It is common
for humans to look outside of themselves for the satisfaction of their needs. This leads them to experience themselves as vulnerable because they are
insuf ficient unto themselves. The mind is, therefore, a survival mechanism, and its method of
survival is primarily the use of emotions. Thoughts are engendered by the
emotions and, eventually , emotions become shorthand for thoughts.Thousands and even millions of thoughts can be replaced by a single
emotion. Emotions are more basic and primitive than mental processes. Reason is the tool the mind uses to achieve its emotional ends. When used
by the intellect, the basic underlying emotion is usually unconscious or at
least out of awareness. When the underlying emotion is for gotten or ignored
and not experienced, people are unaware of the reason for their actions and
they develop all kinds of plausible reasons. In fact, they frequently do not
know why they are doing what they are doing. There is a simple way to become conscious of the underlying
emotional goal behind any activity through use of the question, “What for?”
W ith each answer , “What for?” is asked again and again until the basic
feeling is uncovered. An example would be the following. A man wants a
new Cadillac. His mind gives all the logical reasons but logic doesn’ t really
explain it. So he asks himself, “What do I want the Cadillac for?” “W ell,”
he says, “it is to achieve status, recognition, respect, and solid citizen
success status.” Again: “What do I want status for?” “Respect and approval
from others,” he might say , “and to ensure that respect.” Again: “What do I
want respect and approval for?” “T o have the feeling of security .” Again:
“What do I want security for?” “T o feel happy .” The continual question,
“What for?,” reveals that basically there are feelings of insecurity ,
unhappiness, and lack of fulfillment. Every activity or desire will reveal that
the basic goal is to achieve a certain feeling. There are no other goals than
to overcome fear and achieve happiness. Emotions are connected with what
we believe will ensure our survival, not with what actually will. Emotions
themselves are actually the cause of the basic fear that drives everyone to
seek security constantly . The Scale of Emotions
For simplicity and clarity , we will utilize the scale of emotions that
corresponds with the levels of consciousness. A thorough presentation of
consciousness levels, their scientific basis, and practical applications is
found in Power vs. For ce: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior
(Hawkins, [1995], 2012). Briefly , everything emits ener gy , either positive or negative. Intuitively ,
we know the dif ference between a positive person (friendly , genuine,
considerate) and a negative one (greedy , deceitful, hateful). The ener gy of
Mother T eresa was obviously dif ferent from the ener gy of Adolf Hitler;most people’ s ener gy is somewhere in between the two. Music, places,
books, animals, intentions, and all of life emit an ener gy that can be
“calibrated” as to its essence and its degree of truth. “Like goes to like.” The dif ferent ener gies constellate in “attractor
patterns” or “levels of consciousness.” The Map of Consciousness (see
Appendix A ) provides a linear , logarithmic view of this nonlinear ener getic
terrain. Each level of consciousness (or attractor pattern) is calibrated on a
logarithmic scale of ener getic power , ranging from 1–1000. The level of
Full Enlightenment (1000), at the top of the Map, represents the highest
level attainable in the human realm; it is the ener gy of Jesus Christ, the
Buddha, and Krishna. The level of Shame (20) is at the bottom, close to
death, representing bare survival. The level of Courage (200) is the critical point that marks the shift
from negative to positive ener gy . It is the ener gy of integrity , being truthful,
empowerment, and having the capacity to cope. The levels of consciousness
below Courage are destructive, whereas the levels above it are life-
supportive. A simple muscle-test reveals the dif ference: negative stimuli
(below 200) instantly weaken the muscle, and positive stimuli (above 200)
instantly strengthen the muscle. T rue “power” strengthens; “force”
weakens. Above the level of Courage, people seek us out because we give
ener gy to them (“power”) and we have goodwill towards them. Below the
level of Courage, people avoid us because we take ener gy from them
(“force”) and we want to use them for our own material or emotional needs. Here, we delineate the basic scale, starting from the higher ener gies
down to the lower:
Peace (600) : This is experienced as perfection, bliss, ef fortlessness, and
oneness. It is a state of non-duality beyond separateness and beyond the
intellect, as in the “peace that passeth all understanding.” It is described as
Illumination and Enlightenment. It is rare in the human realm. Joy (540) : Love that is unconditional and unchanging, despite
circumstances and actions of others. The world is illuminated by exquisite
beauty , which is seen in all things. The perfection of creation is self-evident. There is closeness to unity and discovery of Self; compassion for all;
enormous patience; the feeling of at-oneness with others and a concern for
their happiness. A sense of self-completion and self-suf ficiency prevails.Love (500):  A way of being that is for giving, nurturing, and supportive. It
does not proceed from the mind; rather , it emanates from the heart. Love
focuses on the essence of a situation, not the details. It deals with wholes,
not particulars. As perception is replaced with vision, it takes no position
and sees the intrinsic value and lovability of all that exists. Reason (400) : This aspect dif ferentiates humans from the animal world. There is the ability to see things in the abstract, to conceptualize, to be
objective, and to make rapid and correct decisions. Its enormous utility is
problem solving. Science, philosophy , medicine, and logic are expressions
of this level. Acceptance (350):  This ener gy is easy-going, laid back, harmonious,
flexible, inclusive, and free of inner resistance. “Life is good. Y ou and I are
good. I feel connected.” It meets life on life’ s terms. There is no need to
blame others or blame life. W illingness (310):  This ener gy subserves survival by virtue of a positive
attitude that welcomes all expressions of life. It is friendly , helpful, wants to
assist, and seeks to be of service. Neutrality (250) : This is a way of life that is comfortable, pragmatic, and
relatively free of emotionality . “It’ s okay either way .” It is free of rigid
positions, nonjudgmental, and noncompetitive. Courage (200) : This ener gy says, “I can do it.” It is determined, excited
about life, productive, independent, and self-empowered. Ef fective action is
possible. Pride (175) : “My way is the best way ,” says this level. Its focus is
achievement, desire for recognition, specialness, and perfectionism. It feels
“better than … ” and superior to others. Anger (150) : This ener gy overcomes the source of fear by force, threats,
and attack. It is irritable, explosive, bitter , volatile, and resentful. It likes to
“get even,” as in “I’ll show you.”
Desir e (125):  It is always seeking gain, acquisition, pleasure, and “getting”
something outside oneself. It is insatiable, never satisfied, and craving. “I
have to have it.” “Give me what I want, and give it to me now!”Fear (100) : This ener gy sees “danger ,” which is “everywhere.” It is
avoidant, defensive, preoccupied with security , possessive of others,
jealous, restless, anxious, and vigilant. Grief (75):  There is helplessness, despair , loss, regret, and the feeling, “If
only I had … ” Separation. Depression. Sadness. Being a “loser .” Mournful,
as in “I can’ t go on.”
Apathy (50) : This ener gy is characterized by hopelessness, playing dead,
being a “drain” to others, being immobilized, and the feelings: “I can’ t” and
“Who cares?” Poverty is common. Guilt (30):  In this ener gy field, one wants to punish and be punished. It
leads to self-rejection, masochism, remorse, “feeling bad,” and self-
sabotage. “It’ s all my fault.” Accident-proneness, suicidal behavior , and
projection of self-hatred onto “evil” others are common. It is the basis of
many psychosomatic illnesses. Shame (20) : Characterized by humiliation, as in “hanging your head in
shame.” It is traditionally accompanied by banishment. It is destructive to
health and leads to cruelty toward self and others. In general, we can say that the lower end of the scale is associated with
lower vibrational frequencies: lower ener gy , lower power , poorer life
circumstances, poorer relationships, less abundance, less love, and poorer
physical and emotional health. Because of the low ener gy , such needy
people drain us on all levels. They tend to be avoided and find themselves
surrounded by people on the same level (e.g., in jail). As we let go of negative feelings, there is a progressive movement up
the scale to Courage and then beyond, with increasing ef fectiveness,
success, and more ef fortless abundance. W e tend to seek out such people. W e say they are “high.” They give of f life ener gy to all living things around
them. Animals are attracted to them. They have a green thumb and
positively influence the lives of all with whom they come in contact. At the
level of Courage, the negative feelings have not all disappeared, but now
we have suf ficient ener gy to handle them because we’ve re-owned our
power and self-adequacy . The fastest way to move from the bottom to the
top is by telling the truth to ourselves and to others.The ener gy levels are also traditionally associated with the body ener gy
centers that are sometimes referred to as “chakras.” The chakras are ener gy
centers through which “kundalini ener gy” is said to flow , once it is
awakened at the level of Courage (200). The ener gy centers (chakras) can
be measured by a variety of clinical techniques and sensitive electronic
instruments. On the Map of Consciousness, the chakras calibrate as follows:
Crown (600), Third Eye (525), Throat (350), Heart (505), Solar Plexus
(275), Sacral or Spleen (275), Base or Root Chakra (200). When we
relinquish negative feelings, the ener gy in our higher chakras increases. For
instance, instead of habitually “venting our spleen” (second chakra), we are
now described as “all heart” (fifth chakra). This ener gy system has a direct impact on the physical body . The
ener gy in each chakra flows out through channels called “meridians” to the
whole ener gy body , which is like a blueprint to the physical body . Each
meridian is associated with a particular or gan, and each or gan is associated
with a particular emotion. A negative emotion throws of f the ener gy
balance of its associated acupuncture meridian and related or gan. For
instance, depression, despair , and melancholy are associated with the liver
meridian, so these emotions tend to interfere with liver function. Every
negative feeling impairs a body or gan and, as the years go by , that or gan
becomes diseased and eventually fails to function. The lower our emotional state, the more negatively we influence not
only our own lives but also all of life around us. The higher the emotional
level of evolution, the more positive our life becomes on all levels, and we
support all life around us. As negative emotions are acknowledged and
surrendered, we get freer and move up the scale, eventually experiencing
predominantly positive feelings. All lower emotions are limitations and blind us to the reality of our true
Self. As we surrender our way up the scale and near the top, a new type of
experience begins to happen. At the very top of the scale, there occurs the
realization of one’ s true Self and the varying levels of Illumination. The
main importance of this is to note that, as we get higher and freer , what the
world calls spiritual awareness, intuition, and growth of consciousness
occur . This is the common experience of all who surrender their negative
feelings. They become more and more conscious. That which is impossible
to see or experience at lower levels of consciousness becomes self-evident
and stunningly obvious at higher levels.Understanding Emotions
According to scientific findings, all thoughts are filed in the mind’ s memory
bank under a filing system based upon the associated feeling and its finer
gradations (Gray–LaV iolette, 1982). They are filed according to feeling
tone, not fact. Consequently , there is a scientific basis for the observation
that self-awareness is increased much more rapidly by observing feelings
rather than thoughts. The thoughts associated with even one feeling may
literally run into the thousands. The understanding of the underlying
emotion and its correct handling is, therefore, more rewarding and less
time-consuming than dealing with one’ s thoughts. In the beginning, if one is unfamiliar with the whole subject of feelings,
it is often advisable to begin merely by observing them without any
intention of doing anything about them. In this way , some clarification will
occur about the relationship between feelings and thoughts. After there is
more familiarity , some experimentation can then occur . For instance, certain
areas of thoughts that tend to recur can be set aside and the feeling
associated with them identified. The feeling can then be worked with by
first accepting that it is there, without resisting it or condemning it. And
then one begins to empty out the ener gy of the feeling directly by letting it
be what it is until it runs out. Somewhat later , the former thoughts can now
be looked at and their character will be observed to have changed. If the
feeling has been totally surrendered and let go, usually all thoughts
associated with it will have disappeared entirely and been replaced by a
concluding thought which handles the matter quickly . For example, there was the case of a man who misplaced his passport
shortly before going to a foreign country . As the scheduled date of
departure drew closer and closer , his inner panic mounted. His mind raced
wildly , trying to think where the passport could have been misplaced. He
searched high and low . He tried various mental tricks to no avail. He
berated himself: “How could I have been so stupid as to lose a passport? Now there isn’ t time to get another one!” As the fateful day approached, he
faced a real dilemma: no passport, no trip. Missing the trip had a lot of
negative consequences because it was both business and pleasure, and it
would have created a dif ficult situation. Finally , he remembered to do the
letting go technique. He sat down and asked himself: “What is the basic feeling that I’ve
been ignoring?” T o his surprise, the basic feeling that came up was grief.The grief was associated with not wanting to be separated from someone he
dearly loved. There was also an associated fear of loss of the relationship,
or at least the weakening of it due to his absence. As he let go of the grief
and the associated fear , he suddenly felt at peace about the matter . He also
concluded that if the relationship couldn’ t handle a two-week absence, it
wasn’ t worth all that much anyway; so, there was really nothing at risk. As
soon as he felt at peace, he instantly remembered where the passport was. In
fact, it was in a place so simple and obvious that only unconscious blocking
could explain why he had not remembered it. Needless to say , all of the
thousands of thoughts about the missing passport, the failed trip and the
potential consequences instantly disappeared. His emotional state became
one of gratitude and happiness instead of frustration. Letting go can be very useful in everyday life situations, but its use in
life crises can be crucial in preventing and alleviating lar ge amounts of
suf fering. In a life crisis there is usually an overwhelm of emotion. The
crisis has tapped into one of our major areas of suppressed or repressed
feelings. In this situation the problem is not one of identifying the emotion
but how to handle the overwhelm. Handling Emotional Crises
Because this is a very dif ficult problem for most people, some details are
needed. There are several techniques to help move through emotional
disaster much more quickly , and with a better end result, than allowing it to
run out on its own. Recall the usual mechanisms that the mind consciously
uses to handle emotions, which are suppression (or repression), expression,
