Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
May 4, 2011
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See a pretty version of this newsletter: http://bit.ly/FWA-5-05-11
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The excerpt below is from my book
*PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA*
available at Amazon: http://bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: http://bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
ECSTATIC STUDY GUIDE
Strategies for plying a chronic, low-key, blissful union with everything
you're not
1. It's possible there's still enough oil buried in the earth to sustain our
civilization's exorbitant appetite for material comforts for another 100
years. Or it may be true, as some researchers suggest, that global
reserves of black gold are rapidly dwindling, and 20 years from now we'll
all be farmers and hunters sitting around campfires at night telling stories.
Whichever scenario comes to pass, you may be happiest and smartest
and healthiest if you cultivate a simple and earthy relationship with luxury
-- something akin to poet Omar Khayyam's notion, which was "a jug of
wine, a loaf of bread, and thou beside me singing in the wilderness."
Comments? Questions? Celebrations?
P.S. The amount of oil left in the world has no bearing whatsoever on your
ability to cultivate ecstasy.
2. If you're reading this, you're probably not a Cambodian orphan who
grew up as a slave in a brothel or a Sudanese man kidnapped by a militia
and forced to do heavy labor 18 hours a day or one of the millions of
other victims of human trafficking around the world. But you may be
yoked and subjugated in a less literal way, perhaps to a debilitating drug
or an abusive relationship or a job that brings out the worst in you or a
fearful fantasy about the looming collapse of civilization's infrastructure.
The good news is that you have the power to escape your bondage.
Maybe it'll help you muster the strength you need if I remind you that
your freedom won't be anywhere near as difficult to achieve as that of
the Pakistani boy tied to a carpet loom in a dark room around the clock or
the Nigerian woman who's beaten daily as she toils in the sugar cane
fields for no pay.
Try this: When you feel overwhelmed by the sadness of your problems or
the addiction of your compulsions, put on your best clothes and clean
toilets at a homeless shelter, or give foot massages to workers at a
sewage disposal plant, or sing songs, sip champagne, and play card games
with patients at a psychiatric hospital. Be ready to get hit upside the soul
with exotic varieties of ecstasy, which such acts will unleash.
3. Here's Caroline Myss' explanation of faith: "Faith is the power to stand
up to the madness and chaos of the physical world while holding the
position that nothing external has any authority over what heaven has in
mind for you."
If you don't like the word "heaven" in Myss' statement, substitute a term
that works for you, like "your higher self" or "your destiny" or "your
soul's code." Modify anything else in it that's not right for your needs, as
well. When you're finished tinkering, I hope you'll have created a definition
of faith that motivates you with as much primal power as you feel when
you're in love.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
A LESS OPPRESSIVE KIND OF POWER?
The 100 Most Spiritually Influential People Alive
http://tinyurl.com/6jpslo9
IT'S FUN TO RETHINK EVERYTHING
Farms surrounded on all sides by condos, office buildings, shopping
centers and apartments. How urban agriculture is changing our
relationship with food.
http://tinyurl.com/26gzaoj
INNOVATIVE ACTS OF COLLABORATION
Traveling spider
http://i.imgur.com/B8XMy.jpg
THE EVIDENCE KEEPS ACCUMULATING
http://pronoiaresources.com/
(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 5
Copyright 2011 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You're an animal! And I mean that in the best
senses of the word. Your vitality is heading toward peak levels, and your
body is as smart as it gets. If you were ever going to act as if every move
you make is a dance, now would be the time to do it. If you ever wanted
to explore the righteous blending of grace and power, this is a perfect
moment. Give yourself permission to be a fluid bolt of ingenious fun,
Taurus. Play hard and sweet, with sublime ferocity.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): "Make the invisible dark force beautiful." That
was the first line of the horoscope I wrote for you in my dream last night.
Here's what came next: "Create a song out of your moans. Brag about
your wounds. Dance reverently on the graves of your enemies." Does any
of this make sense to you so far? It all seemed perfectly reasonable and
helpful in my dream. "Sneak a gift to your bad self. Dissolve the ties that
bind you to hollow intelligence. Seek the angel near the funky gulley that
winds through no man's land. Dig for treasure in the muddy puddle where
the single lily grows." That's it, Gemini -- my dream of your horoscope. If
you can align yourself with its spirit, I bet you'll be primed for the waking-
life opportunities that are headed your way.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Writing in the *Journal of Medical Ethics,*
psychologist Richard Bentall proposed that happiness be reclassified as a
"psychiatric disorder" -- a pathology that should be treated with therapy.
"Happiness is statistically abnormal," he argued. It "consists of a discrete
cluster of symptoms, is associated with a range of cognitive
abnormalities, and probably reflects the abnormal functioning of the
central nervous system." If he's correct, Cancerian, you may have a
problem. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you're about
to be besieged by a massive influx of good feelings. It may be hard for
you to fend off surges of unreasonable joy, well-being, and gratitude. So
let me ask you: Are you prepared to enter into rebel mode as you flaunt
your abnormal bliss?
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Two British men, Jack Jones and Chris Cuddihy,
pulled off an epic deed in 2009. They ran seven marathons in seven
consecutive days on seven continents. Each marathon was over 31 miles.
