Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
May 30, 2012
FreeWillAstrology.com
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My book
PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA
is available at Amazon: bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
Here's an excerpt:
I'M A STAR, YOU'RE A STAR
(To read the entirety of this feature, go here: bit.ly/YouStarYou)
You're a star -- and so am I. I'm a genius -- and so are you.
Your success encourages my brilliance, and my charisma enhances
your power. Your victory doesn't require my defeat, and vice versa.
Those are the rules in the New World -- quite unlike the rules
in the Old World, where zero-sum games are the norm, and only
one of us can win each time we play.
In the New World, you don't have to tone down or apologize for
your prowess, because you love it when other people shine. You
exult in your own excellence without regarding it as a sign of
inherent superiority. As you ripen more and more of your latent
aptitude, you inspire the rest of us to claim our own idiosyncratic
magnificence.
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Tibetan Buddhist teacher Geshe Chekawa (1220-1295) specialized
in bodhicitta, seeking enlightenment not for personal gain but
as a way to serve others. On his deathbed, he prayed to be sent
to hell so that he might alleviate the suffering of the lost souls
there.
As you explore pronoia, you will discover that like Chekawa,
you have a huge capacity to help people. Unlike him, you'll find
that expressing your benevolence doesn't require you to go to
hell. It may even be unnecessary for you to sacrifice your own
joy or to practice self-denial. Just the opposite: Being in service
to humanity and celebrating your unique power will be synergistic.
They will need each other to thrive.
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The Golden Rule is a decent ethical principle, but it could be
even better. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto
you" presumes that others enjoy what you enjoy. But that's
wrong. There are many things you'd like to have done unto you
that others would either despise or be bored by. Here's a new,
improved formulation, which we call the Platinum Rule: Do unto
others as they would like to have you do unto them.
Using this improved formula is not just a virtuous way to live,
but is also the best way to ensure the success of your selfish
goals. The rituals and spells of various occult orders purport
to be supercharged techniques for imposing your personal will
on the chaotic flow of events, but I say that practicing the Platinum
Rule outstrips all of them as an exercise to enhance your potency
and happiness.
TO READ THE REST OF "I'M A STAR, YOU'RE A STAR," go
here: bit.ly/YouStarYou
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Steal this song: bit.ly/tAZbAA
I Want Everybody
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
EVEN SOME INTELLECTUALS SEE THE VALUE OF OPTIMISM
A Richer Life by Seeing the Glass Half Full
tinyurl.com/clom8r4
PRONOIAC MISTAKES
Did a Copying Mistake Make Humans So Smart?
Mistakes made during cell division long ago may have lead to the
sophistication of the modern human brain.
tinyurl.com/86dpkyt
PEOPLE YOU DON'T KNOW ARE WORKING HARD TO DO GOOD
Scientists discover benevolent virus that kills all grades of
breast cancer within seven days
tinyurl.com/3vg553s
(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 31
Copyright 2012 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Your core meditation this week is Oscar Wilde's belief that
disobedience is a primal virtue. Be ingeniously, pragmatically,
and cheerfully disobedient, Gemini! Harness your disobedience
so that it generates outbreaks of creative transformation that
improve your life. For inspiration, read this passage by Robert
Anton Wilson: "Every fact of science was once damned. Every
invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous
shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation was denounced
as fraud and folly. The entire web of culture and progress, everything
on earth that is man-made and not given to us by nature, is the
concrete manifestation of someone's refusal to bow to Authority.
We would be no more than the first apelike hominids if it were
not for the rebellious, the recalcitrant, and the intransigent."
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
"Some people tell me I'd invented the sounds they called
soul," said musician Ray Charles, "but I can't take
any credit. Soul is just the way black folk sing when they leave
themselves alone." I urge you to experiment with this idea,
Cancerian. In my astrological opinion, you need to whip up a fresh,
hot delivery of raw soul. One of the best ways to do that might
be to leave yourself alone. In other words, don't badger yourself.
Don't pick your scabs and second-guess your enthusiasms and argue
yourself into a knot. Create a nice big space for your original
self to play in.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
"Where's the most convenient place to discover a new species?"
asks The Second Book of General Ignorance. What do you
think the answer is, Leo? The Amazon Rainforest? The high mountainous
forests of New Guinea? Northwest Siberia? None of the above. In
fact, your best chance of finding a previously unidentified life
form is in your own garden. There are hundreds of thousands of
species that science still has no knowledge of, and quite a few
of them are near you. A similar principle currently holds true
for your life in general. It will be close to home that you are
most likely to connect with fascinating exotica, unknown influences,
and far-out adventures.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Now and then my readers try to bribe me. "I'll give you
$1,000," said a recent email from a Virgo woman, "if
you will write a sequence of horoscopes that predict I'll get
the dream job I'm aiming for, which will in turn make me so attractive
to the guy I'm pursuing that he will beg to worship me."
