The Three Initiates

The Seven Hermetic Principles

The lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears of Understanding. - The Kybalion

The Principle of Mentalism

• The all is mind; the universe is mental
• The Hermetics teach that the great work of influencing one's environment is accomplished by mental power
  • If the universe is mental, then mind must be the highest power affecting its phenomena. If this be understood then all the so-called "miracles" and "wonder-workings" are seen plainly for what they are
• As a matter of fact, none but advanced mental alchemists have been able to attain the degree of power necessary to control the grosser physical conditions, such as the control of the elements of nature; the production or cessation of tempests; the production and cessation of earthquakes and other great physical phenomenon
• He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."
  • The information within me is a combination of what I have understood through my own intuition and knowingness of the all, through the journey, plus the combination of the opinions of others of how realities work, who verify it with facts that make it seem so believable that it rules out all possibility of the potentiality of it being another way

The Principle of Correspondence

• My outer world is nothing more than a reflection of my inner world
• The old hermetic axiom ran in these words: "As above, so below; as below, so above."
• Following the Principle of Correspondence, I am justified in considering that the all creates the universe mentally, in a manner akin to the process whereby man creates mental images
• The ancient Hermetics considered this principle as one of the most important mental instruments by which man was able to pry aside the obstacles which hid from view the unknown
• Dilts Logical Levels
  • Vision - What am I part of?
  • Identity - Who am I?
  • Values & Belief - What is important?
  • Capabilities - How/What will I learn?
  • Behavior - What will I do differently?
  • Environment - When and where am I?
  • - I have a vision, my identity gets aligned with my vision and my circumstance reveals to me about myself through the values and beliefs that I am projecting from within onto reality, which I can optimize and change my identity within. Then, certain kinds of capabilities and information gets attracted to me
• The Hermetic teachings concerning the process of the mental creation of the universe, are that at the beginning of the creative cycle, the all, in its aspect of being, projects its will toward its aspect of "Becoming" and the process of creation begins
  • It is taught that the process consists of the lowering of vibration until a very low degree of vibratory energy is reached, at which point the grossest possible form of matter is manifested. This process is called the stage of involution, in which the all becomes "involved," or "wrapped up," in its creation
  • This process is believed by the Hermetics to have a correspondence to the mental process of an artist, writer, or inventor, who becomes so wrapped up in his mental creation as to almost forget his own existence and who, for the time being, almost "lives in his own creation," if instead of "wrapped" I use the word "rapt," perhaps I will give a better idea of what is meant
• I must have and hold onto my vision and consume information that is related to my vision while I look at the external world correspondence and identify what is within me that is aligned and not aligned with the vision and make the changes within and hold onto that

The Principle of Vibration

• Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates
• I attract who I am based on the frequency I am vibrating at
• Knowing this, Hermetics believe that even thoughts have their own rate of vibration, and can be controlled like tuning an instrument, to produce various results for the aim of self and environment mastery. As my understanding of vibration, frequency, harmony, and resonance increase, so too shall my power over myself and my world
• This principle explains that the differences between different manifestations of matter, energy, mind, and even spirit, result largely from varying rates of vibration
  • From the all, which is pure spirit, down to the grossest form of matter, all is in vibration, the higher the vibration, the higher the position in the scale
  • The vibration of spirit is at such an infinite rate of intensity and rapidity that it is practically at rest, just as a rapidly moving wheel seems to be motionless. And at the other end of the scale, there are gross forms of matter whose vibrations are so low as to seem at rest. Between these poles, there are millions upon millions of varying degrees of vibration

