The Law of Rhythm states that everything is cyclical and change is always around the corner. This law is the process of moving in and out of various phases in life, or experiencing seasons of change.
If the Law of Relativity represents the need to be challenged, then the Law of Rhythm is the timing of when these challenges phase in and out of our lives.
It demonstrates the beautiful orchestration of the world around us as we dance through life, fading in and out of various seasons. From the rhythm of our breath circulating in and out, to the seasons changing, world economies peaking and collapsing, a woman’s monthly cycle, waves crashing in and pulling out… Our world is in constant state of movement, ebbing and flowing through various states.
Everything vibrates and moves to certain rhythms.. These rhythms establish seasons, cycles, stages of development, and patterns. Each cycle reflects the regularity of God's Universe. Masters know how to rise above negative parts of a cycle by never getting to excited or allowing negative things to penetrate their consciousness.
We are all already masters of rhythms, negotiating cycles like the one above many times a day. Internally, our bodies are massively complex sets of interrelated rhythms. Our breathing, heart-beat, sleep, nerve impulses, hormonal changes – in fact, every imaginable bodily system – dances to a beat and melody.
The ‘big body’ of the universe moves in similar rhythms; the movement of everything – from atoms to season to planets – is not just flowing, but pulsing.
Everything is waxing and waning; the universe is tidal. George Leonard describes this eloquently in his book The Silent Pulse: “At the heart of each of us, whatever our imperfections, there exists a silent pulse of perfect rhythm, a complex of wave forms and resonances, which is absolutely individual and unique, and yet which connects us to everything in the universe.”
“The rhythm of life runs in cycles. There are times in the darkness and times in the light. The energy of life is like the rain forest in Borneo. Things live, grow, die, fall to the forest floor, rot and then they are born again-Olympia Dukakis”
Nothing stands still - everything is being born, growing, dying - the very instant a thing reaches its height, it begins to decline - the law of rhythm is in constant operations.” Three Initiates
Sacred Text
To EVERYTHING there is a SEASON, and a TIME for every matter or purpose under heaven: A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted, A time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build up, A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, A time to get and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away, A time to rend and a time to sew, a time to keep silence and a time to speak, A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
Daniel 2:21
He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.
Psalm 104:19
When the sun goes, the moon comes: the the moon goes the sun comes. Sun and moon alternate; thus light comes into existence . When cold goes, heat comes, when heat goes, cold comes. Cold and heat alternate, and thus the year completes itself. The past contracts. The future expands. Contraction and expansion act upon each other, hereby arises that which furthers.
Confucianism. I Ching Great Commentary 2.5.2-3
“Everything flows, out and in; everything has its tides; all things rise and fall; the pendulum-swing manifests in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left; rhythm compensates”
This Principle embodies the truth that in everything there is manifested a measured motion, to and fro; a flow and inflow; a swing backward and forward; a pendulum-like movement; a tide-like ebb and flow; a high-tide and low-tide; between the two poles which exist in accordance with the Principle of Polarity.
There is always an action and a reaction; an advance and a retreat a rising and a sinking. This is in the affairs of the Universe, suns, worlds, men, animals, mind, energy, and matter. This law is manifest in the creation and destruction of worlds; in the rise and fall of nations; in the life of all things; and finally in the mental states of Man.
The Hermetists have grasped this Principle, finding its universal application, and have also discovered certain means to overcome its effects in themselves by the use of the appropriate formulas and methods. They apply the Mental Law of Neutralization. They cannot annul the Principle, or Cause it to cease its operation, but they have learned how to escape its effects upon themselves to a certain degree depending upon the Mastery of the Principle.
They have learned how to USE it, instead of being USED BY it. In this and similar methods, consist the Art of the Hermetists. The Master of Hermetics polarizes himself at the point at which he desires to rest, and then neutralizes the Rhythmic swing of the pendulum which would tend to carry him to the other pole.
No surprise here, this also shows up again in Vedic and Indian philosophy many times.
How to apply this:
Hermetic philosophy states that a person will experience a certain amount of “pain” or “pleasure” in proportion to the degree that the other has been experienced.
This is why you should go through the pain of discipline so you don’t have to go through the pain of regret. Honest effort rarely goes unpaid.
The person who uses the principle of rhythm to their advantage will be the master of life rather than an unwilling participant to the shifting tides of life.
Working With the Law of Rhythm
To work with rather than against the swing of the pendulum, you must become aware of the subtle start of the backward movement in any of your endeavours whether it be to improve your health, finances, relationships or any goal you may set in motion. When you feel the Law start to draw you back do not become fearful or discouraged. Instead, remember that you are one with the All-Powerful Absolute for which nothing is impossible, keep your thoughts focused on your desired outcome and remain positive no matter how far back this transitory Law pulls you. Even if your efforts meet with failure, find comfort that by virtue of this very same Law, the upward motion must start again.
