Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
June 4, 2014
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See a pretty version of this newsletter: http://bit.ly/1pOFQVc
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My book
*PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA*
is available at Amazon: http://bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: http://bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
Here are excerpts:
LETTERS TO THE BEAUTY AND TRUTH LAB, Part 3
DEAR BEAUTY AND TRUTH LAB: I've wrestled all my life with fear. But
lately it's been even worse than usual. My personal demons seem to be
winning, or at least getting the better of the fight. I think it's related to
the fact that when I caught wind of the idea of pronoia, I started working
hard to lose all my illusions. Now I'm thinking maybe that was a mistake.
Perhaps I needed my illusions to keep the demons at bay? - Crybaby
DEAR CRYBABY: Hang on. This is the toughest part of your struggle. It
may seem that the illusions you dissolved were the main barriers
safeguarding you from your demons. But what's more likely is that those
illusions were food for your demons. Very soon now the demons will have
devoured the last of their fuel and will start to starve. If they don't die
off, they will at least fly away in search of other nourishment.
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DEAR BEAUTY AND TRUTH LAB: Two months ago I met the first person
with whom I am completely psychic. We fell deeply in love, of course. But
it turned out that neither of us was ready or able to fulfill the potential of
our connection because we are nowhere near as profoundly in love with
ourselves as we are with each other. The good news is that through my
love for him, I have intensified my desire to learn to love myself. The bad
news is that we can't really be together as fate intended until we upgrade
our self-love. Can you offer any consolation? - Lucky Yet Unlucky in Love
Dear Lucky: We appreciate your sage caution, but also offer this
alternative view from actress Tallulah Bankhead: "If I had to live my life
again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner."
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DEAR BEAUTY AND TRUTH LAB: Lately I've been practicing an evangelical
kind of pronoia. In addition to proceeding as if the universe is conspiring
to help me, I'm extending that assumption to my fellow planeteers. I'm
meeting people and visualizing realistically wonderful futures for them,
filled with interesting opportunities or at least fertile riddles.
For instance, yesterday I saw a morose woman staring blankly into space
at Starbucks as if she were the loneliest person ever born. I visualized her
falling into a deeply engaging conversation with a new friend, and feeling
emboldened by that encounter to be proactive about seeking out people
who stimulate her. Two days ago I saw an unruly kid acting crazy at the
grocery store. I visualized for him a future of uncompromising
individualism creating unique approaches to old problems.
This evangelical push is a real stretch sometimes. (It's a challenge to
visualize a positive future for, say, a homeless panhandler.) But I like how
it makes me feel. Maybe it's no coincidence that my physical health has
markedly improved recently. And it seems to be making me more highly
attuned to the sometimes subtle blessings that life does bring into my
vicinity -- blessings I might have missed in the past. -Architect of
Empathy
DEAR ARCHITECT: At the Beauty and Truth Lab, we work on the
hypothesis that all of us are affecting each other all the time, either by
direct contact, via telepathic contagion, or through the culture we co-
create. If even 25 percent of that hypothesis is true, why not be a
beacon of blessings, constantly broadcasting images that promote health
and well-being? People just might live up to our expectations, just as
easily as they can live down to them. Plus, as you noted, it has a tonic
effect on the one who acts as a beacon of blessings.
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DEAR BEAUTY AND TRUTH LAB: You asked us readers this question: "The
spiritual teacher A. H. Almaas believes that a genuinely creative act is
always motivated by generosity. If that's true, how do you explain all the
ego-obsessed 'geniuses' who treat everyone like dirt even as they churn
out their supposedly brilliant art?"
Here's my answer: Those aren't really geniuses, and what they make isn't
really brilliant art! It may be popular art, and it may earn a lot of money
for the fake geniuses, but it's not brilliant. The truth is, many of the
richest and most famous artists are those patronized for their ability to
fetishize, glamorize, and trivialize our cultural pain. You can apply the
same statement to supposed geniuses who apply their talent to the
pharmaceutical industry or nuclear weapons. Creative and intellectual
energy applied to cruelty, domination, and meanness is always stupid.
The true geniuses recognize that cooperation is a stronger evolutionary
force than competition. They know that the only appropriate application
for intelligence is to find ways to make us all feel stupendously good as
much as possible. - Malian
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DEAR BEAUTY AND TRUTH LAB: My mom calls me fat but feeds me pork
rinds. My strongest supporter is a person I want to wrap up like a mummy,
shove into a canoe, and push into the middle of the lake. My exuberant
imagination has taken me hostage, violating its own principles. I'm so
ambivalent and indecisive about everything that even my addictive nature
can't figure out what to be addicted to. I'd embrace my contradictions if I
could, but they've got me surrounded like a pink-haired, cross-dressing
SWAT team frothed up on multiple espressos. Can you point me in the
direction of the pronoiac exit from this circus-like hell? - Crazy Crank
DEAR CRAZY CRANK: We detect a lot of wit and style in your meditations.
