Unpacking the Kybalion

The Kybalion contains a series of 7 Laws. The First Law is Mentalism which states that "All is Mind." As human beings we perceive our reality through our consciousness. We do not have any other way to relate to the world. Even physical touch is felt through a relationship with our minds. It is from this vantage point that we can see the wisdom of viewing the world as stemming from our minds. No matter how hard we try to escape from our own minds we can't do it. Bruce Rawles describes this union of consciousness in the following manner:

Pure consciousness is at our center, the ineffable quintessence of life at the focus of each being. Mystical traditions inform us that all matter is permeated with consciousness, the one foundational principle that science tries in vain to localize in the context of an assumed finite material reference frame. Our prime awareness, eternal, unchanging in a Universe of change, defies definition.

Rawles goes on to say that the "lab assignment" of this Law is to be kind to ourselves. Ruben Cedeno advises us that "Once an idea has been strongly fixed in the conscious mind, it will be stored in the subconscious mind as a mental image."

Now that we have glimpsed the Power of the Mind let us move to the 2nd Law of the Kybalion which is the Law of Correspondence which states that "As above, so below." By applying this Law we can glimpse realities which would otherwise be kept hidden from us. In the natural progression of the previous Law from understanding that our perceptions form our reality we can now see that they directly correspond to what is outside of ourselves. The Kybalion tells us that we can uncover truths which otherwise would remain unknown to us because of this matching relationship with each other.

If we can learn to ask the right questions then we are immediately led to uncovering the right answers. Are you asking the right questions in your life? And do you believe that by asking these appropriate questions you will be naturally led to the answers? This is the power of your intuition and it can provide powerful guidance in your life.

In a previous post I explored some ideas around the 3rd and4th Laws (Vibration and Polarity) so to follow these concepts further I'd suggest you read that post also.

Creative Mind Success

The following is a summary of the Ernest Holmes book, Creative Mind and Success. It is a combination of my own words and his. I originally took notes on this book which is in the public domain in August and today felt compelled to craft them into the summary you see here. I know that with the proper application of your thought process you will find this summary of value.

We are all surrounded by an atmosphere of thought. As we conform our lives to a greater understanding of this basic principle we will bring into our experience what we wish, let go of what we don't want to experience, and take in the things we desire. In order to do this we must only speak and think words that we wish to create. We must not think, speak, read, or listen to limitation of any kind. It is also important not to dwell on past mistakes. We are better served learning forgiveness of ourselves and others.

Know that you are a success now and that nothing can hinder you from accomplishing your good. Like weeding a garden it is your charge to eliminate all negative thoughts, false beliefs, and any ideas of limitation. See only what you wish to experience and declare that you are in union with Infinite Mind. You attract what you first become in your mind, and feel to be reality. It is imperative that you hold this one pointedly, and with ease.

Learn to love everyone, and send this thought out to the entire world. Refuse to see the negative side of anyone. Know that everyone wants you to have the best. Continue to affirm this everywhere you go and you will find things just as you wish them. By controlling your thoughts you can have and do what you wish to have and do. The creative flow is for you to use but not to possess.

Thinking sets into motion creative power which from an idea sets the path in motion. Learn to use this for a definite purpose, and speak it forth. Don't just see what you desire, know you "are" what you think. When looking for next steps wait in silence expectantly as the inner power supplies you with good. Know the power of words, they are sacred.

Pray with conviction as if you already possess what you need. Have a received attitude, and once again do this single pointedly clearing your mind of any separation from the Divine Mind. We all are better served applying more backbone and less wishbone to our daily lives.

Imagine yourself surrounded by a mind so receptive that it receives the slightest impression of your thoughts. Feel that every thought is received and acted upon. Center on what you want to become, what you want to accomplish, and then keep it to yourself. Say, "I am that thing" many time a day, and develop a perfect mental picture of it. Do not feel it is ever too late to start. Know that life is consciousness and is not contingent on years.

Every day give to the great Creative Mind exactly what you want to happen by seeing only what you desire, while in the silence of your soul speaking it and then it will be done unto you. Money is an effect so in order to acquire it we must find its cause which is consciousness, thus we must acquire a money consciousness. Do not be fooled into thinking of money as material, it is spiritual. Make our unity with supply by daily that all the power in the universe is bringing to us all we can use. Feel this presence of supply, and know that it is yours now. Realize your omnipotent power, speak it forth, and feel that it responds to you. Whenever you see that someone has more than you, at once affirm that you have as much as them. Whenever you see anything big say, "That means me." In this way you learn to unify with the law.

All activity comes from the mind, and doesn't mean that it comes with struggle. We must learn to comply with the Law of Activity. Use this law in our business by constantly remaining in motion. Action is life so stay alert and apply mental awareness which precedes physical activity. Think while you work, move with confidence, and a sense of Supreme Guidance to make you work more intelligently. Stay out of ruts, remain fresh. Be interested in life if you want life to be interested in you. Act in life and life will act through you.

In order to receive from the infinite, first quiet your mind within yourself and without any confusion from outward appearance. Do not be disturbed by effects. Realize the presence of Absolute Intelligence surrounding you as a mind that knows. Second get a clear picture of what you desire, and put your mind in touch with the Universal Mind saying precisely what you are waiting for. Ask for it, believe you are receiving it, and wait for it to arrive. After a few minutes declare that you now know even if it may seem that you don't. Give thanks for receiving this knowing. Do this every day until you find the direction you are seeking. A good time to do this practice is right before you go to sleep so that your subconscious has an opportunity to work on your declaration. When the direction arrives act on it with conviction, and prefect assurance.