and escape. These are deleterious only when they are used without
conscious intent. In an overwhelm, it is often advisable to utilize them, but
doing so consciously . The purpose of this maneuver is to reduce the sheer
overwhelming quantity of the emotion itself so that it can be disassembled
and let go of in bits and pieces (this process is described below). Thus, in
this case, it is all right consciously  to push away as much of the emotion as
we are capable of at the moment. The emotion can be reduced in intensity
by sharing the feeling with close friends or mentors. By merely expressing
the feeling, some of the ener gy behind it is reduced. It is also alright in this
circumstance consciously to utilize escape mechanisms, such as going out
in a social situation to get some distance from the upset, playing with the
dog, watching television, going to the movies, playing music, making love,or whatever one’ s habit is under the circumstances. When the feeling has
been reduced in its sheer quantity and intensity , it is best to start letting go
of small aspects of the situation rather than the overall situation and the
accompanying emotion itself. T o illustrate this point, let’ s take the example of a man who loses his
job after many years with a company , and is now in an overwhelm of
despair . By utilizing the three mechanisms already described, some of the
emotion can be reduced. What he can look at, then, are some of the small
trivia about the job. For instance, could he let go of wanting to have lunch
where he always had lunch with his business colleagues? Could he let go of
wanting to park his car in the parking space he always had in the past? Could he let go of wanting to ride up in the same elevator? Could he let go
of the attachment to his desk? Could he let go of the attachment to the
secretary and her friendliness toward him? Could he let go of the
attachment to his computer? Could he let go of seeing the same boss every
day? Could he let go of his feeling of familiarity with the background
noises in the of fice? The purpose of surrendering these smaller aspects of losing a job,
which may seem trivial, is that it gets the mind into the letting go mode. The letting go mode takes us up to the level of Courage; the negative
feelings have been acknowledged and worked through; consequently ,
they’ve lost their char ge. Suddenly there is the awareness that we have the
courage to face the situation, recognize our feelings, and do something
about them. As the trivia are surrendered, curiously , the main event
becomes less and less oppressive. The reason for the phenomenon is that,
when we use the mechanism of surrender on one emotion, we are
surrendering on all emotions at the same time. It is as though all emotions
have the same underlying ener gy , so that to surrender in one direction
surrenders feelings which appear , on the surface, to be in an opposite
direction. This is a matter of clinical experience; it must be tried personally
in order to believe it. After utilizing the above four methods (suppression, expression,
escape, surrender of smaller aspects), a fifth now becomes apparent. Every
strong emotion is really a composite of a number of subsidiary emotions
and the total emotional complex can be disassembled. Thus, for instance,
the man who has lost his job initially has an overwhelming feeling of
despair; but, as he begins to surrender around the periphery , and as hediminishes his overwhelm through consciously utilizing escape,
suppression, and expression, he now realizes that there is also anger . He
sees that the anger is associated with pride. There is a lot of anger in the
form of resentment. There is self-invalidation, which is a form of anger
expressed against himself. There is also considerable fear . Thus these
associated emotions can now be addressed directly . For instance, he can
start letting go of the fear that he won’ t find another job. When that fear is
acknowledged and let go, all the alternate possibilities that exist will
become suddenly apparent to him. And, as he surrenders pride, he will
quickly see that he is not faced with economic disaster , as he had thought. Thus, as the disassembled emotional complex is taken apart into its
component parts, each component part now has less ener gy and can be
surrendered individually . As we come out of the overwhelm, it will be remembered that a certain
portion of the emotion was purposely suppressed or escaped. It can now be
reexamined, so that it no longer does residual harm, such as ending up in
bitterness, unconscious guilt, or lower self-esteem. Fragments of the
emotional complex may recur for a period of time, even years; however ,
because they are now small fragments, each can be handled as it arises. At
least the crisis situation will have been passed through safely and
consciously . Handling a crisis from the emotional rather than the intellectual level
will shorten its duration dramatically . In the case of someone who loses a
job, handling it from the intellectual level will produce thousands of
thoughts and hypothetical scenarios. The person suf fers through many
sleepless nights due to the racing thoughts about the situation as the mind
reviews it over and over again. All of this is fruitless. Until the underlying
emotion is surrendered, the thoughts will be engendered endlessly . W e all
know of people who have had an emotional crisis many years ago and, to
this day , have not recovered. It has totally colored their life, and they have
paid a big price for their lack of know-how in handling the underlying
emotions. There are numerous benefits to handling a life crisis successfully . For
one thing, the amount of suppressed or repressed emotion is now much less. The crisis has forced it up to be relinquished and, therefore, the amount that
is left in the reservoir is much less. There is a greater feeling of self-esteem
and confidence because there is the awareness that one can survive andhandle whatever life will bring. There is an overall reduction of the fear of
life, a greater feeling of mastery , greater compassion for the suf fering of
others, and an increased ability to help them through similar circumstances. Paradoxically , after a life crisis, there often is a period of variable duration
of peace and calmness, sometimes approaching the level of mystical
experience. The “dark night of the soul” frequently precedes states of
heightened awareness. One of the best-known examples of this paradox is illustrated by
persons who have had near -death experiences. There are now many books
on the subject that reveal a certain commonality . Once the worst of all
possible fears—the dread and shock of death—has been faced, it is
superseded by a profound sense of serenity , peace, oneness, and immunity
from fear . Many such persons develop extraordinary abilities, become
healers, develop psychic awareness, and advanced states of spiritual
illumination. They experience major leaps in growth and the sudden
appearance of new talents and capacities. Thus, every life crisis carries
within it the kernels of a reversal, a renewal, an expansion, a leap in
consciousness, and a letting go of the old and a birth of the new . Healing the Past
When we look at our lives, we will see the residual of past life crises which
are still unresolved. Thoughts and feelings about the events tend to occur
and color our perception, and we will note that they have disabled us in
certain areas of life. At that point, it is wise to ask ourselves if it is worth
paying the continuing cost. Now that we have some mechanisms by which
to handle these residuals, they can be uncovered. The residual feelings can
be investigated and let go of so that a healing can take place. This brings us
to another emotional healing technique that becomes powerful once the
major event has passed. That is to place the event in a dif ferent context, to
see it from a dif ferent perspective, and to hold it in a dif ferent paradigm
with a dif ferent significance and meaning. It is said that most people spend their lives regretting the past and
fearing the future; therefore, they are unable to experience joy in the
present. Many of us have assumed that this is our human fate, our lot, and
the best that we can do is “grin and bear it.” Philosophers have sometimes
made hay out of this negativistic, pessimistic approach and developed
whole systems of nihilism. These philosophers, some of whom havebecome celebrated over the years, are obviously mere victims of painful
emotions that they did not handle and which triggered endless
intellectualization and elaboration. Some spent their entire lifetime
constructing sophisticated intellectual systems to justify what is glaringly
obvious as a simple suppressed emotion. One of the most ef fective tools for handling the past is the creation of a
dif ferent context. What this means is that we give it a dif ferent meaning. W e
take on a dif ferent attitude about the past dif ficulty or trauma, and we
acknowledge the hidden gift in it. The value of this technique was first
recognized in psychiatry by V iktor Frankl. He explained the approach—
which he called “Logotherapy”—in his famous book, Man’ s Sear ch for
Meaning . His clinical and personal experience demonstrated that emotional
events and traumatic occurrences will change considerably and be healed if
a new meaning is placed around them. Frankl told of his own experience in
the Nazi concentration camps wherein he came to see his physical and
psychic suf fering as an opportunity to achieve inner triumph. “Everything
can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to
choose one’ s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’ s
own way” (Frankl, [1959] 2006). Frankl re-contextualized the horrific
circumstances to hold profound meaning for the human spirit. Every life experience, no matter how “tragic,” contains a hidden
lesson. When we discover and acknowledge the hidden gift that is there, a
healing takes place. In the example of the man who lost his job, after some
time had passed, he looked back and saw that his former job was stunting,
that he had been in a rut. Frankly , the job had given him an ulcer . Prior to
losing the job, he had seen only the pleasures from it. Once outside of the
situation, he began to see the costs that he had been paying—physically ,
mentally , and emotionally . After losing the job, he was open to discovering
new abilities and new talents; in fact, he began a new , more promising
career . So, life events are opportunities to grow , expand, experience, and
develop. In some cases, it seems in retrospect that there was actually this
unconscious purpose behind the event, as though our unconscious knew that
something important had to be learned and, painful as it was, it was the only
way it could be brought into experience. This is part of the psychology of
the psychoanalyst Carl Jung, who concluded after a lifetime of study , that
there is an inborn drive in the unconscious toward wholeness,completeness, and realization of the Self, and that the unconscious will
devise the ways and means of bringing this about, even if they are traumatic
to the conscious mind. Jung also said that in the unconscious there was an aspect of ourselves
called the “shadow .” The shadow is all the repressed thoughts, feelings and
concepts about ourselves that we do not want to face. One benefit of a crisis
is that it often brings us into familiarity with our shadow . It makes us more
human and more whole to realize what we share with all of humanity . All
the stuf f that we thought “they” were guilty of is equally in ourselves. Thus,
when it is brought up to conscious awareness, acknowledged, and
surrendered, it no longer unconsciously runs us. Once the shadow has been
acknowledged, it loses its power . All that is necessary is merely to
recognize that we have certain forbidden impulses, thoughts, and feelings. Now , they can be handled with a “So what?”
Passing through a life crisis, then, makes us more human, more
compassionate, more accepting and understanding of ourselves and others. W e no longer have to indulge in making others wrong or making ourselves
wrong. Handling an emotional crisis leads to greater wisdom and results in
lifetime benefits. Fear of life is really the fear of emotions. It is not the facts
that we fear but our feelings about them. Once we have mastery over our
feelings, our fear of life diminishes. W e feel a greater self-confidence, and
we are willing to take greater chances because we now feel that we can
handle the emotional consequences, whatever they might be. Because fear
is the basis of all inhibitions, mastery over fear means the unblocking of
whole avenues of life experience that previously had been avoided. Thus, the man who successfully handles the crisis of losing a job will
never again experience that same fear . He will, therefore, be more creative
on the next job, willing to take the necessary risks to make it a success. He
begins to see how that haunting fear of job loss had severely limited his
performance in the past, made him fearful and cautious, and cost him his
self-esteem due to his kowtowing and compliance with his superiors. One benefit from a life crisis is greater self-awareness. The situation is
overwhelming, and we are forced to stop all of our diversionary games, take
a good look at our life situation, and re-evaluate our beliefs, goals, values,
and life direction. It is an opportunity to re-evaluate and let go of guilt. It is
also an opportunity for a total shift in attitude. Life crises, as we pass
through them, confront us with polar opposites. Shall we hate or for givethat person? Shall we learn from this experience and grow , or resent it and
become bitter? Do we choose to overlook the other person’ s shortcomings
and our own, or instead do we resent and mentally attack them? Shall we
withdraw from a similar situation in the future with greater fear , or shall we
transcend this crisis and master it once and for all? Do we choose hope or
discouragement? Can we use the experience as an opportunity to learn how
to share, or shall we withdraw into a shell of fear and bitterness? Every
emotional experience is an opportunity to go up or down. Which do we
choose? That is the confrontation. W e have the opportunity to choose whether we want to hang on or let
go of emotional upsets. W e can look at the cost of hanging on to them. Do
we want to pay the price? Are we willing to accept the feelings? W e can
look at the benefits of letting go of them. The choice we make will
determine our future. What kind of a future do we want? W ill we choose to
be healed, or will we become one of the walking wounded? In making this choice, it is well to look at the payof f we get from
hanging on to the residuals of a painful experience. What are the
satisfactions we are getting? How little are we willing to settle for? Anger . Hatred. Self-pity . Resentments. They all have their cheap little payof f, that
little inner satisfaction. Let’ s not pretend that it’ s not there. There is a weird,
quirky pleasure when we hang on to pain. It certainly satisfies our
unconscious need for the alleviation of guilt through punishment. W e get to
feel miserable and rotten. The question then arises, “But for how long?”
T ake, for example, a man who had not spoken to his brother for twenty-
three years. Neither of them could remember what the incident was about; it
had been long for gotten. But they were in the habit of not speaking, and so
for twenty-three years they paid the price of missing each other ’ s company ,
af fection, togetherness in family matters, and all the shared experiences and
love they could have had. When the man learned about the mechanism of
surrender , he began to let go of his feelings about his brother . Suddenly , he
broke out in tears of grief, realizing all that had been lost over the years. By
for giving his brother , he triggered a similar response in the brother , and the
two were reunited. Then, one of the brothers flashed back on the incident. It
had been an ar gument over a pair of tennis shoes. Over one pair of tennis
shoes they had paid a price extending over twenty-three years! Had the man
not learned the technique of letting go, he might well have gone to his gravewith the same resentment. So the question is, “How long do we want to go
on suf fering? When are we willing to give it up? When is enough enough?”
