THE KYBALION --- 11 CHAPTER 11. RHYTHM

CHAPTER 11. 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"--The Kybalion.
The great Fifth Hermetic Principle--the Principle of Rhythm-embodies
the truth that in everything there is manifested a measured motion; a toand-from movement; a flow and inflow; a swing forward and backward;
a pendulum-like movement; a tide-like ebb and flow; a high-tide and a
low- tide; between the two-poles manifest on the physical, mental or
spiritual planes. The Principle of rhythm is closely connected with the
Principle of Polarity described in the preceding chapter. Rhythm
manifests between the two poles established by the Principle of Polarity.
This does not mean, however, that the pendulum of Rhythm swings to
the extreme poles, for this rarely happens; in fact, it is difficult to
establish the extreme polar opposites in the majority of cases. But the
swing is ever "toward" first one pole and then the other.
There is always an action and reaction; an advance and a retreat; a rising
and a sinking; manifested in all of the airs and phenomena of the
Universe. Suns, worlds, men, animals, plants, minerals, forces, energy,
mind and matter, yes, even Spirit, manifests this Principle. The Principle
manifests in the creation and destruction of worlds; in the rise and fall of
nations; in the life history of all things; and finally in the mental states of
Man.
Beginning with the manifestations of Spirit--of THE ALL--it will be
noticed that there is ever the Outpouring and the Indrawing; the
"Outbreathing and Inbreathing of Brahm," as the Brahmans word it.
Universes are created; reach their extreme low point of materiality; and
then begin in their upward swing. Suns spring into being, and then their
height of power being reached, the process of retrogression begins, and
after aeons they become dead masses of matter, awaiting another
impulse which starts again their inner energies into activity and a new
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solar life cycle is begun. And thus it is with all the worlds; they are born,
grow and die; only to be reborn. And thus it is with all the things of
shape and form; they swing from action to reaction; from birth to death;
from activity to inactivity--and then back again. Thus it is with all living
things; they are born, grow, and die--and then are reborn. So it is with all
great movements, philosophies, creeds, fashions, governments, nations,
and all else-birth, growth, maturity, decadence, death-and then newbirth. The swing of the pendulum is ever in evidence.
Night follows day; and day night. The pendulum swings from Summer to
Winter, and then back again. The corpuscles, atoms, molecules, and all
masses of matter, swing around the circle of their nature. There is no
such thing as absolute rest, or cessation from movement, and all
movement partakes of rhythm. The principle is of universal application.
It may be applied to any question, or phenomena of any of the many
planes of life. It may be applied to all phases of human activity. There is
always the Rhythmic swing from one pole to the other. The Universal
Pendulum is ever in motion. The Tides of Life flow in and out, according
to Law.
The Principle of rhythm is well understood by modern science, and is
considered a universal law as applied to material things. But the
Hermetists carry the principle much further, and know that its
manifestations and influence extend to the mental activities of Man, and
that it accounts for the bewildering succession of moods, feelings and
other annoying and perplexing changes that we notice in ourselves. But
the Hermetists by studying the operations of this Principle have learned
to escape some of its activities by Transmutation.
The Hermetic Masters long since discovered that while the Principle of
Rhythm was invariable, and ever in evidence in mental phenomena, still
there were two planes of its manifestation so far as mental phenomena
are concerned. They discovered that there were two general planes of
Consciousness, the Lower and the Higher, the understanding of which
fact enabled them to rise to the higher plane and thus escape the swing
of the Rhythmic pendulum which manifested on the lower plane. In
other words, the swing of the pendulum occurred on the Unconscious
Plane, and the Consciousness was not affected. This they call the Law of
Neutralization. Its operations consist in the raising of the Ego above the
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vibrations of the Unconscious Plane of mental activity, so that the
negative-swing of the pendulum is not manifested in consciousness, and
therefore they are not affected. It is akin to rising above a thing and
letting it pass beneath you. The Hermetic Master, or advanced student,
polarizes himself at the desired pole, and by a process akin to "refusing"
to participate in the backward swing or, if you prefer, a "denial" of its
influence over him, he stands firm in his polarized position, and allows
the mental pendulum to swing back along the unconscious plane. All
individuals who have attained any degree of self- mastery, accomplish
this, more or less unknowingly, and by refusing to allow their moods and
negative mental states to affect them, they apply the Law of
Neutralization. The Master, however, carries this to a much higher
degree of proficiency, and by the use of his Will he attains a degree of
Poise and Mental Firmness almost impossible of belief on the part of
those who allow themselves to be swung backward and forward by the
mental pendulum of moods and feelings.
