Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
FEBRUARY 16, 2011
FreeWillAstrology.com
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The piece below is excerpted from my book
PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA
available at Amazon: bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
THE EVOLUTION OF EC'STASY
According to ec'stasy expert Rapunzel Blavatsky, the very nature
of ec'stasy seems to be evolving. Researchers at her Berkeley,
California-based Beauty and Truth Lab have found that increasing
numbers of people are able to cultivate a chronic, low-grade rapture
that never fully dissipates. This altered state often sensitizes
their perceptions to the presence of subtle miracles that are
hidden from others.
Blavatsky's team has also discovered that for these "everyday
ec'statics," extraordinary stimulation and peak experiences
are not necessary to sustain the constant flow of bliss.
The testimony of one such "everyday ec'static," Sheila
Samizdat, illustrates the phenomenon.
"My handmade, fresh-cooked booster dose of euphoria arrived,"
Samizdat reports, "while I was waiting in line at the post
office on a Tuesday afternoon. I already felt pretty good, because
a few minutes earlier I'd witnessed a man and a woman squirting
each other in the head with yellow squirt guns as they embraced
and wrestled and conducted a raucous make-out session in the alley
behind the post office.
"But my giddiness really kicked into high gear when an exuberant
toddler in the post office tipped over a trash can, turned it
upside down, climbed up on top, and leaped off as he shouted,
'God sucks!' Meanwhile, the customer behind me in line was telling
someone on her cell phone that she kissed a lesbian from Amnesty
International outside a pungent-smelling herb shop in Chinatown
while a gang of elegantly dressed thugs orchestrated a drug deal
in a nearby alley.
"Moments later, a barely-five-feet-tall Vietnamese man in
his 40s, sporting shoulder-length black hair and wearing an oversize
green silk pajama top, rode a neon pink girl's bike one-handed
right through the open front doors of the post office and into
the lobby as he sipped a Laffy Taffy Blue Vanilla Slurpee and
sang 'The Impossible Dream' from the Broadway musical, Man
of La Mancha.
"And suddenly I found myself thrust into the throb'bing
core of delight, awash in murmuring, quizzical amazement. The
center of my gravity exploded like a supernova, instantaneously
spreading my awareness out to the size of the universe, turning
me into a furious sun-blasted ocean-soaked wind-cured radiance,
arriving everywhere at once from the heart of the Only Intelligence
There Is. And I was home again, worshiping inside the tabernacle
in the wilderness. 'Oh, yeah,' I thought to myself with a rush
of eternal glee, 'Now I remember: I am you and you are me and
they are we and we are they.'"
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
CREATIVE SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS KEEP APPEARING OUT OF NOWHERE
A viable solution to providing enough food: the large-scale, sustainable
cultivation of seaweed. Not only is seaweed rich in protein, it
can reduce our dependence on soy.
tinyurl.com/24ho6km
HAVE YOU HAD YOUR DAILY MINIMUM REQUIREMENT OF SHEER BEAUTY?
Was this image taken with a telescope or a microscope?
tinyurl.com/2eoh8w2
CAN YOU LEARN FROM CREATURES THAT DON'T SPEAK HUMAN LANGUAGE?
(YES)
Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology by David Abram
Learning from all the other intelligences that share this planet
with us.
tinyurl.com/2efvch4
(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 February 17
Copyright 2011 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Many people know John Mellenkamp's song "This Is Our Country"
because it was used in a commercial for Chevy Silverado trucks.
But if they've only heard it that way, they may be under a mistaken
impression about its meaning. The ad quotes just a fraction of
the lyrics, including "So let the voice of freedom / Sing
out through this land / This is our country." What the ad
doesn't include are other lines like "And poverty could be
just another ugly thing / And bigotry would be seen only as obscene
/ And the ones that run this land / Help the poor and common man."
Let this serve as a cautionary tale for you, Pisces. Make sure
you get the rest of every story -- not just the partial truth,
but the whole freaking thing.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
"There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the
moon howls," said comedian George Carlin. "There are
mornings when your dreams are more real and important than your
waking life," says my favorite dream worker. "There
are times when the doctor isn't feeling well, and only his patient
can cure him," says I. Now it so happens, Aries, that in
the upcoming week, your life is likely to pass through an alternate
reality where all three of the above conditions will prevail --
as well as other similar variants and mutations.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Hua Chi, a Buddhist monk in China, takes his devotions very seriously.
For the last two decades he has performed as many as 3,000 prayers
every single day in the same exact spot at his temple. Part of
me admires his profound commitment, while part of me is appalled
at his insane addiction to habit. It's great that he loves his
spiritual work so deeply, but sad that he can't bring more imagination
and playfulness to his efforts. I bring this up, Taurus, because
I think it's a good time, astrologically speaking, for you to
take inventory of the good things you do very regularly. See if
you can inject more fun and inventiveness into them.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
"To the scientist there is the joy in pursuing truth which
nearly counteracts the depressing revelations of truth,"
said science fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft. The clear implication
of this statement is that there's always a sense of loss that
comes with discovering the way things really are. I protest this
perspective. I boycott it. As proof that it's at least partially
wrong, I offer up the evidence provided by your life in the days
ahead. From what I can tell, the gratification that you feel while
hunting down the truth will be substantial, and yet it will ultimately
seem rather mild compared to the bliss that arrives when you find
what you're looking for.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
People listen when Eric Schmidt speaks. He's the CEO of Google,
a company that has major power in shaping the future of information.
