Power vs. Force — Looking at the Election Through the Lens of Consciousness

The ability to elect statesmen and women gives me hope.

I like to think of us as spiritual beings having our very, very human experiences.

And boy, aren’t they ever! Whether it’s from our uncontrolled COVID pandemic or the other one — virulent racial violence, people are dying thanks to our nation’s policies and priorities, and others like it.

A bitter pill to swallow when we know we could do better, individually, and as a people. With the election less than a month away, I figured it was time to get out and re-read Power vs. Force by David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Hawkins studied human consciousness and how it works, grows, and evolves. He and his staff calibrated its levels using the science of applied kinesiology or muscle testing.

What is muscle testing?

A common diagnostic and prescriptive tool used by chiropractors, muscle testing is based on our body’s wisdom. If you put out your arm and have someone press down on it with two fingers while you say, My name is ___, using your real name, your arm will stay strong. They won’t be able to push it down.

But if you do that same thing with another name, your arm goes weak. Anyone can push it down with those same two fingers.

Do this with any statement to prove it’s truth or falsehood. You can hold a substance while doing the test to see if it’s helpful or harmful for your body. For more information, see Dr. George Goodheart’s Applied Kinesiology.

Muscle Testing Human Consciousness

Dr. Hawkins and his staff muscle tested source materials, scripture from the world’s major religions, economic systems, and political doctrines like the U.S. Constitution. Over twenty years, they tested people from every part of the world.

They muscle tested every level of thinking/feeling consciousness from apathy to enlightenment to rank them in the correct order from lowest to highest — 0 to 1000 in their model.

They found that the levels of consciousness don’t increase arithmetically as you go up the scale. They increase logarithmically, so that level 300 is not twice the amplitude of 150. Instead, it is 10 to the 300th power.

One of Dr. Hawkins’s many contributions is the distinction between lower levels of consciousness characterized by force, and higher levels characterized by power.

Lower levels of consciousness (force) include shame (20), guilt (30), fear (100), anger(150), and pride (175). Courage at level 200, is the pivot point.

Everything above 200 is characterized by power, going from willingness (310) and acceptance (350), through reason (400) and love (500) to joy (540), peace (600), and enlightenment (700–1000).

According to Dr. Hawkins, humanity as a whole crossed the level 200 threshold in the 1980s, evolving from force to power consciousness. Even though the majority of the world’s population may be below that level, there are enough higher calibrating individuals to balance things:

One person with a consciousness of 300 offsets 90.000 people with a consciousness below level 200. And one person at 700 offsets 70 million people below 200.

This and its implications give me hope.

Force vs. Power

Power arises from meaning, motive, and principle. It uplifts, dignifies, unifies, and ennobles. Power gives and sustains life and energy but is at its essence still.

The U.S. Constitution calibrates at 700, based on its definition of inalienable human rights. (I don’t know how Dr. Hawkins’ team accounted for the codification of slaves in that document. If I can find out, I will bring that information here. My guess is if the document had abolished slavery, it would calibrate closer to 1000.)

Force conquers, divides, and thrives on opposition, creating enemies real or imagined. According to Hawkins:

Force always creates counterforce; its effect is to polarize rather than unify. Polarization always implied conflict; its cost, therefore, is always high. Because force incites polarization, it inevitably produces a win/lose dichotomy; and because somebody always loses, enemies are created. Constantly faced with enemies, force requires constant defense. Defensiveness is invariably costly, whether in the marketplace, politics, or international affairs.

Looking at Politics…

Dr. Hawkins asserts that sooner — and in my book, not soon enough — or later, power has to prevail over force. Aligned with the power of his principles, Gandhi brought the British Empire to its knees. He stood on the principles of the intrinsic dignity of humanity’s right to freedom, sovereignty, and self-determination.

Calibrating at 700, these are inherent in our creation, not up for negotiation. According to Hawkins:

When the will of the people is so united by and aligned with universal principle, it is virtually unconquerable.

On the other hand, calibrating at an almost rock bottom 175, colonialism and its related levels of greed and enslavement inevitably need violent physical force to maintain control.

This was also proven in South African with Nelson Mandela’s leadership. Archbishop Tutu’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission is another example of high levels of consciousness’ ability to transform the hearts of Afrikaners who had committed horrendous crimes against South Africans of color.

Those principles involved telling the truth of what they did to their victims’ survivors and being met with love and forgiveness.

Politics Through the Lens of Consciousness

According to Dr. Hawkins, who has a whole chapter on politics in his book, there’s a difference between politicians and statesmen and women.

Politicians operate out of expediency and rule by force (law and order) — often the force of persuasion and manipulation. They often calibrate at less than 200. They are divisive, accusatory, and assign blame, thereby creating enemies.

On the other hand, statesmen and women stand for and on principles. They tend to unify, calling out the angels of our better selves to do so. They promote a we consciousness vs. the typical us vs. them attitude of politicians.

True statesmen and women serve the people in serving their high ideals. In contrast, politicians end up exploiting people to serve their own ambitions.

Does this mean the division between the two falls neatly along party lines? Hardly! Just as some Democrats are expedient politicians, there are decent Republicans I consider statesmen, including the late Senator John McCain and others.

In fact, many of them have united to create The Lincoln Project, exposing the current President’s lies and incompetencies. When their party stops tolerating diversity of opinion, and statesmen and women move on, more and more of who’s left are the opportunists, haters, and demagogues of the alt-right, sad to say.

Looking at the Upcoming Election:

I am not looking just at Joe Biden and his individual track record. I am looking at the larger context he’s a part of. This includes his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, a true stateswoman, who raises her team’s bar.

For me, it also includes the other presidential candidates and prominent Democrats like President Obama, who play significant roles in public life.

When elected, I believe Biden and Harris will surround themselves with some of the best statesmen and women this country has to address the pressing problems of the day.

They will need to make up for the damage done over the last four years to move this country forward on key issues like climate change and criminal justice reform as well as respond responsibly and realistically to COVID and the economy.

The fact that Mr. Trump has as much influence as he has proves how prevalent lower levels of consciousness still are in U.S. society. We are not as enlightened as I used to think we were.

People whose consciousness is ruled by fear, greed, guilt, anger, blame, and shame are more easily influenced by demagogues, con artists, liars, and egomaniacs. These types know how to tap into those fears and milk them for their own purposes.

Today it’s Trump. In the past, it’s been Hitler, Stalin, and countless others. Even if, God forbid, Trump should somehow be declared the winner, I believe the power of higher levels of consciousness will continue to exert itself until it prevails.

But let’s not leave any of this to chance. Please vote and encourage others to do likewise. Every vote counts, especially yours!

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Marilyn Flower writes political humor and satire to delight socially and spiritually conscious folks. She’s a regular columnist for the prison newsletter, Freedom Anywhere, where she writes about faith and prayer. Five of her short plays have been produced in San Francisco. Clowning and improvisation strengthen her resolve during these crazy times. Stay in touch!