THE KYBALION --- 05 CHAPTER 5. THE MENTAL UNIVERSE

CHAPTER 5. THE MENTAL UNIVERSE

"The Universe is Mental--held in the Mind of THE
ALL."--The Kybalion.
THE ALL is SPIRIT! But what is Spirit? This question cannot be
answered, for the reason that its definition is practically that of THE
ALL, which cannot be explained or defined. Spirit is simply a name that
men give to the highest conception of Infinite Living Mind--it means "the
Real Essence"--it means Living Mind, as much superior to Life and Mind
as we know them, as the latter are superior to mechanical Energy and
Matter. Spirit transcends our understanding, and we use the term merely
that we may think or speak of THE ALL. For the purposes of thought and
understanding, we are justified in thinking of Spirit as Infinite Living
Mind, at the same time acknowledging that we cannot fully understand
it. We must either do this or stop thinking of the matter at all.
Let us now proceed to a consideration of the nature of the Universe, as a
whole and in its parts. 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 Universe 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 Universe. 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 divided, 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
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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 fragments? 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 Correspondence" (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
transferring 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 reproduce himself, and yet his
Spirit pervades the Mental Creation.
Following the Principle of Correspondence, we are justified in
considering that THE ALL creates the Universe MENTALLY, 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.
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THE ALL can create in no other way except mentally, without either
using material (and there is none to use), or else reproducing itself
(which is also impossible). There is no escape from this conclusion 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 Universes 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 similar in kind, but
infinitely different in degree. 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 UNIVERSE, 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.
The Principle of Gender (see Lesson I. and other lessons to follow) is
manifested on all planes of life, material mental and spiritual. But, as we
have said before, "Gender" does not mean "Sex" sex is merely a material
manifestation of gender. "Gender" means "relating to generation or
creation." And whenever anything is generated or created, on any plane,
the Principle of Gender must be manifested. And this is true even in the
creation of Universes.
Now do not jump to the conclusion that we are teaching that there is a
male and female God, or Creator. That idea is merely a distortion of the
ancient teachings on the subject. The true teaching is that THE ALL, in
itself, is above Gender, as it is above every other Law, including those of
Time and Space. It is the Law, from which the Laws proceed, and it is not
subject to them. But when THE ALL manifests on the plane of
generation or creation, then it acts according to Law and Principle, for it
is moving on a lower plane of Being. And consequently it manifests the
Principle of Gender, in its Masculine and Feminine aspects, on the
Mental Plane, of course.
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This idea may seem startling to some of you who hear it for the first time,
but you have all really passively accepted it in your everyday
conceptions. You speak of the Fatherhood of God, and the Motherhood
of Nature--of God, the Divine Father, and Nature the Universal Mother--
and have thus instinctively acknowledged the Principle of Gender in the
Universe. Is this not so?
But, the Hermetic teaching does not imply a real duality--THE ALL is
ONE--the Two Aspects are merely aspects of manifestation. The teaching
is that The Masculine Principle manifested by THE ALL stands, in a way,
apart from the actual mental creation of the Universe. It projects its Will
toward the Feminine Principle (which may be called "Nature")
whereupon the latter begins the actual work of the evolution of the
Universe, from simple "centers of activity" on to man, and then on and
on still higher, all according to well-established and firmly enforced
Laws of Nature. If you prefer the old figures of thought, you may think of
the Masculine Principle as GOD, the Father, and of the Feminine
Principle as NATURE, the Universal Mother, from whose womb all
things have been born. This is more than a mere poetic figure of speech--
it is an idea of the actual process of the creation of the Universe. But
always remember, that THE ALL is but One, and that in its Infinite Mind
the Universe is generated, created and exists.
It may help you to get the proper idea, if you will apply the Law of
Correspondence to yourself, and your own mind. You know that the part
of You which you call "I," in a sense, stands apart and witnesses the
creation of mental Images in your own mind. The part of your mind in
which the mental generation is accomplished may be called the "Me" in
distinction from the "I" which stands apart and witnesses and examines
the thoughts, ideas and images of the "Me." "As above, so below,"
remember, and the phenomena of one plane may be employed to solve
the riddles of higher or lower planes.
Is it any wonder that You, the child, feel that instinctive reverence for
THE ALL, which feeling we call "religion"--that respect, and reverence
for THE FATHER MIND? Is it any wonder that, when you consider the
works and wonders of Nature, you are overcome with a mighty feeling
which has its roots away down in your inmost being? It is the MOTHER
MIND that you are pressing close up to, like a babe to the breast.
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Do not make the mistake of supposing that the little world you see
around you--the Earth, which is a mere grain of dust in the Universe--is
the Universe itself. There are millions upon millions of such worlds, and
greater. And there are millions of millions of such Universes in existence
within the Infinite Mind of THE ALL. And even in our own little solar
system there are regions and planes of life far higher than ours, and
beings compared to which we earth-bound mortals are as the slimy lifeforms that dwell on the ocean's bed when compared to Man. There are
beings with powers and attributes higher than Man has ever dreamed of
the gods' possessing. And yet these beings were once as you, and still
lower--and you will be even as they, and still higher, in time, for such is
the Destiny of Man as reported by the Illumined.
And Death is not real, even in the Relative 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
opportunities 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.
"Within the Father-Mother Mind, mortal children are at
home."--The Kybalion.
"There is not one who is Fatherless, nor Motherless in the
Universe."--The Kybalion.