The importance of this will be appreciated by any thinking person who
realizes what creatures of moods, feelings and emotion the majority of
people are, and how little mastery of themselves they manifest. If you
will stop and consider a moment, you will realize how much these swings
of Rhythm have affected you in your life--how a period of Enthusiasm
has been invariably followed by an opposite feeling and mood of
Depression. Likewise, your moods and periods of Courage have been
succeeded by equal moods of Fear. And so it has ever been with the
majority of persons--tides of feeling have ever risen and fallen with
them, but they have never suspected the cause or reason of the mental
phenomena. An understanding of the workings of this Principle will give
one the key to the Mastery of these rhythmic swings of feeling, and will
enable him to know himself better and to avoid being carried away by
these inflows and outflows. The Will is superior to the conscious
manifestation of this Principle, although the Principle itself can never be
destroyed. We may escape its effects, but the Principle operates,
nevertheless. The pendulum ever swings, although we may escape being
carried along with it.
There are other features of the operation of this Principle of Rhythm of
which we wish to speak at this point. There comes into its operations
that which is known as the Law of Compensation. One of the definitions
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or meanings of the word "Compensate" is, "to counterbalance" which is
the sense in which the Hermetists use the term. It is this Law of
Compensation to which the Kybalion refers when it says: "The measure
of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left; rhythm
compensates."
The Law of Compensation is that the swing in one direction determines
the swing in the opposite direction, or to the opposite pole-the one
balances, or counterbalances, the other. On the Physical Plane we see
many examples of this Law. The pendulum of the clock swings a certain
distance to the right, and then an equal distance to the left. The seasons
balance each other in the same way. The tides follow the same Law. And
the same Law is manifested in all the phenomena of Rhythm. The
pendulum, with a short swing in one direction, has but a short swing in
the other; while the long swing to the right invariably means the long
swing to the left. An object hurled upward to a certain height has an
equal distance to traverse on its return. The force with which a projectile
is sent upward a mile is reproduced when the projectile returns to the
earth on its return journey. This Law is constant on the Physical Plane,
as reference to the standard authorities will show you.
But the Hermetists carry it still further. They teach that a man's mental
states are subject to the same Law. The man who enjoys keenly, is
subject to keen suffering; while he who feels but little pain is capable of
feeling but little joy. The pig suffers but little mentally, and enjoys but
little--he is compensated. And on the other hand, there are other animals
who enjoy keenly, but whose nervous organism and temperament cause
them to suffer exquisite degrees of pain and so it is with Man. There are
temperaments which permit of but low degrees of enjoyment, and
equally low degrees of suffering; while there are others which permit the
most intense enjoyment, but also the most intense suffering. The rule is
that the capacity for pain and pleasure, in each individual, are balanced.
The Law of Compensation is in full operation here.
But the Hermetists go still further in this matter. They teach that before
one is able to enjoy a certain degree of pleasure, he must have swung as
far, proportionately, toward the other pole of feeling. They hold,
however, that the Negative is precedent to the Positive in this matter,
that is to say that in experiencing a certain degree of pleasure it does not
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follow that he will have to "pay up for it" with a corresponding degree of
pain; on the contrary, the pleasure is the Rhythmic swing, according to
the Law of Compensation, for a degree of pain previously experienced
either in the present life, or in a previous incarnation. This throws a new
light on the Problem of Pain.
The Hermetists regard the chain of lives as continuous, and as forming a
part of one life of the individual, so that in consequence the rhythmic
swing is understood in this way, while it would be without meaning
unless the truth of reincarnation is admitted.
But the Hermetists claim that the Master or advanced student is able, to
a great degree, to escape the swing toward Pain, by the process of
Neutralization before mentioned. By rising on to the higher plane of the
Ego, much of the experience that comes to those dwelling on the lower
plane is avoided and escaped.
The Law of Compensation plays an important part in the lives of men
and women. It will be noticed that one generally "pays the price" of
anything he possesses or lacks. If he has one thing, he lacks another--the
balance is struck. No one can "keep his penny and have the bit of cake" at
the same time Everything has its pleasant and unpleasant sides. The
things that one gains are always paid for by the things that one loses. The
rich possess much that the poor lack, while the poor often possess things
that are beyond the reach of the rich. The millionaire may have the
inclination toward feasting, and the wealth wherewith to secure all the
dainties and luxuries of the table, while he lacks the appetite to enjoy the
same; he envies the appetite and digestion of the laborer who lacks the
wealth and inclinations of the millionaire, and who gets more pleasure
from his plain food than the millionaire could obtain even if his appetite
were not jaded, nor his digestion ruined, for the wants, habits and
inclinations differ. And so it is through life. The Law of Compensation is
ever in operation, striving to balance and counter-balance, and always
succeeding in time, even though several lives may be required for the
return swing of the Pendulum of Rhythm.