Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
September 21, 2011
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See a pretty version of this newsletter: http://bit.ly/oPB8s8
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If you haven't actually read my book *Pronoia Is the Antidote for
Paranoia,* you may be surprised at a lot of the stuff it contains. It's a
genre-bending thing that doesn't fit into the neat expectations and
prejudices of either my critics or fans.
It's available at Amazon: http://bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: http://bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
Here's a piece from the book:
FURTHER EVIDENCE
In our quest to insinuate pronoia into dinner table discussions taking place
all over the world, we bring the following pieces of evidence to your
attention.
Exhibit A
The bible of the mental health community is a 943-page textbook called
the *Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth
Edition,* or *DSM-IV.* Published by the American Psychiatric Association,
it's a standardized catalog of psychological disorders that therapists use
to evaluate and treat their patients.
Surprise! This ultimate word on the state of the human psyche describes
countless pathological states, but there's not a single entry referring to
good mental health.
You might imagine that shrinks would be mildly interested not only in
fixing what's wrong with their patients but also in helping them cultivate
what feels good. But how can that happen if the feel-good states aren't
even recognized as important enough to name?
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Exhibit B
David G. Myers and Ed Diener authored an article called "The Science of
Happiness." "What causes happiness?" they inquired. "This question not
only went largely unanswered during psychology's first century, it went
largely unasked." They note that from 1967 to 1995, essays on negative
emotions far outnumbered those on positive emotions in the
psychological literature. The ratio was 21:1.
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Exhibit C
Even those supreme perpetrators of pop nihilism, *The New York Times*
and *The Washington Post,* have a better ratio than the psychological
literature. They average only 12 negative stories to every one that might
be construed to be non-negative. Most other daily newspapers maintain a
similar proportion.
Many of their non-negative stories, however, cover success in sports and
entertainment. For example: The Atlanta Braves won their eighth straight
game; the new book by Malcolm Gladwell is pretty decent. Remove these
feel-good stories from the equation, and the media's Curse Quotient rises
closer to that of the psychological literature.
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Exhibit D
In his book *Omens of Millennium,* Harold Bloom hints at the "reductive
fallacy" that serves as a shibboleth for intellectuals. Picture yourself, he
says, in conversation with a bright, literate acquaintance who asks you
about someone you know well: "Tell me what he or she is really like." You
reflect a moment and give a brief description of your impressions, but
your acquaintance isn't satisfied: "No, I mean really like." And now you
grasp the actual question: "What is the very worst thing you can say
about him or her that is true?"
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Exhibit E
Thousands of amazing, inexplicable, wondrous, and even supernatural
events occur every day. And yet most are unreported by the media. The
few that are cited are ridiculed.
Why? Here's one possible reason: The people most likely to believe in
miracles are superstitious, uneducated, and prone to having a blind,
literalist faith in their religions' myths. Those who are least likely to
believe in miracles are skilled at analytical thought, well educated, and yet
prone to having a blind, literalist faith in the ideology of materialism,
which dogmatically asserts that the universe consists entirely of things
that can be perceived by the five human senses or detected by
instruments that scientists have thus far invented.
The media is largely composed of people from the second group. It's
virtually impossible for them to admit to the possibility of miracles, let
alone experience them. If anyone from this group manages to escape peer
pressure and cultivate a receptivity to miracles, it's because they have
successfully fought against being demoralized by the unsophisticated way
miracles are framed by the first group.
At the Beauty and Truth Lab we're immune to the double-barreled
ignorance. When we behold astonishing synchronicities and numinous
breakthroughs that seem to violate natural law, we're willing to consider
the possibility that our understanding of natural law is too narrow. And
yet we also refrain from lapsing into irrational gullibility; we actively seek
mundane explanations for apparent miracles.
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Exhibit F
Wes Nisker wrote a book called *If You Don't Like the News . . . Go Out
and Make Some of Your Own.*
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Exhibit G
Have you personally encountered evidence of any of the following
phenomena?