The part of us that wants to cling to negative emotions is our smallness. It is the part of us that is mean, petty , selfish, competitive, cheap, conniving,
mistrusting, vindictive, judgmental, diminished, weak, guilty , ashamed, and
vain. It has little ener gy; it is depleting, demeaning, and leads to the
lowering of self-respect. It is the small part of us that accounts for our own
self-hatred, unending guilt, and seeking for punishment, sickness, and
disease. Is that the part with which we want to identify? Is that the part we
want to ener gize? Is that the way we want to see ourselves? Because if
that’ s the way we see ourselves, that’ s the way others will see us. The world can only see us as we see ourselves . Are we willing to pay
those consequences? If we see ourselves as cheap and petty , it’ s unlikely
that we’ll be at the top of the company list for a raise. The price of holding on to smallness can be demonstrated with muscle
testing. The procedure is fairly simple (Hawkins, [1995], 2012). Hold in
mind a mean, petty thought and have someone press down on your arm
while you resist; notice the ef fect. Now choose the exact opposite view . Picture yourself as being generous, for giving, loving, and experiencing your
inner greatness. Instantly , there will be an enormous increase in muscle
strength indicating a sur ge of positive bio-ener gy . Smallness brings
weakness, sickness, disease, and death. Do you really want that? Letting go
of negative feelings can be accompanied by another very healthy maneuver
which will greatly assist your inner transformation, and that is to stop
resisting the positive emotions. Enhancing Positive Emotions
The corollary to letting go of negative feelings is to stop resisting the
positive ones. Everything in the universe has its opposite; therefore, in the
mind, every negative feeling has its counterpart between smallness and
greatness, whether we are constantly aware of its existence at any given
moment or not. A good and very illuminating exercise is to sit down and look at the
feeling that is directly opposite the negative one that we are experiencing
and begin to let go resisting it. Let’ s say , for instance, that a friend’ s
birthday is coming up and we are feeling resentful and stingy; therefore, we
just can’ t seem to get out to shop for a present, and the day is getting closer .The exact opposite feelings are those of for giveness and generosity . W e just
start looking for the feeling of for giveness within ourselves and stop
resisting it. As we keep letting go of our resistance to being a for giving
person, it is often surprising that it will come up with a sur ge. W e will begin
to recognize that part of our nature has always been willing and wanting to
for give, but we didn’ t dare chance it. W e thought we might appear foolish. W e thought we were punishing the other person by holding the resentment,
but we have actually been suppressing love. In the beginning, we may not
consciously feel this specifically about our friend, but we will begin to
notice that we do have this aspect to our personality . As we keep
surrendering our resistance to love, we will notice that within ourselves
there is something that wants to express itself through sharing and giving,
letting the past go and burying the hatchet. There is a desire to make a
friendly gesture; we want to heal the separation, to repair the wound, to
make good the wrong, to express gratitude, and to take a chance on being
thought a fool. The purpose of this exercise is to locate within ourselves that which
can only be described as greatness. Greatness is the courage to overcome
obstacles. It is the willingness to move to a higher level of love. It is the
acceptance of others’ humanness and having compassion for their suf fering
by putting ourselves in their shoes. Out of the for giveness of others come
self-for giveness and the relief of guilt. The real payof f we get is when we
let go of our negativity and choose to be loving; we are the ones who
benefit. W e are the ones who gain from the real payof f. W ith this increased
awareness of who we really are comes the progressive invulnerability to
pain. Once we compassionately accept our own humanness and that of
others, we are no longer subject to humiliation, for true humility is a part of
greatness. Out of the recognition of who we really are comes the desire to seek
that which is uplifting. Out of it arises a new meaning and context for life. When that inner emptiness, due to lack of self-worth, is replaced by true
self-love, self-respect and esteem, we no longer have to seek it in the world,
for that source of happiness is within ourselves. It dawns on us that it
cannot be supplied by the world anyway . No amount of riches can
compensate for an inner feeling of poverty . W e all know of the many
multimillionaires who try to compensate for their inner sense of hollowness
and lack of inner worth. Once we have contacted this inner Self, this innergreatness, this inner completion, contentment, and true sense of happiness,
we have transcended the world. The world is now a place to enjoy , and we
are no longer run by it. W e are no longer at the ef fect of it. When we utilize these techniques of relinquishing the negative and
surrendering resistance to the positive, sooner or later we come into a
sudden, comprehensive awareness of our true dimension. Once this has
been experienced, it will never be for gotten. The world will never
intimidate us again as it once did. There may be continued compliance with
the ways of the world out of sheer habit, but the inner drivenness, the inner
vulnerability , and the inner doubt is now gone. Outwardly , the behavior may
appear the same but, inwardly , the causes for it are now totally dif ferent. The end result of the conscious handling of emotions is invulnerability and
imperturbability . Our inner nature is now bullet proof. W e are able to go
through life with balance and grace. CHAPTER
4
A P A T H Y  A N D  D E P R E S S I O N
Apathy is the belief, “I can’ t.” It is the feeling that we cannot do anything
about our situation and no one else can help. It is hopelessness and
helplessness. It is associated with such thoughts as: “Who cares?”; “What’ s
the use?”; “It’ s boring”; “Why bother?”; “I can’ t win anyway .” This is the
role exhibited by Eeyore, the glum character in “W innie the Pooh” cartoons
who says: “Oh well. W on’ t do any good anyway .” Discouragement. Defeat. Impossible. T oo hard. All alone. Give up. Isolated. Estranged. W ithdrawn. Cut of f. Desolate. Depressed. Depleted. Unfulfilling. Pessimistic. Careless. Humorless. Meaningless. Absurd. Pointless. Helpless. Failure. T oo tired. Despair . Confused. For getful. Fatalistic. T oo late. T oo old. T oo young. Mechanical. Doomed. Negative. Forlorn. Useless. Lost. Senseless. Bleak. Blasé. The biologic purpose of apathy is to summon aid, but part of the
feeling is that no help is possible. Much of the world’ s population is
functioning on the level of apathy . For them, there is no hope that they will
be able to meet their basic needs, nor will help be forthcoming from
elsewhere. The average person is often apathetic in a number of areas in life, but
only periodically faces overwhelming apathy about their whole life
situation. Apathy indicates a lack of life ener gy and is close to death. This
was observed during the W orld W ar II blitz of London. Infants were
removed to nurseries and remote safe sections of England where their
physical, nutritional, and medical needs were well attended. However , theinfants developed apathy and began to fail; they lost their appetites and the
death rate was high. It was discovered that apathy resulted from a lack of
nurturing and emotional closeness to a mothering figure. It was an
emotional state and not a physical one. W ithout love and af fection, they lost
the will to live. In our country , we see depressed economic areas where an entire local
population goes into apathy . When people from such areas appear on the
television news, it is often with such comments as, “When the welfare
check runs out, I guess we just face starvation; there’ s no hope for us.”
Feelings of apathy about the letting go technique itself may appear as
resistances. These may take the form of attitudes and thoughts such as: “It
won’ t work anyway”; “What’ s the dif ference?”; “I’m not ready for this
yet”; “I can’ t feel”; “I’m too busy”; “I’m tired of letting go”; “I’m too
overwhelmed”; “I for got”; “I’m too depressed”; “I’m too sleepy .” The way
out of apathy is to remind ourselves of our intention, which is to get higher
and freer , to become more ef fective and happy , and to let go of the
resistance to the technique itself. “I Can’t” vs. “I W on’t”
Another way out of apathy is to look at the payof f we are getting out of the
apathetic attitudes. The payof f may be in the face-saving excuses to cover
up what is actually fear . Since in reality , we are very capable beings, most
“I can’ ts” are really “I won’ ts.” Behind the “I can’ ts” or the “I won’ ts” is
frequently a fear . Then, when we look at the truth of what is behind the
feeling, we have already moved up the scale from apathy to fear . Fear is a
higher ener gy state than apathy . Fear at least begins to motivate us into
action and, in that action, we can again surrender fear and move up to anger
or pride or courage, all of which are higher states than apathy . Let’ s take a typical human problem and trace how the mechanism of
surrender works to free us from an inhibition. Public speaking is one of the
most common inhibitions. On the level of apathy in this arena, we say: “Oh,
I can’ t possibly speak in public. It is way too overwhelming. Nobody will
want to hear me anyway . I don’ t have anything worth saying.” If we remind
ourselves of our intention, we will see that the apathy is merely covering up
fear . Now , the thought of speaking in public is frightening, not hopeless. This brings about a certain clarity . The facts are not that we “can’ t,” but
merely that we are “afraid.”As this fear comes up and is let go, we become aware of the fact that
we have a desire to do the very thing that we fear . Now when looking at the
desire, which is blocked by fear and perhaps compounded by some grief
over lost opportunities in the past, anger arises. At this point, we have
already moved from apathy , to grief, to desire, and up to anger . In anger
there is much more ener gy and capacity for action. Anger often takes the
form of resentment, such as resentment that we agreed to the public
speaking and now feel obligated to do it. There is also anger about our fear , which has blocked accomplishment
in the past, and the anger leads to a decision to do something about it. This
decision might take the form of a public speaking course. When we sign up
for a public speaking course, we have already moved up to the ener gy of
pride in that we have finally taken the bull by the horns and are doing
something about it. On the way to the speaking course, again more fear will
arise. As this is constantly acknowledged and surrendered, we become
aware that we have courage in our capacity at least to face our fears and
take action to overcome them. The level of courage has a lot of ener gy . That ener gy takes the form of
letting go of residual fear , anger , and desire, so that in the middle of the
speaking class, we suddenly experience acceptance. W ith acceptance there
is the freedom from resistance, which had taken the form previously of fear ,
apathy , and anger . Now , we begin to experience pleasure. There is the self-
confidence of acceptance, “I can do it.” On the level of acceptance, there is
greater awareness of others, so that in the speaking class, we become aware
of the pain, suf fering, and embarrassment of others in the class and begin to
be concerned about them. W ith the emer gence of this compassion towards others, there is a loss
of self-consciousness. W ith the emer gence of selflessness come moments of
peace. On the way home from the class, we experience an inner
contentment, a feeling that we have grown, that we have shared with others. In the experience of sharing, we have for gotten ourselves for a few
moments and have been more concerned with the happiness of someone
else. W e take pleasure in the accomplishments of others. In this state, there
is a transforming grace, the discovery of our inner compassion, a feeling of
connectedness with others, and a compassion for their suf fering. W ith the
full development of this progression, we might then share with others how
we had a fear of public speaking, the steps we took to overcome it, thesuccess we experienced, the increase of our self-esteem, and the positive
changes in our relationships. This entire progression is the basis of a great deal of the power of self-
help groups: the sharing of inner experiences from the lowest to the highest
levels on the scale of emotions. That which in the beginning seemed
formidable and overwhelming has now been surmounted and handled, with
the resultant increase of aliveness and well-being. This increase in self-
esteem then spills over into other areas of life, and the increase in
confidence results in greater material abundance and capability in
vocational functioning. On this level, love takes the form of sharing and
encouraging others, and our activities are constructive instead of
destructive. The ener gy radiated out is then positive and attractive to others,
resulting in a constant positive feedback. Once we have experienced this progression up the scale of emotions in
any one particular area, we now begin to realize that it can be done in other
areas of limitation in our lives. Behind all of the “I can’ ts” are merely “I
won’ ts.” The “I won’ ts” mean “I am afraid to” or “I am ashamed to” or “I
have too much pride to try , for fear I might fail.” Behind that is anger at
ourselves and circumstances engendered by pride. Acknowledging and
letting go of these feelings brings us up to courage and, with that, finally
acceptance and an inner peacefulness, at least as it regards the area which
has been surmounted. Apathy and depression are the prices we pay for having settled for and
bought into our smallness. It’ s what we get for having played the victim and
allowed ourselves to be programmed. It’ s the price we pay for having
bought into negativity . It’ s what results from resisting the part of ourselves
that is loving, courageous, and great. It results from allowing ourselves to
be invalidated by ourselves or others; it is the consequence of holding
ourselves in a negative context. In reality , it is only a definition of ourselves
that we have unwittingly allowed to happen. The way out is to become
more conscious. What does it mean, “to become more conscious”? T o begin with,
becoming more conscious means to start looking for the truth for ourselves,
instead of blindly allowing ourselves to be programmed, whether from
without or by an inner voice within the mind, which seeks to diminish and
invalidate, focusing on all that is weak and helpless. T o get out of it, we
have to accept the responsibility that we have bought into the negativity andhave been willing to believe it. The way out of this, then, is to start
questioning everything. There are many models of the mind. One of the most recent has been
that of the computer . W e can look at the mind’ s concepts, thoughts, and
belief systems as programs. Because they are programs, they can be
questioned, cancelled, and reversed; positive programs can replace negative
ones if we so choose. The smaller aspect of ourselves is very willing to
accept negative programming. If we look at the source of our thoughts, begin to identify their origins,
and stop the vanity of labeling them as “mine” (and therefore sacrosanct),
we notice that thoughts can be looked at objectively . W e see that their
origins were often the early childhood training from parents, family , and
teachers, as well as dribbles and drabbles of information we picked up from
playmates, newspapers, movies, television, radio, church, novels, and the
automatic input from our senses. All of this went on unwittingly without
our having exercised any conscious choice. Not only that, but out of our
unconsciousness, ignorance, innocence, and naïveté, plus the nature of the
mind itself, we ended up as the composite of all the negative garbage
prevalent in the world. Furthermore, we concluded that it applied to us
personally . As we become more aware, we begin to realize that we have a
choice. W e can stop giving authority to all the mind’ s thoughts, begin to
question them, and find out if there is really any truth in them for ourselves. The feeling state of apathy is associated with the belief, “I can’ t.” The
mind doesn’ t like to hear it, but in reality most “I can’ ts” are “I won’ ts.”
