Simple Tools for Great Value Twelve Steps to Enlightenment

By David R. Hawkins, MD, PhD By David R. Hawkins, MD, PhD

One can pick a primary tool, plus a few others, but many are not needed. Simple tools Step 1: “We admitted we were powerless over the ego—that our lives had become
consistently applied will result in the revelation of spiritual truths that do not have to be unmanageable.“
acquired intellectually because they present themselves with great clarity. In addition,
they only present themselves when suitable and serviceable, and because they are not
Step 2: “Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to
an acquisition of the mind, they do not end up as spiritual vanity.
sanity.”
Some tried-and-true basic tools that have brought about tremendous results over the
centuries are as follows: Step 3: “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we
1. Be kind to everything and everyone, including oneself, all the time, with no understood Him.”
exceptions.
2. Revere all of life in all its expressions, no matter what, even if one does not Step 4: “Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.”
understand it.
3. Presume no actual reliable knowledge of anything at all. Ask God to reveal its Step 5: “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature
meaning.
of our wrongs.”
4. Intend to see the hidden beauty of all that exists—it then reveals itself.
5. Forgive everything that is witnessed and experienced, no matter what.
Remember Christ, Buddha, and Krishna all said that all error is due to
Step 6: “Were entirely ready to have God remove all of these defects of character.”
ignorance. Socrates said all men can choose only what they believe to be the
good. Step 7: “Humbly ask Him to remove our shortcomings.”
6. Approach all of life with humility and be willing to surrender all positionalities
and mental/emotional arguments or gains. Step 8: “Made a list of all the persons we had harmed, and became willing to make
7. Be willing to forgo all perceptions of gain, desire, or profit and thereby be willing amends to them all.“
to be of selfless service to life in all of its expressions.
8. Make one’s life a living prayer by intention, alignment, humility, and surrender. Step 9: “Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so
True spiritual reality is actually a way of being in the world. would injure them or others.”
9. By verification, confirm the levels of consciousness and spiritual truth of all
teachers, teachings, spiritual groups, and literature with which one intends to be
aligned or a student.
Step 10: “Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly
10. Accept that by spiritual declaration, commitment, and surrender, Knowingness admitted it.”
arises that provides support, information, and all that is needed for the entire
journey. Step 11: “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our consciousness contact
The most powerful tool that is in the province of the will is devotion. Thus, it is not just with God as we understand Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the
spiritual truth but the degree of one’s devotion to it that empowers it to become power to carry that out.“
transformative. A great classic that demonstrates the efficacy of simplicity and devotion
is that of Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God (1692), which
emphasizes the importance of constancy. Step 12: “Having a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry
The above is an excerpt from Dr. Hawkins’ book, Transcending the Levels of this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs.”
Consciousness (Veritas 2005).
 The Lords Prayer
Prayers for Reflection (Lamsa Bible)

Dear God, On this day I ask to be a servant of the Lord, a vehicle of divine love and a Our Father in heaven,
channel of God's will. I ask for direction and divine assistance and I surrender all hallowed be thy name.
personal will through my devotion. I dedicate my life to the service of God. I choose Thy kingdom come.
love and peace above all other options. I commit to the goal of unconditional love and Thy will be done, as in heaven so on earth.
compassion for all of life in all its expression and I surrender all judgment to God. Amen Give us bread for our needs from day to day.
--David Hawkins And forgive us our offences,
as we have forgiven our offenders;
I surrender all to you oh Lord, I surrender my existence, and I pray to be your servant, And do not let us enter into temptation,
that I may fulfil divine potential for your glory. but deliver us from error.
Oh Lord I pray that you bring forth to my awareness that which is not aligned to truth. Because thine is the kingdom
Holy Spirit, give me a miracle in understanding what blocks me from God's love and and the power and the glory
peace. for ever and ever.
--David Hawkins Amen.

