Research conducted by Scott Jeffrey & Andrew Colyer

Written by Scott Jeffrey

When someone first learns about researching consciousness via muscle testing, they may feel skeptical since discerning truth from falsehood with a mere shift of an arm appears incredulous. Alternately, they may embrace the truth reflex head on and begin, like a child at an amusement park, joyfully testing anything and everything that comes to mind. Regardless of where you find yourself on this continuum, as those experienced with the technique can attest, there's great deal of unknowns and pitfalls to achieving accurate results.

There are six major areas the committed student needs to discern truth using this technique. Within each of these meta-categories' are numerous sub-categories for further exploration. Please note that this listing isn't a definitive guide; rather, an attempt to highlight conditions for accurate testing that many may be unaware of. General guidelines for muscle testing are provided here.

1) Permission: If you intend to use the technique for consciousness research, asking permission is a must. Permission is requested as: 'I have permission to test this.' There are many reasons why you'll get a 'no' response; sometimes you can intuit and test these reasons, other times the reasons for not getting permission may remain hidden.

2) Physical Factors: 'Switching' can profoundly affect accurate testing. When a person is 'switching,' he or she will not achieve accurate results, as their energetic polarity and neurological systems are adversely affected by factors like dehydration, low blood sugar, fatigue, stress, and a host of environmental factors we'll cover briefly. Healing arts practitioners who utilize muscle testing as part of their craft (e.g. BodyTalk, N.E.T., A.K.) have developed ways to test for switching and to switch a person 'on' before testing.

Psychomotor skill also influences accuracy. There's a rhythm that develops between the tester and testee over time-of saying 'resist,' holding strong at the appropriate level, applying consistent pressure, etc. There are many subtleties in making the statement and applying the appropriate pressure at the appropriate time. It can take considerable practice (sometimes years) for a tester to develop these skills.

3) Mental / Emotional State: A person's mental and emotional state can affect test results. Both the tester and testee need to be in a centered space with complete emotional detachment to what is being tested. If you're stressed, it is advisable not to test. Unconscious positionalities are a dominant factor in many students' inaccurate results. If you feel any emotional charge around the topic you're testing, there's a likelihood the results will be skewed. Accurate testing requires total objectivity. You must be intent on the truth above all else (the truth for truth's sake). You are observing the response of the arm, nothing more. With total objectivity, there's neither doubt nor overconfidence-you're completely neutral. Having doubt about what you're doing or overconfidence that you can't go wrong will affect your accuracy.

4) Spiritual Conditions: Spiritual conditions include intention, supplication, karma, and the Level of Consciousness (LOC) of the testing team. The testing team's intention must be focused on knowing the truth for truth's sake-not for personal gain, confirmation, or validation. Misaligned intentions affect results, as will intentions below 200; less obvious is the subtle shifts in intention that can occur while you're testing certain things. For example, you may begin in a neutral space, but the ego's agenda slips in during the test. Supplications and prayer done prior to testing increases accuracy, as you've aligned with the higher field of devotion.

Karmic factors can influence one's ability to use the technique. Subsections of spiritual conditions are energetic influences, including interpersonal energetic dynamics between testing team members (for example, many married couples are unable to test effectively together) and unseen psychic influences and interferences. Finally, the collective LOC of the team influences accuracy.

5) External / Environmental Factors: Perhaps the largest category of obstructions to accurate testing is physical factors like sounds (loud noises, music, etc.), lighting (direct, artificial, etc.), jewelry and wire frames (any metal across the midline), smell, the testing teams' comfort level, other distractions and electromagnetic frequencies (EMF). Testing done in public venues like restaurants, for example, where noise levels are high and adrenaline levels are probably enhanced are unlikely to yield consistent results.

6) Testing Procedure: Pre-framing the testee with a phrase like 'Resist' or 'Hold strong' right before the tester applies arm pressure will increase accuracy. How the statements are made when testing influences accuracy as well. Tense changes (past, present, future) and shifting from one modality to another (like focusing on how the music sounds, then on how it makes you feel) will affect your results. Setting up the proper testing environment is important. If you're calibrating the LOC of something, be sure to reference the Map of Consciousness as described in the appendices of Dr. Hawkins' books. Also be aware of the assumptions you may be holding in mind when testing.

