquished, we can
quickly jump from grief to acceptance.
The psychological basis of all grief and mourning is attachment.
Attachment and dependence occur because we feel incomplete within
ourselves; therefore we seek objects, people, relationships, places,
and concepts to fulfill inner needs. Because they are unconsciously
utilized to fulfill an inner need, they come to be identified as
"mine." As more energy is poured into them, there is a transition
from identifying with external objects as "mine" to being an actual
extension of "me." Loss of the object or person is experienced as a
loss of our own self and an important part of our emotional economy.
Loss is experienced as a diminution of the quality of ourselves,
which the object or person represented. The more emotional energy
invested in the object or person, the greater will be the feeling of
loss and the greater the pain associated with the undoing of the
bonds of dependence. Attachment creates a dependency, and
dependency, because of its nature, intrinsically carries with it a
fear of loss.
Chronic guilt or refusal to work through the emotions associated with
loss can result in delayed grief reaction and physical disease.
As we have seen, the basis of all mourning and loss is attachment,
plus the denial of the transitory nature of all relationships. We
can begin by looking at our lives, identifying those areas of
attachment, and asking ourselves: "What internal needs are they
satisfying? What feeling would come up if i were to lose them? How
can my inner emotional life be balanced so as to decrease the extent,
degree, and number of attachments on external objects and people?"
# Chapter 6, Fear
We all derive great benefit from liberating ourselves out of a
fearful inhibition into successful functioning because that learning
process automatically spills over into many other areas of our life.
Fear is so pandemic in our society that it constitutes the
predominant ruling emotion of our world, as we know it. Fear is
associated with our survival, and so it is given a special accord in
our minds.
In fact, fear itself is the greatest danger that the human body
faces. It is fear and guilt that bring about disease and failure in
every area of our lives. We could take the same protective actions
out of love rather than out of fear.
One particular form of fear is what we call guilt. Guilt is always
associated with a feeling of wrongness and potential punishment,
either real or in fantasy. If punishment is not forthcoming in the
external world, it expresses itself as self-punishment on an
emotional level. Ninety-nine percent of guilt has nothing whatsoever
to do with reality. Guilt is really self-condemnation and
self-invalidation of our worth and value as a human being.
It is because of our own inner innocence that we have bought into all
the negativity of the world and allowed it to kill our aliveness,
destroy our awareness of who we really are, and sell us the pathetic,
little smallness for which we have settled. Most of the
consciousness [raising] programs boil down to this essential point:
become aware of what we are buying into, what are are accepting
daily. Once we have looked deep within ourselves and found that
innate inner innocence, we will stop hating ourselves. We will stop
condemning ourselves and stop buying into the condemnation of others
and their subtle attempts to invalidate our worth as a human being.
# Chapter 7, Desire
It is this disparity between what a thing is in itself, and the
glamour that we have attached to it, which leads to disillusionment.
So often we have chased some goal and, then, when we have achieved
it, we are disappointed. This is because the thing itself does not
coincide with our picture of it. This happens very often with
vocational goals. Glamorization is living at a fantasy level.
# Chapter 8, Anger
In anger there is energy for action. The quantity of suppressed
anger in the population can be verified quickly by seeing how popular
violence is in the media, where the viewers are presented with a
vicarious experience of letting our their anger in the form of
beatings, shootings, stabbings, lynchings, killings of various "bad
guys." We typically feel so much guilt about anger that we find it
necessary to make the object of our anger "wrong" so that we can say
our anger is "justified."
A helpful approach is to view the energy of anger positively and to
use it to fire up our ambitions and our other actions in a useful way.
Another source of anger is that of pride, and especially that aspect
of pride called vanity. If our relationship with others are
associated with our small self in the form of sacrifice, then we are
setting ourselves up for later anger, because the other person is
usually unaware of our "sacrifice" and it is, therefore, unlikely to
fulfill our expectations. That which we want, desire, and insist upon
from another person is felt by them as pressure. They will,
therefore, unconsciously resist. The resistance is because pressure
is always felt by us as a denial of our choice. When we are
motivated by self-sacrifice, we are pressuring the other person. The
way to offset this anger is to acknowledge and relinquish the pride,
surrender the desire for the pleasure of self-pity and, instead, view
our efforts on behalf of others as gifts.
