Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
SEPTEMBER 28, 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 RICH GET RICHER
Dear Beauty and Truth Lab: Help! My old Buick's transmission
is dead, my credit cards are maxed, my kid's got to see the dentist
real bad, and the one-speed bike I ride everywhere is about to
collapse. I'm working two low-paying jobs already, although I
just applied for a more lucrative gig as a strip-club dancer,
only I'm having so much mysterious pain in my joints I'm not sure
how sexy my gyrations will be. Please clue me in to some tricks
that will help me keep a pronoiac attitude in the midst of the
mess that is my life. - Pickled
Dear Pickled: Here's the first thing I want to tell you: Pronoia
does not assume that material comfort is a sign of divine favor.
The universe is an equal-opportunity provider, conspiring to shower
blessings on every one of us in the same abundance. But while
the blessings may come in the form of money and possessions, they're
just as likely to consist of other gifts that aren't as concrete.
Here's a hypothetical example. Let's say you have the gift of
feeling at home in the world no matter where you are. The universe
has determined that it's the exact skill you need in order to
fulfill the specific purpose you came to earth to carry out. Having
a prestigious job and big salary, on the other hand, might be
exactly what you don't need.
The question of what gifts are essential revolves around your
precise role in the universal conspiracy to perpetrate blessings.
The second meditation I'll offer you is a passage from the Gospel
of Matthew: "Whoever has, shall be given more and more, while
whoever has nothing, even what he has will be taken away from
him."
Pronoiac translation: Whatever you choose to focus your attention
on, you will get more of it. If you often think of everything
you lack and how sad you are that you don't have it, you will
tend to receive prolific evidence of how true that is. As you
obsess on all the ways your life is different from what you wish
it would be, you will become an expert in rousing feelings of
frustration and you will attract experiences that assist you in
rousing frustration.
If, on the other hand, you dwell on the good things you have
already had the privilege to experience, you will expand your
appreciation for their blessings, which in turn will amplify their
beneficent impact on your life. You will also magnetize yourself
to receive further good things, making it more likely that they
will be attracted into your sphere. At the very least, you will
get in the habit of enjoying yourself no matter what the outward
circumstances are.
Bear in mind that you are a great wizard. You can use your powers
to practice white magic on yourself instead of the other kind.
The most basic way to do that is to concentrate on naming, savoring,
and feeling gratitude for the blessings you do have -- your love
for your kid, the pleasures of eating the food you like, the sight
of the sky at dusk, the entertaining drama of your unique fate.
Don't ignore the bad stuff, but make a point of celebrating the
beautiful stuff with all the exuberant devotion you can muster.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
ORDINARY PEOPLE PERFORMING FEATS OF EXTRAORDINARY KINDNESS
Good Samaritan Stories
tinyurl.com/39v9lca
LIBERATING IDENTITY
Australia recognizes third gender on passports
tinyurl.com/3dd6aew
GET YOUR MINIMUM DAILY REQUIREMENT OF BEAUTY
You're surrounded by this kind of stuff
i.imgur.com/UjdVT.jpg
THE EVIDENCE KEEPS ACCUMULATING
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 September 29
Copyright 2011 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
"When I was born," said comedian Gracie Allen, "I
was so surprised I didn't talk for a year and a half." I
suspect you will soon be experiencing a metaphorical rebirth that
has some of the power of the event she was referring to. And so
I won't be shocked if you find it challenging to formulate an
articulate response, at least in the short term. In fact, it may
take you a while to even register, let alone express, the full
impact of the upgrade you will be blessed with.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
"During a game of Apocalypse against the Witchhunters,"
reports Andrew_88 in an online forum, "I authorized my Chaos
Lord to throw his vortex grenade at the oncoming Cannoness and
her bodyguard. Safe to say he fluffed it and the vortex grenade
scattered back on top of him. Then he proceeded to take out my
allies, the Havocs, Land Raider, and Baneblade, before disappearing,
having done no damage to my opponent." I suggest you regard
this as a helpful lesson to guide your own actions in the coming
days, Scorpio. Do not, under any circumstances, unleash your Chaos
Lord or let him throw his vortex grenade at anyone. He could damage
your own interests more than those of your adversaries.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
According to my analysis of the astrological omens, it's high
time for you to receive a flood of presents, compliments, rewards,
and blessings. You got a problem with that? I hope not. I hope
you are at peace with the fact that you deserve more than your
usual share of recognition, appreciation, flirtations, and shortcuts.
