“The lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears of understanding” - Hermetic Axiom
The universe runs on natural laws.
Apples fall.
Birds fly.
Babies grow.
Dolphins swim.
When we take the time to understand these laws, we can use them.
We can leverage them.
We can push against gravity to fly.
We can use the knowledge that one day we must die, to live better lives.
The pursuit of discovering these days, manifests as the top shelf of the self-help and personal
growth sections at the bookstore.
But nearly 2,000 years ago, when these themes and ideas would get you killed for heresy
and blasphemy, they were discussed in whispered tones and passed down only from a master to
their students in moments of extreme trust.
Have you heard of Hermeticism or the Kybalion?
Maybe you may not have given much thought to what the Hermetic Principles involves.
Surprisingly, these ancient principles can be applied to your life today!
Much of Hermeticism has been condensed into The Kybalion.
The Kybalion is a book based on the teachings of a revered sage of the past – Hermes Trismegistus.
The name translates to “thrice greatest;” referring to his mastery over the 3 planes
of existence, as explained in hermetic philosophy – the physical, mental and spiritual.
Hermes Trismegistus is viewed as the father of Hermeticism.
He is also credited as the writer of the Corpus Hermeticum (as well as the Emerald Tablet).
However, he isn’t thought to have been any one individual person.
Rather, it is widely suspected that he is a blend of a few distinct mythological figures;
among them the Hellenistic god Hermes and the Egyptian god Tahuti or Thoth.
According to the Kybalion, these 7 laws should guide our understanding of the Universe.
Each chapter of the book is devoted to explaining and illustrating one of the Principles.
You can think of these Principles as universal laws or doctrines.
The 7 hermetic principles can be applied to a modern day scenario quite well.
You just have to read it with an open mind and be willing to understand the core essence
of its axioms from a universal point of view.
“The Principles of Truth are Seven; he who knows these, understandingly, possesses the
Magic Key before whose touch all the Doors of the Temple fly open.”
- Hermetic Axiom
1.
THE PRINCIPLE OF MENTALISM “The ALL is Mind; The Universe is Mental.”
– The Kybalion
From a first person perspective, the mental plane is experienced simply as thought, insight,
intuition, and reason.
But wisdom of how this plane corresponds with other, unseen, or causal planes, tells us
that there may be more to our thoughts than we perceive.
That our thoughts are not tied simply to the physical plane, and have an effect on an energetic
and spiritual level, which is less obvious but still very real.
Everything that exists is spirit.
Matter is just densified spirit.
Spirit is just refined matter.
All is just energy.
“All is mind” embodies the idea that everything that happens has to be the result of a mental
state that proceeds it.
This principle is a reminder that everything is connected.
In a certain sense, the Universe is itself a living mind; one that is connected to all
other minds.
As such, every action you take and every thought you take is an interaction between different
aspects of the mental.
This could explains many circumstances such as psychic phenomena for example.
Even our actions arise from thoughts.
What we think we shall become.
When we have the right thoughts, the right action will follow.
This interesting Hermetic Principle tells us that we are all one and that our surroundings
are an inherent part of us.
Once you understand the truth of Mentalism, you begin to grasp how it is that we are capable
of shaping our reality using just our thoughts.
A lesson drawn from the Principle of Mentalism is that if we think the right thoughts, the
right actions will follow.
This is a reminder that it is vital to plan carefully, to spend time reflecting on your
true passions and identifying your life’s purpose.
Once you have done so, your thoughts will be aligned with the Universe in such a way
as to create the reality you desire.
2.
THE PRINCIPLE OF CORRESPONDENCE “As ABOVE, so below; as BELOW, so above.”
– The Kybalion
This principle embodies the truth that there is always a correspondence between the laws
and phenomena of various planes that manifest as being and life.
Grasping this principle is what allows one to deduce the hidden solutions to problems
by looking at what exists a layer above, and below the problem, to infer the pattern and
shadow nature of what is in-between.
Of course, there are planes and phenomena beyond our knowing, as we are limited to the
spectrums of visible light and audible sound, but by witnessing the patterns that do exist
in our dimension we can deduce what may exist in higher and lower ones.
There is no separation since everything in the Universe is connected.
Everything originates from the same One True Source.
The same pattern is expressed on all planes of existence from the smallest electron to
the largest star and vice versa.
The Ancient Greek Temple of Apollo at Delphi referred to the ‘Law of Correspondence’
in the inscription: “Know thyself and thou shalt know all the mysteries of the gods and
the Universe”.
One of these mysteries is that you are part of god because all is one.
God is not only outside you.
God is within you.
It is both within you and everywhere.
It is you.
You are the manifestation of God.
Learn to channel your energy inwards and you will awaken the sleeping God that you were
born to be.
As above so below: as below, so above.
This quote means that the thoughts/images of your conscious and subconscious mind reflect
your external circumstances.
The outer world is a mirror of the inner world.
This law is always working.
Your thoughts, beliefs and attitudes must change in order to manifest a different reality.
To apply this principle we must first accept full responsibility for everything that is
happening in our lives and reflect on what isn’t currently working to see what patterns
are affecting these.
We must then go about changing them.
There are many ways to do this, we can read books that will give us the knowledge to tackle
the problems we face, we can change the types of questions we ask ourselves daily into more
empowering ones, we can spend time with people that will elevate our minds, we can attend
powerful seminars on the issues we want to change from people that are excelling in those
areas.
Those are just a few tools we can use to influence the principle of correspondence in our favour.
3.
THE PRINCIPLE OF VIBRATION “Nothing rests; everything moves; everything
vibrates.”
– The Kybalion
Nothing is at rest means that even though you yourself seem to be solid, at a microscopic
level you are vibrating.
To put it simply, all things carry their own unique energy, on all planes of existence.
In fact, even the smallest particle in the universe has a vibrational frequency that
impacts on things around it.
Crucially, this Principle tells us that high energy things are magnetically drawn towards
one another, and are attuned to them on a basic level.
Meanwhile, low energy particles gravitate towards other sources of low energy.
So, in order to have a happy, fulfilling life, you will benefit from aiming to become a source
of high energy.
Simply as that.
If you can increase your own vibrational frequency, you can attract more positive, high energy
events, people and possessions into your life.
On the other hand, if you get dragged into negativity, it will be hard to attract what
you desire.
The higher your vibration the quicker your ability to manifest is.
It is up to us to increase our vibrational state for a better world.
Have you noticed how water evaporates?
When water is heated, the molecules becomes excited and vibrate so fast that the molecules
break free of their bonds and turn into vapor and rise up to the sky.
Even though the water turns into vapor, it doesn’t mean that the atoms of water are
lost.
It is in a different state of vibration.
Everything is in motion.
We either vibrate at a state of harmony or a state of chaos.
This is within the range of your free will.
One practical application to this is to change your vibration consciously.
This is done by the power of Will – by deliberately concentrating on a more desirable state of
mind.
To apply this we must figure out how to feel a different way emotionally by changing our
thoughts or by visualising a better future or by simply changing our environment.
Some examples of this are jumping up and down with joy for no reason at all, feeling grateful
for the all the small things in our lives or finding constantly inspiration by the deeds
of your heroes.