In recent months he has been riffing on the disappearance of privacy.
Because our lives are becoming interwoven with the Internet, he
believes it will become increasingly hard to keep any secrets.
"If you have something that you don't want anyone to know,"
he says, "maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place."
This is especially true for you right now, Cancerian. In the coming
weeks, I encourage you to maintain the highest standards of ethical
behavior. The lucky thing about this situation is that news of
the good deeds you do and smart moves you make are also likely
to circulate far and wide.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Six years ago, a friend of mine came to believe she had died
in a previous incarnation by being thrown off a horse. From that
time on, she felt stuck. She became convinced that her life energy
would remain in a state of suspended animation until she learned
to feel comfortable on a horse. Fear kept her from even attempting
that for a long time, but recently she got up the courage to begin.
Her efforts were bumpy at first, but rapidly improved. As she
gained confidence as a rider, every other aspect of her life bloomed,
too -- just as she'd suspected. I think her experience could be
useful for you to learn from in the coming months, Leo. What's
your biggest, oldest fear? Is there anything you could do to start
dissolving it?
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IT'S NOT NEARLY AS EXPENSIVE AS PSYCHOTHERAPY
What do you want to be when you grow up? Is it possible that
you will eventually develop beautiful capacities and sublime understandings
that you can't even imagine right now?
I might be able to help you move in the direction of becoming
more of the person you were born to be.
Tune in to my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
Find out more at RealAstrology.com.
The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888.
"The best part about your audio horoscopes is that they
pat me on the head and kick me in the ass at the same time."
- Rita L., San Diego
"Your audio oracles go beyond helping me find the truth
-- they inspire me to find the WILD truth."
- Patrick K., Montreal
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VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
"I'm not confused," said poet Robert Frost. "I'm
just well mixed." I would love that to be your motto in the
coming weeks. You're entering a phase of your cycle when you should
be extra curious about blending ingredients in new combinations.
In fact, I'll go so far as to say that the cosmos will respond
enthusiastically if you take steps to make yourself the embodiment
of lush diversity. Celebrate complexity, Virgo! You will generate
unexpected strokes of good fortune by experimenting with medleys
and syntheses that appeal to the jaunty parts of your imagination.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
In addition to their standard offerings, the yoga teachers at
Atlanta's Tough Love Yoga center (toughloveyoga.com)
sometimes offer exotic variations. During their "Metal Yoga"
classes, for instance, the soundtrack for their stretching and
breathing exercises is heavy metal music. Here's their promise:
"Melt your face off in a very relaxing, healing way."
That's the spirit I'd like to see you bring to your life in the
coming week: vehemently intense but tenderly curative; wickedly
fierce but brilliantly rejuvenating.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
I would love to see you play with your food this week. And draw
pictures on walls. And have conversations with winking statues
and talking trees and magic toasters. I'll be thrilled, Scorpio,
if you watch cartoons about furry animals outwitting maniacal
robots and if you entertain fantasies of yourself pushing a cream
pie in the face of an obnoxious authority figure. But given how
dignified and discreet you tend to be, I realize the chances of
any of this actually happening are miniscule. Can I at least coax
you into hopping, skipping, and dancing around a lot when no one's
watching?
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
"Better keep yourself clean and bright," said George
Bernard Shaw. "You are the window through which you must
see the world." Take that advice to heart, Sagittarius. This
is an excellent time for you to do any necessary work to get yourself
cleaner and brighter. I'm not at all implying that you're a dusty,
greasy mess. But like all of us, there's a continuous build-up
of foreign matter that distorts the view and that must be periodically
washed away. If you do it now, your work will be extra smart and
effective.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
The state of Wisconsin is famous for its cheese, so it wasn't
a big surprise when its state legislature decided to honor the
bacterium that's essential in making cheddar, Monterey Jack, and
Colby cheese. So as of last year, Lactococcus lactis is the official
state microbe. I would love to see you decide upon your own most
beloved microbe sometime soon, Capricorn. How about naming Ruminococcus
or Peptococcus as your personal favorite among all of your gut
flora? It's that time of year when it makes cosmic sense to acknowledge
and appreciate all of the small and hard-to-see things that keep
you thriving.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Don't put your shoes on before you put on your socks this week,
OK? Refrain from polishing off a piece of cheesecake and a bowl
of ice cream before dinner, and don't say goodbye whenever you
arrive at a new destination. Catch my drift, Aquarius? Do things
in the proper order, not just while engaged in the fundamental
tasks of your daily rhythm, but also in the long-term processes
you're carrying out. Each step in the sequence needs to prepare
the way for the next step. Keep a clear vision of the organizing
principle that informs your work.
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HOMEWORK:
What most needs regeneration in your life? And what are you going
to do to regenerate it? FreeWillAstrology.com.
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WANT TO GET YOUR CHART DONE?
I'm not doing personal charts, but I highly recommend my astrological
colleague, RO LOUGHRAN. Her approach closely matches my own. In
our many discussions about astrology over the years, we've had
a major influence on each other's work.
Ro utilizes a blend of well-trained
intuition, emotional warmth, and
a high
degree of technical proficiency
in horoscope interpretation; she
is skilled
at exploring the mysteries of your
life's purpose and nurturing your
connection with your own inner
wisdom.
Ro is based in California, but
can do phone consultations and
otherwise
work with you regardless of geographic
boundaries.
Ro's website is at YourSoulJourney.com
She can also be reached at roloughran@comcast.net
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2011 Rob Brezsny
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