Is this relationship healthy or unhealthy?

When we are trying to develop a closer relationship with someone, we may naturally ask ourselves: Is this relationship healthy or unhealthy? To answer, we can look at the effect of that relationship on us. 

For analyzing such an effect, we can consider the two-level model of the self alluded to in the Bhagavad-gita (06.05). We all have a higher self and a lower self — we need to elevate the lower self with the higher self, not degrade the higher self with the lower self. Our higher self is driven by the values we aspire to develop and the purposes we strive to achieve, whereas our lower self is largely driven by cravings and short-sighted impulses for instant pleasures. Nourishing our higher self is primarily our individual responsibility, yet part of that responsibility also involves considering how our relationships are influencing our choices in terms of which self they fuel: higher or lower. 

Full article is here: Is this relationship healthy or unhealthy?

Audio explanation of the article is below: