“In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety” - Abraham Maslow
Since a child, I have always been innately spiritual, interconnected to something more. In awe of the transcendental history of our planet and those that have walked before us. The mysticism around unexplainable synchronicities that I have experienced all of my life fuels my curiosity. When first learning of the Ancient Egyptians and the mind boggling structures that were built in those dynasties, I found it difficult to contain my excitement, forever reading encyclopedias and books as a young boy to gather as much knowledge and information as I could. I eventually traveled to Egypt to explore and learn more.
Moving into my mid to late teens I discovered Greek and Roman Philosophy, specifically Marcus Aurelius stood out to me, as I found his personal writings in Meditations so perfectly relevant almost 2000 years after they were written. Reading his reflections gave me a complete mental shift as a teen that fuelled my curiosity for life and helped pave a new way of thinking that has stayed with me ever since.
One thought of my own was so profound, it is one of the main reasons that made me want to coach. I pondered on how different my life would have been if I had not been curious and innately philosophical with a thirst for learning. Had I not stumbled across Marcus Aurelius and gone down the rabbit hole of philosophers from Eastern, Western and ancient civilisations, my life today would be completely different.
I realize now, as much as i did back then, that having my perspective challenged with new thoughts and seeing things from a new and exciting angle, can provide me with the tools to lead a better life, by forgetting what i think i know and staying forever curious as to what i do not, to seek the truth in everything and be willing to have my thoughts, beliefs and cognitions refuted expands my conscious mind. I can change my perspective, I am not bound by beliefs that do not empower me. I am not my fleeting thoughts. I will not give more power to my thoughts than my ability to change my thoughts. I will not wait for a better life to find me, I will create it.
I remember asking myself what would make me happy as a teenager. I would think to myself, “surely there is a blueprint to living a fulfilled life out there in the history of literature”. The practice of Philosophy has been the closest thing to an answer for me. Admittedly, I am not a perfect student in philosophy and stoicism, as it is a practice that I feel is almost a state of mind once mastered. We all have moments where we slip and act “out of character” but I feel as though I am becoming more steady as time passes. I will continue to learn more about myself and continue to sharpen my axe for as long as I live.
As a thinking man, I can acknowledge that I do not want to be bound by my emotions or fears, although my fears have changed as I have grown older. When I was a child my fears used to consist of things such as heights, flying and being alone in the dark. As I grew, they changed to living an unfulfilled life and running out of stories when I am old because I have not lived fully or losing my mind and memory. Throughout my journey in life and in philosophy I have found myself extremely interested in hermetic philosophy and the principles that constitute hermeticism in its entirety.
“A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart” - Von Goethe
Hermeticism, a brief history
Hermeticism originates from the mystical literature of Hermes Trismigistus from around the second half of millennium BC. Hermes Trismegistus is considered the founder of science, religion, mathematics, geometry, alchemy, astrology, philosophy, medicine and magic. He is a combination of the Egyptian God Thoth of wisdom, learning and communications and the Greek God Hermes, messenger of the gods. He was described by ancient Egyptians as the “scribe of the gods'' and by the ancient Greeks as “thrice great” or “three times great” for his wisdom of the universe, alchemy and astrology. Upon further research on the topic it seems that the 7 principles of hermeticism appear in almost all religions in some form.
Could it be that Hermes Trismegistus and his teachings are the common denominator to all religions and the starting point for all of the topics mentioned above? Afterall someone at some point in the timeline of mankind had to start the concept of mathematics and geometry and the flurry of other topics that Hermes is renowned for. How lucky we are to have ancient literature to read, handed down for thousands of years. Whatever your viewpoint is with ancient mysticism and the validity of these ancient characters, it would be a shame for anyone not to read his teachings and form your own opinion as the will to remain curious in life ignites the soul.
In the book of hermetic philosophy called “The Kybalion '' by the three initiates, the 7 principles are clearly explained (albeit still a task to wrap your head around some of the content). If you have a thirst for esoteric mysticism or you would appreciate an ancient insight into life and the universe, I highly recommend that you read it.
The 7 principles of hermetic philosophy are as follows:
Mentalism - The all is mind; The universe in mental
Correspondence - As above, so below; as below, so above / As within, so without
Vibration - Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates
Polarity - Everything is dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites
Rhythm - Everything flows, out and in; everything has its tides; all things rise and fall
Cause and effect - Every cause has its effect; every effect has its cause; everything happens according to Law
Gender - Gender is in everything, everything has its masculine and feminine principles; Gender manifests on all planes.
As within, so without
As the content of The Kybalion is extensive, I decided to pick out some parts that resonated with me most and parts that I believe may encourage people to go out and read the book. The second principle of correspondence “As above, so below” refers to everything corresponding on different planes of existence. For example the three great planes;
The Physical Plane
The Mental Plane
The Spiritual Plane
The Physical and Mental planes are also subdivided into 7 minor planes and are better explained in more detail in the Kybalion. The minor planes discuss the harmony, correspondence and agreement between the minds of plants, humans and the animal kingdom but I will leave that for you to read!
This principle acknowledges the connection between the mind, life, manifestation and our material world. This can be interpreted that our external worlds and what we experience as material reality is a reflection of our mental and spiritual state. The perceptions of our experiences and how we choose to respond to them determine our quality of life, not the circumstances themselves. Everything that we experience, or think we experience, is just a reflection of opinions, beliefs and past events that we attach to our identity. This leads me to the next principle of Polarity.
