1. THE PRINCIPLE OF MENTALISM

2. THE PRINCIPLE OF CORRESPONDENCE

3. THE PRINCIPLE OF VIBRATION

4. THE PRINCIPLE OF POLARITY

5. THE PRINCIPLE OF RHYTHM

6. THE PRINCIPLE OF CAUSE AND EFFECT

7. THE PRINCIPLE OF GENDER

The sixth Principle, as stated from The Kybalion by Three Initiates:

6. THE PRINCIPLE OF CAUSE AND EFFECT

“Every Cause has its Effect; every Effect has its Cause; everything happens according to Law; Chance is but a name for Law not recognized; there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the Law.”

Many of us have heard of this law referred to in conjunction with “as you sow so shall you reap.” Most avatars through history have alluded to this Principle in their teachings. Perhaps it is because by adhering to it, we create the framework for each of our tomorrows. Once understood, we no longer shift responsibility for our lives to accidents, other people, heredity or luck.

A key to this principle is understanding that everything is governed by Universal Law … nothing in our universe is random. There is always a cause and an effect of that cause. Nothing happens without a cause or a chain of causes (events). This is true in all dimensions and frequencies.

Another key to this law is that cause refers to EVENTS. Events and situations, whether we call them personal or impersonal, all have their inception in an original cause-event. Understanding that distinction takes ‘blame’ out of the equation we call ‘our life.’ For example, a bridge collapses during heavy rain. Was it the rain that precipitated its collapse? The collapse, if traced backward, would show a chain of events (causes), all creating their own effect. The rain caused the bridge to collapse, due to rusted rivets, which were affected by substandard quality material, which was used because it was cheaper for the company … ad infinitum. Each cause had an effect upon which another cause was built.

There is always an event. People may or may not react to that event, but it is the event which produces the cause-effect chain. In the above example, it might be argued that the head of the company who used substandard products is to blame. But what caused that CEO to make that choice? Losses in the stock market, living above his means, pressure from stockholders for greater profit … those are all events or causes for him to make the kind of decisions he made.

Because this is a PRINCIPLE, we can see there is no luck involved in the events in our lives. Each event is the result of a previous cause which brought about an effect. If we were to look at one person and call them lucky for being in the right place at the right time, we may be certain that, if scrutinized, cause and effect would be visible. There are no ‘lucky‘ people or ‘unlucky’ people; there is only the principle, recognized … or not.

You may be noticing that the more principles we examine, the more we see how each one builds on and with the others. There is more to be said of cause and effect and the many planes of causation, but it requires weaving the previous principles into the explanation … and that will be done in the summary article. In the meantime, if you think you are unlucky and would like to ‘change your luck,’ look at the previous principles and consider how you may employ them to affect cause and effect in your life now.

The seventh Principle, as stated from The Kybalion by Three Initiates:

7. THE PRINCIPLE OF GENDER

“Gender is in everything; everything has its Masculine and Feminine Principles; Gender manifests on all planes.”

This principle seems almost too obvious to be considered; we have no trouble identifying masculine and feminine. So why is it considered a principle? Because no creation – physical, mental, or spiritual – is possible without it. Webster’s dictionary gives the origin of the word gender as meaning descent; the path of generation in Latin; and in Greek as genus, meaning birth or origin. The Principle of Gender is about creation, regeneration, production and generation.

Without the two principles of masculine and feminine, manifestation and growth would be impossible. On the physical plane it’s easy to see how masculine and feminine work in concert to create new life. And in science we recognize masculine/feminine in electricity, atoms, electrons and ions. Energetically, masculine may be looked at as the energy of outward action, that which sets things in motion … not so much the thing itself, but the energy behind it. Feminine is looked upon as the energy which incubates, nourishes and develops.

As an example, an idea is an energetic flash of inspiration, an awareness or concept. Let’s say the idea is for an energy-saving device. For that idea to become an actuality, the inventor would first incubate it in the mind. He or she would nourish it with further thoughts, imagination and research until it has taken root and begun to form itself. This is the realm of the feminine.

But is it enough for the inventor to have the great idea? She or he must also have the will, commitment and desire to press that idea out into the world. The masculine counterpart of the gender principle must be present. For this energy-saving device to get on the market, to become an actuality, the masculine energy is required to send it out into manifestation. This is the dynamic energy that activates and flows into the world. I can only imagine that the patent office is filled with amazing possibilities, which could bring wealth to the inventor and ease and comfort to the consumers, if only there had been an equally potent surge of dynamic flow to press the invention into manifestation.

Indeed, the reverse of this is also true. There are many people who are able and willing to activate ideas; yet, those ideas fail to launch because they have not had sufficient nurturing or development to make them viable. The Principle of Gender is a seemingly dual principle that requires both aspects to act in concert in order for manifestation to take place. It is likely that a greater balance or an understanding of this principle could have been enough to launch many a registered patent.

We see gender at work in our physical, mental and spiritual existence. We refer to the masculine aspects of God when seeking intervention in our lives, asking for help or direction … as evidenced by the many prayers addressing the Divine Father for help. When we need inner strength and inspiration, many forms of prayer address the Divine Mother. Through the ages, humans have recognized the dual nature of energy and understood it instinctively as needing to embody the ability to nurture with the ability to then project what was incubated and developed into existence.

Practically speaking, if we look at what we would like to create in our day to day lives, and understand how the Principle of Gender works, it may help us develop patience and drive. We learn to understand that there is a time to grow our creation, giving it time to develop and be strong, and that there will also be a time to take what has been potently incubated and send it out into expression. Working in cooperation with this principle can make our life and its circumstances smoother, more satisfying and, in many ways, feel saner.