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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
The 15% of this book that is good cannot overcome the remaining 85% that is off the rails.
Pseudoscience and other clown shit. DNF'ed after reading around ~ 20% of the book.
David R. Hawkins is undeniably brilliant and an invaluable resource for anyone seeking tools and methods to implement in their own life toward a more peaceful and sustainable way of living. This book offers just such tools.
The examples were real. The applications easy. The results? speak for themselves.
My only "issue" with the book was his use of his own life examples, but in the third person -- as if it wasn't himself he was talking about. That was odd to me.
The examples were real. The applications easy. The results? speak for themselves.
My only "issue" with the book was his use of his own life examples, but in the third person -- as if it wasn't himself he was talking about. That was odd to me.
Awful read. I can completely get on board with the importance of us all 'stepping back', finding peace in what happens in the world, but this book was just pseudo-science nonsense. It also doesn't even try to justify what it's saying with any form of science. It makes wild claims about different types of energy and then gives no evidence to back it up. I didn't finish. I wouldn't recommend you start.
I like the concept of targeting emotions and letting go of them as a more productive way of meeting life’s stressors. But other than that homie is too far out there for me- beyond some tired views on gender roles, he also says some whack shit like stating that people don’t get poison ivy because of the plant, but rather because they believe the plant is toxic and letting go of this will resolve the allergic reaction.
Very foundational. A must read and something everyone needs to read when they are ready.
informative
reflective
fast-paced
There are some wonderful and powerful insights contained in this book. But all of that is drowned out by the prevalence of ableism, racism, and classism. Though the techniques mentioned in this book have served me greatly, they are presented with out nuance and context.
Like yeah, letting go and reducing stress can do wonders for your health, maybe can even allow some miraculous self healing, sure. But the fact that he went straight to the denial of pandemic diseases (pre Covid), sheesh buddy read a fucking book. This man had the audacity to say that if you have a high conscious level ( a metric he determined by muscles testing ( which is BS) ) you are immune to second hand smoke and pollution. Again read a god damn book, do some real science.
I think inner work, meditation, spirituality, has so much potential to create healing in our world. Books like this reduce powerful practices to the likes of a Qanon reading Whole Foods customer who thinks they can mind over matter a pandemic.
It's really hard to know what to say about this book. After seeing so many glowing reviews and being at a point in my life in which I felt "letting go" feels so necessary, I wanted to open myself up to it. I can honestly say it isn't like any other self-help book I've read.
I spent a lot of time reading and re-reading this over the course of a couple of years. Some chapters I would highlight huge passages because they seem so profound, and I admit there is much I need to spend more time considering.
There is a lot that feels accurate, like the explanation of emotional mapping, and how to accept what happens to us and let go or at least progress towards higher states of consciousness. For instance one cannot expect to move directly from anger and resentment to loving-kindness for a person overnight, but it's important to recognize how our thought patterns keep us from accepting our feelings and ultimately surrendering them. Our ego gets in the way, and the books argues that most religions agree to this point to some degree. This I really connected with.
I also really connected with the idea that love can be a transformative power that changes our life for the better when we eventually have the ability let go of negative emotions that keep us from reaching this heightened state. This book has a lot of great things to say about this.
I did find myself feeling skeptical of one of the later chapters which describes a person with an array of sicknesses who one by one is able to overcome all of them simply from the process of letting go of negative mental states. In this same section it describes people literally overcoming vision issues by driving without glasses and surrendering preconceptions about physical ability. I feel pretty critical of this but I just don't know for sure.
David Hawkins eventually explains how childhood events lead him down a path of greater understanding and spiritual growth. It's astounding but difficult to accept. It does seem that he was able to tap into some profound truth that continued to unlock so much in his life and those who came in contact with. He claims that the core idea behind surrendering and letting go can be found as core tenets of most religions, and that it is a greater universal truth. I used to feel annoyed by religious family members telling me to give everything up to God and stop fighting so hard to control the world. Seeing this same idea re-contextualized as a methodology for releasing us from the bondage of negative emotions really does speak to me.
In a lot of ways I did expect to feel critical of this book much in the same way I feel critical of positivist psychology in books like The Secret, and it definitely seem to advocate what seems a bit like a "law of attraction," perhaps just more easy to swallow. That said, there was so much about this book that really astounded me and spoke directly to my experiences, as I'm sure it will with many others. I've recommended it to many people who have also felt very moved by it.
I am interested to really develop my ability to surrender my pain and develop compassion and love for even my worst enemies, but it's hard. I do think will have a long-lasting impact on me.
I spent a lot of time reading and re-reading this over the course of a couple of years. Some chapters I would highlight huge passages because they seem so profound, and I admit there is much I need to spend more time considering.
There is a lot that feels accurate, like the explanation of emotional mapping, and how to accept what happens to us and let go or at least progress towards higher states of consciousness. For instance one cannot expect to move directly from anger and resentment to loving-kindness for a person overnight, but it's important to recognize how our thought patterns keep us from accepting our feelings and ultimately surrendering them. Our ego gets in the way, and the books argues that most religions agree to this point to some degree. This I really connected with.
I also really connected with the idea that love can be a transformative power that changes our life for the better when we eventually have the ability let go of negative emotions that keep us from reaching this heightened state. This book has a lot of great things to say about this.
I did find myself feeling skeptical of one of the later chapters which describes a person with an array of sicknesses who one by one is able to overcome all of them simply from the process of letting go of negative mental states. In this same section it describes people literally overcoming vision issues by driving without glasses and surrendering preconceptions about physical ability. I feel pretty critical of this but I just don't know for sure.
David Hawkins eventually explains how childhood events lead him down a path of greater understanding and spiritual growth. It's astounding but difficult to accept. It does seem that he was able to tap into some profound truth that continued to unlock so much in his life and those who came in contact with. He claims that the core idea behind surrendering and letting go can be found as core tenets of most religions, and that it is a greater universal truth. I used to feel annoyed by religious family members telling me to give everything up to God and stop fighting so hard to control the world. Seeing this same idea re-contextualized as a methodology for releasing us from the bondage of negative emotions really does speak to me.
In a lot of ways I did expect to feel critical of this book much in the same way I feel critical of positivist psychology in books like The Secret, and it definitely seem to advocate what seems a bit like a "law of attraction," perhaps just more easy to swallow. That said, there was so much about this book that really astounded me and spoke directly to my experiences, as I'm sure it will with many others. I've recommended it to many people who have also felt very moved by it.
I am interested to really develop my ability to surrender my pain and develop compassion and love for even my worst enemies, but it's hard. I do think will have a long-lasting impact on me.