Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter April 2, 2014

Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
APRIL 2, 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's a description of my relationship with the concepts in the book.

THE HONEY AND VINEGAR TASTERS

John Keats wrote that "if something is not beautiful, it is probably not true." I celebrate that hypothesis in my book Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings. I further propose that the universe is inherently friendly to human beings; that all of creation is set up to liberate us from our suffering and teach us how to love intelligently; and that life always gives us exactly what we need, exactly when we need it (though not necessarily what we want).

Dogmatic cynics are often so mad about my book's title that they can't bring themselves to explore the inside. Why bother to actually read about such a preposterous idea? They accuse me of intellectual dishonesty, disingenuous Pollyannaism, or New Age delusion.

If they do manage to read even a few pages, they find that the blessings I reference in the title are not materialistic fetishes like luxurious vacation homes, high status, and a perfect physique. I'm more interested in fascinating surprises, dizzying adventures, challenging gifts we hardly know what to do with, and conundrums that compel us to get smarter and wilder and kinder and trickier. I also enjoy exposing secret miracles, like the way the sun continually detonates nuclear explosions in order to convert its own body into heat, light, and energy for our personal use.

But I don't take the cynics' fury personally. When I suggest that life is a sublime mystery designed to grow us all into strong, supple messiahs, I understand that's the equivalent, for them, of denying the Holocaust. They're addicted to a formulation that's the opposite of Keats': If something is not ugly, it is probably not true.

Modern storytellers are at the vanguard of promoting this doctrine, which I refer to as pop nihilism. A majority of journalists, filmmakers, novelists, critics, talk-show hosts, musicians, and pundits act as if breakdown is far more common and far more interesting than breakthrough; that painful twists outnumber redemptive transformations by a wide margin, and are profoundly more entertaining as well.

Earlier in my life, I too worshiped the religion of pop nihilism. In the 1980s, for example, I launched a crusade against what I called "the global genocide of the imagination." I railed against the "entertainment criminals" who barrage us with floods of fake information and inane ugliness, decimating and paralyzing our image-making faculties. For years, much of my creative work was stoked by my rage against the machine for its soulless crimes of injustice and greed and rapaciousness and cruelty.

But as the crazy wisdom of pronoia overtook me in the 1990s, I gradually weaned myself from the gratuitous gratification that wrath offered. Against the grain, I experimented with strategies for motivating myself through crafty joy and purified desire and the longing for freedom. I played with ideas that helped me shed the habit of seeing the worst in everything and everyone. In its place I built a new habit of looking for the best.

But I never formally renounced my affiliation with the religion of cynicism. I didn't become a fundamentalist apostate preaching the doctrine of fanatical optimism. In the back of my wild heart, I knew I couldn't thrive without at least a tincture of the ferocity and outrage that had driven so much of my earlier self-expression.

Even at the height of my infatuation with the beautiful truths that swarmed into me while writing Pronoia, I nurtured a relationship with the awful truths. And I didn't hide that from my readers.

Yes, I did purposely go overboard in championing the cause of liberation and pleasure and ingenuity and integrity and renewal and harmony and love. The book's destiny was, after all, to serve as a counterbalance to the trendy predominance of bad news and paranoid attitudes. It was meant to be an antidote for the pandemic of snark.

But I made sure that Pronoia also contained numerous "Homeopathic Medicine Spells," talismans that cram long lists of the world's evils inside ritually consecrated mandalas. These spells diffuse the hypnotizing lure of doom and gloom by acknowledging the horror with a sardonic wink.

Pronoia also has many variations on a theme captured in William Vollman's testimony: "The most important and enjoyable thing in life is doing something that's a complicated, tricky problem that you don't know how to solve."

Furthermore, the book stops far short of calling for the totalitarian imposition of good cheer. I say I can tolerate the news media filling up half their pages and airwaves and bandwidths with poker-faced accounts of decline and degeneration, misery and destruction. All I seek is equal time for stories that inspire us to adore life instead of fearing it. And I'd gladly accept 25 percent. Even 10 percent.

So Pronoia hints at a paradoxical philosophy more complex than a naive quest for beauty and benevolence. It welcomes in a taste of darkness, acknowledging the shadows in the big picture.

TO READ THE REST OF THIS ESSAY, GO HERE: bit.ly/HoneyVinegar

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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:

Stanford University researchers have developed detailed plans for each state in the union to move to 100 percent wind, water, and solar power by 2050 using only technology that's already available. The plan doesn't rely, like many others, on dramatic energy efficiency regimes. Nor does it include biofuels or nuclear power.
tinyurl.com/nvmbd9f

How Germany Builds Twice As Many Cars As The U.S. While Paying Its Workers Twice As Much
tinyurl.com/7g3uzl9

The Iguazu Falls, one of the largest waterfalls in the world. Argentina/Brazil. photo by Wave Faber
tinyurl.com/mthvwfa

(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 April 3

Copyright 2014 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

In his novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera says that the brain has "a special area which we might call poetic memory and which records everything that charms or touches us, that makes our lives beautiful." In the coming days, it will be especially important for you to tap into this power spot in your own grey matter, Aries. You need to activate and stir up the feelings of enchantment that are stored there. Doing so will make you fully alert and available for the new delights that will be swirling in your vicinity. The operative principle is like attracts like.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

Our ancestors could see the Milky Way Galaxy spread out across the heavens on every clear night. Galileo said it was so bright, it cast a shadow of his body on the ground. But today that glorious spectacle is invisible to us city-dwellers. The sky after sundown is polluted with artificial light that hides 90 percent of the 2,000 stars we might otherwise see. If you want to bask in the natural illumination, you've got to travel to a remote area where the darkness is deeper. Let's make that your metaphor, Taurus. Proceed on the hypothesis that a luminous source of beauty is concealed from you. To become aware of it, you must seek out a more profound darkness.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

"Dear Gemini: I don't demand your total attention and I don't need your unconditional approval. I will never restrict your freedom or push you to explain yourself. All I truly want to do is to warm myself in the glow of your intelligence. Can you accept that? I have this theory that your sparkle is contagious -- that I'll get smarter about how to live my own life if I can simply be in your presence. What do you say? In return, I promise to deepen your appreciation for yourself and show you secrets about how best to wield your influence. -Your Secret Admirer."

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

The Cancerian artist Rembrandt became one of the world's greatest painters. It was a struggle. "I can't paint the way they want me to paint," he said about those who questioned his innovative approach. "I have tried and I have tried very hard, but I can't do it. I just can't do it!" We should be glad the master failed to meet his critics' expectations. His work's unique beauty didn't get watered down. But there was a price to pay. "That is why I am just a little crazy," Rembrandt concluded. Here's the moral of the story: To be true to your vision and faithful to your purpose, you may have to deal with being a little crazy. Are you willing to make that trade-off?

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

The Indian spiritual teacher Nisargadatta Maharaj offered a three-stage fable to symbolize one's progression toward enlightenment. In the first stage, you are inside a cage located in a forest where a tiger prowls. You're protected by the cage, so the tiger can't hurt you. On the other hand, you're trapped. In the second stage, the tiger is inside the cage and you roam freely through the forest. The beautiful animal is trapped. In the third stage, the tiger is out of the cage and you have tamed it. It's your ally and you are riding around on its back. I believe this sequence has resemblances to the story you'll be living in the coming months. Right now you're inside the cage and the tiger is outside. By mid-May the tiger will be in the cage and you'll be outside. By your birthday, I expect you to be riding the tiger.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

What is "soul work," anyway? It's like when you make an unpredictable gift for someone you love. Or when you bravely identify one of your unripe qualities and resolve to use all your willpower and ingenuity to ripen it. Soul work is when you wade into a party full of rowdy drunks and put your meditation skills to the acid test. It's like when you teach yourself not merely to tolerate smoldering ambiguity, but to be amused by it and even thrive on it. Can you think of other examples? It's Soul Work Week for you.

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WHAT FRESH BLESSINGS WILL LIFE BRING YOU?

You're got more strength and intelligence and help to draw on than you realize. For help in accessing those untapped inner resources, tune in to my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES. They're 4 to 5 minute meditations on the state of your life and where you're going.

Sign in or register and access them here:
RealAstrology.com

They're available on your tablets and smart phones as well as your computers.

The weekly forecasts are also available by phone:

1-877-873-4888

P.S. What questions should you be asking? I may be able to assist you in figuring them out.

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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

Are you close to anyone who is a catalytic listener? Is there a person who tunes in to what you say with such fervent receptivity that you get inspired to reveal truths you didn't realize you knew? If so, invite this superstar out to a free lunch or two in the coming days. If not, see if you can find one. Of course, it is always a blessing to have a heart-to-heart talk with a soul friend, but it is even more crucial than usual for you to treat yourself to this luxury now. Hints of lost magic are near the surface of your awareness. They're still unconscious, but could emerge into full view during provocative conversations with an empathetic ally.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

On my blog, I quoted author Ray Bradbury: "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you." I asked my readers what word they would use in place of "writing" to describe how they avoided being destroyed by reality. Popular responses were love, music, whiskey, prayer, dreams, gratitude, and yoga. One woman testified that she stayed drunk on sexting, while another said "collecting gargoyles from medieval cathedrals," and a third claimed her secret was "jumping over hurdles while riding a horse." There was even a rebel who declared she stayed drunk on writing so she could destroy reality. My question is important for you to meditate on, Scorpio. Right now you must do whatever's necessary to keep from being messed with by reality.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

Does your mother know what you are up to these days? Let's hope not. I doubt if she would fully approve, and that might inhibit your enthusiasm for the experiments you are exploring. It's probably best to keep your father out of the loop as well, along with other honchos, cynics, or loved ones who might be upset if you wander outside of your usual boundaries. And as for those clucking voices in your head: Give them milk and cookies, but don't pay attention to their cautious advice. You need to be free of the past, free of fearful influences, and free of the self you're in the process of outgrowing.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

For the foreseeable future, I urge you not to spend much time wrangling with bureaucrats and know-it-alls. Avoid frustrating projects that would require meticulous discipline. Don't even think about catching up on paperwork or organizing your junk drawer or planning the next five years of your career. Instead, focus on taking long meandering walks to nowhere in particular. Daydream about an epic movie based on your life story. Flirt with being a lazy bum. Play noncompetitive games with unambitious people. Here's why: Good ideas and wise decisions are most likely to percolate as you are lounging around doing nothing -- and feeling no guilt for doing nothing.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

Are you waiting? Are you wondering and hoping? Are you calculating whether you are needed, and if so, how much? Do you wish the signs were clearer about how deeply you should commit yourself? Are you on edge as you try to gauge what your exact role is in the grand scheme of things? I'm here to deliver a message from the universe about how you should proceed. It's a poem by Emily Dickinson: "They might not need me but - they might - / I'll let my Heart be just in sight - / A smile so small as mine might be / Precisely their necessity -"

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

You will soon get a second chance. An opportunity you failed to capitalize on in the past will re-emerge in an even more welcoming guise, and you will snag it this time. You weren't ready for it the first time it came around, but you are ready now! It's probably a good thing the connection didn't happen earlier, because at that time the magic wasn't fully ripe. But the magic is ripe now!

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HOMEWORK:

Choose one area of your life where you're going to stop pretending. Report results 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 2014 Rob Brezsny

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