I enjoy reading. Sometimes it gives me words to better understand what's already growing inside; sometimes it hones and develops what's already there; sometimes it opens new vistas. I decided to start writing some blogs about books I read - not only to help me have a concise way to go back and see my own journey; but hopefully it will encourage others to read.
I've never been great at summarizing. Now that I'm 65 (how did that happen?), I decided to develop my summarizing skills in part by writing a summary of what I learned reading a book.
I enjoyed reading "Power vs Force: The Hidden Determinents of Human Behavior" by David R. Hawkins.
Power is personal power used to make the world better; Force is stealing power and makes the world and others wounded. Using applied kineseology, he assigns numbers from 0 to 1000 to explain where we are on the consciousness scale (Think Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs). The lower the number the more force a person exhibits and the greater propensity to act from selfish and unmercifulness. The higher the number, the greater the power and the greater influence we exert on the world.
He writes the average person will only grow 5-10 points throughout our life. He says great love or great pain/failure are the catalysts for growth (reminded me of Richard Rohr's book, "Falling Upward") and often 12-step programs are very helpful in growing more then those few points.
As the higher numbers permeates a person's life, the more non-dualism they have and how they have more peace, influence and power to encourage change in self, others and the world. People like Mother Theresa who spent her life to help others who were not of her religion, nationality, socio-economic, or educational background - but she was still Christ's hands extended without trying to change the person but loving them and allowing God to change them. The more dualistic a person is, the more force they need to create a space where they are comfortable and they are very uncomfortable with people who are different and they are willing to fight or die to coerce people to be just like them.
I found this book helpful as it built on what I already knew about the two halves of life from Rohr's book; yet it gave greater detail and ways to "test" to more accurately see where I am so I can see what direction to take to mature.
I'm sure with a second read, I'd find many other things to write about. It's got many streams of wisdom throughout; but personal and spiritual growth is where my mind is, so that's the main area I took away from this reading.
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