Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter June 12, 2013

Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
JUNE 12, 2013
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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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:

PRONOIA IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD
We're on the verge of wiping out the Guinea worm, a water parasite that affects many impoverished countries.
tinyurl.com/cec95dm

CHANGING THE WAY WE THINK TO CREATE THE WORLD WE WANT
"Three-fourths of the African country of Niger (not Nigeria) is desert, and news headlines focus on hunger there. But over two decades, poor farmers in the country's south have 'regreened' 12.5 million desolate acres. In all, Niger farmers have nurtured the growth of some 200 million trees -- discovering that trees and crops are not competitors but are complementary. The trees protect the soil, bringing big crop-yield increases, and they provide fruit, nutritious leaves, fodder, and firewood. Now young people are returning to villages in Niger, and school kids are learning to care for the trees, too."
More info available in Frances Moore Lappe's book "EcoMind: Changing the Way We Think, to Create the World We Want"
tinyurl.com/mo2um3p

NATURAL, INSTINCTUAL PRONOIA
New study shows that infants who were exclusively breastfed for at least three months had enhanced development in key parts of the brain compared to children who were fed formula or a combination of formula and breastmilk.
tinyurl.com/k3es2k9

(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 13

Copyright 2013 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

Long after the artist Amedeo Clemente Modigliani died, his paintings sold for millions of dollars. But while alive, he never got rich from doing what he loved to do. He expressed frustration about the gap between his ambitions and his rewards. "I do at least three paintings a day in my head," he said. "What's the use of spoiling canvas when nobody will buy anything?" I hope you don't arrive at a comparable conclusion, Gemini. It's crucial that you NOT keep your good ideas bottled up in your imagination. You need to translate them into practical actions, even if there's no immediate or obvious benefit in doing so. Expressing yourself concretely has rarely been more important than it is right now.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

In 1967, dissidents dreamed up a novel way to protest America's horrific Vietnam War. They marched to the Pentagon, the military's headquarters, and performed an exorcism to purge the place of its evil. With the power of songs and chants, they invoked magic spells designed to levitate the 6.5 million-square-feet building into the air. Their plan didn't quite work in a literal way -- the Pentagon remained firmly fixed to the ground -- but the legend they spawned was potent. When I heard about it years later, it inspired me to become an activist. I see myth-making as a worthy goal for you right now, Cancerian. Dream up an epic task or project that will fuel your imagination for a long time.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

In 1926, surrealist artist Max Ernst painted "The Blessed Virgin Chastising the Infant Jesus in Front of Three Witnesses." It shows Mary vigorously spanking her son as he lies on her lap. Nowadays, the image doesn't seem nearly as scandalous as it did when it first appeared. Even some Christians I know find it amusing, welcoming the portrayal of Jesus as a genuine human being with lessons to learn. What would be your equivalent of creating a cheeky image like this, Leo? How could you achieve cathartic release by being irreverent toward something or someone you respect? I recommend it. (See the image: tinyurl.com/SpankingJesus.)

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

It's prime time to promote cross-cultural liaisons and interspecies relationships, Virgo. I encourage you to experiment with hybrids and facilitate the union of diverse interests. You will be working in alignment with cosmic trends if you strengthen the connections between influences that belong together, and even between influences that don't know they belong together. So see what you can do to facilitate conversations between Us and Them. Negotiate peace treaties between Yes and No. Look for legitimate ways to compare apples and oranges.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

Gonzo columnist Mark Morford wrote a list of liberated behaviors he wants to cultivate. Since you're in the emancipatory phase of your yearly cycle, I invite you to try some of his strategies. 1. Have a gentler grip. Let go of tight-assed attitudes. 2. Make deeper penetration. Don't be satisfied with surfaces. 3. Raise the vibration. Isn't it a waste of precious life energy to mope around in a sour and shriveled frame of mind? 4. Appreciate appreciation. Treat gratitude as an emotion of the same caliber as joy. 5. Cultivate ecstatic silliness. Develop a blissful ability to take everything less seriously. 6. Drink the awe. Allow astonishment to seep in. (More: tinyurl.com/morfordjoy)

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

From an astrological perspective, now would be a good time to go on a meditation retreat for a few days or make a pilgrimage to your ancestral homeland. You would generate just the right shifts in your brain chemistry by doing something like that. Other recommended adventures: reviewing the story of your entire life from your first memory to the present moment; writing a brief letter to the five people you have loved best, telling them why you've loved them; spending a day outside of time, when you don't consult a clock or use electronic media for the duration.

