I Lived By The 7 Hermetic Principles For 7 Day

For months, I felt like I was just going through the motions. My days were filled with constant to-do lists, endless mental chatter, and that nagging feeling that I was letting my thoughts and circumstances control me—instead of the other way around. I’d try meditation, journaling, all the usual self-help tricks, but nothing stuck. I’d calm down for a little while, then right back to the overthinking, the worry, the distraction of grabbing my phone the second my mind felt even a little quiet.

Then I found the 7 Hermetic Principles—ancient wisdom from Hermeticism, popularized by The Kybalion, that talks about universal laws that govern consciousness, reality, and how we interact with the world. They weren’t just random tips; they were a framework for how to show up for my mind and my life. So I decided to do something radical: I’d live by one principle each day for seven days, no shortcuts, no giving up when it got hard. I wanted to stop feeling like a passenger in my own life, and these principles felt like the map I needed.

This isn’t a polished, perfect success story. It’s the real deal— the failed attempts, the frustrating moments, the small breakthroughs that added up to something huge. By the end of the seven days, my relationship with my thoughts, my emotions, and even my daily choices was completely different. If you’ve ever felt stuck in your own head, this journey is for you.

Day 1: The Principle of Mentalism — The All is Mind; The Universe is Mental

My task for Day 1 was to get a handle on my own mental landscape, and this was easily the hardest day of the whole week. The second I tried to sit with my thoughts and quiet my mind—even for just two minutes—it screamed back at me. A flood of work worries, past mistakes I still beat myself up over, future anxieties about what could go wrong came rushing in all at once. The urge to grab my phone, scroll social media, or find any kind of distraction was overwhelming. It felt like I was wrestling a wild animal that had been let loose in my head for far too long.

I spent the morning bouncing between failed meditation tries and guilty phone checks, convinced I was doing it all wrong. The breakthrough didn’t come from forcing myself to be positive, or trying to push the negative thoughts away. It came when I realized this principle isn’t about suppressing your thoughts at all—it’s about where you put your attention. I couldn’t stop the waves of negative thoughts from coming, but I could choose not to surf them.

So I started just observing them. I’d notice a worry pop up, and instead of diving into it, I’d just think, that’s a thought, and let it pass. Like watching clouds move across the sky—they’re there, but you don’t have to reach up and grab them. And whenever a good thought showed up—a feeling of gratitude for my morning coffee, a moment of joy from watching a bird outside my window—I’d hold my focus there for just a second longer. By the end of the day, I had a huge realization: my mind is a garden. For years, I’d been letting the weeds grow wild, not even noticing they were taking over. Today, I just started watering the flowers.

Day 2: The Principle of Correspondence — As Above, So Below; As Below, So Above

Day 2 was all about the Principle of Correspondence—the idea that the patterns in the big, universal world are the same as the patterns in our small, personal worlds. My task was to look for these correspondences in my life, to see how my inner state was showing up in my outer life, and vice versa.

I started the day by looking around my space, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. My desk was a mess—papers everywhere, empty cups, a pile of unopened mail. My closet was a disaster, my car had trash on the floor, and I’d been skipping small self-care tasks like making my bed or washing my dishes. And that’s exactly how my mind felt: cluttered, disorganized, impossible to navigate. I’d been so focused on fixing my inner self that I’d completely ignored the outer world that was a direct reflection of it.

So I spent the morning doing small, simple things to tidy my space. I made my bed, cleaned my desk, threw out the trash in my car, and washed the stack of dishes in the sink. It was nothing big, but as I tidied, I felt my mind start to clear too. The mental fog that had been hanging over me lifted a little, and I found it easier to focus on small tasks without getting overwhelmed. Later that day, I noticed when I felt anxious, I’d start slouching and hunching my shoulders—so I straightened up, and suddenly the anxiety felt a little lighter. This principle taught me that change doesn’t always start with big mental shifts. Sometimes it starts with fixing the small, outer things, and the inner things follow right along.

Day 3: The Principle of Vibration — Nothing Rest; Everything Moves; Everything Vibrates

Day 3 focused on the Principle of Vibration—the truth that everything in the world is vibrating, from the smallest atom to the biggest star, and our thoughts and emotions are no exception. Every feeling, every thought, has its own vibration, and we attract what we vibrate at. My task for the day was to become aware of my own vibrations, and to shift them intentionally when I felt stuck in a low one.

