Breaking Through Barriers
Part Three
The history of the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction is filled with examples of dramatic shifts in history. Besides manias, like the occurrence of the Salem witch trials, an additional coincidence arises when reviewing past conjunctions: does the conjunction coincide with an environment ripe for intellectual and spiritual breakthrough? The possibility seems real enough. Witch mania came within 5 years of Isaac Newton’s publication of Principia, and Sri Aurobindo first published what would become his most influential work, The Life Divine, during the conjunction at 8 degrees Aquarius in 1914. Even a century later, his broad and vast perspective offers fresh spiritual insights into life.
Self-help culture emphasizes personal development, which essentially means self-improvement. These breakthroughs are seen as filling the ‘bucket’ of the self, a limited microcosm that may hinder our true potential. Nevertheless, a natural drive compels us to strive for more, to make our lives more fulfilling. This yearning has fueled the rise of self-help, with its almost religious fervor, and the cyclical popularity of various belief systems, including astrology.
Seekers in astrology seem to either be waiting for the perfect alignment, or dreading some ominous sign that suggests something lurking up ahead, and around the corner. Self-helpers are trying to peek around corners too always looking for ways “to make life better,” and to conquer their inner saboteur. For the astrologer, nothing ever happens in life without a corresponding astrological alignment, but practitioners know both things can be true; there are times of foreboding, and there are times of hope and exhilaration, even an unexpected revelation. There are times when we operate more independently of cosmic laws, and other times when acknowledging them can offer valuable insights..
For now, a significant portion of humanity operates within the confines of their self-defined bucket, whether their life focus is on material possessions, short-term career goals, or some other limited view of their potential. We all strive to build a comfortable life but may not consider the grander possibilities for growth and fulfillment.
Building on the idea of a limited “bucket” mentality, let’s explore how self-help culture often falls short when it comes to achieving lasting change. While self-improvement advocates believe a motivational TED Talk or a Tony Robbins seminar can jumpstart your journey, true transformation demands sustained effort. Modern gurus preach persistence and consistency, cornerstones of success. Yet, the crucial ingredient – unwavering resolve – often remains unspoken.
Take, for example, the concept of “growth mindset” popularized by Carol Dweck. Dweck emphasizes the importance of believing in our ability to learn and grow. This aligns perfectly with the idea of deliberate practice. However, self-help culture often presents this as a quick fix – a mindset shift that unlocks instant success. The reality, as Anders Erikson highlights in his work on deliberate practice, is that true mastery requires sustained effort over a significant period.
Erikson’s research suggests that achieving mastery in a complex skill typically takes around 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. This doesn’t mean simply logging 10,000 hours; it involves focused, purposeful practice with regular feedback and spaced repetition. Imagine a violinist mindlessly practicing scales for 10,000 hours. While they may improve somewhat, it’s unlikely they’ll reach virtuosity. Deliberate practice, on the other hand, involves targeted exercises, pushing boundaries, and receiving constructive criticism. This is the kind of dedicated effort that leads to real growth.
The “4-hour workweek” concept, popularized by Tim Ferriss, might seem to contradict this notion. Ferriss argues for optimizing productivity and minimizing work hours. However, a key distinction exists. Ferriss doesn’t suggest achieving mastery in 4 hours a week. Instead, he advocates for focusing your limited working hours on high-impact activities. The remaining time can then be dedicated to deliberate practice for self-mastery.
The point isn’t to spend an unrealistic amount of time working, but to dedicate consistent effort towards your goals. Maybe you can’t practice violin for 3 hours a day, but perhaps you can dedicate 30 focused minutes each day. Over time, with deliberate practice, you’ll see significant progress. This aligns with the concept of “deep work” advocated by Cal Newport, which emphasizes the importance of focused, distraction-free effort.
Remember, the self-help culture often sells a shortcut to mastery. While a positive mindset and self-belief are important, true growth comes from deliberate practice – consistent, focused effort over time. By dedicating ourselves consistently, even in smaller chunks of time, we can achieve significant progress on the path to self-mastery.
