Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
March 6, 2013
+
See a pretty version of this newsletter: http://bit.ly/13F4tvy
+
My book
*PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA*
is available at Amazon: http://bit.ly/Pronoia
or Powells: http://bit.ly/PronoiaPowells
Lots of people I like and admire are not big fans of "God" -- or at least the
fake "God" that the fundamentalists hallucinate about. In an effort to
whip up a new, improved Divine Wow untainted by bigotry and delusion, I
wrote a piece for my book entitled "Re-branding God." An excerpt is
below. You can read it in its entirety here: http://bit.ly/8Nd0M5
RE-BRANDING GOD
1. Philosopher Robert Anton Wilson proposed that the single greatest
contribution to world peace would come from there being over seven
billion different religions -- a unique spiritual path for each person on the
planet. The Beauty and Truth Lab urges you to get started on doing your
part to make this happen. What will your religion be called? What rituals
will you perform? Write down your three core tenets.
2. You'll also need a new name for the Creator. "God" and "Goddess"
have been so overused and abused that most of us are numb to them.
And given the spiritual opportunities that will open up for you as you
explore pronoia, you can't afford to have an impaired sensitivity toward
the Great Mystery.
Here's an idea to stimulate your search: The Russian word for God is
"Bog." The Basques call the Supreme Being "Jingo." To purge your
psychic dockets of built-up fixations about deity, you might try singing
improvisational prayers to "Jingo Bog."
Here are a few other fresh names to inspire you:
Blooming HaHa
Divine Wow
Whirl-Zap-Gush
Sublime Cackler
Chthonic Riddler
3. Since ancient times, China has hosted three religions: Confucianism,
Buddhism, and Taoism. Many Chinese people have cobbled together a
melange of beliefs gathered from all three. This is different from the
Western way, which is to be faithful to one religion or another, never
mixing and matching.
But that's changing in certain enclaves in North America, where growing
numbers of seekers are adopting the Chinese approach. They borrow
elements from a variety of spiritual traditions to create a personalized
path. Religious historians call this syncretism.
As you meditate on conjuring up your own unique mode of worship, think
of the good parts you'd like to steal from other religions.
4. Most religions designate a special class of people -- priests, rabbis,
ayatollahs -- to oversee official communications with the Source. This has
led to a prevailing assumption, even among those who don't follow an
established faith, that we can't initiate a divine conversation without the
aid of a professional class of trained mediators. Among some sects of the
ancient gnostics, in contrast, everyone was regarded as a potential
prophet who could experience epiphanies worthy of becoming part of the
ever-evolving doctrine.
The equivalent today would be if the Bible were regarded as an unfinished
text to which every Christian or Jew might be eligible to add new content.
As you create your own spiritual path, experiment with this do-it-yourself
approach. What might you do to eliminate the middleman and commune
directly with the Source?
There's a lot more to this piece.
READ THE REST HERE: http://bit.ly/8Nd0M5
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
IT'S NOT TOO LATE
Go here to read a compendium of your long-term, big-picture forecasts
for 2013: http://bit.ly/BigLife2013
To hear my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES for your long-range future,
go here: http://tinyurl.com/BigPicture2013
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
PRACTICAL PRONOIA FOR NON-WEALTHY WESTERNERS
49 million people in the U.S.—one in four children—don't know where
their next meal is coming from, despite our having the means to provide
nutritious, affordable food for all Americans. See the trailer for "A Place at
the Table," a movie that wants to fix that problem.
http://www.magpictures.com/aplaceatthetable/
PRACTICAL PRONOIA FOR NON-WEALTHY NON-WESTERNERS
Operation hope -- Permanent water and food security for Africa's
impoverished millions.
http://tinyurl.com/coqnq39
GET YOUR MINIMUM DAILY REQUIREMENT OF BEAUTY
The Everglades
http://imgur.com/r/earthporn/vSqQSjz
(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 7
Copyright 2013 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): "Telling someone your goal makes it less
likely to happen," says musician and businessman Derek Sivers. Numerous
studies demonstrate that when you talk about your great new idea before
you actually do it, your brain chemistry does an unexpected thing. It gives
you the feeling that you have already accomplished the great new idea --
thereby sapping your willpower to make the effort necessary to
accomplish it! The moral of the story: Don't brag about what you're going
to do someday. Don't entertain people at parties with your fabulous
plans. Shut up and get to work. This is especially important advice for you
right now.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Maybe you're not literally in exile. You haven't
been forced to abandon your home and you haven't been driven from
your power spot against your will. But you may nevertheless be feeling
banished or displaced. It could be due to one of the conditions that
storyteller Michael Meade names: "We may experience exile as a lack of
recognition, a period of transition, an identity crisis, a place of stuckness,
or else having a gift and no place to give it." Do any of those describe
your current predicament, Aries? The good news, Meade says, is that exile
can shock you awake to the truth about where you belong. It can rouse
your irrepressible motivation to get back to your rightful place.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Do you have a recurring nightmare that has
plagued you? If so, I suspect it will recur again soon. Only this time,
Taurus, you will beat it. You will trick or escape or defeat the monster
that's chasing you. Or else you will outrun the molten lava or disperse the
tornado or fly up off the ground until the earth stops shaking.
