Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
April 22, 2015
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See a pretty version of this newsletter: http://bit.ly/1JpcPJ5
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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
The e-book is available at http://bit.ly/eePronoia
Below are excerpts.
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Here's a thought experiment you could try for the next 24 hours: Every
time a negative or fearful thought rises up, substitute a thought,
imagination, or memory that energizes you and makes you feel genuinely
good.
It's only for one day. You can do it!
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I invite you to say the following, and see how it feels:
Everyone is my teacher.
Everywhere I go, I am a student.
Every person I meet is in some way my superior.
I vow to shut up and listen on a frequent and regular basis.
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"Having very broad and abstract goals may maintain and exacerbate
depression. Goals that are not specific are more ambiguous and,
therefore, harder to visualize. If goals are hard to visualize it may result
in reduced expectation of realizing them which in turn results in lower
motivation to try and achieve them."
- Researchers at the institute of Health, Psychology, and Society
http://tinyurl.com/nv6jdqq
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From The Outlaw Catalog of Cagey Optimism, a list of positive emotions
and states of being:
COMPASSIONATE DISCRIMINATION. Having astute judgment without being
scornfully judgmental; seeing difficult truths about a situation or person
without closing your heart or feeling superior. In the words of Alan Jones:
having the ability "to smell a rat without allowing your ability to discern
deception sour your vision of the glory and joy that is everyone's
birthright."
INGENIOUS INTIMACY. Having an ability to consistently create deep
connections with other human beings, and to use the lush, reverential
excitement stimulated by such exchanges to further deepen the
connections. A well-crafted talent for dissolving your sense of
separateness and enjoying the innocent exultation that erupts in the wake
of the dissolution.
SONGBIRD-IN_A-TREE. The cultivated awareness that daily life presents
countless opportunities to be buoyed by moments of ordinary
extraordinary beauty, and that these moments are most available if you
perceive with your senses and not with your internal turmoil.
More from The Outlaw Catalog of Cagey Optimism, a list of positive
emotions and states of being: http://bit.ly/Zdyxc9
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Each one of us is a blend of life and death. In the most literal sense, our
bodies always contain old cells that are dying and new cells that are
emerging as replacements.
From a more metaphorical perspective, our familiar ways of seeing and
thinking and feeling are constantly atrophying, even as fresh modes
emerge. Both losing and winning are woven into every day; sinking down
and rising up; shrinking and expanding.
In any given phase of our lives, one or the other polarity is often more
pronounced. But sometimes they are evenly balanced; the Seasons of Rot
and of Regeneration happen at the same time.
Where are you at in the cycle right now?
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"In the end, we'll all become stories."
- Margaret Atwood
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
There are more museums in the U.S. than there are Starbucks and
McDonalds -- combined.
http://tinyurl.com/orj4n3z
Generous welfare benefits make people more likely to want to work, not
less.
http://tinyurl.com/q3hmft6
*The Most Good You Can Do: How Effective Altruism Is Changing Ideas
about Living Ethically* is a book about effective altruism. What is
effective altruism? How is it practiced? How do we determine which are
the best causes to help? Why is it better to give your money to one
charity instead of another?
http://tinyurl.com/md75o9u
(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 April 23
Copyright 2015 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I usually have no objection to your devoted
concern (I won't use the phrase "manic obsession") with security and
comfort. But there are rare phases in every Taurus's life cycle when
ironclad stability becomes a liability. Cruising along in a smooth groove
threatens to devolve into clunking along in a gutless rut. Now is such a
phase. As of this moment, it is healthy for you to seek out splashes of
unpredictability. Wisdom is most likely to grow from uncertainty. Joy will
emerge from an eagerness to treasure the unknown.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): There may be a flood-like event that will wash
away worn-out stuff you don't need any more. There might be an
earthquake-type phenomenon that only you can feel, and it might
demolish one of your rotten obstacles. There could be a lucky accident
that will knock you off the wrong course (which you might have thought
was the right course). All in all, I suspect it will be a very successful week
for benevolent forces beyond your control. How much skill do you have in
the holy art of surrender?
CANCER (June 21-July 22): What is your biggest excuse? Or rather, what
is your THICKEST, SICKEST, MOST DEBILITATING EXCUSE? We all have
one: a reason we tell ourselves about why it's difficult to live up to our
potential; a presumed barrier that we regard as so deeply rooted that we
will never be able to break its spell on us. Maybe it's a traumatic memory.
Maybe it's a physical imperfection or a chronic fear. In accordance with
the current astrological omens, Cancerian, you'd be wise to do an audit
and reassessment of your own LAMEST EXCUSE. I suspect you now have
insight about it that you've never had before. I also think you have more
power than usual to at least partially dismantle it.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): If you were a supporting character in a popular TV
drama, the producers would be cooking up a spin-off show with you in a
starring role. If you were in an indie rock band, you'd be ready to move
from performing at 300-seat venues to clubs with an audience capacity
of 2,000. If you have always been just an average egocentric romantic
like the rest of us, you might be on the verge of becoming a legend in
your own mind -- in which case it would be time to start selling T-shirts,
mugs, and calendars with your image on them. And even if you are none
of the above, Leo, I suspect you're ready to rise to the next level.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Free at last! Free at last! Thanks to the Lord
of the Universe or the Flying Spaghetti Monster or a burst of crazy good
luck, you are free at last! You are free from the burden that made you say
things you didn't mean! You are free from the seductive temptation to
rent, lease, or even sell your soul! Best of all, you are free from the mean
little voice in your head -- you know, the superstitious perfectionist that
whispers weird advice based on fearful delusions! So now what will you
do, my dear? You have escaped *from* the cramped, constricted
conditions. Maybe you can escape *to* wide-open spaces that will unleash
the hidden powers of your imagination.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): "To me, there is no greater act of courage than
being the one who kisses first," says Libra actress and activist Janeane
Garofalo. I can think of other ways to measure bravery, but for your
immediate future, her definition will serve just fine. Your ultimate test will
be to freely give your tenderness and compassion and empathy -- without
any preconditions or expectations. For the sake of your own integrity and
mental health, be steadfast in your intention to always strike the first
blow for peace, love, and understanding.
