Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter August 11, 2010

Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
AUGUST 11, 2010
FreeWillAstrology.com

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There's a new release from the soundtrack for my book PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA.

It's called "I Love America"
You can access it here: bit.ly/LoveAmerica

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The revised and expanded version of my book PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA is available at Amazon: bit.ly/Pronoia

and also at Powells: bit.ly/PronoiaPowells

Here's an excerpt:

MY PRONOIAC TESTIMONY
by Nil Fia

I've always felt there was a glass wall between me and the world -- a see-through barrier that kept me in my place and everything else in its place, never the twain shall meet.

But a week ago, as I was driving through the streets of my home city of Detroit, something odd happened. I seemed to reach out an inner finger and touch the inside of that glass wall I gaze through. And for the first time ever, my finger sunk into the glass, just a bit.

A little while later, I did it again, and this time my finger went right through the glass. Or rather, maybe, the glass was not there, at least momentarily. There was no longer any boundary between what I saw and where I was seeing it from.

In other words, the whole world was inside my head. Either that, or my head had just dissolved.

Let me backtrack. A few months ago, I hated my job. I despaired that my hobby would ever amount to anything. There was never enough time, and whatever time there was, I spent it trying to get done all the things I hated doing but had to do. And then I failed at the whole enterprise, and not only didn't I have time to do anything I liked, but I wasn't getting anywhere with the stuff I didn't like, either.

Life was one big miserable chore that never ended. It just bled from day to day, sucking the vitality out of everything. Even weekends. This in spite of the fact that I've never considered myself a miserable person. I always thought that being annoyed 24/7 and never having time to be happy was part of being an adult, and I tried to handle it bravely.

But then on that day last week, I put my hand through the glass -- I still don't know how -- and suddenly the way the morning sunlight lay on the overpass during my way to work cracked a big smile on my face, and the whole miserable commute seemed worth it.

The next day, I spent a chunk of the ride to work looking at the trees, and being thrilled that so much amazing greenery, so many unreproducible shapes and colors, could fit in my head at once. What used to be "just another tree" was now an utterly unique thing that I would never have the gift of having in my head again.

This new knack didn't go away. It started creeping into other daily moments. I'm still moving in and out of it now, many days later.

It's not that stupid things make me happy; it's that everything makes me happy. Taking a breath makes me happy. Hearing a human voice makes me happy. Feeling my hand rise up against gravity and sweep through the air on its own makes me happy. Yesterday this state -- which I like to call "bliss fugue" -- came on after I whacked my knee on the table. The pain made me happy! Happier than maybe I've ever been!

Here's the weirdest thing about the happiness: It seems completely uncaused. Not only do my flashes seem to exist in a vacuum. I would swear the feeling seems to be a characteristic of the vacuum. The vacuum I refer to, of course, is the sucking of myself and the world into each other that happens whenever I penetrate that glass wall between us.

I'm truly content folding laundry. I happily concentrate on every spot on my dishes. Not all the time, but more and more. And it seems the more stuff gets through the glass wall -- the more the world becomes immersed in me and I in it -- the less time everything takes, and the more I enjoy the "free time," 10 seconds of which suddenly seem like enough to justify having been alive all these years.

This is one of those "I might be doing something right, or I might be losing my mind" things, but I've done those before; so I'm cool with it.

But I will mention one side-effect: mild fear. Not during the state itself -- I'm not sure it'd be possible to feel afraid then, though I haven't had occasion to test that -- but afterward, as I connect to the realization that something is happening to me that might really muck around with my ordinary old life. (Did I say above that I was miserable with my daily life? Well, that doesn't mean I'm not attached to it.)

Already once or twice I've done this thing and had people notice, and their reaction is always alarm or distaste: "Hel-LO? Are you OK? What are you staring at? Is something wrong?" So far, this has always snapped me right out of it. I don't know how I'd react to people if this state continues to happen more frequently and for longer periods, and I get stuck dealing with people from within it. (Would I then be talking to the voices in my head, I wonder?)

