Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
February 16, 2011
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A pretty version of this newsletter: http://bit.ly/gxBnYk
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The piece below is excerpted from my book
*PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA*
available at Amazon: http://bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: http://bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
THE EVOLUTION OF EC'STASY
According to ec'stasy expert Rapunzel Blavatsky, the very nature of
ec'stasy seems to be evolving. Researchers at her Berkeley, California-
based Beauty and Truth Lab have found that increasing numbers of
people are able to cultivate a chronic, low-grade rapture that never fully
dissipates. This altered state often sensitizes their perceptions to the
presence of subtle miracles that are hidden from others.
Blavatsky's team has also discovered that for these "everyday
ec'statics," extraordinary stimulation and peak experiences are not
necessary to sustain the constant flow of bliss.
The testimony of one such "everyday ec'static," Sheila Samizdat,
illustrates the phenomenon.
"My handmade, fresh-cooked booster dose of euphoria arrived," Samizdat
reports, "while I was waiting in line at the post office on a Tuesday
afternoon. I already felt pretty good, because a few minutes earlier I'd
witnessed a man and a woman squirting each other in the head with
yellow squirt guns as they embraced and wrestled and conducted a
raucous make-out session in the alley behind the post office.
"But my giddiness really kicked into high gear when an exuberant toddler
in the post office tipped over a trash can, turned it upside down, climbed
up on top, and leaped off as he shouted, 'God sucks!' Meanwhile, the
customer behind me in line was telling someone on her cell phone that she
kissed a lesbian from Amnesty International outside a pungent-smelling
herb shop in Chinatown while a gang of elegantly dressed thugs
orchestrated a drug deal in a nearby alley.
"Moments later, a barely-five-feet-tall Vietnamese man in his 40s,
sporting shoulder-length black hair and wearing an oversize green silk
pajama top, rode a neon pink girl's bike one-handed right through the
open front doors of the post office and into the lobby as he sipped a
Laffy Taffy Blue Vanilla Slurpee and sang 'The Impossible Dream' from the
Broadway musical, *Man of La Mancha.*
"And suddenly I found myself thrust into the throb'bing core of delight,
awash in murmuring, quizzical amazement. The center of my gravity
exploded like a supernova, instantaneously spreading my awareness out
to the size of the universe, turning me into a furious sun-blasted ocean-
soaked wind-cured radiance, arriving everywhere at once from the heart
of the Only Intelligence There Is. And I was home again, worshiping inside
the tabernacle in the wilderness. 'Oh, yeah,' I thought to myself with a
rush of eternal glee, 'Now I remember: I am you and you are me and they
are we and we are they.'"
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
CREATIVE SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS KEEP APPEARING OUT OF NOWHERE
A viable solution to providing enough food: the large-scale, sustainable
cultivation of seaweed. Not only is seaweed rich in protein, it can reduce
our dependence on soy.
http://tinyurl.com/24ho6km
HAVE YOU HAD YOUR DAILY MINIMUM REQUIREMENT OF SHEER BEAUTY?
Was this image taken with a telescope or a microscope?
http://tinyurl.com/2eoh8w2
CAN YOU LEARN FROM CREATURES THAT DON'T SPEAK HUMAN
LANGUAGE? (YES)
*Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology* by David Abram
Learning from all the other intelligences that share this planet with us.
http://tinyurl.com/2efvch4
(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 February 17
Copyright 2011 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Many people know John Mellenkamp's song
"This Is Our Country" because it was used in a commercial for Chevy
Silverado trucks. But if they've only heard it that way, they may be under
a mistaken impression about its meaning. The ad quotes just a fraction of
the lyrics, including "So let the voice of freedom / Sing out through this
land / This is our country." What the ad doesn't include are other lines
like "And poverty could be just another ugly thing / And bigotry would be
seen only as obscene / And the ones that run this land / Help the poor
and common man." Let this serve as a cautionary tale for you, Pisces.
