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There is a place where mysticism and science coexist in harmony and that place is called Nature. Regardless of religion or belief and no matter what a new study shows or researcher concludes, Mother Nature – free of personal interest and human emotions – will always tell us The Truth.  A set of teachings that were passed down by word of mouth for centuries and only put to paper in the last one explains the way Nature (and that includes us, of course,) behaves. Based on seven principles taught by Hermes Trismegistus (“Hermes Thrice Great”, also known as the great priest Thot to the Egyptians and the god Hermes “God of Wisdom” to the Greeks,) The Kybalion (not to be confused with the mystical Jewish teachings of Kabbalah,) is the basis for understanding how our world works.

Nobody knows exactly where or when The Kybalion came from (it is said that Hermes lived in Egypt, where he taught many avatars, including Abraham,) but it is understood that these ideas where passed from Master to Initiate for generations, for the purpose of personal growth and with the intention of achieving a greater and deeper understanding of the self, the world and beyond. For the student of religion, philosophy and science, the Hermetic teachings act as the key to tying all of the different schools of thought into one cohesive body of knowledge. For you, we hope it’s the start to a new way of looking at yourself and the world around you.

1. Principle of Mentalism: “All is mind”
The Principle of Mentalism explains that everything is created in the mind.  This post you’re reading was first an idea and then an expression, in this case, literary and virtual.  The computer or cell phone you’re using to access this website was also an idea, created in somebody’s mind first and then probably discussed, drawn/designed on a piece of paper, then built.  The same goes for your own projects, the meal you had for dinner last night, the table you sat and ate the meal in, the car you drive and, yes, this entire Universe, which is the wondrous creation of the mind of a Higher Source that you can call by any name you would like and it still smells as sweet. Like many sages of the 21st Century say, be conscious of the content in your mind, because the thoughts you create find a way to express themselves outside of your head, as words and deeds. The true Master is a master of her thoughts.

2. Principle of Correspondence: “As is above, so is below. As is below, so is above”

In mathematics, correspondence refers to the clearly defined relationship between two members of a set, or different set. The Principle of correspondence explains the relationship between the macrocosm (the world at large, the Universe, a large entity) and the microcosm (a small entity), and says that these two worlds, the big and the small, are similar to each other.  One way to see this is by comparing the way our solar system, our cells and our atoms are organized.  Our solar system has a clearly defined center (the sun), around which things are arranged. So does a cell in our body (the nucleus, home to DNA). So does an atom (also called a nucleus (where the protons and neutrons are located.)  This principle helps us understand the things that are either to small (atoms) or too large (the Universe) for us to see in plain sight, because we can observe how things work in our (medium size) world and make references.

3. Principle of Vibration: “Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates”
Long, long ago, there was…the solid state. OK, maybe not so long ago (or in a galaxy far away) but before powerful scopes to see tiny things like atoms and subatomic particles, we thought a solid was something that did not move. With the ability to see electrons, we now know that, while a solid holds its shape (unlike liquids and gases, which like to spread and fill space,) its atoms are still spinning and its electrons are moving about.  Everything inside and outside of you is in motion. The atoms are just moving so slowly that our eyes cannot see its changes.  The opposite can be seen with those shiny car rims that move so fast that they look like they’re not moving at all. We all move, just at different speeds.  This is why things are relative: To someone that is moving really fast (in a car, on a career path), you might be moving very slowly. But to someone who is moving even slower than you, you will be moving really fast.  It all depends on your own rate of movement and what you’re comparing yourself to.

4. Principle of Polarity: “Everything is dual; everything has an opposite, and opposites are identical in nature but different in degree”
Love and hate. Hot and cold. Good and evil. Everything on this plane of existence has an opposite.  This principle explains that what looks to be an opposite of something is not so different that the thing it is the opposite of.  Temperature is a good place to illustrate this. Think of a thermometer, the old-school kind with the numbers a lined scale and mercury flowing up and down.  Hot and cold are different things (opposites) yet they are a part of the same “pole” (the temperature scale.)  Could you not think of two more different things than ice and vapor? And yet, both are made of the same thing: H2O. They are just water, in two different (opposite) states. This is why people say that where there was love, and now there is hate, love often still remains.  The emotions you felt for someone are now expressed in a different way, but they are still feelings inside of you that you intensely feel for the object of your (former) affection.

