Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter http://ezezine.com
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
June 11, 2014
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Tip Jar for Me: http://bit.ly/TipsforRob
Sign up for daily horoscopes via text message: http://bit.ly/Sunbursts
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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:
PRONOIA'S VILLAINS
According to Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges, Judas was actually a
more exalted hero than Jesus. He unselfishly volunteered to perform the
all_important villain's role in the resurrection saga, knowing he'd be reviled
forever. It was a dirty job that only a supremely egoless saint could have
done. Jesus suffered, true, but enjoyed glory and adoration as a result.
Let's apply this way of thinking to the task of understanding the role
that seemingly bad people play in pronoia.
Interesting narratives play an essential role in the universal conspiracy to
give us exactly what we need. All of us crave drama. We love to be
beguiled by twists of fate that unfold the stories of our lives in
unpredictable ways. Just as Judas played a key role in advancing the tale
of Christ's quest, villains and con men and clowns may be crucial to the
entertainment value of our personal journeys.
Try this:_Imagine the people you fear and dislike as pivotal characters
in a fascinating and ultimately redemptive plot that will take years or even
lifetimes for the Divine Wow to elaborate.
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There is another reason to love our enemies: They force us to become
smarter. The riddles they thrust in front of us sharpen our wits and sculpt
our souls.
Try this: Act as if your adversaries are great teachers. Thank them for
how crucial they've been in your education.
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Consider one more possibility: that the people who seem to slow us down
and hold us back are actually preventing things from happening too fast.
Imagine that the evolution of your life or our culture is like a pregnancy: It
needs to reach its full term. Just as a child isn't ready to be born after
five months of gestation, the New Earth we're creating has to ripen in its
own time. The recalcitrant reactionaries who resist the inevitable birth are
simply making sure that the far-seeing revolutionaries don't conjure the
future too suddenly. They serve the greater good.
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BE YOUR OWN SAVIOR
Some Christians believe Jesus will come back to fix this corrupt world.
Certain Jewish sects propose that the messiah will soon appear on Earth
for the first time. Among Muslims, many predict the legendary Twelfth
Imam will return and bring salvation to humanity.
In India, devotees of Vishnu expect the avatar Kalki to arrive on the scene
and carry out a series of miraculous redemptions. Even Buddhists
prophesy Maitreya, the chosen one who will establish universal peace.
My divinations foretell a very different scenario. I suspect that the whole
point of our spectacularly confounding moment in history is that each of
us must become our own savior. And if we hope to accomplish that,
relying on our best amateur efforts, we will have to stop waiting around
for a supposed professional to do our work for us.
Franz Kafka had a view that's not necessarily mutually exclusive with
mine:_"The messiah will come when we don't need him anymore."
Let's also consider the evidence offered by William Blake, as quoted in
*Poets and God* by David L. Edwards: "Jesus Christ is the only God. And
so am I. And so are you."
One more clue, this time from Deepak Chopra: "Every person is a God in
embryo. Its only desire is to be born."
- http://bit.ly/Pronoia
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I invite you to write down brief descriptions of the five most pleasurable
moments you've ever experienced in your life. Let your imagination dwell
lovingly on these memories for, say, 20 minutes. And keep them close to
the surface of your awareness in the next three days.
If you ever catch yourself slipping into a negative train of thought,
interrupt it immediately and compel yourself to fantasize about those Big
Five Ecstatic Moments.
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What were you doing a year ago today? Check out my horoscopes for this
time of year in 2013 and see if my oracle was applicable to what you
were going through: http://bit.ly/11VpfRn
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Acupuncture, Yoga, and Massage: Not Just for Rich People
From Oakland to Brooklyn, practitioners of holistic health care are working
to make their services affordable for all.
http://tinyurl.com/kuf3exw
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How the Real Teens Behind "The Fault in Our Stars" Are Bringing Empathy
to the Internet
They call themselves "nerdfighters"—and they're unlike any movement
you've seen before.
http://tinyurl.com/qh4j943
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That Book About Inequality That's Sold Out of Bookstores? Here's What It
Means for 2016
The popularity of Piketty's book should be a wake-up call for politicians. If
inequality sells in the stores, it will sell at the polls as well.
http://tinyurl.com/kwzkzeo
(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 12
Copyright 2014 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Your brain absorbs about 11 million pieces of
information every second, but is consciously aware of less than .001
percent of all that richness. Or at least that's usually the case. Having
analyzed your astrological omens, I suspect that you might soon jack that
figure up as high as .01 percent -- a ten-fold increase! Do you think you
can handle that much raw input? Are you amenable to being so acutely
perceptive? How will you respond if the world is a ten times more vivid
than usual? I'm pretty confident. I suspect you won't become a bug-eyed
maniac freaking out on the intensity, but rather will be a soulful, wonder-
filled explorer in love with the intensity.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): You have a strong, intricate understanding of
where you have come from. The old days and old ways continue to feed
you with their mysterious poignancy. You don't love every one of your
past experiences, but you love ruminating about them and feeling the way
they changed you. Until the day you die many years from now, your
history will keep evolving, providing an endless stream of new teachings.
And yet at this particular moment in your destiny, Cancerian, I think your
most important task is to focus on where you are going to. That's why I
urge you to temporarily forget everything you think you know about your
past and instead concentrate on getting excited about the future.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In 1928, Bobby Pearce won a gold medal in
rowing at the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. An unforeseen event
almost sabotaged his victory. As he rowed his boat along the Sloten
Canal, a family of ducks swam leisurely from shore to shore directly
across his path. He stopped to let them pass, allowing an opponent who
was already ahead of him to gain an even bigger advantage. Yet he
ultimately won the race, rowing with such vigor after the duck incident
that he finished well ahead of his challenger. I foresee a comparable
sequence in your life, Leo. Being thoughtful and expressing compassion
may seem to slow you down, but in the end that won't hinder you from
achieving your goal -- and may even help.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In one of her "Twenty-One Love Poems,"
Adrienne Rich talks about her old self in the third person. "The woman
who cherished / her suffering is dead. I am her descendant. / I love the
scar tissue she handed on to me, / but I want to go from here with you /
fighting the temptation to make a career of pain." With your approval,
Virgo, I'd like to make that passage one of your keynotes in the coming
months. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you will have
an excellent opportunity to declare your independence from an affliction
you've been addicted to. Are you willing to say goodbye to one of your
signature forms of suffering?
