Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology Newsletter
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September 28, 2005
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http://www.freewillastrology.com.
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PUBLIC APPEARANCE:
Booksmith bookstore
Tuesday, October 11
7 pm
1644 Haight Street
San Francisco
415.863.8688
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INTERVIEW WITH ROB
by Glen Starkey of the San Luis Obispo New Times
GLEN STARKEY: Your new book "PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia"
isn't so much about astrology as it is about philosophy. How does what
you do in your weekly "Free Will Astrology" column connect to what your
book is about?
ROB BREZSNY: The book is a discussion of the philosophy that underlies
and informs the column. I believe everyone's life is a labyrinth with a
reward at the center, not a minefield in which fear should be one's
primary guide. I explain why in the book.
GLEN STARKEY: As I read it, your book is about training oneself to see
the world through optimistic eyes, to not dwell on the occasional bad
thing that happens and instead focus on all the things that go right,
every day, all the time. What led you to this idea?
ROB BREZSNY: Let me comment on the first statement. It's true that I
urge people not to dwell on the occasional bad thing that happens.
However, it's important to note that pronoia doesn't ask you to ignore
or suppress your problems. On the contrary, just as pronoiacs retrain
themselves to notice and feel gratitude for all the beauty and largesse
in the world, they also retrain themselves to see every problem as a
gift that is designed to make them smarter, kinder, and more fully
alive.
As for what led me to these ideas: I'm a natural-born rebel; I enjoy
identifying the conventional wisdom in every situation, and turning it
on its head. Today the conventional wisdom is that everything is
falling apart, that the world is a terrible place to live, that bad
things predominate. The most taboo possibility of all is the idea that
the world is full of beauty and that life is on our side. I gravitate
toward that perspective because everything in my life has confirmed it
and because my job is to do everything I can to overthrow the status
quo.
GLEN STARKEY: Are you able to put into practice all that your book
suggests, or is attempting to exert pronoia an ongoing struggle?
ROB BREZSNY: I am by no means a master of pronoia. But I enjoy the
struggle to immunize myself against the insane culture-wide obsession
with pathology; I enjoy the hard work of retraining myself to bask in
the nonstop flood of daily miracles.
GLEN STARKEY: If you were to tell someone one thing in your book that's
the most important tidbit of knowledge, what would it be?
ROB BREZSNY: You always get exactly what you need, exactly when you
need it. Not exactly what you want, exactly what you want, mind you.
Life unfailingly presents you with what your soul needs, which isn't
necessarily what your ego wants.
GLEN STARKEY: Who should read this book, and who shouldn't?
ROB BREZSNY: Who shouldn't read this book: Cynics whose entire identity
and self-image are wrapped up in being cynical. My book may be unlikely
to crack through their fanatical bias against admitting how much beauty
and blessing the world is filled with, but if it did they would most
likely suffer from a nervous breakdown.
Who should read this book: everyone else.
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Here's an excerpt from my book
"PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA:
How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings"
PRONOIA THERAPY
1. Celebrate Unhappy Hour at least once a month. During this ritual
blowout, you have license to complain and rant about everything that's
driving you crazy. Get a sympathetic listener to be your receptacle or
deliver your blast straight into the mirror. If you prefer, write it
all down. One way or another, grouse nonstop about your secret shame,
raw sorrow, unspeakable guilt, and unnerving twists of destiny. Feel
free to unleash guttural moans or rueful cackles.
If performed regularly, Unhappy Hour serves as an exorcism that empties
you of psychic toxins. Pronoia will then have a chance to flourish as
you luxuriate more frequently in rosy moods and broad-minded visions.
2. Describe a past event when you let yourself wander to the edge of
unreasonable joy. Then imagine a future adventure that might once again
bring you there.
3. If you've ever watched The Simpsons TV show, you've probably heard
Homer Simpson's favorite toast. "To alcohol," he proclaims, "the cause
of and solution to all of life's problems." My own salute is different.
"To the Divine Trickster sometimes known as God," I say, "the cause of
and solution to all of life's problems." Compose a prayer in which you
simultaneously curse and thank the Primal Source.
4. Cancer cells are constantly developing in our bodies. Luckily, our
immune systems routinely kill them off. Similarly, our minds always
harbor pockets of crazy-making misconceptions and faulty imprints. They
usually don't rise up and render us insane thanks to the psychic
versions of our immune systems.
How can you stay strong in your ability to fight off sickness and
madness? You know the drill: Eat healthy food, sleep well, get physical
exercise, minimize stress, give and receive love. But as an aspiring
pronoiac, you have at your disposal other actions that can provide
powerful boosts to your immune system. Here are examples:
Scheme to put yourself in the path of beautiful landscapes, buildings,
art, and creatures.
Exercise your imagination regularly. Get in the habit of feeding your
mind's eye images that fill you with wonder and vitality.
Eliminate uhs, you knows, I means, and other junk words from your
speech. Avoid saying things you don't really mean and haven't thought
out. Stop yourself when tempted to make scornful assertions about
people.
