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| The French version of the cover of the book Kybalion by anonymous authors. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The Kybalion states that the All is Mind; the Universe is mental. The Universe, and all it contains, is a mental creation of The ALL. He who grasps the truth of the Mental Nature of the Universe is well advanced on The Path to Mastery.
The Kybalion is
Hermetic Philosophy and is a 1908 book claiming to be the essence of the teachings of
Hermes Trismegistus, ( 3 x great or thrice great) published anonymously by a group or person under the pseudonym of "the Three Initiates".
The Kybalion was first published by the Yogi Publication Society and is now in the public domain, and can be found on the internet. The book purports to be based upon ancient
Hermeticism, though many of its ideas are relatively modern concepts arising from the "New Thought"
movement. The book itself early in reading makes the claim that it
makes its appearance in one's life when the time is appropriate and
includes variations of material found in the book of Proverbs.
Mental Transmutation
Mental
Transmutation (also described as Mental Alchemy, the Art of Mental
Chemistry, and the Art of Polarization) refers to the art of changing
and transforming one's own mental states and conditions, as well as
influencing those of others. It is also called a form of "Mystic
Psychology".
The Seven Principles
The book devotes a chapter to each of its seven "Principles", or axioms:
1. Principle of Mentalism
The Principle of
Mentalism embodies the idea that "All is Mind."
2. Principle of Correspondence
The
Principle of Correspondence embodies the idea that there
is always a correspondence between the laws of phenomena of the various
"planes" of being and life.
As above, so below;
as below, so above. This principle states that there is a harmony,
agreement and correspondence between these planes, delineated as
- The Great Physical Plane
- The Great Mental Plane
- The Great Spiritual Plane
3. Principle of Vibration
The
Principle of Vibration embodies the idea that motion is
manifest in everything in the Universe, that nothing rests, and
everything moves, vibrates, and circles.
This principle explains that the differences between different
manifestations of Matter, Energy, Mind, and even Spirit, are the result
of only different "vibrations".
The higher a person is on the scale, the higher the rate of vibration will be. Here, The All
is purported to be at an infinite level of vibration, almost to the
point of being at rest. There are said to be millions upon millions of
varying degrees between the highest level, The All, and the objects of
the lowest vibration.
Mental Transmutation is described as the practical application of
this principle. To change one's mental state is to change vibration. One
may do this by an effort of Will, by means of deliberately "fixing the
attention" upon a more desirable state.
4. Principle of Polarity
The
Principle of Polarity embodies the idea that everything is dual, everything has two poles, and everything has its opposite. All manifested things have two sides, two aspects, or two poles.
Everything "is" and "isn't" at the same time, all truths are but half
truths and every truth is half false, there are two sides to everything,
opposites are identical in nature, yet different in degree, extremes
meet, and all paradoxes may be reconciled.
5. Principle of Rhythm
The
Principle of Rhythm embodies the idea that in everything
there is manifested a measured motion, a to and fro, a flow and inflow, a
swing backward and forward, a pendulum-like movement.
This principle explains that there is rhythm between every pair of
opposites, or poles, and is closely related to the Principle of
Polarity.
It can be seen that this Principle enables transition from one pole to
the other, and not necessarily poles of extreme opposites.
6. Principle of Cause and Effect
The
Principle of Cause and Effect explains that there is a cause for every effect, and an effect for every cause.
It also states that there is no such thing as chance, that chance is
merely a term indicating extant causes not recognized or perceived.
The Principle is clarified in the chapter Causation.
7. Principle of Gender
The
Principle of Gender embodies the idea that gender is manifested in everything.
The authors state that this does not relate explicitly to the commonly
understood notion of sex, but rather "... to beget; to procreate, to
generate, to create, or to produce..." in general.
Gender is manifested as the Masculine and Feminine principles, and manifests itself on all planes.
Mental Gender is described as a
Hermetic concept which relates to the masculine and feminine principles. It does not refer to the physical gender
of someone, nor does it suggest that someone of a certain physical
gender necessarily has the same mental gender. Ideally, one wants to
have a balanced mental gender.
