Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
August 15, 2007
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http://FreeWillAstrology.com
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"When I walk along with two others, they may serve me as my teachers. I
will select their good qualities and follow them, their bad qualities and
avoid them."
- Confucius
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My book
"PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA:
How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings"
is available for sale at http://tinyurl.com/qaj62
To read news and features from the book, go here:
http://tinyurl.com/lhwx2
Here's an excerpt:
DEVOTIONAL PRONOIA THERAPY (the first half)
Experiments and exercises in becoming a gracefully probing, erotically
funny, shockingly friendly Master of Orgasmic Empathy
1. Ruminate about the sublime prototypes that might be hidden within
the longings you're not so proud of. Dream of the noble purposes that lie
beneath the plaintive cries of your heart. Write about them here.
2. Assume that your capacity for experiencing pleasure is not a barrier to
your spiritual growth, but is in fact essential to it. What would you do
differently from what you do now?
3. Force yourself to think a kind thought about someone you don't like.
Next, try an even harder task: Force yourself to think a kind thought
about someone who doesn't like you.
4. Robin Norwood's self-help book *Women Who Love Too Much* deals
with a theme that has gotten a lot of play in recent decades: If you're too
generous to someone who doesn't appreciate it and at the expense of
your own needs, you can make yourself sick.
An alternative perspective comes from French philosopher Blaise Pascal,
who said, "When one does not love too much, one does not love enough."
He was primarily addressing psychologically healthy altruists, but it's a
good ideal for pronoia lovers to keep in mind.
Decide whether you need to move more in the direction of Norwood's or
Pascal's advice. Develop a game plan to carry out your resolve, then take
action.
5. Everyone deserves a place to live, good food and water, comfortable
clothes, fulfilling work, decent health care, and an intimate relationship
with a provocative muse. The muse need not be an actual person, but
might be an animal ally, a familiar spirit, a guardian angel, or an
autonomous part of one's own brain.
Do you have one? If not, use all your ingenuity to get one. If you're
already blessed with a muse, upgrade your relationship. Demand more
high-quality prods and inspiration, and in return offer more daring acts of
love and generosity. If your muse is unwilling to undertake a deeper
collaboration with you, hand him or her a pink slip and enlist a more
enthusiastic candidate.
6. Compose and cast a love spell on yourself.
7. Pick out three strangers you aren't attracted to and who seem lonely
and dull. Discreetly discover their names and addresses, maybe by
following them home, then coming back later to steal the junk mail from
their mailbox. Write them each a two-page love letter and sign it "Your
Secret Admirer."
8. "Love is being stupid together," said French poet Paul Valéry. While
there's an element of truth to that, it's too corny and decadent for my
tastes. I prefer to focus on a more interesting truth, which is this: Real
love is being smart together. If you weave your destiny together with
another's, he or she should catalyze your sleeping potentials, sharpen
your perceptions, and boost both your emotional and analytical
intelligence. Your relationship becomes a crucible in which you deepen
your understanding of the way the world works.
Give an example of your closest approach to this model in your own life.
Then formulate a vow in which you promise you'll do what's necessary to
more fully embody the principle "love is being smart together."
9. Some men believe they'll never find romantic happiness unless they
hook up with a woman who resembles a supermodel or celebrity. Their
libidos were imprinted at a tender age by our culture's narrow definition
of what constitutes female beauty. They steer clear of many fine women
who don't fit their ideal.
The addiction to a physical type is not confined to hetero men, though.
Some straight women, for instance, wouldn't think of dating a bald, short
guy, no matter how interesting he is.
In addition to these extremes, there are many people of every sexual
persuasion who imagine that their attraction to the physical appearance
of a potential partner is the single most important gauge of compatibility.
This delusion is the most common cause of people leaping into
relationships that go bad.
The good news is that anyone can outgrow their instinctual yearning for a
particular physical type, thereby becoming available for union with all of
the more perfect partners who previously didn't look quite right.
What's the state of your relationship with this riddle? Describe how you
might ripen it; speculate on how you can move it to the next level of
pronoiac maturity.
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To read other news and features from my book, go here:
http://tinyurl.com/lhwx2
You can buy the book here:
AMAZON
http://tinyurl.com/qaj62
POWELLS
http://tinyurl.com/3dsx6q
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OTHER PRONOIA RESOURCES:
LUCKY CELESTIAL ALIGNMENT
The Roar of God's Lion
http://tinyurl.com/2wuatf
http://tinyurl.com/3cf9on
GOOD NEWS FOR PLANET EARTH
"For a change, there's some good news from the world of the
environment. Several rare and vulnerable birds are rebounding in Europe.
