Eighth House Astrology: reclaiming our birthright
Issue 32 Volume 8          11 August 2025

The loss of sensitivity to variant information that we all experienced as babies created an unbreachable gap between us and the physical world. At the same time, it served to tune our perception to our environment, allowing us to navigate it efficiently and successfully… even if it left a large portion of reality forever outside our reach.
Susana Martinez-Conde, professor of ophthalmology, neurology, and physiology and pharmacology at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, N.Y

Q: Are you saying that thought has a kind of possessive quality which stays, gets stuck, and then becomes habitual? And we don’t see this?
Bohm: I think that whenever we repeat something it gradually becomes a habit, and we get less and less aware of it. If you brush your teeth every morning, you probably hardly notice how you’re doing it. It just goes by itself. Our thought does the same thing, and so do our feelings. That’s a key point.
David Bohm (1917 –  1992) was an American scientist described as one of the most significant theoretical physicists of the 20th century who contributed unorthodox ideas to quantum theory, neuropsychology and the philosophy of mind; from Thought as a System (1994)

“To perceive a world of hard objects that had either a positive or a negative value must have been utterly necessary for our ancestors’ survival,” don Juan said. “After ages of perceiving in such a manner, we are now forced to believe that the world is made up of objects.” (…) Don Juan pointed out that, since we are drafted into that system (collective reality) by being born into it, from the moment of our birth we imperatively strive to adjust our perceiving to conform to the demands of this system, a system that rules us for life. Consequently, the (spiritual masters of olden times) were thoroughly right in believing that the act of countermanding it and perceiving energy directly is what transforms a person into a (person of knowledge).
Carlos Castaneda, The Art of Dreaming, relaying a conversation with his teacher, don Juan, about how and why we begin to embrace the collective reality

Before developing perceptual constancy, three- to four-month-old babies have a striking ability to see image differences that are invisible to adults. They lose this superior skill around the age of five months…
Susana Martinez-Conde, professor of ophthalmology, neurology, and physiology and pharmacology at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, N.Y

Dear wonderful neighbour and fellow traveller;

What is reality? Is it the reflection you see in the mirror each morning or in the social feeds that appear on your phone each day? Perhaps you find reality is the stillness inside when thoughts die down and the breath is deep and long. In truth these are all real, but are only real insofar as they are relative to where you have placed your awareness.

Scientists and philosophers speak of the waking state reality as a consensus opinion into which we are all indoctrinated not long after birth. This is referred to as the “collective reality” and arises from our social conditioning. After my daughters were born, I would marvel at their obvious connection to something they were seeing and interacting with that was beyond my perception. Unfortunately, research shows this is largely lost by the time they reach 4 or 5 months due to the strength of the collective reality which is focused on survival. As adults, whatever lies outside this reality is not experienced due to ‘cognitive blindness’.

When I was young, my car enthusiast cousins would see older cars going down the highway and call out not only the make and model, but the year it was manufactured. To me, I only saw a hunk of metal that looked like any other “old jalopy”. Later, after I owned a classic car business, I too was speaking such language. Instead of seeing “just a car”, I saw, for example, the unique lines of a ‘54 Chevy Bel Air which easily distinguished it from a 54 Plymouth Fury though both are made by General Motors.

Yogis and mystics have said the purpose of meditation is to experience our ‘death’ so that when the time comes for us to pass on from this life, we can do so consciously. Otherwise, they tell us, the experience is so jolting we lose the ability to direct our awareness into the higher states of consciousness that are available to each of us. There is more to this story, of course, but the point is clear: without engaging in a regular spiritual process whether meditation, ecstatic dancing, shamanic ritual, or other time honoured technique, the deeper layers of who we are will not be in our ‘reality’ making death a jolt rather than an embrace.

This process is not something to engage in ignorantly. There are countless stories of people without real knowledge of the process bringing themselves harm. Everything is energy, including us, and just like you would not let anyone wire your house that was not a certified electrician, you need a ‘certified’ spiritual master to guide you through the layers that make up who you are. 

To be clear, I am not speaking of your typical meditation class that seeks to connect you to a state of peace and wellbeing. As far as I know, these are fine. Hospitals offer them, universities teach them, and you can find countless websites and books dedicated to their techniques. I am speaking about when you want to ‘die’ while still alive, when you feel ready to explore what is essentially in astrology your 8th house. Without the protection of someone who has combed the depth of their being and can guide you through the depth of yours, you risk opening doors that are better left closed.

Is exploring yourself to this degree necessary? At the end of the 4 day retreat where I was initiated by Sadhguru into the basic meditation process of Isha Yoga, Sadhguru told us, “Do this every day for 6 months and your life will become more pleasant. Commit to this for life and you will become liberated.” In essence, it boils down to this: are you satisfied with a pleasant life or an enlightened life? There is nothing wrong with choosing a pleasant life; most do. It’s more a matter of are you doing what is necessary to live to your highest potential, i.e., the highest potential for a human being? There is nothing wrong with driving a Ferrari down a country road at 50MPH enjoying the scenery, but understand, you could also be driving that Ferrari on the open road at 160. 

I have been actively seeking an answer to “what is reality” since I was ten years old. There have been lots of detours and lots of pit stops, but somehow, I have enjoyed the company of realised masters, both men and women, who have selflessly and freely bestowed their grace. They have asked nothing of me and have accepted me just as I am. Only in my mind did I at times not believe I was worthy enough to receive their love. They were and are an open conduit of grace, and no matter who appears before them, that conduit is always open fully.

Day by day, month by month, year by year, I learn to ‘plug the holes’ in my life so I can hold what they have to offer. This has allowed me to experience deeper states of consciousness and, yes, realities. What we call “the world” is just a small fraction of what is available to us.

I urge you all to embrace your 8th house with great enthusiasm. It is the core path you are meant to trod in this incarnation. In the middle of the bumps and bruises, there you are, resplendent as always. Take the time to get to know your 8th house. After all, it is a part of you, a shining, mysterious, enigmatic part of you that holds the answers you seek.

 🤗

David 🔆

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