BC). How would you apply this to your life?1. Susan says the Map helps us to have compassion for those (including ourselves) who suffer from negative states. What’s an example from your own life?
2. Susan also says the Map gives hope to people in despair. How is that true for you?
3. What else speaks to you from the Preface?
1. What did you learn about Dr. Hawkins’s life that intrigues or moves you? Fran shares that encountering the Map of Consciousness was a turning point in her life. Can you relate to that?
2. Fran says that the Map gives a linear visual, but the journey itself is not a linear progression. How have you noticed that in your own life?
3. What else speaks to you from the Introduction?
1. On the Map of Consciousness, Love is much more powerful than Fear, illustrated in the vignette that opens Part I. Have you ever experienced this?
2. Dr. Hawkins says that the Map reverses the world’s understanding of cause and effect. He introduces his groundbreaking visual to show how phenomena actually occur: an “attractor pattern” (ABC) is the source of any observable event (ABC). How would you apply this to your life?
3. When you look at the God-view and life-view columns on the Map, what stands out to you? What can you share about the evolution of your own views? What are residual negative views you’d like to be free of?
4. Dr. Hawkins says, “The Map does not denote ‘better than,’ which is a projection of the ego.” What does this bring up for you?
5. What else speaks to you from this chapter?
1. How does encountering the Levels of Consciousness affect you?
2. Courage is the critical factor at which point we tell the truth about ourselves: here arises the willingness to stop blaming and accept responsibility for one’s own actions, feelings, and beliefs. What has been your experience of this?
3. What is a negative level (below 200) that trips you up sometimes? (Remember that even though we might calibrate at a positive level, we are still working to let go of lower energies.)
4. Though Dr. Hawkins says that it’s extremely rare for anyone to calibrate at the level of Love (500) and beyond, he also says that many people have “glimpses” of those states. What was a moment in your own life when you “glimpsed” the realm of Love, Joy, or Peace?
5. What else speaks to you from this chapter?
1. What is an example from your own life of “having-doing-being”?
2. “The ego is not an enemy.” How does Dr. Hawkins explain this? What would it be like for you to apply this truth unconditionally to your life?
3. “There is no point to being impatient with the evolution of consciousness. The best way to contribute is the quiet, diligent work of inwardly becoming a more loving, kind, and self-responsible person.” In contrast to popular views, Dr. Hawkins says that we contribute more to society by our inner work than by outward activism. As Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” What is your inner work right now? What is the inner change you would like to contribute to the world?
4. Dr. Hawkins says that life emerges perfectly according to Divine Will, which is innately compassionate and just. We may ask, “Then why do bad things happen to good people?” He says, “‘Good’ and ‘bad’ is your perception. Adversity can actually be seen as a gift.” (Indeed, recent research demonstrates that people who have had adversity have higher rates of life satisfaction, well-being, and resilience.) What has been your experience of the “gift” of adversity?
5. What else speaks to you from this chapter?
1. Dr. Hawkins says: “The good news is that aligning yourself with just one powerful truth can make a big difference in your life. In health, this powerful truth is the shift from I am a body to I have a body.” Is there an area of your life where you would like to make this shift? For example: appearance, sexuality, aging, self-image, athletics, food, and/or any other area.
2. “‘What is held in mind tends to manifest’—including unconscious beliefs.” Dr. Hawkins says this is the “core truth” and “law of consciousness” that unravels our projection of fear onto the outer world. As we let go of our beliefs that something “out there” will harm us, our bodies’ reactions clear. What are examples of “unconscious beliefs” that have operated in your life or that of your family? Is there anything going on right now with your body that might be asking you to uncover an unconscious belief?
3. Try the “Steps of Self-Healing.” How did it go?
4. To liberate ourselves from unconscious beliefs, Dr. Hawkins advises using the phrase “I am an infinite being, not subject to _______,” filling in the blank with whatever disease or substance the mind has programmed us to view as a danger. What are some of the things you’d like to put into the blank space?
5. What else speaks to you from this chapter?
1. Reread the story at the beginning of Part II, of the musician who shifted from “I can’t” to the courage and willingness to share her musical talent with others. And reread the story of the man who took a plunge into building dollhouses and selling them. What comes up for you as you reconsider these stories after having read the chapter? Is there something you love doing but haven’t expressed fully? What is a “step” that you could take toward success in that area of your life?
