Quotes From The Kybalion

The Hermetists believe and teach that

THE ALL, "in itself," is and must ever
be UNKNOWABLE. They regard all the
theories, guesses and speculations of the
theologians and metaphysicians regarding
the inner nature of THE ALL, as but the
childish efforts of mortal minds to grasp
the secret of the Infinite. Such efforts
have always failed and will always fail,
from the very nature of the task. One pur
suing such inquiries travels around and
around in the labyrinth of thought, until
he is lost to all sane reasoning, action or
conduct, and is utterly unfitted for the work
of life. He is like the squirrel which
frantically runs around and around the
circling treadmill wheel of his cage, travel
ing ever and yet reaching nowhere—at the
end a prisoner still, and standing just
where he started.
And still more presumptuous are those
who attempt to ascribe to THE ALL the
personality, qualities, properties, charac
teristics and attributes of themselves,
ascribing to THE ALL the human emotions,
feelings, and characteristics, even
down to the pettiest qualities of mankind,
such as jealousy, susceptibility to flattery
and praise, desire for offerings and wor
ship, and all the other survivals from the
days of the childhood of the race. Such
ideas are not worthy of grown men and
women, and are rapidly being discarded.
(At this point, it may be proper for me
to state that we make a distinction between
Religion and Theology—between Philoso
phy and Metaphysics. Religion, to us,
means that intuitional realization of the
existence of THE ALL, and one's relation
ship to it; while Theology means the at
tempts of men to ascribe personality, quali
ties, and characteristics to it ; their theories
regarding its affairs, will, desires, plans,
and designs ; and their assumption of the
office of "middle-men" between THE ALL
and the people. Philosophy, to us, means
the inquiry after knowledge of things
knowable and thinkable ; while Metaphysics
means the attempt to carry the inquiry
over and beyond the boundaries and into



What is the Universe? We
have seen that there can be nothing outside
of THE ALL. Then is the Universe THE
ALL ? No, this cannot be, because the Uni
verse seems to be made up of MANY, and
is constantly changing, and in other ways
it does not measure up to the ideas that we
are compelled to accept regarding THE
ALL, as stated in our last lesson. Then if
the Universe be not THE ALL, then it
must be Nothing—such is the inevitable
conclusion of the mind at first thought.
But this will not satisfy the question, for
we are sensible of the existence of the Uni
verse. Then if the Universe is neither
THE ALL, nor Nothing, what can it be?
Let us examine this question.
If the Universe exists at all, or seems to
exist, it must proceed in some way from

THE ALL—it must be a creation of THE
ALL. But as something can never come
from nothing, from what could THE ALL
have created it? Some philosophers have
answered this question by saying that THE
ALL created the Universe from ITSELF
—that is, from the being and substance of
THE ALL. But this will not do, for THE
ALL cannot be subtracted from, nor di
vided, as we have seen, and then again if
this be so, would not each particle in the
Universe be aware of its being THE ALL
—THE ALL could not lose its knowledge
of itself, nor actually BECOME an atom,
or blind force, or lowly living thing. Some
men, indeed, realizing that THE ALL is
indeed ALL, and also recognizing that
they, the men, existed, have jumped to the
conclusion that they and THE ALL were
identical, and they have filled the air with
shouts of "I AM GOD," to the amusement
of the multitude and the sorrow of sages.
The claim of the corpuscle that: "I am
Man!" would be modest in comparison.
But, what indeed is the Universe, if it

be not THE ALL, not yet created by THE
ALL having separated itself into frag
ments ? What else can it be—of what else
can it be made! This is the great question.
Let us examine it carefully. We find
here that the "Principle of Correspond
ence" (see Lesson I.) comes to our aid
here. The old Hermetic axiom, "As above
so below," may be pressed into service at
this point. Let us endeavor to get a
glimpse of the workings on higher planes
by examining those on our own. The
Principle of Correspondence must apply
to this as well as to other problems.
Let us see ! On his own plane of being,
how does Man create? Well, first, he may
create by making something out of outside
materials. But this will not do, for there
are no materials outside of THE ALL with
which it may create. Well, then, secondly,
Man pro-creates or reproduces his kind by
the process of begetting, which is self-
multiplication accomplished by transfer
ring a portion of his substance to his
offspring. But this will not do, because

