Hermeticism, unlike every religion I have ever come across, is principally non-dogmatic, which is why I love to cite it so often. Hermeticism is an ancient philosophical and spiritual tradition that emerged from the cultural and intellectual fusion of Hellenistic Greece and ancient Egypt. As the anti-dogma, Hermeticism does not believe in universal truths that must be strictly adhered to. The Hermetic philosophy encourages every individual to seek their own truth, through personal experience and a life of personal excellence.

When you discover Hermeticism, or a philosophy like it, you may wonder how religion ever stood a chance against this way of thinking. How did these ancient teachings that so revered truth and individualism lose their footing to dogma that not only institutionalized truth but enforced it? The short answer is the sword, wielded by those bloodthirsty for power, not truth. But we will not talk about these tyrants here for they do not deserve our attention at the moment. All that needs to be said is that Hermeticism did not die in spite of their efforts. So, in homage to the real truth seekers, let's look at how the Hermetics approached the subject of time.

It's important to note that Hermetic writings reflect a consensual understanding of reality, and so they are not always uniform. What I have put forth here is drawn from the broader spirit of Hermetic thought rather than a fixed doctrine, since one does not exist. Some Hermetic texts may view time differently than I portray here, which is inconsequential since it's ultimately up to you, anyway, to piece the puzzle of reality together... if it's even possible.

Hermeticism presents a symbolic and somewhat paradoxical view of time. In Hermetic writings, time is often distinguished between Chronos and Kairos. Chronos is the timeline of our gross world—linear and measurable. Kairos is the "eternal moment" of the subtle world—infinite and immeasurable.

Chronos, the time that we are both on right now, is thought to be illusory. The whole of the material world, in fact, is thought to be an illusion, made to disguise the eternal world from us so that we can journey in lostness—seemingly away from God—in order to try and rediscover our true nature with full conscious awareness.

It's important to note that the physical world is not meant to be thought of as a deception, simply as a mirror or a shadow of the spiritual world. One thing all Hermetic writings agree on is that this Earth is not the ultimate reality.

Our souls permanently exist in Kairos, the eternal moment of the subtle world. There is nothing illusory about Kairos. When a soul incarnates into the material world, it will exist in Chronos alongside Kairos for the span of that life. The body and the mind, however, can only exist in Chronos. The soul is, therefore, thought to be the bridge between spirit and matter, between the eternal and the temporal.

What's fascinating about the Hermetic view of time is that it is remarkably consistent with the body of near-death experiences shared with the world. The overwhelming majority of them tell of entering a realm where time doesn't seem to exist. Many of them say that everything on Earth that has ever happened and will ever happen is happening simultaneously, perhaps as if to suggest that the material world is a simulation or collection of simulations. This might explain why people say their near-death experiences felt like eternity while only spanning mere minutes in the physical world before coming back to life.

The purpose of Chronos is, therefore, to give souls space to grow, evolve, and purify. Chronos is given to each soul in segments—your life is one of them. When your Chronos is up, you will only exist in Kairos. If your soul needs more time to grow, it will be given more Chronos, along with a new body, a new mind, and a new life. If you can think of Chronos as the time for becoming, think of Kairos as the moment of being.