Power vs. Force

Hello, dear Estonian friends. I hope you have a lot of things going on. I definitely do. Our utility room and bedroom have got a ceiling now. Of course that's not the final version, but we are pretty excited about it. We are going to check for bedrooms tomorrow. If everything goes according to plan, we will have slept on the 2nd floor by 1st July. The tiles for the utility room are also prepared to be lain. We have also booked the inn for our wedding party. It's the one in our village, so we won't have to go far. :)

My master thesis is progressing in a nice, although completely different direction I expected. I have to read a lot to get acquainted with the theory. My mentor is a very demanding and erudite professor, so I have had to adapt my focus of the thesis a bit, but I am content with my choice. Among the literature I have read so far is also a book by David Hawkins titled Power vs. Force. This is the best book I have read in my life. It taught me a lot about myself and I will also use it in my thesis, even though it is not concerned with literary theory at all. However, I should note that if I had read this book 3-4 years ago, I would have stopped reading after 5 pages. I think it is similar with some literary classics. In primary school you may not really appreciate the value and message of the books. That sometimes happens even now. Anyway, the book talks presents power and force in an intriguing way. We generate both by emotions. Force is connected with negative emotions, power with positive emotions. You may also call them emotional states. These emotions or emotional states are charted on a map of consciousness, which puts these emotions in a hierarchical order according to the impact they have on other people. I will write it from the weakest to the most powerful:

Shame (humiliation), guilt (blame), apathy (despair), grief (regret), fear (anxiety), desire (craving), anger (hate), pride (scorn),|| courage (affirmation), neutrality (trust), willingness (optimism), acceptance (forgiveness), reason (understanding), love (reverence), joy (serenity), peace (bliss), enlightenment (ineffable).

I have drawn two lines at courage because courage is the emotional state that is positive, powerful. Emotional states from shame to pride are weak, forceful and do not affect people positively. Let's take an example. If a teacher approaches with a forceful attitude, you may think s/he has authority, but if you are angry, you will get a counterforce of anger from one student + 20 to back him/her up. You may tread on the student as an elephant, but you will get decimated by the stampede. I have also realised why I enjoyed at VitaTiim so much. I felt acceptance, willingness, and love. All very powerful emotions.

If anyone is interested in reading the book, I strongly recommend it. It's available as a PDF on the Internet. Even if you are not interested in the book, let me know how you are and what you are doing. Take care and have fun.