Hermetism

A doctrine that pre-exists most religions, anybody care to share a thought?

I'll start it off, some people believe that Christianity was derived from
hermetic teachings, some even believe Moses to be an incarnation of
Hermes.

Originally posted by Thequ1ck
A doctrine that pre-exists most religions, anybody care to share a thought?

1. Tis true without lying, certain & most true.
2. That which is below is like that which is above & that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing.
3. And as all things have been & arose from one by the meditation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.
4. The Sun is its father, the moon its mother,
5. The wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth its nurse.
6. The father of all perfection in the whole world is here.
7. Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth.
7a. Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross sweetly with great industry.
8. It ascends from the earth to the heaven & again it desends to the earth and receives the force of things superior & inferior.
9. By this means you shall have the glory of the whole world & thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.
10. Its force is above all force, for it vanquishes every subtle thing & penetrates every solid thing.
11a. So was the world created.
12. From this are & do come admirable adaptations where of the means (or process) is here in this.
13. Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world.
14. That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished & ended.

This is my interpretation with regard to coin tossing :

1) When throwing a coin, you must have an answer in mind.
2) You should only throw a coin when you are willing to follow both paths of the decision that is made.
3) The coin is not a predictor of fate, it is an understanding of your own truths and wishes.
4) You must assign a choice to each face of the coin.
5) Then throw the coin through the air, to the ground.
6) As the coin travels through the air you will begin to gain clarity to your decision or obscurity.
7) It is better to choose before the coin lands.
8) If you are unhappy with the result, you may gain insight from this understanding or need to throw the coin again.
9) Then you will be free from the burden of decision
10) This is the nature of the universe, for it is our emotions that create our future.
11) This is the nature of the choice.
12) From this freedom has come life and all its adaptations.
13) ...
14) ...

13 and 14 don't seem to fit into my psychosis?!

Originally posted by Thequ1ck
A doctrine that pre-exists most religions, anybody care to share a thought?

Ya, on what authority is this religion based?

Originally posted by josephw
Ya, on what authority is this religion based?

I didn't say it was a religion, although some choose to view it this way.

"Not all Hermeticists take a religious approach, some consider it to be a philosophical system only. In Hermetic religion the supreme Deity, or Principle, is referred to variously as 'God', 'The All', or 'The One'. Many Hermeticists also align their beliefs and mystical ideas with other religions, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, mainstream Paganism, or Islam. Many hold that all great religions have equivalent mystical truths at their core, and that all religions share an understanding of esoteric tenets with Hermeticism."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetism

Originally posted by Thequ1ck
I didn't say it was a religion, although some choose to view it this way.

"Not all Hermeticists take a religious approach, some consider it to be a philosophical system only. In Hermetic religion the supreme Deity, or Principle, is referred to variously as 'God', 'The All', or 'The One'. Many Hermeticists also align their beliefs and mystical ideas with ...[text shortened]... rstanding of esoteric tenets with Hermeticism."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetism

So then what is the truth about it? What can you be absolutely certain of? If you say nothing is certain, then you don't have the truth.

Originally posted by josephw
So then what is the truth about it? What can you be absolutely certain of? If you say nothing is certain, then you don't have the truth.

Who said I was searching for the truth?

I live by a lot of the philosophies written in the Bible (IMO more so than
a lot of Christians I've met) but I don't believe it to be 'truth' just an
instruction manual on how to live well.

I don't believe you can be certain of anything and especially nothing!
But I got some time to kill.

edit. I really should say, given the confrontational nature of my posts
on RHP that I have the utmost respect for the way Christians lead there
lives. I just think it would be more beautiful if they did it for free.

Originally posted by Thequ1ck
Who said I was searching for the truth?

I live by a lot of the philosophies written in the Bible (IMO more so than
a lot of Christians I've met) but I don't believe it to be 'truth' just an
instruction manual on how to live well.

I don't believe you can be certain of anything and especially nothing!
But I got some time to kill.

edit. I really sh ...[text shortened]... istians lead there
lives. I just think it would be more beautiful if they did it for free.

What could be more liberating than to know we're going to live forever because of what Christ did on the cross? And what can be more liberating than knowing the truth?

Originally posted by josephw
What could be more liberating than to know we're going to live forever because of what Christ did on the cross? And what can be more liberating than knowing the truth?

For me it is knowing that one day I will die. I don't want to live forever.
I hope that my fellow man WILL live forever and that is why I do my
best to help society in any way I can.

I believe that our thoughts are only marginally different and by hurting
another I am in some way hurting myself.

We are all incarnations of each other and we can either choose to better
ourselves or destroy ourselves.

Originally posted by josephw
What could be more liberating than to know we're going to live forever because of what Christ did on the cross? And what can be more liberating than knowing the truth?

Immortality is only liberating if you know the quality of life is to be good.

Originally posted by AThousandYoung
Immortality is only liberating if you know the quality of life is to be good.

"Immortality is only liberating if you know the quality of life is to be good."

Please forgive my ignorance, but I fail to understand what you mean here. I need more content.

Originally posted by josephw
"Immortality is only liberating if you know the quality of life is to be good."

Please forgive my ignorance, but I fail to understand what you mean here. I need more content.

Immortality in torment is a BAD thing, to which death (that is, the ending of conciousness forever) is preferable.

Originally posted by AThousandYoung
Immortality in torment is a BAD thing, to which death (that is, the ending of conciousness forever) is preferable.

Yes. To cease to exist is better than existing in some form of torment. But there is another option.

Originally posted by josephw
Yes. To cease to exist is better than existing in some form of torment. But there is another option.

And what is that?

The way I look at it is, I would love to live forever so long as my memory
is scrubbed every now and again so I don't get too bored.

If you memory is scrubbed, you effectively become a different 'person'
so what's the difference between this and simply dying and letting the
next generation continue?