Conservation efforts in Peru are reducing damage to the Amazon rain
forest. And black-footed ferrets are making a comeback in Wyoming."
http://tinyurl.com/2kvvzw
GREAT BOOK TITLES
*A Language Unconscious: The Light of the Sun: A Vision of the
Hallucidream Machine, the Ultralight Generator Mind Defibrillator Soul-
Sound Creator Supergod Shockwave* by Joseph McGuinness
http://tinyurl.com/33w7z7
I don't know if the book is any good -- I haven't read it -- but I love the
title.
(Note: I endorse these because I like them. These 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 August 16
Copyright 2007 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Jaeyana Beuraheng, a mother of eight,
decided to travel from her small village in southern Thailand to Malaysia
for a day-long shopping trip. But she accidentally boarded the wrong bus,
transferred to another wrong bus, and ended up in a distant city where
everyone spoke a language she didn't understand. Her money ran out, and
she started begging in the streets. Accused of being an illegal immigrant,
she was given shelter in a social services hostel. Years went by. Finally
three people from her village visited the hostel by chance, and she was
able to communicate in her native tongue. Through their assistance, she
went home. The moral of the story, as far as you're concerned, is this:
Whatever wrong turn you made, and however long ago it was, you're
ready to go back home.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): If you don't want to peter out with a whimper
in September, you should exit with a bang as soon as possible. In another
couple of weeks, you'll have to answer to fate, whereas right now fate
still has to answer to you. So pull out your calendar and schedule splashy
goodbyes, last laughs, and colorful climaxes that leave no room for
misinterpretation. Give going-away gifts to part-time nemeses so that
they can't possibly go away mad. And make sure that the Day of
Reckoning happens on your home turf.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Physicist John Cramer has made progress in
his research into the feasibility of time travel. But he can't take his work
to its next phase without an infusion of $20,000. You might want to
consider donating, Scorpio. If you did, and he managed to perfect time
travel in his future experiments, you'd no doubt be high on the priority list
to use the new technology. And that means you could go back and
correct for the wrong turn you made in April, which I'd really like to see
you do. If you don't have the inclination to contribute to Cramer's
research, at least try this alternative: Go to each person affected by your
deviation and make a thoughtful attempt at atonement and correction.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): To avoid getting set in my ways, I have
a policy of changing my religion regularly. I've tried every variation of all
the biggies, but in recent years I've preferred creating my own. In July my
chosen faith was the First Church of the Last Chance. This month it's the
Tempestuous Temple of Babbling Benevolence. Given that your personal
spiritual tradition is a little worn around the edges, Sagittarius, you might
consider a similar approach. It's time to experiment! Whatever fresh
religion you invent, I hereby name you the Chief Rabbi, High Pope, and
Dalai Lama of it. (P.S. Want to borrow two of my current
commandments? 1. Thou shalt serve humanity while having lot of fun. 2.
Thou shalt find the hot spot in your soul where your deepest longing and
wisest compassion overlap.)
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AUDIO LOVE LETTERS
In addition to the horoscopes that you're reading here, I create more in-
depth audio horoscopes for your inspiration. Find out more at
http://RealAstrology.com.
The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or
1-900-950-7700.
"Listening to your calming yet exciting audio horoscopes is sort of like
French-kissing Jesus." -Ariana B., Baltmore, MD
"I love the way you help me wake up from the daily trance." -Amy G.,
Sacramento
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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Welcome to the Season of Temporary
Insanity, Capricorn. According to my analysis of the omens, your imminent
immersion in lunacy, delirium, and freakiness won't hurt a bit -- and may
even stir up exotic varieties of pleasure and amusement. For best results,
keep the following advice bubbling and frothing in the back of your mind.
(1) "Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do
good things." - Edgar Degas. (2) "Sell your cleverness and buy
bewilderment." – Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks. (3) "All of us are
crazy good in one way or another." - Yiddish saying. (4) "You are either
losing your mind -- or gaining your soul." - Julia Cameron.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Are you unsure about whether you should
leap into a lasting bond with a certain numinous creature you've been
fooling around with? If so, you might be interested in obtaining a Sacred
Certificate of Short Duration Marriage. It's available at
tinyurl.com/ypxz7y. This convenient license can provide you with the
security of knowing that your commitment doesn't have to be forever.