One of the great secrets of relationship is acknowledgment. The
behavior of others toward us always includes a hidden gift. Even if
that behavior appears negative, there is something in it for us.
Very often that something appears in the form of a signal for us to
become more aware. If we constantly follow this procedure, we will
come to the awareness that everyone in our life is acting as a
mirror. They are really reflecting back to us what we failed to
acknowledge within ourselves.
One source of anger stems from the unacknowledged acts of love that
we have expressed to others. This whole area of anger can be offset
and prevented when we see the enormous value of simply acknowledging
the gestures of others toward us. This means to acknowledge all of
their communications to us.
When we stop pressuring others with our expectations, we create an
opening for them spontaneously to respond positively to us.
Expectation of others is a form of emotional blackmail.
Chronic, unrecognized anger and resentment re-emerge in our life as
depression, which is anger directed against oneself. If pushed
further into the unconscious, it can re-emerge as psychosomatic
illnesses. Anger kills the angry person, not the so-called "enemy."
# Chapter 9, Pride
In all of us, the prideful feeling, "I have the answers," blocks our
growth and development. The prideful person is always on the
defensive because of the vulnerability of inflation and denial.
Defensiveness invites attack.
When we talk of healthy pride, we are referring to self-esteem, an
inner awareness of one's true value and worth. Self-awareness of
one's true value is characterized by lack of defensiveness. Is pride
really the loftiest of human emotions? The very fact that it is
characterized by defensiveness proves otherwise.
A higher feeling state than that of pride is that of love. If we
love [something], that means there is no question of [its] worth in
our mind. We no longer have to be on the defensive.
Because pride is sometimes seen as a motivator of achievement, what
would be its higher level substitute? One answer would be joy.
Gratitude is one of the antidotes to pride. If we happen to be born
with a high IQ, we can be grateful for it rather than take pride in
it.
The opposite of prideful acquisitiveness is simplicity. Simplicity
does not mean poverty of possessions, rather, it is a state of mind.
It is not what we have that matters, but how we hold it, how we frame
it in our consciousness, and its meaning to us. We become much less
vulnerable if we put our thoughts, ideas, and beliefs, which are all
opinions, into a different context. We can view them as ideas that
we like or dislike. When we look at our opinions, we will see that
it is primarily our emotions that are giving them any value in the
first place.
Our values are preferences. We hold them because we love them, enjoy
them, and get pleasure from them. If we hold them in that context,
we will be left in peace to enjoy them.
This evolutionary aspect of life is really all that any of us can
promise ourselves, and this self-knowledge will protect us from
disillusionment. When we are open-minded, we are admitting that we
are not in possession of all the facts, and we are ready to change
our opinions as the situation unfolds.
When we let go of pride, help comes into our life to address the
problems with which we are struggling.
# Chapter 10, Courage
The hallmark of courage is the knowledge and feeling, "I can." With
courage, there is the willingness to take chances and to let go of
former securities. There is the willingness to grow and benefit from
new experiences.
# Chapter 11, Acceptance
In the state of acceptance, there is the feeling that nothing needs
to be changed. The way people appear to us from this space is that
everyone is actually doing the best they can with what they have at
the moment. On the level of acceptance, because of the major change
in the way we perceive others, we now become aware of the inner
innocence behind the frantic, fear-driven struggles that have
obscured it in ourselves and in our neighbors, friends, and family.
Another character of the level of acceptance is that we are no longer
concerned with moralistic judgment, with "good" and "bad."
The hallmark of this state is the taking of responsibility for our
own consciousness. On this level, there is the awareness that all
negative feelings are our own problem, and there is no longer looking
outside of ourselves for their resolution.
What becomes increasingly important is what we are becoming, not what
we have or do.
# Chapter 12, Love
[Love] is more than an emotion or thought, it is a state of being.
Everyone has the opportunity to contribute to the beauty and harmony
of the world by showing kindness to all living things and, thereby,
supporting the human spirit. That which we freely give to life flows
back to us because we are equally part of that life. What we affirm
in others, we actually affirm in ourselves.
Love facilitates healing. It transforms life. In the state of love,
we wake up every morning and give thanks for another day of life, and
we seek to make life better for everyone around us. Because of the
presence of love, things go better...