As you can see, getting accurate results can be complex. As Dr. Hawkins explained, all information should be held as provisional; this includes the results of one's testing. In subsequent articles, we'll explore these six factors in more detail.

July 2008

How to Accurately Conduct Consciousness Research

This section offers guidelines, instructions, and subtleties one might need to be aware of to accurately conduct consciousness research. Information and background on the Physiologic Response is provided elsewhere.

Here is the basic muscle testing technique taken from Dr. Diamond's book, Your Body Doesnt Lie: Choose a friend or a family member for testing. We'll call him or her your subject.
1. Have the subject stand erect, right arm relaxed at his side, left arm stretched out parallel to the floor, elbow straight.
2. Face the subject and place your left hand on his right shoulder to steady him. Then place your right hand on the subject's extended left arm just above the wrist.
3. Tell the subject you are going to try to push his arm down as he resists your downward pressure.
4. Now push down on his arm fairly quickly, firmly, and evenly. The idea is to push just hard enough to test the spring and bounce in the arm, not so hard that the muscle becomes fatigued. It is not a question of who is stronger, but of whether the muscle can lock the shoulder joint against the push. LOVE. Here are a few general guidelines before making calibrations:

Questions must be asked in the form of a declarative statement

Both the tester and the subject must be above 200 (the level of courage and integrity); this means that less than 22% of the world's population can accurately make calibrations. (Currently, approximately 51% of the American population are over 200.)
The intention behind the statement must be above 200 (integrous).
The downward pressure of the tester must equal the upward force of the subject (this may take some practice).
When testing with a new person, ask to make sure you are suitable partners (e.g. 'This person is a suitable partner to conduct consciousness research with. Resist.').
Couples very often have difficulties using the technique together (the reason for which has not been clearly determined).
Approximately 10% of people above 200 are unable to use the technique due to an imbalance in their Chi energy.
The subject must be aware of the 'monkey response:' when a monkey starts to fall from a tree, he quickly flexes his muscles, trying to hold on (it's instinctive to force the arm to stay up as it begins to fall).
While it's possible to do physiologic testing by yourself, Dr. Hawkins advises to do it with another person, particularly when calibrating significant issues.
The higher the levels of consciousness of the test team, the more accurate are the results. The best results are obtained if both team members are in the mid-400s. Here are a few tips for successfully using the technique:
Always ask permission before doing a calibration (i.e., 'We have permission to ask this. Resist.'); once you have permission, than ask your question.
Always say 'resist' aloud before testing.
Use very specific, yes-or-no statements-not ambiguous questions. (e.g. The statement 'This business partnership is good for me,' will lead to uncertain results. Say instead, 'Engaging in this business partnership serves the greater good of mankind.')
Use as little pressure as necessary to detect a response in the subject's arm.

Avoid smiling when using the technique. (Smiling may cause the muscles to remain strong regardless of the statement being tested)

To avoid any distraction, have the test subject close their eyes.

Turn off any music (music can have a profound effect on your life force).

Remove glasses with metal frames or other metallic jewelry across your midline (hats and watches-especially quartz-can also have an adverse effect).

Focus on the same modality when you're holding a statement in mind. For example, if you're calibrating different types of music, make sure you consistently focus on the feeling of the music, the sound of the music, the visualizations the music evokes, etc.

The tester can make the statement silently so he does not influence the subject (but audibly say 'resist').

When using the technique to calibrates levels of consciousness, you need to contextualize the statement by referencing Dr. Hawkins' chart. (e.g., 'On Hawkins scale of consciousness where 200 is courage and 500 is love, _______ calibrates above 200. Resist.')

If you're not getting accurate answers, you may want to try doing the Thymus Thump. (The Thymus Thump stimulates the thymus gland.) The thump is done by lightly thumping the area over the top portion of the breast bone with your fist, while thinking of something positive, smiling, and saying 'Ha' with each thump. Do three thumps in rapid succession three times (for a total of nine thumps). Ha-ha-ha, Ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha.'

Make the statement and apply pressure immediately as waiting will skew your results-the response is instantaneous.

Seek truth for the sake of truth and not for the conformation for your belief systems (i.e. integrity for the process).

Ask the reverse of the question to verify consistency. (Responses should be uniformly consistent within yourself and within the framework of Dr. Hawkins' Map.)

Be patient and keep practicing! (Dr. Hawkins has done close to 300,000 different calibrations over decades.

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