THE PRINCIPLE OF RHYTHM
If you’ve read some or all of the 4 Principles I’ve covered so far, you will have likely noticed that Hermeticism is not some obscure esoteric spiritual philosophy but a rich revelation of the deeper nature of Life itself. So it goes with the Principle of Rhythm, there’s a distinct practical application to all the Principles which — when mastered — allows us to align ourselves with the intelligence of Life itself.
“So what” you might wonder?
Suffering is why.
When we live our lives disharmoniously with the immutable laws of this universe — as represented in the Hermetic Principles — we will face inevitable suffering. Suffering comes in many colors and gradations from the very mild to the intense, but either way it’s unnecessary suffering.
Most people have even grown numb to their own low-grade suffering, it’s like a static that’s been on the line for so long they’ve come to believe that’s just the best sound quality that’s available. They tolerate it by not questioning why the static is on the line in the first place, in spiritual terms we call this ignorance. Ignorance isn’t a pejorative term in this context, it just means that we have no idea of what’s possible for us. Our aperture is too narrow, we simply cannot see it and will never see it until and unless we do what it takes to open our aperture far wider.
Opening this “aperture” of our awareness involves becoming open that there’s actually a lot we simply don’t know. As the great Stoic philosopher Epictetus reminded us: “a man cannot learn what he thinks he already knows.” Buddhist use the term “Shoshin” for this which — loosely translated — means “having a beginner’s mind.” It’s all pointing at the same thing; we must be willing to open up to the notion there’s a vastness of knowledge about the intelligence of Life itself we simply don’t know. Once we do, we have primed the pump to actually learn and in the process our aperture of awareness will start to widen and open up.
The Principle of Rhythm is one of such immutable laws of universe. It tells us that everything is always in ceaseless motion and behaves in a tide-like ebb and flow. A pendulum-like movement from action to reaction, from advance to retreat, a rising and sinking, a birth and a death, a beginning and an end and so on and so forth.
Rhythm is what’s at the very core of all of Creation, nothing is ever motionless, truly static, or not changing. Each breath we take, millions of cells die, and millions of new cells are created. The moment we’re born, we begin our journey to our inevitable death. If you look closely, really study it, you’ll find that everything in our universe is subject to the Principle of Rhythm.
Civilizations and nations rise and fall, all life on Earth is born and eventually dies, businesses and institutions come and go, and all relationships start and inevitably come to an end, if nothing else when death parts the living from the dead.
And so we can all know the Principle of Rhythm is a profound Truth about the operations of Life itself. It’s directly knowable from our own experiences in our Life, even for the spiritually uninitiated which otherwise are still very much sleepwalking.
Not recognizing this profound Truth will have us living a Life of inevitable suffering as we get mentally fixated on the false safety embedded in such notions that anything in Life is permanent, this is forever, or this will never change or always be there. It’s guaranteed to change and not be permanent, and the moment Life shows that to us our false safety gets annihilated and we tailspin into deep torment and suffering as we feel a sense of loss, or even despair.
But, those who have embraced and gained mastery in the Principle of Rhythm are spared this suffering as they will not experience any change as any sort of loss. It’s just the normal operations of Life itself acting in accordance with the Principle of Rhythm. This mastery allows us to fully revel and rejoice in the season the fruits are harvested and at the same time know that winter will come at which time the tree will bear no fruit.
Mastery of the Principle of Rhythm will not translate into being able to change the seasons, reverse or neutralize the ebb and flow of Life itself, or — in other words — make the tree bear fruit in winter. Instead, the master has evolved his/her thinking, understanding, and Being to be in harmony with the Principle of Rhythm much like the surfer rides the waves but is under no illusion he (or she) can make the wave do anything other than what the wave was going to do anyway.
This sort of self-mastery involves a conscious application of awareness where mental patterns and encultured programming will autonomously want to dictate its Will on reality which has us living in the world of “should” and “should nots.” No such thing actually exists, there’s truly only “what is” and nothing else. Our conscious awareness of “what truly is” is the exit door out of any suffering which by definition is psychological in nature as it’s our perception of what should be that creates the mental affliction of suffering.
The Hermetic Master, through conscious awareness, uses his/her Will to redirect their mental perception — misperception actually — to come into harmony with “what truly is” and it’s the deep understanding of the Principle of Rhythm, which operates by matter of immutable law, that allows the Hermetic Master to do so in effortless and graceful ways.
As the Hermetic Master knows not to fight those forces that govern him or her; but, rather to always bring him- or herself back into alignment and harmony with these forces.
Once you see, you cannot unsee.
Next up will be The Principle of Cause and Effect, the Principle that illustrates how all phenomena in the Outer World are an effect to the cause called our Inner World, whether that’s individually or collectively.
Stay tuned for the 6th Hermetic Principle.
Love+Truth,
Robert