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6)  Cause and Effect -- "Every cause has its effect;   
       every effect has its cause;  everything happens
        according to the law;  chance is but the name for
        a law not recognized;  there are many planes of
        causation, but nothing escapes the law."

7)  Gender --  "Gender is in everything;  everything has its
      masculine and feminine principles;  gender manifests 
      on all planes."

The above principles are quoted from a book describing the ancient wisdom taught by Hermes Trismegistus.    The modern-day book is titled,  "The Kybalion: Hermetic Philosophy."     

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4)   Polarity --  "Everything is dual; everything has poles;  everything has its pair of opposites;  opposites are  identical in nature, but different in degree;  extremes  meet; all truths are but half truths."

Is there anything in life that has only one side?   Can you know know left without right; hard without soft; or beauty without ugliness?

Think of all those things that, at first glance,  seem to us to be so different.   Are they actually different, or do they,  like wet and dry, meet and blend somewhere in the middle?   Where does night end end and day begin?   Is there a dividing line hiding somewhere between high and low?   When hot meets cold, how does one become the other?   Are these things really different or  are they merely opposites poles of the same thing? 

In the world of duality nothing is as it appears to be.   It always contains its opposite --  an opposite that is often not perceived.   Is any man completely masculine?   Is any woman completely feminine?   Where is big without little?  Where is up without down? 

Are all truths actually only partial truths?  Is anything ever complete, or is there always more to every story?  What about all those things you are so sure about?  Are you certain that you know the whole truth?

Let's look at the concept of perspective (one's point of view) for a moment and see if truth we believe in could have an opposite pole -- to see if there could be more than one version of something that appears to us to be the complete truth.   For example, from how many points of view can can you see something as simple as a dot of light?  You look at the dot and say, "One!  I see it plainly right here in front of me.   It's a dot of light and only a dot of light."   

Well, is it?   There are usually several different mental points of view (beliefs about something) that give the same thing (or event) several different meanings, and there are countless  different physical perspectives (different places from which to look at a physical object)  Let's take a physical ride and see what differences one's viewing position can have upon the perception of something that seems to be a simple dot of light.   

Imagine yourself riding in the caboose (the last car) of a train with two friends.  You are lying on the floor looking up when you notice a dot of light above you.   You point to the dot and say to your friend who is sitting with his (her) back against the side of the train car,  "What's that?"  He looks to where you are pointing and says it's a vertical line with a dot moving up and down from one end to the other.   

At first you think he's crazy because you see only a dot, but he sounds so sure of himself that you roll over to him,  sit up beside him,  and look at the dot from his perspective.   Sure enough, you see the line and the dot just as he described it to you.  

Now let's add a second line and dot to our imaginary journey.  Pretend that you and your friend are now sitting at the side of the railcar looking at two vertical lines, each line with a dot in it that is moving up and down along the line from one end of the line  to the other.  

Your curiosity inspires you to move back to the place on the floor where you were lying when you saw the first dot of light.   You look again at the two lines.   The one you first noticed, looks like the dot you saw before, but the other one looks like a horizontal line with a dot in it.   The dot appears to be moving along the line, first toward one side of the rail car and then toward the other in a rhythmic pattern.   You wonder, how a vertical line could became a horizontal line?  You move back to the side of the car and look again.   From there, you see the image as two vertical lines and the two dots.  

Meanwhile, your other friend, has been standing looking out the back of the train watching the scenery.   You call to him, and as he turns, you  point to the two lines and ask,  "What do you see?"  He says, "I see a circle  with a dot moving around the circle.   Beneath the circle there's a  straight, vertical line with a dot moving up and down along the line."

"How can that be?" you say.  "We see only two vertical lines."  After a moment, you both get up and go to the back of the car, and from there you see exactly what your friend described.   

At this point, you hear the sound of the engineer's whistle and feel the train slowing down.   All three of you look out the window wondering what caused the change of speed.    The circle, the line and the two moving dots are temporarily out of mind as you focus on what's outside the train.    

Although you don't see anything out there worth blowing a whistle for, you  soon begin to notice that, as the railcar moves, what you see inside the car stays pretty much the same, but the view outside is a dynamic, ever-changing picture.   You also notice that the rate at which the exterior scene changes is directly proportional to the speed of the train.   Try as you may to grab and hold onto a pleasing scene, it's unreachable, intangible, un-grabbable, and almost unreal as it fades into the distance only to be replaced by still another scene.   The scene outside appears to you as an ever flowing cycle which  seems to have neither a beginning nor an end.   At least, there's no beginning or end anywhere in  sight.   The scenery you've passed is gone and no longer visible.  You wonder if it's still there.  That which lies ahead is equally as un-seeable.  

