Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
June 6, 2012
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See a pretty version of this newsletter: http://bit.ly/M2V1Vr
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My book
*PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA*
is available at Amazon: http://bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: http://bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
Here's an excerpt:
TWISTY HEALING STORIES WITH A PRONOIAC THEME
(For more stories, go here: http://bit.ly/TwistyHealing)
Story #1
CONVERSATION WITH ETERNITY
Beauty and Truth Lab researcher Firenze Matisse traveled to Antarctica.
On the first day, the guide took him and his group to a remote area and
left them alone for an hour to commune with the pristine air and
unearthly stillness.
After a while, a penguin ambled up and launched into a ceremonial display
of squawks and stretches.
Firenze responded with recitals of his favorite memorized poems,
imagining he was "engaged in a conversation with eternity." Halfway
through his inspired performance of Thich Nhat Hanh's "Please Call Me by
My True Names," the penguin sent a stream of green projectile vomit
cascading against his chest, and shuffled away.
Though Firenze initially felt deflated by eternity's surprise, no harm was
done. He soon came to see it as a first-class cosmic joke, and looked
forward to exploiting its value as an amusing story with which to regale
his friends back home.
Beauty and Truth Lab researcher Michael Logan was the first person to
hear Firenze's tale upon his return from Antarctica. "You might want to
consider this, Firenze," Michael mused after taking it all in. "Penguins
nurture their offspring by chewing food -- mixing it up with all God's
enzymes -- and then vomiting it into the mouths of the penguin babies.
Perhaps you weren't the butt of a cosmic joke or some Linda Blair-esque
bad review, but in fact the recipient of a very precious gift of love. Who
knows?"
Now Firenze has two punch lines for his tale of redemptive pronoia.
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Story #2
FLIP-FLOP THE TRAUMATIC IMPRINT
Beauty and Truth Lab researcher Artemisia had just begun menstruating,
and was suffering from debilitating cramps. Massive doses of ibuprofen
were not relieving the distress, so she went to her regular acupuncturist,
Dr. Lily Ming, to get relief.
Dr. Ming had Artemisia lie down on the table and proceeded to insert 10
needles in her belly and hand and ear. Then Dr. Ming introduced a
treatment that Artemisia was unfamiliar with: She lightly pounded the nail
of Artemisia's left big toe with a small silver hammer for a few minutes.
"Why are you doing that?" Artemisia asked.
"It is good for the uterus," the doctor replied.
Indeed, Artemisia's cramps diminished as the doctor thumped, and in the
days to come they did not recur.
After the session, as Artemisia prepared to leave, the usually taciturn
Ming started up a conversation. Artemisia was surprised, but listened
attentively as Dr. Ming made a series of revelations. The most surprising
was Dr. Ming's description of a traumatic event from her own childhood.
During the military occupation of her native Manchuria, a province of
China, she was forced to witness Japanese soldiers torturing people she
loved. Their primary atrocity was using hammers to drive bamboo shoots
through their victims' big toes.
The moral of the story: Dr. Ming has accomplished the heroic feat of
reversing the meaning of her most traumatic imprint. She has turned a
symbol of pain into a symbol of healing.
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For more twisty healing stories with a pronoiac theme, go here:
http://bit.ly/TwistyHealing
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Steal This Song: http://bit.ly/w2FFO7
There are 8 million stories
about sex and violence
and I've heard them all
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
MORE PROGRESS IN THE BENVOLENT CONSPIRACY TO CONVERT TO
RENEWABLE ENERGY
German solar power plants are now able to produce electricity equal to 20
nuclear power stations at full capacity, enough to meet a third of its
electricity needs on a work day, Friday, and nearly half on Saturday when
factories and offices are closed.
http://tinyurl.com/cnj58kv
HELPING YOU MEET YOUR MINIMUM DAILY REQUIREMENT OF BEAUTY
A Sea Star
http://i.imgur.com/ApiM6.jpg
THE 99% GET A SMALL VICTORY
France moves to limit senior executives' salaries to a maximum of 20
times that of their lowest-paid employee.
http://tinyurl.com/7n8cmvf
THE EVIDENCE KEEPS ACCUMULATING
A compendium of pronoiac news.
