Emotional Release · “Die to Be Reborn”
Rising Above the Pendulum
Observe the rhythmic swing of moods and consciously refuse the backward swing — stabilizing on the higher pole by mentally rising above the rhythm (the Law of Neutralization).
See the low as rhythm, not truth — the pendulum swings back. As the downswing starts, polarize at the higher pole and consciously refuse to go with it. Rise above the mood and watch it pass beneath you, unfed. Neutralize the swing; don’t try to stop it.
What it is
The Kybalion‘s Principle of Rhythm states that “everything. swings. like a pendulum”: every mood that swings one way must swing back the other. The book’s practical response is the Law of Neutralization — not to stop the pendulum (the principle is universal and cannot be abolished) but to rise above its swing in consciousness so the backward swing “is not manifested.” The Hermetist watches the rhythm of his own moods from a higher vantage and declines to be carried back down with it. “Rhythm may be neutralized by an application of the Art of Polarization.”
The Method
- See the swing as rhythm, not as truth. Recognize that the high you felt and the low now pulling at you are two ends of one pendulum-swing — “the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left.” The low is rhythm, not a verdict.
- Polarize at the desired pole. As the downswing begins, “the Hermetic Master, or advanced student, polarizes himself at the desired pole” — he plants himself at the higher, chosen state rather than drifting with the swing.
- Refuse the backward swing. Hold that position “by a process akin to ‘refusing’ to participate in the backward swing, or. a ‘denial’ of its influence over him.” This is the active heart of the practice: noticing the pull and consciously not going with it.
- Rise to the higher plane. The mechanism the text gives is altitude of attention — “raising the Ego above the vibrations of the Unconscious Plane of mental activity, so that the negative-swing of the pendulum is not manifested in consciousness.” It is “akin to rising above a thing and letting it pass beneath you.” From the higher plane “he escapes the consciousness of the swing backward.”
- Let it pass beneath. Stay in the witnessing, polarized position and let the downswing move through and under you, unfed. You have neutralized its grip without pretending the rhythm doesn’t exist. (Sourcing note: quoted phrases are from Chapter XI “Rhythm” of The Kybalion (1908); the numbered structure is an attributed paraphrase.)
Source & Lineage
The Kybalion: Hermetic Philosophy (1908), published under “Three Initiates,” almost universally attributed to New Thought author William Walker Atkinson.
The Law of Neutralization is one of the book’s most-quoted practical teachings and a recognizable ancestor of later “don’t ride the emotional rollercoaster” and “be the observer of your moods” advice.
The Traditions' versions
Mindfulness / MBCT: decentering — watching thoughts and moods as passing weather rather than identifying with them, which interrupts the depressive downswing.
- Stoicism: the hegemonikon observing impressions and withholding assent to the disturbing ones.
- Buddhism: equanimity (upekkha) toward the rise and fall of feeling-tone (vedana); “this too will pass.”
- Self-inquiry / witness practices: abiding as the witness while states arise and subside (see Tolle’s “watching the thinker”).
Common refinements
Trying to stop the pendulum. The text is explicit: you cannot abolish the rhythm, only rise above its effect on you. Aim to neutralize, not eliminate.
- Turning “refusal” into suppression. Refusing the swing is declining to be pulled down, not clamping down on or shaming the feeling. Witness it; don’t wage war on it.
- Waiting until you’re deep in the low. It is easier to polarize and refuse as the downswing begins; catch it early.
- Mistaking flatness for the higher pole. The aim is a steady, chosen higher state, not numbness.