In a sense, the path to a fulfilling life is simply about letting go the past; the more you can let it go, the more joyful and pleasant life becomes. Why? Because it is the impressions accumulated from countless lifetimes that prevent you from living authentically, ie, in a way that honours the pure creative impulse within you. This impulse is the impetus of the life within us that causes us to move and act. Without modifications from the past, this impulse is completely free and completely natural to who we are. For such a one, life is completely fulfilling, completely satisfying.
Without a past, a bird is free to act as a bird, a squirrel as a squirrel, and a tree as a tree. This is why the wildness of nature is such a great friend: without any modifications from a past, the pure creative impulse from within expresses itself according to the nature of that which embodies it.
Elemental Astrology points to the karmic baggage we have brought into this life, baggage that prevents us from living authentically. This baggage is the subconscious impressions accumulated over many lifetimes made up of both the successes and failures from the past. Both prevent us from living authentically. Past success keeps us limited, limiting our capacity to look beyond the box. Similarly, our past failures and pain keeps us from allowing ourself to express fully in those areas of life, fearful, we are, of suffering again. It is only through letting this past go that we can move forward in our life.
How do you let go of the past? By fully engaging the present through your desire nature, but consciously. Fundamentally, what needs to happen to live authentically is to learn to act from your pure creative impulse and not compulsion. Compulsions are based upon the past. They are a modification of the pure creative impulse the impressions accumulated from past lives.
A classic misunderstanding is that one needs ambition and desire to act. This is simply not the case. Consciousness, of which you are a part, is all-knowing, all-pervasive, timeless and without limitation. If this is the case, then why would you need ambition to accomplish anything?
Ambition arises from the past. In fact, anything that arises from the past is a modification and will keep you from acting freely, according to your nature. Does the bird build a nest in the spring from ambition or simply because it is its nature? In the same way, we have all entered this life with natural talents and proclivities that allow us to fulfil our divine purpose. It is only when we resist our nature, either willingly or subconsciously, that our life becomes an emotional challenge.
Learning to act from what is natural to you requires space between you and your desires. There are two basic ways to do this: either through fulfilment of desire or through understanding. What this means is that when a desire arises, you can either choose to engage it and attempt to fulfil it or you can simply hold it within yourself until the desire dissolves through wisdom.
The first step in living a fulfilling, satisfying life is to learn to make conscious choices. Not every desire we have is beneficial, either for ourselves or others. In fact, most desires lead us into difficulty, even if they at first appear appealing. The first step, then, is to simply pause when a desire rears its head. Simply pause and make a space so you can look at the desire objectively. Will this desire support you in getting where you want to go? If you can do this simple step, you can eliminate a significant amount of turmoil in your life.
Though simple, it’s not easy to make this space within ourselves. Until we establish a certain amount of perceptivity within ourselves, our choices are determined by the subconscious impressions from our past. And it can be incredibly challenging to step back enough in order to objectively evaluate our choices.
Thankfully, astrology tells us we can make progress even as we make mistakes. By attempting to engage our desires consciously, we initiate a process by which, step-by-step, bit-by-bit, we begin to learn how to live from our pure creative impulse, a place within us connected to the source of all. Any engagement with our source brings feelings of immense joy, peace and bliss.