Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
April 12, 2017
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See a pretty version of this newsletter: http://bit.ly/2oZWcU3
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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
Below are excerpts.
EXPERIMENT: Be scarier than your fears. If an anxious thought pops into
your mind, bare your teeth and growl, "Get out of here or I will rip you to
shreds!" If a demon visits you in a nightly dream, chase after it with a
torch and sword, screaming, "Begone, foul spirit, or I will burn your mangy
ass!"
Don't tolerate bullying in any form, whether it comes from a critical little
voice in your head or from supposedly nice people who are trying to guilt-
trip you. "I am a brave conqueror who cannot be intimidated!" is what you
could say, or "I am a monster of love and goodness who will defeat all
threats to my integrity!"
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MAYBE. MAYBE NOT.
There was once a poor farmer who could afford to own just one horse. He
cared well for the animal, but one summer night, the horse escaped
through a weak fence and ran away.
When his neighbors discovered what had happened, they visited to offer
their condolences. "What bad luck!" they exclaimed. The farmer replied,
"Maybe. Maybe not."
A week later, the fugitive horse sauntered back to the homestead,
accompanied by six wild horses. The farmer and his son managed to corral
all of them. Again the neighbors descended. "What great luck!" they
exclaimed. "Maybe," the farmer replied. "Maybe not."
Soon the farmer's son began the work of taming the new arrivals. While
attempting to ride the roan stallion, he was thrown to the ground and
half-trampled. His leg was badly broken. The neighbors came to
investigate. "What terrible luck!" they exclaimed. The farmer replied,
"Maybe. Maybe not."
The next day, soldiers visited the farmer's village. Strife had recently
broken out between two warlords, and one of them had come to
conscript all the local young men. Though every other son was
commandeered, the farmer's boy was exempted because of his injury. The
neighbors gathered again. "What fantastic luck!" they exclaimed.
"Maybe," the farmer said. "Maybe not."
-Source: an old Taoist folktale
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THE JOY OF INTEGRITY
"Picture the Grand Canyon," says Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield. "Every
hundred years, a child comes by and throws a mustard seed into it. In the
time it takes to fill the hole in the earth with mustard seeds, one
maha_kal_pa will have passed. To perfect the virtuous heart—the joy of
integrity—takes a thousand mahakalpas."
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If that's true, then we've got a lot of work to do. The good news is that
civilization is in the midst of a critical turning point that could
tremendously expedite our ripening. So we could make unusually great
progress toward the goal of perfecting the virtuous heart in the next 40
years.
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For best results, we might meditate often on the phrase "the joy of
integrity." We could get familiar with the pleasurable emotion that comes
from acting with impeccability. And we can try out this idea from Gandhi:
Integrity is the royal road to our inner freedom.
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WHAT IF YOUR EGO IS NOT YOUR ENEMY?
Jeff Brown says: "There is no way to dissolve the ego in its entirety. It is
intrinsic to human functioning. This is why the ego bashing fundamental
to the spiritual bypass community is so dangerous. They invite seekers to
shed aspects that are essential in their daily lives.
"Instead, let's make a conscious distinction between the healthy and the
unhealthy ego. When I think of the latter, I think of Trump. This is clearly
not a man with a strong, healthy self-concept. This is a man in a perpetual
state of self-hatred, so egoically depleted that no achievement will ever
bring him peace.
"It is crystal clear that something happened to him in his early years, a
hole so big that not even the Presidency can fill it.
"Perhaps never before have we been able to so clearly see into the inner
world of a fractured, over-compensatory ego. And perhaps never before
has it been more obvious that inviting humanity to dissolve the ego is as
dangerous as shaming it.
"What we need instead is to support the development of a healthy,
balanced ego. One that knows where it ends and the other begins. One
that celebrates one's value, without imagining itself 'all that'. One that
honors the self, without a need to dishonor others.
"A healthy ego is not the enemy of the sacred. It's the foundation that it
stands upon."
