Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter May 26, 2010

Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
MAY 26, 2010
FreeWillAstrology.com

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Expanded Audio Horoscopes
RealAstrology.com

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There's a new release from the soundtrack for my book PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA.

It's called "Kundalini Pledge Drive"
You can access it here: bit.ly/KundaliniPledge

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The revised and expanded version of my book PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA is available at Amazon: bit.ly/Pronoia

and also at Powells: bit.ly/PronoiaPowells

Here's an excerpt:

THE OUTLAW CATALOG OF CAGEY OPTIMISM
(The complete text is here: bit.ly/CageyOptimism)

Psychiatry and psychotherapy obsess on what's wrong with people and give short shrift to what's right. The manual of these professions is a 943-page textbook called the DSM-IV. It identifies scores of pathological states but no healthy ones.

Some time back, I began to complain about this fact, and asked readers to help me compile material for a proposed antidote, the Anti-DSM -- a compendium of healthy, exalted, positive states of being. As their entries came in, we at the Beauty and Truth Laboratory were inspired to dream up some of our own. Below is part one of our initial attempt at creating an Anti-DSM-IV, or as we also like to call it, "The Outlaw Catalog of Cagey Optimism."

* ACUTE FLUENCY. Happily immersed in artistic creation or scientific exploration; lost in a trance-like state of inventiveness that's both blissful and taxing; surrendered to a state of grace in which you're fully engaged in a productive, compelling, and delightful activity. The joy of this demanding, rewarding state is intensified by a sense that time has been suspended, and is rounder and deeper than usual. (Suggested by H. H. Holiday, who reports that extensive studies in this state have been done by Mihaly Cziscenmihaliy in his book, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.)

* AESTHETIC BLISS. Vividly experiencing the colors, textures, tones, scents, and rhythms of the world around you, creating a symbiotic intimacy that dissolves the psychological barriers between you and what you observe. (Suggested by Jeanne Grossetti.)

* AGGRESSIVE SENSITIVITY. Animated by a strong determination to be receptive and empathetic.

* ALIGNMENT WITH THE INFINITY OF THE MOMENT. Reveling in the liberating realization that we are all exactly where we need to be at all times, even if some of us are temporarily in the midst of trial or tribulation, and that human evolution is proceeding exactly as it should, even if we can't see the big picture of the puzzle that would clarify how all the pieces fit together perfectly. (Suggested by Meredith Jones.)

* AUTONOMOUS NURTURING. Not waiting for someone to give you what you can give yourself. (Suggested by Shannen Davis.)

* BASKING IN ELDER WISDOM. A state of expansive ripeness achieved through listening to the stories of elders. (Suggested by Annabelle Aavard.)

* BIBLIOBLISS. Transported into states of transcendent pleasure while immersed in reading a favorite book. (Suggested by Catherine Kaikowska.)

* BLASPHEMOUS REVERENCE. Acting on the knowledge that the most efficacious form of devotion to the Divine Wow is tinctured with playful or mischievous behavior that prevents the buildup of fanaticism.

* BOO-DUH NATURE. Dwelling in the blithe understanding of the fact that worry is useless because most of what we worry about never happens. (Suggested by Timothy S. Wallace.)

* COMIC INTROSPECTION. Being fully aware of your own foibles while still loving yourself tenderly and maintaining confidence in your ability to give your specific genius to the world. To paraphrase Alan Jones, Dean of Grace Cathedral: following the Byzantine ploys of your ego with compassion and humor as it tries to make itself the center of everything, even of its own suffering and struggle.

* COMPASSIONATE DISCRIMINATION. Having astute judgment without being scornfully judgmental; seeing difficult truths about a situation or person without closing your heart or feeling superior. In the words of Alan Jones: having the ability "to smell a rat without allowing your ability to discern deception sour your vision of the glory and joy that is everyone's birthright."

* CRAZED KINDNESS. Having frequent, overpowering urges to bestow gifts, disseminate inspiration, and perpetrate random acts of benevolence.

* ECSTATIC GRATITUDE. Feeling genuine thankfulness with such resplendent intensity that you generate a surge of endorphins in your body and slip into a full-scale outbreak of euphoria.

* EMANCIPATED SURRENDER. Letting go of an attachment without harboring resentment toward the stimuli that led to the necessity of letting go. (Suggested by Timothy S. Wallace.)

* FRIENDLY SHOCK. Welcoming a surprise that will ultimately have benevolent effects.

* HIGHWAY EQUANIMITY. Feeling serene, polite, and benevolent while driving in heavy traffic. (Suggested by Shannen Davis.)

* HOLY LISTENING. Hearing the words of another human being as if they were a direct communication from the Divine Wow to you.

* IMAGINATIVE TRUTH-TELLING. Conveying the truth of any specific situation from multiple angles, thereby mitigating the distortions that result from assuming the truth can be told from a single viewpoint.