I started the day by checking in with myself the second I woke up. I felt groggy and a little irritable—low vibration—and I noticed how that seeped into everything I did. I snapped at a barista for taking too long, I felt annoyed at a slow driver on my way out, I couldn’t focus on my work. Instead of just letting that mood take over, I tried small things to shift my vibration. I put on music that made me smile and danced around my living room for five minutes. I took a walk outside and focused on the feeling of the sun on my skin and the sound of the wind in the trees. I said a few positive things out loud to myself, even if they felt silly at first.

Slowly, the irritability faded. I felt lighter, more present, and suddenly the small annoyances that had bothered me earlier didn’t matter at all. I also noticed how other people’s vibrations affected mine—when I talked to a friend who was stressed and negative, I felt my own mood drop, and when I talked to someone who was happy and excited, I felt that joy too. This day taught me that my mood isn’t something that just happens to me. It’s something I have control over, if I’m willing to notice it and take small steps to shift it. Vibration is everything, and small choices make a huge difference.

Unlock Focus Fast → Grab Neuro Energizer Now 👉

Day 4: The Principle of Polarity — Everything is Dual; Everything has Opposites; The Same is in All

Day 4 was about the Principle of Polarity—the idea that everything in life has an opposite, and those opposites are just two ends of the same spectrum. Sadness and joy, hard and easy, success and failure—they’re not separate things. They’re part of the same whole, and you can’t have one without the other. My task for the day was to stop fighting the hard, negative parts of life, and to see them as necessary for the good parts.

I woke up on Day 4 with a headache and a missed deadline at work—one of those days where everything felt like it was going wrong. Normally, I’d spiral: I’d call the day a loss, feel sorry for myself, and give up on doing anything productive. But instead, I remembered Polarity. This hard day was just one end of the spectrum, and it made the good days that much sweeter. The stress of the missed deadline would make the relief of finishing it that much better. The headache would make the feeling of being pain-free that much more enjoyable.

Instead of fighting the frustration, I acknowledged it. I said, this is hard, and that’s okay. Then I got to work fixing the deadline, one small step at a time. By the end of the day, I’d gotten it done, and the feeling of pride and relief was unlike anything I’d felt in a while. I also thought about all the hard moments in my life that led to something great— the tough job interview that led to my dream job, the heartbreak that led to better relationships, the struggle of learning a new skill that made mastering it so rewarding. This principle taught me that pain and hard times aren’t punishments. They’re part of the journey, and they make the joy and success worth it.

Day 5: The Principle of Rhythm — Everything Flows; Out and In; All Things Rise and Fall.

Day 5 focused on the Principle of Rhythm— the law that everything in life has a rhythm, a cycle. The tides go in and out, the seasons change, the moon waxes and wanes, and our lives are no different. We have high days and low days, productive seasons and rest seasons, and fighting that rhythm only makes it harder. My task for the day was to stop pushing against my natural rhythm, and to go with the flow instead.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a person who pushes through fatigue, who forces productivity even when my body and mind are begging for rest. I’d call rest lazy, and I’d feel guilty if I spent an afternoon reading or watching a show instead of checking things off my to-do list. On Day 5, I decided to let that go. I woke up feeling tired, so I didn’t jump out of bed and rush into work—I lay there for 10 more minutes, sipping coffee and just being present. When I hit a wall at work around midday, I didn’t force myself to keep going—I took a 20-minute walk, no phone, just fresh air. In the evening, I didn’t make a fancy dinner or clean the house—I ordered takeout and watched my favorite show, no guilt attached.

It was one of the most peaceful days I’d had in a long time. I got enough work done to feel productive, but I also gave my body and mind the rest they needed. And the next morning, I woke up feeling energized and ready to go—far more productive than I would have been if I’d pushed through the fatigue on Day 5. This principle taught me that rest isn’t the opposite of productivity. It’s part of it. The rhythm of life isn’t just about rising—it’s about falling too, and letting yourself flow with that rhythm is how you find balance.

