A framework to understand emotions in 60 seconds and change them.

I just LOVE frameworks, models, and processes for change!

One of my favorites is the Scale of Human Conscious by renowned psychiatrist Dr. David R. Hawkins, in his book Power vs. Force. Hawkins wondered if maybe, emotions aren’t just “good” or “bad” as we think, but they are connected together, literally.

He came up with the scale you see an example of here. He postulated that emotions were actually levels of energy, one greater than the other. The lower half can be thought of as “Force” emotions (struggle) and the upper half as emotions of true “Power” (ability to act creatively).

How can you actually USE this scale in your daily life.

  1. Notice what emotion you are feeling or you notice in a friend. (Better: ask your friend what emotion they’re feeling.)
  2. Find that emotion on the scale.
  3. Recognize the emotions just below that emotion. The current emotion may just be a way of staying out of the lower emotion beneath what they think is happening.
  4. Recognize the next highest emotion and connect with that energy.

Here’s an example:

You notice a friend is “angry”. Telling them “you shouldn’t be angry” is a judgment, it’s shaming, and is actually telling them, “go down to the lower level of consciousness & energy”. In the case of anger, they may actually be “fighting off” thwarted desire, fear, grief of loss, or even apathy. Recognizing that, and allowing them the space to relieve that emotion, can release the stuck energy. Now, you can also ask them about the next higher level.

In the case of anger, “pride” & “courage” are the next levels up in energy. You could ask them, “What would you LIKE to do about the situation, if you could?” or “What have you done about this in the past that worked for you?” These kinds of questions can have them remember what they are proud of doing, times they had courage to face this kind of obstacle.

Remember, a key here is we can’t PUSH people into our desired level. We can only ask them questions that have them consider their levels and move themselves in levels of energy to face life valiantly.

If you’ve seen the movie The Secret, you’ve also seen another suggestion for this scale from Esther Hicks. Different level names but what I find useful is the revolutionary suggestion that “emotions are all connected”, not just random storms of the brain from stimulus.

Please try this framework for change out and post a comment about what you discover!


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