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
to-and-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 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 new-birth. 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 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
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 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.