Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology Newsletter
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August 24, 2005
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http://www.freewillastrology.com.
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"While it may seem naive to put your faith in optimism these days,
Brezsny's new book offers up a convincing argument for leaving cynicism
and despair behind. This wild, wise, and subversive book is a must read for
those who want to live a more imaginative and free life." -Utne Reader,
September-October 2005
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Here's an excerpt from my book
"PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA:
How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings"
RECEPTIVITY REMEDIES
Alert, relaxed listening is the radical act at the heart of our pronoiac
practice. Curiosity is our primal state of awareness. Wise innocence is a
trick we aspire to master. Open-hearted skepticism is the light in our
eyes.
*
If you choose to become a practitioner of pronoia, your life will suck. It
has to suck.
Let me explain. As you cultivate the arts of gathering and bestowing the
blessings that the universe is always conspiring to send your way, your
life will suck in the best senses of the word.
First, your life will suck in the same way that you use a straw to compel a
thick milk shake to disobey gravity and squirt into your mouth.
Metaphorical translation: You'll work hard to pull toward you the
resources you need, perhaps even exerting yourself with a force that
goes against the natural flow.
Your pronoiac life will suck in a second way: like a powerful vacuum
cleaner that inhales dirt from the floor and makes it disappear. You will
have a sixth sense about getting rid of messes that are contaminating
your clarity.
Here's a third interpretation: Once you commit yourself to the art of
pronoia, you will most likely develop an unusually dynamic form of
receptivity. Whether you're a man or woman, you'll be like a macho male
with a willful intention to be like a welcoming female. As a result, you'll be
regularly sucked into succulent opportunities you would never have come
upon if you had let your pop nihilistic conditioning continue to dominate
you. Your openness to uplifting adventures will make it easier for
serendipitous miracles to find you and draw you in.
Let's take one more poetic leap of faith as we meditate on the metaphor.
As you devote yourself to the art of making yourself available, your life
will suck in the way that movements of the mouth and lips and tongue
during close encounters with intimate partners stimulate pleasurable
feelings.
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I've tried a wide variety of meditative practices from many traditions. I've
calmed myself through rhythmic breathing; watched with amusement as
the nonstop procession of images paraded across my mind; visualized
images of deities; cultivated unconditional love; chanted mantras; and
taken rigorous inventories to determine whether the integrity of my
actions matches my high ideals.
But in my years of study, I've never heard of a form of meditation that
would ask me to go to a public place, take my attention off myself, and
observe other people with compassionate objectivity. That's why I was
forced to invent it. Hereafter known as Sacred Eavesdropping, this
meditation builds one's ability to pray in the manner described by poet W.
H. Auden: "The definition of prayer is paying careful and concentrated
attention to something other than your own constructions."
*
Here's one of the Beauty and Truth Laboratory's favorite rules for
evaluating the information that comes our way: Assume that it's a blend
of truth and falsehood and every shade of half-truth in between. That
applies equally to stories in The New York Times and to the raving spiels
of the homeless Gulf War vet who hangs out at the local post office.
While I suspect that the Times has a much higher proportion of accurate
data, I can never be sure what distortions are embedded in its reports. Its
unconscious devotion to pop nihilism means that it routinely ignores vast
realms of human experience. And there are odd days when the homeless
guy's rants spit out gems of poetic wisdom that give me the chills and
change the way I understand the world.
Moral of the story: Useful messages may come from anywhere. I'm more
likely to recognize them if I'm simultaneously curious and discriminating . .
. .