1. bliss that flows toward you because you've made a habit of
expecting it and cultivating it;
2. good news that's really interesting; fascinating stories that
provide an antidote to the media's obsession with hardship, anguish,
deterioration, and death;
3. states of emotional wealth and psychological health: raw
material for the manual that will be the corrective for the *DSM-IV;* the
missing half of the story;
4. mirabilia: mysterious revelations, rejuvenating prodigies,
ineffable breakthroughs, beguiling ephemera, sudden deliverance from
boring evils;
5. plain old everyday miracles;
6. the good news you've gone out and created.
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
SMART PEOPLE ARE CONSPIRING BEHIND THE SCENES TO ENHANCE LIFE
ON THIS PLANET
21 Scientific Research Projects That Could Change the World
http://tinyurl.com/44kd2hn
ANOTHER ORDINARY EVERYDAY MIRACLE
Heroes risk their lives to save a motorcyclist beneath a burning car
http://tinyurl.com/65alawn
GOOD ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS
Huge Boost in Fish Numbers in Cabo Pulmo National Park
http://tinyurl.com/3exeqnr
(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 September 22
Copyright 2011 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Your theme for the week comes from travel
writer Stephen Graham in his book *The Gentle Art of Tramping*: "As you
sit on the hillside, or lie prone under the trees of the forest, or sprawl
wet-legged on the shingly beach of a mountain stream, the great door,
that does not look like a door, opens." I can't wait to see the expression
on your face when a portal like that appears for you sometime in the near
future, Libra. I expect your mood will be a mix of surprise, humility,
vindication, joy, and a pleasant kind of shock. By the way, you won't
necessarily have to be out in nature in order to become aware of the
opening door. But it will probably be crucial for you to simulate the state
that nature evokes in you. That's why I suggest you rev up your aptitude
for innocence and make sure your sense of wonder is turned on full blast.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): More than a 100 years ago, a team of British
adventurers led by Ernest Shackleton trekked across Antarctica,
attempting to reach the South Pole. They ran out of supplies and had to
turn back before reaching their goal. In 2006, modern-day explorers
discovered a cache of stuff Shackleton had been forced to leave behind,
stashed in the ice. It included two cases of whiskey. Some of the century-
old liquor found its way back to England, where it was quaffed by a few
daring souls eager for an exotic taste. I suspect you may soon stumble
upon a metaphorically similar curiosity, Scorpio: something like old spirits
preserved in ice. My advice: Try a small sample and wait a while to see
what effect it has before imbibing the whole thing.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Punk musician Wesley Willis was fond of
greeting friends and audience members alike with a headbutt. So prolific
was he in employing this ritual that he developed a permanent callus on
his forehead. Now would be an excellent time for you to make this
tradition your own, Sagittarius. Just think of all the affection you'll
generate and all the great conversations you'll stimulate by ramming
people! JUST KIDDING! I was exaggerating a bit. It's true that now is an
excellent time to ramp up your friendliness and expand your social reach.
But you probably shouldn't engage in full-tilt headbutting unless you're
extroverted, gregarious, and so extravagantly charming you can get away
with it.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In Japan you can buy Vaam, a sports
energy drink that contains hornet saliva. It acquired a legendary
reputation after Japanese marathon runner Naoko Takahashi said she used
it to propel herself to a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics. Vaam's
creator, biochemist Takashi Abe, claims there is scientific evidence that it
works as well for humans as it does for wasps, which fly as much as 70
miles a day. According to my reading of the astrological omens, the
cosmos will be infusing you with a metaphorical version of hornet saliva in
the coming weeks, Capricorn. You'll have the power to go further and be
stronger for longer periods of time.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I gathered together a panel of renegade
astrologers to investigate your imminent future. By a unanimous vote,
they designated you, out of all the signs of the zodiac, as the one "Most
Likely to Exceed the Boring Limitations of Good Taste," as well as "Best
Candidate to Slap the Conventional Wisdom Upside the Head." That
sounds fun. I hope you make good use of the freedom that those roles
entail. By the way, the general consensus also suggested that you are
primed to find valuable stuff in out-of-the-way borderlands or in off-limits
haunts where no one else even wants to look.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You're on course for a warm, wet, soft
collision with the enigmas of the libido. I urge you to give yourself fully to
the exploration, even if it stirs up feelings you have no names for. In my
opinion, the best way to use your intelligence right now is to undertake a
rigorous investigation into the heights and depths of your passion . . . to
experiment with new guidelines for your instinctual nature . . . to make
yourself extra receptive to the spiritual teachings available through erotic
communion.