When love is unconditional, there's no attachment, expectation,
hidden agenda, or bookkeeping of who gives what to whom. [Our love]
is given without requirements. The heart does not put any conditions
on what's out there. Only the mind does that. Love makes no demands.
A key to making love unconditional is the willingness to forgive.
With forgiveness, events and people are re-contextualized as simply
"limited"--not "bad" or "unlovable." As the state [of unconditional
love] progresses, all of existence takes on a different meaning and
we become aware of the inner beingness and essence of everything,
rather than just its form. Because of this change of perception, the
perfection of all things stands revealed.
# Chapter 13, Peace
In peace, there is no longer any conflict. With the experience of
inner peace comes great strength.
It's because of this energy of peace is transmitted outward into the
world that mankind is still alive. It would have destroyed itself a
long time ago without this energy to counterbalance it. That's why
our own inner evolution serves all of mankind. By reaching these
higher states of lovingness and peace within ourselves, we become a
saving presence in the world.
# Chapter 14, Reducing stress and physical illness
The inner experience of most people is marked by constant stress.
Most of the stress that results in emotional and physical disorders
in our society is psychological in origin. The more emotional
pressure that is surrendered and let go, the less vulnerable we are
to stress response and stress-related diseases.
The body has three nervous systems:
* voluntary, under conscious control
* involuntary, AKA autonomic (sympathetic and parasympathetic)
* acupuncture system, which transports bio-energy to all the body's
structures and internal organs
The overall balance of the body's acupuncture energy system is
regulated by the activity of the thymus gland. The bio-energy system
is intimately connected to the body's immune system via the thymus
gland.
Kinesiology deals primarily with muscle testing as sudden drops in
bio-energy are indicated by rapid weakening of the body's musculature.
# Chapter 15, Relationship between mind and body
The basic dictum to comprehend is that the body obeys the mind;
therefore, the body tends to manifest what the mind believes. The
belief may be held consciously or unconsciously.
Superimposed around the physical body is an energy body whose form is
very much like that of the physical body and whose patterns actually
control the physical body. This control is at the level of thought
or intention.
Sir John Eccles, Nobel Laureate, stated that after a lifetime of
study it became apparent that the brain is not the origin of the
mind, but the other way around. The mind controls the brain, which
acts as a receiving station (like a radio) with thoughts being
similar to radio waves and the brain being similar to the receiver.
Without a change of consciousness, there is no real reduction of
stress. Only the consequences are ameliorated.
# Chapter 16, The benefits of letting go
The most obvious and visible effect of letting go of negative
feelings is a resumption of emotional and psychological growth and
the solving of problems, which often have been long standing. Entire
areas of life can open up. What used to be awkward or unexpressed
can become effortless and joyously alive.
Repressed and suppressed feelings require counter-energy to keep them
submerged. It takes energy to hold down our feelings. As these
feelings are relinquished, the energy that had been holding down the
negativity is now freed for constructive uses. Consequent to letting
go, there is an increase in available energy for creativity, growth,
work, and interpersonal relationships. The quality and enjoyment of
these activities increases.
[For problem solving, letting go brings fast and easy results.] Don't
look for answers; instead, let go of the feeling behind the question.
When we first clear out the underlying feelings, the decisions are
more realistic and wise.
A lot of our activities and attachments are based on fear and anger,
guild and pride. As these negative feelings are relinquished...
changes in life begin to occur. Or, if we choose to continue the
same activity, the motivation is different and, consequently, we will
experience different results than in the past. The emotional payoff
will at least be different. Instead of grim satisfaction, we may
experience joy. We may find ourselves doing the same activity as
before, but now we do it out of enjoyment rather than obligation. We
do it because we want to, not because we have to. The energy
required will certainly be much less.
The more we let go, the more loving we become. More and more of our
life will be spent doing things that we love to do, with people for
whom we feel increasing love. As this happens, our life becomes
transformed. One surprising observation about the mechanism of
letting go is that major changes can take place very rapidly.
