Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
March 3, 2010
+
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
+
Imagine it's 30 years from now. You're looking back at the history of your
relationship with desire. There was a certain watershed moment when you
clearly saw that some of your desires were mediocre, inferior, and
wasteful, while others were pure, righteous, and invigorating. Beginning
then, you made it a life goal to purge the former and cultivate the latter.
Thereafter, you occasionally wandered down dead ends trying to gratify
yearnings that weren't worthy of you, but usually you wielded your
passions with discrimination, dedicating them to serve the highest and
most interesting good.
- *PRONOIA*
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The revised and expanded version of my book *PRONOIA IS THE
ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA* is available at Amazon: http://bit.ly/Pronoia
and also at Barnes & Noble:
http://bit.ly/PronoiaBN
+
BUY MY BOOK, PLEASE! OR READ IT FOR FREE!
Dear Free Will Astrology Community:
I've got two favors to ask of you. There's no pressure! If you can't help,
it's perfectly fine and I'll still love you.
My first favor: Buy the revised and expanded version of my book, *Pronoia
Is the Antidote for Paranoia.*
Second favor: Write a review of the book (hopefully positive!) on Amazon
or Barnes & Noble.
Your favors could help me achieve my goal, which is to break even on the
book -- make back my manufacturing expenses -- by 2011. Let me tell
you a bit more about the business of the book so you can get a feel for
what my unique position is.
Most writers have a simple deal with their publishing company. The
publisher pays to manufacture and distribute the book, and the writer
gets a very small royalty, usually from 7 to 10 percent of the profit. Very
few writers make much money in this arrangement, but on the other hand
they don't go into debt.
My relationship with my publisher is very different. I chose to take
advantage of a unique arrangement they offer to a few selected writers. I
agreed to pay for all the costs upfront, including the manufacture of the
books and most of the promotion. In return, I get 74% of the profit from
sales.
This was a risk, obviously, because it's a long haul to make back the
manufacturing expenses, which in the case of PRONOIA, were over
$21,000.
Creating the book was expensive for me in other ways, as well. Because I
wanted to create such a unique layout, I had to engage the services of a
professional book designer to help me execute my schemes and dreams. I
also paid a graphic artist to assist me in carrying out some of my ideas for
the many images that fill the book.
In the end, getting the book ready to be sold online and in stores set me
back $30,000, which as you can imagine was a huge part of all the money
I've saved over the years.
I was willing to take the gamble because I regard PRONOIA as a great book
that has a very good chance of making back my outlay of money and
beyond. Since I get 74% of the profits -- a much higher rate than most
writers -- the chances of me eventually earning some money for the book
are, I think, excellent.
But while sales have been pretty good since the book was released in late
September 2009, I've still got a long way to go before hitting the break-
even amount.
Of course, I'm not asking you to buy the book simply to help me
financially. I think that there's a good chance you'll get a lot out of it!
And if you can't afford to buy the book, there are ways for you to read a
lot of it for free because I've put a good chunk of it online. Here are the
links:
Links to over 40 pieces from the book: http://bit.ly/BTLab
Here are a few more pieces: http://bit.ly/PronoiaExcerpts
The complete "Glory in the Highest," a centerpiece of the new version:
http://bit.ly/HighGlory
And you can peruse 20% of the book on Google Books:
http://bit.ly/GooglePronoia
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
PRONOIA SAYS: THE FUTURE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT
Send a love letter to the future
http://www.loveletterstothefuture.com/
PRONOIA IN THE ANIMAL KINGDDOM
The Ethical Dog
Altruism, tolerance, forgiveness, reciprocity and fairness, are readily
evident in the egalitarian way wolves and coyotes play with one another.
http://tinyurl.com/yfthfxo
BARBARIC ACT OUTLAWED
Uganda Bans Female Circumcision
http://tinyurl.com/ykpplyo
(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.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning March 4
Copyright 2010 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): One of the best new bands of 2009 was the
Girls. *Spin* magazine selected their debut CD *Album* as the fifth best
album of the year. After touring for months and selling scads of records,
the band came back home to San Francisco in February to do a sold-out
show at the Great American Music Hall. For his on-stage apparel, lead
singer Christopher Owens wore baggy orange flannel pajama bottoms and
a rumpled green flannel shirt, proving that his new-found fame had not
rendered him self-important or excessively dignified. I nominate Owens as
your role model this week, Pisces. I'd like to see you move on up toward
the next level in your chosen field of endeavor, even as you remain
perfectly comfortable, full of casual grace, and at home in your
excellence.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): To place yourself in smooth alignment with
planetary rhythms, do conscientious work on the foundations of your life.