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
  • As I go through reality, observe what causes me to feel stressed, happy, and so forth to see what's revealing to me about what I'm going to create
  • If something polarizes me and makes me angry, then all of a sudden I've gone into the anger vibration, which likely is not aligned with my vision, causes me to create based from my vibration of anger
  • This is why it is so important to watch what kind of information I am consuming. If I am consuming angry information, then I am going to attract that of anger
• This principle is important to Hermetics, because it suggests I can change the polarity of a degree of emotion, by recognizing it is the same and choosing the degree which best suits my needs
• When I am in tune with the principle of rhythm and understand that every mental state exists in rhythm, always ebbing and flowing, I can learn to use this principle to my advantage by polarizing myself to the degree I desire
• "Good and Evil" are but the poles of the same thing, and the Hermetics understand the art of transmuting evil into good, by means of an application of the principle of polarity. In short, the "art of polarization" becomes a phase of "mental alchemy" known and practiced by the ancient and modern Hermetic masters. An understanding of the principle will enable one to change his own polarity, as well as that of others, if he will devote the time and study necessary to master the art

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
• Napoleon Hill's Six Basic Fears
  • Fear of Poverty
  • Fear of Criticism
  • Fear of Ill Health
  • Fear of Old Age
  • Fear of Loss of Love
  • Fear of Death
• What takes me out of my rhythm is rooted in fear. These are fears that I must eliminate. If I do not eliminate them, then I will snag onto them and it will break my flow. Eliminate doubts, fears, and indecision for this to work to a high degree
• Rhythm will have an effect on me one way or another, but with awareness I can use it to propel forward and ride it back to recovery
• All people who experience self-mastery do this to some degree, but those who exert their will upon this principle are able to act form a place of purpose as opposed to letting the pendulum swing them into reactivity
• All individuals who have attained any degree of self-mastery do this to a certain degree, more or less unconsciously, but the master does this consciously, and by the use of his will, and attains a degree of poise and mental firmness almost impossible of belief on the part of the masses who are swung backward and forward like a pendulum
  • This principle and that of polarity have been closely studied by the Hermetics, and the methods of counteracting, neutralizing, and using them form an important part of the Hermetic mental alchemy

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 recognized. There are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the law
• This principle embodies the fact that there is a cause for every effect; an effect from every cause. It explains that: "Everything happens according to law"; that nothing every "merely happens"; that there is no such thing as chance; that while there are various planes of cause and effect, the higher dominating the lower planes, still nothing every entirely escapes the law
  • The Hermetics understand the art and methods of rising above the ordinary plane of cause and effect, to a certain degree, and by mentally rising to a higher plane they become causers instead of effects
• The masses of people are carried along, obedient to environment; the wills and desires of others stronger than myself; heredity; suggestion; and other outward causes moving them about like pawns on the chessboard of life
  • But the masters, rising to the plane above, dominate their moods, characters, qualities, and powers, as well as the environment surrounding them, and become movers instead of pawns
  • They help to play the game of life, instead of being played and moved about by other wills and environment. They use the principle instead of being its tools. The masters obey the causation of their higher planes, but they help to rule on their own plane. In this statement there is condensed a wealth of Hermetic knowledge, let him read who can

The Principle of Gender

• Gender is in everything; everything has its masculine and feminine principles; gender manifests on all planes
• On the physical plane, the principle manifests as sex, on the higher planes it takes higher forms, but the principle is ever the same. No creation, physical, mental or spiritual, is impossible without this principle. An understanding of its laws will throw light on may a subject that has perplexed the minds of men. The principle of gender works ever in the direction of generation, regeneration, and creation. Everything, and every person, contains the two elements or principles ,or this great principle, within it, him or her. Every male thing has the female element also; every female contains also the male principle
• Too much masculine energy, without a balance of feminine, leads to a growth of power to the extreme of reckless abandon, where I lose perspective of what is most important and forget the principles which began the conquest in the first place
  • Too much feminine energy, without a balance of the masculine, leads to a life grounded so deeply in the present, that my life becomes determined by the cycles and external circumstance out of favor
• E n these extremes of the present feminine and future-driven masculine and seek balance in all things, is the key to using all seven hermetic principles to full effect and achieving lasting self-mastery, without straying to far from the path
• Everything and everyone contains both masculine and feminine elements. Among the outward expressions of feminine qualities are love, patience, intuition, and gentleness and of masculine qualities are energy, self reliance, logic, and intellect

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