5. Principle of Rhythm: “Everything flows, out and in; the pendulum-swing manifests in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left – rhythm compensates”
Science tells us that everything behaves either as a wave or a particle.  Rhythm is the wave, and it is easily observed in Nature.  Take a look at the moon, the sun, the tides – all follow their own respective rhythm of waxing and waning, sunrise and sunset, ebb and flow. This principle explains that all things in nature, humans included, have a rhythm. We all have good times and bad times, ups and downs, death and rebirth.  And the ups and downs are of equal amounts – by law, the pendulum of your life swings as much to the left as it does to the right, whether you see it or not.  A friend once said, “When you’re going through difficulties and have no patience, go watch a sunset.  No matter how cloudy the day gets and how much you can’t see the sun after it has set, it will always come out tomorrow.  The same goes for the moon: no matter how full it is tonight, it will disappear, only to return again. The same will happen with your you: hard times can’t last forever.”  Isaac Newton put it this way: “What goes up, must come down.”

6. Principle of Cause and Effect: “Every cause has its effect, every effect has its cause”
Ever heard of “what you do comes back to you”?  Or Newton’s Third Law of Motion: “To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”? These are two ways to express the Law of Cause and Effect. Every thought/word/deed that we create is a cause and it will have an effect that will either be productive or not. There is no such thing as a coincidence – there is only causality. We can either choose to take responsibility for what we cause to happen – and choose to create better things each time – or just be governed by this law and let the effect return to us without our own awareness or control. Our health, the quality of our relationships, the quantity in our bank accounts, the happiness in ourselves ALL have root cause in US. None of those things are random coincidences; they are results of our own actions (or lack thereof.)  You can choose to be rude to someone; but expect rudeness right back.  Or you can choose to smile at a stranger – and get that smile right back, then or later.  And if nobody is smiling at you, maybe you will get it back in a different way: Someone shared his lunch with your daughter, and this made her smile.  Is her smile not a reward for you as well?  Take note of effects in all shapes and forms.  The Universe is orderly and mathematical and it is up to us to be the masters of the causes we generate, not be bound to unconscious effect after effect.

7. Principle of Gender: “Everything has its masculine and feminine principles”
We’ve all heard of a guy who is “in touch with his feminine side”.  While not all men or women are in touch with their opposite side, the fact that men have a feminine side and women have a masculine side is clear as day.  In psychology, Carl Jung called a man’s feminine side his “anima” and a woman’s masculine side her “animus”.  The anima and the animus were archetypes that largely determined the mate one would choose, looking for the external or material expression of your own feminine or masculine side (what mystics called a ‘soulmate’.) Personality traits are also divided into gender: assertiveness is masculine, nurturing and sensitivity is feminine, will power is masculine, communication and connectivity are feminine.  The truth is that we all have both masculine and feminine energies within us, whether expressed or not.  And creation requires the union of both: the sensitivity to perceive an idea, the nurturing to help it grow, the assertiveness to express it, and the will power to see it through to its full potential.

The seven principles of The Kybalion should be studied for deep meaning and practical application, as its axioms are the stuff all true Masters must conquer.  For example: If you know that everything has a rhythm, and that opposites are part of the same pole, just varying in degrees, you can change your rhythm by aligning yourself with the “polarity” that you choose to be in.  I remember one day in which nobody was emailing or calling.  You could say it was a communications dry spell.  So, I decided to align myself with the side of the communications pole that I wanted to be in: the side with a lot of emails and phone calls.  I proceeded to make calls and write emails, tons of them, to many people.  I changed my rhythm.  Soon enough, callbacks and emails were pouring in.  You’re sad and lonely?  Go out with the intent to make someone else the opposite: happy and accompanied.  What you do to/for others will come right back to you.

We hope that with this information you choose to create a wonderful day for yourself, every day, with knowledge and understanding of your effect on this and all the worlds.