My first impulse was to reply, "That's all you're willing
to pay for a prophecy of two events that will supercharge your
happiness and change your life?" But in the end, as always,
I flatly turned her down. The truth is, I report on the music
of the heavenly spheres, but I don't write the music myself. Still,
I sort of admire this woman's feisty resolve to manipulate the
fates, and I urge you to borrow some of her ferocity in the coming
week.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes in front of the
sun and blocks much of its light from reaching our eyes. On a
personal level, the metaphorical equivalent is when something
obstructs our ability to see what nourishes us. For example, let's
say you're in the habit of enviously comparing your own situation
to that of a person you imagine is better off than you. This may
blind you to some of your actual blessings, and diminish your
ability to take full advantage of your own talents. I bring this
up, Libra, because you're in an especially favorable time to detect
any way you might be under the spell of an eclipse -- and then
take dramatic steps to get out from under it.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Some secrets will dribble out. Other secrets will spill forth.
Still others may shoot out and explode like fireworks. You won't
be bored by this week's revelations, Scorpio. People's camouflage
may be exposed, hidden agendas could be revealed, and not-quite-innocent
deceits might be uncovered. So that's the weird news. Here's the
good news: If you maintain a high level of integrity and treat
the brouhaha as good entertainment, you're likely to capitalize
on the uproar. And that's your specialty, right?
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LISTEN HARD AND DEEP
In addition to the horoscopes that you read here, I create additional
in-depth audio horoscopes for your inspiration.
They're not repeats or elaborations of the stuff you find here,
but entirely fresh explorations of your astrological omens, designed
to help you tune in to your soul's code.
Try them at RealAstrology.com.
They're available by phone at 1-877-873-4888.
They're $6 if you access them on the Web, or $1.99 per minute
over the phone.
"Your expanded astrology thingees help me remember who I
really am."
- Gareth N., Toronto
"I never knew it was possible to get my butt kicked and
my head patted at the same time -- until I listened to you, Rob."
- Kristi P., Portland, OR
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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
If you go to a psychotherapist, she may coax you to tell stories
about what went wrong in your childhood. Seek a chiropractor's
opinion and he might inform you that most of your problems have
to do with your spine. Consult a psychic and chances are she will
tell you that you messed up in your past lives and need a karmic
cleansing. And if you ask me about what you most need to know,
I might slip you some advice about how to access your untapped
reserves of beauty and intelligence. Here's the moral of the story,
Sagittarius: Be discerning as you ask for feedback and mirroring.
The information you receive will always be skewed.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
The state of Kansas has a law that seems more confusing than
helpful. It says the following: "When two trains approach
each other at a crossing, both shall come to a full stop and neither
shall start up again until the other has gone." From what
I can tell, Capricorn, a similar situation has cropped up in your
life. Two parties are in a stalemate, each waiting for the other
to make the first move. At this rate, nothing will ever happen.
May I suggest that you take the initiative?
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Should you get down on your knees and beg for love and recognition?
No! Should you give yourself away without seeking much in return?
Don't do that, either. Should you try to please everyone in an
attempt to be popular? Definitely not. Should you dilute your
truth so as not to cause a ruckus? I hope not. So then what am
I suggesting you should do? Ask the following question about every
possibility that comes before you: "Will this help me to
master myself, deepen my commitment to what I want most, and gain
more freedom?"
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Do you know why flamingos have their distinctive orange-pink
color? It's because of the carotene in the shrimp and other food
they consume. If they change their diet, their feathers turn dull
grey. That's a dramatic example of the adage, "You are what
you eat." Let's use it as a prompt to contemplate all the
stuff you take into the holy temple of your body, Pisces. Not
just the sandwiches and chocolate bars and alcohol, but also the
images, sounds, ideas, emotions, and energy you get from other
people. Is the cumulative effect of all those things giving you
the shape and color and texture you want to have? If not, this
would be a good time to adjust your intake.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
"Let's waltz the rumba," said jazz musician Fats Waller,
suggesting the seemingly impossible mix of two very different
types of dancing. That's an excellent clue for you to follow up
on, Aries. I suspect that in the coming week you will have an
unusual aptitude for hybridization. You could do folk dancing
and hip-hop moves simultaneously. It will make sense for you to
do the cha-cha as you disco and vice versa. You'll have a knack
for bringing the spirit of belly dance into the tango, and for
breakdancing while you do the hokey-pokey.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Have you been feeling a warm fuzzy feeling in your money chakra?
I hope so. The cosmos recently authorized you to receive a fresh
flow of what we might call financial kundalini. Your
insight into money matters should be increasing, as well as your
ability to attract the information and influences you need to
refine your relationship with prosperity. It may even be the case
that higher levels of economic luck are operating in your vicinity.
I'm not saying you will strike it rich, but you could definitely
strike it richer.
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HOMEWORK:
I invite you to go to my Facebook page and tell me what you like
or don't like about my horoscopes: bit.ly/BrezFB
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2012 Rob Brezsny
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