I've also noticed that when the bliss fugue hits me, tears sometimes come out of my eyes due to the weirdest things: the smell of the wind, a bird that stops and looks at me, a shoelace lying on the sidewalk. I can't explain that. I'm not normally an emotional person, especially not in public.

Well, there you go. Something for your Outlaw Catalog of Happiness: the Joy of Nothing. ;) I'm going for a walk now, and see if I can do it again.

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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:

WE MAY BE WIRED FOR PRONOIA
The Empathetic Civilization
tinyurl.com/266a929

REDUCE THE WORLD'S SUFFERING EVERY DAY
A Chance for Bliss Animal Sanctuary
tinyurl.com/33k2v2r

FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT TO BE JOYOUS
Teacher combats Colombian youth crisis with dance
tinyurl.com/2baca2j

(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 August 12

Copyright 2010 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

Paul, a fortune-telling octopus in Oberhausen, Germany, had an amazing run of success predicting the results of World Cup competitions a while back. His technique? His handlers gave him a succession of choices between two tasty morsels, each representing one of the teams in a given match. The treat he picked to eat was the team whose victory he prophesied. I wish I could access his expertise to help me sort out your upcoming decisions. It's really important that you not over-think the possibilities, but rather rely on simple gut reactions. Why don't you pretend you're an octopus, and imagine that each choice you have to make is symbolized by some food item. Ask yourself, "Which is yummiest?"

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

Lewis Carroll's sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was Through the Looking Glass. As he wrote it, he invited his illustrator John Tenniel to offer editorial advice. In response, Tenniel tactfully suggested that Lewis cut out a certain chapter. Lewis agreed, and so the story, as we read it today, doesn't include Alice's meeting with a grumbling wasp who wore a bright yellow wig that sat disheveled on its head like a clump of seaweed. Think of me as your version of Tenniel, Virgo. As you finish up your labor of love, consider following my recommendation to omit the part that resembles a wasp in a wig.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

If you and I were sitting face to face and I asked you, "What are the most important lessons you've learned these last 11 months?", what would you tell me? I think you need this type of experience: an intense and leisurely conversation with a good listener you trust -- someone who will encourage you to articulate the major developments in your life since your last birthday. Here are some other queries I'd pose: 1. How have you changed? 2. What long-term process needs to come to a climax? 3. What "school" are you ready to graduate from? (And by "school" I mean any situation that has been a hotbed of learning for you.)

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

The film Avatar hammers out such vehement anti-military, anti-capitalist, and anti-imperialist themes that it could have been endorsed by the leftist rock band Rage Against the Machine. And yet it's the highest-grossing film in the history of the world. One critic marveled at its popularity in even the most conservative areas of America, noting that it got "a theater full of people in Kentucky to stand and applaud the defeat of their country in war." Your assignment in the coming week is to do what Avatar has done: Try to make sure that your opponents and skeptics are entertained by your message -- maybe even excited and intrigued.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

I recommend that you enjoy an abundance of recreational time in the coming days, Sagittarius. But I hope that you will favor a rigorous physical challenge over lying lazily on the beach. I hope that you will read great literature instead of mass market paperbacks, and that you'll attend a brain-bending workshop rather than being a spectator at a sports event. Catch my drift, Sagittarius? Say yes to embarking on a vision quest that scares the fear out of you and pumps up your spiritual ambition; say no to wasting away in a puddle of sluggish, circuitous daydreaming.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

Sixty-nine percent of conservatives think that hell is a real place, and over half of all liberals do. Shocking! Ridiculous! I hope that you, Capricorn, give zero credence to the idea that there is a realm of eternal damnation. In my astrological opinion, believing in hell would grossly interfere with your ability to know the truth about your life right now. So would an irrational fear of failure, an obsession with enemies, or a tendency to define yourself in opposition to bad stuff. Here's the alternative: To thrive, all you have to do is accentuate what you love, identify what you want, and focus on rewards.

