Simple Tools for Spiritual Development

By Dr. David R. Hawkins, MD, PhD

Some tried-and-true basic tools that have brought about tremendous results over the centuries are as follows:


1. Be kind to everything and everyone, including oneself, all the time, with no exceptions.

2. Revere all of life in all its expressions, no matter what, even if one does not understand it.

3. Presume no actual reliable knowledge of anything at all. Ask God to reveal its meaning.

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 ignorance. Socrates said all men can choose only what they believe to be the good.

6. Approach all of life with humility and be willing to surrender all positionalities and mental/emotional arguments or gains.

7. Be willing to forgo all perceptions of gain, desire, or profit and thereby be willing 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. True spiritual reality is actually a way of being in the world.

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.

10. Accept that by spiritual declaration, commitment, and surrender, Knowingness arises that provides support, information, and all that is needed for the entire journey.

The most powerful tool that is in the province of the will is devotion. Thus, it is not just spiritual truth but the degree of one’s devotion to it that empowers it to become 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.

The above is an excerpt from Dr. Hawkins’ book, Transcending the Levels of Consciousness (Veritas 2005). www.veritaspub.com.

Dr. Hawkins books are available on this website: Transcending the Levels of Consciousness.

http://www.seedsofintentions.com/