Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
June 8, 2011
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For a pretty version of this newsletter go here:
http://bit.ly/jXe45s
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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
ECSTATIC STUDY GUIDE
Strategies for plying a chronic, low-key, blissful union with everything
you're not
1. "Picture the Grand Canyon," says Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield.
"Every hundred years, a child comes by and throws a mustard seed into
it. In the time it takes to fill the hole in the earth with mustard seeds, one
maha-kal-pa will have passed. To perfect the virtuous heart -- the joy of
integrity -- takes a thousand mahakalpas."
If that's true, then you've still got a lot of work to do. The good news is
that civilization is in the midst of a critical turning point that could
tremendously expedite your ripening. So you could make unusually great
progress toward the goal of perfecting the virtuous heart in the next 40
years.
For best results, meditate often on the phrase "the joy of integrity." Get
familiar with the pleasurable emotion that comes from acting with
impeccability. And try out this idea from Gandhi: Integrity is the royal road
to your inner freedom.
P.S. Oddly enough, the work of perfecting the virtuous heart is very
effective in helping you master the art of cultivating everyday ecstasy.
Meditate on the connection.
2. While loitering on a sidewalk outside a nightclub in San Francisco on a
September night in 1994, I found the cover of a booklet lying in the
gutter. Written by Marilena Silbey and Paul Ramana Das, it was called
*How to Survive Passionate Intimacy with a Dreamy Partner While Making
a Fortune on the Path to Enlightenment.* Sadly, the rest of the text was
missing. Ever since, hungry for its wisdom, I've tried to hunt down a copy
of the whole thing, but to no avail.
I'm hoping that maybe you will consider writing your own version of the
subject. If you do, please send it to me.
3. *The New York Times* ran a story about philosopher Nick Bostrom,
who believes there's a significant chance our world is actually a computer
simulation. In his scenario, you and I are living in a version of The Matrix.
Our "brains" are merely webs of computer circuits created by our post-
human descendants, who are studying "ancestor simulations" of their
past. I bring this to your attention because I'd like to invite you to find
out, one way or another, whether Bostrom is correct.
Make it your intention to cultivate a talent for knowing what's real and
what's not. Develop a knack for escaping what's illusory and gravitating
toward what's authentic. If you do these simple things, I bet you will earn
a big reward: a chronic, low-key, blissful sense of union with pretty much
everything that's appealing to you.
Bonus: Even if you do find out that we're living in The Matrix, you could
become a messiah with resemblances to the character that Keanu Reeves
played in the film trilogy. He could fly.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
IF YOU CAN'T FIND ANY PRONOIA, CREATE SOME
Humdrum daily miracles
http://tinyurl.com/3e2ug9o
RADICAL OPTIMISM IS THE MOST REBELLIOUS STANCE YOU CAN TAKE
"We are becoming healthier, cleaner, smarter, kinder, happier, and more
peaceful."
http://tinyurl.com/3odd3fv
JUSTICE IS SPREADING
Bolivia passes laws granting the natural world basic rights
http://tinyurl.com/3h4r2wd
(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 June 9
Copyright 2011 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Primatologist Jane Goodall, who lived for years
among chimpanzees in Tanzania, is one of the world's top experts on the
creatures. Can you guess what her favorite toy was when she was young?
A stuffed monkey, of course. There were no doubt foreshadowings like
that in your own childhood or adolescence, Gemini. Right? Signs of the
magic you would eventually seek to ripen? Seeds of destiny that had just
begun to sprout? Now would be a good time to reflect on those early
hints. You'll benefit from updating your understanding of and commitment
to the capacities they revealed.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): After all these years, the American
presidential election of 2000 still makes me cringe. Because of the archaic
laws governing the process, the candidate who "lost" the election actually
got 543,895 more votes than the guy who "won." How could anyone in
good conscience, even those who supported the less-popular "winner,"
have sanctioned such a result? It was perverse. It was pathological. It was
crazy-making. I'd say the same thing if the roles had been reversed, and
Gore had become president with a half-million fewer votes than Bush. You
must not let something comparable to this anomaly happen in your
personal life in the coming weeks, Cancerian. It is crucial that every winner
be the one who deserves to be. Don't sacrifice what's right in order to
serve corrupt protocol or outmoded conventions.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I dreamed you had been tending an unusual
garden for months. Your crops weren't herbs or flowers or vegetables,
but rather miniature volcanoes. Each was now ripe and stood about waist-
high. They erupted with a steady flow of liquid blue fire that you were
harvesting in large, gold, Grail-like cups. Apparently this stuff was not only
safe to drink, but profoundly energizing. You sipped some of the potion
yourself and distributed the rest to a large gathering of enthusiastic
people who had come to imbibe your tasty medicine. The mood was
festive, and you were radiant. This dream of mine is a good metaphor for
your life in the immediate future.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Darryl Dawkins played professional basketball
from 1975 to 1996. One of the sport's more colorful personalities, he
said he lived part-time on the planet Lovetron, a place where he perfected
his interplanetary funkmanship. He also liked to give names to his slam
dunks. The "Turbo Sexophonic Delight" was a favorite, but the best was
