Key terms I: principle, law, THE ALL, mind
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What you will learn
You understand the central terms the way this course uses them, and you know their most common misunderstandings.
Words like "mind" or "law" mean many things. Before we begin, we agree on how we use them.
For each term you will find three parts: what the Kybalion says, a common misunderstanding, and how we use the word in this course.
Principle and law
The Kybalion says: the seven basic truths are called "principles". The book uses "law" for the way they work in detail, for example the "Law of Neutralization". It does not separate the two words strictly.
Common misunderstanding: reading "law" as a law of physics, measured and proven by experiment.
We understand: a principle is a basic truth about the nature of reality, as the Kybalion sees it. There are seven. A law describes how a principle works in a particular way, such as the law of neutralisation within the Principle of Rhythm. The book also speaks of the laws of nature, which it calls "Iron Laws" and which even the wise do not set aside: they use a higher law against a lower one. And behind all laws, it says, stands THE ALL, "the LAW in itself". The Hermetic laws are philosophical and not measured by experiment. But the book sees them as working together with the laws of nature, never against them.
THE ALL
The Kybalion says: THE ALL is the reality behind everything that appears. Its inner nature is "unknowable". The book calls it "Infinite Living Mind".
Common misunderstanding: taking THE ALL to be a personal God, or simply the visible universe.
We understand: THE ALL is the infinite, eternal reality from which nothing is excluded. The universe is not THE ALL itself. It is a mental creation within it. Everything is in THE ALL, but THE ALL is more than everything created.
Mind
The Kybalion says: THE ALL is infinite living mind, and the universe is its creation.
"THE ALL is MIND; The Universe is Mental."
The Kybalion, 1912 edition, Chapter II
Common misunderstanding: reading "mind" as the brain or as thinking alone. Or reading "mental" as "only imagined", as if the world were not real.
We understand: mind means the consciousness from which everything arises. It is not the brain, and it is more than thinking. "The universe is mental" means it is a creation of this mind. For us, it is still real. Within this one mind, the next lesson distinguishes three levels of a human being: spirit, soul and body.
To take with you
Words are tools. The clearer the tool, the clearer the view.
Questions for reflection
- Which of these words did you understand differently before this lesson?
- What does the word "mind" mean to you in your own life?