Congratulations on this epic shift, Taurus. Forever after you will have
more power over the scary thing that has had so much power over you.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The following request for advice appeared on
Reddit.com: "My identical twin is stuck in an alternate dimension and she
can only communicate with me by appearing as my own reflection in
mirrors and windows. How can I tell her I don't like what she's done to her
hair?" This question is a variant of a type of dilemma that many of you
Geminis are experiencing right now, so I'll respond to it here. I'm happy to
say that you will soon get an unprecedented chance to commune directly
with your alter egos. Your evil twin will be more available than usual to
engage in meaningful dialog. So will your doppelganger, your shadow, your
mirror self, and your stuntperson.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Usually I advise Cancerians to draw up precise
borders and maintain clear boundaries. As a Crab myself, I know how
important it is for our well-being that we neither leak our life force all over
everything nor allow others to leak their life force all over us. We thrive
on making definitive choices and strong commitments. We get into
trouble when we're wishy-washy about what we want. OK. Having said all
that fatherly stuff, I now want to grant you a partial and temporary
license to get a little wild and fuzzy. Don't overdo it, of course, but
explore the smart fun you can have by breaking some of your own rules
and transgressing some of the usual limits.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In the course of formulating his theory of
evolution, Charles Darwin read many books. He developed a rather
ruthless approach to getting what he needed out of them. If there was a
particular part of a book that he didn't find useful, he simply tore it out,
cast it aside, and kept the rest. I recommend this as a general strategy
for you in the coming week, Leo. In every situation you're in, figure out
what's most valuable to you and home in on that. For now, forget the
irrelevant and extraneous stuff.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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.
"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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Here's a passage from Charles Dickens' novel
*Great Expectations*: "It was one of those March days when the sun
shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and
winter in the shade." Judging from the astrological omens, Virgo, I
suspect your life may be like that in the coming days. The emotional tone
could be sharply mixed, with high contrasts between vivid sensations. The
nature of your opportunities may seem warm and bright one moment,
cool and dark the next. If you regard this as interesting rather than
difficult, it won't be a problem, but rather an adventure.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): "I worked as a hair stylist in Chicago's Gold
Coast for 20 years with some of the most gorgeous woman and men in
the world," writes sculptor Rich Thomson. "Once I asked a photographer
who shot for the big magazines how he picked out the very best models
from among all these great-looking people. His response: 'Flaws. Our flaws
are what make us interesting, special, and exotic. They define us.'" My
challenge to you, Libra, is to meditate on how your supposed
imperfections and oddities are essential to your unique beauty. It's a
perfect moment to celebrate -- and make good use of -- your
idiosyncrasies.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The genius of Leonardo da Vinci was in part
fueled by his buoyant curiosity. In his work as an artist, musician,
inventor, engineer, and writer, he drew inspiration from pretty much
everything. He's your role model for the coming week, Scorpio. Just
assume that you will find useful cues and clues wherever you go. Act as if
the world is full of teachers who have revelations and guidance specifically
meant for you. Here's some advice from da Vinci himself: "It should not
be hard for you to stop sometimes and look into the stains of walls, or
ashes of a fire, or clouds, or mud or like places, in which, if you consider
them well, you may find really marvelous ideas."
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Ready for a reality check? It's time to
assess how well you know the fundamental facts about where you are
located. So let me ask you: Do you know which direction north is? Where
does the water you drink come from? What phase of the moon is it
today? What was the indigenous culture that once lived where you live
now? Where is the power plant that generates the electricity you use?
Can you name any constellations that are currently in the night sky? What
species of trees do you see every day? Use these questions as a starting
point as you deepen your connection with your specific neighborhood on
planet Earth. Get yourself grounded!
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): There's a writer I know whose work is
brilliant. Her ideas are fascinating. She's a champion of political issues I
hold dear. She's well-read and smarter than me. Yet her speech is careless
and sloppy. She rambles and interrupts herself. She says "uh," "you
know," and "I mean" so frequently that I find it hard to listen, even when
she's saying things I admire. I considered telling her about this, but
decided against it. She's an acquaintance, not a friend. Instead, I resolved
to clean up my own speech -- to make sure I don't do anything close to
what she does. This is a strategy I suggest for you, Capricorn: Identify
interesting people who are not fully living up to their potential, and
change yourself in the exact ways you wish they would change.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The German word *Verschlimmbesserung*
refers to an attempted improvement that actually makes things worse. Be
on guard against this, Aquarius. I fear that as you tinker, you may try too
hard. I'm worried you'll be led astray by neurotic perfectionism. To make
sure that your enhancements and enrichments will indeed be successful,
keep these guidelines in mind: 1. Think about how to make things work
better, not how to make things look better. 2. Be humble and relaxed.
Don't worry about saving face and don't overwork yourself. 3. Forget
about short-term fixes; serve long-range goals.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Homework: Describe how you plan to shake off some of your tame and
overly civilized behavior. Testify at Freewillastrology.com
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
2013 Rob Brezsny
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++