The reason the mind doesn’ t want to hear this is because “I can’ t” is a
cover -up for other feelings. These feelings can be brought to awareness by
posing the hypothetical question to oneself, “Is it true that I won’ t  rather
than that I can’ t ? If I accept that ‘I won’ t,’ what situations will be brought
up and how do I feel about them?”
As an example, let’ s say we have a belief system that we can’ t dance. W e say to ourselves: “Perhaps that’ s a cover -up. Maybe the truth is that I
don’ t want to and I won’ t.” The way we can find out what the feelings are is
to envision ourselves as going through the process of learning to dance. As
we do that, all of the associated feelings now start to come up:
embarrassment, pride, awkwardness, the sheer ef fort of learning a new skill,
and the reluctance about the time and ener gy involved. As we replace “I
can’ t” with “I won’ t,” we uncover all of these feelings, which can then besurrendered. W e see that learning to dance means we have to be willing to
let go of pride. W e look at the cost and ask ourselves, “Am I willing to
continue to pay this price? W ould I be willing to let go of the fear of not
succeeding? W ould I be willing to let go of resisting the ef fort required? W ould I be willing to let go of the vanity so that I could allow myself to be
awkward as a learner? Could I let go of my stinginess and smallness and be
willing to pay for the lessons and give the time?” As all of the associated
feelings are surrendered, it becomes very clear that the real reason is
unwillingness—not incapacity . It must be remembered that we are free to acknowledge and surrender
our feelings, and we are free not to surrender . As we examine our “I can’ ts”
and find out that they are really “I won’ ts,” it doesn’ t mean that we have to
let go of the negative feelings that result in the “I won’ ts.” W e are perfectly
free to refuse to let go. W e are free to hang on to negativity as long as we
want. There is no law that says we have to give it up. W e are free agents. But it makes a big dif ference in our self-concept to realize that “I won’ t do
something” is quite a dif ferent feeling than to think that “I’m a victim and I
can’ t.” For instance, we can choose to hate somebody if we want. W e can
choose to blame them. W e can choose to blame circumstances. But being
more conscious and realizing that we are freely choosing this attitude puts
us in a higher state of consciousness and, therefore, closer to greater power
and mastery than being the helpless victim of a feeling. Blame
One of the biggest blocks to overcome in getting out of depression and
apathy is that of blame. Blame is a whole subject in itself. Looking into it is
rewarding. T o begin with, there are a lot of payof fs to blame. W e get to be
innocent; we get to enjoy self-pity; we get to be the martyr and the victim;
and we get to be the recipients of sympathy . Perhaps the biggest payof f of blame is that we get to be the innocent
victim and the other party is the bad one. W e see this game played out in the
media constantly , such as the endless blame games dramatized in a
multitude of controversies, mudslinging, character assassinations, and
lawsuits. In addition to the emotional payof f, blame has considerable
financial benefits; therefore, it is a tempting package to be the innocent
victim, as it is often financially rewarded.There was a famous example of this in New Y ork City many years ago. A public conveyance accident occurred. People poured out of the front door
of the vehicle, then gathered in a small crowd, furnishing their names and
addresses for future financial benefit. Bystanders quickly caught on to the
game and secretly climbed into the back of the vehicle, so that they could
then emer ge from the front as injured, “innocent victims.” They hadn’ t even
been in the accident, but they were going to collect a reward! Blame is the world’ s greatest excuse. It enables us to remain limited
and small without feeling guilty . But there is a cost—the loss of our
freedom. Also, the role of victim brings with it a self-perception of
weakness, vulnerability , and helplessness, which are the major components
of apathy and depression. The first step out of blame is to see that we are choosing  to blame. Other people who have had similar circumstances have for given, for gotten,
and handled the same situation in a totally dif ferent way . W e earlier saw the
case of V iktor Frankl, who chose to for give the Nazi prison guards and to
see a hidden gift in his experience at the concentration camps. Because
others, such as Frankl, have chosen not to blame, that option is also open to
us. W e have to be honest and realize that we are blaming because we
choose to blame. This is true, no matter how justified the circumstances
may appear to be. It is not a matter of right or wrong; it is merely a matter
of taking responsibility for our own consciousness. It is a totally dif ferent
situation to see that we choose  to blame rather than to think that we have  to
blame. In this circumstance, the mind often thinks, “W ell, if the other
person or event is not to blame, then I  must be.” Blaming others or
ourselves is simply not necessary . The attraction of blame arises in early childhood as a daily occurrence
in the classroom, playground, and at home among siblings. Blame is the
central issue in the endless court proceedings and lawsuits that characterize
our society . In truth, blame is just another one of the negative programs that
we have allowed our mind to buy because we never stopped to question it. Why must something always be someone’ s “fault”? Why must the whole
concept of “wrong” be introduced to the situation in the first place? Why
must one of us be wrong, bad, or at fault? What seemed like a good idea at
the time may not have turned out well. That’ s all. Unfortunate events may
have just happened.T o overcome blame, it is necessary to look at the secret satisfaction and
enjoyment we get out of self-pity , resentment, anger , and self-excuses, and
to begin to surrender all of these little payof fs. The purpose of this step is to
move up from being a victim of our feelings to choosing to have them. If
we merely acknowledge and observe them, begin to disassemble them, and
surrender the component parts, then we are consciously exercising choice. In this way , we make a major move out of the morass of helplessness. It is helpful in overcoming resistance and taking responsibility for our
negative programs and feelings to see that they come from the small aspect
of ourselves. It is the very nature of the smallest part of ourselves to think
negatively , so there’ s an unconscious tendency to agree readily to its limited
viewpoint. But that is not the whole of our beingness; for outside and
beyond the smaller self is our greater Self. W e may not be conscious of our
inner greatness. W e may not be experiencing it, but it is there. If we let go
of our resistance to it, we can begin to experience it. Depression and apathy ,
therefore, result from the willingness to hang on to the small self and its
belief systems, plus the resistance to our Higher Self, which consists of all
of the opposites of the negative feelings. It is the nature of the universe that everything in it is represented by its
equal and opposite. Thus, the electron’ s equal and opposite is the positron. Every force has an equal and opposite counter -force. Y in is compensated
for by Y ang. There is fear but there is also courage. There is hatred but its
opposite is love. There is timidity but there is also bravery . There is
stinginess but also generosity . In the human psyche, every feeling has its
opposite. The way out of negativity is, therefore, the willingness to
acknowledge and let go of negative feelings and, at the same time, the
willingness to let go of resisting their positive opposite. Depression and
apathy are the result of being at the ef fect of the negative polarity . How
does this work in everyday life? Let’ s look again at the example of someone’ s birthday that is
approaching quickly . Because of things that have happened in the past, we
have resentments and feel unwilling to do anything for the birthday . Somehow , it just seems impossible to get out and shop for a birthday
present. W e resent having to spend the money . The mind conjures up all
kinds of justifications: “I don’ t have time to shop”; “I can’ t for get how
mean she was”; “She should apologize to me first.” In this case, two things
are operating: clinging to the negative and the smallness in ourselves, andresisting the positive and the greatness in ourselves. The way out of apathy
is to see, first of all, that “I can’ t” is an “I won’ t.” In looking at the “I
won’ t,” we see that it is there because of negative feelings and, as they
come up, they can be acknowledged and let go. It is also apparent that we
are resisting positive feelings. These feelings of love, generosity , and
for giveness can be looked at one by one. W e can sit down and imagine the quality of generosity and let go
resisting it. Is there something generous within ourselves? In this case, we
may not be willing to apply it to the birthday person in the beginning. What
we can begin to see is the existence of such a quality as generosity within
our consciousness. W e begin to see that, as we let go resisting the feeling of
generosity , there is generosity . W e do, in fact, enjoy giving to others under
certain circumstances. W e begin to remember the positive flood of feeling
that comes upon us when we express gratitude and acknowledge the gifts
that others have given us. W e see that we have really been suppressing a
desire to for give and, as we let go of the resistance to being for giving, there
emer ges the willingness to let go of the grievance. As we do this, we stop
identifying with our small self and become consciously aware that there is
something in us that is greater . It is always there but hidden from view . This process is applicable in all negative situations. It enables us to
change the context by which we perceive our current situation. It enables us
to give it a new and dif ferent meaning. It lifts us up from being the helpless
victim to the conscious chooser . In the example given, it doesn’ t mean that
we have to rush out and buy a birthday gift. But it does mean that we are
now aware that we are in our current position out of choice. W e have total
freedom, with greater latitude of action and choice. This is a much higher
state of consciousness than the helpless victim who is trapped by a past
resentment. One of the laws of consciousness is: W e ar e only subject to a negative
thought or belief if we consciously say that it applies to us . W e are free to
choose not to buy into a negative belief system. How does this work in everyday life? Let’ s take a common example. The newspapers report unemployment is at a record high. The television
news commentator states: “No jobs are available.” At this point, we are free
to refuse to buy into the negative thought form. W e can say instead,
“Unemployment does not apply to me.” By refusing to accept the negative
belief, it now has no hold over our own life.Examples from personal experience reveal that, during periods of high
unemployment such as after W orld W ar II, there was no problem getting a
job. As a matter of fact, one could have two or even three jobs at the same
time: dishwasher , waiter , bellhop, cab driver , bartender , factory worker ,
greenhouse worker , and window-washer . This was the consequence of a
belief system that said: “Unemployment applies to others but not to me,”
and “Where there’ s a will, there’ s a way .” There was also a willingness to
relinquish pride in return for employment. Another example is that of belief systems having to do with epidemic
diseases. A few years ago, fourteen acquaintances were observed closely
during an epidemic of flu. Of the fourteen people, eight came down with the
flu, but six did not. What is important here is not that eight people came
down with the flu, but that six did not! In any epidemic, there are people
who do not “catch it.” Even during the depths of the depression, there were
still people who became wealthy and even millionaires. The thought of
poverty was “catching” in those days, but somehow those people did not
buy into it; therefore, it did not apply to them. For negativity to apply to our
life, we must first subscribe to it and, secondly , give it the ener gy of belief. If we have the power to make negativity manifest in our life, obviously our
mind also has the power to make its converse come true. Choosing the Positive
One surprising ef fect of the willingness to let go of our inner negativity is
the discovery that the polar opposite of the negative feelings exists. There is
an inner reality that we can term our “inner greatness” or “Higher Self.” It
has much more power than the inner negativity . In return for letting go of
the payof fs that we were getting from the negative position, we are now
surprised by the positive payof fs that stem from the power of our positive
feelings. For example, when we let go of blame, we experience for giveness. Our Higher Self, which we might say is the composite of our higher
feelings, has almost unlimited capabilities. It can create employment
opportunities. It can create situations for the healing of relationships. It has
the power to create the opportunity for loving relationships, financial
opportunities, and physical healing. As we stop giving authority and ener gy
to all of the negative programs that stem from our own thinking, we stop
giving away our power to others and begin to own it back again. Thisresults in a rise of self-esteem, the return of creativity , and the opening of a
positive vision of the future that replaces fearfulness. W e can experiment with someone with whom we have a poor
relationship due to our holding of resentments. W e can sit down and say to
ourselves that this will merely be an experiment. The purpose for this, we
tell ourselves, is strictly to learn; that is, we want to become familiar with
the laws of consciousness and to watch the phenomena that occur . W e
acknowledge the payof fs we have been getting from our negative feelings. W e surrender each component and, at the same time, let go resisting that
within us which would be willing to heal the relationship. At this point, it is
not necessary to have any personal contact with the other person. W e are
doing this experiment for our own sake and not for them. As we look within ourselves, we ask, “What is the anger covering up?”
Underneath the anger , we are likely to find fear . Aside from the fear , we
also find jealousy . W e find competitiveness and all the other little
components of the feeling complex that have blocked the relationship. The
simultaneous letting go of the negative and letting go of resisting the
positive result in a shift of inner ener gies, and there is an accompanying
subtle change in our self-esteem. Letting go of our resistance to the
willingness to have something positive happen in the relationship is all that
is necessary . W e can then just sit back and watch what occurs. In this
experiment, we are not interested in whether or not the other person “gets
it.” W e are only interested that we  get it. W e are only interested in moving
our own position in the matter and, then, we just watch what happens.
