“As above, so below; as below, so above.” – The Kybalion
The Spiritual Law of Correspondence is an ancient esoteric principle derived from Hermetic philosophy. According to this principle, there is resonance between our inner and outer worlds. Our surroundings, relationships, and life experiences are all mirrors that reflect the states of our minds and spirits.
That is a powerful realization because it means that you can change your outer world by transforming your inner world. Our guide will teach you step by step how to create the life you imagine just by shifting your state within.
Learning this law can be very advantageous as it will allow you to master different manifestation techniques.
What is the Law of Correspondence?
The Law of Correspondence tells us that the external world is a direct reflection of what is inside us. “As above, so below” is the most common way to express this law. But “As within, so without” offers greater clarity.
The reason this is true is one of the Seven Hermetic Principles: “The All is Mind; the Universe is Mental.”
In other words, physical reality is merely a projection of Mind. It has to reflect what you think and feel.
○ How Does the Law of Correspondence Work?
Now, here is what is critical to understand about the Correspondence Law. The outer world does simply not mirror your true, best self. It mirrors all the contents of your mind. That includes your negative thoughts, beliefs and assumptions.
If there is confusion within you, there will be confusion around you. If there is chaos inside you, there will be chaos surrounding you.
○ You Can Only Attract What is Already Inside You
Imagine for a moment that your mind is a pond and that the physical world is the reflection you see on the surface of the water. If the pond is calm and the surface of the water is still, the reflection you see in it will be serene, clear, and beautiful.
But if waves are kicking up the water or you throw a stone into it, the surface will get choppy. The reflection will become chaotic, disjointed, and muddy.
Positive thoughts help you to reflect your desired reality in the external world. But negative thoughts can be like the stone you throw into the water, or a storm, disturbing the outer world. You cannot attract peace when all you create is chaos.
How to Use the Law of Correspondence to Create the Life You Want
Now you understand how the outer world reflects what is happening inside you. That is great news because it means that you can manifest greater control in your life than you might have realized.
How can you put this principle to work in your life to achieve greater happiness? Let’s go over some recommendations for how you can imbue the pond of your mind with clarity and calm, creating the outer reality you desire.
○ Mindfully observe your inner world.
A great starting point for applying the Law of Correspondence is to begin to observe the contents of your thoughts and even the sensations in your body. But what is essential is to do so while practicing mindfulness. That means that you do your best not to judge what you observe.
Why is this important? Most of us do judge ourselves constantly for how we think and feel. In doing so, we just throw more stones into the water of our minds. We do not achieve clarity or insight–we just add more negative energy to the system.
But if you can detach yourself from what you are watching enough to watch the thoughts and emotions pass through you without judgment, you can deepen your connection with yourself, growing awareness of what is happening in your inner world. That brings you to the next step.
○ Accept responsibility for your current beliefs.
As you practice mindful observation of your thoughts, you may start to see certain patterns–ways in which your outer world mirrors your inner world. To take a simple example, maybe your relationship is falling apart. You notice that you believe that all relationships are doomed to fail.
In the past, you might have taken your current failing relationship as just more evidence to support your belief. But now, instead, you accept responsibility for your belief and the ways in which it may be affecting your reality.
Accepting responsibility in this way is absolutely necessary if you want to change what you believe while also transforming your outer reality.
Note: It is so much easier to be accountable when you begin with mindfulness. When you judge your thoughts, it is easy to get down on yourself. If you become embarrassed or ashamed, you might attempt to disown responsibility to rescue yourself from admitting your role.
But if you are not judging your thoughts, you are less likely to fall into this trap. You will face the truth, and doing so will empower you to make the change.
○ The power of redirecting your focus.
You have no doubt learned from practicing the Law of Attraction that where you put your attention is very powerful. A simple trick for using the Law of Correspondence is to make sure that your focus is on the positive.
Coming back to our example, if you are constantly fixating on everything negative in your relationship, of course, that is going to manifest in the relationship itself. If there is anger within, there will be anger without. If there is fear within, there will be fear without.
But there are probably some aspects of your relationship that you enjoy and things you love about being with your person. Focusing on those things regularly will help to still your inner waters. Hopefully, then, the reflection will also be clearer and calmer.
○ Dig into the roots of what is holding you back.
Finally, we want to touch on a secret for supercharging the Law of Correspondence. This is not advice you are going to find just anywhere.
Some negative thoughts are on the surface only. They are easy to identify and dismiss. We recognize their absurdity instinctively. When we replace them with positive thoughts, they are gone.
Other negative beliefs and assumptions are rooted much deeper. And if you find yourself mired in their thorns, no amount of simply telling yourself, “There are no thorns” is going to help you break free. You might hack off the stems. Temporarily, you’ll experience more positivity in your life. But the roots are still there, and the thorns will grow back.
So, it would help if you dug out the roots, developing a true understanding of where your negative attitudes came from.
A Practical Example to Understand the Law of Correspondence
Let’s return to our example with the struggling relationship and the belief “all relationships fail.” You might have tried dismissing that thought and replacing it with “many relationships succeed.” Maybe you have said it again and again to yourself as a mantra.
Perhaps it helped for a while. But the old doubt is creeping back up. You feel like you are fooling yourself. It is time to dig deep. Think about your past and where you came from. Consider your childhood and the lessons you learned.
You might realize that the reason you believe what you do is because your parents divorced when you were little. Or perhaps they stayed together but fought constantly. Or maybe one of them flat out told you again and again that relationships were doomed to fail.
Experiences like those are the seeds from which your original belief is rooted. And now, as an adult, you can look back with clearer eyes. You can identify the actual reasons your parents’ relationship failed or spot the faulty logic in the beliefs they passed down to you.
Now, you’ve pulled up the roots of your negative belief. It no longer has deep, unconscious power over you. The thorns will no longer keep growing back.
From this point on, it should be much easier for you to maintain your new belief that “many relationships succeed.” In fact, it may be automatic. You have fully dispelled the energy of your past negative belief.
You can now approach your current relationship through clearer eyes. And you will stop projecting failure through the Law of Correspondence. Instead, you will project the possibility of a healthy, happy relationship.
An Overview of the Law of Correspondence
It is easy for us to feel like we are small in a big Universe. We feel overwhelmed by the outward scale of the physical and the challenges the external world presents.
But you are larger than you think you are. The Universe contains you, but you also contain the Universe. There is so much more within your control than you know.
Through the Law of Correspondence, the outer world mirrors that which is within you.
Once you begin to heal and transform your mind and spirit, you will discover how the Law of Correspondence works to manifest that same healing energy in your external life.
Best of all, that healing magic can impact other people around you. When you project beautiful reflections out into the Universe, you make it a more wondrous place for all to share.