* IMPULSIVE LOVE SPREADING. Characterized by a fierce determination to never withhold well-deserved praise, inspirational encouragement, positive feedback, or loving thoughts; often includes a tendency to write love letters on the spur of the moment and on any medium, including napkins, grocery bags, and skin. (Suggested by Laurie Burton.)

* INADVERTENT NATURE WORSHIP. Experiencing the rapture that comes from being outside for extended periods of time. (Suggested by Sue Carol Robinson.)

* INGENIOUS INTIMACY. Having an ability to consistently create deep connections with other human beings, and to use the lush, reverential excitement stimulated by such exchanges to further deepen the connections. A well-crafted talent for dissolving your sense of separateness and enjoying the innocent exultation that erupts in the wake of the dissolution. (Suggested by Sue Carol Robinson.)

* JOYFUL POIGNANCE. Feeling buoyantly joyful about the beauty and mystery of life while remaining aware of the sadness, injustices, wounds, and future fears that form the challenges in an examined life. (Suggested by Alka Bhargava.)

* LATE LATE-BLOOMING. Having a capacity for growth spurts well into old age, long past the time that conventional wisdom says they're possible.

* LEARNING DELIGHT. Experiencing the brain-reeling pleasure that comes from learning something new. (Suggested by Sue Carol Robinson.)

* LUCID DREAM PATRIOTISM. A love of country rooted in the fact that it provides the ideal conditions for learning lucid dreaming. (Suggested by Kenneth Kelzer, author of The Sun and the Shadow: My Experiment With Lucid Dreaming.)

* LYRICAL CONSONANCE. Experiencing the visceral yet also cerebral excitement that comes from listening to live music played impeccably by skilled musicians. (Suggested by Susan E. Nace.)

TO SEE THE REST OF THE EXALTED, POSITIVE STATES, GO HERE:
bit.ly/CageyOptimism

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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:

THE MEDIA EMPHASIZES THE UGLINESS, SO WE PRONOIACS HAVE TO OVERCOMPENSATE
The Most Beautiful Coral Reefs
tinyurl.com/24ghbyd

THE EVOLUTIONARY VALUE OF GENEROSITY
"Pay It Forward" Pays Off
tinyurl.com/245c92u

THE RADICAL TRANSFORMATION IS UNDERWAY
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
by Daniel Pink
The author says that in the near future, the keys to success will be "in developing and cultivating six senses: design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning."

(Note: I endorse these because I like them. They are not advertisements, and I get no kickbacks.)

Please tell me your own personal nominations for PRONOIA RESOURCES.

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning May 27

Copyright 2010 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

My favorite news source, The Onion, recently reported on a "free-thinking cat" that excretes its wastes "outside the box." As you enjoy your own phase of liberated thinking and uninhibited action, Gemini, I hope that you're putting the emphasis on generating beauty and blessings "outside the box." You will of course also have to make some messes as you tamper with the way things have always been done, but even they could turn out to be productive in the long run.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

Are you slipping into one of those moods in which you feel like a fraud? Are you starting to worry that maybe you're not who you say you are? If so, I want to remind you of what happened the last time these feelings got stirred up: You became super motivated to prove that you are indeed who you say you are. And that had a most wonderful effect, didn't it? It led you to locate and call on resources you hadn't known you could have access to; it spurred you to purge some self-deception from your system; and it roused you to intensify your commitment to rigorous authenticity. How about an encore?

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

I'm a compassion freak. Empathy is a fetish of mine. My predilection is to comfort the afflicted, champion the underdog, and fight for the rights of people who have been given less than I. And yet there's also a part of me that's a pagan libertarian anarchist. I subscribe to the idea that pretty much any kind of behavior is fine and good as long as it doesn't hurt anyone. Now that you Leos are in the "anything goes" phase of your astrological cycle, this full-permission part of me is rising to the forefront, eager to encourage you to go for broke, take it to the limit, and get away with everything you can get away with -- on one condition, which is that it doesn't harm anyone, including you.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

Snake charmers are still a fixture in many Indian cities. Moving rhythmically and playing a flute-like instrument, they influence erect cobras to bob and sway as if dancing. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you now have the power to do the metaphorical equivalent of that magic trick. This is one of those rare times when you possess the mojo to direct and even control strong forces that may usually be too wild to tame. You've still got to be careful, though. Just because you've got the power doesn't mean that you can scrimp on preparation and discipline.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

It's time to think comprehensively, not defensively . . . to see futuristically, not didactically . . . to fantasize fantastically, not diplomatically. Your assignment is to stop reacting to every little blip that leaps into your field of vision, and start surveying the long-term cycles of your life from an expansive vista. Be a proactive visionary, Libra. Be a high-minded explorer. Weave all the disparate threads into a tapestry that reveals the big picture. The next phase of your liberation requires you to slough off petty concerns and trivial details.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

"Never" has never been a more irrelevant word for you. Events that may have always seemed quite improbable are now well within the range of possibility. Exotic people who up until recently may as well have been fictional characters are showing up as real live actors in your actual life story. Plotlines whose emergence you could not have predicted are snaking their way into your drama. So be alert for a freaking miracle concealed in a flimsy disguise. And don't be surprised if a vision of funky paradise shows up in full regalia. The future's not just knocking at your door, it's pounding.