_OceanofPDF.com_Letting_Go_-_David_R_Hawkins.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        It is common
for humans to look outside of themselves for the satisfaction of their needs. This leads them to experience themselves as vulnerable because they are
insuf ficient unto themselves. The mind is, therefore, a survival mechanism, and its method of
survival is primarily the use of emotions. Thoughts are engendered by the
emotions and, eventually, emotions become shorthand for thoughts. Thousands and even millions of thoughts can be replaced by a single
emotion. Emotions are more basic and primitive than mental processes. Reason is the tool the mind uses to achieve its emotional ends. When used
by the intellect, the basic underlying emotion is usually unconscious or at
least out of awareness. When the underlying emotion is for gotten or ignored
and not experienced, people are unaware of the reason for their actions and
they develop all kinds of plausible reasons. In fact, they frequently do not
know why they are doing what they are doing. There is a simple way to become conscious of the underlying
emotional goal behind any activity through use of the question, “What for. ”
W ith each answer, “What for. ” is asked again and again until the basic
feeling is uncovered. An example would be the following. A man wants a
new Cadillac. His mind gives all the logical reasons but logic doesn’ t really
explain it. So he asks himself, “What do I want the Cadillac for. ” “W ell,”
he says, “it is to achieve status, recognition, respect, and solid citizen
success status. ” Again: “What do I want status for. ” “Respect and approval
from others,” he might say, “and to ensure that respect. ” Again: “What do I
want respect and approval for. ” “T o have the feeling of security. ” Again:
“What do I want security for. ” “T o feel happy. ” The continual question,
“What for. ,” reveals that basically there are feelings of insecurity,
unhappiness, and lack of fulfillment. Every activity or desire will reveal that
the basic goal is to achieve a certain feeling. There are no other goals than
to overcome fear and achieve happiness. Emotions are connected with what
we believe will ensure our survival, not with what actually will. Emotions
themselves are actually the cause of the basic fear that drives everyone to
seek security constantly. The Scale of Emotions
For simplicity and clarity, we will utilize the scale of emotions that
corresponds with the levels of consciousness. A thorough presentation of
consciousness levels, their scientific basis, and practical applications is
found in Power vs. For ce: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior
(Hawkins, [1995], 2012). Briefly, everything emits ener gy, either positive or negative. Intuitively,
we know the dif ference between a positive person (friendly, genuine,
considerate) and a negative one (greedy, deceitful, hateful). The ener gy of
Mother T eresa was obviously dif ferent from the ener gy of Adolf Hitler;most people’ s ener gy is somewhere in between the two. Music, places,
books, animals, intentions, and all of life emit an ener gy that can be
“calibrated” as to its essence and its degree of truth. “Like goes to like. ” The dif ferent ener gies constellate in “attractor
patterns” or “levels of consciousness. ” The Map of Consciousness (see
Appendix A ) provides a linear, logarithmic view of this nonlinear ener getic
terrain. Each level of consciousness (or attractor pattern) is calibrated on a
logarithmic scale of ener getic power, ranging from 1–1000. The level of
Full Enlightenment (1000), at the top of the Map, represents the highest
level attainable in the human realm; it is the ener gy of Jesus Christ, the
Buddha, and Krishna. The level of Shame (20) is at the bottom, close to
death, representing bare survival. The level of Courage (200) is the critical point that marks the shift
from negative to positive ener gy. It is the ener gy of integrity, being truthful,
empowerment, and having the capacity to cope. The levels of consciousness
below Courage are destructive, whereas the levels above it are life-
supportive. A simple muscle-test reveals the dif ference: negative stimuli
(below 200) instantly weaken the muscle, and positive stimuli (above 200)
instantly strengthen the muscle. T rue “power” strengthens; “force”
weakens. Above the level of Courage, people seek us out because we give
ener gy to them (“power”) and we have goodwill towards them. Below the
level of Courage, people avoid us because we take ener gy from them
(“force”) and we want to use them for our own material or emotional needs. Here, we delineate the basic scale, starting from the higher ener gies
down to the lower:
Peace (600) : This is experienced as perfection, bliss, ef fortlessness, and
oneness. It is a state of non-duality beyond separateness and beyond the
intellect, as in the “peace that passeth all understanding. ” It is described as
Illumination and Enlightenment. It is rare in the human realm. Joy (540) : Love that is unconditional and unchanging, despite
circumstances and actions of others. The world is illuminated by exquisite
beauty, which is seen in all things. The perfection of creation is self-evident. There is closeness to unity and discovery of Self; compassion for all;
enormous patience; the feeling of at-oneness with others and a concern for
their happiness. A sense of self-completion and self-suf ficiency prevails. Love (500):  A way of being that is for giving, nurturing, and supportive. It
does not proceed from the mind; rather, it emanates from the heart. Love
focuses on the essence of a situation, not the details. It deals with wholes,
not particulars. As perception is replaced with vision, it takes no position
and sees the intrinsic value and lovability of all that exists. Reason (400) : This aspect dif ferentiates humans from the animal world. There is the ability to see things in the abstract, to conceptualize, to be
objective, and to make rapid and correct decisions. Its enormous utility is
problem solving. Science, philosophy, medicine, and logic are expressions
of this level. Acceptance (350):  This ener gy is easy-going, laid back, harmonious,
flexible, inclusive, and free of inner resistance. “Life is good. Y ou and I are
good. I feel connected. ” It meets life on life’ s terms. There is no need to
blame others or blame life. W illingness (310):  This ener gy subserves survival by virtue of a positive
attitude that welcomes all expressions of life. It is friendly, helpful, wants to
assist, and seeks to be of service. Neutrality (250) : This is a way of life that is comfortable, pragmatic, and
relatively free of emotionality. “It’ s okay either way. ” It is free of rigid
positions, nonjudgmental, and noncompetitive. Courage (200) : This ener gy says, “I can do it. ” It is determined, excited
about life, productive, independent, and self-empowered. Ef fective action is
possible. Pride (175) : “My way is the best way,” says this level. Its focus is
achievement, desire for recognition, specialness, and perfectionism. It feels
“better than … ” and superior to others. Anger (150) : This ener gy overcomes the source of fear by force, threats,
and attack. It is irritable, explosive, bitter, volatile, and resentful. It likes to
“get even,” as in “I’ll show you. ”
Desir e (125):  It is always seeking gain, acquisition, pleasure, and “getting”
something outside oneself. It is insatiable, never satisfied, and craving. “I
have to have it. ” “Give me what I want, and give it to me now. ”Fear (100) : This ener gy sees “danger,” which is “everywhere. ” It is
avoidant, defensive, preoccupied with security, possessive of others,
jealous, restless, anxious, and vigilant. Grief (75):  There is helplessness, despair, loss, regret, and the feeling, “If
only I had … ” Separation. Depression. Sadness. Being a “loser. ” Mournful,
as in “I can’ t go on. ”
Apathy (50) : This ener gy is characterized by hopelessness, playing dead,
being a “drain” to others, being immobilized, and the feelings: “I can’ t” and
“Who cares. ” Poverty is common. Guilt (30):  In this ener gy field, one wants to punish and be punished. It
leads to self-rejection, masochism, remorse, “feeling bad,” and self-
sabotage. “It’ s all my fault. ” Accident-proneness, suicidal behavior, and
projection of self-hatred onto “evil” others are common. It is the basis of
many psychosomatic illnesses. Shame (20) : Characterized by humiliation, as in “hanging your head in
shame. ” It is traditionally accompanied by banishment. It is destructive to
health and leads to cruelty toward self and others. In general, we can say that the lower end of the scale is associated with
lower vibrational frequencies: lower ener gy, lower power, poorer life
circumstances, poorer relationships, less abundance, less love, and poorer
physical and emotional health. Because of the low ener gy, such needy
people drain us on all levels. They tend to be avoided and find themselves
surrounded by people on the same level (e. g. , in jail). As we let go of negative feelings, there is a progressive movement up
the scale to Courage and then beyond, with increasing ef fectiveness,
success, and more ef fortless abundance. W e tend to seek out such people. W e say they are “high. ” They give of f life ener gy to all living things around
them. Animals are attracted to them. They have a green thumb and
positively influence the lives of all with whom they come in contact. At the
level of Courage, the negative feelings have not all disappeared, but now
we have suf ficient ener gy to handle them because we’ve re-owned our
power and self-adequacy. The fastest way to move from the bottom to the
top is by telling the truth to ourselves and to others. The ener gy levels are also traditionally associated with the body ener gy
centers that are sometimes referred to as “chakras. ” The chakras are ener gy
centers through which “kundalini ener gy” is said to flow, once it is
awakened at the level of Courage (200). The ener gy centers (chakras) can
be measured by a variety of clinical techniques and sensitive electronic
instruments. On the Map of Consciousness, the chakras calibrate as follows:
Crown (600), Third Eye (525), Throat (350), Heart (505), Solar Plexus
(275), Sacral or Spleen (275), Base or Root Chakra (200). When we
relinquish negative feelings, the ener gy in our higher chakras increases. For
instance, instead of habitually “venting our spleen” (second chakra), we are
now described as “all heart” (fifth chakra). This ener gy system has a direct impact on the physical body. The
ener gy in each chakra flows out through channels called “meridians” to the
whole ener gy body, which is like a blueprint to the physical body. Each
meridian is associated with a particular or gan, and each or gan is associated
with a particular emotion. A negative emotion throws of f the ener gy
balance of its associated acupuncture meridian and related or gan. For
instance, depression, despair, and melancholy are associated with the liver
meridian, so these emotions tend to interfere with liver function. Every
negative feeling impairs a body or gan and, as the years go by, that or gan
becomes diseased and eventually fails to function. The lower our emotional state, the more negatively we influence not
only our own lives but also all of life around us. The higher the emotional
level of evolution, the more positive our life becomes on all levels, and we
support all life around us. As negative emotions are acknowledged and
surrendered, we get freer and move up the scale, eventually experiencing
predominantly positive feelings. All lower emotions are limitations and blind us to the reality of our true
Self. As we surrender our way up the scale and near the top, a new type of
experience begins to happen. At the very top of the scale, there occurs the
realization of one’ s true Self and the varying levels of Illumination. The
main importance of this is to note that, as we get higher and freer, what the
world calls spiritual awareness, intuition, and growth of consciousness
occur. This is the common experience of all who surrender their negative
feelings. They become more and more conscious. That which is impossible
to see or experience at lower levels of consciousness becomes self-evident
and stunningly obvious at higher levels. Understanding Emotions
According to scientific findings, all thoughts are filed in the mind’ s memory
bank under a filing system based upon the associated feeling and its finer
gradations (Gray–LaV iolette, 1982). They are filed according to feeling
tone, not fact. Consequently, there is a scientific basis for the observation
that self-awareness is increased much more rapidly by observing feelings
rather than thoughts. The thoughts associated with even one feeling may
literally run into the thousands. The understanding of the underlying
emotion and its correct handling is, therefore, more rewarding and less
time-consuming than dealing with one’ s thoughts. In the beginning, if one is unfamiliar with the whole subject of feelings,
it is often advisable to begin merely by observing them without any
intention of doing anything about them. In this way, some clarification will
occur about the relationship between feelings and thoughts. After there is
more familiarity, some experimentation can then occur. For instance, certain
areas of thoughts that tend to recur can be set aside and the feeling
associated with them identified. The feeling can then be worked with by
first accepting that it is there, without resisting it or condemning it. And
then one begins to empty out the ener gy of the feeling directly by letting it
be what it is until it runs out. Somewhat later, the former thoughts can now
be looked at and their character will be observed to have changed. If the
feeling has been totally surrendered and let go, usually all thoughts
associated with it will have disappeared entirely and been replaced by a
concluding thought which handles the matter quickly. For example, there was the case of a man who misplaced his passport
shortly before going to a foreign country. As the scheduled date of
departure drew closer and closer, his inner panic mounted. His mind raced
wildly, trying to think where the passport could have been misplaced. He
searched high and low. He tried various mental tricks to no avail. He
berated himself: “How could I have been so stupid as to lose a passport. Now there isn’ t time to get another one. ” As the fateful day approached, he
faced a real dilemma: no passport, no trip. Missing the trip had a lot of
negative consequences because it was both business and pleasure, and it
would have created a dif ficult situation. Finally, he remembered to do the
letting go technique. He sat down and asked himself: “What is the basic feeling that I’ve
been ignoring. ” T o his surprise, the basic feeling that came up was grief. The grief was associated with not wanting to be separated from someone he
dearly loved. There was also an associated fear of loss of the relationship,
or at least the weakening of it due to his absence. As he let go of the grief
and the associated fear, he suddenly felt at peace about the matter. He also
concluded that if the relationship couldn’ t handle a two-week absence, it
wasn’ t worth all that much anyway; so, there was really nothing at risk. As
soon as he felt at peace, he instantly remembered where the passport was. In
fact, it was in a place so simple and obvious that only unconscious blocking
could explain why he had not remembered it. Needless to say, all of the
thousands of thoughts about the missing passport, the failed trip and the
potential consequences instantly disappeared. His emotional state became
one of gratitude and happiness instead of frustration. Letting go can be very useful in everyday life situations, but its use in
life crises can be crucial in preventing and alleviating lar ge amounts of
suf fering. In a life crisis there is usually an overwhelm of emotion. The
crisis has tapped into one of our major areas of suppressed or repressed
feelings. In this situation the problem is not one of identifying the emotion
but how to handle the overwhelm. Handling Emotional Crises
Because this is a very dif ficult problem for most people, some details are
needed. There are several techniques to help move through emotional
disaster much more quickly, and with a better end result, than allowing it to
run out on its own. Recall the usual mechanisms that the mind consciously
uses to handle emotions, which are suppression (or repression), expression,
and escape. These are deleterious only when they are used without
conscious intent. In an overwhelm, it is often advisable to utilize them, but
doing so consciously. The purpose of this maneuver is to reduce the sheer