his "Chocolate-Thunder-Flying, Teeth-Shaking, Glass-Breaking, Rump-
Roasting, Bun-Toasting, Wham-Bam-I-Am Jam." I encourage you to try
some Darryl Dawkins-like behavior in your own chosen field, Virgo. Give a
name to your signature move or your special play. With playful flair, let
people know how much you love what you do and how good you are at
what you do.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): According to research published in *The
Journal of Personality* (tinyurl.com/NoToSex), many college students
prefer ego strokes to sex. Given the choice between making love with a
desirable partner and receiving a nice big compliment, a majority opted
for the latter. In the near future, Libra, it's important that you not act like
one of these self-esteem-starved wimps. You need the emotional and
physical catharsis that can come from erotic union and other sources of
pleasurable intensity far more than you need to have your pride propped
up.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): An uncanny stretching sensation will soon be
upon you if it's not already. Whether you're prepared or not, you will be
asked, prodded, and maybe even compelled to expand. It could feel
stressful or exhilarating or both. And it will probably force you to rethink
your fascination with anyone or anything you love to hate. For best
results, I suggest that you don't resist the elongation and enlargement. In
fact, it would be a very good idea to cooperate. As the odd magic
unfolds, it will increase your capacity for taking advantage of paradox. It
may also give you a surprising power to harness the energy released by
the friction between oppositional forces.
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YOU'VE ALWAYS GOT MORE HELP AVAILABLE THAN YOU IMAGINE
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 or
1-900-950-7700.
"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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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You're in a phase of your astrological
cycle when you're likely to be as attractive and endearing and in demand
as it's possible for you to be. I am not making any absurdly extravagant
claims here -- am not implying you'll be as charismatic as a rock star and
as lovable as a kitten -- but you will be pushing the limits of your innate
allure. I bet your physical appearance will be extra appealing, and you'll
have an instinct for highlighting the most winsome aspects of your
personality. To help you take advantage of the potential that's now
available, please add the following word to your vocabulary:
"concupiscible," which means "worthy of being desired."
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Nicolas Cage is a Capricorn. While
performing his film roles, he often loses his composure. Of course the
crazy things he does as an actor aren't real and don't lead to dire
consequences in his actual life. But they afford him a great deal of
emotional release. Let's hypothesize that, like Cage, you could benefit
from expressing the hell out of yourself without causing any mayhem. Is
there a cork-lined sanctuary where you could go and safely unveil
explosions of extreme emotions? Or some equivalent? For inspiration,
check this Youtube compendium of Cage uncaged: bit.ly/CageUncaged.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): My divinations suggest that you'd be wise
to assign yourself an errand in the wilderness. The precise nature of the
errand has not been revealed to me, but I suspect it involves you going to
an untamed place whose provocative magic will tangibly alter your
consciousness, awakening you to some truth about your destiny that
you've been unable to decipher. I also believe your task is more likely to
succeed if you create a small, whimsical shrine there in your ad hoc
sanctuary.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Do you have any idea of how many of your
diapers your mother changed when you were a baby? It was almost
certainly over 1,000. Have you ever calculated how many meals she
prepared for you? That number probably exceeds 10,000. While we're on
the subject, do you remember who taught you to read and write? Can you
visualize the face of the first person besides your parents who made you
feel interesting or well-loved or real? I encourage you to follow this line of
thought as far as you can. It's a perfect time, astrologically speaking, to
visualize memories of specific times you've been well cared for and
thoroughly blessed.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): You have a poetic license, as well as
astrological permission, to be extra cute in the coming week. I mean you
have a divine mandate to exceed the usual levels of being adorable and
charming and delectable. Here's the potential problem with that, though:
*Trying* to be cute doesn't usually result in becoming cuter; often it
leads to being smarmy and pretentious. So how can you take advantage
of the cosmic imperative to be wildly, extravagantly, sublimely cute --
without getting all self-conscious about it? That's your riddle of the week.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): It would be an excellent week for you to
declare war on everything that wastes your time. Well, maybe "declaring
war" is not quite the right spirit to adopt; after all, we don't want you to
go around constantly enraged and hostile. How about if we phrase it this
way: It's prime time for you to ingeniously and relentlessly elude all
activities, invitations, temptations, trains of thought, and habits that offer
you nothing in return for the precious energy you give to them. Of course
this is always a worthy project, but it so happens that you're likely to
achieve far more progress than usual if you do it now.
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HOMEWORK: Tell a story about the time Spirit reached down and altered
your course in one tricky swoop. Write: Freewillastrology.com.
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2011 Rob Brezsny
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