Every night before you fall asleep, review the day's activities in your
mind's eye. As if watching a movie about yourself, try to be calmly
objective as you observe your memories from the previous 16 hours. Be
especially alert for moments when you strayed from your purpose and
didn't live up to your highest standards.
With a companion, sit in front of a turned-off TV as you make up a
pronoiac story that features tricky benevolence, scintillating harmony,
and amusing redemption. Speak this tale aloud or write it down.
Take on an additional job title, beautifier. Put it on your business
card and do something every day to cultivate your skill. If you're a
people person, bring grace and intrigue into your conversations; ask
unexpected questions that provoke original thoughts. If you're an
artist, leave samples of your finest work in public places. If you're a
psychologist or sociologist, point out the institutions and
relationships that are working really well. Whatever you do best, be
alert for how you can refine it and offer it up to those who'll benefit
from it.
If you're going through a phase when you feel you have nothing
especially beautiful to offer, or if you think it would be
self-indulgent to inject your own aesthetic into shared environments,
turn for help to great artists and thinkers. Sneak O'Keeffe or Chagall
prints onto unadorned walls in public places, for instance. Memorize
poems by Rilke and Hafiz, and slip them into your conversations when
appropriate. Program your cell phone so that its ring is Vivaldi's
*Stabat Mater in C Minor.* Scrawl passages from Annie Dillard's
*Teaching a Stone to Talk* on the walls of public lavatories . . .
. . . To read the rest of
"INTIMATE PRONOIA THERAPY,"
excerpted from "PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia,"
go here:
http://www.freewillastrology.com/beauty/
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To read other pieces from the book, go here:
http://freewillastrology.com/beauty/beauty.main145.shtml
To buy the book, use the links to Amazon.com and Powells, which are on
my homepage at http://www.freewillastrology.com
Or cut and paste the direct links below:
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1583941231/
qid=1123690660/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-1737423-7631942?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
POWELLS
http://www.powells.com/biblio/2-1583941231-2
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OTHER PRONOIA RESOURCES:
WEBSITE
GreenBlue
http://www.greenblue.org
"When we look at the earth, we do not see a glass half empty. We don't
even see a glass half full. We see a glass positively brimming over
with the abundance and fecundity of natural and human creation.
GreenBlue works to release these latent opportunities through the
effective use of intelligent design."
BOOK
*The Little Prince* by Antoine de St. Exupery
MUSIC
Copper Wimmin
http://www.copperwimmin.com/music.html
FILM:
*Wings of Desire* by Wim Wenders
http://www.wim-wenders.com/movies/movies_spec/wingsofdesire/wingsofdesire.htm
DVD
*Goddess Juice*
http://www.goddesschannel.com/
(Note: I endorse these because I like them. They're 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 2005 by Rob Brezsny
http://www.freewillastrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In *Madison* magazine, William Stadiem
described Aries actress Robin Wright Penn as "the most beautiful
surgically unenhanced woman on screen." I nominate her to be your role
model. May she inspire you to reject the pressure to be anything other
than exactly who you are. May her example give you the courage to
ignore standards of success that don't originate in your own heart.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I predict that you will soon hook up with the
"wrong" helpers. They will nudge you down an unexpected path that
results in you getting tests you didn't even know you needed. I also
suspect that without much assistance from anyone, you will make one of
your best "mistakes" of 2005. Congratulations in advance, Taurus, for
being receptive to the blessings in disguise.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): A big, beautiful window of opportunity will
open for you this week. The only question is: Will you see it? The odd
fact of the matter is that it might show up behind you while your gaze
is fixed on a pretty bauble. Now study these words from Carlos
Castaneda: "All of us, whether or not we are warriors, have a cubic
centimeter of chance that pops out from time to time. The difference
between an average person and a warrior is awareness of this, and one
of the tasks is to be alert, deliberately waiting, so that when the
cubic centimeter pops out he or she has the necessary speed and prowess
to pick it up."
CANCER (June 21-July 22): "Dear Prayer Warriors: I desperately need
assistance in calming my emotional body. It's clear to me that I either
overreact or underreact to many situations, particularly those that
surprise me. So please beg the Creator to send me a surge of divine
steadiness, because I can't afford to do this anymore. It makes me ill.
It makes my family crazy. It throws my values into a tailspin. -Born
under the Sign of the Crabby Crab." Dear Crabby Crab: The Prayer
Warriors will beseech the Supreme Wow to help you (and every other
Cancerian who's interested) to master the art of neither feeling too
much nor too little but just the right amount and just the right kind.
