Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
August 29, 2007
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http://FreeWillAstrology.com
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"Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology,
even Buddhist ones. All systems of thought are guiding means; they are
not absolute truth."
- Thich Nhat Hanh
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Live at the empty heart of paradox.
I'll dance with you there, cheek to cheek.
-Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks
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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:
THE RICH GET RICHER
"Dear Beauty and Truth Laboratory: Help! My old Buick's transmission is
dead, my credit cards are maxed, my kid's got to see the dentist real bad,
and the one-speed bike I ride everywhere is about to collapse. I'm working
two low-paying jobs already, although I just applied for a more lucrative
gig as a strip-club dancer, only I'm having so much mysterious pain in my
joints I'm not sure how sexy my gyrations will be. Please clue me in to
some tricks that will help me keep a pronoiac attitude in the midst of the
mess that is my life.
-Pickled"
Dear Pickled: Here's the first thing I want to tell you: Pronoia does not
assume that material comfort is a sign of divine favor. The universe is an
equal-opportunity provider, conspiring to shower blessings on every one
of us in the same abundance. But while the blessings may come in the
form of money and possessions, they're just as likely to consist of other
gifts that aren't as concrete.
Here's a hypothetical example. Let's say you have the gift of feeling at
home in the world no matter where you are. The universe has determined
that it's the exact skill you need in order to fulfill the specific purpose you
came to earth to carry out. Having a prestigious job and big salary, on the
other hand, might be exactly what you don't need.
The question of what gifts are essential revolves around your precise role
in the universal conspiracy to perpetrate blessings.
The second meditation I'll offer you is a passage from the Gospel of
Matthew: "Whoever has, shall be given more and more, while whoever has
nothing, even what he has will be taken away from him."
Pronoiac translation: Whatever you choose to focus your attention on,
you will get more of it. If you often think of everything you lack and how
sad you are that you don't have it, you will tend to receive prolific
evidence of how true that is. As you obsess on all the ways your life is
different from what you wish it would be, you will become an expert in
rousing feelings of frustration and you will attract experiences that assist
you in rousing frustration.
If, on the other hand, you dwell on the good things you have already had
the privilege to experience, you will expand your appreciation for their
blessings, which in turn will amplify their beneficent impact on your life.
You will also magnetize yourself to receive further good things, making it
more likely that they will be attracted into your sphere. At the very least,
you will get in the habit of enjoying yourself no matter what the outward
circumstances are.
Bear in mind that you are a great wizard. You can use your powers to
practice white magic on yourself instead of the other kind. The most basic
way to do that is to concentrate on naming, savoring, and feeling
gratitude for the blessings you do have--your love for your kid, the
pleasures of eating the food you like, the sight of the sky at dusk, the
entertaining drama of your unique fate. Don't ignore the bad stuff, but
make a point of celebrating the beautiful stuff with all the exuberant
devotion you can muster.
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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:
IN-YOUR-FACE COMPASSION, ORGIASTIC LIBERATION, ROWDY FEMINSMO
Musician and spoken word performer Alix Olson
http://www.alixolson.com
Her albums:
*Independence Meal* and *Built Like That*
Editor of the book *Word Warriors: 35 Women Leaders in the Spoken
Word Revolution*
Historian Howard Zinn says: "Alix Olson is a brilliant performer, an
ingenious poet, a serious thinker, a funny person. She brought me to my
feet".
JOIN THE CONSPIRACY TO OVERTHROW FUNDAMENTALIST MATERIALISM
"Antimatters," an open-access online journal addressing issues in science
and the humanities from nonmaterialistic perspectives. Free at
http://tinyurl.com/23wjka
- How materialist science seems to be afraid of the afterlife issue
- What Buddhist meditation has to tell psychology about the mind
- Irreducible Mind - Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century
(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 30
Copyright 2007 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): "There have never in history been so many
opportunities to do so many things that aren't worth doing," wrote
novelist William Gaddis. That's important for you to keep in mind during
the coming weeks. You'll receive a flood of invitations, but only some of
them will be intimately related to the unique work you're here on Earth to
do. Those few may be so amazingly useful, though, that they could
dramatically change your life for the better. Please say no to all the
others so you can attend to the good stuff with your heart on fire and
your mind as fluid as a mountain stream.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Have you ever heard of the First Law of Holes?
It says that if you get in a hole, you should stop digging. Please obey that
law in the coming week, Libra. Once you realize there's no other place to
go but down if you continue your course of action, nothing -- not even
your pride -- should keep you committed to that course. Now here's the
Second Law of Holes: If you are able to scramble up out of the hole
before it gets too deep, you should then spend some time filling it in so
that you don't fall into it if you come back that way later in the dark.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Most intelligent people realize that global
warming is underway. This awakening is good, but I'm worried that it may
be diverting attention from a more profound crisis: the Mass Extinction
Event that's killing off animal and plant species at a pace unmatched since
the demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. The possibility of there
being future draughts, rising ocean levels, and crazy weather is daunting,
but the more devastating fact is that Earth's precious eco-diversity is
dying *now* -- not just from global warming, but also from pollution and a
host of other mischief caused by humans. What does this have to do with
your horoscope, I mean besides it being a call to expand your
understanding of our planet's environmental crisis? The scenario I've
described is a metaphor for your personal life. What important issue might
you be obsessing on in a way that blinds you to an even more all-
encompassing issue?
