Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
November 4, 2009
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http://FreeWillAstrology.com
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"An immense globe of fire continually detonates nuclear reactions in order
to convert its own body into light and heat and energy for your personal
use."
- me
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The revised and expanded version of my book *PRONOIA IS THE
ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA* is eager to be read by you. With 55% fresh
material beyond the original edition (60,000 additional words and 75 new
illustrations). It basically has a whole new extra book inside it.
You can order it at Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/lxpnyt
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One of my favorite sites, Reality Sandwich (http://realitysandwich.com),
is publishing a three-part piece from my new book. It's called "Glory in the
Highest." Read the first two parts here: http://bit.ly/1UBoce and here:
http://bit.ly/1VIp0n.
Here's an excerpt.
GLORY IN THE HIGHEST
Human biology has changed dramatically in the past three centuries, says
Noble Prize-winning economic historian Robert Fogel -- and especially in
the last 100 years. People in the developed world live twice as long as
they used to. They weigh more and grow taller. They're far hardier and
healthier and smarter. When sickness comes, they're better at defeating
it than their ancestors were, and they're not as likely to contract diseases
in the first place.
"We're just not falling apart like we used to," says Fogel. "Even our
internal organs are stronger and better formed." What has occurred is
"not only unique to humankind, but unique among the 7,000 or so
generations of human beings who have inhabited the earth." (Sources:
"The Human Equation," Lydialyle Gibson, http://tinyurl.com/2x3u7o, and
"So Big and Healthy Grandpa Wouldn't Even Know You," Gina Kolata, *The
New York Times,* http://tinyurl.com/rban6.)
We're talking about a revolution. In the mid-19th century, Americans of
all ages were much sicker than they are now. Child mortality was almost
25 percent, and of those kids lucky enough to survive into adolescence,
15 percent more expired before age 15. Chronic malnutrition was a
horrendous curse, compromising immune systems from birth. During the
Civil War, one-sixth of the teenagers who applied to serve in the Union
army were rejected because of chronic ailments like malaria, tuberculosis,
arthritis, cardiovascular problems, and hernias. As for the older folks, the
average ex-_soldier in his 60s had at least six health problems, four more
than a sexagenarian is likely to have today.
What happened between then and now? First, we harnessed electricity,
made it universally available, and used it in a myriad ways to improve our
lot. All of the other boons I'm about to name -- improvements in our diet,
medicine, sanitation, and workload -- were organized around this fantastic,
unprophesied new resource.
Our relationship with food has changed dramatically in the last century
and a half. We discovered more accurate information about our nutritional
needs and gained access to a greater variety and abundance of food. The
perfection of the science of refrigeration and the eventual universal
availability of refrigerators made a big difference, too. Victory over
widespread malnutrition meant that infants got a better start on building
strong bodies, making them less susceptible to sickness throughout the
course of their lives.
The drastic upgrade in the state of the human body was also made
possible by steadily growing medical expertise, including the discovery of
the germ theory of disease and radical new treatments like antibiotics and
vaccination. Physicians got better training, large numbers of new hospitals
opened, and more people made medicine their career. Among the
diseases that were wiped out were diphtheria, typhoid, cholera, whooping
cough, tetanus, tuberculosis, smallpox, and polio.
Innovations in sanitation have been key to the upgrades in the way our
bodies work. Everything and everyone are far cleaner than they used to
be. People bathe more frequently and devote more attention to their
hygiene. Among the most important developments in this triumph were
two practical miracles: indoor plumbing and the installation of municipal
sewer systems. It took a while. As late as 1920, only one in 100
American homes had a toilet or even a bathroom -- outhouses were
standard -- and toilet paper was a luxury. For those few with bathtubs, a
full-body cleanse was often a once-a-week ritual, and entire families might
use the same bathwater. Fogel says that even into the early 1900s,
"Chicago exported a lot of typhoid down to St. Louis," by disposing
wastewater in the Illinois River.
Garbage disposal used to be a hit-and-miss proposition until the 20th
century. Private citizens might bury their refuse in their backyards, take it
to public incinerators, or offer it to pigs at local farms. But eventually,
local governments took over the task. During my lifetime, every city
where I've lived has done a stellar job of hauling my trash away.
In the middle of the 19th century, the average American worked 78 hours
a week, often at exhausting manual labor and without the help of
machines. As work became easier and of shorter duration, our health
soared. Technological aids like washing machines and automatic heating
systems also contributed to the rising tide of physical well-being.