It's portentous that you asked now: The astrological omens suggest it's
a perfect moment to make great progress toward this goal.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Donald Hall wrote a poem in which two men are
talking. One says, "I was a fool three years ago." The other replies,
"One is always a fool three years ago." I bring this to your attention,
Leo, because it's a perfect moment to take a good long look at the
ignorance and naiveté that clung to you in the latter half of 2002. The
time is also ripe to make sure that you have corrected your erroneous
ideas and cleaned up the karma that resulted from them. To do so will
bring you uncanny satisfaction.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): This isn't a good week to become penpals with
criminals, pray to moody angels, or flirt with bipolar hotties. On the
other hand, it is a favorable time to listen with finely tuned
curiosity to people of impeccable integrity who have recently become
aware of your value. I also suggest that you offer invitations to
movers and shakers who are going through emotional transitions. Be
daring and gracious in an effort to hook up with high-quality
adventurers.
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EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
In addition to the written horoscopes you get in this newsletter, I
offer Expanded Audio Horoscopes. They're $6 if you access them on the
Web, or $1.99 per minute over the phone.
For Web access, go here:
http://www.relationshipnetwork.com/horo/index.asp?client_id=50700
From the United States, call
1-900-950-7700
or if you prefer to pay by credit card
1-877-873-4888
If you live in Canada, call 1-888-499-4425 to purchase a Block of Time
with your credit card.
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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): It will be a good week to Google yourself,
ask people pointblank to tell you how much they need you, and brag
about yourself with extravagant gusto. In fact, Libra, you now have
cosmic license to celebrate your glories in a hundred ways. Why not buy
yourself special gifts, gaze into the mirror longer than usual, and
yes, even make love with yourself? (If your religious beliefs regard
the latter as a sin, simply touch yourself in unsinful ways.)
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Most people hate to feel lost. It can be
scary not to know where you are, to wander aimlessly with no sense of
direction. But I'd like to propose that in a few rare situations, being
lost is a good thing. Such is the case right now, Scorpio. You don't
know your destination, you've lost your map, and you're not even sure
where you came from--all of which sets you up perfectly to stumble upon
a rich discovery you would have never found otherwise. I suggest that
you relax completely into the unmoored, floating feeling. The
paradoxical truth is that the best strategy for finding your way out of
the fog is to enjoy the fog.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): "Dear Rob: I need extra special mojo.
It's a long story why, but suffice it to say that many threads are very
close to getting woven together in a most beautiful way, and I want to
make sure it all comes to pass. If you write me a great horoscope this
week, I'll give you my piece of the Burning Bush from the monastery of
St. Catherine of Siena on Mt. Sinai. I'll let you shake the hand that
Mother Teresa touched when she promised to pray for me. I'll bake you a
chocolate cake like the one that when I made it for physicist David
Bohm, he said it was not illusory (the highest of compliments, coming
from him). -Sagittarius on the Brink." Dear On the Brink: I don't
accept bribes, though your extraordinary offer tempts me. Luckily, it's
a moot point, because your tribe's cosmic omens are positively sublime
right now--even more so if you cultivate an aptitude for ingenious
generosity, which you seem to be doing.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Baseball games periodically erupt into
faux brawls. One team takes offense at an insult from the opposition,
tempers flare, and soon all the players race to the center of the field
for a screaming and shoving match. It's rare that anyone is actually
hurt; all the testosterone and adrenaline get safely expressed in a way
that entertains the fans, and some players are so inspired by the melee
that they ratchet up their performances a notch. It might be time for
your personal equivalent of one of these outbursts, Capricorn. You and
your cohorts may need a catharsis to release the backlog of creative
energy that has been a bit blocked.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Musician Michael Franti is my favorite
activist. He's a consummate protestor, touting joy and beauty as much
as he rails against injustice. When he sings "Love is gonna set me
free" on his album *Stay Human,* he's talking about *giving* love as
much as *getting* it. And he's not just referring to romantic love, but
love in all of its flavors and expressions. I bring him to your
attention, Aquarius, because he has a habit I recommend to you this
week: He goes barefoot a lot--certainly more than any other 6'6" rock
star in history; I've never seen him perform with shoes on. My theory
is that it reminds him to stay down to earth and well-grounded as he
fights for his heady ideals. Make Franti your role model in the coming
week. Go barefoot, dole out huge amounts of love, combat injustice
artfully, and spread delight with relaxed assertiveness.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A Pisces woman I know has heard harassing
voices in her head for years. They've often urged her to commit suicide
or commit other heinous acts. Three weeks ago, they mysteriously
stopped, and have left her alone ever since. Meanwhile, another Pisces
friend recently received a letter from an old lover who unconditionally
forgave her for hurting him while they were together. A third
acquaintance, also born under the sign of the Fishes, had a lucid dream
in which she buried the dress she was wearing during the saddest moment
of her life. Subsequently she has felt an exhilarating release from the
weight of the past. I see these three events as examples of a theme you
too are enjoying: a burst of liberation from a demon that has plagued
you for eons.
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HOMEWORK:
What was your last major amazement? What do you predict will be the
next one? Testify by going to http://www.freewillastrology.com and
clicking on "Email Rob."
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Submissions sent to the Free Will Astrology Weekly Newsletter
or in response to "homework assignments" may be
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2005 Rob Brezsny
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