Take extra care of the people who take care of you. Make sure you have a
good supply of the various resources that keep you strong and steady.
Check to see if maybe you need to rev up your emotional connection with
the traditions you hold dear. But that's only half your horoscope, Aries.
Here's the rest: Invite your most rambunctious playmates over for a
raucous home-blessing ceremony.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Two-thirds of people surveyed said they
would rather look good than feel good. I hope you're not one of them.
The ironic fact of the matter is that if you put the emphasis on looking
good in the coming week -- creating favorable impressions, acting
dishonest in order to curry favor, wearing uncomfortable but attractive
clothes -- you will end up feeling sub-par and looking mediocre. On the
other hand, if you put the priority on feeling good -- treating your body
like a beloved pet, seeking out encounters that nurture your secret self,
and hanging out in environments that encourage you to relax -- you will
look good and feel good.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): If you're bogged down in the trance of the
humdrum routine, astrology can open your mind and illuminate fascinating
patterns that have been invisible to you. It can reveal the big picture of
your life story, sweeping away the narrow ideas and shrunken
expectations you have about yourself. And it can purge your imagination
of its endless tape loops, awakening you to the power you have to create
your own destiny. But reliance on horoscopes can also have downsides. If
you're superstitious, it might make you even more so. If you're prone to
be passive, believing that life is something that happens to you, it might
further diminish your willpower. That's why, as much as I love astrology,
I'm wary of its potential to deceive and lead astray. Is there anything
comparable in your world, Gemini? Something that feeds and inspires you,
but only if you're discerning about it? This is a good time to ratchet up
your discernment.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): I don't care whether you call it uncanny
intuition or plain old telepathy: In the next three weeks, you will have
unusually abundant access to that way of knowing. So please use it.
Please call on it. It could steer you away from twisty wastes of time that
don't serve your highest good. It might also allow you to ferret out
disguised or hiding opportunities. There's one catch: If you don't believe
in them, your psychic powers won't work as well as they can. So I suggest
you set aside any dogmatic skepticism you might have about them and
proceed on the hypothesis that they are very real.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Let's poke around to see if we can stir up some
good trouble, Leo. The time is right. You're in need of a friendly disruption
or two. Fortunately, I'm sensing there's a forbidden temptation that isn't
so forbidden any longer . . . as well as a strange attractor you might find
inspiring and a volatile teaching that would turn you inside-out in a good
way. Are you willing to wander into a previously off-limits area? Hey, look.
There's one of those mystery spots I was hinting about. I wonder what
would happen if you pressed that green button. Go ahead. Don't be . . .
Gaaaahhhhh! Unnhhh! Wha?! I mean WOW! That was *very* interesting.
Try it again!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MAYBE YOU DON'T NEED MORE, MAYBE YOU DO
Factual information and reasonable thinking alone are not sufficient to
guide you through life's labyrinthine tests. You need and deserve regular
deliveries of uncanny revelation. One of your inalienable rights as a human
being should therefore be to receive mysteriously useful omens on a
regular basis.
In this spirit, I offer you the free weekly horoscopes you read in this
newsletter. If you ever want more, and think it's worth paying for, try my
daily text message 'scopes or my expanded audio 'scopes.
Go here to access them:
http://RealAstrology.com
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You may be prone to overreaction. You could
be on the verge of uncorking an excessive response to a modest prompt.
On a regular basis, you should ask yourself: "Are the feelings rising up in
me truly appropriate for what's happening now? Or are they mostly the
eruption of material that I repressed in the past?" I also encourage you to
consider Hoare's Law of Large Problems, which says that inside every
large problem is a small problem scrambling to get out. Be alert for the
possibility that minor adjustments will work better than epic struggles.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Temple Grandin is a successful autistic person.
