Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
November 18, 2009
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"You need regular doses of unreasonable beauty, sublime anomalies,
beguiling ephemera, and inexplicable joys."
-*PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia*
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The revised and expanded version of my book *PRONOIA IS THE
ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA* is available at Amazon:
http://tinyurl.com/lxpnyt
Go to Youtube and watch me give some pep talks and crazed lectures,
drawn from material in the book. Here's a page with links to many of the
videos: http://tinyurl.com/lyr99n
Or for instant gratification:
"Glory in the Highest": http://tinyurl.com/yhh5jdc
"A Spell to Re-Genius Yourself, Part One": http://tinyurl.com/yz8akpq
"A Spell to Re-Genius Yourself, Part Two": http://tinyurl.com/ydhfw7n
"Evil Is Boring": http://tinyurl.com/yeb9eha
"Pronoia News Network": http://tinyurl.com/yfrkv86
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Now here's an excerpt from the book.
Many visionaries and prophets expect there to be a huge and sudden shift
in the world's story sometime soon. Whether it happens on December 21,
2012 or a later date, a sizable proportion of them even predict that it will
be "in the twinkling of an eye" -- a sudden cascade of events that
completely changes everything everywhere.
Some paint the scenario in broad, catastrophic strokes, expecting
something -- they're not sure what -- that will have the impact of a large
meteor strike or nuclear war or pandemic disease. Others harbor a more
benign but equally fuzzy expectation, speculating that maybe some
higher psychic powers will kick in to the multitudes all at once, or that
benevolent extraterrestrials will arrive to solve our energy crisis.
What very few of the prophets do, however, is make a precise prediction
about exactly will happen. Their visions contain no assurances, no
specifics. And in my view, that's worse than useless. It fills us with a
vague buzz of fear or amorphous sense of hope, but offers no concrete
directions about what to do to prevent the dreaded thing or help create
the hoped-for thing.
And the fact is, as I see it, they can't possibly know what the Big Shift is -
- if, that is, a Big Shift is really looming. The very nature of any Big Shift
will be so unexpected, so beyond our imaginations, and so utterly alien to
what we understand, that we can't possibly delineate its contours in
advance.
I'm reminded of Jung's formula, which is that we don't so much solve our
problems as we outgrow them. We add capacities and experiences that
eventually make us bigger than the problems.
This theory can be applied in reverse: If we have not yet grown wiser than
our current predicament, then we can't see what the evolved state is
beyond the predicament. Our minds are as-yet incapable of embodying
the vision that will catapult us beyond the problem we're stuck in.
When the Big Shift comes, whether or not it comes in the twinkling of an
eye, it will be something that no one foresaw, let alone described in detail.
It will be beyond our comprehension, unlike anything we could have
visualized headed our way. (Thirty years ago, did anyone imagine the
Internet or the impact it's having?)
And if that's true, then the inescapable conclusion is: There's no use
trying to plan ahead for it. It's counterproductive to hold a particular
scenario in our mind as the likely development. And it's downright crazy
to harbor a chronic sense of dread about an unknowable, unimaginable
series of events.
The best way to prepare for a Big Shift is to cultivate mental and
emotional states that ripen us to be ready for anything:
* a commitment to not getting lost inside our own heads;
* a strategy to avoid being enthralled with the hypnotic lure of painful
emotions, past events, and worries about the future;
* a trust in empirical evidence over our time-worn beliefs and old habits;
* a talent for turning up our curiosity full blast and tuning in to the raw
truth of every moment with our beginner's mind fully engaged;
* and an eagerness to dwell gracefully in the midst of all the interesting
questions that tease and teach us.
Everything I just described also happens to be an excellent way to prime
yourself for a chronic, low-grade, always-on, simmering-at-low-heat brand
of ecstasy -- a state of being more-or-less permanently in the Tao, in the
groove, in the zone.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
HAD ENOUGH OF FAIL?
Succeed Blog
A collection of the world's most epic, awesome, mind-blowing Succeeds.
http://succeedblog.org/
I'LL MEET YOU WHERE SPIRITUALITY AND ACTIVISM COLLABORATE
*Networks of Grace: A Guide to Sacred Activism* by Andrew Harvey
http://tinyurl.com/yldafwg
YOU NEED SPLASHES OF BEAUTY EVERY DAY
The World's Best Microscope Photography
http://tinyurl.com/yje5zym
(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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http://www.freewillastrology.com/newsletter/
Become a fan of my Facebook page here: http://tinyurl.com/nkay2n
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning November 19
Copyright 2009 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Have you resolved every last detail of
your unfinished business? Have you tied up the loose ends, flushed out
the lingering delusions, and said your final goodbyes to the old ways and
old days? "Yes," you say? You're absolutely positive? Well then, it is with
a deep sense of pleasure and relief that I hereby unbound you and unleash
you. You are officially cleared for take-off into the wild blue yonder or the
fizzy red vortex or the swirling green amazement, whichever you prefer.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): "There is a saying that when the student is
ready, the teacher appears," writes Clarissa Pinkola Estes in her book
*Women Who Run with the Wolves.* But the magic of that formula may
not unfold with smooth simplicity, she says: "The teacher comes when
the soul, not the ego, is ready. The teacher comes when the soul calls,
and thank goodness -- for the ego is never fully ready." I'd love it if the
information I just provided encouraged you to feel right at home with the
jarring yet nurturing lessons that are on the way.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In the ancient Greek epic poems the Iliad
and the Odyssey, the nature of the psyche was portrayed differently from
the way it is today. It was understood that people received information
directly from the gods -- not as vague feelings or abstract guesswork, but
rather in the form of actual voices. In other words, divine beings spoke
directly to human beings. These days that's regarded as crazy; witness
the incredulous reactions that most smart people had when George W.