overwhelming quantity of the emotion itself so that it can be disassembled
and let go of in bits and pieces (this process is described below). Thus, in
this case, it is all right consciously  to push away as much of the emotion as
we are capable of at the moment. The emotion can be reduced in intensity
by sharing the feeling with close friends or mentors. By merely expressing
the feeling, some of the ener gy behind it is reduced. It is also alright in this
circumstance consciously to utilize escape mechanisms, such as going out
in a social situation to get some distance from the upset, playing with the
dog, watching television, going to the movies, playing music, making love,or whatever one’ s habit is under the circumstances. When the feeling has
been reduced in its sheer quantity and intensity, it is best to start letting go
of small aspects of the situation rather than the overall situation and the
accompanying emotion itself. T o illustrate this point, let’ s take the example of a man who loses his
job after many years with a company, and is now in an overwhelm of
despair. By utilizing the three mechanisms already described, some of the
emotion can be reduced. What he can look at, then, are some of the small
trivia about the job. For instance, could he let go of wanting to have lunch
where he always had lunch with his business colleagues. Could he let go of
wanting to park his car in the parking space he always had in the past. Could he let go of wanting to ride up in the same elevator. Could he let go
of the attachment to his desk. Could he let go of the attachment to the
secretary and her friendliness toward him. Could he let go of the
attachment to his computer. Could he let go of seeing the same boss every
day. Could he let go of his feeling of familiarity with the background
noises in the of fice. The purpose of surrendering these smaller aspects of losing a job,
which may seem trivial, is that it gets the mind into the letting go mode. The letting go mode takes us up to the level of Courage; the negative
feelings have been acknowledged and worked through; consequently,
they’ve lost their char ge. Suddenly there is the awareness that we have the
courage to face the situation, recognize our feelings, and do something
about them. As the trivia are surrendered, curiously, the main event
becomes less and less oppressive. The reason for the phenomenon is that,
when we use the mechanism of surrender on one emotion, we are
surrendering on all emotions at the same time. It is as though all emotions
have the same underlying ener gy, so that to surrender in one direction
surrenders feelings which appear, on the surface, to be in an opposite
direction. This is a matter of clinical experience; it must be tried personally
in order to believe it. After utilizing the above four methods (suppression, expression,
escape, surrender of smaller aspects), a fifth now becomes apparent. Every
strong emotion is really a composite of a number of subsidiary emotions
and the total emotional complex can be disassembled. Thus, for instance,
the man who has lost his job initially has an overwhelming feeling of
despair; but, as he begins to surrender around the periphery, and as hediminishes his overwhelm through consciously utilizing escape,
suppression, and expression, he now realizes that there is also anger. He
sees that the anger is associated with pride. There is a lot of anger in the
form of resentment. There is self-invalidation, which is a form of anger
expressed against himself. There is also considerable fear. Thus these
associated emotions can now be addressed directly. For instance, he can
start letting go of the fear that he won’ t find another job. When that fear is
acknowledged and let go, all the alternate possibilities that exist will
become suddenly apparent to him. And, as he surrenders pride, he will
quickly see that he is not faced with economic disaster, as he had thought. Thus, as the disassembled emotional complex is taken apart into its
component parts, each component part now has less ener gy and can be
surrendered individually. As we come out of the overwhelm, it will be remembered that a certain
portion of the emotion was purposely suppressed or escaped. It can now be
reexamined, so that it no longer does residual harm, such as ending up in
bitterness, unconscious guilt, or lower self-esteem. Fragments of the
emotional complex may recur for a period of time, even years; however,
because they are now small fragments, each can be handled as it arises. At
least the crisis situation will have been passed through safely and
consciously. Handling a crisis from the emotional rather than the intellectual level
will shorten its duration dramatically. In the case of someone who loses a
job, handling it from the intellectual level will produce thousands of
thoughts and hypothetical scenarios. The person suf fers through many
sleepless nights due to the racing thoughts about the situation as the mind
reviews it over and over again. All of this is fruitless. Until the underlying
emotion is surrendered, the thoughts will be engendered endlessly. W e all
know of people who have had an emotional crisis many years ago and, to
this day, have not recovered. It has totally colored their life, and they have
paid a big price for their lack of know-how in handling the underlying
emotions. There are numerous benefits to handling a life crisis successfully. For
one thing, the amount of suppressed or repressed emotion is now much less. The crisis has forced it up to be relinquished and, therefore, the amount that
is left in the reservoir is much less. There is a greater feeling of self-esteem
and confidence because there is the awareness that one can survive andhandle whatever life will bring. There is an overall reduction of the fear of
life, a greater feeling of mastery, greater compassion for the suf fering of
others, and an increased ability to help them through similar circumstances. Paradoxically, after a life crisis, there often is a period of variable duration
of peace and calmness, sometimes approaching the level of mystical
experience. The “dark night of the soul” frequently precedes states of
heightened awareness. One of the best-known examples of this paradox is illustrated by
persons who have had near -death experiences. There are now many books
on the subject that reveal a certain commonality. Once the worst of all
possible fears—the dread and shock of death—has been faced, it is
superseded by a profound sense of serenity, peace, oneness, and immunity
from fear. Many such persons develop extraordinary abilities, become
healers, develop psychic awareness, and advanced states of spiritual
illumination. They experience major leaps in growth and the sudden
appearance of new talents and capacities. Thus, every life crisis carries
within it the kernels of a reversal, a renewal, an expansion, a leap in
consciousness, and a letting go of the old and a birth of the new. Healing the Past
When we look at our lives, we will see the residual of past life crises which
are still unresolved. Thoughts and feelings about the events tend to occur
and color our perception, and we will note that they have disabled us in
certain areas of life. At that point, it is wise to ask ourselves if it is worth
paying the continuing cost. Now that we have some mechanisms by which
to handle these residuals, they can be uncovered. The residual feelings can
be investigated and let go of so that a healing can take place. This brings us
to another emotional healing technique that becomes powerful once the
major event has passed. That is to place the event in a dif ferent context, to
see it from a dif ferent perspective, and to hold it in a dif ferent paradigm
with a dif ferent significance and meaning. It is said that most people spend their lives regretting the past and
fearing the future; therefore, they are unable to experience joy in the
present. Many of us have assumed that this is our human fate, our lot, and
the best that we can do is “grin and bear it. ” Philosophers have sometimes
made hay out of this negativistic, pessimistic approach and developed
whole systems of nihilism. These philosophers, some of whom havebecome celebrated over the years, are obviously mere victims of painful
emotions that they did not handle and which triggered endless
intellectualization and elaboration. Some spent their entire lifetime
constructing sophisticated intellectual systems to justify what is glaringly
obvious as a simple suppressed emotion. One of the most ef fective tools for handling the past is the creation of a
dif ferent context. What this means is that we give it a dif ferent meaning. W e
take on a dif ferent attitude about the past dif ficulty or trauma, and we
acknowledge the hidden gift in it. The value of this technique was first
recognized in psychiatry by V iktor Frankl. He explained the approach—
which he called “Logotherapy”—in his famous book, Man’ s Sear ch for
Meaning. His clinical and personal experience demonstrated that emotional
events and traumatic occurrences will change considerably and be healed if
a new meaning is placed around them. Frankl told of his own experience in
the Nazi concentration camps wherein he came to see his physical and
psychic suf fering as an opportunity to achieve inner triumph. “Everything
can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to
choose one’ s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’ s
own way” (Frankl, [1959] 2006). Frankl re-contextualized the horrific
circumstances to hold profound meaning for the human spirit. Every life experience, no matter how “tragic,” contains a hidden
lesson. When we discover and acknowledge the hidden gift that is there, a
healing takes place. In the example of the man who lost his job, after some
time had passed, he looked back and saw that his former job was stunting,
that he had been in a rut. Frankly, the job had given him an ulcer. Prior to
losing the job, he had seen only the pleasures from it. Once outside of the
situation, he began to see the costs that he had been paying—physically,
mentally, and emotionally. After losing the job, he was open to discovering
new abilities and new talents; in fact, he began a new, more promising
career. So, life events are opportunities to grow, expand, experience, and
develop. In some cases, it seems in retrospect that there was actually this
unconscious purpose behind the event, as though our unconscious knew that
something important had to be learned and, painful as it was, it was the only
way it could be brought into experience. This is part of the psychology of
the psychoanalyst Carl Jung, who concluded after a lifetime of study, that
there is an inborn drive in the unconscious toward wholeness,completeness, and realization of the Self, and that the unconscious will
devise the ways and means of bringing this about, even if they are traumatic
to the conscious mind. Jung also said that in the unconscious there was an aspect of ourselves
called the “shadow. ” The shadow is all the repressed thoughts, feelings and
concepts about ourselves that we do not want to face. One benefit of a crisis
is that it often brings us into familiarity with our shadow. It makes us more
human and more whole to realize what we share with all of humanity. All
the stuf f that we thought “they” were guilty of is equally in ourselves. Thus,
when it is brought up to conscious awareness, acknowledged, and
surrendered, it no longer unconsciously runs us. Once the shadow has been
acknowledged, it loses its power. All that is necessary is merely to
recognize that we have certain forbidden impulses, thoughts, and feelings. Now, they can be handled with a “So what. ”
Passing through a life crisis, then, makes us more human, more
compassionate, more accepting and understanding of ourselves and others. W e no longer have to indulge in making others wrong or making ourselves
wrong. Handling an emotional crisis leads to greater wisdom and results in
lifetime benefits. Fear of life is really the fear of emotions. It is not the facts
that we fear but our feelings about them. Once we have mastery over our
feelings, our fear of life diminishes. W e feel a greater self-confidence, and
we are willing to take greater chances because we now feel that we can
handle the emotional consequences, whatever they might be. Because fear
is the basis of all inhibitions, mastery over fear means the unblocking of
whole avenues of life experience that previously had been avoided. Thus, the man who successfully handles the crisis of losing a job will
never again experience that same fear. He will, therefore, be more creative
on the next job, willing to take the necessary risks to make it a success. He
begins to see how that haunting fear of job loss had severely limited his
performance in the past, made him fearful and cautious, and cost him his
self-esteem due to his kowtowing and compliance with his superiors. One benefit from a life crisis is greater self-awareness. The situation is
overwhelming, and we are forced to stop all of our diversionary games, take
a good look at our life situation, and re-evaluate our beliefs, goals, values,
and life direction. It is an opportunity to re-evaluate and let go of guilt. It is
also an opportunity for a total shift in attitude. Life crises, as we pass
through them, confront us with polar opposites. Shall we hate or for givethat person. Shall we learn from this experience and grow, or resent it and
become bitter. Do we choose to overlook the other person’ s shortcomings
and our own, or instead do we resent and mentally attack them. Shall we
withdraw from a similar situation in the future with greater fear, or shall we
transcend this crisis and master it once and for all. Do we choose hope or
discouragement. Can we use the experience as an opportunity to learn how
to share, or shall we withdraw into a shell of fear and bitterness. Every
emotional experience is an opportunity to go up or down. Which do we
choose. That is the confrontation. W e have the opportunity to choose whether we want to hang on or let
go of emotional upsets. W e can look at the cost of hanging on to them. Do
we want to pay the price. Are we willing to accept the feelings. W e can
look at the benefits of letting go of them. The choice we make will
determine our future. What kind of a future do we want. W ill we choose to
be healed, or will we become one of the walking wounded. In making this choice, it is well to look at the payof f we get from
hanging on to the residuals of a painful experience. What are the
satisfactions we are getting. How little are we willing to settle for. Anger. Hatred. Self-pity. Resentments. They all have their cheap little payof f, that
little inner satisfaction. Let’ s not pretend that it’ s not there. There is a weird,
quirky pleasure when we hang on to pain. It certainly satisfies our
unconscious need for the alleviation of guilt through punishment. W e get to
feel miserable and rotten. The question then arises, “But for how long. ”
T ake, for example, a man who had not spoken to his brother for twenty-
three years. Neither of them could remember what the incident was about; it
had been long for gotten. But they were in the habit of not speaking, and so
for twenty-three years they paid the price of missing each other ’ s company,
af fection, togetherness in family matters, and all the shared experiences and
love they could have had. When the man learned about the mechanism of
surrender, he began to let go of his feelings about his brother. Suddenly, he
broke out in tears of grief, realizing all that had been lost over the years. By
for giving his brother, he triggered a similar response in the brother, and the
two were reunited. Then, one of the brothers flashed back on the incident. It
had been an ar gument over a pair of tennis shoes. Over one pair of tennis
shoes they had paid a price extending over twenty-three years. Had the man
not learned the technique of letting go, he might well have gone to his gravewith the same resentment. So the question is, “How long do we want to go
on suf fering. When are we willing to give it up. When is enough enough. ”
The part of us that wants to cling to negative emotions is our smallness. It is the part of us that is mean, petty, selfish, competitive, cheap, conniving,
mistrusting, vindictive, judgmental, diminished, weak, guilty, ashamed, and
vain. It has little ener gy; it is depleting, demeaning, and leads to the
lowering of self-respect. It is the small part of us that accounts for our own
self-hatred, unending guilt, and seeking for punishment, sickness, and
disease. Is that the part with which we want to identify. Is that the part we
want to ener gize. Is that the way we want to see ourselves. Because if
