Power vs. Force

The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior

By: Dr. David R. Hawkins

Narrated by: Dr. David R. Hawkins

Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's Summary

The publication of Power vs. Force by Sir David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D., reveals to the general public secret information heretofore only shared by the author with certain Nobelists and world leaders.

Analyzing the basic nature of human thought and consciousness itself, the author makes available to everyone the key to penetrating the last barrier to the advancement of civilization and science and resolving the most crucial of all human dilemmas: how to instantly determine the truth or falsehood of any statement or supposed fact.

All human endeavors have the common goal of understanding or influencing human experience. To this end, man has developed numerous descriptive and analytical disciplines: morality, philosophy, psychology, and so on. Regardless of what branch of inquiry one starts from (philosophy, political theory, theology) all avenues of investigation eventually converge at a common meeting point: the quest for an organized understanding of the nature of pure consciousness.

To explain that which is simple can be difficult indeed. Much of this book is devoted to the process of making the simple obvious. If we can understand even one simple thing in depth, we will have greatly expanded our capacity for comprehending the nature of the universe and life itself.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©1995, 1998, 2004, 2012 David R. Hawkins (P)2006 The Institute for Spiritual Research, Inc., dba Veritas Publishing

Critic Reviews

"A beautiful gift of writing...[You] spread joy, love, and compassion through what you write. The fruit of these three is peace." (Mother Teresa)

Great book, good audiobook....

This is a really interesting book. Extremely thought-provoking, and has the potential to be life-changing. However, there are 2 things to bear in mind: 1) The rational of the book is based 100% on applied kinesology (i.e. muscle testing). If you don't accept this or have an open mind, the whole premise falls down (I actually tried it as he suggests, and was positively suprised to see that it seems to work); 2) As other reviewers have pointed out, the author does not have a clear speaking voice and has a very monotone presentation. This can make it a struggle to listen to. For me, the first (and most technical chapter) was extremely hard to get through, and then (due to both the easier material and getting used to the voice, I guess) it wasn't much of a problem and I stopped noticing.

Good book – poor narrator

I have read Power vs. Force the book version before and am now listening to the Audible download of the book. Quick advice: don’t listen to the audio book – it is awful. The audio book is 8 hours and 10 minutes long and the narrator (Mr. Hawkins himself) should stick to writing books and NOT reading them. I can only listen to 30 minutes at a time without losing interest due to his voice.

In a nutshell power is good, force is bad. To find out where anything exists along the spectrum of consciousness, one needs to do muscle testing. Using basic Kinesiology muscle testing you can determine where an object, person or pretty much anything rates on his scales.

Hawkins developed a "Map of Consciousness" which rates the various power levels of ideas and attitudes. This map gives the reader the ability to examine his or her beliefs and attitudes and determine where their power level is currently.

Power is the power of Gandhi to liberate India without blood-shed; Force is personified by Stalin. Power serves others, whereas force is self-serving. Power is a by-product of developing self-confidence. Power is not used for control or domination. Power vs. Force is also expressed in the writings known as the Tao Te Ching. Power gives life and energy; force takes these away.

So I do have a couple of problems with his work. One is that his own book “Power vs. Force”, according to Hawkins, calibrates at 850, which is higher than the Bible or the Koran, or indeed almost anything else ever written by a human being. I was also very bummed to learn that heavy metal music rates really low. I love to workout to heavy metal music – if I had only known it was making my muscles weak the whole time. :~)

I have mixed feelings about the book, but found the content interesting, particularly to anyone interested in consciousness, meditation, etc.

David should have hired a Professional!

Oh my...I LOVED this book in hard copy and was so excited to see it on Audible. In fact I was so excited I couldn't wait and paid the high price in advance of my monthy credits! I am bummed, I can't even get through a few minutes without having to rewind as I lose concentration. The content is amazing, but the author's reading is HORRIBLE. This is the only material I have ever considered a waste of money in over 3 years and over 150 titles I have purchased. I am so sad. I wish I could get my money back!

A powerful, illuminating book

I read this book a few years ago, and looked forward to the Audible version. Dr. Hawkins' reading didn't let me down. The timbre of his voice and the warmth of his spirit comes through clearly. There is so much wisdom in this book that practically every paragraph is underlinable. I specially liked his beginning line, "The skillful are not obvious. They appear to be simple-minded. Those who know this, know the patterns of the Absolute."

Narration not that bad

The narration is not really as bad as I expected based on previous reviews. The information is valuable enough to give it more than a minute's listen before giving up. For example, I got used to his voice after about 30 minutes and I retained lots of the material. Despite the voice I'm looking forward to listening to the whole 8 hours again.

The basic ideas are unique as far as spiritual teaching goes, and quite convincing and easy to observe in daily experience.

Painful to listen to

What disappointed you about Power vs. Force?

I'm really disappointed because I know the content of this book is supposed to be amazing. However the author/narrator is so bad (monotone and slurring his words) that I couldn't get through the first chapter.

I mean, like REALLY bad, so bad that it almost seemed like a joke. My husband got in the car with me when I had this playing and he asked, "what is this? Why are you torturing yourself?"

Great Book - but don't let him read his own work

Would you listen to Power vs. Force again? Why?