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LISTEN TO AN EXPANDED HOROSCOPE

Here's a page with a lot of the free stuff I offer: bit.ly/FreeWork

Besides all that, I also offer in-depth audio horoscopes that cost a little money. Find out more at RealAstrology.com.

The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.

"Your expanded audio horoscopes are the next best thing to actually having you here next to me to remind me who I really am."
- Alyssa R., Des Moines, Iowa

"When I listen to your audio 'scopes, my free will lights up."
- Alex D., Los Angeles

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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

Sagittarian writer Samuel Clemens was best known under his pen name, Mark Twain. But he tried many others, including Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass, W. Epaminondas Adrastus Blab, Trismegistus, and Sergeant Fathom. Since you're in a phase when experiments with your persona would be productive, I suggest you dream up a few aliases of your own. I hope that at least one of them will be as wacky as "Blab" or "Snodgrass." Having a sense of humor about yourself will be helpful. It will ensure that your explorations at the frontiers of your identity will be fertile, fun, and never fear-based.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

You're not living in Iraq or Sudan or the Congo, and you don't have to walk five miles a day with a jug on your head to fetch the water you need, and you're not so bereft of food that you have to resort to eating worms and tree bark. So how bad could your problems be? The single best thing you can do to start fixing your life's small glitches is to feel waves of gratitude for how many resources you have and how lucky you are. The second best thing would be to aggressively take your worried attention off yourself and turn your mind toward people who could really benefit from your help. As you carry out those two assignments, your dilemmas will begin to solve themselves as if by magic.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

There's a bothersome phenomenon that mucks up reincarnation research: Far too many people profess to have been celebrities and geniuses in their previous lives. A related and equally irksome issue is the problem of multiple claims. For example, I know three different people who have assured me they were Napoleon their last time around. The fact is, almost no one who's reading this horoscope has never been famous in any past incarnation. However, it is worthy to note that a disproportionately high percentage of you Aquarians were formerly people with great imaginations. And it so happens that in the coming weeks you will be at the peak of your ability to tap into the creativity you had back then.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

When I sent out my email newsletter last week, I got the usual number of automatic replies from people who were on vacation or out of the office. But one from Lisa P. caught my attention. "Can't reply to your email right now," it read. "I will be meditating until June 1." My first reaction was jealousy. "I want to have the leisure time and willpower to meditate for 14 days non-stop!" I thought to myself. I pictured myself free of all business-as-usual, even meditating while I was asleep. My second reaction was that I should tell you Pisceans about what Lisa P. was up to. The coming days would, after all, be an excellent time for you to retreat from the usual flood of chaos and seek peaceful sanctuary in a conversation with eternity. If you can't manage a whole week, try to give yourself at least 48 hours of profound and utter slack.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

Mozart once challenged his friend Haydn to play a harpsichord piece he'd written. Haydn tried, but stopped partway through when the musical score called for him to play a note in the middle of the keyboard even though his right hand was fully occupied at the high end and his left hand at the low end. "Nobody can play this," protested Haydn. "I can," said Mozart, who proceeded to perform the piece flawlessly, dipping down to play the problematic note with his nose. In the coming week, Aries, be inspired by Mozart as you not only cover the extremes but also take care of the center.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

If you've ever contemplated taking a trip to Bora Bora or Pago Pago, now might be a good time to actually go. That's because you're in a "seeing double" phase -- a time when magic will come through repetition, and via duplication, and while you're in the throes of imitation. To take maximum advantage of the dualistic cosmic rhythms, don't seek just one of anything. Don't do anything just once. Two is where the power lies. Pairing brings potency.

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HOMEWORK:

What good thing would you have to give up in order to get a great thing? Testify at FreeWillAstrology.com. Click on "Email Rob."

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WANT TO GET YOUR CHART DONE?

I'm not doing personal charts, but I highly recommend my astrological colleague, RO LOUGHRAN. Her approach closely matches my own. In our many discussions about astrology over the years, we've had a major influence on each other's work.

Ro utilizes a blend of well-trained intuition, emotional warmth, and a high degree of technical proficiency in horoscope interpretation; she is skilled at exploring the mysteries of your life's purpose and nurturing your connection with your own inner wisdom.

Ro is based in California, but can do phone consultations and otherwise work with you regardless of geographic boundaries.

Ro's website is at YourSoulJourney.com

She can also be reached at roloughran@comcast.net

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Submissions sent to the Free Will Astrology Weekly Newsletter or in response to "homework assignments" may be published in a variety of formats at Rob Brezsny's discretion, including but not limited to newsletters, books, the Free Will Astrology column, and Free Will Astrology website. We reserve the right to edit such submissions for length, style, and content. Requests for anonymity will be honored with submissions; otherwise, reader names, screen names, or initials will be used. Please be sure to note your preference when sending to us. We are not responsible for unsolicited submission of any creative material.

Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright 2010 Rob Brezsny

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