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi ~

Lord, make me a channel of thy peace;
that where there is hatred, I may bring love; Some Thoughts
that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;
that where there is discord, I may bring harmony; "The difference in power between a loving thought (10 to the power of -35 million
that where there is error, I may bring truth; megawatts) and a fearful thought (10 to the power of -750 million megawatts) is so
that where there is doubt, I may bring faith; enormous as to be beyond the capacity of the human imagination to
that where there is despair, I may bring hope; comprehend...even a few loving thoughts during the course of the day more than
that where there are shadows, I may bring light; counterbalance all of our negative thoughts."
that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.
"All the levels below courage have a negative energy field stemming from the same
Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted; thought - that happiness comes from outside oneself. Putting ones survival on
to understand, than to be understood; something outside oneself therefore results in states of powerlessness, victimhood,
to love, than to be loved. and wekness by virtue of having projected the source of ones power outside of
For it is by self-forgetting that one finds. oneself."
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.
It is by dying that one awakens to eternal life. "Pray to see things differently—reframe/ recontextualize"
Amen. "Seek to understand others rather than change them"
101 Ways to Peace
David R. Hawkins - Seminar 8-8-09
1. Let go of trying to change and control
others. The source of your happiness is solely
within you. Peacefulness has to be a decision
that you make. It can exist in the middle of
war, devastation, and catastrophe.
2. Let go wanting to ‘get even’
3. Let go wanting to be ‘right’ and make others
wrong’
4. Practice discernment rather than
judgmentalism (Judgmentalism says, “they
ought to be different”; discernment sees the
essence and truth of a person but without
judgment)
5. Be modest with opinions
6. Perfect diplomacy skills and gentility
7. Be gracious and considerate.
(I was part of probably the most exclusive club,
all the rich and powerful in NY. They were all
gracious. They were solicitous of your physical
and psychological comfort. “Here, can I get you
something to drink?” Divinity is a quality of
consciousness, not personhood, age, gender. It
is Divinity that asks you, “What would you like
to drink?” Be gracious. That is your God-
nature.)
8. Keep serenity as a goal
9. It is okay to be ‘wrong’ or undecided
10. Calibrate the options; be flexible
11. It isn’t necessary to have an opinion on
everything
12. Avoid peace demonstrations
13. Remember that Socrates was short and
ugly
14. Value wisdom over being ‘right’
15. Seek wise counsel (everybody should have
a psychotherapist)
16. Realize you influence others by what you
are, not what you do (best thing you can for
the world is sit down and shut up! Just having
kind thoughts makes a difference)
17. Avoid activism and pedantry
18. Be grateful for your assets (your most
important asset is spiritual interest)
19. Mankind has survived millions of years
without your help
20. Be your own best friend
21. Be wary of do-gooders (they want to
control you—for “your own good” of course!)
22. Read Do-Gooders by Mona Charen
23. Let others win
24. Beware of unintended consequences
25. The innocent child is present in everyone
26. Pray to see things differently—reframe/
recontextualize
27. Accept that the majority of people calibrate
below 200 (lower your expectations – they’re
doing great just to survive)
(Inner-psychic event: one day walking in the
woods, there was a vision of the suffering of all
mankind throughout all of time, like the
curtain was pulled back. I switched from being
very religious, even hyper-religious, to become
an atheist and then agnostic. I didn’t realize
that what was revealed to me was not Divinity
but the ego. It took 20 years to realize this
mistake.)
28. ‘Judge not lest ye be judged’ (if they could
do or be better, they would)
29. All viewpoints are arbitrary
30. Renew thoughtfulness, gratitude
31. The mind is an ‘it’, not a ‘you’ (the mind
talks all the time; that’s ego. Spirit doesn’t talk)
32. Critics are a dime a dozen
33. Review Extraordinary Popular Delusions
and the Madness of Crowds by Mackay. (latest
delusion is earth warming)
34. Keep a sense of humor: cattle gas
(methane) vs. gas of 70 million bison as cause
of earth warming… If true, earth would’ve
been a fiery ball with that many bison roaming
around!
35. Everyone assumes they are right and