(More info here: 7in7on7.com.) I'm not recommending that you try
something as ridiculously excessive as they did, Leo, but I do want to
note that you're now in a phase when your capacity for amazing feats is
bigger than usual. Do you have any ideas about what you could
accomplish that's beyond your expectations?
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): What have you had to relinquish in the past
ten months, Virgo? What were you forced to sacrifice or surrender?
Whatever it is, I predict you will be compensated for it over the course of
the next 12 months. And the process begins soon. It's not likely that the
incoming blessing will bring an exact replacement for the dream that got
away. Rather, you will be awakened to an unexpected new source of
excitement, thereby dissolving the lingering sense of loss and liberating
you to rise again.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): If given the choice between having our lives
change or keeping our lives the same, many of us would choose the
status quo. We tend to feel that even if the current state of things is
uncomfortable, it's still preferable to having to deal with the uncertainty
and fear that come from transformation. But I don't think you fit this
description right now, Libra. Of all the signs of the zodiac, you're the one
that's most receptive to shifting the mood and experimenting with the
rules. It's easier than usual for you to imagine different ways of doing
things. Take advantage of this superpower.
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YOU NEED MAGIC EVERY DAY
Every day, you have to wade through a relentless surge of soul-less facts.
The experience tends to shut down your sense of wonder.
Every day, you're over-exposed to narratives that have been sucked free
of delight and mystery. That's why you have to make such strenuous
efforts to keep your world enchanted.
I like to think I can contribute to the sacred cause of feeding your sense
of wonder and enchantment. In fact, that's one of my prime motivations
for offering you the free weekly horoscopes you read in this newsletter.
If you ever want more of that good stuff, and think it's worth paying for,
please consider trying out my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES. They're
four-to-five-minute meditations on the current state of your destiny.
Go here to access them:
http://RealAstrology.com
You can also listen over the phone by calling
1-877-873-4888
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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Hugo Chavez is the socialist president of
Venezuela, not an astronomer or New Age philosopher. And yet he
recently speculated that the planet Mars once had a thriving civilization
that met its doom because its resources were drained off and poisoned
by the excesses of capitalism. I love it when notable people go off-
message and freestyle wacky fantasies, so I applaud Chavez's
improvisation. May I respectfully suggest you consider indulging in your
own version of this art form? According to my reading of the astrological
omens, it would be downright healthy for you to depart from your usual
raps and unveil some unpredictable self-expressions to anyone and
everyone who think they have you all figured out.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Symmetry and equilibrium are not all
that valuable right now. They're certainly not worth obsessing over or
having screaming fights about. In fact, I recommend that you cultivate a
jaunty knack for stylish lopsidedness. Appreciate the beauty of
irregularity. Be alert for the way incongruous details and crooked angles
reveal fresh, hot truths that provide you with exactly what you need.
Even so-called flaws and mistakes may lead to lucky accidents.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): "It was better for me when I could imagine
greatness in others, even if it wasn't always there," said Charles
Bukowski, a generally cranky writer not renowned for his optimism.
According to my analysis of the astrological omens, this strategy will also
work wonders for you in the coming days. Trying to see what's great
about other people will tend to activate your own dormant greatness, and
will just generally make you feel good. So ask yourself: What's beautiful,
smart, interesting, and successful about the people you know? Fantasize
aggressively.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The income gap between the richest and
poorest sections of society has always been large, but in recent years it
has grown absurdly, grotesquely humongous. As journalist Les Leopold
notes (tinyurl.com/RichEatPoor), there are hedge-fund gamblers who rake
in more money in an hour than a middle-class wage-earner makes in 47
years. From an astrological perspective, Aquarius, it's an excellent time
for you to raise your voice against this inequity. Furthermore, you'd be
wise to dramatically shrink the discrepancy between the haves and have-
nots in your own personal sphere, where you can actually have an
immediate effect. You might start the healing by asking yourself how the
rich aspects of your psyche steal from the poor parts.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): There's a good chance you will soon utter the
smartest words you have ever said in your life. It's also possible that you
will generate two of the top five thoughts that have popped into your
brain in the last decade. That's how in tune I expect you to be with your
inner sources of wisdom. And that's how closely aligned you'll be with the
Divine Intelligence formerly known as God. Now here's the surprise ending
to my message for you, Pisces -- the unexpected outcome: Your brilliant
insights and cogent statements may tempt you to be wilder and freer
than you've been in a long time.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Imagine this scene, as described by Seattle-
based video artist Michael Douglas. "Sometimes a tree falls down in a field
of cows, and the cows walk over to it and stare at it. It used to be
standing and now it's on the ground. There's something different in the
field and the cows start to hang out around the tree and watch it like it's
television, attracted to the rupture in the order of things. They gather
around it for months, even after they completely forget why they started
doing it." I think there's a comparable scene going on in your life right
now, Aries. People you care about are in a daze, seemingly hypnotized by
a certain "rupture in the order of things" that took place some time ago.
In my opinion, it's your task to wake them up, gently if possible, and
motivate them to move on.
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HOMEWORK: If you had a little baby clone of yourself to take care of,
what would be your child-rearing strategy? Tell me at
Freewillastrology.com.
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2011 Rob Brezsny
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