Please, Sagittarius? Please don't let your chronic struggles or
your cynical views of the state of the world blind you to the
sudden, massive influx of luck. Pretty please open your tough
heart and skeptical mind to the bounty that the universe is aching
to send your way.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
I like how astrologer Hunter Reynolds encapsulates the Capricornian
imperative. If you "can manage your ego's erratic moods and
uneven motivations well enough to offer a service with consistent
quality," he says, "the world confers social recognition
and its accompanying material advantages on you." The members
of other signs may appear warmer and fuzzier than you, but only
because you express your care for people through a "strictness
of focus," "disciplined work," and by being a "dependable
helpmate." This describes you at your best, of course; it's
not easy to meet such high standards. But here's the good news:
The omens suggest you now have an excellent opportunity to function
at your very best.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
"Not being omniscient is a really big drag for me,"
says poet Charles Harper Webb. I sympathize with him. My life
would be so much easier and my power would be so much more graceful
if only I knew everything there is to know. That's why I'm going
to be a little jealous of you in the coming weeks, Aquarius. You
may not be supremely authoritative about every single subject,
but you will have access to far more intuitive wisdom than usual,
and you'll be making extra good use of the analytical understandings
you have. Bonus: You will also be absorbing new lessons at an
elevated rate.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
John Tyler was President of the United States from 1841 to 1845.
Believe it or not, two of his grandsons are still alive today.
They're Lyon Gardiner Tyler and Harrison Ruffin Tyler, born late
in the life of their father, who was born late in John Tyler's
life. I invite you to find some equally amazing connection you
have to the past, Pisces. How is your destiny linked to the long
ago and faraway? I suspect you might find that distant history
will be more vital and important than usual in the coming weeks.
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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: RealAstrology.com.
You can also listen over the phone by calling 1-877-873-4888
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ARIES (March 21-April 19):
I've got a challenging assignment for you. In accordance with
your current astrological omens, I am inviting you to cultivate
a special kind of receptivity -- a rigorously innocent openness
to experience that will allow you to be penetrated by life's beauty
with sublime intensity. To understand the exact nature of this
receptivity, study Abraham Maslow's definition of real
listening: to listen "without presupposing, classifying,
improving, controverting, evaluating, approving or disapproving,
without dueling what is being said, without rehearsing the rebuttal
in advance, without free-associating to portions of what is being
said so that succeeding portions are not heard at all."
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Government officials in Southern Sudan are proposing to build
cities in fantastic shapes. They say that the regional capital
of Juba would be recreated to resemble a rhinoceros, as seen from
the air. The town of Yambio is destined to look like a pineapple
and the city of Wau will be a giraffe. I'm confused by all this,
since I know that most of the people in South Sudan live on less
than a dollar a day. Is that really how they want their country's
wealth spent? Please consider the possibility, Taurus, that there
are also some misplaced priorities in your own sphere right now.
Hopefully they're nothing on the scale of what's happening in
South Sudan, but still: Allocate your resources with high discernment,
please.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
You have cosmic clearance to fall deeply, madly, and frequently
in love, Gemini. In fact, it's OK with the gods of fate and the
angels of karma if you swell up with a flood of infatuation and
longing big enough to engorge an entire city block. The only stipulation
those gods and angels insist on is that you do not make any rash
decisions or huge life changes while in the throes of this stupendous
vortex. Don't quit your job, for instance, or sell all your belongings,
or dump your temporarily out-of-favor friends and loved ones.
For the foreseeable future, simply enjoy being enthralled by the
lush sexy glory of the liquid blue fire.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Among the surprises spilled by WikiLeaks some months back was
the revelation that U.S. diplomats think Canadians feel "condemned
to always play 'Robin' to the U.S. 'Batman.'" If that's true,
it shouldn't be. While Canada may not be able to rival the war-mongering,
plutocrat-coddling, environment-despoiling talents of my home
country America, it is a more reliable source of reason, compassion,
and civility. Are you suffering from a similar disjunction, Cancerian?
Do you imagine yourself "Robin" in relationship to some
overweening "Batman"? This would be an excellent time
to free yourself of that dynamic.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
"Enigmatology" is an infrequently-used word that means
the study of puzzles and how to solve them. I'm invoking it now
to highlight the fact that you need to call on some unusual and
idiosyncratic and possibly even farfetched resources as you intensify
your efforts to solve the puzzles that are spread out before you.
The help you've called on in the past just won't be enough for
this new round of gamesmanship. The theories and beliefs and strategies
that have brought you this far can't take you to the next stage.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
This would not be a good time for you to read the book called
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Enhancing Self-Esteem.
In fact, it will never be the right time to read it. While it's
true that at this juncture in your life story you can make exceptional
progress in boosting your confidence and feeling positive about
yourself, you're not an idiot and you don't need idiot-level assistance.
If there was a book called The Impish Guide to Accessing and
Expressing Your Idiosyncratic Genius, I'd definitely recommend
it. Likewise a book titled The Wild-Eyed Guide to Activating
Your Half-Dormant Potential or The Brilliant Life-Lover's
Guide to Becoming a Brilliant Life-Lover.
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HOMEWORK:
At least 30 percent of everything you and I know is more than
half-wrong. I'm brave enough to admit it. Are you? Describe your
ignorance at FreeWillastrology.com
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2011 Rob Brezsny
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