A little more about Destiny
by Kari April 2006

Destiny, what is it? Predetermined ways of being, behaving, feeling about things? A big goal or greatness, to do something, "I am destined to be the next American Idol...?" The opposite of Free Will?
Our desire to understand destiny brings us to readers, astrologers, priests and libraries...1/5 th of our human condition? Feng Shui

Astrology gives us a clear idea of destiny as predetermined ways of being. We are born into this world, take our first breath of Earth's air, and the placement of the planets, stars, and even the weather affect our being. Aristotle's concept of "information" of the soul supports the idea that these environmental factors help determine our souls imprint on the body through the "inspiration" or in breath.

In Western Astrology, the constellations were stopped in their place (by a man who wanted to control it). Sun signs are determined by dates of birth. So according to Western Astrology I am a Cancer sun sign. That always felt wrong to me.

I prefer Eastern or Vedic Astrology. Here we look at where the sun actually was at my time of birth...well what do you know. I'm a Gemini! Ah. That's better. These ideas are hinged on the belief that this type of environmental condition affects us in specific ways. That is enough to continue. Further, however, is the concept that these planets/conditions have entities attached to them whose interplay with my life through my chart can be managed in building relationships. Not necessarily important at first but it grows important to me as I develop my Jungian/Thomistic concept of God's individuation and unification process with myself as a mirror of this.

Anyhow:

The astrological chart gives me an idea my predisposition. For example, the placement of Venus and how it affects my relationships gives me an idea of the challenges I need to overcome in order to have a traditional monogamous relationship.

Now, my free will comes in when I decide if monogamy is a goal of mine. So for me, the astrological chart is a blue print of what will be easy for me and what will have challenges. How I will respond emotionally to relationships as they come and go is set at the begining of my life and changes and grows from there through: Education, Luck, Feng Shui...

Karma - Here is a concept of Destiny that must also be considered. The accumulative affect of our choices here and in other life times creates the stepping stones for lessons we need to learn. Ultimately we seek balance in action and affect. "Tit for Tat Karma" is my goal. A friend of mine said that life is not fair but I say, if we live long enough, aware enough, we can see that life is fair eventually.

For my life, Karma entails past lives. In my dream work I have reviewed my life, my lives. The reality of what I viewed and lived through on the dream time was, for me, more important than whether these lives were actually lived on a linear Western time line. The lessons I learned and the emotional impact of these lives explained much of my predisposition toward things like violence. My choices in this life and my attitudes reflected back at me in an astonishing way. It helped me understand what I must overcome if I truly want to reach my goal of enlightenment. There are new choices for me to make and old ideas to unmake.

God's Will and Purpose in our lives. This is a concept my Grand Uncle Al preached about constantly. It seems to hold the idea that there is an ultimate thing each of us are set on Earth to do. But I find this a confining and linear understanding.

For me it holds the reality that life is a circular process not a linear goal oriented state. Living the process of our lives with awareness, diligence and commitment in our choice making from what we eat to what we say, and creating a ritual life that is constantly prayerful is what it takes to align my will with God's will and purpose. The kind of balance this creates, pressence of mind and attunement with my physical, emotional, and interdimentional bodies is the foundation for the "Leaps of Faith" that I take daily. It leads to the "Luck" aspect of the Feng Shui model of human enlightenment.

When I let go of my expectations, grandiose end goals and how they are supposed to look and feel, I can ease my willfulness about my destiny. These things are ego based and limiting. Once willfulness has nothing to eat from the ego state, I slip into willingness. To experience willingness is to experience what ever life/god, our destiny sets out for us without judgement, expectation and ego centered obsticals.

Willingness puts me in the state where it is possible to develop functional, healthy relationships. It makes dialectic possible. Willingness makes it possible for me to see how the other aspects of my life such as education, luck, and my physical environment work for or against this balance.