Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
June 7, 2017
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
Below are excerpts.
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.
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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.
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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
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YOUR THOUGHTS ARE MAGIC
"Scientific American" chimes in on the power of pronoiac thinking: "Your thoughts can release abilities beyond normal limits. Better vision, stronger muscles -- expectations can have surprising effects."
Excerpt:
"Thinking that we are limited is itself a limiting factor. There is accumulating evidence that suggests that our thoughts are often capable of extending our cognitive and physical limits."
tinyurl.com/pqc4am5
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THE MORE SPECIFIC YOUR GOALS, THE BETTER
"Having very broad and abstract goals may maintain and exacerbate depression. Goals that are not specific are more ambiguous and, therefore, harder to visualize. If goals are hard to visualize it may result in reduced expectation of realizing them which in turn results in lower motivation to try and achieve them."
- Researchers at the institute of Health, Psychology, and Society
tinyurl.com/nv6jdqq
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BEING KIND IS GOOD FOR YOU
Research shows:
1. Exercising compassion stimulates the same pleasure centers associated with the drive for food, water and sex.
2. Practicing compassion with intention has a positive physiological effect on the body. It can lower blood pressure, boost your immune response and increase your calmness.
3. Not only are we hard-wired to be kind, but it is essential for the survival of our species.
4. Recognizing common fears or vulnerabilities rather than differences -- be it with a difficult friend, an abrasive colleague or a noisy neighbor -- calms the nervous system, boosting feelings of contentment and self worth.
More: tinyurl.com/n2m3t2t
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Is your hometown a bit dreary? Kampung Pelangi, Indonesia was, and so the residents painted their town rainbow.
tinyurl.com/y9t73jcg
Germany breaks a daily record for renewable energy, generating 85% of its power from renewable sources on April 30.
tinyurl.com/ycknesjb
How Low-Income Mothers Are Breaking Into the Tech Industry
tinyurl.com/ybll2jj2
(Note: I endorse these because I like them. They aren’t advertisements, and I get no kickbacks.)
Please tell me your own nominations for PRONOIA RESOURCES: Truthrooster@gmail.com.
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning June 8
Copyright 2017 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
"When I grow up, I'm not sure what I want to be." Have you ever heard that thought bouncing around your mind, Gemini? Or how about this one: "Since I can't decide what I want to be, I'll just be everything." If you have been tempted to swear allegiance to either of those perspectives, I suggest it's time to update your relationship with them. A certain amount of ambivalence about commitment and receptivity to myriad possibilities will always be appropriate for you. But if you hope to fully claim your birthright, if you long to ripen into your authentic self, you'll have to become ever-more definitive and specific about what you want to be and do.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
As a Cancerian myself, I've had days when I've stayed in bed from morning to nightfall, confessing my fears to my imaginary friends and eating an entire cheesecake. As an astrologer, I've noticed that these blue patches seem more likely to occur during the weeks before my birthday each year. If you go through a similar blip any time soon, here's what I recommend: Don't feel guilty about it. Don't resist it. Instead, embrace it fully. If you feel lazy and depressed, get REALLY lazy and depressed. Literally hide under the covers with your headphones on and feel sorry for yourself for as many hours as it takes to exhaust the gloom and emerge renewed.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
In the early days of the Internet, "sticky" was a term applied to websites that were good at drawing readers back again and again. To possess this quality, a content provider had to have a knack for offering text and images that web surfers felt an instinctive yearning to bond with. I'm reanimating this term so I can use it to describe you. Even if you don't have a website, you now have a soulful adhesiveness that arouses people's urge to merge. Be discerning how you use this stuff. You may be stickier than you realize!
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Ancient Mayans used chili and magnolia and vanilla to prepare exotic chocolate drinks from cacao beans. The beverage was sacred and prestigious to them. It was a centerpiece of cultural identity and an accessory in religious rituals. In some locales, people were rewarded for producing delectable chocolate with just the right kind and amount of froth. I suspect, Virgo, that you will soon be asked to do the equivalent of demonstrating your personal power by whipping up the best possible chocolate froth. And according to my reading of the astrological omens, the chances are good you'll succeed.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Do you have your visa for the wild side? Have you packed your bag of tricks? I hope you'll bring gifts to dispense, just in case you'll need to procure favors in the outlying areas where the rules are a bit loose. It might also be a good idea to take along a skeleton key and a snake-bite kit. You won't necessarily need them. But I suspect you'll be offered magic cookies and secret shortcuts, and it would be a shame to have to turn them down simply because you're unprepared for the unexpected.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
You're like a prince or princess who has been turned into a frog by the spell of a fairy tale villain. This situation has gone on for a while. In the early going, you retained a vivid awareness that you had been transformed. But the memory of your origins has faded, and you're no longer working so diligently to find a way to change back into your royal form. Frankly, I'm concerned. This horoscope is meant to remind you of your mission. Don't give up! Don't lose hope! And take extra good care of your frog-self, please.