Erikson’s concept of deliberate practice, explored in his influential paper, aligns with the idea that significant astrological events can influence societal shifts. The rare Uranus-Neptune conjunction of 1993, known for its potential to spur innovation and cultural change, coincided with the publication of Erikson’s work. Interestingly, Danny Meyer’s concept of “transformation of hospitality” in his book Setting the Table reflects a similar shift within a seemingly mundane profession. Meyer’s ideas demonstrate how focusing on deliberate practice can elevate even the most common occupations. By incorporating insights from various fields, astrologers can expand their service to clients. Perhaps, in addition to chart interpretations, they could recommend Erikson’s work or similar resources to broaden their clients’ understanding of human potential. As Steven Pressfield suggests, taking action (“Do the work!”) is key to unlocking individual and potentially collective growth.
While the “Smile Workshop” from part one might have offered Henry a temporary boost, long-term fulfillment requires deeper exploration. A leaky bucket needs more than a quick patch, and personal growth is an ongoing process, not a one-time fix. The astrological concept of “retrograde” resonates with this sense of impermanence. We might undo limiting perceptions, retool cognitive biases, and feel a surge of progress, only to experience a setback later. This cyclical nature reflects how growth can involve periods of regression, just like the perceived backwards motion of planets during retrograde phases.
Just as a planet’s retrograde motion can symbolize a stumbling block or a misconstrued perception in one’s natal chart, the effects of changing personal routines can be complex. Changes can fade quickly or even backfire. True transformation requires more than a lucky astrological alignment, a temporary influence, or a pep talk. Yet, “quick fix” mentalities persist, especially when disguised as a “secret” or some special know-how. People are drawn to shrink-wrapped solutions, similar in astrology to collecting personal anecdotes as a kind of “spectral evidence” to explain everything in a person’s life. This tendency can lead the astrologer and client to fall into a pattern of seeking external explanations, vigorously agreeing and blaming specific planets, much like a psychotherapist and client might blame a parent.
If personal development has roots traced back to Pythagoras and figures like Cotton Mather or Benjamin Franklin, where is the movement headed today? Are we progressing towards a more enlightened future? Can astrology play a more significant role? Or will interest in astrology wane once again? Perhaps the answer lies not in seeking a singular “Avatar,” but in fostering a collective effort towards growth. By building on the insights of various disciplines, including evidence-based practices and carefully considered astrological knowledge, we can create a more holistic approach to personal development, one that propels us forward in a continuous spiral of evolution.
Instead of chasing external validation, like waiting for a specific astrological event, focus on cultivating a sense of inner wholeness. Embrace the journey of self-discovery and become the light you seek. This connection to your inner light, like a vast and unwavering ocean, fills you with a sacred fullness from within. With this internal source of fulfillment, external validation becomes less important.
Ideas passed down through the generations, constantly evolve, and adapt This focus on ego development in self-help reflects a broader trend in personal growth philosophies. While concepts like “ego strength” (resilience in modern psychology) and “ego power” (willpower) aim to strengthen the individual, Sri Aurobindo suggests we might be approaching the issue from a limited perspective. The “ego” itself may confine us with a too narrow view of human potential. On an evolutionary scale, for example, there may be “more than meets the eye” here. The ancient wisdom encapsulated in the phrase “as above, so below” alludes to this connection between our inner and outer worlds. Just before his death, Joseph Campbell, in his final book The Inner Reaches of Outer Space, echoed this idea. He argued that myths and symbols hold messages for us, reflecting the intersection of art, religion, and psychology. These stories connect our inner experiences with the external world in profound ways.
“For the senses the sun goes round the earth; that was for them the centre of existence and the motions of life are arranged on the basis of a misconception. The truth is the very opposite, but its discovery would have been of little use if there were not a science that makes the new conception the centre of a reasoned and ordered knowledge, putting their right values on the perceptions of the senses. So also, for the mental consciousness God moves round the personal ego and all His works and ways are brought to the judgment of our egoistic sensations, emotions and conceptions and are there given values and interpretations which, though a perversion and inversion of the truth of things, are yet useful and practically sufficient in a certain development of human life and progress.”