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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 dampen your sense of wonder.

Every day, you're overexposed to stories 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 here in my newsletter.

If you ever want more of that good stuff, and think it's worth paying for, 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.

Go here to register and log in: RealAstrology.com

You can also listen over the phone by calling
1-877-873-4888

"Your expanded horoscopes get more personal and intimate with me than some of my closest friends. Thanks for the loving reflections."
- Ari S., Ann Arbor, MI

"Your audio 'scopes have a knack for waking me up from whatever random dream has sneaked into my brain and rendered me half-blind."
- Teresa F., Boston, MA

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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

Sagittarius comedian Steven Wright says he took a class in speed waiting. "Now I can wait an hour in only ten minutes," he brags. I think you will have the same knack in the coming days, Sagittarius. Your patience is likely to be much more effective than usual. Results will come faster and they'll be more intense. The only catch is that you will really have to be calm and composed and willing to wait a long time. It won't work if you're secretly antsy and only pretending to be imperturbable.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

Let the boundaries blur a bit, Capricorn. Don't stick too rigidly to the strict definitions. Play around with some good old-fashioned fuzzy logic. The straight facts and the precise details are important to keep in mind, but you shouldn't cling to them so ferociously that they stifle your imagination. You need to give yourself enough slack to try open-ended experiments. You'll be smart to allow some wobble in your theories and a tremble in your voice. Magic will happen if there's plenty of wiggle room.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

"One should be light like a bird, and not like a feather," said French poet Paul Valery. How do you interpret that thought, Aquarius? In the book The Science of Self-Control, here's how Howard Rachlin expands on Valery's idea: "We need to be spontaneous, but only in the context of some framework that allows us to attain higher levels of spontaneity; a feather is a slave to the wind, while a bird uses the wind." Take heed, Aquarius! Your creative flights will go further and last longer if you have a solid foundation to take off from.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

Let's call today Sigh-Day. Tomorrow, too, and the next day, and the two days after that. During these five Sigh-Days, you should feel free to let out big, deep sighs at a higher rate than usual. Allow yourself to be filled up with poignant thoughts about life's paradoxical mysteries. Give yourself permission to be overwhelmed with emotions that are midway between lamentation and reverent amazement. For even better results, indulge in some free-form moaning during your five Sigh-Days. That'll help you release your full backlog of tension and give you more appreciation for the crazy beauty of your fate. (P.S. Try not to whine, though.)

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

Irish poet Richard Brinsley Sheridan didn't confine his lyrical wit to well-crafted poems on the printed page. He used it to say things that would advance his practical ambitions. For example, when he first met the woman who would eventually become his wife, he said to her, "Why don't you come into my garden? I would like my roses to see you." That's the kind of persuasive power I hope you will summon in the coming days, Aries. According to my analysis of the omens, you should have it in abundance. So what's the best use of this mojo? Is there anything you would really like to sell? What new resources do you want to bring into your sphere? Who do you want to convince?

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

In The Book of the Damned, Charles Fort revealed one of the secrets of power. He said that if you want power over something, you should be more real than it. What does that mean? How do you become real in the first place, and how do you get even more real? Here's what I think: Purge your hypocrisies and tell as few lies as possible. Find out what your deepest self is like -- not just what your ego is like -- and be your deepest self with vigorous rigor. Make sure that the face you show the world is an accurate representation of what's going on in your inner world. If you do all that good stuff, you will eventually be as real and as powerful as you need to be.

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HOMEWORK:

Send news of your favorite mystery -- an enigma that is both maddening and delightful -- to Freewillastrology.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 2013 Rob Brezsny

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