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): "You should be interviewing roses not people,"
says a character in Anne Carson's book *The Autobiography Of Red.*
That's sound poetic advice for you in the coming days, Libra. More than
you can imagine, you will benefit from being receptive to and learning
from non-human sources: roses, cats, dogs, spiders, horses, songbirds,
butterflies, trees, rivers, the wind, the moon, and any other intelligences
that make themselves available to you. I'm not saying you should ignore
the revelations offered by people. But your emphasis should be on
gathering in wisdom from life forces that don't communicate with words.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): William Shockley was a Nobel Prize-winning
physicist who co-invented the transistor. He also helped launch the
revolution in information technology, and has been called "the man who
brought silicon to Silicon Valley." *Time* magazine named him one of the
hundred most influential people of the 20th century. On the other hand,
Shockley became a controversial advocate of eugenics, which damaged
his reputation, led many to consider him a racist, and played a role in his
estrangement from his friends and family. I suspect that you will have to
deal with at least one Shockley-type phenomenon in the coming weeks,
Scorpio. Will you overlook the bad stuff in order to take advantage of the
good? Should you?
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FEELING JOYOUS STIMULATES YOUR COMPASSION?
Assume that your drive to experience pleasure isn't a barrier to your
spiritual growth, but is in fact essential to it. Proceed on the hypothesis
that cultivating joy can make you a more ethical and compassionate
person. Imagine that feeling good has something important to teach you
every day.
For inspiration in practicing this approach, tune in to your Expanded Audio
Horoscopes. They're four-to-five-minute meditations on the current state
of your destiny. The cost is $6 per reading, with a discount for multiple
purchases.
Go here to register and/or sign in: http://RealAstrology.com/
They're available on your tablets and smart phones as well as your
computers.
You can also listen over the phone by calling
1-877-873-4888
"I always feel like I know myself better after listening to your audio
'scopes."
-June R., Austin, TX
"Your audio horoscopes calm me down when I'm too manic and pep me up
when I'm down."
-Arthur T., Cleveland, OH
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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Novelist Herman Melville wrote that in
order to create art, "unlike things must meet and mate." Like what? "Sad
patience" and "joyous energies," for example; both of them are
necessary, he said. "Instinct and study" are crucial ingredients, as well as
humility and pride, audacity and reverence, and "a flame to melt" and a
"wind to freeze." Based on my interpretation of the astrological omens,
Sagittarius, I believe you will soon need to meld opposites like these as
you shape that supreme work of art -- your life.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Haggis is a Scottish pudding. According to
the gourmet food encyclopedia *Larousse Gastronomique,* it has "an
excellent nutty texture and delicious savory flavor." And yet, to be
honest, its ingredients don't sound promising. To make it, you gather the
lungs, liver, small intestine, and heart of a sheep, put all of that stuff
inside the stomach of the sheep along with oatmeal, onions, salt, and
suet, and then simmer the whole mess for three hours. I'm guessing that
your work in the coming week may have a certain metaphorical
resemblance to making haggis, Capricorn. The process could a bit icky,
but the result should be pretty tasty.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Almost a hundred years ago, world-famous
comedian Charlie Chaplin decided to take part in a Charlie Chaplin lookalike
contest in San Francisco. He did his best to imitate himself, but it wasn't
good enough. He didn't come close to winning. But I think you would have
a different fate if you entered a comparable competition in the coming
weeks. There's no question in my mind that you would be crowned as the
person who most resembles you. Maybe more than ever before, you are
completely yourself. You look like your true self, you feel like your true
self, and you are acting like your true self. Congratulations! It's hard work
to be so authentic.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): "The art of medicine consists in amusing the
patient while nature cures the disease," said French philosopher Francois-
Marie Voltaire. That principle will be useful for you to invoke in the coming
weeks. You definitely need to be cured, although the "disease" you are
suffering from is primarily psychospiritual rather than strictly physical.
Your task will be to flood yourself with fun adventures, engaging stories,
and playtime diversions so that nature can heal you without the
interference of your worries and kibitzing.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In its quest for nectar, a hummingbird sips
from a thousand flowers every day. As it flaps its wings 70 times a
second, zipping from meal to meal, it can fly sideways, backward, or
forward. If it so desires, it can also hover or glide upside-down. It
remembers every flower it visits, and knows how long it will take before
each flower will produce a new batch of nectar. To some Spanish
speakers, hummingbirds are known as *joyas voladoras,* or "flying
jewels." Now take everything I've just said, Aries, and use it as a
metaphor for who you can be in the coming week.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In 1947, the impossibly wealthy Duke of
Windsor went shopping in Paris to buy a gift for his wife, the Duchess.
She already had everything she wanted, so he decided to get creative. He
commissioned the luxury-goods manufacturer Hermes to build her a high-
fashion black leather wheelbarrow. I am not urging you to acquire
something like that for yourself, Taurus. But I do like it as a symbol for
what you need in your life right now: a blend of elegance and usefulness,
of playful beauty and practical value, of artistry and hard work.
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Homework: Imagine your future self has sent a message to you back
through time. What is it? Write: uaregod@comcast.net.
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2014 Rob Brezsny
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