Beta Waves + Brainwave Entrainment = Unstoppable Focus → Try Neuro Energizer Today ✨

Day 6: The Principle of Cause and Effect — Every Cause has Its Effect; Every Effect has Its Cause; Nothing Happens by Chance

Day 6 was all about the Principle of Cause and Effect— the idea that nothing in life happens by accident. Every choice we make, every thought we have, every action we take is a cause, and it leads to an effect. We might not see the effect right away, but it’s always there. My task for the day was to take full responsibility for my choices, and to start making intentional causes that would lead to the effects I wanted in my life.

I spent the morning reflecting on the things in my life that I’d been blaming on chance or bad luck—my cluttered space, my overthinking, my constant fatigue. And I realized none of it was luck. My cluttered space was the effect of the cause of not taking five minutes a day to tidy up. My overthinking was the effect of the cause of not setting boundaries with my thoughts and distractions. My fatigue was the effect of the cause of not sleeping enough and pushing through rest. I’d been living my life on autopilot, making small, unconscious choices, and wondering why I wasn’t getting the results I wanted.

So on Day 6, I made every choice intentional. I set my alarm for a reasonable bedtime, and I stuck to it. I tidied up my desk at the end of the workday, a small cause for a clutter-free space tomorrow. I put my phone away an hour before bed, a cause for a calmer mind and better sleep. I said no to a last-minute favor that would have stressed me out, a cause for more peace in my day. This principle taught me that I’m not a victim of my life. I’m the creator of it. Every small choice matters, and intentionality is the key to getting what I want.

Day 7: The Principle of Gender — Gender is in All Things; Everything has Its Masculine and Feminine Principles

The seventh and final day was the Principle of Gender— not the physical gender we’re born with, but the masculine and feminine energies that exist in everything and everyone. Masculine energy is action, logic, drive, doing. Feminine energy is intuition, creativity, rest, being. Both are necessary, and balance is the key. My task for the day was to bring these two energies into balance in my life, to stop leaning too far into masculine doing, and to embrace feminine being.

For most of my adult life, I’ve leaned almost entirely into masculine energy. I’m always doing, always planning, always pushing for the next thing. I’ve ignored my intuition, I’ve put creativity on the back burner, and I’ve forgotten how to just be—no to-do list, no goals, no pressure. On Day 7, I made a point to balance both. I got my necessary work done in the morning—masculine action—then I spent the afternoon doing something creative that I’d been putting off for months: painting. No rules, no pressure to make it perfect, just me and a canvas, following my intuition—feminine being.

In the evening, I sat outside and just watched the sunset, no phone, no thoughts of tomorrow, just being present in the moment. It was the perfect end to the week. This principle taught me that life isn’t just about doing. It’s about being, too. You can’t have one without the other, and balance is where true happiness and fulfillment live. The masculine energy gets things done, but the feminine energy gives those things meaning.

Final Thoughts

Seven days, seven principles, and a life that feels completely different. This journey wasn’t about becoming a perfect person, or eliminating all my negative thoughts, or never having a hard day again. It was about learning to understand the universal laws that govern my mind and my life, and learning to work with them—instead of against them.

I still have hard days. I still overthink sometimes. I still grab my phone when I’m bored. But now I have a framework to come back to. When I’m stuck in my head, I remember Mentalism and where I put my attention. When I’m feeling unbalanced, I remember Rhythm and go with the flow. When I’m blaming luck for something, I remember Cause and Effect and take responsibility for my choices.

These principles aren’t just ancient wisdom—they’re a practical guide for living a life that’s intentional, balanced, and true to who you are. They’ve taught me that I have more control over my mind and my life than I ever thought possible, and that the key to happiness isn’t in changing the world around me—it’s in changing how I see it, and how I show up for it.

How to Start Applying These Principles Today

You don’t have to do a seven-day deep dive to start using these principles in your life. You can start with one small step, today:

- Pick one principle that resonates with you the most—maybe Mentalism if you struggle with overthinking, or Rhythm if you struggle with balance.

- Spend just 10 minutes a day focusing on it—observing your thoughts for Mentalism, letting yourself rest for Rhythm, noticing your vibrations for Vibration.