Maybe that's the purpose of the limbo you're in: It's an opportunity to
build your skill at being lively and feisty and smart no matter what your
outer circumstances are.
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Are you in quest of an Intimate Ally? A Soul Friend? A Wild Confidante?
Check out Match.com via Free Will Astrology's link:
http://bit.ly/SoulMatch
Look for a Co-Pilot, Co-Conspirator, or Collaborator . . . an Agent to
represent you or a Disciple to worship you . . . a Secret Sharer who'll
listen better than anyone or an Amazing Accomplice with whom you can
practice the Art of Liberation.
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I invite you to write down brief descriptions of the five most pleasurable
moments you've ever experienced in your life. Let your imagination dwell
lovingly on these memories for, say, 20 minutes. And keep them close to
the surface of your awareness in the next three days.
If you ever catch yourself slipping into a negative train of thought,
interrupt it immediately and compel yourself to fantasize about those Big
Five Ecstatic Moments.
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If you'd like to commune with the spirit I bring to the Expanded Audio
Horoscopes, tune in to my free podcast, "Fear Versus Intuition." It's a
meditation about the difference between your fearful fantasies and your
authentic, accurate intuitions. It's here: http://bit.ly/A7YHj1
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"Healing mantra for the day: May I feel all I need to feel in order to heal;
may I heal all I need to heal in order to feel."
- Marguerite Rigoglioso
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
The Importance of being playful
Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the
Soul
http://tinyurl.com/mq7s9sq
In all the news media, from mainstream to alternative, there is only one
source I know of that regularly calls on poets to add their flavors: the PBS
News Hour. This is largely due to the influence of my old friend Jeff
Brown, who is one of main journalists there. Check out the News Hour
poetry page:
http://tinyurl.com/lajkap9
Being Nice Versus Being Good
http://tinyurl.com/brx6bgf
A compendium of pronoiac news.
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 June 5
Copyright 2014 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In Marcel Proust's novel *Swann's Way,* the
narrator speaks of how profoundly he is inspired by an older writer named
Bergotte: "Each time he talked about something whose beauty had until
then been hidden from me, about pine forests, about hail, about Notre-
Dame Cathedral . . . with one image he would make that beauty explode
into me." I bring this to your attention, Gemini, because in the coming
days I suspect a great deal of beauty will explode into you. Why? I think
it's because you're more receptive than usual to being delighted and
enchanted. The triggers could be anything: exciting people, eavesdropped
conversations, good books, surprising music, and who knows what else?
CANCER (June 21-July 22): "Little horses cannot carry great riders." So
says a Haitian proverb. Now, in accordance with the astrological omens,
I'm urging you to meditate on its meaning for your life. Here are four
possible interpretations: 1. Are you a "little horse" trying to carry a
"great rider" who's too much for you? 2. Are you a little horse that could
grow into a bigger, stronger horse worthy of a great rider? 3. Are you a
"great rider" who is in need of a horse that is big and strong enough to
serve your big, strong ambitions? 4. Would you like to be a "great rider,"
but you can't be one as long as you have a horse that is too small and
weak?
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Declare victory, Leo. Even if victory is not quite
won yet. Even if your success is imperfect and still a bit messy around the
edges. Raise your arms up in elated triumph and shout, "I am the purified
champion! I am the righteous conqueror! I have outsmarted my
adversaries and outmaneuvered my obstacles, and now I am ready to
claim my rightful rewards!" Do this even if you're not 100-percent
confident, even if there is still some scraping or clawing ahead of you.
Celebrate your growing mastery. Congratulate yourself for how far you've
come. In this way, you will summon what's needed to complete your
mission and achieve final, total victory.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Give special attention to what will last the
longest. That's my main recommendation for you in the coming weeks.
Devote less of your energy to transitory pleasures and short-term hopes.
Turn away from the small obsessions that demand far too much of your
energy. Withdraw from the seemingly pressing concerns that will soon
start to fade because they really aren't that important. Instead, Virgo,
devote your love and intelligence to the joys and dilemmas that will
animate your life well into the future. Express reverence and care for the
mysteries that will teach you and teach you and teach you for years to
come.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): My favorite bridge in the world is the Golden
Gate Bridge. In the hundreds of times I have driven on it over San
Francisco Bay, it has never let me down. I've always gotten from one side
to the other without any problem. In addition to its reliability, it uplifts me
with its grandeur and beauty. What's your most beloved bridge, Libra? I
suggest that in the coming weeks you make it your lucky charm, your
magical symbol. Why? Because the next chapter of your life story requires
you to make a major crossing. You will traverse a great divide. Having
your favorite bridge as a shining beacon in your imagination will inspire
your strength and courage as you travel.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): U2's Bono has called Leonard Cohen's song
"Hallelujah" "the most perfect song in the world." It is mournful and
triumphant, despairing and uplifting. It's a riddle that improbably offers
cathartic release. Over 300 recording artists have done cover versions of
it, and it has even been the subject of books. And yet it was a challenge
for Cohen to compose. He wrote more than 80 verses before choosing
the few he would actually include in the final version, and in one famous
session he resorted to banging his head on the floor to stimulate his
creative flow. "To find that urgent song," he said, took "a lot of work and
a lot of sweat." I nominate "Hallelujah" to be one of your sacred symbols
for the next 12 months, Scorpio. From your strenuous effort, I predict,
will come masterful creations.