Diagnosed at an early age, she nevertheless went on to earn a PhD in
Animal Science and became a bestselling author whose work has led to
notable improvements in the humane treatment of livestock. Although
she acknowledges that her autism has caused her problems, she also
believes it gives her abilities that non-autistic people don't have. For
example, her extreme sensitivity and extraordinary visual memory are at
the root of her unique insights into the needs of animals. If there were an
instant cure for her autism, she says, she wouldn't take it. She's an
advocate of neurodiversity. Now here's my question for you, Libra: Do
you have a supposed weakness or disability that's actually an inherent
part of one of your special talents? Celebrate and cultivate it this week.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Self-help author Barbara De Angelis wrote a
book that offers to help us learn "how to make love all the time." Maybe
I'll read it someday, but right now I'm more interested in your take on the
subject. How would you make love -- not have sex, but make love -- with
your sandwich, with the music you listen to, with a vase of flowers, with
the familiar strangers sitting in the cafe, with everything? Your expertise
in this art is now at a peak.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): It's not a good time to treat yourself
like a beast of burden or to swamp yourself with dark, heavy thoughts.
You're extra sensitive, Sagittarius -- as delicate and impressionable as a
young poet in love with a dream of paradise. You need heaping doses of
sweetness and unreasonable amounts of fluidic peace, smart listening,
and radical empathy. If you can't get people to buoy your spirits and slip
you delightful presents, do those things for yourself.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In some of the newspapers that publish my
horoscope column, my carefully wrought text is buried in the back pages
amidst a jabbering hubbub of obscene advertisements for quasi-legal
sexual services. For readers with refined sensibilities, that's a problem.
They do their best to avert their eyes, narrowing their focus down to a
tight window. I think you'll be wise to adopt a similar approach in the
coming week, Capricorn. Only a small percentage of information coming
your way will be truly useful to you, and it may often be embedded in a
sparkly mess of distracting noise. Concentrate hard on getting just the
essentials that you want so you won't be misinformed and worn out by
the rest.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Do your own stunts, Aquarius. Don't
commandeer a stunt double to do them for you. Accept blame and claim
credit that rightfully belong to you. Don't scare up scapegoats or tolerate
plagiarists. It will also be a good idea to deliver your own messages and
sing your own songs and kick your own butt. No surrogates or stand-ins,
please. There's just no way, you see, for you to get to where you need to
go by having a substitute do the traveling for you. Your only hope of
claiming the reward that will be crucial for the next chapter of your life
story will be to do the work yourself.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
HOMEWORK: What's the title of the story of your life? Tell me by going to
http://FreeWillAstrology.com and clicking on "Email Rob."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NEED TO CHANGE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS?
To join or leave the email list for this newsletter, or to change the address
where you receive it, go to:
http://www.freewillastrology.com/newsletter/
Once you do join, check all the below points to make sure you'll actually
receive the newsletter:
1. Add my address, televisionary@comcast.net, to your address book so
that the newsletter won't be treated as spam and filtered out.
2. Adjust your spam filter so it doesn't treat my address as a source of
spam.
3. Tell your company's IT group to allow my address to pass through any
filtering software they may have set up.
4. If my newsletters don't reach your inbox, look in your "Bulk Mail" or
"Junk Mail" folder.
5. The problems may not have to do with anything you do, but may
originate with your email provider. It may be using a "content filter" that
prevents my newsletter from ever reaching you at all. If you suspect
that's the case, complain. Tell your email provider to stop blocking my
newsletter from reaching you.
P.S. I totally respect your privacy. I'll never sell or give away your address
to anyone.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Submissions sent to the Free Will Astrology Weekly Newsletter
or in response to "homework assignments" may be
published in a variety of formats at Rob Brezsny's discretion,
including but not limited to newsletters, books, the Free Will
Astrology column, and Free Will Astrology website. We reserve
the right to edit such submissions for length, style, and content.
Requests for anonymity will be honored with submissions;
otherwise, reader names, screen names, or initials will be used.
Please be sure to note your preference when sending to us. We
are not responsible for unsolicited submission of any creative
material.
Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2010 Rob Brezsny
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++