"We cannot remove the salt from the ocean but we can add a drop of pure water." - Mae Chee Sansanee
More than any other sign Pisces, the sign of sensitivity, is aware of the suffering of humanity and all sentient beings. This is because, as we grow in sensitivity and awareness, we become aware of the ocean of consciousness from which we all arise and within which we always abide.
All human thoughts, words and actions, both positive and negative, make up this collective field. So as we grow in consciousness we choose to stop adding negativity to our collective field and we begin cultivating our positive qualities so we may make a positive contribution to benefit ourselves and others. But it is a long path, and the first thing we become aware of, as we begin to awaken, is just how much suffering there is in the realm of human consciousness.
For many with personal planets in Pisces this suffering is unbearable and, understandably, leads to many forms of escapism. But when we get overwhelmed, feel as though the world and it's problems are just too much, and succumb to escapism, we miss an opportunity to experience the highest of who we are, and make our most significant contribution to the sacred heart of humanity.
In order to understand the Tibetan's perspective, once again we look at the Tibetan Buddhist view. Earlier generations of students of esoteric astrology didn't have access to the wealth of buddhist scripture that is available to us now. They were left trying to comprehend the teachings of the Tibetan through the filter of a Judeo-Christian mind. We are fortunate now to have direct access to buddha dharma (the wisdom of buddha) and so we are able to interpret esoteric astrology in a way previous generations could not.
According to Buddhadharma, human suffering comes about as a result of the 'five poisons'. The five poisons are negative emotional states that we take for granted as being part of human nature, but the teachings of the Buddha (and The Tibetan) tell us that this is not the case. These negative emotions are not who we really are - who we really are is our goodness. The negative emotions are learned behaviors - habits - and are not an inherent part of our being. In other words, they are not our nature, but simply bad habits we picked up along the way, and that we unwittingly repeat lifetime after lifetime.
These five negative emotions are known in buddhism as the five poisons, because they 'poison' our state of mind and if we act on them they lead to negative actions, become bad habits, seriously block our individual path to spiritual awakening, contribute to the 'pollution' of the collective consciousness of humanity, and lead to more suffering.
Source: https://samyeinstitute.org/sciences/philosophy/truly-understanding-five-poisons/
All negativity falls into one of these five groups of emotions. For example frustration is a milder form of anger. If compounded it becomes anger.
The path of Pisces is about letting go of these five groups of negative emotions, and from there our innate positive qualities will emerge. In Buddhism these positive qualities are known as 'virtues'. They are grouped together as qualities of body, speech, and mind:
Body Protect Life, Give Generously, Maintain One’s Discipline
Speech Speak Honestly, Reconcile, Speak Pleasantly, Speak Meaningfully
Mind Generosity, Loving Kindness, Correct View of Reality
When we feel overwhelmed by suffering and negativity, it is understandable that we would want to escape, that we would need some kind of relief. But if we follow the downward-swimming fish we remain in illusion, fantasy, escapism, and continue being swept along in the undercurrent of the collective unconscious. This is not helpful to ourselves or anyone else.
When we feel overwhelmed, the first thing we can so is recognize that it is a sign of awakening. We are becoming more sensitive, because we are waking up, and sensitivity is part of our true nature.
Next we need a method: something that we can depend on, that we can apply in practice, when everything feels too much. That method has been given to us over centuries by master spiritual teachers and yogis, many of whom chose to lead solitary lives in mountain caves because they were so aware of human suffering.
For most of us, isolating ourselves in a mountain cave isn't an option, but we can take heart from knowing that, as Mae Chee Sansanee said in the above quote, we can at least become a 'pure drop'. We can make sure we don't add to the negativity, and that we use our own consciousness, to bring more clarity to the collective consciousness of humanity. To do this we need to practice every day.
Transforming Negative Emotions
The method of transforming negative emotions has been described in many different ways, but the process remains the same. It is commonly called the path of surrender, but 'surrender' can often be misunderstood.
In Letting Go Dr David Hawkins speaks of being fully present, acknowledging what arises, and letting go. Many people are unsure of what they are feeling so he also includes advice on how to recognise underlying feelings. For example, if we feel insulted much of the time, we're are experiencing pride, one of the five negative emotions. Through the process of witnessing ourselves with compassion, and without judgement, we can 'let go' of this tendency in our individual mindstream, which then benefits our collective mind.
The same process is also described from a Buddhist perspective in Never Turn Away by Rigdzin Shikpo.
I highly recommend you get at least one, if not all three, of these books and become familiar with this method.
Escapism takes us down- drugs, alcohol, gambling, blindly binge watching TV and movies any form of addictive escapism takes us farther down into the depths of darkness. The downward swimming fish continues spiralling down to the depths where there is no light.
It can seem as though all is lost as we are less able to see the light - but our two fish in Pisces are never separated- they are always connected by a silver thread. There is always a way back to the light.
The highest Soul purpose of Pisces is to flow pure universal unconditional love into the world but we can’t do that from a place of darkness- and so we have the path of Pisces.
In order to be of the most benefit to ourselves and others we must remain in our light from where we can flow unconditional love for humanity from an open heart. The solution is not to succumb to escapism, but to recognise that sensitivity is part of our path, and to keep bringing present moment awareness to it.
This is not an easy path, especially when the toll of human suffering is unbearable at times.
A daily practice of Self-care and strong boundaries are essential. Sacred retreat time where we recharge our batteries is essential.
Whatever we have not resolved in ourselves, will be unbearable for us when we see it in others. For example, if we can’t be with someone’s anger it’s because we have not yet resolved anger in ourselves.
The 'path of surrender' is the opposite of the Piscean urge to escape and it really is the only path to healing our emotional pain and suffering.
The practice involves being compassionate and gentle with ourselves as we allow our feelings to arise in our awareness and, without judgment, analysis or criticism, gently letting them go.
Sometimes it will be too much and we will be unable to do this, but if we remain committed to the practice and continue a little each day we can break the Piscean tendency to escape, and eventually we can reduce suffering for ourselves and others. Mind really IS an ocean, and every little bit we do can help to bring a purer 'drop' to the ocean.
When enough people on the planet are committed to this path, humanity will reach a tipping point. At that time the sacred heart of humanity will beat as one, and there really will be an end to suffering. It is for this reason that the Tibetan refers to Pisces as the sign of the World Savior.
Once we learn the art of letting go, we no longer need escapism. We will not fear suffering because we know how to be with it, and our upward swimming fish can continue its journey to the light!