Rising Above the Law of Rhythm
You can rise above the Law of Rhythm in your inner world and hence also in your outer world by avoiding the extremes so that the pendulum has nothing to correct. This does not mean to strive for mediocrity and nor does it mean to not care for anything or anyone. Rather, it means to seek balance because balance is in fact what this Law seeks. When for instance you experience mental extremes on both sides of the spectrum, be they in the way of fear, panic, over-excitement or a sense of obsession or attachment, seek to calm your mind so that your thoughts, emotions, words and actions that follow are not extreme.
In this way, the swing to the one side will be so measured, that the swing to the other side will be unnoticeable. Extremes are relative and what is extreme for one person may be measured for another and vice versa. You can only gauge if what you're thinking, feeling or doing is extreme and the criterion, according to Pythagoras, is whether it's hurting or harming you—your present or future self.
And just like the moon,
you shall go through phases
of light
of dark
and of everything in between.
And though
you may not always appear
with the same brightness,
you are always
always
whole.
Wheresmollie
Science of Mind Reading
Poem: A Mother's Love
There are times when only a mother's love Can understand our tears, Can soothe our disappoints And calm all of our fears. There are times when only a mother's love Can share the joy we feel When something we've dreamed about Quite suddenly is real. There are times when only a mother's faith Can help us on life's way And inspire in us the confidence We need from day to day. For a mother's heart and a mother's faith And a mother's steadfast love Were fashioned by the angels And sent from God above. - Author Unknown
Story: A Parable of Motherhood
A young mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is the way long?" she asked, and her guide said: "Yes, and the way is hard, and you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning."
But the mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than those years. So she played with her children and gathered flowers for them along the road, and bathed with her children in the clear stream, and the sun shone on them, and life was good, and the young mother cried; "Nothing will ever be better than this".
Then night came, and storm, and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle and the children said, "Oh, Mother, we are not afraid for you are near, and no harm can come." And the mother said: "This is better than the brightness of days, for I have taught my children courage."
And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, but at all times she said to the children, "A little patience and we are there." So the children climbed, and when they reached the top, they said, "We could never have done this without you, Mother." And the mother, when she laid down that night, looked up to the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage, today I have given them strength."
And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil - and the children groped and stumbled, and the mother said: "Look up! Lift your head to the light." And the children looked and saw above the clouds an everlasting Glory, and it guided them and brought them beyond the darkness. And that night the mother said, "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."
And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and the mother grew old and suffered and was little and bent. But her children were tall and strong and walked with courage. And when the way was rough, they lifted her, for she was light as a feather; and at last they came to a hill, and beyond the hill they could see a shining road and the golden gates swung wide. And the mother said, "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know that the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them."
And the children said: "You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates."
And they looked and watched her as she went alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said: "We cannot see her, but she is with us. A mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence.”
Temple Bailey (1889-1953), Written for Good Housekeeping Magazine in 1933
Meditation
In the Lord put I my trust. PSALM 11:1 The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, and is within me.
AFFIRM: I am in constant contact with the indwelling Spirit. I am renewed, guided, and led, hour by hour, by the Almighty Power of Omnipresent Love. I keep my vision focused on the Indwelling Harmony. I contemplate Perfection within me. Perfection manifests in my outer life. There is One Life in and through all. I consciously unify myself with my Source in Spirit. I look within and behold the Presence of God. This Presence of God, which is the Perfection within me, reflects Itself as perfection in my experience. I manifest that which I am. I am perfect in every part and harmonious in every action. All power is given unto me from On High. Knowing this, I am strong with the strength of the all-vitalizing power of the Universe. I am sustained and healed by a divine stream of Spirit-Energy, which flows through me as radiant health and vitality. Every cell of my being responds to this spiritual flow. I stand revealed as the perfect child of the perfect Father.
Holmes, Ernest. 365 Science of Mind (p. 233). 2/5
Prayer
To the Moms Who Are
To the Moms who are struggling, to those filled with incandescent joy.
To the Moms who are remembering children who have died, and pregnancies that miscarried.
To the Moms who decided other parents were the best choice for their babies, to the Moms who adopted those kids and loved them fierce.
To those experiencing frustration or desperation in infertility.
To those who knew they never wanted kids, and the ways they have contributed to our shared world.
To those who mothered colleagues, mentees, neighborhood kids, and anyone who needed it.
To those remembering Moms no longer with us.
To those moving forward from Moms who did not show love, or hurt those they should have cared for.
Today is a day to honor the unyielding love and care for others we call 'Motherhood,' wherever we have found it and in whatever ways we have found to cultivate it within ourselves.
Hannah Kardon, Pastor at Elston Avenue United Methodist Church
Rumination
We are born of love. Love is our mother.
Rumi
Benediction
On this special day set aside to honour mothers we ask for a special blessing from the Divine be showered on each and every one of them. May each mother’s prayers be granted and may all of the work of her hands not be forgotten in Your sight. Let her example to her children be a guiding force in their lives and may they always remember her countless sacrifices. and may wisdom be passed down to the next generation of mothers. May the blessing of the Divine Be an especially bright benediction Upon mothers everywhere On your blessed day On Mother’s Day!
Song: Only a season BY Fearless Soul