Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology Newsletter
I Have Learned So Much
I have learned so much from God
That I can no longer call myself
a Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Jew.
The Truth has shared so much of itself with me
that I can no longer call myself
a man, a woman, an angel
or even pure soul.
Love has befriended me so completely
It has turned to ash and freed me
of every concept and image
my mind has ever known.
-Hafiz, translated by Daniel Ladinsky in the book
*The Gift: Poems by Hafiz the Great Sufi Master*
http://tinyurl.com/m57u5
July 19, 2006
http://www.freewillastrology.com
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ROB'S UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
Boulder Book Store
Wednesday, August 16
7:30
1107 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
303.447.2074
http://boulderbookstore.com
Matter Bookstore
Thursday, August 17
7 p.m.
144 N. College Avenue
Fort Collins, CO 80524
www.wolverinefarmpublishing.org
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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"
available at http://snipurl.com/krjj
or find out more at http://www.freewillastrology.com
+
PRONOIA'S VILLAINS
According to Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges, Judas was actually a
more exalted hero than Jesus. He unselfishly volunteered to perform the
all-important villain's role in the resurrection saga, knowing he'd be reviled
forever. It was a dirty job that only a supremely egoless saint could have
done. Jesus suffered, true, but enjoyed glory and adoration as a result.
Let's apply this way of thinking to the task of understanding the role
that seemingly bad people play in pronoia.
Interesting narratives play an essential role in the universal conspiracy to
give us exactly what we need. All of us crave drama. We love to be
beguiled by twists of fate that unfold the stories of our lives in
unpredictable ways. Just as Judas played a key role in advancing the tale
of Christ's quest, villains and con men and clowns may be crucial to the
entertainment value of our personal journeys.
Try this: Imagine the people you fear and dislike as pivotal characters
in a fascinating and ultimately redemptive plot that will take years or even
lifetimes for the Divine Wow to elaborate.
*
There is another reason to love our enemies: They force us to become
smarter. The riddles they thrust in front of us sharpen our wits and sculpt
our souls.
Try this: Act as if your adversaries are great teachers. Thank them for
how crucial they've been in your education.
*
Consider one more possibility: that the people who seem to slow us down
and hold us back are actually preventing things from happening too fast.
Imagine that the evolution of your life or our culture is like a pregnancy: It
needs to reach its full term. Just as a child isn't ready to be born after
five months of gestation, the new world we're creating has to ripen in its
own time. The recalcitrant reactionaries who resist the inevitable birth are
simply making sure that the far-seeing revolutionaries don't conjure the
future too suddenly. They serve the greater good.
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To read other news and features from my book, go here:
http://snipurl.com/l9o3
or
http://freewillastrology.com/beauty/beauty.main145.shtml
To buy the book, use the links to Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble,
which are on my homepage at http://www.freewillastrology.com
Or cut and paste the direct links below:
AMAZON
http://snipurl.com/krjj
BARNES & NOBLE
http://snipurl.com/krjn
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OTHER PRONOIA RESOURCES:
(Note: I endorse these because I like them. They're not advertisements,
and I get no kickbacks.)
Please tell me your own personal nominations for PRONOIA RESOURCES.
REVOLUTIONARY PHILANTHROPY
http://tinyurl.com/rm4sk
TOP TEN BOOKS ON WOMEN EXPLORERS
http://tinyurl.com/rzggo
MUSIC
*The Rough Guide to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan*
http://tinyurl.com/poazo
FORBIDDEN LIBRARY
http://tinyurl.com/p3pc8
"An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all."
-Oscar Wilde
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning July 20
Copyright 2006 by Rob Brezsny
http://www.freewillastrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I'm pleased to announce the imminent arrival
of a new chapter in your own personal soap opera. It could include any of
the following plot twists: midnight confessions, madcap sex farces,
thumb-sucking saints, an invitation to play leapfrog with a unicorn, work
turning into play and vice versa, a showdown between the reptile brain
and mammalian brain, a chance to bob for lollipops in a fountain, a
thunderstorm coming just in time to douse a raging fire, samurais wearing
pajamas, a supernatural ham sandwich, and opportunities to tinker with
your "Me Against the World" attitude.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Has a baby ever been born with two umbilical
cords? If so, he or she would be a good symbol for you in the coming
weeks. Why? Because you should be extremely aggressive about getting
the nurturing you need--even to the point of double-dipping from a primal
source. In my astrological opinion, it's your responsibility to make sure
you're flooded with blessings. Trust your unprecedented hunger.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Kathleen Raine (1908-2003) was a brilliant
Cambridge-educated scholar and poet who won numerous awards for her
poetry in the U.K. and France. Many of her colleagues were towering
intellectuals, but she herself wanted "to get away from the Sherlock
Holmes misconception that everything has a rational explanation." She
gravitated instead toward "the sacred springs of life, which are the
imagination and the heart." She's your role model right now, Gemini. I
hope she'll inspire you to apply all of your high-powered ingenuity to an
exploration of soul-awakening mysteries that can't be encapsulated with
neat analyses. It's a perfect moment for you to celebrate the
indescribable bounty of fertile chaos.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Are there influences that render you numb or
even dumb? What experiences tend to shut you down? When you're
gliding along in your natural rhythm, are you sometimes interrupted by
blips that make you feel lost and unresponsive? According to my reading
of the astrological omens, Cancerian, you now have extra power to fight
back against these little outbreaks of black magic. It's a perfect moment
to get the upper hand on anything that closes you off from the world or
locks you away from your own intuition.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The Hebrew word "shalom" is both a hello infused
with a goodbye and a goodbye leavened with a hello. That's why it would
be wise and fun for you to make it your word of power in the coming
days. You'll be spinning through a transitional zone in which it won't
always be clear which direction is up. You'll be coming and going
simultaneously, embarking on new journeys and ending old ones.