http://PronoiaResources.com
(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 7
Copyright 2012 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The pain you will feel in the coming week will
be in direct proportion to the love you suppress and withhold. So if you
let your love flow as freely as a mountain spring in a rainstorm, you may
not have to deal with any pain at all. What's that you say? You claim that
being strategic about how you express your affection gives you strength
and protection? Maybe that's true on other occasions, but it's not
applicable now. "Unconditional" and "uninhibited" are your words of
power.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): What actions best embody the virtue of
courage? Fighting on the battlefield as a soldier? Speaking out against
corruption and injustice? Climbing a treacherous peak or riding a raft
through rough river water? Certainly all those qualify. But French architect
Fernand Pouillon had another perspective. He said, "Courage lies in being
oneself, in showing complete independence, in loving what one loves, in
discovering the deep roots of one's feelings." That's exactly the nature of
the bravery you are best able to draw on right now, Cancerian. So please
do draw on it in abundance.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In his book *The Four Insights,* author Alberto
Villoldo tells the following story: "A traveler comes across two
stonecutters. He asks the first, 'What are you doing?' and receives the
reply, 'Squaring the stone.' He then walks over to the second stonecutter
and asks, 'What are you doing?' and receives the reply, 'I am building a
cathedral.' In other words, both men are performing the same task, but
one of them is aware that he has the choice to be part of a greater
dream." By my astrological reckoning, Leo, it's quite important for you to
be like that second stonecutter in the months ahead. I suggest you start
now to ensure that outcome.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Harpo Marx was part of the famous Marx
Brothers comedy team that made 13 movies. He was known as the silent
one. While in his character's persona, he never spoke, but only
communicated through pantomime and by whistling, blowing a horn, or
playing the harp. In real life, he could talk just fine. He traced the origin of
his shtick to an early theatrical performance he had done. A review of the
show said that he "performed beautiful pantomime which was ruined
whenever he spoke." So in other words, Harpo's successful career was
shaped in part by the inspiration he drew from a critic. I invite you to
make a similar move, Virgo: Capitalize on some negative feedback or odd
mirroring you've received.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): What is your relationship with cosmic jokes,
Libra? Do you feel offended by the secrets they spill and the ignorance
they expose and the slightly embarrassing truths they compel you to
acknowledge? Or are you a vivacious lover of life who welcomes the way
cosmic jokes expand your mind and help you lose your excessive self-
importance and show you possible solutions you haven't previously
imagined? I hope you're in the latter category, because sometime in the
near future, fate has arranged for you to be in the vicinity of a divine
comedy routine. I'm not kidding when I tell you that the harder and more
frequently you laugh, the more you'll learn.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In addition to being an accomplished
astrophysicist and philosopher, Arthur Eddington (1882-1944) possessed
mad math skills. Legend has it that he was one of only three people on
the planet who actually comprehended Einstein's Theory of Relativity.
That's a small level of appreciation for such an important set of ideas,
isn't it? On the other hand, most people I know would be happy if there
were as many as three humans in the world who truly understood them. In
accordance with the astrological omens, I suggest you make that one of
your projects in the next 12 months: to do whatever you can to ensure
there are at least three people who have a detailed comprehension of and
appreciation for who you really are.
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Free Will Astrology's
EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES
featuring tips and suggestions
that may help you
read your own mind --
in other words,
get in closer telepathic connection
with your own subconscious depths
Register and/or sign in at http://RealAstrology.com.
The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888.
"With your Expanded Audio Horoscopes, I feel like you're collaborating
with me to unlock the deeper mysteries I've been ignorant about even
though they've been influencing me." - Patti L., Minneapolis
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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Yesterday the sun was shining at the
same time it was raining, and my mind turned to you. Today I felt a surge
of tenderness for a friend who has been making me angry, and again I
thought of you. Tomorrow maybe I will sing sad songs when I'm cheerful,
and go for a long walk when I'm feeling profoundly lazy. Those events,
too, would remind me of you. Why? Because you've been experimenting
with the magic of contradictions lately. You've been mixing and matching
with abandon, going up and down at the same time, and exploring the
pleasures of changing your mind. I'm even tempted to speculate that
you've been increasing your ability to abide with paradox. Keep up the
good work. I'm sure it's a bit weird at times, but it'll ultimately make you
even smarter than you already are.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Be on the alert for valuable mistakes you
could capitalize on. Keep scanning the peripheries for evidence that
seems out of place; it might be useful. Do you see what I'm driving at,
Capricorn? Accidental revelations could spark good ideas. Garbled
communication might show you the way to desirable detours. Chance
meetings might initiate conversations that will last a long time. Are you
catching my drift? Follow any lead that seems witchy or itchy. Be ready
to muscle your way in through doors that are suddenly open just a crack.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): An article in the *Weekly World News*
reported on tourists who toast marshmallows while sitting on the rims of
active volcanoes. As fun as this practice might be, however, it can expose
those who do it to molten lava, suffocating ash, and showers of burning
rocks. So I wouldn't recommend it to you, Aquarius. But I do encourage
you to try some equally boisterous but less hazardous adventures. The
coming months will be prime time for you to get highly imaginative in
your approach to exploration, amusement, and pushing beyond your
previous limits. Why not get started now?
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): According to my reading of the astrological
omens, you would be smart to get yourself a new fertility symbol. Not
because I think you should encourage or seek out a literal pregnancy.
Rather, I'd like to see you cultivate a more aggressively playful
relationship with your creativity -- energize it on deep unconscious levels
so it will spill out into your daily routine and tincture everything you do. If
you suspect my proposal has some merit, be on the lookout for a
talisman, totem, or toy that fecundates your imagination.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): If your destiny has gotten tweaked by bias or
injustice, it's a good time to rebel. If you are being manipulated by people
who care for you -- even if it's allegedly for your own good -- you now
have the insight and power necessary to wriggle free of the bind. If you
have been confused by the mixed messages you're getting from your own
unconscious mind, you should get to the bottom of the inner
contradiction. And if you have been wavering in your commitment to your
oaths, you'd better be intensely honest with yourself about why that's
happening.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Diamonds are symbols of elegant beauty,
which is why they're often used in jewelry. But 80 percent of the world's
diamonds have a more utilitarian function. Because they're so hard and
have such high thermal conductivity, they are used extensively as cutting,
grinding, and polishing tools, and have several other industrial
applications. Now let's apply this 20/80 proportion to you, Taurus. Of
your talents and abilities, no more than 20 percent need be on display.
The rest is consumed in the diligent detail work that goes on in the
background -- the cutting, grinding, and polishing you do to make yourself
as valuable as a diamond. In the coming week, this will be a good
meditation for you.
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Homework: Upon waking up for the next seven mornings, sing a song that
fills you with feisty hope. To report results, go to RealAstrology.com and
click on "Email Rob."
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2012 Rob Brezsny
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