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Free Will Astrology's
EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
feature advice you can use
to transform yourself
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in accordance with your soul's code
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Try them at http://RealAstrology.com.
They're available by phone at 1-877-873-4888
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They're $6 if you access them on the Web, or $1.99 per minute over the
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"With your Expanded Audio Horoscopes, I feel like you have somehow
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keeping from myself." Tara R., San Antonio, TX
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ARIES (March 21-April 19): "I have a simple philosophy," said Alice
Roosevelt Longworth, a self-described hedonist who lived till the age of
96. "Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. Scratch where it itches." That's
not an approach I recommend you pursue all the time, Aries, but I think it
could be both wise and fun for you to do so in the coming weeks. Given
the upcoming astrological omens, you have a mandate to find out where
the most interesting action is, and dive in with the intent to generate
even more action. The catalysts need another catalyst like you.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A guy on Reddit.com posted a photo that
made me think of you. He had been out walking in the wilds of Ontario,
and found a single ripe peach growing on a scraggly, skinny tree in the
middle of an abandoned quarry. There were no other peach trees in sight,
let alone peaches. I suspect that when you find beauty and sustenance in
the coming days, Taurus, they will be in similar situations: unexpected and
unlikely. That doesn't mean they'll be any less sweet. (See the peach:
http://bit.ly/lonelypeach.)
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): If you've ever been to a flavor-tripping party,
you've eaten "miracle fruit" -- berries with the scientific name Synsepalum
dulcificum. They coat your tongue with a substance that makes all
subsequent foods taste sweet. The effect lasts no more than an hour, but
while it does, lemons, radishes, and pickles may as well be desserts. Be
alert for a metaphorical version of the miracle fruit, Gemini. There's an
influence coming your way that could temporarily make everything else
seem extra delectable. As long as you're aware of what's happening, it will
be a quirky blessing.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Born in Austria, Susanne Wenger became a
high priestess of the Yoruba religion in Nigeria. When she died in 2009 at
the age of 93, she had devoted the last 50+ years of her life to
protecting and beautifying a sacred forest in the Osogbo area. It's hard
for most of us to imagine loving a place as much as she did, but that's
what I'm encouraging you to do. According to my reading of the
astrological omens, you will accrue unforeseen benefits by becoming more
deeply connected to a special patch of earth. To do so will awaken a
dormant part of your soul, for one thing. It could also advance one of
your lifelong quests, which is to feel ever-more at home in the world.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): "Personally I'm always ready to learn," said
Winston Churchill, "although I do not always like being taught." You may
soon find yourself sharing that paradoxical state of mind, Leo. It's time
for you to receive the new teachings you have been unconsciously
preparing yourself to absorb. But at least in the early stages, these useful
lessons may get on your nerves or make you squirm. Stick with them.
Keep the faith. Sooner or later, your crash course will become enjoyable.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): "Our job is to become more and more of what
we are," says poet Marvin Bell. "The growth of a poet seems to be related
to his or her becoming less and less embarrassed about more and more."
Whether or not you're a poet, Virgo, I would like to apply this gauge to
your own growth. The way I see it, your power to claim your birthright
and fulfill your destiny will ultimately hinge to a significant degree on your
ability to shed all residual shame about your true nature. And guess what:
There has never been a better time to work on that noble project than
right now.
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Homework: Who's the person you'd most like to meet and have a drink
with? Why? Testify at Freewillastrology.com.
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2011 Rob Brezsny
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