Scholars of times ancient to us studied things that were doubly ancient. One of these things was The Emerald Tablet, a very short text attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, the legendary figure associated with the very beginning of alchemy, the birth of material and spiritual science.

The tablet itself is very poetic, vague, and it’s hard to say what translations really count. But the essence of what it communicates reaches us through one of its most popular lines:

“That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is below is like to that which is above.”
— Hermes Trismegistus, The Emerald Tablet

Or, the modern, simplified version: “As above, so below.”

It refers to the layered structure of the universe, that immaterial laws rule matter from above. But it also represents things like the idea that we are made in the image of God.

Further still, it suggests that the purpose of man is to align with what is “above,” by transforming himself to be more like it, and more able to channel it into his life. Doing so is to participate in the eternal drama of manifesting heaven on Earth.

What does all that mean? How does it relate to living your day-to-day life?

The Hermetic Worldview: We Are Deities-In-Progress

In renaissance times, Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake by the Catholic Church for believing and teaching that the universe was infinite. He shared Copernicus’ belief that the Earth was not the center of the universe, but that it orbited the sun.

Bruno believed that all the stars we see in the sky are in fact other suns, ruling other worlds. His thinking was: if God were infinite, would he not produce infinite things in infinite detail?

“As above, so below” refers to this infinite conception of the world. There are infinite layers, infinite realities, infinite forms and forms of consciousness, all contained within the infinite mind of God.

Hermetic texts like The Kybalion provide a condensed description of these planes of existence. Divided into only three categories, there is matter, mind, and spirit, in ascending order.

Unthinking, dead matter represents the lowest plane, which is furthest removed from the intelligence of God. Infinitely distant in the opposite direction is the full divine brilliance of God, which is pure spirit.

Man appears squarely in the middle: not unthinking matter, but still bound by the physical constraint of having a body. Though, in a limited way, we share in the powers of mind and spirit.

Just as a child learns to imitate their father, all created things are in the long process of learning to imitate God. The constant growth of nature, evolution, and history is a reflection of this process.

How does this relate to you personally?

The hermetic worldview is almost like a religion of growth mindset. If you take “as above, so below” seriously, then the message is: you can do and have anything you want — you can become godlike — which means in conscious control of your reality — if you start learning and aligning yourself with what is above.

Take Conscious Control of Your Mind

What is above? What does it mean to be made in the image of God? It means that we share in the powers of mind and spirit: we can influence reality with our mind.

The upward direction we are meant to go in is the direction of increasing consciousness — increasing ability to use our thoughts to shape reality for good.

The first step in shaping reality with our thoughts is the imagination. Tune in to what is above by channeling your positive imagination. What is something that would be good for you, good for those you love, and good for the rest of the world?

The imagination is where we are most like God: we desire something, and it appears to us.

“As above, so below.” As within, so without. This process of desires being projected into reality is already happening all the time. Your present moment is the result of the life you consistently imagine.

Your present life is the result of your present faith, the present state of your subconscious as it has been programmed by your imagination so far.

The key is to begin using your imagination consciously, and positively.

The Easiest Way To Start Your Journey Into Higher Consciousness: Set A Definite Chief Aim.

Through your imagination, contact the highest spirit you can: nirvana, bliss, love. Co-create with that spirit a vision of how you might transform your life over the next year.

Choose a goal that benefits you and everyone else, something good that also turns you on. It’s a mistake to think in terms of selfish vs. selfless. Man assumes it must be one or the other, and either serves himself at the expense of others, or serves others at the expense of himself.

The spirit of good knows all is one, all is interrelated, and what is truly good for one being is truly good for all beings. In other words, selfishness and selflessness are two lower perspectives of the one higher activity we mean to do: creating good.

Write your vision down in the present tense, as if you already have it.

For example: “I am a successful writer. I make an income of X per month.”

Visualize it as already accomplished. What does your life look and feel like with your goal already achieved? Visualize the success, how your life and the lives of those surrounding you are transformed into joy and abundance by the creation of the success you have defined.

Once you have your definite chief aim, you can begin manifesting it, and learning from that process.

Use A Combination of Faith AND Works

Your success has already been delivered to you, spiritually, the moment you declare your definite chief aim. Your Earthly work is now to make what is above match what is below.

Begin relating every moment of experience to your definite chief aim, with the faith of positive imagination. The goal is not to “force” the accomplishment of your goal. That’s a lower method.

The higher method is to “allow” the accomplishment of your goal to unfold, through faith and discipline. Discipline doesn’t mean forcing. It means becoming a disciple of your goal, allowing it to teach and train you.

If you are just sitting on the couch, that experience could relate to your goal in that you are able to get up and work on it right now. Or, perhaps you’re feeling lazy, or for some reason there is resistance. Accept and relate that to your goal. You are not being lazy — you are resting, charging energy for the moment that you will begin.

To the mind used to “forcing” things, this appears ridiculous. To the infinite mind of God, this is how everything is accomplished. The point is to continue your spiritual work of relating present experience to your goal in a positive way.

Eventually, after so much visualization, your subconscious will have caught the message. It will be impressed with the purpose you have given it. When the subconscious is impressed with consistent visions, it will begin to serve you.

The subconscious communicates to us through dreams. It is only logical that we also communicate to it through dreams — conscious ones, called visualization.

Your subconscious will eagerly serve you once it knows the will of consciousness: it will direct your attention towards your work.

You will see opportunities appear on their own. You will wake up with motivation. Your work will become associated with ease and joy, and you will build up an unstoppable momentum of habit.

You only need to become wholly conscious of what you do and believe.