others are wrong (Yogi Beara- ‘I have many
struggles but being wrong is not one of them!’)
36. Seek to understand others rather than
change them
37. Serve God rather than the narcissistic ego
38. Seek to participate rather than dominate
39. It’s okay to have faults
40. Avoid struggle for the moral high ground
41. Support others to find the good about
themselves
42. Concede to ‘what is’ versus ‘what ought to
be’
43. It’s okay to just ‘be’ rather than ‘do’ or
‘have’
44. Surrender your will to God
45. Let bygones be bygones
46. If you don’t have anything good to say
about a person, then say nothing at all
47. Realize mankind has been at war 93% of
recorded history – ‘whirling peas’ is unlikely
48. Acceptance: ‘so there you are’
49. Fatalism- what will be will be – karmic
influences
50. Develop a peaceful nature. Be aware of the
power of Nature (love nature)
51. See the beauty of all that exists (1 cubic
inch of the Infinite Field of Consciousness is
greater than the total mass of the entire
universe)
52. Value quietude
53. Let go of willfulness; silence the inner child
54. Practice the virtues
55. Recall ‘Peace on earth, good will towards
men’
56. Strive to be angelic vs. luciferic
57. Practice ‘no attractions, no aversions’ –
Buddha
58. Accept social roles of others
59. Study to understand others
60. The Near-Death Experience is one of total
peace
61. Only the ego is vulnerable; the real Self is
eternal
To an argumentative person who wants to
debate you, you can say, “You’ve got
something on your chin…. Is it ketchup?
Mayonnaise? Spinach?” Laughter… It throws
off their mindset. I learned that in boxing.
62. Live in each instant which is innately
peaceful
63. Detach from control; be the witness-
observer (it’s not a personal self that
witnesses)
64. Practice meditation and contemplation
(the witness-observer will then become
dominant)
65. Differentiate wants from needs
66. ‘Wear the world like a light garment’
67. Differentiate appearance from essence
68. Be kind to all of life
69. Have pets and a garden spot
(I’m mindful of trees. I don’t sling an axe into a
tree – Do you think the tree doesn’t notice
that?! Muscle test TRUE: “Even a tree is aware
that you are an emissary of God. All of nature
knows the Divinity of your essence and bows
to it.” I love all things because their essence is
Divinity. Like the little toad. He loves being a
toad! Hops around on stage like a little toad.
All that exists is worthy of reverence.)
70. Decrease expectations of others (no one
will be what you want them to be)
71. Mind your own business
72. Make a list of worries (and then prioritize
them – that way, the mind relaxes)
73. Chocolate vs. vanilla is imply a choice
74. Differentiate emotional vs. spiritual
viewpoints (“Well this is how I feel!” Who
cares?)
75. Utilize logic instead of emotion
76. Ask for a miracle 84. You were created by God (Muscle-test dependent upon belief or being a Buddhist or a 93. Watch TV’s animal channel
77. Today is tomorrow’s yesterday TRUE: “We were all created by God.” Ha! And Christian. Anybody can have this result. It’s 94. Bury the hatchet
78. Talk it over with a friend here you thought it was a sperm and an egg!) beyond belief system. It’s a geometric pattern 95. Give up being an adrenaline junkie
79. Accept ‘worst-case scenario’ 85. Go on a worry diet – in mathematics, the Torus.) 96. Quit when you are ahead
86. Give up trying to be happy (Just BE happy!) 89. Do the Rosary 97. Let go of greed (rapacious wantingness)
80. ‘I’ll think about it tomorrow’ (Gone with 87. Give up being rich and famous 90. Spin the prayer wheel 98. Invoke your Buddha-Nature
the Wind) 88. Walk the Labryinth. 91. Write a will 99. Live in the space beneath thoughts
81. Peace exists in the midst of war (The effect on consciousness is the same if you 92. Take out life insurance 100. Speak sanely to yourself in the mirror
82. Things could be worse trace it with a pencil. Muscle-test TRUE: “That (You have to be real about things. A will and 101. Talk it over with your therapist or
83. Life is transitory is a mystical truth. No one knows the reason insurance means that your death will serve as psychologist (Smiles at Susan: I have a great
(Death- In the Infinite dimension of time, we’re for it.” The pattern brings a profound sense of a benefit to someone. If you don’t have any spouse!)
all going together. Some have gone ahead to peace. Same with the rosary pattern and relatives, you can take out an insurance policy
get us parking places and put up a sign telling prayer wheel. Muscle-test TRUE: “Each of and leave it to the kitties and doggies at the
us where to go. Laughter…) these things brings about inner peace.” Not Humane Society.)