The saying of a famous philosopher pops into your mind.   You don't remember her name, but you do remember her words:   "When I finally got there, I realized there was no there there."   You know that she was talking about a state of being and not something physical, but just for a moment, you wonder if what lies ahead of you along the railroad tracks will be there when you get there.   And since it, too, is continually moving and changing, you know that when you do get there it will be different from what it is right now.  

At the moment, the only outside-the-train-scene that is visible to you  is the scene that's right-here right-now, and that, too, is continually changing.   

As the train rolls along the tracks, you look out and see a field in which a boy, sitting on a haystack, is waving at the train.   You wave back and then wonder what the circle, the line, and two moving dots might look like from the perspective of someone watching the train go by.  To the boy, the outside-scene is not moving past him.  It's more static, like the scene you are seeing inside the train.  From the boy's perspective,  the train, the dot, the line and the circle would all appear to be  moving.

To an observer watching the train go by, the vertical line is not a line at all.  It's as if the dot were riding a wave.  Those who know mathematics would say it's making a perfect sine curve as it moves along above the tracks.   And the circle is not a circle either.  It appears to be a spiral, like the coils of a stretched  spring.  One could even take the analogy further by viewing the two dots from off the Earth, but we won't go there, because I'm sure you've already gotten the message.  

After you've gotten off the train and are walking away, you notice that your perspective of the scene around you  is still changing.  The change is occurring much more slowly, but nonetheless, it's still changing.    Then it occurs to you that it's always been like that, it's that way now, and in all likelihood, it will always continue to be that way.   You realize that everything in the entire physical world can be seen from dozens, perhaps hundreds or even thousands of different points of view.   

We've just looked at a simple dot of light from several different perspectives.  We've seen it as if it were a dot, a line, a circle, a sign curve, and a spiral,.   All five of these perspectives are accurate.   So, how about something as complex as your belief system and what your belief system means to you.   Could that too, have multiple points of view?   Could there be a different meanings and different perspectives that are equally as correct as your?   Perhaps the Law of Correspondence could assist us in looking into our minds, both personally and collectively.   

There are multitudes of colors, shapes, and directions.   Perhaps in our mental universe, too, there are multiple perceptions and  countless planes of being, for it has been said:

"In my father's house, there are many mansions." (Jesus)

"Everything is mental;  the Universe is  a mental creation of the All."  (Hermes)

If these quotations  are true, then each perception, each plane, each mansion may very well have its own unique interpretation and application of The Seven Principles of Hermes.   

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Applying the Law:  

From this broader view of life, the inevitable question arises:   Who can say with anything but ignorance or arrogance,  "I'm right.   You're wrong.   My way is the one and only way."   

The next time someone tells you the he/she knows better than you what's right for you, or that he/she knows what God wants  you to do, you can smile and say, "No, thank you.  I walk my own path.  I walk in the light of the truth which bows to no authority other than itself."

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2)   Correspondence --  "As above so below;  as below so above;  as within so without;  as without so within."

This law tells us that things which appear to be very different have attributes that are actually quite similar.   It also tells us that by studying one thing we can learn about something else.  That,  for example, is exactly what statistical samples are all about.   By examining a small portion of a population, a  determination can be made as to what those same attributes are for the entire population.   Another example involves the similarities between the orbits of planets around the sun and the orbits of electrons around the nucleus of a molecule.  

How many times have you heard these lines?  ---   "By their fruits, you shall know them."  ---  "As you sew, so shall you reap."   ---  "Birds of a feather flock together."  ---  "He lied about this, so he's probably lying about that."

APPLYING THE LAW:  Here's a way you can intentionally use the Law of Correspondence to understand other people.   Carefully watch those people with whom you are planning to create a relationship.   Regardless of the nature of the relationship, be it business, friend, or lover:  Whatever you see them doing elsewhere, whatever you see them doing to someone else, sooner or later, given the means, the motive, the opportunity, and sufficient incentive, they'll be doing the same thing to you.

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6)  Cause and Effect -- "Every Cause has its Effect; every Effect has its Cause;  everything happens according to the law;  chance is but the name for a law not recognized;  there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the law."

The relationship between cause and effect is often  immediate and clearly visible.   For example, if you drop a rock on your toe, you immediately feel the effect.   

Reaping the consequences of one's action may also take some time and not be so obvious.   For example, cigarette smoking and cancer have a cause and effect relationship.    As another example, overpopulation  is having a serious detrimental effect on our Earthly environment, and yet, there are some people who are still denying that that relationship even exists.