Make sure you get the rest of every story -- not just the partial truth, but
the whole freaking thing.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): "There are nights when the wolves are silent
and only the moon howls," said comedian George Carlin. "There are
mornings when your dreams are more real and important than your
waking life," says my favorite dream worker. "There are times when the
doctor isn't feeling well, and only his patient can cure him," says I. Now it
so happens, Aries, that in the upcoming week, your life is likely to pass
through an alternate reality where all three of the above conditions will
prevail -- as well as other similar variants and mutations.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Hua Chi, a Buddhist monk in China, takes his
devotions very seriously. For the last two decades he has performed as
many as 3,000 prayers every single day in the same exact spot at his
temple. Part of me admires his profound commitment, while part of me is
appalled at his insane addiction to habit. It's great that he loves his
spiritual work so deeply, but sad that he can't bring more imagination and
playfulness to his efforts. I bring this up, Taurus, because I think it's a
good time, astrologically speaking, for you to take inventory of the good
things you do very regularly. See if you can inject more fun and
inventiveness into them.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): "To the scientist there is the joy in pursuing
truth which nearly counteracts the depressing revelations of truth," said
science fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft. The clear implication of this
statement is that there's always a sense of loss that comes with
discovering the way things really are. I protest this perspective. I boycott
it. As proof that it's at least partially wrong, I offer up the evidence
provided by your life in the days ahead. From what I can tell, the
gratification that you feel while hunting down the truth will be substantial,
and yet it will ultimately seem rather mild compared to the bliss that
arrives when you find what you're looking for.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): People listen when Eric Schmidt speaks. He's
the CEO of Google, a company that has major power in shaping the future
of information. In recent months he has been riffing on the disappearance
of privacy. Because our lives are becoming interwoven with the Internet,
he believes it will become increasingly hard to keep any secrets. "If you
have something that you don't want anyone to know," he says, "maybe
you shouldn't be doing it in the first place." This is especially true for you
right now, Cancerian. In the coming weeks, I encourage you to maintain
the highest standards of ethical behavior. The lucky thing about this
situation is that news of the good deeds you do and smart moves you
make are also likely to circulate far and wide.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Six years ago, a friend of mine came to believe
she had died in a previous incarnation by being thrown off a horse. From
that time on, she felt stuck. She became convinced that her life energy
would remain in a state of suspended animation until she learned to feel
comfortable on a horse. Fear kept her from even attempting that for a
long time, but recently she got up the courage to begin. Her efforts were
bumpy at first, but rapidly improved. As she gained confidence as a rider,
every other aspect of her life bloomed, too -- just as she'd suspected. I
think her experience could be useful for you to learn from in the coming
months, Leo. What's your biggest, oldest fear? Is there anything you
could do to start dissolving it?
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IT'S NOT NEARLY AS EXPENSIVE AS PSYCHOTHERAPY
What do you want to be when you grow up? Is it possible that you will
eventually develop beautiful capacities and sublime understandings that
you can't even imagine right now?
I might be able to help you move in the direction of becoming more of the
person you were born to be.
Tune in to my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
Find out more at http://RealAstrology.com.
The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888.
"The best part about your audio horoscopes is that they pat me on the
head and kick me in the ass at the same time." - Rita L., San Diego
"Your audio oracles go beyond helping me find the truth -- they inspire
me to find the WILD truth." - Patrick K., Montreal
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VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): "I'm not confused," said poet Robert Frost.
"I'm just well mixed." I would love that to be your motto in the coming
weeks. You're entering a phase of your cycle when you should be extra
curious about blending ingredients in new combinations. In fact, I'll go so
far as to say that the cosmos will respond enthusiastically if you take
steps to make yourself the embodiment of lush diversity. Celebrate
complexity, Virgo! You will generate unexpected strokes of good fortune
by experimenting with medleys and syntheses that appeal to the jaunty
parts of your imagination.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In addition to their standard offerings, the yoga
teachers at Atlanta's Tough Love Yoga center (toughloveyoga.com)
sometimes offer exotic variations. During their "Metal Yoga" classes, for
instance, the soundtrack for their stretching and breathing exercises is
heavy metal music. Here's their promise: "Melt your face off in a very
relaxing, healing way." That's the spirit I'd like to see you bring to your
life in the coming week: vehemently intense but tenderly curative;
wickedly fierce but brilliantly rejuvenating.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): I would love to see you play with your food
this week. And draw pictures on walls. And have conversations with
winking statues and talking trees and magic toasters. I'll be thrilled,
Scorpio, if you watch cartoons about furry animals outwitting maniacal
robots and if you entertain fantasies of yourself pushing a cream pie in
the face of an obnoxious authority figure. But given how dignified and
discreet you tend to be, I realize the chances of any of this actually
happening are miniscule. Can I at least coax you into hopping, skipping,
and dancing around a lot when no one's watching?
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): "Better keep yourself clean and bright,"
said George Bernard Shaw. "You are the window through which you must
see the world." Take that advice to heart, Sagittarius. This is an excellent
time for you to do any necessary work to get yourself cleaner and
brighter. I'm not at all implying that you're a dusty, greasy mess. But like
all of us, there's a continuous build-up of foreign matter that distorts the
view and that must be periodically washed away. If you do it now, your
work will be extra smart and effective.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The state of Wisconsin is famous for its
cheese, so it wasn't a big surprise when its state legislature decided to
honor the bacterium that's essential in making cheddar, Monterey Jack,
and Colby cheese. So as of last year, Lactococcus lactis is the official
state microbe. I would love to see you decide upon your own most
beloved microbe sometime soon, Capricorn. How about naming
Ruminococcus or Peptococcus as your personal favorite among all of your
gut flora? It's that time of year when it makes cosmic sense to
acknowledge and appreciate all of the small and hard-to-see things that
keep you thriving.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Don't put your shoes on before you put on
your socks this week, OK? Refrain from polishing off a piece of
cheesecake and a bowl of ice cream before dinner, and don't say goodbye
whenever you arrive at a new destination. Catch my drift, Aquarius? Do
things in the proper order, not just while engaged in the fundamental
tasks of your daily rhythm, but also in the long-term processes you're
carrying out. Each step in the sequence needs to prepare the way for the
next step. Keep a clear vision of the organizing principle that informs your
work.
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Homework: What most needs regeneration in your life? And what are you
going to do to regenerate it? FreeWillAstrology.com.
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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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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2011 Rob Brezsny
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