The Power of Letting Go: Transform Your Life with David Hawkins’ Consciousness Scale

Practical tools to shift from emotional heaviness to lightness

Dec 10, 2024

Emotions are the cornerstone of our human experience, yet most of us feel overwhelmed by them. Renowned psychiatrist Dr. David Hawkins dedicated his life's work to helping individuals navigate this emotional maze with greater ease and understanding. His groundbreaking contributions, including the Consciousness Scale and the Letting Go Technique, provide simple yet profound tools for emotional mastery. In this post, we’ll explore his insights and show you how to start letting go of what no longer serves you.

The Consciousness Scale: A Map for Emotional Freedom

Dr. Hawkins’ Consciousness Scale is a powerful framework for understanding how emotions influence our energy. This scale is explained in depth in Dr. Hawkins book Power vs. Force.

The scale ranges from 0 to 1000, with lower numbers representing heavier, energy-draining emotions and higher numbers reflecting uplifting, empowering emotions. Here’s a simplified “stoplight” model to visualize the scale:

🔴 Red (Negative Emotions): Shame, guilt, grief, fear, anger – These are energy-draining states that can trap us in cycles of negativity.

🔵/🟡 Blue and Yellow (Neutral Emotions): Pride, courage, neutrality, willingness, acceptance – These represent transition points where we start to reclaim energy and stability.

🟢 Green (Positive Emotions): Reason, love, joy, peace – These emotions uplift and energize us, creating space for growth and transformation.

Hawkins emphasized that by shifting from red to green emotions, you can dramatically enhance your overall well-being. But how do you get there? That’s where the Letting Go Technique comes in.

What David Hawkins Taught Us About the Emotional Scale of ...

** Hawkins Scale of Consciousness, sourced from

The Letting Go Technique: Emotional Release Made Simple

Dr. Hawkins book Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender explains a profound insight: emotions drive thoughts, not the other way around. Picture emotions as a container holding countless thoughts. By addressing and releasing the underlying emotion, you empty the container—and with it, the associated thoughts vanish as well.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to Hawkins’ Letting Go Technique:

1. Recognize the Emotion

Take a moment to identify what you’re feeling—fear, guilt, shame, or something else.
Simply name and acknowledge the emotion without judgment.

2. Sit with the Emotion

Dedicate 1-10 minutes to quietly reflect on the feeling.
Resist the urge to distract yourself with social media or other quick fixes.
Allow yourself to fully face the emotion instead of avoiding it.

3. Ask: "Can I Allow This Feeling?"

Practice willingness to experience the emotion as it is.
Take deep breaths and observe the sensation without attaching a story to it.

4. Ask: "Could I Let This Go?"

Open your mind to the possibility of releasing the emotion.
Let go of resistance and create space for transformation.

5. Ask: "Would I Let This Go?"

Make a conscious decision to release the feeling.
Move towards acceptance, allowing yourself to feel lighter and freer.

This five step process is a summary from the YouTube video:

Critical Insights for Success

Simplicity Doesn't Mean Ease
While the Letting Go Technique is simple, it requires practice and patience. Think of it like learning to run a marathon—straightforward, but challenging.

Avoid Storytelling
Emotions often morph into rigid narratives like, “I’m the person who always fails.” This technique helps you process feelings before they solidify into self-limiting beliefs.

Beyond Positive Thinking
Unlike some popular approaches, Hawkins doesn’t suggest ignoring negative emotions. Instead, he encourages honest acknowledgment and gradual release—a process that promotes authentic growth.

By practicing this technique consistently, you can elevate your emotional vibration, reduce negative thought patterns, and open the door to deeper emotional resilience.

Try It Yourself: A Simple Exercise

Think of a recurring negative thought you’ve been having, such as, “I’ll never be good enough.”, “Money is hard to make.”

I’ll do this with you using the example thought of “There is never enough time.” using the five step Letting Go Process:

Recognize the fear or doubt behind the thought.
1. I take a few deep breaths and get quiet.
2. As I get quiet I the the thought “There is never enough time” comes up.
Sit with it for a few moments, noticing its presence.
1. As the thought has come up, I just allow the thought to be there and relax. I relax from the top of my head to my feet.
2. Through this body scan and relaxation I can determine if there is a feeling or emotion is behind the thought.
3. This exercise brings up a fear of not being able to find time to complete everything I want do.
4. Behind this fear is a grief that I have wasted time.
Ask, “Can I allow this feeling to exist without resistance?”
1. I may ask myself how does this fear and grief feel?
2. The feeling may be a pit in my stomach or a tight muscle indicating the need to release it.
3. What I realize is “Of course I can allow this feeling to exist, it has existed for as long as I can remember.”
Then, “Could I let it go?”
1. Grief is an unpleasant feeling. It’s unpleasant and that is a queue that it isn’t true. This is a queue that this feeling left unattended would put me into a primal state.
2. If something isn’t true I ask myself “Why would I want to hold onto this any longer?”
Finally, “Would I let it go?”
1. If it isn’t serving me, then it’s time to let it go.
2. I allow whatever thoughts to come up as I feel the feeling dissipate.
3. Sometimes it is the vision of loosening my grip on the end of a rope. I have also had the vision of letting the end of a balloon go and watching it fly around. Whatever comes up for you is perfect and correct. Just allow.
4. As this happens there is a finality to it. It almost feels like closure. It’s as if there isn’t any negative energy left and a relaxation washes over me.

Notice how even a small release can create space for clarity and peace.

Sometimes we are holding on so tight. The best thing to do in this moment is simply Let Go. The Letting Go technique by Dr. David Hawkins provides a simple method.

Ready to Let Go? Let’s Work Together

If you found this helpful and want personalized guidance on applying the Consciousness Scale or Letting Go Technique, email me and schedule a free consultation. Together, we’ll create a plan to help you break free from emotional blocks and step into a life of higher energy and possibility.

Let’s transform your inner world so your outer world follows suit.

EZ Livin' Coaching

Discussion about this post