. . . To read the rest of
"RECEPTIVITY REMEDIES," go here:
http://www.freewillastrology.com/beauty/
To read other pieces excerpted from
"PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia,"
go here:
http://www.freewillastrology.com/beauty/beauty.main145.shtml
To buy the book, use the links to Amazon.com and Powells, which are on
my homepage at http://www.freewillastrology.com
Or cut and paste the direct links below:
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-
/1583941231/qid=1123690660/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-1737423-
7631942?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
POWELLS
http://www.powells.com/biblio/2-1583941231-2
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OTHER PRONOIA RESOURCES:
WEBSITE:
Happy News: http://www.happynews.com/
BOOKS:
*Love and the World : A Guide to Conscious Soul Practice,* by Robert
Sardello
FILM:
*Andy Goldsworthy's Rivers and Tides*
MUSIC
*When I Was a Boy,* by Jane Siberry
(Note: I endorse these because I like them. I get no kickbacks.)
Now please tell me your own personal nominations for PRONOIA
RESOURCES.
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P.S. If you like my book, why not write a review of it on Amazon.com?
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning August 24
Copyright 2005 by Rob Brezsny
http://www.freewillastrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Minnesota radio station KNUJ came up with a
unique proposal for how the governor and top legislators could deal with
their intractable conflict: They would have a wrestling match in a large vat
filled with sauerkraut. I think you should adopt this idea for your own use,
Aries--though I suggest that maybe you and your adversary conduct your
grapple in a sweeter-smelling substance than fermented cabbage. How
about jell-o or pudding, for instance? One way or another, find a
constructive way to resolve disagreements or hostilities by using a half-
playful, half-serious approach.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Surveys show that many parents in England
cut away the crusts before serving bread to their children. Responding to
this need, a baking company has begun marketing bread without crusts. I
mention this, Taurus, because pre-made crustless bread is a good
metaphor for the experiences you'll soon be offered in abundance: soft,
spongy sweetness that you can freely access without having to break
through any hard outer layers. I won't be surprised if you get tired of it
after a while, though, and start seeking out adventures with more crunch.
But in the short run you might find it very relaxing.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): "If you dig a hole deep enough into the earth,"
the grandmother of my friend Carlos used to tell him when he was a kid,
"you can see the sun rise at night." From a metaphorical perspective,
that's good advice for you right now, Gemini. In order to get to the
highest place possible, you might have to dive down deeper than you ever
have before. To find the illumination you need, you should probably
explore the densest darkness.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): In his horoscope column in *The Onion,*
retired machinist Lloyd Schumner told those of us born under the sign of
Cancer, "You lack initiative, which means that you usually wait until
someone yells 'Get funky!' before you get funky." The coming week will
be the perfect time for us to prove him wrong, my fellow Crabs. Our
initiative will be overflowing, especially in regards to tasks that involve
getting funky.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): According to the legends of many cultures, every
one of us has a doppelganger somewhere on the planet: a person who
looks exactly like us. The modern sciences of genetics and statistics go
further, saying that there are at least 80 people worldwide who are our
spitting image. If you're ever going to meet one of these doubles, Leo, it
will probably be in the coming weeks. But even if you don't, I predict that
the whole world will become a giant mirror, reflecting back to you visions
of yourself that you haven't been able to see before.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Who did you start out to be, Virgo? It's time
to remember that. I urge you to muse about the ways you could benefit
from renewing a connection to your origins. Revisit your earliest sources
of truth. Think about whether you're still on track to become the person
you knew you could be when your vision was still fresh and innocent.
Here's a good way to anchor your explorations in concrete reality:
Meditate on the scientifically verified fact that with each breath, you re-
inhale at least one molecule you first took in during the minutes after you
were born.
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EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
In addition to the written horoscopes you get in this newsletter, I offer
Expanded Audio Horoscopes. They're $6 if you access them on the Web,
or $1.99 per minute over the phone.
For Web access, go here:
http://www.relationshipnetwork.com/horo/index.asp?client_id=50700
From the United States, call
1-900-950-7700
or if you prefer to pay by credit card
1-877-873-4888
If you live in Canada, call 1-888-499-4425 to purchase a Block of Time
with your credit card.