Maybe that will free you to hurl yourself headlong into the experience. It's
just a suggestion, Aquarius. Do you have any other areas in your life
where you'd like to achieve maximum combustion while maintaining a
sense of safety and security?
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Mahatma Gandhi called his autobiography
*The Story of My Experiments with Truth.* I suggest that you give the
same title to the next chapter of your own epic quest. From an
astrological perspective, it's an excellent time to make the experimental
pursuit of truth your top priority and greatest joy. The best way to launch
the process is to exuberantly suspend all of your fixed ideas about the
way the world works. Be a cheerful skeptic who loves evocative
questions. Be an innocent and curious explorer who thrives on getting
your mind blown by unexpected insights.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): "Dear Rob: Have your apprentices been
composing your column lately? Or have you outsourced the writing to
Vedic fortune-tellers in Calcutta? The horoscopes just don't sound like
you. They're, I don't know, goofier or something. Have you been smoking
more dope than usual? - Lonely for the Old Rob." Dear Lonely: I always
write every horoscope, and I never take drugs. In fact, I think it's YOU
that have changed. Many of you Aries have been so deeply immersed in
mutation lately that you don't realize how much you've mutated. You
assume everyone around you is different only because you don't know
how different you've become.
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This weekly newsletter, which includes my written horoscopes and
excerpts from my books, is always free.
Here are the paid services I provide:
My EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES are weekly spoken-word reports on
your destiny. They're three to four minutes long, and are available at
http://RealAstrology.com.
The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or
1-900-950-7700.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): "I am in continuous pursuit of the color red,"
says artist Andy Goldsworthy, whose specialty is creating large outdoor
sculptures made of natural objects. "As I approach the source of the color
red, the more I understand it." That's why he's so fond of red rocks,
whose hue comes from iron, the same element that makes our blood red.
Your next assignment, Taurus, is to develop a more intimate and
expansive relationship with red. Color therapists say that it inspires vigor,
zeal, determination, and primordial longing. But don't just let the experts
define your connection with red. Find your own meanings, too.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In his poem "The Two Trees," William Butler
Yeats says that one tree is holy and grows within the heart. Its branches
and trembling flowers thrive on joy. The changing colors of its fruit please
the stars, and its leaves give the waves their melody. The second tree has
broken boughs and blackened leaves, and is full of "the ravens of
unresting thought." I bring this to your attention, Gemini, because in the
coming week it really is up to you and your free will which of these two
trees you spend most of your time with. The astrological configurations
have nothing to say on that matter.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): If you cooperate with the cosmic rhythms in
the coming weeks, they will stimulate some interesting changes in the
way your brain works. Here are a few of the developments you can
expect: a five-point rise in your IQ; a boost in your ability to solve puzzles;
a growing knack for heading off bad moods before they even erupt; a
sixth sense for distinguishing between what people say they're doing and
what they're actually doing; and a dramatic improvement in your ability to
know what you don't want.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Leo writer J.K. Rowling is the second-richest
woman entertainer in the world because of her seven best-selling novels
about Harry Potter. It wasn't easy for her in the beginning, however. Her
first book in the series was rejected by eight publishers before
Bloomsbury decided to risk it. I nominate Rowling to be your inspirational
role model for the rest of 2007, Leo. According to my analysis of the
omens, you should be working (and playing) hard to produce an enduring
creation that may take a while to make its mark.
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HOMEWORK: What other sign would you want to be if you could take a
vacation from your actual sign? Why? Show and tell by going to
http://FreeWillAstrology.com and clicking on "Email Rob."
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WANT TO GET YOUR CHART DONE?
I'm not doing personal charts these days, but I highly recommend my
favorite astrological colleague, RO LOUGHRAN. Her approach closely
matches my own. In our many discussions about astrology over the years,
we've had a major influence on each other's work.
Ro utilizes a blend of well-trained intuition, emotional warmth, and a high
degree of technical proficiency in horoscope interpretation; she is skilled
at exploring the mysteries of your life's purpose and nurturing your
connection with your own inner wisdom.
Ro is based in California, but can do phone consultations and otherwise
work with you regardless of geographic boundaries.
Ro's website is at
http://www.YourSoulJourney.com
She can also be reached at roloughran@comcast.net
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2007 Rob Brezsny
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