Monday, January 28, 2008

the all

The All is the Hermetic or panentheistic view of God, which is that everything that is, or at least that can be experienced, collectively makes up The All. One Hermetic maxim states, "While all is in The All, it is equally true that The All is in all."

According to Hermetic doctrine, The All is a bit more complicated than simply being the sum total of the universe. Rather than The All being simply the physical universe, it is more correct to say that everything in the universe is within the mind of The All, since the ALL can be looked at as Mind itself. In effect, the universe is partially existent on the Mental plane, and we may in fact all be parts of The All's psychological makeup, representing parts of The All in its dream or meditation.

The All is a union between Nothing and All Possibility, the ultimate opposites, and the nature of that union is without beginning or end for these two opposites automatically and simultaneously create each other. The result is a "cosmic copulation" whose effect is an infinite, living mind.

But, even with everything in the universe being part of The All, it is possible that other things exist outside of The All. For example, The All may be just like us on its own level of existence, with its own The All above it. Other beings would be part of that greater All having the same difficulty interacting with us as anyone else has entering the dreams of others.

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