Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter July 30, 2014

Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
July 30, 2014
FreeWillAstrology.com

+

My book
PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA
is available at Amazon: bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: bit.ly/PronoiaPowells

Here's an excerpt:

RECEPTIVITY REMEDIES

To read the entire piece, go here: bit.ly/x11kmj

Alert, relaxed listening is the radical act at the heart of our pronoiac practice. Curiosity is our primal state of awareness. Wise innocence is a trick we aspire to master. Open-hearted skepticism is the light in our eyes.

+

To achieve what the Zen Buddhists call "beginner's mind," you dispense with all preconceptions and enter each situation as if seeing it for the first time.

"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities," wrote Shunryu Suzuki in his book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, "but in the expert's there are few."

As much as I love beginner's mind, though, I advocate an additional discipline: cultivating a beginner's heart. That means approaching every encounter imbued with a freshly invoked wave of love that is as pure as if you're feeling it for the first time.

+

To be the best pronoiac explorer you can be, I suggest you adopt an outlook that combines the rigorous objectivity of a scientist, the "beginner's mind" of Zen Buddhism, the "beginner's heart" of pronoia, and the compassionate friendliness of the Dalai Lama.

Blend a scrupulously dispassionate curiosity with a skepticism driven by expansiveness, not spleen.

To pull this off, you'll have to be willing to regularly suspend your brilliant theories about the way the world works. Accept with good humor the possibility that what you've learned in the past may not be a reliable guide to understanding the fresh phenomenon that's right in front of you.

Be suspicious of your biases, even the rational and benevolent ones. Open your heart as you strip away the interpretations that your emotions might be inclined to impose.

"Before we can receive the unbiased truth about anything," wrote my teacher Ann Davies, "we have to be ready to ignore what we would like to be true."

At the same time, don't turn into a hard-ass, poker-faced robot. Keep your feelings moist and receptive. Remember your natural affection for all of creation. Enjoy the power of tender sympathy as it drives you to probe for the unimaginable revelations of every new moment.

"Before we can receive the entire truth about anything," said Ann Davies, "we have to love it."

. . . To read the rest of "RECEPTIVITY REMEDIES," go here:
bit.ly/x11kmj

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

DAILY HOROSCOPES

Some people don't know that I write daily horoscopes, available as text messages sent to your cell or smart phone.

They're shorter than the weekly 'scopes, but on the other hand they're more frequent -- every day of the week.

My weekly horoscopes are free, but the dailies cost about 67 cents a day if you sign up for a subscription.

If you think you might enjoy getting regular bursts of inspiration from me to illuminate your adventures, check them out.

Go to RealAstrology.com. Register or log in. On the new page, click on "Subscribe / Renew" under "Daily Text Message Horoscopes" in the right-hand column.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:

"The Ancient Greeks' 6 Words for Love (And Why Knowing Them Can Change Your Life). Looking for an antidote to modern culture's emphasis on romantic love? Perhaps we can learn from the diverse forms of emotional attachment prized by the ancient Greeks."
tinyurl.com/kt298qm

"World first: Australian solar plant has generated "supercritical" steam that rivals fossil fuels'. A test plant in Australia has proved solar power could efficiently replace fossil fuels."
tinyurl.com/kl4pl3k

"The dramatic increase in average life expectancy during the 20th century ranks as one of society's greatest achievements. Life expectancy at birth now exceeds 83 years in Japan -- the current leader -- and is at least 81 years in several other countries. The most dramatic and rapid gains have occurred in East Asia, where life expectancy at birth increased from less than 45 years in 1950 to more than 74 years today."
tinyurl.com/n6r4xfn

A compendium of pronoiac news.
bit.ly/GoodGood

(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.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning July 31

Copyright 2014 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

The Earth has been around for almost 4.6 billion years. But according to scientists who study the fossil records, fire didn't make its first appearance on our planet until 470 million years ago. Only then were there enough land-based plants and oxygen to allow the possibility of fires arising naturally. Do the math and you will see that for 90 percent of the Earth's history, fire was absent. In evolutionary terms, it's a newcomer. As I study your astrological omens for the next ten months, I foresee the arrival of an almost equally monumental addition to your life, Leo. You can't imagine what it is yet, but by this time next year, you won't fathom how you could have lived without it for so long.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

In the nights to come, I expect you will dream of creatures like fiery monsters, robot warriors, extraterrestrial ghosts, and zombie vampires. But here's the weird twist: They will be your helpers and friends. They will protect you and fight on your behalf as you defeat your real enemies, who are smiling pretenders wearing white hats. Dreams like this will prepare you well for events in your waking life, where you will get the chance to gain an advantage over fake nice guys who have hurt you or thwarted you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

It's fine if you want to turn the volume all the way up on your charisma and socialize like a party animal. I won't protest if you gleefully blend business and pleasure as you nurture your web of human connections. But I hope you will also find time to commune with the earth and sky and rivers and winds. Why? You are scheduled to take a big, fun spiritual test in the not-too-distant future. An excellent way to prepare for this rite of passage will be to deepen your relationship with Mother Nature.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