Bush said God personally told him to invade Iraq. With that as subtext, I'm
going to prophesy that a deity will soon have a message for you. Be
careful, though. An imposter may also slip you tips that you'd best
ignore. How to tell the difference? The real thing won't make you feel
inflated or urge you to cause harm.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In the coming week, keep a lookout for
invisible snakes, pretend ghosts, and illusory dragons. Be prepared to
gaze upon gruff displays that are no threat to you and hints of
fermenting chaos that will never materialize. In other words, Pisces, your
subconscious mind may be prone to conjuring up imaginary problems that
have little basis in reality. I exhort you to fling them aside like a superhero
brushing off toy monsters.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): "A chief event of life is the day in which we
have encountered a mind that startled us," wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson.
My wish for you, Aries, is that you will have many such days in the coming
weeks. In fact, I hope that you will be blessed over and over again with
the hair-raising thrill of having your imagination pricked, causing it to half-
blossom, half-explode. To get the most out of the fantastic possibilities,
set aside any tendency you might have to be a know-it-all, and instead
open up your heart's mind and your mind's heart as wide and deep as
they will go.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In the beginning of his career, poet Linh Dinh
loved to stay up late and write, sometimes riding a creative surge till
dawn. The power of the darkness unleashed a stark fertility. He was free
to think thoughts that were harder to invoke during the bright hours
when hordes of wide-awake people were pouring their chattering thoughts
out into the soup. Dinh's habits changed as he aged, though, in part
because he got married and chose to keep more regular hours. But his
early imprint has stayed alive inside him. "Now I can write at any time of
the day," he says, "because I always carry the night inside of me." In
accordance with your astrological omens, Taurus, I'm making that your
prescription for the coming week: Carry the night inside you during the
day.
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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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GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Mark, a friend of mine who lives in New Jersey,
sent an overnight package via UPS to Jerry, a friend of his who lives 30
miles away in Pennsylvania. The delivery arrived on time, so Mark was
happy with the service. But in checking the tracking information online, he
discovered a curious thing: His package was loaded onto three different
airplanes, passed through five different UPS offices, and eventually
traveled over a thousand miles in order to arrive at Jerry's house. I expect
there'll be a comparable scenario in your world, Gemini: A wish will be
fulfilled by a very circuitous route.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Strictly speaking -- going purely by the
astrological omens -- I conclude that you would generate amazing cosmic
luck if you translated the Beatles' song "Norwegian Wood" into Punjabi,
wore shoes made of 18th-century velvet, or tried out for a Turkish
volleyball team. I doubt you'll get it together to pull off those exotic
feats, however, so I'll also provide some second-best suggestions. You
won't receive quite as much cosmic assistance from doing them, but
you'll still benefit considerably. Here are the back-ups: Begin planning
where and when you'll take a sacred vacation in 2010; meditate on who
among your current allies is most likely to help you expand your world in
the next 12 months; decide which of your four major goals is the least
crucial to pursue; and do something dramatic to take yourself less
seriously.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The most popular hobby in my home country of
America -- even more popular than owning guns and pressing lawsuits -- is
cultivating fears. From agonizing about being lonely to ramping up
paranoia about pandemic illnesses to worrying about the collapse of the
economy, my fellow citizens love to fret. Outside the U.S., angst
accumulation ranks almost as high on the list of pastimes. Luckily, you
Leos are less likely to wallow than most of the other signs -- especially
these days. That's why I hope you'll take a leadership role in the coming
weeks, when many people will be dipping even deeper than usual into the
fetid trough of scaremongering. Please help dispel this trend! Be your
most radiant and courageous self -- even bigger and brighter than usual.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): An article in the Online Noetics Network
profiled the work of Robert Muller, who served as Assistant Secretary-
General of the United Nations. It said that Muller is "one of the best
informed human beings on the planet," with an "encyclopedic grasp of the
facts concerning the state of the world." And yet Muller doesn't keep up
with the news as it's reported in the media. Instead, he simply talks to
people, either in person as he travels, or on the phone, or through written
correspondence. These interactions provide him with all the
understanding he needs. I recommend that you try Muller's approach for a
while, Virgo. Assume that you can get all the information you really need
by gathering first-hand reports from people about what's actually
happening in their lives.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I think it's high time to mess with the tried and
true formulas. In order to do the most good for the most people, and to
regenerate a wounded and weak part of yourself, you simply must create
some cracks in the way things have always been done. You must push
beyond your overly safe limits. But wait! Before you plunge ahead, make
sure you understand this: If you want to break the rules properly, you've
got to study them and analyze them and learn them inside out.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): "There's nothing in a caterpillar that tells you
it's going to be a butterfly," said philosopher Buckminster Fuller. I
encourage you to make that your personal motto in the coming weeks,
Scorpio. From what I can tell, you are capable of generating a
transformation that will look impossible to casual observers. You have the
power to change something that everyone said would never change.
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HOMEWORK: Make a guess about what you will be most proud of 15 years
from today. Testify 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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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2009 Rob Brezsny
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