The Muscle Test:

This is a test for using the body to determining empirical truth or falsehood, and whether objects or ideas calibrate above or below the Healthy/Unhealthy power level of 200. To do this test, you’ll need two people, about a minute to prepare, and then about 10 seconds for each actual test. Both people should remove their jewelry, watches, and any head coverings made of synthetic materials.  Here is a brief summary, please refer to the book.

• Both people shake out for a few seconds, pause, breathe slowly and fully, ground, and clear your minds.

• Either person makes a declarative statement to be tested (“My name is Shirley Schwartzstein”, “Candidate X is telling the truth”, “The butler did it”...), or presents an object or idea to be tested (a nutritional supplement, a book, a photo of person...).

• The “subject” person stands holding one arm out straight to the side, shoulder height, parallel to the ground, palm down.

• The other person says “resist” and uses two fingers to press down on the subject’s arm, at the wrist. The subject resists with full strength.   If the arm stays strong, the query is supported.  If the arm lowers, the query is not supported.  

Synopsis of Each Level of Consciousness

Here are the summaries of the calibrated levels of consciousness from Power vs. Force. The higher the number the stronger the life supporting value. Keep in mind we are all mixtures of these general feelings, but the less debilitating emotion we carry around within us the more functional, peaceful and joyous our lives become:

20 Shame. An overt consequence of this level would be conscious suicide, a subtle consequence would be the failure to take steps to prolong life, take care of oneself. Pain of 'losing face', becoming discredited, or feeling like a 'non person'. In Shame, we hang our heads and slink away, wishing we were invisible. Banishment is a traditional accompaniment of shame, and in the primitive societies from which we all originate, banishment is equivalent to death. Early life experiences that lead to shame, such as sexual abuse, warp the personality for a lifetime unless these issues are addressed and resolved. Shame produces neurosis. Shame is used as a tool for cruelty (control), and it's victims in term may be cruel (control) to others. Someone motivated the consciousness of shame at 20 is dangerous, they're prone to hallucinations of an accusatory nature, as well as paranoia; some become psychotic. Some shame-based individuals compensate with perfectionism and rigidity, becoming driven and intolerant (the very extreme would be a vigilante group). Since it pulls down the whole level of personality, Shame results in a vulnerability to other negative emotions, and therefore often produces false pride, anger and guilt. Either/or.

30 Guilt. Commonly used in our society to manipulate and punish, and produces the whole gamut of symptoms of victimhood. Some suffer from it, others amorally deny it altogether. Guilt domination results in a preoccupation with 'sin', an unforgiving emotional attitude exploited by religious leaders, who use it for coercion and control. These 'sin and salvation' (your bad but can be saved) leaders act out their own guilt or project it onto others (you're 'sick', unhealed)

50 Apathy. This level characterized by poverty, despair and hopelessness. Pathos is the theme of life. The victims of Apathy are needy and lack resources or energy to help themselves in some way. Apathy is the level of abandonment of hope, and few have the courage to really look in its face.

75 Grief. Level of sadness, loss, and dependency. Most experience it for periods of time, but those who remain there live in constant regret and depression. Major losses early in life make one vulnerable to passive acceptance of grief, as though sorrow were the price, the cost of life. This level colors one's entire vision of existence. (Armored people are numb to their grief and never put themselves into similar vulnerability again!) There is a generalization from the particular, so that a loss of a loved one is equated with the loss of love itself. At this level, such emotional losses may trigger a serious depression or death. Grief still has more energy than Apathy, for once a patient begins to cry, we know they are getting better and will eat again.

100 Fear. More life energy available at this level; fear of danger is healthy. Fear runs much of the world, spurring on endless activity. Fear of enemies, of old age, of death, of rejection, and a multitude of social fears are basic motivators in most people's lives. From this level, life looks hazardous, full of traps and threats. Fear is the favored tool for control by oppressive agencies, and insecurity is the major stock and trade of major manipulations of the marketplace. The media and advertising play to Fear to increase market shares. Once Fear is one's focus, it becomes obsessive and may take any form. It may balloon into paranoia or neurotic defensive structures and, because it is contagious, become a dominant social trend. Fear limits growth of the personality. Because it takes energy to rise above fear...the fearful seek strong leaders who appear to have conquered their own Fears to lead them out of its slavery. The fearful are vulnerable to the control and manipulation of charismatic leaders in religions and societies.

125 Desire. At 125 there is yet more energy available. Desire motivates vast areas of human activity, including the economy. Advertisers play on desires to program us with needs linked to instinctual drives. Desire moves us to expend great effort to achieve goals or obtain rewards. The desire for money, prestige or power runs the lives of many of those who have risen about Fear as their predominant life motif.