You are hereby excused from doing household chores and busywork, Scorpio. Feel free to cancel boring appointments. Avoid tasks that are not sufficiently epic, majestic, and fantastic to engage your heroic imagination. As I see it, this is your time to think really big. You have cosmic authorization to give your full intensity to exploring the amazing maze where the treasure is hidden. I urge you to pay attention to your dreams for clues. I encourage you to ignore all fears except the one that evokes your most brilliant courage. Abandon all trivial worries, you curious warrior, as you go in quest of your equivalent of the Holy Grail.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

Broadway is one of New York City's main streets. It runs the length of the island of Manhattan. But hundreds of years ago it was known by the indigenous Lenape people as the Wickquasgeck Trail. It was a passageway that cut through stands of chestnut, poplar, and pine trees. Strawberries grew wild in fields along the route. Is there a metaphorical equivalent in your own life, Sagittarius? I think there is: a modest, natural path that you will ultimately build into a major thoroughfare buzzing with activity. Part of you will feel sad at the loss of innocence that results. But mostly you'll be proud of the visionary strength you will have summoned to create such an important conduit.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

The heavenly body known as 1986 DA is a near-Earth asteroid that's 1.4 miles in diameter. It's packed with 10,000 tons of gold and 100,000 tons of platinum, meaning it's worth over five trillion dollars. Can we humans get to it and mine its riches? Not yet. That project is beyond our current technology. But one day, I'm sure we will find a way. I'm thinking there's a smaller-scale version of this scenario in your life, Capricorn. You know about or will soon find out about a source of wealth that's beyond your grasp. But I'm betting that in the next ten months you will figure out a way to tap into it, and begin the process.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

FEELING JOY STIMULATES YOUR COMPASSION?

Assume that your drive to experience pleasure isn't a barrier to your spiritual growth, but is in fact essential to it. Proceed on the hypothesis that cultivating joy can make you a more ethical and compassionate person. Imagine that feeling good has something important to teach you every day.

For inspiration in practicing this approach, tune in to your Expanded Audio Horoscopes. They're four-to-five-minute meditations on the current state of your destiny. The cost is $6 per reading, with a discount for multiple purchases.

Go here to register and/or sign in: RealAstrology.com

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

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

"I always feel like I know myself better after listening to your audio 'scopes."
- June R., Austin, TX

"Your audio horoscopes calm me down when I'm too manic and pep me up when I'm down."
- Arthur T., Cleveland, OH

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

"I just sort of drifted into it." According to author Gore Vidal, "That's almost always the explanation for everything." But I hope this won't be true for you anytime soon, Aquarius. You can't afford to be unconscious or lazy or careless about what you're getting yourself into. You must formulate a clear, strong intention, and stick to it. I don't mean that you should be overly cautious or ultra-skeptical. To make the correct decisions, all you have to do is be wide awake and stay in intimate touch with what's best for you.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

Members of the industrial band Skinny Puppy are upset with the U.S. military. They discovered that an interrogation team at America's Guantanamo Bay detention camp tortured prisoners by playing their music at deafening volumes for extended periods. That's why they sent an invoice to the Defense Department for $666,000, and are threatening to sue. Now would be a good time for you to take comparable action, Pisces. Are others distorting your creations or misrepresenting your meaning? Could your reputation benefit from repair? Is there anything you can do to correct people's misunderstandings about who you are and what you stand for?

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

If a farmer plants the same crop in the same field year after year, the earth's nutrients get exhausted. For instance, lettuce sucks up a lot of nitrogen. It's better to plant beans or peas in that location the next season, since they add nitrogen back into the soil. Meanwhile, lettuce will do well in the field where the beans or peas grew last time. This strategy is called crop rotation. I nominate it as your operative metaphor for the next ten months, Aries. Your creative output will be abundant if you keep sowing each new "crop" in a fertile situation where it is most likely to thrive.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

Maybe your grandparents are dead, or maybe they're still alive. Whatever the case may be, do you have a meaningful or interesting connection with them? Is there anything about their souls or destinies that inspires you as you face your own challenges? Or is your link with them based more on sentimentality and nostalgia? In the near future, I urge you to dig deeper in search of the power they might have to offer you. Proceed on the hypothesis that you have not yet deciphered some of the useful messages you can derive from how they lived their lives. Explore the possibility that their mysteries are relevant to yours.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

The prolific American author James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) wrote 32 novels. In those pages, he crammed in almost 1,100 quotations from Shakespeare. What motivated such extreme homage? I suspect he regarded Shakespeare as a mentor, and wanted to blend the Bard's intelligence with his own. I invite you to do something similar, Gemini. What heroes have moved you the most? What teachers have stirred you the deepest? It's a perfect time to pay tribute in a way that feels self-empowering. I suspect you will benefit from revivifying their influence on you.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

Was there an actual poet named Homer who wrote the ancient Greek epics the Iliad and the Odyssey? Or was "Homer" a fictitious name given to several authors who created those two master works? Whatever the case may be, we know that Homer plagiarized himself. The opening line of Book XI in the Iliad is identical to the opening line of Book V in the Odyssey: "Now Dawn arose from her couch beside the lordly Tithonos, to bear light to the immortals and to mortal men." So should we be critical of Homer? Nah. Nor will I hold it against you if, in the coming days, you imitate some fine action or brilliant move you did in the past. It was great the first time. I'm sure it will be nearly as great this time, but in a different way.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

HOMEWORK:

"The one thing that really keeps me from being myself is _______." Testify at Truthrooster@gmail.com.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++