that’ s the way we see ourselves, that’ s the way others will see us. The world can only see us as we see ourselves. Are we willing to pay
those consequences. If we see ourselves as cheap and petty, it’ s unlikely
that we’ll be at the top of the company list for a raise. The price of holding on to smallness can be demonstrated with muscle
testing. The procedure is fairly simple (Hawkins, [1995], 2012). Hold in
mind a mean, petty thought and have someone press down on your arm
while you resist; notice the ef fect. Now choose the exact opposite view. Picture yourself as being generous, for giving, loving, and experiencing your
inner greatness. Instantly, there will be an enormous increase in muscle
strength indicating a sur ge of positive bio-ener gy. Smallness brings
weakness, sickness, disease, and death. Do you really want that. Letting go
of negative feelings can be accompanied by another very healthy maneuver
which will greatly assist your inner transformation, and that is to stop
resisting the positive emotions. Enhancing Positive Emotions
The corollary to letting go of negative feelings is to stop resisting the
positive ones. Everything in the universe has its opposite; therefore, in the
mind, every negative feeling has its counterpart between smallness and
greatness, whether we are constantly aware of its existence at any given
moment or not. A good and very illuminating exercise is to sit down and look at the
feeling that is directly opposite the negative one that we are experiencing
and begin to let go resisting it. Let’ s say, for instance, that a friend’ s
birthday is coming up and we are feeling resentful and stingy; therefore, we
just can’ t seem to get out to shop for a present, and the day is getting closer. The exact opposite feelings are those of for giveness and generosity. W e just
start looking for the feeling of for giveness within ourselves and stop
resisting it. As we keep letting go of our resistance to being a for giving
person, it is often surprising that it will come up with a sur ge. W e will begin
to recognize that part of our nature has always been willing and wanting to
for give, but we didn’ t dare chance it. W e thought we might appear foolish. W e thought we were punishing the other person by holding the resentment,
but we have actually been suppressing love. In the beginning, we may not
consciously feel this specifically about our friend, but we will begin to
notice that we do have this aspect to our personality. As we keep
surrendering our resistance to love, we will notice that within ourselves
there is something that wants to express itself through sharing and giving,
letting the past go and burying the hatchet. There is a desire to make a
friendly gesture; we want to heal the separation, to repair the wound, to
make good the wrong, to express gratitude, and to take a chance on being
thought a fool. The purpose of this exercise is to locate within ourselves that which
can only be described as greatness. Greatness is the courage to overcome
obstacles. It is the willingness to move to a higher level of love. It is the
acceptance of others’ humanness and having compassion for their suf fering
by putting ourselves in their shoes. Out of the for giveness of others come
self-for giveness and the relief of guilt. The real payof f we get is when we
let go of our negativity and choose to be loving; we are the ones who
benefit. W e are the ones who gain from the real payof f. W ith this increased
awareness of who we really are comes the progressive invulnerability to
pain. Once we compassionately accept our own humanness and that of
others, we are no longer subject to humiliation, for true humility is a part of
greatness. Out of the recognition of who we really are comes the desire to seek
that which is uplifting. Out of it arises a new meaning and context for life. When that inner emptiness, due to lack of self-worth, is replaced by true
self-love, self-respect and esteem, we no longer have to seek it in the world,
for that source of happiness is within ourselves. It dawns on us that it
cannot be supplied by the world anyway. No amount of riches can
compensate for an inner feeling of poverty. W e all know of the many
multimillionaires who try to compensate for their inner sense of hollowness
and lack of inner worth. Once we have contacted this inner Self, this innergreatness, this inner completion, contentment, and true sense of happiness,
we have transcended the world. The world is now a place to enjoy, and we
are no longer run by it. W e are no longer at the ef fect of it. When we utilize these techniques of relinquishing the negative and
surrendering resistance to the positive, sooner or later we come into a
sudden, comprehensive awareness of our true dimension. Once this has
been experienced, it will never be for gotten. The world will never
intimidate us again as it once did. There may be continued compliance with
the ways of the world out of sheer habit, but the inner drivenness, the inner
vulnerability, and the inner doubt is now gone. Outwardly, the behavior may
appear the same but, inwardly, the causes for it are now totally dif ferent. The end result of the conscious handling of emotions is invulnerability and
imperturbability. Our inner nature is now bullet proof. W e are able to go
through life with balance and grace. CHAPTER
4
A P A T H Y  A N D  D E P R E S S I O N
Apathy is the belief, “I can’ t. ” It is the feeling that we cannot do anything
about our situation and no one else can help. It is hopelessness and
helplessness. It is associated with such thoughts as: “Who cares. ”; “What’ s
the use. ”; “It’ s boring”; “Why bother. ”; “I can’ t win anyway. ” This is the
role exhibited by Eeyore, the glum character in “W innie the Pooh” cartoons
who says: “Oh well. W on’ t do any good anyway. ” Discouragement. Defeat. Impossible. T oo hard. All alone. Give up. Isolated. Estranged. W ithdrawn. Cut of f. Desolate. Depressed. Depleted. Unfulfilling. Pessimistic. Careless. Humorless. Meaningless. Absurd. Pointless. Helpless. Failure. T oo tired. Despair. Confused. For getful. Fatalistic. T oo late. T oo old. T oo young. Mechanical. Doomed. Negative. Forlorn. Useless. Lost. Senseless. Bleak. Blasé. The biologic purpose of apathy is to summon aid, but part of the
feeling is that no help is possible. Much of the world’ s population is
functioning on the level of apathy. For them, there is no hope that they will
be able to meet their basic needs, nor will help be forthcoming from
elsewhere. The average person is often apathetic in a number of areas in life, but
only periodically faces overwhelming apathy about their whole life
situation. Apathy indicates a lack of life ener gy and is close to death. This
was observed during the W orld W ar II blitz of London. Infants were
removed to nurseries and remote safe sections of England where their
physical, nutritional, and medical needs were well attended. However, theinfants developed apathy and began to fail; they lost their appetites and the
death rate was high. It was discovered that apathy resulted from a lack of
nurturing and emotional closeness to a mothering figure. It was an
emotional state and not a physical one. W ithout love and af fection, they lost
the will to live. In our country, we see depressed economic areas where an entire local
population goes into apathy. When people from such areas appear on the
television news, it is often with such comments as, “When the welfare
check runs out, I guess we just face starvation; there’ s no hope for us. ”
Feelings of apathy about the letting go technique itself may appear as
resistances. These may take the form of attitudes and thoughts such as: “It
won’ t work anyway”; “What’ s the dif ference. ”; “I’m not ready for this
yet”; “I can’ t feel”; “I’m too busy”; “I’m tired of letting go”; “I’m too
overwhelmed”; “I for got”; “I’m too depressed”; “I’m too sleepy. ” The way
out of apathy is to remind ourselves of our intention, which is to get higher
and freer, to become more ef fective and happy, and to let go of the
resistance to the technique itself. “I Can’t” vs. “I W on’t”
Another way out of apathy is to look at the payof f we are getting out of the
apathetic attitudes. The payof f may be in the face-saving excuses to cover
up what is actually fear. Since in reality, we are very capable beings, most
“I can’ ts” are really “I won’ ts. ” Behind the “I can’ ts” or the “I won’ ts” is
frequently a fear. Then, when we look at the truth of what is behind the
feeling, we have already moved up the scale from apathy to fear. Fear is a
higher ener gy state than apathy. Fear at least begins to motivate us into
action and, in that action, we can again surrender fear and move up to anger
or pride or courage, all of which are higher states than apathy. Let’ s take a typical human problem and trace how the mechanism of
surrender works to free us from an inhibition. Public speaking is one of the
most common inhibitions. On the level of apathy in this arena, we say: “Oh,
I can’ t possibly speak in public. It is way too overwhelming. Nobody will
want to hear me anyway. I don’ t have anything worth saying. ” If we remind
ourselves of our intention, we will see that the apathy is merely covering up
fear. Now, the thought of speaking in public is frightening, not hopeless. This brings about a certain clarity. The facts are not that we “can’ t,” but
merely that we are “afraid. ”As this fear comes up and is let go, we become aware of the fact that
we have a desire to do the very thing that we fear. Now when looking at the
desire, which is blocked by fear and perhaps compounded by some grief
over lost opportunities in the past, anger arises. At this point, we have
already moved from apathy, to grief, to desire, and up to anger. In anger
there is much more ener gy and capacity for action. Anger often takes the
form of resentment, such as resentment that we agreed to the public
speaking and now feel obligated to do it. There is also anger about our fear, which has blocked accomplishment
in the past, and the anger leads to a decision to do something about it. This
decision might take the form of a public speaking course. When we sign up
for a public speaking course, we have already moved up to the ener gy of
pride in that we have finally taken the bull by the horns and are doing
something about it. On the way to the speaking course, again more fear will
arise. As this is constantly acknowledged and surrendered, we become
aware that we have courage in our capacity at least to face our fears and
take action to overcome them. The level of courage has a lot of ener gy. That ener gy takes the form of
letting go of residual fear, anger, and desire, so that in the middle of the
speaking class, we suddenly experience acceptance. W ith acceptance there
is the freedom from resistance, which had taken the form previously of fear,
apathy, and anger. Now, we begin to experience pleasure. There is the self-
confidence of acceptance, “I can do it. ” On the level of acceptance, there is
greater awareness of others, so that in the speaking class, we become aware
of the pain, suf fering, and embarrassment of others in the class and begin to
be concerned about them. W ith the emer gence of this compassion towards others, there is a loss
of self-consciousness. W ith the emer gence of selflessness come moments of
peace. On the way home from the class, we experience an inner
contentment, a feeling that we have grown, that we have shared with others. In the experience of sharing, we have for gotten ourselves for a few
moments and have been more concerned with the happiness of someone
else. W e take pleasure in the accomplishments of others. In this state, there
is a transforming grace, the discovery of our inner compassion, a feeling of
connectedness with others, and a compassion for their suf fering. W ith the
full development of this progression, we might then share with others how
we had a fear of public speaking, the steps we took to overcome it, thesuccess we experienced, the increase of our self-esteem, and the positive
changes in our relationships. This entire progression is the basis of a great deal of the power of self-
help groups: the sharing of inner experiences from the lowest to the highest
levels on the scale of emotions. That which in the beginning seemed
formidable and overwhelming has now been surmounted and handled, with
the resultant increase of aliveness and well-being. This increase in self-
esteem then spills over into other areas of life, and the increase in
confidence results in greater material abundance and capability in
vocational functioning. On this level, love takes the form of sharing and
encouraging others, and our activities are constructive instead of
destructive. The ener gy radiated out is then positive and attractive to others,
resulting in a constant positive feedback. Once we have experienced this progression up the scale of emotions in
any one particular area, we now begin to realize that it can be done in other
areas of limitation in our lives. Behind all of the “I can’ ts” are merely “I
won’ ts. ” The “I won’ ts” mean “I am afraid to” or “I am ashamed to” or “I
have too much pride to try, for fear I might fail. ” Behind that is anger at
ourselves and circumstances engendered by pride. Acknowledging and
letting go of these feelings brings us up to courage and, with that, finally
acceptance and an inner peacefulness, at least as it regards the area which
has been surmounted. Apathy and depression are the prices we pay for having settled for and
bought into our smallness. It’ s what we get for having played the victim and
allowed ourselves to be programmed. It’ s the price we pay for having
bought into negativity. It’ s what results from resisting the part of ourselves
that is loving, courageous, and great. It results from allowing ourselves to
be invalidated by ourselves or others; it is the consequence of holding
ourselves in a negative context. In reality, it is only a definition of ourselves
that we have unwittingly allowed to happen. The way out is to become
more conscious. What does it mean, “to become more conscious”. T o begin with,
becoming more conscious means to start looking for the truth for ourselves,
instead of blindly allowing ourselves to be programmed, whether from
without or by an inner voice within the mind, which seeks to diminish and
invalidate, focusing on all that is weak and helpless. T o get out of it, we
have to accept the responsibility that we have bought into the negativity andhave been willing to believe it. The way out of this, then, is to start
questioning everything. There are many models of the mind. One of the most recent has been
that of the computer. W e can look at the mind’ s concepts, thoughts, and
belief systems as programs. Because they are programs, they can be
questioned, cancelled, and reversed; positive programs can replace negative
ones if we so choose. The smaller aspect of ourselves is very willing to
accept negative programming. If we look at the source of our thoughts, begin to identify their origins,
and stop the vanity of labeling them as “mine” (and therefore sacrosanct),
we notice that thoughts can be looked at objectively. W e see that their
origins were often the early childhood training from parents, family, and
teachers, as well as dribbles and drabbles of information we picked up from
playmates, newspapers, movies, television, radio, church, novels, and the
automatic input from our senses. All of this went on unwittingly without
our having exercised any conscious choice. Not only that, but out of our
unconsciousness, ignorance, innocence, and naïveté, plus the nature of the
mind itself, we ended up as the composite of all the negative garbage
prevalent in the world. Furthermore, we concluded that it applied to us
personally. As we become more aware, we begin to realize that we have a
choice. W e can stop giving authority to all the mind’ s thoughts, begin to
question them, and find out if there is really any truth in them for ourselves. The feeling state of apathy is associated with the belief, “I can’ t. ” The
mind doesn’ t like to hear it, but in reality most “I can’ ts” are “I won’ ts. ”
The reason the mind doesn’ t want to hear this is because “I can’ t” is a
cover -up for other feelings. These feelings can be brought to awareness by
posing the hypothetical question to oneself, “Is it true that I won’ t  rather
than that I can’ t. If I accept that ‘I won’ t,’ what situations will be brought
up and how do I feel about them. ”
As an example, let’ s say we have a belief system that we can’ t dance. W e say to ourselves: “Perhaps that’ s a cover -up. Maybe the truth is that I
don’ t want to and I won’ t. ” The way we can find out what the feelings are is