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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Physicist Jonathan Huebner says scientists are
running out of bright ideas. "We are approaching the point when the rate
of innovation is the same as it was during the Dark Ages," he wrote in
*New Scientist* magazine. That argument seems wrong to me. Everyone I
know is awash in the changes unleashed by new technology. But just in
case his theory has any merit, I call on Libran inventors to begin reversing
the trend. After all, you're now at the height of your ability to generate
constructive novelty. So are all the rest of you Librans, for that matter.
Get out there and unleash a flurry of good changes.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Located north of the Arctic Circle, the
Northwest Passage is a body of water that joins the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans. Large parts of it are frozen over most of the year, though, so it's
not a practical way for ships to travel. The U.S. regards the Northwest
Passage as international territory, but Canada recently claimed it as its
own sovereign territory. Canadian Defense Minister Bill Graham foresees a
time when global warming will have melted so much ice that it will
become a viable sea route of great value to his country. Be like Graham
this week, Scorpio. Peer into the future and scan for potential resources
that are as yet unrecognized or unready. Make them yours now, while
they're still cheap and available.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I live six miles from one of the world's
most notorious penitentiaries, San Quentin. Both Charlie Manson and
Sirhan Sirhan have spent time there, and a recent riot injured 42 inmates.
Though I've never had a major itch to visit the place, I felt differently
after hearing about a gift store within the prison walls. I corralled a friend
and the two of us made an impulsive field trip there. As we grazed amidst
the prisoners' handiwork, including birdhouses fashioned out of cigar
boxes, paintings of clowns on velvet, and banjos made from bedpans, I
had a psychic epiphany. I realized that my situation was similar to your
imminent future: You, too, will find weird little treasures while just visiting
a place where other people are trapped.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Let's discuss the differences between
dumb, unproductive pain and smart, useful pain. The former is the kind
you keep being drawn back to out of habit. It's familiar, and therefore
perversely comfortable. The latter is the kind of pain that surprises you
with valuable teachings and inspires you to see the world with new eyes.
While stupid pain is often born of fear, wise pain is stirred up by love. The
dumb, unproductive stuff comes from allowing yourself to be controlled
by your early conditioning and from doing things that are out of harmony
with your essence. The smart, useful variety arises out of a willingness to
live passionately and with a sense of adventure. Can you guess which
type I'm urging you to gravitate toward right now, Capricorn?
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): To promote my new book, *Pronoia Is the
Antidote for Paranoia,* I've tried to set up lectures at bookstores. One
place I contacted was A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books in San
Francisco. It turned me down. Ironically, I was later able to score a gig at a
spot called A Dirty Poorly-Lighted Place for Books. It's a seedy dive in a
rundown neighborhood. My audience was a handful of rowdies instead of
the well-heeled crowd that might have seen me at the other store, and I
sold just one book. But I enjoyed my time thoroughly, as my uninhibited
congregation joined me in my favorite rituals, like kicking our own asses,
burning money, throwing imaginary stones at heaven, and dancing in
slow-motion on tabletops. Would audience members at A Clean Well-
Lighted Place for Books have done that? I think not. The moral of the
story, Aquarius: It'll be very lucky if you, like me, have to settle for your
second choice in the coming week.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You don't need to know how your computer
and car work in order to use them. Their inner workings may be
unfathomable, but that doesn't matter as long as you benefit from what
they do for you. Let's apply that same principle to a certain relationship
that is perplexing you. You obviously get something out of your alliance
with this person, since you've chosen not to leave it. Yet you seem
bothered by the fact that you can't figure out what you are to each other
and where you're supposed to go next. My advice? For now, stop trying
to understand it. Just surrender to the fruitful mystery. Simply let your
connection perform its enigmatic magic.
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HOMEWORK:
Confess your deepest secrets to yourself. Say them out loud when no one
but you is listening. Testify if you like by going to
http://www.freewillastrology.com and clicking on "Email Rob."
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2005 Rob Brezsny
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