OK here's the thing...I LOVE the book. But I can't listen to more than a few minutes. Please DO yes yes record his other books...but hire a narrator. His voice has a soporific effect on me even though I am VERY interestd.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Power vs. Force?

The ways to verify truth so objectively and accurately are priceless!

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Dr. David R. Hawkins?

I don't know the readers well enough to say, but definitely NOT the author. Sorry! I have HUGE respect for the author!

Any additional comments?

I really want his other books to be available on Audible so I can read them. I'm mostly blind and print isn't an easy option for me.

joe

great book dispite the droll naration the book is
life changing!!!!

Freedom !!!

The truth and beauty of this work is so spectacular that just listening to the voice of David Hawkins can raise your consciousness. Level's of distortion in our thinking drop away in the face of truth. This work can change you... just get it and listen.

Disturbing Yet Enlightening

I've repeated this book several times. I can't seem to put it away. Ever wonder why some people command power over you? Ever consider using force to counter a power over you? Ever wonder why it blows up in your face, and fails miserably? Human behavior and interaction is based on so many variables I've always thought it impossible to derive an equation that makes sense. But here are 48 equations, or rules that shed light on the mystery of the basics of human social hierarchy. They work. They've been working for centuries.

Great book, poorly read.

There is no doubt as a book, Power vs. Force is
brilliant. Sadly the author reads it with the most
boring monotone mumble. My advice - get the book, not
the audio book.

Great insights but inaccessible to the masses

I typically prefer it if the author is the narrator of their audiobook. In this case I make an exception. Given that I am not enlightened and that I do not possess absolute mental discipline, my mind still gets distracted from listening.

The drone of Hawkins voice doesn't help to keep my mind engaged in the book and so I was left to use will power to keep my mind from wandering. A professional voice actor with a more colourful delivery would have solved this problem and perhaps made the book more acceptable to more people.

I titled this review inaccessible to the masses because of the intellectual complexity with which it is written.

I expect readers of this book will have the same complaints as they do about Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra..... too intellectual.

Surely a spirital teacher who wanted to make the greatest impact would appeal to the lowest common denominator to ensure that readers of all reading and intelligence levels would be able to benefit from the material? That's not what's happening here.

I can imagine many people who started reading this book up did not finish because the material was too heavy. The ideas are not complex but the delivery, I feel, is.

Fantastic book

Horrible narration... please have this book narrated by a professional, that would actually be a dream!

Don’t purchase Audible

The book is so poorly read that I could not finish it. Don’t buy it in audible

Can’t understand the audio!

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

I have heard so many things about this book and was excited to start listening. It is narrated by David Hawkins himself and for as much as the man is a genius, his vocals aren’t! He sounds drunk, slurs his words and I couldn’t understand what he was saying and as a result I gave up listening.

What could Dr. David R. Hawkins have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Not narrate the audio!

Would you be willing to try another one of Dr. David R. Hawkins’s performances?

Not if he is narrating.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disapointmemt that I couldn’t understand what he was saying.

Respectfully ok (rambling pseudoscience aside)

The precept behind this book is both intriguing and inspiring. In essence, the book lays out a scale of consciousness, or as I would put it, awareness. The model is simple, profound and makes complete sense. The book spends much of its time discussing applications and how to test for where people are on this scale solely by use of 'Applied Kinesiology'- for example by way of measuring muscular resistance (at a subconscious level) to pressure applied to an outstretched arm. AK is widely discredited in the scientific community and unfortunately this book serves in the main to endorse such views. Hawkins regularly discusses where people lie on the scale ('calibration') and yet never divulges specifically how such calibrations are attributed. The evidence (scientific, spiritual or whatever basis one uses) is vague and leaves many obvious questions unanswered e.g. how does one ensure consistent pressure is applied, how does one rule out idiomatic motion etc. etc. Hawkins rambles on in a repetitive style, often revisiting unsubstantiated assertions. His voice is also quite slurred which (with much respect) makes this a hard listen. Thanks to Dr. Hawkins for such an interesting hypothesis.

Perfect for those with trouble getting to sleep

Really difficult to listen to. Putting the pseudoscience aside, it’s narrated in a dull and monotone voice.

Inspiring and wondrous - a first class work!

This book has enabled me to see the world, people, and spirituality in a completely new way. Dr David Hawkins has managed to explain timeless spiritual reality in a way that can make sense to the modern, thinking, intelligent individual. Having read Power vs. Force I went on to read most of Dr Hawkin's other works and also listened to most of his lectures. I have found his knowledge, experience and skilled teaching to be invaluable and the lectures are often humorous and entertaining as well as inspiring.

There is a body of work called "The Great Books of the Western World"; I believe Power vs. Force should be number 1 in the list.

Listening to the author read this masterwork adds to the experience.

You may wish to hunt around on the internet to get a copy of the scale of consciousness as he refers to this and seeing it helps to make sense of it. You can either Google images for "Hawkins scale of consciousness" and it is possible to order a copy from www.veritaspub.com.

Good Content but Dreadful narration

I enjoyed the content of this book but found that the voice of the narrator to be really boring, lifeless and not at all clear very slurred in fact so much so that I have not managed to listen to all of it which is a shame as if it had been read with a bit more energy and clarity it would have been most enjoyable, Still really interesting material.

One of the most important books I have read.

I have been through this book several times and each brought new insight and awareness. I am grateful for this work.