Desire is also the level of addiction, wherein desire becomes a craving more important than life itself. The victim of Desire may actually be unaware of the basis of his motives. Some become addicted to the desire for attention and drive others away by their constant demands. Desire has to do with accumulation and greed. But Desire is insatiable because it is an ongoing energy field, so that satisfaction of one desire is merely replaced by unsatisfied desire for something else. Desire is a much higher state than apathy or grief, for in order to ‘get’ you have to first have the energy to ‘want’. TV has had a major influence on oppressed people, creating ‘wants’ and energizing their desires to the degree they move out of Apathy. Desire can, therefore, become a springboard to yet higher levels of awareness.

150 Anger. As anger stems from frustrated want; it is based on the energy field below it. Frustration results from exaggerating the importance of desires. The angry person may, like the frustrated infant, go into rage. Anger of this type has an erosive effect on all areas of a person’s life.

175 Pride. Pride has enough energy to run the US Marine Corps. It is the level aspired to by the majority of people today. People feel positive as they reach this level. This rise in self esteem is a balm to all the pain experienced at lower levels of consciousness. Pride is far enough removed from Shame, Guilt or Fear that to rise, let’s say, out of the despair of the ghetto to the pride of being a Marine is an enormous jump. Pride is socially encouraged; yet as we see from the chart of levels of consciousness, it is sufficiently negative to remain below the critical level of 200. This is why Pride feels good only in contrast to the lower levels. Pride is defensive and vulnerable because it is dependent on external conditions, without which it can suddenly revert to a lower level. The inflated ego is vulnerable to attack. Pride remains weak because it can be knocked off its pedestal into Shame, which is the threat that fires the fear of loss of pride. Pride is divisive and gives rise to factionalism; the consequences are costly. Man has habitually died for Pride: religion & political ideologies.

The downside of Pride is arrogance and denial. These block growth; in Pride, recovery from addictions is impossible because emotional problems or character defects are denied. Pride is a very sizable block to the acquisition of real power, which displaces Pride with true stature and prestige.

200 Courage. 200 is the critical line that distinguishes the positive (life supportive) and negative (life draining) influences of life. At the level of Courage an attainment of true power occurs: therefore, it is also the beginning of empowerment. This is the zone of exploration, accomplishment, fortitude and determination. At the lower levels the world is seen as hopeless, sad, frightening, or frustrating; but at the level of Courage, life is seen to be exciting, challenging and stimulating. Courage implies the willingness to try new things and deal with the vicissitudes of life. At this level of empowerment one is able to cope with and handle effectively the opportunities of life. Growth and education become attainable goals. There is the capacity to face fears or character defects and to grow despite them, and anxiety does not cripple endeavor as it would at lower stages of evolution. Obstacles which defeat people whose consciousness is below 200 act as stimulants to those who have evolved into the first level of true power.

People at this level put back into the world as much energy as they take; at lower levels populations as well as individuals drain energy from society without reciprocating. Because accomplishment results in positive feedback, self-reward and esteem become progressively self-reinforcing. This is where productivity begins. The collective level of consciousness of mankind remained at 190 for many centuries, and curiously, only jumped to its current level of 204 within the last decade.

250 Neutrality. Energy is released from the positionality which typifies lower levels. Below 250 consciousnesses tends to see dichotomies and take on rigid positions, an impediment to a world which is complex and multifactoral rather than black and white. Taking such positions creates polarization, and polarization in turn creates opposition and division. As in the martial arts, a rigid position becomes a point of vulnerability; that which does not bend is liable to break. Rising above barriers or oppositions which dissipate one’s energies, the Neutral condition allows for flexibility and non-judgmental, realistic appraisal of problems. To be Neutral means to be relatively unattached to outcomes, not getting one’s way is no longer experienced as defeating, frightening or frustrating.

At the Neutral level a person can say, “Well, if I don’t get this job, I’ll get another.” This is the beginning of inner confidence; sensing one’s power, one is not easily intimidated. One is not driven to prove anything. The expectation that life, with its ups and downs, will be basically okay if one can roll with the punches is a 250 level.

People at Neutrality have a sense of well-being; the mark of this level is confident pability to live in the world. This is the level of safety. People at the Neutral level are easy to get along with, safe to be around and associate with, because they are not interested in conflict, competition or guilt. They are comfortable and basically undisturbed emotionally. This attitude is non-judgmental and does not lead to any need to control other people’s behaviors. Correspondingly, because Neutral people value freedom, they are hard to control.

