Hermeticism and The Kybalion

Hello Readers,

For the past year so, there came a point in my life when I felt that the religion, Christianity, just did not suite my needs spiritually. When I recently began diving into the studies of the occult ("knowledge of the hidden.") such as Freemasonry's philosophies and paganism ("a religion that is not Jewish, Christian, or Islamic") I found many similarities in the core of all religious doctrines and scriptures.

One in particular is the philosophy of Ancient Egypt, called Hermeticism. This philosophy is explained in a text called The Kybalion. Some of you reading may relate to what I'm talking about, having read it or heard of it before, but if you have not I challenge you to look into this philosophy and text and relate it to the core values that each religion teaches, many times through allegory.

Just keep in mind, it is not something you can dive right into and understand. This is no novel, it takes contemplation and as many suggest, meditation on it's material and message. I found it personally more refreshing and "to the source" with Life's Great Mysteries, "Where do we come from," and "What is my purpose here on Earth?" than through one standardized religious faith.

I hope you take up this challenge and get out of it as much as I have. I feel very enlightened after opening my mind to different spiritual outlooks and faiths, and have come to see the unity in all of them. Something that, with a lack of, has caused many wars and disputes over the span of history.

A Defenseless America

Hello Readers,

I'm new to this. I will start of by posting a essay I wrote on the topic of Gun-Control in the United States of America. Keep in mind I wrote this when I was 14 and in 8th grade.

“A Defenseless America”

On the topic of Gun-Control in America

“What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms.” Those words, spoken by one of our own founding fathers clearly show the people of the nation must take pride and advantage of their right to bear arms. Crazy as it may sound or seem, some are fighting for a “gun free” America. What kind of America would it be with no guns? Certainly it would not be the one that was founded and fought for by so many, so long ago.

In the United States of America, there are two opposing main groups on the topic of the gun control issue. The first group being the National Rifle Association which is for gun rights. The second group being Handgun Control, Inc. which oppose it and fight for banning firearms in the states. In general, the Democratic Party tends to hold the majority stance on implementing gun control laws, while the Republican Party holds the majority to keep on the “right to carry” opposition. One of the most significant events in the battlefield over the gun control issue has been the Brady Bill. This was signed into law and implemented on February 28^th, 1994 by President Bill Clinton. This established a “national five business day waiting period” on handgun purchases and required background checks on the purchasers. In the end, it was determined to have caused the overall # of violent crimes in the United States to decline by 14%. The topic of gun control has and will continue to be a hot topic between the two opposing sides.

When people who oppose guns decide to fight for the ban of all firearms in the states, it can leave most people kind of dumb-founded that they would be so foolish and at times selfish to the others views and feelings, and affects the people who may not feel the same way. Sometimes I truly believe they never thought it through before they opened their mouths. Did they forget the hunters, who rely on those guns to stay safe and bring home food that night; the very one they want to ban from our use? What about the shop owners, who depend on those guns to defend their shops from crooks and criminals robbing them of not only their livelihood, but at times their very lives! Plain and simple, a “gun free” America would be a defenseless and vulnerable America, not a safer one.

Now, people that are for fun control do have some good reasons and causes for their efforts. As of 1993/1994, 49% of U.S households or 47.6 million of American homes and 59.1 million owned or had a gun on their property. Statistics show that gun-related crimes have risen with the number of gun owners, making it the highest in the U.S, and more than any other nation. But, what they forgot to think about is that banning firearms will not stop criminals from acquiring them. After all, criminals didn’t ever make a living following the laws and being an upstanding citizen, what’s going to make then start now? Nothing at all. In the end, it will only leave the American people running with their tails behind their legs, defenseless.

Without the right for a citizen to carry and own a firearm, what will happen when our liberties and safety are put to risk? Just because law-abiding citizens follow the law and will be left without firearms, does not mean criminals and others will not be running rampant with them. It will leave the innocent defenseless and the criminals with firearms in control. In fact, the very same Constitution that runs through the veins of this country has a Second Amendment that guarantees Americans the very right that gun-control advocates are attempting to take away from Americans. People must not let the quick thinking of the anti-gun individuals put us in harm’s way. If they would stop and think, there may be a better solution to gun violence than taking away the very way people protect themselves in the process. Don’t let the liberties, freedoms, or out own safety come in danger because some people choose to use firearms irresponsibly. Truly, they are what keep Americans SAFE.