THE ALL cannot transfer or subtract a
portion of itself, nor can it reproduce or
multiply itself—in the first place there
would be a taking away, and in the second
case a multiplication or addition to THE
ALL, both thoughts being an absurdity.
Is there no third way in which MAN
creates? Yes, there is—he CREATES
MENTALLY! And in so doing he uses
no outside materials, nor does he repro
duce himself, and yet his Spirit pervades
the Mental Creation.
Following the Principle of Correspond
ence, we are justified in considering that
THE ALL creates the Universe MEN
TALLY, in a manner akin to the process
whereby Man creates Mental Images. And,
here is where the report of Reason tallies
precisely with the report of the Illumined,
as shown by their teachings and writings.
Such are the teachings of the Wise Men.
Such was the Teaching of Hermes.

THE ALL can create in no other way
except mentally, without either using mate
rial (and there is none to use), or else

reproducing itself (which is also impos
sible). There is no escape from this con
clusion of the reason, which, as we have
said, agrees with the highest teachings of
the Illumined. Just as you, student, may-
create a Universe of your own in your
mentality, so does THE ALL create Uni
verses in its own Mentality. But your
Universe is the mental creation of a Finite
Mind, whereas that of THE ALL is the
creation of an Infinite. The two are simi
lar in kind, but infinitely different in de
gree. We shall examine more closely into
the process of creation and manifestation,
as we proceed. But this is the point to
fix in your minds at this stage : THE UNI
VERSE, AND ALL IT CONTAINS, IS
A MENTAL CREATION OF THE ALL.
Verily, indeed, ALL IS MIND!
".THE ALL creates in its Infinite Mind countless Universes, which exist for aeons of Time—and yet, to THE ALL, the creation, development, decline and death of a million Universes is as the time of the twinkling of an eye."—The Kybalion. "The Infinite Mind of THE ALL is the womb of Universes. ' '—The Kybalion.

And Death is not real, even in the rela-
tive sense—it is but Birth to a new life—
and You shall go on, and on, and on, to
higher and still higher planes of life, for
aeons upon aeons of time. The Universe
is your home, and you shall explore its
farthest recesses before the end of Time.
You are dwelling in the Infinite Mind of
THE ALL, and your possibilities and op
portunities are infinite, both in time and
space. And at the end of the Grand Cycle
of Aeons, when THE ALL shall draw back
into itself all of its creations—you will go

gladly, for you will then be able to know
the Whole Truth of being At One with
THE ALL. Such is the report of the
Illumined—those who have advanced well
along The Path.
And, in the meantime, rest calm and
serene—you are safe and protected by the
Infinite Power of the FATHER-MOTHER
MIND.

From the Absolute point of view, there is
nothing real except THE ALL, no matter
what terms we may use in thinking of, or
discussing the subject. Whether the Uni
verse be created of Matter, or whether it
be a Mental Creation in the Mind of THE
ALL—it is unsubstantial, non-enduring, a
thing of time, space and change. We want
you to realize this fact thoroughly, before
you pass judgment on the Hermetic con
ception of the Mental nature of the Uni
verse.

But the Absolute point of view shows
merely one side of the picture—the other
side is the Relative one. Absolute Truth
has been defined as "Things as the mind
of God knows them," while Relative Truth
is "Things as the highest reason of Man
understands them. ' ' And so while to THE
ALL the Universe must be unreal and
illusionary, a mere dream or result of
meditation—nevertheless, to the finite
minds forming a part of that Universe,
and viewing it through mortal faculties,
the Universe is very real indeed, and must
be so considered. In recognizing the Ab
solute view, we must not make the mistake
of ignoring or denying the facts and phe
nomena of the Universe as they present
themselves to our mortal faculties—we are
not THE ALL, remember.

So, we need not dwell upon the feature
■of illusion. Eather let us, recognizing the
real nature of the Universe, seek to under
stand its mental laws, and endeavor to use
them to the best effect in our upward prog
ress through life, as we travel from plane
to plane of being. The Laws of the Uni
verse are none the less "Iron Laws" be
cause of the mental nature. All, except
THE ALL, are bound by them.