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AUDIO LOVE LETTERS
Averaging three-and-a-half to four minutes in length, my expanded
audio horoscopes are a wholly different experience than the
print oracle you read here.
Drawing on traditional charting, divination, and the power of spoken word
performance, these readings bring out the down-to-earth advisor and
helper in me.
Try them at http://RealAstrology.com.
They're are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888
or 1-900-950-7700.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The largest rubber duck race in history
took place last year on Ireland's River Liffey, with 150,000 yellow vinyl
contestants vying to cross the finish line first. It was a charity event to
raise money for sick children. I mention this, Sagittarius, because if
anyone could organize an adventure that would top that extravaganza, it
would be you in your current state. You're at the peak of your power to
marshal the forces of playfulness in a holy cause.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Last November, Major League Baseball
announced that New York Mets' pitcher Guillermo Mota had tested
positive for steroids and would therefore be suspended for 50 games at
the beginning of the new season. A month later, the Mets signed Mota to
a new, two-year $5 million contract, despite knowing that his recent
accomplishments on the baseball field had almost certainly been inflated
by the steroids' boost. I foresee a comparable scenario unfolding in your
life, Capricorn. You'll be rewarded in the wake of a penalty or limitation
that was imposed on you, and the gain will outstrip the loss. It may even
be the case that the good thing coming your way will be related to or
aided by the "bad" thing you did.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): "I'm interested in the boundaries where
things change into other things," writes Orene, one of my MySpace
friends. Those boundaries should be your primary hang-out in the coming
weeks, Aquarius. They are where all the most interesting action will be, as
well as the teachings you need most. Would you like some foreshadowing
about what things will be changing into other things? Pay close attention
to your dreams for clues, and muse on this list: goodbyes that morph into
awakenings; banishments that become pilgrimages; adversaries who
transform into allies; decay that alchemizes into splendor; and serpent
energy that turns into spiritual fire.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): While snorkeling in the ocean off the coast of
Hawaii's Big Island, I had a conversation with a dolphin. She gave me
clarity concerning a question I've been wondering about. I asked her,
"What can Pisceans do to make sure their overflowing emotions don't
cause the kind of chaos that undermines their ability to get things done?"
I swear the dolphin answered me telepathically, because even though I
couldn't understand the hubbub of shrieks and clicks she unleashed in
response to my inquiry, my mind was suddenly filled with the following
thoughts: Pisceans must love their oceanic emotions unconditionally . . .
must see their endless inundation as a privilege and a blessing . . . must
learn to surf the endless tidal wave not with a fearful sense of being a
victim but with an exhilarated gratitude for the primal power of the
adventure.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Fresh Witty Allegories
Fine When Aroused
Flagrant Warrior Artists
Free Will Astrology
An expanded audio horoscope from a
Fortuneteller With Attitude
*
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.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ARIES (March 21-April 19): "Here's how you can tell if you have a bad
psychotherapist or counselor," says my friend Laura. "She or he buys into
all your BS, never questions your delusions, and builds your self-esteem
even if that makes you into an a**hole." I agree with Laura's assessment,
which is why I'm going to spend our short time together today calling you
on your BS, prodding you to get introspective about your delusions, and
not pumping up the parts of your ego that really should be melted down.
Next week maybe we'll get back to gazing adoringly into each other's
eyes, but right now you'll benefit from some tough love.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): This will be an excellent time to read five
books simultaneously, snack constantly on delicacies while avoiding heavy
meals, climb a tree with an adventurous friend and make careful yet wild
love right there, refuse to practice any form of meditation that doesn't
involve laughing, buy ten cheap alarm clocks and smash them with a
hammer out in the middle of a meadow, pretend to be a feral teenager
who's allergic to civilization, and throw invisible stones at any god, angel,
or genie who won't help you get the love you want.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): American poet William Stafford, winner of the
National Book Award in 1963, wrote a poem every morning for 40 years.
"I keep following the hidden river of my life," he said. "And I don't have
any sense of its coming to a crescendo, or of its petering out either. It is
just going steadily along." I'd like to nominate Stafford to be your
honorary role model, Gemini. Here's your assignment: Every morning for
the next 20 days, carry out a brief ritual (no more than a few minutes
long) that feeds your lust for life and engenders a blessing for yourself or
someone you care about.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Your assignment in the coming week is simple
but tricky: Take devalued ideas or trivial objects or demeaning words, and
transform them into things that are fun, interesting, or useful. Here are
some precedents to inspire you: what the punk movement did when it
made safety pins into earrings; what gays did when they mutated the
insulting term "queer" into a word of power; what the resourceful TV hero
MacGyver did when he put powdered make-up into a confetti cannon and
shot it at evil CIA operatives, temporarily blinding them and allowing him
to escape.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): It's a perfect time to work more intensely on
cultivating a healthy relationship between money and your soul. For
inspiration, read this wise counsel, articulated by Margaret Young and
quoted in Julia Cameron's *The Artist's Way.* "Many people attempt to
live their lives backwards. They try to have more money in order to do
more of what they want so they will be happier. The way it actually works
is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you
need to do, in order to have what you want."
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HOMEWORK: Tell what you love or appreciate that no one else does. Go to
RealAstrology.com; click 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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