- Jeff Brown, http://tinyurl.com/m3x2qtt
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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Problem: The Trump administration wants to limit women's access to
birth control around the world. Partial antidotes: 1. The Gates Foundation
has pledged to provide birth control to 120 million women worldwide by
2020. 2. Donations to Planned Parenthood have skyrocketed.
http://tinyurl.com/hxyrbq5
6 Ways Citizens Across the U.S. Are Using Science to Build a Better
World. By collecting climate change data, monitoring air quality, and
reverse-engineering insulin, locals are creating a more just and equitable
society.
http://tinyurl.com/j75acbf
This Invention Lets Rural Hondurans Clean Their Water—And Own the
Treatment Plants. What's at stake in a world where science is
marginalized? Programs like AguaClara, which offer sustainable, low-cost
solutions to communities in need.
http://tinyurl.com/jtpqyhq
(Note: I endorse these because I like them. They aren't advertisements,
and I get no kickbacks.
Please tell me your own nominations for PRONOIA RESOURCES:
Truthrooster@gmail.com.
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week beginning April 13
Copyright 2017 by Rob Brezsny
http://FreeWillAstrology.com
Grammar key: Asterisks equal *italics*
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Before visiting Sicily for the first time,
American poet Billy Collins learned to speak Italian. In his poem "By a
Swimming Pool Outside Siracusa," he describes how the new language is
changing his perspective. If he were thinking in English, he might say that
the gin he's drinking while sitting alone in the evening light "has softened
my mood." But the newly Italianized part of his mind would prefer to say
that the gin "has allowed my thoughts to traverse my brain with greater
gentleness" and "has extended permission to my mind to feel a friendship
with the vast sky." Your assignment in the coming week, Aries, is to
Italianize your view of the world. Infuse your thoughts with expansive
lyricism and voluptuous relaxation. If you're Italian, celebrate and amplify
your Italianness.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): It's closing time. You have finished toiling in
the shadow of an old sacred cow. You've climaxed your relationship with
ill-fitting ideas that you borrowed from mediocre and inappropriate
teachers once upon a time. And you can finally give up your quest for a
supposed Holy Grail that never actually existed in the first place. It's time
to move on to the next chapter of your life story, Taurus! You have been
authorized to graduate from any influence, attachment, and attraction
that wouldn't serve your greater good in the future. Does this mean you'll
soon be ready to embrace more freedom than you have in years? I'm
betting on it.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The heaviest butterfly on the planet is the
female Queen Victorian Birdwing. It tips the scales at two grams. The
female Queen Alexandra Birdwing is the butterfly with the longest
wingspan: over 12 inches. These two creatures remind me of you these
days. Like them, you're freakishly beautiful. You're a marvelous and
somewhat vertiginous spectacle. The tasks you're working on are graceful
and elegant, yet also big and weighty. Because of your intensity, you may
not look flight-worthy, but you're actually quite aerodynamic. In fact, your
sorties are dazzling and influential. Though your acrobatic zigzags seem
improbable, they're effective.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Picasso had mixed feelings about his fellow
painter Marc Chagall, who was born under the sign of Cancer. "I'm not
crazy about his roosters and donkeys and flying violinists, and all the
folklore," Picasso said, referring to the subject matter of Chagall's
compositions. But he also felt that Chagall was one of the only painters
"who understands what color really is," adding, "There's never been
anybody since Renoir who has the feeling for light that Chagall has." I
suspect that in the coming weeks, you will be the recipient of mixed
messages like these. Praise and disapproval may come your way.
Recognition and neglect. Kudos and apathy. Please don't dwell on the
criticism and downplay the applause. In fact, do the reverse!
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): "Go Tell It on the Mountain" is the title of an old
gospel song, and now it's the metaphorical theme of your horoscope. I
advise you to climb a tall peak -- even if it's just a magic mountain in your
imagination -- and deliver the spicy monologue that has been marinating
within you. It would be great if you could gather a sympathetic audience
for your revelations, but that's not mandatory to achieve the necessary
catharsis. You simply need to be gazing at the big picture as you declare
your big, ripe truths.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): If you were a snake, it would be a fine time to
molt your skin. If you were a river, it would be a perfect moment to
overflow your banks in a spring flood. If you were an office worker, it
would be an excellent phase to trade in your claustrophobic cubicle for a
spacious new niche. In other words, Virgo, you're primed to outgrow at
least one of your containers. The boundaries you knew you would have to
transgress some day are finally ready to be transgressed. Even now, your
attention span is expanding and your imagination is stretching.
