I discovered Dr. Hawkins’ work years ago at a pivotal time in my life, a time full of turbulence and personal change. He came recommended by a fellow coach whom I consulted while trying to sort out some personal problems. I told her, fully expecting her sympathy, that the ignorance and closed-mindedness of others in my life was impeding my growth. “If only they would be more open and accept me as I am,” I complained, “then I would be free to evolve and express my true self.” I thought I was correct in my reasoning, but her surprising response opened a door for me: “You must be enough like them to be with them.” Was she telling me that I was as ignorant as I thought they were? Of course, I wanted to defend myself against this possibility!

“Read this book,” she told me, introducing me for the first time to Dr. Hawkins and his book Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior.  “It will help you understand.”

Dr. Hawkins created a Map of Consciousness, a tool put into simple language to aid us in visualizing and progressing on the path toward enlightenment – that is, the path from ignorance to consciousness. That path goes from one end of the spectrum of human experience – from the very negative points of view or attractor fields, such as shame, apathy, guilt, fear, anger, and pride – to the other end of the spectrum, where we find very positive points of view or attractor fields, such as love, peace, and enlightenment. In the middle, we find the fields of courage, acceptance, willingness, and reason – all necessary steps in moving from one of the predominantly negative end of the spectrum to one the predominantly positive end. 

Thereafter, Dr. Hawkins’ map became part of my daily contemplations of life and the nature of reality and consciousness. When I thought about it, it became evident that we really do experience life from a fairly fixed viewpoint, and that our our experience could be described somewhere along the spectrum of a predominantly negative experience of life to a positive experience of it. Where we “are” along the spectrum consequently determines how we experience ourselves, others, and life events.

Before consulting with my coach friend, I had believed I was quite “evolved,” but considering her response and studying Dr. Hawkins’ work, I realized over time that in fact, I wasn’t having such a positive experience of life after all. I had been seeing life predominantly from the level of Guilt: I felt stuck, and I blamed others for for this. I said that it was their fault for not accepting me fully. But in truth, it was me who was feeling guilty for not meeting their expectations. 

It wasn’t a problem of others not accepting me.  It was a problem of me not accepting others who didn’t accept me. I was blaming them for my inability to let go of my guilt and be true to myself.

This was admittedly a negative viewpoint, one which would have required to force them to change in order for me to progress. But then, where was my own power to change? Where was my own acceptance, for them and for myself? I had been fighting their ignorance, not realizing that it was in fact the same as my ignorance.

I had studied this phenomenon in as a psychology graduate student years before – the phenomenon of projection, where we project our unacceptable feelings and traits onto the people and world around us in an unconscious effort to avoid being aware of them, and their source, in ourselves. But the phenomenon in my own life had remained hidden from my view until that point. With the light of Dr. Hawkins’ work and his mapping of the direction of experience, a dark shadow in my consciousness had been illuminated. I saw for the first time where the power to change was, and where I could start. Dr. Hawkins’ work helped me honestly see and accept where I was, see and know my desired destination without a doubt, and to chart out my path to get there. It wasn’t long after this that I began making great changes in my life.

For more information on Dr. Hawkins and the Map of Consciousness, visit: www.veritaspub.com