2. Which steps have you had success with? Describe your experience, as it gives strength and hope to others.
3. Which steps have you made mistakes in? Describe your experience so others can learn from your mistakes.
4. What is your experience of doing the two “success practices”?
5. What else speaks to you from this chapter?
1. The process of recovery is: when we let go of negative energies (below 200 on the Map), our innate happiness, creativity, joy, and love shine forth. What has been your experience with this process?
2. What substance, inner (mental) habit, or outer habit are you currently addicted to? What is a step you can take to free yourself?
3. Step 5 in AA—sharing with another person the “exact nature of our wrongs”—is a turning point. Dr. Hawkins says, “Sharing it changes the energy field by removing the negative charge from it.” The “secret” no longer has the capacity to “corrode and destroy.” What is your experience with this? Is there anything right now that you are holding inside of yourself? Are you willing to share it with another person (sponsor, friend, counselor, minister)? If so, how did it go?
4. Dr. Hawkins says, “The way out of the pit is to be concerned about someone else. We get higher with every act of love, every loving intention, and our willingness to forgive self and others.” How has this been true for you? Next time you’re “in the pits,” what happens when you try his method to be kind toward another?
5. What else speaks to you from this chapter?
1. What came up for you as you read the story introducing Part III—of the man who let go of “I can’t dance” and went to the top of the Map? Where are you “stuck” and resistant in your life? What is the “payoff” to staying there? (Remember that Dr. Hawkins boils down the journey of liberation to this: “The only thing you need to know about any barrier is what the ego payoff is. What is the juice that the experiencer is getting out of that positionality, that negativity, that ‘stuck’ place?”)
2. Notice that as a result of letting go of a single “I can’t,” the man’s entire life changed. The “momentum” from the single surrender “removed an endless series of blocks and limitations.” Have you ever experienced anything similar, when the letting go of a single barrier released you from many more?
3. According to Dr. Hawkins, what is the difference between personal will and spiritual will? Do you have an example from your own life that illustrates the difference?
4. As you read through the list of “Attractions and Aversions,” what stands out as an area that applies to you right now?
5. What else speaks to you from this chapter?
1. Apply the section on “Characteristics of Integrous Teachers and Teachings” to your own journey. Are there any “red flags” for a group that you belong(ed) to, or teaching that you follow(ed)?
2. Dr. Hawkins says, “The primary problem initially is the lack of awareness of the difference between the truly spiritual reality and the astral, paranormal, or supernatural domains. . . . The paradox is that the appeal is to the naïve seeker who has not yet mastered this dimension, much less other fanciful ones.” What has been your experience with discerning true spiritual reality from “fanciful” ones? What are the markers to look for in each?
3. What comes up for you when you read Dr. Hawkins’s account of the states of Enlightenment, Self-realization, and Infinite Love? What encouragement do you draw from his sharing?
4. Dr. Hawkins says, “It isn’t the mind that’s an obstruction to Enlightenment; it’s your identification with the working of the mind as ‘me.’” Apply this to yourself: In what ways are you aware that you identify with the working of the mind as “me”?
5. What else speaks to you from this chapter?
1. Dr. Hawkins says, “Spiritual work, therefore, is primarily a letting go of the presumably known for the unknown.” How does this apply to you right now?
2. Read slowly through the “Most Valuable Qualities and Attitudes for the Spiritual Seeker,” perhaps taking each one, individually, as a contemplation for a whole day. Is there any particular quality that is hard for you to internalize?
3. “Willingness is the keystone to all spiritual progress as well as success in the world,” Dr. Hawkins says. In 12-step groups, when feeling very resistive, we are encouraged: “Well, then, at least you can pray for the willingness to be willing!” What is something in your life that awaits your willingness?
4. In the section “The Most Valuable Qualities and Attitudes for the Spiritual Seeker,” which quality or attitude do you feel most called to cultivate?
5. What else speaks to you from this chapter?
1. Which core statement among those of the great spiritual teachings and teachers really speaks to you right now?
2. Which one of the “Simple Tools of Great Value” are you drawn to right now? Endeavor to put it into practice continually, without exception, and share your experience.
3. What else speaks to you from the Conclusion?