Reaping the consequences of one's action may also take a very long time, and the relationship between cause and its result may be all but impossible to prove.   For example, if religious-one-life-ism is correct, going to heaven or hell after death is the-consequences-end of cause and effect.   If reincarnation and karma are correct, then the consequences could be lifetimes away.   We can't prove the truth of either of those two possibilities.   Global warming is another example.   For years, warnings were cast off a the ranting of hippie tree-huggers.

APPLYING THE LAW:   This leaves us with a  very significant problem.   How can we know with certainty, what caused the effects we are presently experiencing?   The best answer that we have yet come up with is:  1)  Study and understand the  The Seven Principles of Hermes,°  2)  Study and understand the Three Universal Laws,°  and 3)  Examine your own life using these laws as your working hypotheses.°  

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7)   Gender --  "Gender is in everything;  everything has its masculine and feminine principles;  gender manifests  on all planes."

As you are about to see, The Seven Principles of Hermes are infinitely intertwined.  Gender is one place where that interaction is obvious.    The constant  masculine/feminine interplay, which we take so much for granted, can easily be seen as both polarity and gender.   

What is gender?   The most obvious answer is sexual attraction.   Sex is gender in action, but is there more to gender than the hunger for sexual union?

Perhaps we could look at gender as the inevitable attraction that everything has to everything else.   In that light, gravity could be viewed as an aspect of gender.   And what about love?   Love is  far more than sexual attraction.   And then, there's the desire to feel good that pulls at us in every waking moment? 

What about our constant striving for balance --  the pull to center that we feel whenever we are near either end of one of the polarities  such as hot/cold, or tense/relaxed?

Gender can be thought of as  the draw of union, the urge to merge, the striving for balance.   In that sense, electricity and magnetism are gender in motion -- motion seeking a point of union -- a point of stillness.   

Masculine is drawn toward feminine.   Feminine is drawn toward masculine.   Heat is compelled to move toward cold.   When wet and dry meet, there is an inevitable struggle to balance -- the wet moves toward dry and the dry moves toward wet.   It's another universal  law in motion.   And all things function according to these laws. 

Perhaps gender is the core of all creation.   Gender certainly is a central player in the act of creation, for when opposite poles meet, a creation occurs which transforms both poles and produces something that neither could ever become by itself.

APPLYING THE LAW:   How can you apply this principle to your life?  First, by remembering that gender is present within you and is present in everything you come in contact with.   Second, by conducting a self examination to determine where, when, and how the compulsion called gender controls your life.    Third, by remembering that everyone you meet has a motivation, an incentive, something within them that is pushing or pulling them into action.   You may not know what that motivation is, but you can be certain that it's there.   By seeking and finding their motivation, you can short-circuit those whose intentions are malevolent,°  and you can move into harmony with others and co-create genuine win-win interactions.

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5)  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."

Night bows out, and day takes over only to relinquish its position to night again.   The rhythmic change goes on in seemingly never-ending cycles?   Winter and summer follow the same pattern as does everything else in physical reality.   As the song says,  "For everything there is a season; a time to laugh; a time to cry; a time to be born; a time to die.   There is a time for every purpose under heaven."

Yesterday's tomorrow has cycled into today, and, oh so quickly, will  move on to become today's yesterday, only to move again, day by day, slowly but surely becoming an indistinguishable nothing among countless used-to-be's, all of which become totally forgotten, even those days temporarily referenced by a single line in a dusty history book somewhere.    Ashes to ashes.   Dust to dust.   Like it or not, this is the nature of physical reality.   This is the nature of life on Earth.   

A master teacher said something similar to this: Gather up your treasures in heaven where rust cannot rot, where thieves cannot steal, and where con men cannot manipulate.    What does this say about all those things here on earth that we think are so very very important?

Whatever is of great importance in your life, be it agony or ecstasy, joy or sadness, remember: "This too will pass."  And after its passing, then what?  The answer is simple - another cycle begins.  If we've learned/remembered nothing,  the same cycle repeats itself.   The external trappings may be different, but the cycle will be the same.

A Visual Imagery -- A Six-way Intersection:  

Sit comfortably, close your eyes, and relax.  Take several deep breaths and become / imagine yourself sitting in the middle of a very unusual pathway.   This pathway is unique because, in addition to the normal front/back left/right directions, it also has a pathway going up over your head into the sky and another going down into the Earth below your feet.

