The Primary Relationship in Life is Always with One’s Self

            Spiritually speaking, the primary relationship is always with one’s Self. This may at first selfish to some. Yet, it is in fact the very nature of relating itself. Accepting this fact is, in turn, the key to awareness, authenticity and freedom. We invariably share relationships of all kinds with others. These in turn lead to exchange, interaction, communications, conflicts, agreements, roles and so in the drama of life. Keeping the drama mellow is ideal because the negative effects of negative relationships is painful and in more ways than one. Beyond the basic feelings of aggression, people actually retaliate and hurt one another in all kinds of ways. This is not a new story. Yet, it remains essential to our evolution and to simply creating greater happiness and fulfillment in live due to harmonious relationships. Yet, unless we know better who we are, we find that relating to others is that much more difficult than it might otherwise be.  So, cultivating amore conscious relationship with our Self is an important aspect of creating harmony in relationship with others.

            This Self as a whole can be understood as one’s body, mind, heart and soul which effectively comprise our whole self. Often, when writing about this relationship, the self is referred to as the self and the Self. The little ‘self’ here is the personal self, the personality or the ‘lower self’. The big ‘Self’ is the higher self, the true self, the soul. The higher Self is the true self, because our personality self is temporary while the true Self is eternal. So, reference here is being made to our whole Self which includes the personality and the soul. This relationship is primary because it is from our subjective being and all the sensory and perceptual faculties’ nature has bestowed upon it, that we interact with outer reality and this naturally includes, other people. That our perceptions and focus can be turned either within or without takes the term ‘relationship’ to a more accurate interpretation. The inner relationship is key to developing a more authentic relationship with one’s whole Self and therefore with others. Authentic implies true to one’s nature and attuned to one’s true nature. Unless there is an inner relationship, it is unlikely that a person is attuned to their own true nature. This is more often the case than not. This is so largely because it is less emphasized as a value in society than it would ideally be. Part of the reason for this is because cultivating an inner relationship is a spiritual practice. There are a variety of ways one can cultivate this relationship. Silence, meditation, inner listening and developing intuitive feeling that connects within are classics.

           It might be argues that the primary relationship is with God, or creation, or source or any other name one gives to the almighty creator. I would agree. That the creator and the creation are one is a core feature of the meaning of holism. Separationan and division are only apparent, yet although ulitmately illusory, function to allow for the dynamic of inter relationship between the apparent parts, which we call life. This natural relationship with life or with God or with one's Self are not actually separate notions, they are different ways of saying the same thing. Thus is the nature of light sounded to create vibrate thus duality and polarity in motion creating cycles at the foundation of what we experience as creation. It may seem like a dizzying riddle and in a way it is and this is where holistic fractal sciences like Astrology can prove so useful as a lens through which we can make sense of the complexities of nature.

            Astrology offers yet another way of increasing the quality of relationship we can have with our ‘selves’. It is more intellectual. Yet, it brings awareness and insight of a holistic kind because Astrology is a ‘holistic science’ otherwise referred to as metaphysics. In addition to knowing better who we are by virtue of our ‘nature’ we can also decipher where we are in our ever changing relationship with life. This ever changing reality is due simply to the law of change which, in turn, is determined by cycles. Astrology focuses on the basic cycles of life, the day night cycle, the yearly cycle and the seasonal cycles within it. Recognizing our intrinsic relationship with the planets in our solar system, we also look to their cycles. Further we look to the cyclic relationships they share. The Sun, Moon Earth relationship is primary, in this respect. Remembering that the Earth is a planet makes appreciating that the other planets in our ‘solar system’ as having relationship with it easier to appreciate. Science has clearly illustrated that the solar system functions as a whole unit. It even has its own atmospheric layers and is encased in its own ‘shell’ according to its own nature. Look up Helio Pause to see for yourself. That the closest star to us is about 6440 times further away than Pluto might also serve to illustrate just how close the planets actually are in the grand scheme of things. Yes, our solar system is our local cosmic neighborhood. It is the cosmic nature than we exist in, our cosmic skin. In this respect the planets are natural extensions of us and, in the order of things, can be considered our cosmic organs. This is so simply because in our wholeness we are cosmic beings. It may say grandiose, in some ways it is, yet it is simply a reflection of the grandeur of nature so we need not take it too personally.

            Thus, beyond the usual consideration that Astrology is a tool for prediction there is a deeper and more valuable aspect to it. Astrology as a tool serves to help us to better understand our relationship with ourselves as individual persons, with nature particularly in the sense of the wholeness of life, with one another, with our occupations, with the many overlapping cycles that rise and fall throughout our relatively short life span, with our constitution, our proclivities, our balances and imbalances, our probabilities and possibilities. This is where awareness, for the sake of exercising free will, comes into play and is empowered with true intelligence and wisdom verses force, control, arrogance and manipulation.

            There are other systems of deciphering one’s personality type. Psychology has come up with many and they all can help. Astrology is simply the most natural and powerful means. It is the most powerful because it is natural and holistic and vice versa. In other words, it very quickly and accurately can incisively gain insight at many levels of our being. Further, it reveals how each of these levels of our being are inter-related and how they affect one another because they are all part of the weave of our being, naturally. Perhaps most importantly, it shows us crossovers between our mental, emotional, spiritual and physical ‘bodies’ or layers. With this awareness we discover how our thoughts and feelings affect our physical health and vice versa and what constitutes accurate choices, which are in alignment with our healthy nature constituting spiritual or right action because it is in alignment with our destiny, which is outlined by nature. With the ability to easily measure natural cycles and the complex overlay of numerous cycles, yes we experience many overlapping cycles, we can also be more aware of what might constitute aware and so intelligent and wise action. Only Astrology recognizes that doing so implies alignment with nature and her the cosmic cycles that characterize her true Self.