Proceed with self-reliance by listening to your own voice and holding to your principal witness. We can't demonstrate life beyond our mental ability to embody our thoughts. We must create the mental equivalent inside us before we can hope to create it in the outside world. Destroy old thoughts with new thoughts. Know that limited thinking has no place in your mind. Sit and realize you are the center of Divine Attraction, and that all good things are coming to you. Feel your power within going out as you draw back in all that you need. Stick with this process even if you don't see immediate results.

Ask yourself, "Do I really want this thing I ask for?", "Am I willing to take for myself what I ask of other people?" When an undesired thing happens drop it, forgive ourselves, and start fresh, never to think about it again. Realize everyone is your friend by exercising absolute forgiveness and eliminating any sense of limitation. See only good never evil.

Every victory strengthens you. You will no longer have to say, "I hope" or "I believe" but will utter, "I know." Follow these instructions with absolute belief. Work on these things alone unless you are completely certain that those you are working with are in harmony with us. In order to attract larger things we must think larger thoughts. This is why we must work every day to expand our thoughts. Get a hold of the biggest thing and claim it as your own.

Always be gathering more, expecting more, and never allowing for small thoughts. Keep the main thing in your mind, and destroy all thoughts you don't wish to experience. Know "I AM," and that "All is Well." Never again say, "I fear" but instead say, "I trust"

In order to achieve prosperity hold or think of your product or service and declare into the only mind that they will accomplish that for which they are sent out. Know that every word written on them is truth, and that they carry their own conviction. See your products reaching their location with gladness, and interest. Declare this as NOW, and feel it to be true. Mentally assert that they will reach their destination safely and benefit the receiver. When the word is spoken always feel that the mind at once takes it up and never fails to act upon it.

Guard you mind by knowing that no negativity or thoughts of limitation can enter. Clothe yourself in the great realization that all power is yours. Fill the atmosphere of your homes and businesses with streams of positive thought. As you do this you will invite others in and continually draw in only the best.

When surrounded by inactivity, mentally see and declare that you are in the midst of activity. Feel this to be true, and mentally see the pace as being busy. Declare and see that your word perpetually draws in fullness. Stop all striving and struggle within your soul by knowing the truth and absolutely trusting.

To bring people into your life unite with the principle of life, not people. This is called working from the center. Realize life is your friend, and feel the Divine Companionship. Always be cheerful and do not allow your feelings to be hurt. Humanity is what they think they are. Big thoughts yield big things. Through thinking believe in truth, and what you wish to have returned to you. Eliminate negative thoughts and hold only to positive thoughts. Give thanks to the spirit of life, never argue with yourself or others, and through demonstration you shall know.

The Shadow: Unlocking Our Hidden Self

Lurking beneath our day to day waking self is The Shadow. Jung referred to this as the unconscious elements of the mind. My personal teacher Father Max always disliked the term unconscious because he felt that the mind could not be unconscious, he preferred the new thought term of subjective to refer to the subconscious mind. Without getting too bound in semantics lets suffice it to say it is the elements of our psyche which lies hidden beneath the surface. It is important to note that Jung found that the shadow contains both negative and positive aspects hidden within it.

For years people have been developing a lot of techniques to uncover the shadow. Jung taught that by assimilating the unconscious shadow into the conscious self brings a wider breadth to that consciousness. The process is continuous and when worked with throughout a lifetime progresses with greater and greater integration taking place between the waking consciousness and shadow self.

Jung talked about two types of shadows, there is the individual shadow of things we repressed and can’t accept; and then there is the collective unconscious which is a universal, thus non-individuated aspect of the shadow.

Connie Zweig in a 1998 interview with Scott London advised that Jung instructed to work with the Shadow by “holding the tension of the opposites as a basis for working with the shadow.”  This conjures up the talk of Robert Anton Wilson with his constant reference to Reality Tunnels and all of the mindbending exercises he deploys to get his readers out of their fixed reality tunnels and begin to see the wider, more expansive way of relating to the world, and other people. Non-dualism is a way of seeing that in my view can assist in this process of awakening to a world that includes our disowned self.

This brings us to the work of Ken Wilber who has formulated a method of uncovering the Shadow by splitting our relation to an object, which can be a person, emotion, place, or situation, into 3 aspects. The first area is to view the object as something you view from afar. You begin to describe the object in terms of what it is on its own. The 2^nd phase is to begin directly relating to the object by beginning a dialogue, and asking question, then allowing the object to answer back. The third aspect is to become the actual thing. You embody what it is speaking from the point of view of the object. Lastly after the 3 aspects have been encountered there is an additional stage where the practitioner accepts all 3 aspects of the object, facing it, talking to it, and finally becoming it, and lastly accepting all 3 aspects.

Wilber teaches that by re-identifying with our splits we can then redirect our energy to work on our move towards wholeness and optimizing our abilities because we are no longer using so much of energy protecting ourselves from the parts of ourselves that we up until then have been unable to accept.

I personally have been working with this process in the form of a 21 minute writing exercise where all three aspects are handled separately for one full page in 7 minutes. I have been using this technique primarily by identifying with famous teachers that I have a great deal of respect for such as Chogyam Trungpa, Napoleon Hill and Ernest Holmes. In my experience it is amazing to watch these historical teachers come alive and begin to speak to me directly. I am getting so much from this direct dialogue I can’t even begin to tell you, and coupled with my free written daily morning pages I feel so strongly that these practices are doing much to enrich my life and integrate my whole person.  All this work has even propelled me to wish to start sharing what I have learned in the form of these blog posts.

Let me know what you think about these concepts, your own personal experiences in working with your shadow, and how you feel about the manner in which I am presenting this material?

Thanks,

David