So, do not feel insecure or afraid—we
are all HELD FIRMLY IN THE INFIN
ITE MIND OF THE ALL, and there is
naught to hurt us or for us to fear. There
is no Power outside of THE ALL to affect
us. So we may rest calm and secure.
There is a world of comfort and security
ir, this realization when once attained.
Then "calm and peaceful do we sleep,
rocked in the Cradle of the Deep"—rest
ing safely on the bosom of the Ocean of
Infinite Mind, which is THE ALL. In
THE ALL, indeed, do "we live and move
and have our being."

We overcome the lower laws, by applying
still higher ones—and in this way only.

But we cannot escape Law or rise above it
entirely. Nothing but THE ALL can es
cape Law—and that because THE ALL is
LAW itself, from which all Laws emerge.
The most advanced Masters may acquire
the powers usually attributed to the gods
of men; and there are countless ranks of
being, in the great hierarchy of life, whose
being and power transcends even that of
the highest Masters among men to a de
gree unthinkable by mortals, but even the
highest Master, and the highest Being,
must bow to the Law, and be as Nothing in
the eye of THE ALL.

So, finally, students all, grasp the ad
vantage of Mentalism, and learn to know,
use and apply the laws resulting there
from. But do not yield to the temptation
which, as The Kybalion states, overcomes
the half-wise and which causes them to be
hypnotized by the apparent unreality of
things, the consequence being that they
wander about like dream-people dwelling
in a world of dreams, ignoring the prac
tical work and life of man, the end being
that "they are broken against the rocks
and torn asunder by the elements, by reason
of their folly. ' ' Rather follow the example
of the wise, which the same authority
states, ' ' use Law against Laws ; the higher
against the lower; and by the Art of
Alchemy transmute that which is unde
sirable into that which is worthy, and thus
triumph." Following the authority, let us
avoid the half-wisdom (which is folly)
which ignores the truth that: "Mastery
consists not in abnormal dreams, visions,
and fantastic imaginings or living, but in
using the higher forces against the lower—
escaping the pains of the lower planes by
vibrating on the higher." Remember al
ways, student, that "Transmutation, not
presumptuous denial, is the weapon of the
Master." The above quotations are from
The Kybalion, and are worthy of being
committed to memory by the student.

All is in the All HERE

The Hermetic Teachings are to the effect
that THE ALL is Imminent in ("remain
ing within; inherent; abiding within") its
Universe, and in every part, particle, unit,
or combination, within the Universe. This
statement is usually illustrated by the
Teachers by a reference to the Principle
of Correspondence. The Teacher instructs
the student to form a Mental Image of
something, a person, an idea, something
having a mental form, the favorite example
being that of the author or dramatist form
ing an idea of his characters ; or a painter
or sculptor forming an image of an ideal
that he wishes to express by his art. In
each case, the student will find that while
the image has its existence, and being,
solely within his own mind, yet he, the
student, author, dramatist, painter, or
sculptor, is, in a sense, immanent in; re
maining within; or abiding within, the
mental image also. In other words, the
entire virtue, life, spirit, of reality in the
mental image is derived from the "imma
nent mind" of the thinker. Consider this
for a moment, until the idea is grasped.
To take a modern example, let us say
that Othello, Iago, Hamlet, Lear, Eichard
III, existed merely in the mind of Shakes
peare, at the time of their conception or
creation. And yet, Shakespeare also
existed within each of these characters,

"The
Spirit of my Creator is inherent within me
—and yet I am not HE!" How different
this from the shocking half-truth so vociferously announced by certain of the half-
wise, who fill the air with their raucous
cries of: "I Am God!" Imagine poor
Micawber, or the sneaky Uriah Heep, cry
ing: "I Am Dickens"; or some of the lowly clods in one of Shakespeare's plays,
grandiloquently announcing that: "I Am
Shakespeare!" THE ALL is in the
earth-worm, and yet the earth-worm is far
from being THE ALL. And still the
wonder remains, that though the earth
worm exists merely as a lowly thing,
created and having its being solely within
the Mind of THE ALL—yet THE ALL is
immanent in the earth-worm, and in the
particles that go to make up the earth
worm. Can there be any greater mystery
than this of "All in THE ALL; and THE
ALL in AM"

DEEP

And, in the degree that Man realizes the
existence of the Indwelling Spirit imma
nent within his being, so will he rise in the
spiritual scale of life. This is what spir
itual development means—the recognition,
realization, and manifestation of the Spirit
within us. Try to remember this last
definition—that of spiritual development.
It contains the Truth of True Religion.
There are many planes of Being—many
sub-planes of Life—many degrees of exist
ence in the Universe. And all depend upon
the advancement of beings in the scale, of
which scale the lowest point is the grossest
matter, the highest being separated only
by the thinnest division from the SPIRIT
of THE ALL. And, upward and onward
along this Scale of Life, everything is
moving. All are on the Path, whose end
is THE ALL. All progress is a Returning
Home. All is Upward and Onward, in
spite of all seemingly contradictory appearances. Such is the Message of the
Illumined.