Polarity - Everything is dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites.
I love this principle. I love it because of how easy it becomes to change your mind or opinion of something regardless how strongly you may feel about it. When practiced, I can almost immediately rationalize and regulate my emotions when I find myself in a less than ideal scenario or where my mood may be affected.
Let me explain, generally when you think of something completely opposite you will think of them as two separate things. For example, hot and cold, love and hate, up and down, fast and slow, good and evil, black and white, noisy and quiet, hard and soft, positive and negative and the most commonly used, good and bad, but the list goes on. All of these things are the SAME thing on either end of the pole. Hot and cold is a scale of temperature, black and white a scale on the colour spectrum, fast and slow is a measurement of speed, positive and negative is a measurement of energy. This principle initiates the thought that if I can hate something, then I can love it. Have you ever been in love and then hated that person later on? That is the polarity of emotion.
So why live in constant hatred or even dislike of something or someone? Isn’t that a burden? By adjusting your viewpoint you may just enjoy it or at the bare minimum tolerate it, but most importantly you might just see something from another perspective or taste a new food that you never thought you would enjoy and change the way you think and feel. This is a principle that can be used in a multitude of scenarios in your life. It helps us move away from the “you are wrong and i am right” arguments that many people find themselves in. This can also be used as a tool for mood regulation, by pulling the needle from one extreme to the other.
Using this principle you can identify that, to conquer fear you need to adopt more characteristics of its polar opposite which is courage, remembering that you must manifest on the same pole. You cannot conquer fear with love just as you can't love from fear. Displaying more courage is the only thing that will diminish fear, even if you take small steps at a time, this is progress. You do not become less fearful, you become more courageous.
Once you learn this, moving forward with your life you can practice and learn to understand that the more time you stay at the “negative” end of the scale, that it is a choice. For example, your day is not ruined because it is raining, it is only your viewpoint that the rain is bad. If it wasn’t for rain, all of the crops, flowers, plants and animals and humans in nature would suffer. This is polarity.
Gender - Masculine and Feminine energy
Gender in the Kybalion does not refer to just the type of sex. Male and female gender are a manifestation of sex on the physical plane of existence. Masculine and feminine on the other hand manifests itself biologically in the form of energy.
We all have the ability to adopt both masculine and feminine energy, as we carry both around with us. Natural masculine energy is commonly associated in western society with strength, courage, stability, confidence, independence, leadership, and assertiveness, long for appreciation and admiration, rational and logical skill.
Natural feminine energy consists of feelings, creativity, intuitiveness, inspiration, vulnerability, empathy, nurturing, self love/ good at taking care of themselves and so on. Both feminine and masculine energies have many more qualities associated with them but this gives you an idea.
In my personal opinion, upon the observation of society and in relation to this principle, there has been a shift in energy in the past 10 years or so. Slowly but surely women have been adopting more masculine qualities and are thriving in their personal lives. Becoming more independent, pushing for equal rights, running successful businesses, being more assertive and demanding respect. I admire this and I support all women in their personal endeavors to live in accordance to how they choose. The downside to this is that they neglect their natural energy and can become imbalanced.
There are also energies adopted commonly referred to as “wounded energy’ and in the way of feminine energy surface in manipulation, neediness, withholding, weakness, co-dependency or overly emotional. On the contrary of course this applies for men as well. A wounded man can become unstable, unsupportive, aggressive, confrontational, abusive, avoiding and criticizing.
MOST men rarely adopt feminine qualities. There is a stigma around it as it comes across as weak. Even the words “feminine energy” would make a lot of men screw their face up. I’m not talking about tucking your dick in and rapping to Cardi B in the mirror, I am talking about taking care of yourself, being vulnerable, resting, getting in touch with your emotions and processing them, looking after your physical, mental and spiritual health, being empathetic and healing your traumas - all while maintaining your strong masculine energies.
The problem is, most women see vulnerable men in a relationship as being weak. Even if a woman thinks she wants an emotionally vulnerable man, in her mind she forfeits his strength. Women turn to men for support and strength and are generally a pillar of sturdiness in a relationship.
You see, this masculine and feminine principle is a balancing act. They intertwine with each other on a daily basis. They affect your relationships with every person you know. When two people are too far at one end of the spectrum it surfaces in the way you communicate and carry out your relationship and ultimately the relationship with yourself is the one that is mostly affected.
In this new era of time, there is undoubtedly a rise of the feminine and a demise of the masculine energy. Masculine energy is criticized at every opportunity by what appears to be wounded women adopting a mixture of masculine and feminine wounded energy, and feminine energy being adopted by men is a rare occurrence, but it is on the rise.
It is imperative as a society that we acknowledge the power in both energies and embrace them equally. To heal our emotional wounds. It is critical that women do not forget their innate strengths and men understand that adopting feminine energy does not make you less of a man.
In Australia, suicide is the biggest killer in men aged 14-45. Boys under the age of 14 will eventually fall into that category. I am currently in that statistical bracket. That is your brother, your mate, your son, your husband, potentially your dad or uncle. There is no time like right now to break the stigma and start finding a balance. For men and women to acknowledge and respect each other and our innate energies and harmonize equally.
Elliott Stenson