All of the improvements I've mentioned have flourished because of the
most important change of all: greater wealth and more available
resources. Despite periodic economic downturns, per capita income in the
developing nations has grown enormously in the last 150 years.
Elsewhere, too: Wealth in India and China has doubled since 1989,
according to *The Economist* magazine. As a result, more of us have
been able to afford to take better care of ourselves. And more of us have
been able to do the research and experimentation and development that
advance the common good.
Even poor people are better off than they used to be. During the 17
years when my annual income was less than $10,000, well below the
official poverty line, I had many amenities the average American didn't
have in 1900: electricity, telephone, bathtub, toilet, hot running water,
refrigerator, radio, electric hotplate, space heater, TV, cassette player,
shampoo, public transportation, asthma medicine, access to a laundromat,
garbage collection, and sewer system.
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For my account of the background of the above piece, "Glory in the
Highest," go here: http://bit.ly/a3dnP
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
YOU MAY NEED TO RETRAIN YOUR MIND TO GET THE MOST OUT OF
PRONOIA
"We can no longer afford to ignore miracles . . . It is time to enter miracle
consciousness."
http://realitysandwich.com/miracle
THE MYSTERY THRIVES
Six Things Your Body Does That Science Can't explain
http://tinyurl.com/ygntt6g
PRONOIA FOR THE POOR
One man's difficult quest to build schools in the wildest parts of Pakistan
and Afghanistan
http://www.threecupsoftea.com/
(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.
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning November 5
Copyright 2009 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Your anti-role model -- the person you should
be the opposite of -- is the Scorpio warrior, U.S. General George Patton,
also known as "Old Blood and Guts." He once said, "Practically everyone
but myself is a pusillanimous son of a bitch." That's an attitude you
should especially avoid in the coming weeks, since your success will
depend on you seeing the best in people -- even if they sometimes don't
seem to warrant it. P.S. It may be OK to think of yourself as "Old Blood
and Guts" if and only if you dedicate your ferocity to the service of smart
love and ingenious collaboration.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Congratulations, Sagittarius! Free Will
Astrology's Task Force on Creative Suffering has confirmed that your
current dilemmas are exceptionally interesting and useful. You have
demonstrated an impressive talent for getting embroiled in riddles that
promise to bring out your dormant reserves of vitality and ingenuity. The
dumfounding questions you've been wrestling with are high-caliber tests
that have drawn you closer to the heart of the reasons you're here on
Earth. Take full advantage of this beautiful mess, my dear. Chaos this
fertile is hard to come by.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): When Dante was nine years old, long
before he became one of Italy's supreme poets, he fell in love with
Beatrice, an eight-year-old girl he met at a May Day party. They never had
a close relationship. In the years after their initial encounter, they met
infrequently, and both eventually married other people. But Beatrice
played a crucial role throughout Dante's life, although she died at the age
of 24. She was not just his muse, but also his "beatitude, the destroyer
of all vices and the queen of virtue, salvation." Dante even wrote her into
his *Divine Comedy* in the role of a guide. Is there any person or
influence in your life equivalent to Beatrice? Any once-upon-a-time
blessing that might be ready to give you the fullness of the gifts it has
been waiting all this time to deliver?
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I would love it if you could find a sword that
could cut itself. Or a fire that could burn itself. Or some water you could
wash. But even if you can conjure the magic to attract an experience that
simply resembles one of those marvelous paradoxes, it would set in
motion a series of epiphanies that would liberate you from an inferior
paradox -- a confusing absurdity that is not worthy of you and that has
been draining your life force.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The planets are aligned in such a way that
suggests you may be able to experience an orgasm solely by meditating.
This rare cosmic alignment also means that it's conceivable you could
generate money or attract new resources by following your holy bliss, or
that you might stumble upon the tricky treasure you've been looking for
in all the wrong places. But I can't say for sure that you will actually be
able to capitalize on any of these remarkable opportunities. It will depend
on whether you can more fully express one of the skills that is your
birthright as a Pisces: being wild and disciplined at the same time.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): There was a time when wetlands were
considered dismal and unproductive. At best they were thought to be a
waste of space, and at worst stinky breeding grounds for insect pests.
For over 200 years, many marshes, bogs, and swamps were filled with dirt
and transformed into places suitable for farms, houses, and recreational
areas. But all that has changed in the last 30 years. Science has
rehabilitated the reputation of wetlands, showing how crucial they are.