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YOU NEED MAGIC EVERY DAY
Every day, you have to wade through a relentless surge of soul-less facts.
The experience tends to shut down your sense of wonder.
Every day, you're over-exposed to narratives that have been sucked free
of delight and mystery. That's why you have to make such strenuous
efforts to keep your world enchanted.
I like to think I can contribute to the sacred cause of feeding your sense
of wonder and enchantment. In fact, that's one of my prime motivations
for offering you the free weekly horoscopes you read in this newsletter.
If you ever want more of that good stuff, and think it's worth paying for,
please consider trying out my EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES. They're
four-to-five-minute meditations on the current state of your destiny.
To listen to your Expanded Audio Horoscope online, go to
http://RealAstrology.com.
Register and/or log in through the main page.
You can also listen over the phone by calling 1-877-873-4888.
The cost is $6 per sign on the Web (discounts available for bulk
purchases), or $1.99 per minute by phone.
The Expanded Audio Horoscopes work on most smart phones and tablets.
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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): It will soon be that time when you are
halfway between your last birthday and your next birthday. I invite you to
make this a special occasion. Maybe you can call it your anti-birthday or
unbirthday. How to celebrate? Here are some ideas: 1. Imagine who you
would be if you were the opposite of yourself. 2. Write a list of all the
qualities you don't possess and the things you don't need and the life you
don't want to live. 3. Try to see the world through the eyes of people
who are unlike you. 4. Extend a warm welcome to the shadowy, unripe,
marginal parts of your psyche that you have a hard time accepting, let
alone loving. 5. Any other ways you can think of to celebrate your anti-
birthday?
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): As I climb the first hill along my regular
hike, both sides of the path are dominated by a plant with glossy, three-
lobed leaves. They're so exuberant and cheerful, I'm tempted to caress
them, even rub my face in their bright greenery. But I refrain, because
they are poison oak. One touch would cause my skin to break out in an
inflamed rash that would last for days. I encourage you, too, to forgo
contact with any influence in your own sphere that is metaphorically
equivalent to the alluring leaves of the poison oak.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Today the French Capricorn painter Henri
Matisse (1869-1954) is regarded as a foremost pioneer of modern art.
Some critics say his innovative influence on painting nearly matched
Picasso's. But during the first part of the 20th century, his work often
provoked controversy. When a few of his paintings appeared at a major
exhibition in Chicago, for example, local art students were shocked by
what they called its freakishness. They held a mock trial, convicted
Matisse of artistic crimes, and burned his painting *Blue Nude* in effigy. I
don't expect that you will face reactions quite as extreme as that in the
coming weeks, Capricorn. But it will make sense to express yourself with
such forceful creativity and originality that you risk inciting strong
responses.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Leonardo da Vinci had skills in many fields,
ranging from botany to engineering to cartography, but he is best known
as a painter. And yet in his 67 years on the planet, he finished fewer than
40 paintings. He worked at a very gradual pace. The *Mona Lisa* took him
14 years! That's the kind of deliberate approach I'd like to see you
experiment with in the coming weeks, Aquarius. Just for a while, see what
it's like to turn down your levels of speed and intensity. Have you heard
of the Slow Food Movement? Have you read Carl Honoré's book *In Praise
of Slowness*? Do you know about Slow Travel, Slow Media, and Slow
Fashion?
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Modern movies don't scrimp on the use of
the f-bomb. Actors in *The Wolf of Wall Street* spat it out 569 times.
The word-that-rhymes-with-cluck was heard 326 times in *End of Watch,*
while *Brooklyn's Finest* racked up 270 and *This Is the End* erupted
with an even 200. But this colorful word hasn't always been so prominent
a feature. Before 1967, no actor had ever uttered it on-screen. That year,
Marianne Faithfull let it fly in the film *I'll Never Forget What's'isname.* In
the coming weeks, Pisces, I invite you to break a taboo that's maybe not
as monumental as Faithfull's quantum leap, but still fabulously fun and
energizing. Be a liberator! End the repression! Release the blocked vitality!
ARIES (March 21-April 19): If you're stumped about what present to give
someone for a special occasion, you might buy him or her a gift card. It's
a piece of plastic that can be used as cash to buy stuff at a store. The
problem is, a lot of people neglect to redeem their gift cards. They leave
them in drawers and forget about them. Financial experts say there are
currently billions of dollars going to waste on unredeemed gift cards. This
is your metaphor of the moment, Aries. Are there any resources you're
not using? Any advantages you're not capitalizing on? Any assets you're
ignoring? If so, fix the problem.
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Homework: Find out what you've been hiding from yourself -- but be kind
about it. Testify at FreeWillAstrology.com.
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2015 Rob Brezsny
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