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WHY IS IT CALLED "FREE WILL" ASTROLOGY?
It's called Free Will Astrology because my goal is to create horoscopes
that nurture your free will!
And if you ever want more than the 'scopes you're reading here, keep in
mind that I also create EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES for you. They're
four-to-five-minute meditations on the current state of your destiny.
Need more help in figuring out the questions life is asking you? Crave
more support in your efforts to build your courage? Check out the
EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES.
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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"Your expanded astrology thingees help me remember who I really am." -
Gareth N., Toronto
"I never knew it was possible to get my butt kicked and my head patted
at the same time -- until I listened to you, Rob." -Kristi P., Portland, OR
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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): For over a century, the Ringsaker Lutheran
Church in Buxton, North Dakota hosted rites of passage, including 362
baptisms, 50 marriages, and 97 funerals. It closed in 2002, a victim of
the area's shrinking population. I invite you to consider the possibility that
this can serve as a useful metaphor for you, Libra. Is there a place that
has been a sanctuary for you, but has begun to lose its magic? Is there a
traditional power spot from which the power has been ebbing? Has a holy
refuge evolved into a mundane hang-out? If so, mourn for a while, then
go in search of a vibrant replacement.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Most people throw away lemon rinds, walnut
shells, and pomegranate skins. But some resourceful types find uses for
these apparent wastes. Lemon rind can serve as a deodorizer, cleaner,
and skin tonic, as well as a zesty ingredient in recipes. Ground-up walnut
shells work well in facial scrubs and pet bedding. When made into a
powder, pomegranate peels have a variety of applications for skin care. I
suggest you look for metaphorically similar things, Scorpio. You're
typically inclined to dismiss the surfaces and discard the packaging and
ignore the outer layers, but I urge you to consider the possibility that
right now they may have value.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You're growing too fast, but that's fine
as long as you don't make people around you feel they're moving too
slowly. You know too much, but that won't be a problem as long as you
don't act snooty. And you're almost too attractive for your own good,
but that won't hurt you as long as you overflow with spontaneous
generosity. What I'm trying to convey, Sagittarius, is that your excesses
are likely to be more beautiful than chaotic, more fertile than confusing.
And that should provide you with plenty of slack when dealing with
cautious folks who are a bit rattled by your lust for life.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Until recently, scientists believed the
number of trees on the planet was about 400 billion. But research
published in the journal *Nature* says that's wrong. There are actually
three trillion trees on earth -- almost eight times more than was
previously thought. In a similar way, I suspect you have also
underestimated certain resources that are personally available to you,
Capricorn. Now is a good time to correct your undervaluation. Summon
the audacity to recognize the potential abundance you have at your
disposal. Then make plans to tap into it with a greater sense of purpose.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The poet John Keats identified a quality he
called "negative capability." He defined it as the power to calmly accept
"uncertainties, mysteries, and doubts without any irritable reaching after
fact and reason." I would extend the meaning to include three other
things not to be irritably reached for: artificial clarity, premature
resolution, and simplistic answers. Now is an excellent time to learn more
about this fine art, Aquarius.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Are you ready for a riddle that's more
enjoyable than the kind you're used to? I'm not sure if you are. You may
be too jaded to embrace this unusual gift. You could assume it's another
one of the crazy-making cosmic jokes that have sometimes tormented
you in the past. But I hope that doesn't happen. I hope you'll welcome the
riddle in the liberating spirit in which it's offered. If you do, you'll be
pleasantly surprised as it teases you in ways you didn't know you wanted
to be teased. You'll feel a delightful itch or a soothing burn in your secret
self, like a funny-bone feeling that titillates your immortal soul. P.S.: To
take full advantage of the blessed riddle, you may have to expand your
understanding of what's good for you.
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Test this hypothesis: The answer to a pressing question will come within
72 hours after you do a ritual in which you ask for clarity.
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2017 Rob Brezsny
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