Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
JUNE 4, 2014
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 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: 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: 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
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:
tinyurl.com/lajkap9
Being Nice Versus Being Good
tinyurl.com/brx6bgf
A compendium of pronoiac news.
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
FreeWillAstrology.com
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 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: 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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