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LOVE YOUR LIFE
"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that
station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show." So begins
Charles Dickens' novel "David Copperfield." So let me ask you: Are you
becoming the hero of your own life? Are you figuring out the secrets of
how to create your destiny -- and not just waiting around for destiny to
happen to you?
If you'd like help in this noble work, consider trying my EXPANDED AUDIO
HOROSCOPES. They're four-to-five-minute meditations on the current
state of your destiny and where you're headed.
They are not repeats or extensions of the written 'scopes you read here
for free. They are entirely fresh explorations of your astrological omens,
and are designed to help you tune in to your soul's code. (P.S. They're
not free.)
Register and/or sign in at http://RealAstrology.com/
They're available on your tablets and smart phones as well as your
computers.
"Your Expanded Audio Horoscopes provide me with the Rest of the Story.
I'm not necessarily a believer in the scientific accuracy of astrology, but I
do think you've got a lot of practical wisdom to impart."
- M. Tennenbaum, New York
"No one knows more about me than me. But you're right up there near
the top of the list of people who do understand something about how I
tick. How is that possible?"
- R. Goren, Albuquerque
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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Let me outline the breakthroughs I hope
to see for you in the coming months. First, what is pretty good about you
will not interfere with what is potentially great about you, but will instead
cooperate with it and boost it. Second, your past accomplishments won't
hold back your progress; you will not be tempted to rely on them at the
expense of your future accomplishments. And third, the brave ideas that
have motivated you so well won't devolve into staid old dogmas; you will
either renew and reinvigorate them or else move on to a new set of brave
ideas.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): If you are in even moderate alignment with
cosmic rhythms during the next 12 months, you will be a connoisseur and
master of recycling. I'm speaking metaphorically here. What I hope is that
you will reanimate worn-out inspirations and convert faded dreams into
shiny new fantasies. You will find ways to revive alliances that went off
track. A once-vibrant shtick or trick that lost its cool could be retrieved
from the ash heap of history and turned into a fresh, hot asset. Gear
yourself up for some entertaining resurrections.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I wish I could tell you that your power
animal this month is the eagle or dolphin or panther. Having a glamorous
creature like that as your ally might boost your confidence and charisma.
To be paired with one of them might even activate dormant reserves of
your animal intelligence. But I can't in good conscience authorize such an
honor. That's not what the astrological omens are suggesting. In fact,
your power animal this June is the bunny rabbit. Please understand that
there is no shame in this. On the contrary. You should be charmed and
appreciative. It signifies that you will be fertile, fast, a bit tricky, and very
cute. (To read an essay on the mythology of the rabbit as trickster, go
here: http://bit.ly/rabbittrickster.)
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The Buddhist meditation teacher Chogyam
Trungpa said that one of the best ways to become fearless is to cultivate
tenderness. As you expand your heart's capacity to feel compassionate
affection for the world, you have less and less to be afraid of. That's the
opposite of the conventional wisdom, which says you become brave by
toughening up, by reinforcing your psychic armor. Of all the signs of the
zodiac, you Pisceans are best set up to benefit from Trungpa's method --
now even more than usual.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): "We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and
comets inside us," writes novelist Robert R. McCammon. "We are born
able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of
sand. But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls. We get
it churched out, spanked out, washed out, and combed out. We get put
on the straight and narrow path and told to be responsible." That's the
bad news, Aries. But now here's the good news: The next 12 months will
offer you a series of excellent opportunities to re-magic yourself. If you
have not yet caught wind of the first invitation, I bet you will soon.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): "When given a choice between owning an
object and having an experience," says art critic Holland Cotter, "I always
choose the experience." He prefers to spend his money on adventures
that transform his sense of self and his understanding of the world. I
recommend that approach to you in the coming weeks, Taurus. The most
valuable "possessions" you can acquire will be the lessons you learn, the
skills you hone, and the relationships you ripen.
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Homework: What other sign would you want to be if you could take a
vacation from your actual sign? Why? Write: uaregod@comcast.net.
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2014 Rob Brezsny
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