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 Vibra
tion until a very low degree of vibratory
energy is reached, at which point the
grossest possible form of Matter is mani
fested. This process is called the stage of
Involution, in which THE ALL becomes
"involved," or "wrapped up," in its crea
tion. This process is believed by the Her-
metists 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 creation."

Meditation

The ancient Hermetists use the word
"Meditation," in describing the process
of the mental creation of the Universe in
the Mind of THE ALL, the word "Con
templation" also being frequently em
ployed. But the idea intended seems to be
that of the employment of the Divine
Attention. "Attention" is a word derived
from the Latin root, meaning "to reach
out; to stretch out," and so the act of
Attention is really a mental "reaching
out; extension" of mental energy, so that
the underlying idea is readily understood
when we examine into the real meaning of
"Attention."

Why did God create?

Strictly speaking, there cannot be said
to be any " Reason" whatsoever for THE
ALL to act, for a "reason" implies a
"cause," and THE ALL is above Cause
and Effect, except when it Wills to become
a Cause, at which time the Principle is set
into motion. So, you see, the matter is
Unthinkable, just as THE ALL is Un
knowable. Just as we say THE ALL
merely "IS"—so we are compelled to say
that "THE ALL ACTS BECAUSE IT
ACTS." At the last, THE ALL is All
Reason in Itself; All Law in Itself; All
Action in Itself—and it may be said, truth
fully, that THE ALL is Its Own Reason;
its own Law ; its own Act—or still further,
that THE ALL; Its Reason; Its Act; is
Law; are ONE,

Dimension of vibration

This Fourth Dimension may be called
"the Dimension of Vibration." It is a
fact well known to modern science, as well
as to the Hermetists who have embodied
the truth in their "Third Hermetic Prin
ciple," that "everything is in motion;
everything vibrates; nothing is at rest."
From the highest manifestation, to the
lowest, everything and all things Vibrate.
Not only do they vibrate at different rates
of motion, but as in different directions
and in a different manner. The degrees of
the "rate" of vibrations constitute the
degrees of measurement on the Scale of
Vibrations—in other words the degrees of

the Fourth Dimension. And these degrees
form what occultists call "Planes." The
higher the degree of rate of vibration, the
higher the plane, and the higher the mani
festation of Life occupying that plane. So
that while a plane is not "a place," nor
yet "a state or condition," yet it possesses
qualities common to both. We shall have
more to say regarding the subject of the
scale of Vibrations in our next lessons, in
which we shall consider the Hermetic Prin
ciple of Vibration.

The Teachings are that Matter is but a form of Energy—that is, Energy at a low rate of vibrations of a certain kind.

Evil

But this may be said here, that
those who have attained high spiritual pow
ers and have misused them, have a terrible
fate in store for them, and the swing of the
pendulum of Ehythm will inevitably swing
them back to the furthest extreme of Ma
terial existence, from which point they
must retrace their steps Spiritward, along
the weary rounds of The Path, but always
with the added torture of having always
with them a lingering memory of the
heights from which they fell owing to their
evil actions. The legends of the Fallen An
gels have a basis in actual facts, as all
advanced occultists know. The striving for
selfish power on the Spiritual Planes inevi
tably results in the selfish soul losing its
spiritual balance and falling back as far as
it had previously risen. But to even such
a soul, the opportunity of a return is given

—and such, souls make the return journey,"
paying the terrible penalty according to
the invariable Law.

Modern Science has proven that all that
we call Matter and Energy are but "modes
of vibratory motion,"

But the Hermetic Teachings go much
further than do those of modern science.
They teach that all manifestation of
thought, emotion, reason, will or desire, or
any mental state or condition, are accom
panied by vibrations, a portion of which
are thrown off and which tend to affect the
minds of other persons by "induction."