Education is Freedom
Paulo Friere
The Kybalion: The Definitive Edition
William Walker Atkinson writing as Three Initiates
“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.”
Is there ancient wisdom on the nature of our reality that has been forgotten, or even subtly concealed from us?
In the early 20th century a prominent book of philosophy called ‘The Kybalion’ was published. Reputed to derive from ancient Greek and Egyptian wisdom, the book was mysteriously ascribed only to ‘Three Initiates’ who’s identity has been the subject of debate over since it’s emergence.
It is said that this work brings to light the ancient Hermetic mystery teachings of arcane philosophy, distilling the true nature of our Universe and the laws which govern it. These laws are summarised as the Seven Hermetic Principles or Cosmic Laws:
I. The Principle of Mentalism
“THE ALL is MIND; The Universe is Mental.”
II. The Principle of Correspondence
“As above, so below; as below, so above.”
III. The Principle of Vibration
“Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates.”
IV. The Principle of Polarity
“Everything is Dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled.”
V. The Principle of Rhythm
“Everything flows, out and in; everything has its tides; all things rise and fall; 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.”
VI. The Principle of Cause and Effect
“Every Cause has its Effect; every Effect has its Cause; everything happens according to Law; Chance is but a name for Law not recognised; there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the Law.”
VII. The Principle of Gender
“Gender is in everything; everything has its Masculine and Feminine Principles; Gender manifests on all planes.”
By understanding these principles and layering this wisdom onto our perspective of events and observations in our day-to-day lives, it is purported that we can elevate our consciousness and the quality of our lives – even manipulate our reality in accords with our own desires, not by breaking these immutable laws of the universe but by using one law against another. The key to this lies in our mentality; acknowledging that Mind is the foundation of all that is (or could be), our mentality can alter vibrations in what we perceive as the physical universe. Interestingly, our modern scientific understanding of the physical universe is in perfect alignment with these arcane principles. Experimental observation paradoxically concludes that an immaterial and mysterious awareness that we call consciousness, has a measurable effect on the symphony of vibration we perceive to be ‘reality’.
Opening our third eye to this wisdom grants us power in the realisation that we are not simply leaves blowing in the wind, but with every thought we are co-creators, we are directors of our own story – and that the power of our will is greater than we have ever imagined.