to envision ourselves as going through the process of learning to dance. As
we do that, all of the associated feelings now start to come up:
embarrassment, pride, awkwardness, the sheer ef fort of learning a new skill,
and the reluctance about the time and ener gy involved. As we replace “I
can’ t” with “I won’ t,” we uncover all of these feelings, which can then besurrendered. W e see that learning to dance means we have to be willing to
let go of pride. W e look at the cost and ask ourselves, “Am I willing to
continue to pay this price. W ould I be willing to let go of the fear of not
succeeding. W ould I be willing to let go of resisting the ef fort required. W ould I be willing to let go of the vanity so that I could allow myself to be
awkward as a learner. Could I let go of my stinginess and smallness and be
willing to pay for the lessons and give the time. ” As all of the associated
feelings are surrendered, it becomes very clear that the real reason is
unwillingness—not incapacity. It must be remembered that we are free to acknowledge and surrender
our feelings, and we are free not to surrender. As we examine our “I can’ ts”
and find out that they are really “I won’ ts,” it doesn’ t mean that we have to
let go of the negative feelings that result in the “I won’ ts. ” W e are perfectly
free to refuse to let go. W e are free to hang on to negativity as long as we
want. There is no law that says we have to give it up. W e are free agents. But it makes a big dif ference in our self-concept to realize that “I won’ t do
something” is quite a dif ferent feeling than to think that “I’m a victim and I
can’ t. ” For instance, we can choose to hate somebody if we want. W e can
choose to blame them. W e can choose to blame circumstances. But being
more conscious and realizing that we are freely choosing this attitude puts
us in a higher state of consciousness and, therefore, closer to greater power
and mastery than being the helpless victim of a feeling. Blame
One of the biggest blocks to overcome in getting out of depression and
apathy is that of blame. Blame is a whole subject in itself. Looking into it is
rewarding. T o begin with, there are a lot of payof fs to blame. W e get to be
innocent; we get to enjoy self-pity; we get to be the martyr and the victim;
and we get to be the recipients of sympathy. Perhaps the biggest payof f of blame is that we get to be the innocent
victim and the other party is the bad one. W e see this game played out in the
media constantly, such as the endless blame games dramatized in a
multitude of controversies, mudslinging, character assassinations, and
lawsuits. In addition to the emotional payof f, blame has considerable
financial benefits; therefore, it is a tempting package to be the innocent
victim, as it is often financially rewarded. There was a famous example of this in New Y ork City many years ago. A public conveyance accident occurred. People poured out of the front door
of the vehicle, then gathered in a small crowd, furnishing their names and
addresses for future financial benefit. Bystanders quickly caught on to the
game and secretly climbed into the back of the vehicle, so that they could
then emer ge from the front as injured, “innocent victims. ” They hadn’ t even
been in the accident, but they were going to collect a reward. Blame is the world’ s greatest excuse. It enables us to remain limited
and small without feeling guilty. But there is a cost—the loss of our
freedom. Also, the role of victim brings with it a self-perception of
weakness, vulnerability, and helplessness, which are the major components
of apathy and depression. The first step out of blame is to see that we are choosing  to blame. Other people who have had similar circumstances have for given, for gotten,
and handled the same situation in a totally dif ferent way. W e earlier saw the
case of V iktor Frankl, who chose to for give the Nazi prison guards and to
see a hidden gift in his experience at the concentration camps. Because
others, such as Frankl, have chosen not to blame, that option is also open to
us. W e have to be honest and realize that we are blaming because we
choose to blame. This is true, no matter how justified the circumstances
may appear to be. It is not a matter of right or wrong; it is merely a matter
of taking responsibility for our own consciousness. It is a totally dif ferent
situation to see that we choose  to blame rather than to think that we have  to
blame. In this circumstance, the mind often thinks, “W ell, if the other
person or event is not to blame, then I  must be. ” Blaming others or
ourselves is simply not necessary. The attraction of blame arises in early childhood as a daily occurrence
in the classroom, playground, and at home among siblings. Blame is the
central issue in the endless court proceedings and lawsuits that characterize
our society. In truth, blame is just another one of the negative programs that
we have allowed our mind to buy because we never stopped to question it. Why must something always be someone’ s “fault”. Why must the whole
concept of “wrong” be introduced to the situation in the first place. Why
must one of us be wrong, bad, or at fault. What seemed like a good idea at
the time may not have turned out well. That’ s all. Unfortunate events may
have just happened. T o overcome blame, it is necessary to look at the secret satisfaction and
enjoyment we get out of self-pity, resentment, anger, and self-excuses, and
to begin to surrender all of these little payof fs. The purpose of this step is to
move up from being a victim of our feelings to choosing to have them. If
we merely acknowledge and observe them, begin to disassemble them, and
surrender the component parts, then we are consciously exercising choice. In this way, we make a major move out of the morass of helplessness. It is helpful in overcoming resistance and taking responsibility for our
negative programs and feelings to see that they come from the small aspect
of ourselves. It is the very nature of the smallest part of ourselves to think
negatively, so there’ s an unconscious tendency to agree readily to its limited
viewpoint. But that is not the whole of our beingness; for outside and
beyond the smaller self is our greater Self. W e may not be conscious of our
inner greatness. W e may not be experiencing it, but it is there. If we let go
of our resistance to it, we can begin to experience it. Depression and apathy,
therefore, result from the willingness to hang on to the small self and its
belief systems, plus the resistance to our Higher Self, which consists of all
of the opposites of the negative feelings. It is the nature of the universe that everything in it is represented by its
equal and opposite. Thus, the electron’ s equal and opposite is the positron. Every force has an equal and opposite counter -force. Y in is compensated
for by Y ang. There is fear but there is also courage. There is hatred but its
opposite is love. There is timidity but there is also bravery. There is
stinginess but also generosity. In the human psyche, every feeling has its
opposite. The way out of negativity is, therefore, the willingness to
acknowledge and let go of negative feelings and, at the same time, the
willingness to let go of resisting their positive opposite. Depression and
apathy are the result of being at the ef fect of the negative polarity. How
does this work in everyday life. Let’ s look again at the example of someone’ s birthday that is
approaching quickly. Because of things that have happened in the past, we
have resentments and feel unwilling to do anything for the birthday. Somehow, it just seems impossible to get out and shop for a birthday
present. W e resent having to spend the money. The mind conjures up all
kinds of justifications: “I don’ t have time to shop”; “I can’ t for get how
mean she was”; “She should apologize to me first. ” In this case, two things
are operating: clinging to the negative and the smallness in ourselves, andresisting the positive and the greatness in ourselves. The way out of apathy
is to see, first of all, that “I can’ t” is an “I won’ t. ” In looking at the “I
won’ t,” we see that it is there because of negative feelings and, as they
come up, they can be acknowledged and let go. It is also apparent that we
are resisting positive feelings. These feelings of love, generosity, and
for giveness can be looked at one by one. W e can sit down and imagine the quality of generosity and let go
resisting it. Is there something generous within ourselves. In this case, we
may not be willing to apply it to the birthday person in the beginning. What
we can begin to see is the existence of such a quality as generosity within
our consciousness. W e begin to see that, as we let go resisting the feeling of
generosity, there is generosity. W e do, in fact, enjoy giving to others under
certain circumstances. W e begin to remember the positive flood of feeling
that comes upon us when we express gratitude and acknowledge the gifts
that others have given us. W e see that we have really been suppressing a
desire to for give and, as we let go of the resistance to being for giving, there
emer ges the willingness to let go of the grievance. As we do this, we stop
identifying with our small self and become consciously aware that there is
something in us that is greater. It is always there but hidden from view. This process is applicable in all negative situations. It enables us to
change the context by which we perceive our current situation. It enables us
to give it a new and dif ferent meaning. It lifts us up from being the helpless
victim to the conscious chooser. In the example given, it doesn’ t mean that
we have to rush out and buy a birthday gift. But it does mean that we are
now aware that we are in our current position out of choice. W e have total
freedom, with greater latitude of action and choice. This is a much higher
state of consciousness than the helpless victim who is trapped by a past
resentment. One of the laws of consciousness is: W e ar e only subject to a negative
thought or belief if we consciously say that it applies to us. W e are free to
choose not to buy into a negative belief system. How does this work in everyday life. Let’ s take a common example. The newspapers report unemployment is at a record high. The television
news commentator states: “No jobs are available. ” At this point, we are free
to refuse to buy into the negative thought form. W e can say instead,
“Unemployment does not apply to me. ” By refusing to accept the negative
belief, it now has no hold over our own life. Examples from personal experience reveal that, during periods of high
unemployment such as after W orld W ar II, there was no problem getting a
job. As a matter of fact, one could have two or even three jobs at the same
time: dishwasher, waiter, bellhop, cab driver, bartender, factory worker,
greenhouse worker, and window-washer. This was the consequence of a
belief system that said: “Unemployment applies to others but not to me,”
and “Where there’ s a will, there’ s a way. ” There was also a willingness to
relinquish pride in return for employment. Another example is that of belief systems having to do with epidemic
diseases. A few years ago, fourteen acquaintances were observed closely
during an epidemic of flu. Of the fourteen people, eight came down with the
flu, but six did not. What is important here is not that eight people came
down with the flu, but that six did not. In any epidemic, there are people
who do not “catch it. ” Even during the depths of the depression, there were
still people who became wealthy and even millionaires. The thought of
poverty was “catching” in those days, but somehow those people did not
buy into it; therefore, it did not apply to them. For negativity to apply to our
life, we must first subscribe to it and, secondly, give it the ener gy of belief. If we have the power to make negativity manifest in our life, obviously our
mind also has the power to make its converse come true. Choosing the Positive
One surprising ef fect of the willingness to let go of our inner negativity is
the discovery that the polar opposite of the negative feelings exists. There is
an inner reality that we can term our “inner greatness” or “Higher Self. ” It
has much more power than the inner negativity. In return for letting go of
the payof fs that we were getting from the negative position, we are now
surprised by the positive payof fs that stem from the power of our positive
feelings. For example, when we let go of blame, we experience for giveness. Our Higher Self, which we might say is the composite of our higher
feelings, has almost unlimited capabilities. It can create employment
opportunities. It can create situations for the healing of relationships. It has
the power to create the opportunity for loving relationships, financial
opportunities, and physical healing. As we stop giving authority and ener gy
to all of the negative programs that stem from our own thinking, we stop
giving away our power to others and begin to own it back again. Thisresults in a rise of self-esteem, the return of creativity, and the opening of a
positive vision of the future that replaces fearfulness. W e can experiment with someone with whom we have a poor
relationship due to our holding of resentments. W e can sit down and say to
ourselves that this will merely be an experiment. The purpose for this, we
tell ourselves, is strictly to learn; that is, we want to become familiar with
the laws of consciousness and to watch the phenomena that occur. W e
acknowledge the payof fs we have been getting from our negative feelings. W e surrender each component and, at the same time, let go resisting that
within us which would be willing to heal the relationship. At this point, it is
not necessary to have any personal contact with the other person. W e are
doing this experiment for our own sake and not for them. As we look within ourselves, we ask, “What is the anger covering up. ”
Underneath the anger, we are likely to find fear. Aside from the fear, we
also find jealousy. W e find competitiveness and all the other little
components of the feeling complex that have blocked the relationship. The
simultaneous letting go of the negative and letting go of resisting the
positive result in a shift of inner ener gies, and there is an accompanying
subtle change in our self-esteem. Letting go of our resistance to the
willingness to have something positive happen in the relationship is all that
is necessary. W e can then just sit back and watch what occurs. In this
experiment, we are not interested in whether or not the other person “gets
it. ” W e are only interested that we  get it. W e are only interested in moving
our own position in the matter and, then, we just watch what happens. Section summary: 

This passage discusses the concept of using "what" questions repeatedly ("why") to expose the deep-seated motivations driving behaviors. Emotion-based motivation plays a significant strength-driven effect since individuals search externally satisfy fundamental requirements, becoming susceptible

*   We'll summarize key points succinctly while avoiding repetition :

Here's a concise summarizing statement:


**Key Points:**


• **Motivation**: Humans typically pursue external sources to fulfill essential desires,

    * Becoming mindful allows recognizing deeper psychological drivers. Summary highlights include:

These statements capture
In conclusion

Let'….
The use of emotions.
According to the text, what is the primary method of the mind's survival?
The purpose of the "What for?" question is to uncover the underlying emotional goal behind an activity. It works by repeatedly asking "What for?" until the basic feeling is revealed.
What is the purpose of the "What for?" question, and how does it work?
The text does not explicitly state a direct relationship between the levels of consciousness and the chakras, but it does mention that the chakras can be measured by a variety of clinical techniques and sensitive electronic instruments.
What is the relationship between the levels of consciousness and the chakras?
The primary goal of the mind is to overcome fear and achieve happiness. Fear is a lower-level emotion that drives people to constantly seek security.
What is the primary goal of the mind, and how does it relate to fear?
The result of acknowledging and letting go of negative feelings is a sudden, comprehensive awareness of our true self and a transformation from a helpless victim to a conscious chooser. The benefits include increased self-esteem, greater awareness, and the ability to choose our own path.
What is the result of acknowledging and letting go of negative feelings, and what are the benefits of this process?