They clean toxins from water, help control floods and soil erosion, and are
home to more biological diversity than any other ecosystem. The coming
weeks would be an excellent time for you to make a comparable
conversion, Aries. Something you once demeaned or underestimated
could become an inspirational catalyst.
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LISTEN TO AN EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE
In addition to the horoscopes 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.
"Your Expanded Audio Horoscopes provide me with the Rest of the Story.
I'm not necessarily a believer in the scientific accuracy of astrology, but I
do think you've got a lot of practical wisdom to impart."
- M. Tennenbaum, New York
"No one knows more about me than me. But you're right up there near
the top of the list of people who do understand something about how I
tick. How is that possible?"
- R. Goren, Albuquerque
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TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In the coming week, you will have the
potential to articulate what has never been spoken before and to name
truths that everyone has been avoiding. Uncoincidentally, you may also be
able to hear what you've never been able to hear up until now and tune in
to truths you've been oblivious to. As you might imagine, Taurus, you
must fully activate both of these capacities in order for either to function
at its best.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Nature's rhythm is cyclical. Everything alive
waxes and wanes. If you're smart, you honor that flow by periodically
letting parts of your world wither or go to sleep. If you're not so smart,
you set yourself up for needless pain by indulging in the delusion that you
can enjoy uninterrupted growth. According to my reading of the
astrological omens, Gemini, this is your time to explore the creative
possibilities of ebbing and slackening. Ask yourself the following question,
which I've borrowed from the Jungian author Clarissa Pinkola Estes: "What
must I allow to die today in order to generate more life tomorrow?"
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Pregnant women sometimes have unusual
cravings. From the fourth to sixth month of her daughter's gestation
period, for example, my friend Marta was on occasion beset by the
longing to eat toothpaste. I've known other women who fantasized about
nibbling on mud, coffee grounds, and chalk. Fortunately, they all resisted
the urge, which is what health practitioners recommend. Instead they
tried to figure out if their bodies were trying to tell them about some
legitimate deficiency of vitamins or minerals. I offer this to you as a
metaphor to keep in mind. As your own special creation ripens, you may
experience odd desires. Don't necessarily take them at face value.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): It might be tempting to turn your home into a
womb-like sanctuary and explore the mysteries of doing absolutely
nothing while clad in your pajamas. And frankly, this might be a good idea.
After the risks you've taken to reach out to the other side, after the
bridges you've built in the midst of the storms, after the skirmishes
you've fought in the Gossip Wars, you have every right to retreat and get
your homebody persona humming at a higher vibration. So I say: Be
meticulously leisurely as you celebrate the deep pleasures of self-care.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): "Hey Rob: I was having trouble finishing my
novel -- typical writer's block. So I sidetracked myself into making silly
creative projects -- papier-mache chickens, masks made out of junk mail,
collages incorporating bottle caps and dryer lint. I can't say any of it is
'art,' but I feel creative again and my house is full of colorful stuff I
whipped up myself. If you wait to be perfect, I concluded, you'll never
make anything. I tried something I knew I'd be bad at, so failure didn't
matter. Now I'm branching out with my inadequacy -- not waiting for Mr.
Perfect but having a beer with Joe Flawed, forgetting to be right all the
time, admitting that I haven't a clue. I've become smilingly, brilliantly
dumb. -Inappropriate Virgo." Dear Inappropriate: Congrats! You're doing
exactly what I want to advise all Virgos everywhere to try.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): At a yard sale today, I paid a dollar for a
stained, pocket-sized horoscope book with many of its pages missing. The
reason I made such an odd investment is that it had a forecast for Libra
for the first part of November 2009, and this forecast struck me as even
more useful than the horoscope I had composed for you. As a public
service, I'm providing it here. "The graceful dragonfly lives for just a few
months. But a sequoia tree's time on earth can last 2,000 years. In the
same way, some bonds, some creations, some worlds, endure for a mere
blink in eternity, while others are destined to outfox the ravages of time.
What will be the lifespan of the dream you recently hatched, Libra? It is
time to decide and take action."
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HOMEWORK: I invite you to launch a crusade to raise the level of well-
being everywhere you go. Report results 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, but I highly recommend my 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://YourSoulJourney.com
She can also be reached at roloughran@comcast.net
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P.S. I totally respect your privacy. I'll never sell or give away your address
to anyone.
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Submissions sent to the Free Will Astrology Weekly Newsletter
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2009 Rob Brezsny
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