In this episode of "Conversations with the Universe," the host introduces his transformative near‑death experience, which heightened his perception and inspired his spiritual writings. He then invites listeners to join Sylvia Leifheit’s global spiritual network, Spine. Sylvia provides a concise history of Hermetic teachings, describing the mythic figure Hermes Trismegistus and the enigmatic Emerald Tablets, and explains how these ancient sources gave rise to the early‑20th‑century work The Kybalion (attributed to "The Three Initiates"). She outlines the classic seven Hermetic principles presented in The Kybalion—Mind, Correspondence, Vibration, Polarity, Rhythm, Cause & Effect, and Gender. Building on her personal insights, Sylvia then proposes a modernized set of seven principles (Mentality, Correspondence, Vibration, Resonance, Consciousness, Purity, Transformation), reframing the original laws for contemporary spiritual practice. Throughout, the tone is reverent, enthusiastic, and conversational, with occasional promotional language for the Spine network.
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Dear human being, beloved soul, I welcome you to my podcast series, Conversations with the Universe. After a near-death experience, my perception of our human existence changed profoundly. I became more sensitive with all our known senses. I feel more intensely, see people with different eyes, and often take a different perspective on life and our challenges. In my books, I share these altered perspectives and all the knowledge that has flowed through me since my near-death, and thus record it for all those who are searching for something more, for the meaning of our existence here on Mother Earth. And it is now a great pleasure for me to share this knowledge with you in this way as a supplement to my books. This season I'm dedicating myself to my very first work, "The Basics of Being." I wish you many wonderful insights on your path. Thank you.
Love, Sylvia Leifheit. First, a quick note about my network, Spine. This is short for the Spiritual Network. And is the first global social media network for holistic knowledge, awareness, spirituality, and above all, a bridge between providers and seekers. I invite you to join us and connect with me there. Feel free to look around, find lots of podcasts, events, healers, but above all, lots of inspiration to grow. It's free. But now let's start with today's episode. Before we talk about the 7 Hermetic principles from the Kybalion, it is worth taking a look at the mystical origins of this teaching. It is deeply connected to a mysterious figure, Hermes Trismegistus, also known as Hermes the Thrice Great. Hermes Trismegistus is a mythical figure who combines the Egyptian god Thoth and the Greek god Hermes. In ancient Egypt, Thoth was considered the god of wisdom, magic, writing, and science. In Greek mythology, Hermes was the messenger of the gods, The Mediator Between the Worlds. Hermes Trismegistus is seen in esoteric and spiritual circles as an enlightened being, a master who received and passed on profound knowledge about the laws of the universe. It is said that he preserved this knowledge in the form of secret writings, including the famous Emerald Tablets. The Emerald Tablets are considered one of the oldest surviving spiritual documents of mankind. Their content is enigmatic, symbolic, and of tremendous depth. They contain statements such as, "That which is below is like that which is above, and that which is above is like that which is below, to accomplish the wonders of the One." This famous sentence later became one of the basic principles of Hermetic philosophy, the Principle of Correspondence. The origins of the Emerald Tablets are shrouded in mystery. Some date them to ancient Egypt, others see them as remnants of an even older civilization, perhaps Atlantis. There are no original tablets that can be viewed today, only copies and translations from Arabic and Latin sources from the Middle Ages. But their spiritual impact was enormous. Alchemists, mystics, philosophers, and spiritual teachers throughout the centuries have referred to these texts. They were not understood as external dogmas, but as inner keys to understanding the self and the nature of the cosmos. The Kybalion, which appeared anonymously at the beginning of the 20th century under the name "The Three Initiates," is also based on this traditional wisdom. It is not a historical work in the classical sense, but a modern summary and interpretation of the Hermetic teachings that were passed down for thousands of years only orally, or in secret societies. The Kybalion condenses the ancient knowledge into 7 principles that are considered to be the spiritual laws of the universe. Here they are: 1. The Law of Mind: One is all, all is one. The laws are eternal and spiritual, they work through everything that is. The Law of Correspondence: As above, so below. As below, so above.
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The Law of Vibration. Nothing is at rest. Everything is in constant motion. The Law of Polarity. Everything has two poles. Opposites are identical. The Law of Rhythm. There is a time for everything. Everything vibrates. 6. The Law of Cause and Effect: Every cause has an effect, every effect has a cause.
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The Law of Gender: Gender is in everything. Everything has male and female principles. Gender reveals itself on all levels. Based on my own experiences and insights over the last few years, I would now like to correct modernize, and thereby complete these laws.
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The Principle of Mentality: The universe is spirit, the cosmos is spiritual, everything is connected to everything else. 2. The Principle of Correspondence: As above, so below, as below, so above. 3. The Principle of Vibration: Nothing is at rest; everything is in constant motion. Outward and inward are the two directions of these movements. 4. The Principle of Resonance. Resonances act and react in the form of causes and effects toward and with each other.
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The Principle of Consciousness. Energy is consciousness. Consciousness shapes perception. Perception shapes attention. Attention shapes awareness. Awareness shapes conscious being. 6. The Principle of Purity. Impurity is the trigger for the growth of consciousness.
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The Principle of Transformation. The laws are eternal, The spirit is eternal but changeable, from state to state, from degree to degree, from situation to situation, from vibration to vibration. The laws of duality, such as polarity, gender, and rhythm, are not universal laws but only apply in gross matter up to the first energy world, but not beyond it. When the sun's energies reach the Earth, something happens to everything that exists there. Plants react, for example, the Barbara branch, which begins to bloom exactly when these rays arrive. People experience an initial impulse that feels like love, but what actually happens through this cosmic energetic impulse is that the heart opens in people. This causes them to become more aware of their connection to everything that is, and thus more loving. The incoming solar energies change our consciousness in such a way that we perceive an energy that had merely diminished in the months before. Some quantum physicists like to refer to this field as the Unity Consciousness. What they mean is precisely the connectedness that I am telling you about here, the rediscovered connection with the Source, with the All-One, through the connection with your Higher Self, and thus the perception that everything works with and within each other. This allows us to recognize the unity of the All-One again, and it is called Unity Consciousness. Back to the impulse from the sun. It came from it, i.e., in our perception from outside, but it causes something within us. Now we could think in all directions forever. Who, or what, makes the Sun give these impulses again and again on this exact date? Who is its impulse generator? If people influenced by such energies now make decisions with a different consciousness, what does that do to the world, to the people in it? Does it make them more peaceful, or more desperate? And how different is the world with peaceful people, What would it be like with people who are full of aggression? The next step is to look at how we treat animals and plants. I think you can now see how important it is to realize that everything is always connected to everything else and works within this connectedness. Only those who understand this connection and its significance can truly comprehend the extent of separation. And since separation is the main cause of all chaos in this world, both within us and around us, it is very important to understand that, in both small and large ways, connection is crucial for the further development of humanity, and therefore also crucial for you. Thank you for listening, and I look forward to connecting with you at Spine. See you next time. And I would like to remind you to join our community Spine. We are a community that wants to help you live a healthier life. Practice your spirituality, and expand your consciousness. We help you find and connect with healers around the world, and we help you give your life a new meaning in different ways. We are Spine— Connections That Help.
