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 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.
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.
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.
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 life-forms 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.