The goals of letting go are far beyond those of psychotherapy. The
ultimate aim of letting go and surrender is total freedom. The
objective of psychotherapy is to replace unsatisfactory mental
programs with more satisfactory ones. Scientific research reveals
that the results of therapy are not related to the therapist's school
of psychotherapy, training, or technique; instead, the results are
related to the interaction between them and the degree of the
patient's desire to improve, as well as the patient's faith and
confidence in the therapist. With the mechanism of letting go, there
is no patient role and no dependence on another person or theory.
Psychotherapy aims at the amelioration of neurotic patterns. Letting
go, however, is designed to undo the underlying causes of all
neurotic formation. It undoes the basic structure of maladaptive
feeling and behavior. Beyond the "acceptable level of functioning"
waits our greater destiny: total freedom.
# Chapter 17, Transformation
The more we let go, the more we de-glamorize the world. The more it
is de-glamorized, the less it runs us. We are not at the effect of
glamour and can no longer be manipulated by it. We begin to love
people for what they are, not for what they can do for us... But now
we realize that we are the timeless space in which the phenomena are
happening. We are not the flickering images playing out their drama
on the movie screen, but the screen itself--a nonjudgmental witness
of the unfolding movie of life, with no beginning and no end,
infinite in its potential.
# Chapter 18, Relationships
Because they are so intimately connected with our basic desires for
love and security, relationships quickly bring out our innermost
feelings. For that reason, they are extremely valuable, no matter
whether the relationship is classified as good or bad. In the
process of emotional emancipation, everything is equally valuable.
It is necessary to remind ourselves that feelings are programs; that
is, they are learned responses that often have a purpose. That
purpose is directly related to achieving an effect on the other
person's feelings and, by doing so, to influence their feelings
toward ourselves and to fulfill our own inner goals.
We can tell if we are really surrendered when we feel okay either
way; it's okay with us if it happens, it's okay with us if it
doesn't. ... to be surrendered does not mean to be passive. It is
being active in a positive way.
When we are surrendered, there is no longer the pressure of time.
Frustration comes from wanting a thing now instead of letting it
happen naturally in its own time.
# Chapter 19, Achievement of vocational goals
We can simplify the levels of consciousness into three major states:
inert, energetic, and peaceful. [Tamas, Rajas, and Satva] These
three states are related to the decision making process. 1) Inertia:
reflective of the emotional levels of apathy, grief, and fear. 2)
Energetic: reflective of the emotional levels of desire, anger, and
pride. A go-getter out to prove oneself. 3) Peaceful: reflective of
the emotional levels of courage, acceptance, and love.
# Chapter 20, Physician, heal thyself
Basic working concepts for self-healing:
* A thought is a "thing." It has energy and form.
* The mind with its thoughts and feelings controls the body;
therefore, to heal the body, thoughts and feelings need to be
changed.
* What is held in the mind tends to express itself through the body.
* The body is not the real self; it is like a puppet controlled by
the mind.
* Beliefs that are unconscious can manifest as illness, even though
there is no memory of the underlying beliefs.
* An illness tends to result from suppressed and repressed negative
emotions, plus a thought that gives it a specific form (i.e.,
consciously or unconsciously, one particular illness is chosen
rather than another).
* Thoughts are caused by suppressed and repressed feelings. When a
feeling is let go, thousands or even millions of thoughts that were
activated by that feeling disappear.
* Although a specific belief can be canceled and energy to it can
be refused, it is generally a waste of time to try to change
thinking itself.
* We surrender a feeling by allowing it to be there without
condemning, judging, or resisting it. We simply look at it,
observe it, and allow it to be felt without trying to modify it.
With the willingness to relinquish a feeling, it will run out in
due time.
* A strong feeling may recur, which means there is more of it to be
recognized and surrendered.
* In order to surrender a feeling, sometimes it is necessary to
start by relinquishing the feeling that is there about the
particular emotion (e.g., guilt that "I shouldn't have this
feeling").
* In order to relinquish a feeling, sometimes it is necessary to
acknowledge and let go of the underlying payoff of it (e.g., the
"thrill" of anger and the "juice" of sympathy from being a helpless
victim).
* Feelings are not the real self. Whereas feelings are programs
that come and go, the real inner Self always stays the same;
therefore, it is necessary to stop identifying transient feelings
as yourself.
* Ignore thoughts. They are merely endless rationalizations of
inner feelings.
