​The means by which we advance spiritually is to practise ‘reflexive self-consciousness’, in other words simultaneously to see things from the other point of view as well as our own. This attitude of living translates as the Golden Rule, or simply put, ‘do as you’d be done by’, ‘love thy neighbour as thyself’, or ‘what goes around comes around’. It is the opposite of selfishness; it is consideration and respect.

​Life itself is not a single event; it is eternal duality, the dynamic interplay between two opposing principles. These can be seen in yin and yang, in electricity, or in interpersonal relationship – anything where two attitudes are polarised. Whether we see this as unloving conflict or energetic dynamism is a measure of our maturity and wisdom.

​To be selfish is to demonstrate one’s fearfulness; to be considerate is to express, share and prove one’s faith and love. Yet to allow another to be selfish is no less problematic, and must be avoided by the operation of strong, clear boundaries that enforce our own important choices and personal viewpoints sufficiently well that we earn and can claim respect. If we fail to realise this balance then we suffer the consequences – of confusion, of intrusion, and of very shaky life-foundations. Then, whatever we try to build will only ever reach a smaller and poorer level of expression than otherwise we could accomplish. 

​As Chiron passes through this Aries 7 degree, we may look for clues of imbalance – too much of this and not enough of that; too much self, not enough other, or quite possibly too much give and not enough take. Noticing exactly what is unbalanced can give us a springboard to seeing why. Why are we selfish? Or why do we allow ourselves to be treated disrespectfully? What’s underneath that distorted life attitude?

​We’ve already mastered this skill in so many areas of life – putting enough salt, but not too much, in our cooking; fast enough to get there on time in our car but not so fast it will be dangerous. If we are seriously committed to a path of spiritual evolution, then we must learn to apply this approach to all things. 

​The trick to learn in doing this has to do with developing the ability to focus attention in a special way. It is not to do with dividing the attention as such – the focus of our glance must always be single and direct if we are to achieve our purposes – it is a question of expanding our understanding and awareness of what attention is and what it can be trained to do.

Everything living has two aspects or directions – life is duality, so anything living is dual in nature. Attention is a living thing. Perhaps attention is directed towards its experiences at first and only later towards the assimilation of their meaning (as knowledge); or perhaps it wants to bring its understandings into clear focus first, and only later pursue the vision of putting them into form (as experiences). Yet the true master will be able to slide immediately, spontaneously and effortlessly between the two attitudes of attention such that no attachment – to either this or that – is present, and their behaviour is immediate, sensitive and authentic. This promotes both joy and achievement.