310 Willingness. This is the gateway to higher levels. Growth is rapid here; these are people chosen for advancement. Willingness implies that one has overcome inner resistance to life and is committed to participation. Below the 200 level people tend to be close-minded, but by this level a great opening occurs. People become genuinely friendly, and social and economic success seems to follow automatically. They are not demeaned by service jobs or by starting at the bottom. They are helpful to others and contribute to the good of society. They are also willing to face inner issues and do not have major learning blocks. At this level self-esteem is high and is reinforced by positive feedback from society in the forms of recognition, appreciation and reward. Willingness is sympathetic and responsive to the needs of others. Willing people are builders and contributors to society. With their capacity to bounce back from adversity and learn from experience, they tend to become self-correcting. Having let go of Pride, they are willing to look at their defects and learn from others. They are easily trainable and represent a considerable source of power of society.

350: Acceptance. At this level of awareness a major transformation takes place with the understanding that one is oneself the source and creator of the experience of one’s life. Taking such responsibility is distinctive of this degree of evolution characterized by the capacity to live harmoniously with the forces of life. All people at levels below 200 tend to be powerless and see themselves as victims. This stems from the belief that the source of one’s happiness or cause of one’s problems is ‘out there’. An enormous jump, taking back one’s own power, is completed at this level with the realization that the source of happiness is within oneself. At this more evolved state, nothing ‘out there’ has the capacity to make one happy, and love is not something that is given or taken away by another, but is created from within.

Acceptance is not to be confused with passivity, which is a symptom of apathy. This form of acceptance allows engagement in life on life’s own terms, without trying to make it conform to an agenda. With acceptance, there is emotional calm and perception is widened as denial is transcended. One now sees things without distortion or misinterpretation; the context of experience is expanded so that one is capable of ‘seeing the whole picture’. Acceptance has to do essentially with balance, proportion and appropriateness.

The individual at the level of Acceptance is not interested in determining right or wrong, but instead is dedicated to resolving issues and finding out what to do about problems. Tough jobs do not cause discomfort or dismay. Long term goals take precedence over short term ones; self discipline and mastery are prominent. At the level of Acceptance we are not polarized by conflict or opposition; we see that other people have the same rights as we do and we honor equality. While lower levels are characterized by rigidity, at this level social plurality begins to emerge as a form of resolution of problems. There is an awareness that equality does not preclude diversity; Acceptance includes rather than rejects.

500 Love. Love as depicted in the mass media is not what this level is about. What the world refers to as love is an intense emotionality combining physical attraction, possessiveness, control, addiction, and novelty. It is usually fluctuating, waxing and waning with varying conditions. This level is characterized by the development of a love which is unconditional, unchanging and permanent. Not dependent on external factors, loving is a state of being. It emanates from the heart, is not intellectual. It has the capacity to lift others and accomplish great feats because of it’s purity of motive. Reason deals with particulars, love deals with wholes, rising above the separation of positionality. It is then possible to be ‘one with another’ as there are no longer any barriers.

Love is therefore inclusive and expands the sense of self progressively. Love focuses on the goodness of life in all its expressions and augments that which is positive. It dissolves negativity by re-contextualizing it rather than attacking it. This is the level of true happiness. Although all viable religions calibrate at 400 or over, it is interesting to note that only .4% of the world’s population ever reaches this level of evolution of consciousness.

540 Joy. As love becomes more and more unconditional it begins to be experienced as inner Joy. Joy arises from within each moment of existence rather that from any outer source. 540 is also the level of healing and of healthy spiritually based self help groups. Characteristics of this level are: capacity for enormous patience and positive attitude, compassion, seeing is illuminated by the exquisite beauty and perfection of creation, seeing that everything is Divine and in the right place. Sense of responsibility to others at this level is a desire to use one’s state of consciousness for the benefit all. Level 540 people have a notable effect on others; their prolonged gaze gives a sense of love and peace. The level of saints, healers, spiritual healers and advanced spiritual students.

600 Peace. Rare. Transcendence, self-realization and God-consciousness. Distinction between subject and object disappears, and there is no special focal point of perception. Many at this level remove themselves from the world or become great in their respective fields and make major contributions to society.

700-1000. This level of consciousness includes the great ones of history who originated the spiritual patterns which the multitudes have followed. It is a level of powerful inspiration. There is no longer the experience of an individual personal self separate from others; rather, there is an identification of Self with Consciousness and Divinity. The transcendence of the ego also serves by example to teach others how this can eventually be accomplished. Great teachings uplift the masses and raise the level of awareness of all of humanity.

To have such vision is called grace. The self merges back into the Self. This is the level of non-duality, or complete Oneness. There is no localization of consciousness; awareness is everywhere equally present. Depicted in art, these individuals are shown with a specific hand position called mundra; the act of transmission of this energy field to the consciousness of all humanity.