Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44824 in Books
• Published on: 2003-01-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 446 pages

About the Author
David R. Hawkins has practiced psychiatry since 1952 and is a life member of the American Psychiatric Association. A widely respected therapist and lecturer, his national television appearances include The MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour, The Barbara Walters Show, The Today Show; radio interviews include Oprah Radio. He has authored numerous scientific papers and videotapes, and co-authored the book Orthomolecular Psychiatry with Nobelist Linus Pauling. His diverse background as a researcher and teacher is noted in his biographical listing in Who's Who in America.

Dr. Hawkins currently divides his time between his practice, books in progress, and direction of The Institute for Advanced Theoretical Research in Sedona, Arizona.

Customer Reviews

Hawkins books are there for you when you are ready
Otherwise they will make no sense, or else be grossly misinterpreted. He himself states time and time again that nothing at one level of consciousness is true at another. How can one even *attempt* to explain the unexplainable and succeed on any level unless the consciouness that is reading is quite fertile and ready? The Truth that Hawkins teaches is so incredibly radical and direct that the 'person' submits and the ego dissolves, or else that person goes into paradigm shock and denies it, or just dismisses it as strange dogmatic baloney.

I truly believe that books on this level of Power find the right people through synchronicity when they are ready to receive it. If you are not at the stage of spiritual evolution to surrender *all*, and I mean *all* beliefs and positionalities than Hawkins works are likely to anger and confuse you. This is obviously evidenced by certain reviews of his works.
He himself warns of this in his prefaces, that his works are only meant for the extremely dedicated spirtual seeker willing to surrender all thoughts, desires, and positionalities to God.

Definitely not for everyone!
I have read 'Power vs. Force', 'The Eye of the I' and am currently on my third read of 'I'. This book is defiitely not for everyone. If you are looking for a feel good book on sprituality, go buy something else. This book is about the truth and the highest form of it. This book is about advancing your consciousness and ripping down walls built around our fragile egos. This book is about transcending your ego. This book is about enlightenment, not what most people imagine enlightenment to be. This book is not about how to attain the unbelievable, never-ending bliss state. This book is about realizing the truth of who you really are, not who you think yourself to be. I believe Dr. Hawkins to be a very highly evolved teacher and learned a lot about what I was really looking for in my life. I was looking to find myself and the extent of who I am. This book helped me a great deal.

Most of the book is a question and answer format divided into major sections such as the ego, the mind, karma, transcendence, etc. There is some background about Dr. Hawkins experiences and views.

I can't reccommend this book highly enough, but would probably only be interesting and applicable to advanced spiritual seekers or others looking to break down their preconceived notions of life and enlightenment.

Stunning clarity
In some broad, general sense, this book should be considered philosophy or theology. It gives what can reasonably be considered a comprehensive discussion of human consciousness, from the most rudimentary human awareness to the status of great enlightened masters. While it does stand alone as a complete work, it is the third of Dr. Hawkin's trilogy on consciousness, the first volume being Power vs. Force and the second being Eye of the I. It is useful to read the books in order, but it is useful to read this book, either in order or out of order.

As a mathematician, I really do enjoy reading good math texts. They teach me something, and I can go away from a session (perhaps an arduous session) with the ability to work new problems. That is delightful, a real joy. Very frequently, I have wished for an "engineering theology" text. By that I mean that I would like to study---perhaps hard---and walk away with the ability to improve my life in some way. Many of the great mystic writers are very impenetrable for me. They wax poetic, and I have no way to apply their great ideas to my own situation. Like Faust, I can say, "There stand I now, poor stupid me, and I'm just as smart as I used to be." That is very frustrating. Perhaps the most accessible of the mystic teachers is St. John of the Cross. After many years of study, even his simple lessons still elude me. I have not yet "caught the wave."

Dr. Hawkins explains the entire spectrum of consciousness, right up to enlightenment itself, in a way that is entirely understandable for many people, and certainly for anyone who wants to study hard. His approach is hardly a workbook, but it does contain enormous numbers of very practical ideas to help any person to improve. That may not be every person's goal, but it is my goal. If I didn't want to do better, I would not bother reading a book. I'd go hit tennis balls or something else. This book seems more than just sophisticated. It seems exceedingly sophisticated, and at a high level indeed. I cannot say that I have encountered a higher level (that I could recognize). Yet it is understandable and even offers very significant tests most people could do in order to verify its validity. For me, at least, it is a great lesson indeed, and I am reading it over and over again.

All best wishes to Dr. Hawkins. (Write another one any day, I'm happy to read it repeatedly.)