* No matter what is going on in life, keep the steadfast intention
to surrender negative feelings as they arise.
* Make a decision that freedom is more desirable than having a
negative feeling.
* Choose to surrender negative feelings rather than express them.
* Surrender resistance to and skepticism about positive feelings.
* Relinquish negative feelings but share positive ones.
* Notice that letting go is accompanied by a subtle, overall
lighter feeling within yourself.
* Relinquishing a desire does not mean that you won't get what you
want. It merely clears the way for it to happen.
* Get it by "osmosis." Put yourself in the aura of those who have
what you want.
* "Like goes to like." Associate with people who are using the
same or similar motivation and who have the intention to expand
their consciousness and heal.
* Be aware that your inner state is known and transmitted. The
people around you will intuit what you are feeling and thinking,
even if you don't verbalize it.
* Persistence pays off. Some symptoms or illnesses may disappear
promptly; others may take months or years if the condition is very
chronic.
* Let go of resisting the technique. Start the day with it. At
the end of the day, take time out to relinquish any negative
feelings left over from the day's activities.
* You are only subject to what you hold in mind. You are only
subject to a negative thought or belief if you consciously or
unconsciously say that it applies to you.
* Stop giving the physical disorder a name; do not label it. A
label is a whole program. Surrender what is actually felt, which
are the sensations themselves. We cannot feel a disease. A
disease is an abstract concept held in the mind. We cannot, for
instance, feel "asthma." It is helpful to ask, "What am I actually
feeling?" Simply observe the physical sensations, such as,
"Tightness in the chest, wheezing, a cough." It is not possible,
for example, to experience the thought, "I'm not getting enough
air." That is a fearful thought in the mind. It is a concept, a
whole program called "asthma." What is actually being experienced
is a tension or a constriction in the throat or chest. The same
principle goes for "ulcers" or any other disorder. We cannot feel
"ulcers." We feel a burning or piercing sensation. The word
"ulcer" is a label and a program, and as soon as we use that word
to label our experience, we identify ourselves with the whole
"ulcer" program. Even the word "pain" is a program. In reality,
we are feeling a specific body sensation. The process of
self-healing goes more quickly when we let go of labeling or giving
a name to the various physical sensations.
* The same is true with our feelings. Instead of putting labels
and names on feelings, we can simply feel the feelings and let go
of the energy behind them. It is not necessary to label a feeling
"fear" in order to be aware of its energy and relinquish that
energy.
# Chapter 21, Questions and answers
Carl Jung pointed out that, because God is one of the major
archetypes in the unconscious, each person has to take a position
about God whether they like it or not. Even the atheist has feelings
about the concept of God. So whether God exists or not, the subject
has to be dealt with sooner or later.
Almost all meditative techniques have as their goal the quieting of
the mind. This is the basis of the dictum from the Book of Psalms,
"Be still and know that I am God." As most meditators have
discovered, achieving silence of the mind is the main problem of
meditation itself. This is because suppressed feelings constantly
produce thoughts, which are the main distractions in meditation.
Acknowledging and letting go of the energy behind these suppressed
feelings, therefore, facilitates the goal of meditation. When the
feeling behind the train of thoughts is located and surrendered, then
that entire train of thought instantly stops.
By constantly surrendering, it is possible to arrive at an extremely
silent state of mind. This can be accomplished as one goes about
one's daily activities, thus greatly expanding the capacity to
meditate.
If you look at anger, you will see that its basis is almost always
fear. We get angry because we have been threatened. The threat
arouses fear. [In other words, we feel vulnerable.] The fear means
we feel that we are unequal to the situation. Anger biologically is
like swelling up to intimidate our opponent. Anger is coming from
weakness rather than strength. The person who has surrendered is,
therefore, relying on strength rather than weakness. The person who
has surrendered does not have to fall back upon anger to handle the
situation. A totally surrendered person is free to express anger if
they wish, but it is done out of choice, not out of necessity.
author: Hawkins, David R., 1927-
(TXT) detail: gopher://gopherpedia.com/0/David_Hawkins_(philosopher)
LOC: BF311 .H3845
tags: book,non-fiction,self-help
title: Letting Go
# Tags
(DIR) book
(DIR) non-fiction
(DIR) self-help