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IF YOU WANT MORE FREE WILL ASTROLOGY,
TRY THE EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES

The horoscopes you read in this newsletter may be plenty for your needs.

But if you'd like to experience more of my thoughts about your current situation, you might want to try my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES. They're 4 to 5 minute meditations on the state of your life and where you're going.

Sign in and access them here: RealAstrology.com

The weekly forecasts are also available by phone: 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.

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AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

This is an excellent time for you to get more conscious and proactive about what images you bring into your life and surround yourself with. It's always important to monitor the pictures flowing into your imagination, of course, but it's especially crucial right now. Your mental and physical health are unusually dependent on it. So please do yourself a big favor and gaze upon as much uplifting beauty as you can. Favor gardens over garbage dumps, soaring vistas over strip malls, interesting faces over scowling mugs.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

Every year smokers toss away over four trillion cigarette butts, fouling the environment terribly. But recently a few Chinese scientists embarked on the seemingly impossible project of finding value in this noxious waste. Collecting up big piles of discarded filters, they developed a process to extract chemicals that are effective at preventing corrosion when applied to steel pipes. Your assignment, Pisces, is to accomplish a comparable miracle: Turn some dreck or dross into a useful thing; discover a blessing in the trash; build a new dream using the ruins of an old pleasure.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

When I studied method acting with David Mamet, he taught us to develop such a vivid imagination that we could taste the pretend coffee that we drank out of an imaginary cup. We'd feel the heft of the cup in our hand and the steamy heat rising. We'd hallucinate the bitterly flavorful smell, and the muscles of our face would move the way they might if we were sipping the real thing. Pop star Lady Gaga didn't work with Mamet while she was maturing as an actress, but she got similar teachings. Recently, she told New York magazine that she can "feel the rain, when it's not raining." And more than that: "I can actually mentally give myself an orgasm." If you think that you will ever want to have that strong an imagination, Aries, now is a good time to start working toward that goal.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

When they say "Go with the flow," what "flow" are they talking about? Do they mean the flow of your early childhood conditioning? The flow of your friends' opinions? The latest cultural trends? Your immediate instinctual needs? When they say "Go with the flow," are they urging you to keep doing what's easiest to do and what will win you the most ego points, even if it keeps you from being true to your soul's code? I'm here to ask you to consider the possibility that there are many flows to go with, but only one of them is correct for you right now. And in my opinion, it is flowing in an underground cavern, far from the maddening crowd.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

"There would not be such a thing as counterfeit gold if there were no real gold somewhere," says a Sufi proverb. Why am I bringing this to your attention at this particular moment in your life story? Here's the bad news: You're in possession of some counterfeit gold that you think is authentic. Here's the good news: Within a short time after waking up to the truth about the fake stuff, you will locate the real thing.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

Here's a thought from the Cancerian philosopher Gaston Bachelard: "He who listens to the singing of the stream cannot be expected to understand the one who hears the singing of the flame: They do not speak the same language." While I mostly agree with that poetic formulation, I think you're about to be a temporary exception to the rule. Normally you are acutely attuned to the singing of the stream; your skill at reading its nuances are supreme among the zodiac. But I expect that in the coming days, you will not only have the power to appreciate the song of the fire; you'll even be able to empathize with and understand people who are entranced by the song of the fire.

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HOMEWORK:

Let's meet in dreams sometime soon. Describe to me the adventures you'd like us to have together. Truthrooster@gmail.com.

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Submissions sent to the Free Will Astrology Weekly Newsletter or in response to "homework assignments" may be published in a variety of formats at Rob Brezsny's discretion, including but not limited to newsletters, books, the Free Will Astrology column, and Free Will Astrology website. We reserve the right to edit such submissions for length, style, and content. Requests for anonymity will be honored with submissions; otherwise, reader names, screen names, or initials will be used. Please be sure to note your preference when sending to us. We are not responsible for unsolicited submission of any creative material.

Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright 2010 Rob Brezsny

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