The concept put forth in
The Kybalion states that gender
exists on all planes of existence (Physical, Mental, and Spiritual), and
represents different aspects on different planes. It is also stated
that everything and everyone contains these two elements or principles.
The Masculine principle is always in the direction of giving out or
expressing, and contents itself with the "Will" in its varied phases.
The Feminine principle is always in the direction of receiving
impressions, and has a much more varied field of operation than the
Masculine. The Masculine conducts the work of generating new thoughts,
concepts, and ideas, including the work of the imagination.
It is said that there must be a balance in these two forces. Without
the Masculine, the Feminine is apt to act without restraint, order, or
reason, resulting in chaos. The Masculine alone, on the other hand, is
apt to constantly reflect and fail to actually do anything, resulting in
stagnation. With both the Masculine and Feminine working in
conjunction, there is thoughtful action that breeds success, which
points out that both the Feminine and the Masculine fulfil each other.
Authorship
The
"Three Initiates" who authored
The Kybalion chose to remain anonymous. As a result, a great deal of speculation has been made about who actually wrote the book.
The most common proposal is that
The Kybalion was authored by
William Walker Atkinson, either alone or with others, such as
Paul Foster Case and
Elias Gewurz. Atkinson was known to use many pseudonyms, and to self-publish his works.
Also suggestive is the fact that, among his earliest published pseudonymous and anonymous works may have been a series entitled
The Arcane Teachings, which bears many superficial similarities to
The Kybalion —
The Kybalion explores seven "Hermetic Principles" while
The Arcane Teachings examines seven "Arcane Laws",
The Kybalion claims to be an elucidation of an ancient, unpublished Hermetic text of the same name, while
The Arcane Teachings
claims to reveal the wisdom of an ancient, unpublished scroll of occult
aphorisms, and both books describe three "Great Planes" of reality
which are further subdivided into seven lesser planes.
Both books also
describe three of the lesser planes as "astral black keys" analogous to
the black keys on a piano, and inhabited by elemental spirits. And, both
books describe the process of "Mental Alchemy" in great detail, and in
nearly complete agreement with each other. There are other similarities,
and
The Arcane Teachings might have been Atkinson's "first draft" of material which later became
The Kybalion. Atkinson also attempted to describe the workings of the universe in terms of a set of laws in 1918's
The Secret Doctrine of the Rosicrucians and his last manuscript
The Seven Cosmic Laws, written in 1931 and published posthumously in 2011.
Influences
The works of the English philosopher
Herbert Spencer are referred to approvingly in
The Kybalion as showing an understanding of
Hermetic Principles; and Spencer himself is eulogised as a reincarnation of the 5th Century BCE Greek philosopher
Heraclitus
or Hermes; who is in turn described as being a reincarnation of a still
more ancient, Egyptian philosopher: No other writers are similarly
referenced or endorsed within the text.
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What I have to add to this is important because it shows that I already have an understanding well versed in this since 1984.
In Brisbane in 1985 Kerry Riley and his wife Diane Riley ran a course that cost $500.00 back then called " Mind Powers". The course was entirely built upon the Hermetic principals of the microcosm of the macrocosm and as above so below principals as well as all of the others written about above with the seven principals. Kerry and Diane are still doing courses and now they teach Tantric Yoga.
Originally trained as a shiatsu therapist Kerry Riley
has had teacher training in yoga and meditation in
‘Dojo’ in Japan. He was recognized world wide for
the successful ‘Kerry Riley’s Mind Power course’ which
over 40,000 people attended between 1985 and 1995.
Diane trained as a yoga and meditation teacher with
the East West Foundation, then with Kerry studied
Sacred Sexuality and Tantra with authors Dr Stephen
Chang, Moore University, The Muirs, Larry Collins,
David and Ellen Ramsdale, and associated esoteric
systems.
“Diane and I have always fervently believed that passion,
joy, love and sexuality can be heightened and sustained
throughout a lifetime. And that sexual love is a sacrament.
Images @ Melonpopzdropz Flickr