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YOU'VE ALWAYS GOT MORE HELP AVAILABLE THAN YOU IMAGINE
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
To listen to your Expanded Audio Horoscope online, go to RealAstrology.com.
Register and/or log in through the main page.
You can also listen over the phone by calling 1-877-873-4888.
The cost is $6 per sign on the Web (discounts available for bulk purchases), or $1.99 per minute by phone. Each forecast is 4-5 minutes long.
The Expanded Audio Horoscopes work on most smart phones and tablets.
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"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
"When I listen to your audio 'scopes, my free will lights up." - Alex D., Los Angeles
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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
People might have ideas about you that are at odds with how you understand yourself. For example, someone might imagine that you have been talking trash about them -- even though you haven't been. Someone else may describe a memory they have about you, and you know it's a distorted version of what actually happened. Don't be surprised if you hear even more outlandish tales, too, like how you're stalking Taylor Swift or conspiring with the One World Government to force all citizens to eat kale every day. I'm here to advise you to firmly reject all of these skewed projections. For the immediate future, it's crucial to stand up for your right to define yourself -- to be the final authority on what's true about you.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
"God doesn't play dice with the universe," said Albert Einstein. In response, another Nobel Prize-winning physicist, Niels Bohr, said to Einstein, "Stop giving instructions to God." I urge you to be more like Bohr than Einstein in the coming weeks, Capricorn. As much as possible, avoid giving instructions to anyone, including God, and resist the temptation to offer advice. In fact, I recommend that you abstain from passing judgment, demanding perfection, and trying to compel the world to adapt itself to your definitions. Instead, love and accept everything and everyone exactly as they are right now.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Lysistrata is a satire by ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It takes place during the war between Athens and Sparta. The heroine convinces a contingent of women to withhold sexual privileges from the soldiers until they stop fighting. "I will wear my most seductive dresses to inflame my husband's ardor," says one. "But I will never yield to his desires. I won't raise my legs towards the ceiling. I will not take up the position of the Lioness on a Cheese Grater." Regardless of your gender, Aquarius, your next assignment is twofold: 1. Don't be like the women in the play. Give your favors with discerning generosity. 2. Experiment with colorful approaches to pleasure like the Lioness with a Cheese Grater, the Butterfly Riding the Lizard, the Fox Romancing the River, and any others you can dream up.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Take your seasick pills. The waves will sometimes be higher than your boat. Although I don't think you'll capsize, the ride may be wobbly. And unless you have waterproof clothes, it's probably best to just get naked. You WILL get drenched. By the way, don't even fantasize about heading back to shore prematurely. You have good reasons to be sailing through the rough waters. There's a special "fish" out there that you need to catch. If you snag it, it will feed you for months -- maybe longer.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
If you chose me as your relationship guide, I'd counsel you and your closest ally to be generous with each other; to look for the best in each other and praise each other's beauty and strength. If you asked me to help foster your collaborative zeal, I'd encourage you to build a shrine in honor of your bond -- an altar that would invoke the blessings of deities, nature spirits, and the ancestors. If you hired me to advise you on how to keep the fires burning and the juices flowing between you two, I'd urge you to never compare your relationship to any other, but rather celebrate the fact that it's unlike any other in the history of the planet.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
The Milky Way Galaxy contains more than 100 billion stars. If they were shared equally, every person on Earth could have dominion over at least 14. I mention this because you're in a phase when it makes sense for you to claim your 14. Yes, I'm being playful, but I'm also quite serious. According to my analysis of the upcoming weeks, you will benefit from envisaging big, imaginative dreams about the riches that could be available to you in the future. How much money do you want? How much love can you express? How thoroughly at home in the world could you feel? How many warm rains would you like to dance beneath? How much creativity do you need to keep reinventing your life? Be extravagant as you fantasize.
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HOMEWORK:
Even if you don't send it, write a letter to the person you admire most. Share it with me at Freewillastrology.com.
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Submissions sent to Rob Brezsny's Astrology 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 submissions for length, style, and content. Requests for anonymity will be honored. We are not responsible for unsolicited submission of any creative material.
Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright 2017 Rob Brezsny
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