Imagine the front/back direction as a sliding time scale between the future in front of you and the past behind you.   Imagine the left/right direction as a sliding gender scale between feminine on your left and masculine on your right.   Imagine the up/down direction as a sliding dimension scale between the physical world below and the non-physical reality above.  

You are now sitting in a very special position.  You are consciously and intentionally sitting at the intersection where past and future meet, at the intersection where masculine and feminine meet, and at the intersection where spirit and matter meet,  (Although you are usually not aware of it, you are at this triple intersection, all day long, every day, no matter where you are, what you are doing, or what you are thinking about.)   

How many other poles can you think of where you are at a point somewhere in the middle?    For example, where are you on the scale of  hot or cold,  fat or skinny, early and late,  right or wrong, or on the scale of desire and satisfaction?   Please also be aware that where you are right now on these scales is not a fixed position.  There is  constant rhythmic movement, first in one direction and then in the other.   

Can you see that polarity and rhythm are intimately intertwined?   What about the other Principles of Hermes.   Is there, for example, a rhythm in gender?

  4)   To be positive or neutral in my affect upon my fellow earth
         dwellers (be they plant, animal, or human) and upon Sacred
         Mother Earth, Herself.  

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1)  Mentalism -- "Everything is mental;  the Universe is
     a mental creation of the All."

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One might get the impression that these seven principles are separate pieces of a grander whole.    They are, indeed, separate, and at the same time, they are intimately interconnected pieces of a grander whole.   The evidence tells us that all things are interconnected and interpenetrate each other on many levels, both physical and non-physical.   Have you heard about Mentalism before?   If you answered "no," then let me ask the same question using different words.  Do these lines sound familiar?

"According to your faith, so be it onto you."  (Christian Bible)

If you have but the faith of a mustard seed, you can move mountains."  (Christian Bible)

"In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God."  (Christian Bible -- John 1:1)

"The act of observing alters the reality being observed."  (Heisenberg Principle)

Let's examine a common story and apply the Law of Mentalism to it.   Perhaps that will make things clearer.

Think of your two hands.    They are separate, and, at the same time, intimately tied to and dependent upon each other.    Imagine your left hand declaring war on your right hand.   Sounds a bit ridiculous, doesn't it.  

If you apply the  Law of Correspondence°  to the example above  (the war between your hands)  you'll see that you and I are in a similar relationship in that we are both part of a grander, bigger something that has many other parts.  I am one hand and you are the other, and there are many additional, and co-dependent parts that are neither you nor me, neither left hand nor right hand.   Using this example, let's examine the relationship between guilt and innocence.   

Question:   Am I responsible for making my life
                        miserable?

Perceived problem:  My life is miserable.

Question:   Are you responsible for making my life
                        miserable?

Answer:    I would never intentionally do this to myself; therefore 
                     I didn't cause this, so it must be your fault.   You have
                     caused me to be miserable.    I'm the helpless victim.

Response:    Many of those who look outside themselves for solutions
                     to their own, personal  problems have this attitude: 

"My intention is to force you to change  so that I can feel good.   In the meantime, I want everyone else to either help me change you,  feel sorry for me while I force my changes on you, or both of the above."

"Since you are the evil one that the devil sent to torment me, I'm simple going to destroy you in any way I can.   Not only will that solve my problems, it will also be doing God's work for which I'll be rewarded in heaven."   

Does that story sound familiar?   Yes, I know.   I've played victim on more than one occasion myself, so let's let the past be the past and see where we can go with a new understanding.

What if we were to apply the concepts which we discussed in the above story about perspective (Our Imaginary Train Ride).°     Let's use  the concept of multiple perspectives and see if there are another ways to view this:

Perceived problem:  My life is miserable.

Question:   Am I responsible of making my life
                        miserable?

Answer:    I am responsible, but I'm not guilty.   Neither am I innocent.   I did created my own experiences, but obviously not by conscious intention.    I simply did so unconsciously by accident and/or by default.   In my lack of knowledge regarding how the universe functions, I misapplied the laws and now I'm reaping the consequences of my ignorance.

Response:    Knowing now that within the context of human life on planet Earth, I alone am responsible for  my past and present experiences, what can I do with that information?  What does it tell me?

It tells me that guilt, blame, punishment, revenge, and victim consciousness are, to say this politely, human-created bullshit!

It also tells me that I am a powerful co-creator with whatever that source is that most of us call "God."   God gave me the rules and the entire universe within which to apply them.   God also gave me the freedom to create my life any way I choose.   

How can I apply the rules to myself here and now?   How can I re-create my life?   Here's one possibility:   This time I choose love, freedom and joy, etc.   

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