Whenever you say "shalom," whether it's a greeting to someone else or a
mantra uttered in solitude, you'll remind yourself that the threshold
you're in is pregnant with a thousand possibilities.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Some scientists believe our brains are in a
continual state of war. Writing in LiveScience.com, Bjorn Carey reports
that our grey matter is a battleground where competing thoughts and
impulses struggle for supremacy, brawling and jousting for our undivided
attention. I have reason to believe that this ruckus will be far more
pronounced than usual for you in the coming weeks, Virgo. All of your
pairs of opposites will intensify their conflict, with each side clamoring and
maneuvering to be declared winner. What I recommend may surprise you.
I think you should just sit back with amused tolerance and let them fight
it out. There really is no pressing need for you to be anything other than
a radiant bundle of fascinating contradictions.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I'm not a big fan of excessive decorum. That's
why I'm opposed to the efforts by some professional tennis officials to
stop the spread of grunting among female tennis players. The great
Monica Seles started the trend some years ago, emitting war cries as she
struck the ball, and since then many other players have made it a part of
their game. This is a favorable time for you to experiment with what they
have discovered: that making loud mouth noises loosens your inhibitions,
boosts your confidence, and lubricates your power. Liberate your GRUNT,
Libra!
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In preparation for my public readings and
performances, I often ask my hosts to make sure that there are pussy
willows and pomegranates placed near the podium, along with a pint of
absinthe, a jump rope woven from hemp for use in my interactive rituals,
and a box of slave-free, non-GMO, organic vegan chocolates. What about
you, Scorpio? What items would you demand in your rider if you were
asked to speak about your philosophy of life to a curious audience? It's an
ideal time to meditate on this matter. According to my astrological
analysis, you will soon be in the spotlight, will be encouraged to spread
your influence more forcefully, and will have openings to ask for what you
want with aggressive clarity.
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AUDIO LOVE LETTERS
In addition to the horoscopes that come to you in this newsletter, I create
more in-depth audio horoscopes for your inspiration. 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.
"You helped me realize that I know what to do and I know how to do it." -
Blithe C., Sarasota, FL
"You have a knack for getting me in touch with my inner teacher." -
Franklin H., Austin, TX
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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Austin artist Scott Wade likes to let
layers of dust collect on the rear window of his car. That allows him to
express his specialty: detailed "paintings" carved out of the dust with his
fingers and paintbrushes. The most exquisite of his temporary
masterpieces was a black-and-white reproduction of one of the famous
"Dogs Playing Poker" paintings. I recommend you make Wade your role
model, Sagittarius. Create unexpected wonders and exuberant curiosities
out of stuff that's used in a different way than it's "supposed" to be.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I recently found out there's a famous guy
out there with a name similar to mine. Rob Brzezinski is an administrator
for pro football's Minnesota Vikings. He's regarded as a "cap guru,"
meaning he's highly skilled at manipulating the National Football League's
Byzantine "cap" system of rules about how much money a team can
spend on its players. That's pretty funny given the fact that I've been
working really hard in the last few months to become a "Cappy guru," by
which I mean someone who understands Capricorns really well. I mention
this because it's prime time for you to seek out and learn from people
who are to you what Rob Brzezinski is to me: your counterpart, soul twin,
shadow, doppelganger, or other half.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Imagine asking fundamentalist nutcase Jerry
Falwell to evaluate a book about evolution by a renowned science writer
like Richard Dawkins. Imagine handing poet Allen Ginsberg's masterwork
*Howl* to a janitor in Bangladesh and paying him to write his opinions
about it. The effect would be similar to an event that actually occurred
recently. *The New York Times* invited ex-Marine sniper Anthony
Swofford, author of the Gulf War memoir *Jarhead,* to review a
subversive metaphysical experiment penned by visionary philosopher
Daniel Pinchbeck, a book called *2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl.* As
you might expect, Swofford's screed was 85 percent hallucination. Let
the Times' gaffe serve as a warning beacon, Aquarius. It's now crucial for
you to gather a range of discriminating opinions about yourself and the
possibilities you're considering. Don't rely on people who have no
familiarity with, understanding of, or respect for the issues you want
feedback about.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Neurologist Oliver Sacks writes books in
which he describes the ingenious adaptations some of his patients have
made when faced with limitations that other people might have found
debilitating. One example is an artist whose car accident caused him to
lose his ability to see any other colors besides black and white. In
response, he became a specialist in creating black and white paintings,
and ultimately developed a mastery that won him acclaim. Later, when
offered a chance to undergo treatment to restore the full spectrum of
vision, he declined. Take heart from his story, Pisces. The coming weeks
will be an excellent time for you, too, to capitalize on one of your seeming
liabilities or inadequacies.
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HOMEWORK:
Don't get back to where you once belonged. Go forward to where you
know you've got to belong in the future. Testify 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
2006 Rob Brezsny
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