To cultivate a sense of wholeness, we must embrace the truth about our limitations. Often, our sense of emptiness stems from misconceptions about what fulfillment means. Instead of seeking external solutions, we discover the key to wholeness by recognizing the inherent value within ourselves. Our potential for growth and connection is woven into the very fabric of our being, much like the stardust that forms our bodies. This internal wellspring of fulfillment can be nurtured through self-discovery and a shift in perspective.
Free Will vs. Fate: A central question in astrology is the role of free will. Traditional astrologers often emphasize how the natal chart reveals a person’s potential, but some interpret this as a predetermined fate, limiting individual agency. This clashes with the modern emphasis on personal empowerment. We can all relate to the feeling of pouring our efforts into a leaky bucket, a sense that life is predetermined no matter our actions. Newcomers to astrology often seek to avoid these feelings of fatedness, hoping for harmonious planetary alignments and fearing disharmonious ones. However, a more nuanced understanding of astrology goes beyond these simplistic interpretations.
In essence the problem isn’t the bucket itself, but our focus on filling it with external validation. Whether it’s knowledge from seminars, astrology readings, or anything outside ourselves, we chase after things that ultimately feel out of reach. Even success and achievement can feel hollow if filtered through distorted perceptions. The “overachiever syndrome,” with its relentless pursuit of success can leave us feeling emptier than ever.
Throughout history, people have sought self-improvement through various means, sometimes even attributing historical events to astrological alignments. While such explanations can be tempting, they often lead us down a path of misunderstanding. The feeling of emptiness we experience isn’t remedied by simply accumulating more external information. Perhaps the key lies, as mentioned earlier, in shifting our perspective. Moving beyond fragmented thinking and embracing a holistic view of ourselves and our place in the universe, and in time, offers a more sustainable path to fulfillment. This might be a tough pill to swallow for someone hoping for immediate results from a planetary transit, but true growth is a journey, not a destination.
Astrologers would be better served by a more circumspect approach. Just as lack of sleep doesn’t directly cause better fitness, astrological alignments don’t necessarily trigger specific events. The Uranus-Neptune conjunction, for example, may not have caused a great awakening, but it could have coincided with a period of heightened social consciousness, foreshadowing the dismantling of binary structures that continues today. Astrology, at its best, is illuminating, insightful, and inspiring. However, with wider acceptance comes the responsibility to avoid mistaking reflections for reality. Correlation isn’t causation, and anecdotes aren’t evidence. Embracing this principle doesn’t diminish the potential value of astrology; it opens the door to a more nuanced understanding, where correspondences can be explored without the limitations of a rigid, cause-and-effect framework.
In conclusion, our search for fulfillment can be easily steered wrong by quick fixes and external validation. Both self-help culture and a focus on astrological alignments, while potentially helpful tools, can lead us down paths of misunderstanding if overemphasized. As an astrologer, I hold astrology in high regard. However, a more integral philosophy, one that bridges the best of self-help and astrology, might offer a more compelling alternative. This approach would urge us to connect to a deeper sense of wholeness within ourselves, recognizing that self-discovery is ultimately more valuable than external interpretations. Imagine the “self” not as a leaky bucket to be filled, but as a channel for a universal flow of energy. By shifting our perspective and embracing a holistic view of life, we can tap into a source of fulfillment far greater than anything previously imagined. Moving beyond the limitations of the bucket metaphor, we can embrace the vast ocean of potential within. As Sri Aurobindo teaches, we are much more than what is written on the ‘ol map of the sky we call the natal chart.
- Ericsson, K. A., & Harwell, K. W. (2019). Deliberate practice and proposed limits on the effects of practice on the acquisition of expert performance: why the original definition matters and recommendations for future research. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02396
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials#cite_note-45
3. Footnote 45 from the Wikipedia page on the Salem Witch Trial:
Caporael, Linnda R. (1976). “Ergotism: The Satan Loosed in Salem?”. Science. 192 (4234): 21– 26. Bibcode:1976Sci…192…21C. doi:10.1126/science.769159. JSTOR 1741715. PMID 769159. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
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