Before we begin, I just want to say this:
I’m not here to tell you what to believe.
I’m just on my own journey, and I’ve been diving into things that are making me think very differently about life, reality, and the mind.
I’m sharing this because it’s opening something in me, and maybe it will open something in you too.
This isn’t about convincing anyone of anything.
It’s about planting seeds. Asking new questions.
Offering a different lens to look through.
And the lens I’ve been looking through lately… is this book called “The Kybalion”.
It’s short, ancient, and pretty mysterious, and it holds the core teachings of something called Hermetic philosophy.
Some of the ideas are wild. Some feel like they’ve been sitting in the back of my mind my whole life — I just didn’t know how to say them out loud.
And the biggest one is this:
What if we’re not just living in a physical universe, but inside a mind?
Let’s dive in.
What is Hermetic Philosophy?
Hermeticism is a spiritual tradition that goes way back, like ancient Egypt and ancient Greece kind of back.
Its teachings are said to come from a figure named Hermes Trismegistus — part philosopher, part mystic, part legend.
He may or may not have existed in the way the stories tell, but his teachings have deeply influenced spiritual traditions, alchemy, and even psychology.
And for a long time, this wisdom wasn’t shared openly. It was passed down in secret, only to those ready to hear it.
The book starts with this:
“The lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears of understanding.”
That line alone gave me chills.
Because it feels like some truths, the really deep ones, can only be heard when you’re ready.
What makes Hermetic Philosophy special?
- It’s universal – it’s not tied to any one religion or culture.
- It’s practical – it teaches how to understand reality, control your mind, balance your emotions, and live in harmony with the laws of the universe.
- It’s timeless – it’s been around for thousands of years and still applies today.
It teaches that there are laws, invisible forces, that shape everything.
And if you understand them, you can live with more clarity, peace, and power.
“The All” — What is it?
So here’s where it starts:
Hermeticism teaches that everything, literally everything, comes from something called “The All”.
When I first read that, I thought:
“Okay… is this just another name for God?”
Kind of. But not the way most of us were taught.
“The All” isn’t a man in the sky.
It’s not a being with a personality or a religion.
It’s not something you pray to.
It’s more like… the infinite source of all life, all energy, all thought, all reality. The Mind behind existence.
The book says “The All” is “unknowable.” We can’t fully define it, but we can see its effects.
Just like the wind: you can’t see it, but you can feel it move through the trees. Or like gravity: invisible, but undeniable.
And I realized, I’ve felt something like that.
In meditation, in nature, in stillness.
This quiet sense that I’m part of something much bigger, much more intelligent, and very alive.
What if The Universe is inside a mind?
Here’s the idea that really shifted something in me:
The universe wasn’t just created by “The All”, it exists within the mind of “The All”.
The Kybalion says:
“The universe is mental.”
It means everything, you, me, every planet, tree, and thought, is like a thought within the infinite mind of “The All”.
Kind of like a dream.
Imagine this: When you dream, your mind creates entire worlds — people, places, events.
They feel real. But they’re all happening inside you.
What if we are like that?
What if the world we call “real” is actually a kind of dream — held within the mind of something much greater?
It’s not saying nothing is real.
It’s saying reality is not what we think it is.
And what’s fascinating is that even science hints at this.
We grow up believing the world is made of solid things, but if you zoom in far enough, you’ll find something surprising:
Atoms are mostly empty space.
Particles aren’t really “things” — they’re patterns of energy, vibrating at different frequencies.
So what we think of as “matter” is really just movement. Vibration. Perception.
Here’s a thought experiment that helped me really feel this:
What if you had no senses?
No sight, no hearing, no touch, no smell, no taste.
What would the world be then?
Without your senses interpreting it, there wouldn’t be “things” — just… something.
No separation between you and it.
No inside and outside.
Maybe that’s what we start to experience in deep meditation — when the senses quiet, and all that’s left is awareness.
Maybe that’s what “The All” is.
And maybe this whole world we live in is not a hard, fixed reality, but something more flexible, mysterious, and mental than we ever imagined.
The Divine Paradox
Here’s where it gets really interesting.
Hermeticism talks about something called the Divine Paradox, and it goes like this:
Everything is real… and not real at the same time.
The world feels real to us. We live in it. We feel things.
But at the highest level, it’s all a mental creation.
It’s not “fake,” but it’s not ultimately real either, because it depends on “The All” to exist.
You are a person.
But you are also more than a person.
And here’s the trap most of us fall into:
- Some people only believe in the material and forget the spirit.
- Others reject the material and get lost in fantasy.
But the wisdom is in seeing both.
You are a soul and a body.
You are living in a dream, but you are also the dreamer.
You are both temporary and eternal.
Spiritual wisdom doesn’t mean escaping life.
It means seeing through it and still showing up fully and consciously.
But if it’s all a dream… What’s the point?
This was a question that came up for me.
Maybe it’s coming up for you now.
If everything is just a projection in the mind of “The All”… why try? Why care?
But that question doesn’t close the door. It opens it.
Because if your mind is part of the greater Mind, if your thoughts are made of the same substance as the universe itself, then you’re not powerless.
You’re powerful beyond belief.
You’re not just surviving this dream. You’re shaping it.
You’re not separate from the source. You’re an extension of it.
And once you start to live from that awareness… that’s when things begin to shift.
You begin to notice the patterns.
You begin to understand your role.
You stop waiting for life to happen to you and start creating it with intention.
Throughout history, there were people who seemed almost superhuman — sages, mystics, teachers, alchemists.
Not because they had something you don’t, but because they knew how reality works.
They studied the principles.
They learned to work with the current instead of against it.
They mastered their own mind and, through that, reshaped their world.
And that’s the journey we’re starting now.
Not to escape reality, but to remember what it actually is.
Not to control everything, but to realize how much power you’ve had all along.
Maybe we’ll never fully understand what “The All” is.
Maybe this is just a glimpse — a whisper from the deeper layers of reality.
But even that glimpse is enough to begin living differently.
More aware. More free. More connected.
And maybe that’s the whole point.
