Setting the Conditions for Accurate Muscle Testing
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
