Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
JULY 23, 2008
FreeWillAstrology.com
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"To be truly atheistic, not just agnostic, you have to take
the nonexistence of God on faith."
- I.M. Boyd
"Be realistic: Plan for a miracle."
- Bhagwan Shree Rajnesh, also known as Osho
"Every person is a God in embryo. Its only desire is to
be born."
- Deepak Chopra
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My book
PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA:
How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings
is available for sale at
tinyurl.com/qaj62
Now here's an excerpt from the book:
UNABASHED PRONOIA THERAPY, Part One
1. Go to the ugliest or most forlorn place you know -- a drugstore
parking lot, the front porch of a crack house, a toxic waste dump,
or the place that symbolizes your secret shame -- and build a
shrine devoted to beauty, truth, and love.
Here are some suggestions about what to put in your shrine: a
silk scarf; a smooth rock on which you've inscribed a haiku or
joke with a felt-tip pen; coconut cookies or ginger candy; pumpkin
seeds and an origami crane; a green kite shaped like a dragon;
a music CD you love; a photo of your hero; a votive candle carved
with your word of power; a rubber ducky; a bouquet of fresh beets;
a print of Van Gogh's Starry Night.
2. Late at night when there's no traffic, stride down the middle
of an empty road that by day is crawling with cars. Dance, careen,
and sing songs that fill you with pleasurable emotions. Splay
your arms triumphantly as you extemporize prayers in which you
make extravagant demands and promises. Give pet names to the trees
you pass, declare your admiration for the workers who made the
road, and celebrate your sovereignty over a territory that usually
belongs to heavy machines and their operators.
3. Where exactly does happiness come from? That's the riddle
posed by David Meyers and Ed Diener in their article, "The
Science of Happiness," published in The Futurist
magazine.
Write your answers to their question. Map out the foundations
of your own science of happiness. Get serious about defining what
makes you feel good. What specific experiences arouse your deepest
gratification? Physical pleasure? Seeking the truth? Being a good
person? Contemplating the meaning of life? Enjoying the fruits
of your accomplishments? Purging pent-up emotion?
4. Have you ever seen the game called "Playing the Dozens?"
Participants compete in the exercise of hurling witty insults
at each other. Here are some examples: "You're so dumb, if
you spoke your mind you'd be speechless." "Your mother
is so old, she was a waitress at the Last Supper." "You're
so ugly, you couldn't get laid if you were a brick."
I invite you to rebel against any impulse in you that resonates
with the spirit of "Playing the Dozens." Instead, try
a new game, "Paying the Tributes." Choose worthy targets
and ransack your imagination to come up with smart, true, and
amusing praise about them. The best stuff will be specific to
the person you're addressing, not generic, but here are some prototypes:
"You're so far-seeing, you can probably catch a glimpse of
the back of your own head." "You're so ingenious, you
could use your nightmares to get rich and famous." "Your
mastery of pronoia is so artful, you could convince me to love
my worst enemy."
5. Salvador Dali once staged a party in which guests were told
to come disguised as characters from their nightmares. Do the
reverse. Throw a bash in which everyone is invited to arrive dressed
as a character from the best dream they remember.
6. "The messiah will come when we don't need him any more,"
wrote Franz Kafka. Give your interpretation of his remark.
7. On a big piece of cardboard, make a sign that says, "I
love to help; I need to give; please take some money." Then
go out and stand on a traffic island while wearing your best clothes,
and give away money to passing motorists. Offer a little more
to drivers in rusty brown Pinto station wagons and 1976 El Camino
Classics than those in a late-model Lexus or Jaguar.
8. In response to our culture's ever-rising levels of noise and
frenzy, rites of purification have become more popular. Many people
now recognize the value of taking periodic retreats. Withdrawing
from their usual compulsions, they go on fasts, avoid mass media,
practice celibacy, or even abstain from speaking. While we applaud
cleansing ceremonies like this, we recommend balancing them with
periodic outbreaks of an equal and opposite custom: the Bliss
Blitz.
During this celebration, you tune out the numbing banality of
the daily grind. But instead of shrinking into asceticism, you
indulge in uninhibited explorations of joy, release, and expansion.
Turning away from the mildly stimulating distractions you seek
out when you're bored or worried, you become inexhaustibly resourceful
as you search for unsurpassable sources of cathartic pleasure.
Try it for a day or a week: the Bliss Blitz.
9. When many people talk about their childhoods, they emphasize
the alienating, traumatic experiences they had. It has become
fashionable to avoid reporting memories of the good times in one's
past. This seems dishonest -- a testament to the popularity of
cynicism rather than a reflection of objective truth.
I don't mean to downplay the way your early encounters with pain
demoralized your spirit. But as you reconnoiter the promise of
pronoia, it's crucial for you to extol the gifts you were given
in your early years: all the helpful encounters, kind teachings,
and simple acts of grace that helped you bloom.
In Homer's epic tale, The Odyssey, he described nepenthe,
a mythical drug that induced the forgetfulness of pain and trouble.
Modern culture has turned the myth into reality: There are now
many stimuli serving that purpose.
If Homer were alive today, we wonder if he'd write about a potion
that stirs up memories of delight, serenity, and fulfillment?
Imagine that you have taken such a tonic. Spend an hour or two
remembering the glorious moments from your past.
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To read news and features from my book, go here: tinyurl.com/lhwx2
You can buy the book here:
AMAZON
tinyurl.com/qaj62
POWELLS
tinyurl.com/3dsx6q
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OTHER PRONOIA RESOURCES:
TABOO REPORTS FROM THE EDGES OF CONSCIOUSNESS
"Despite Frustrations, Americans Are Pretty Happy"
Americans rank #16 among 98 ranked nations, with Canada #9
tinyurl.com/5ptfny
"Study: World Gets Happier"
tinyurl.com/6rp6k8
COUNTERACT THE DAILY BRAINWASHING
Get Good News Daily
gimundo.com
PRONOIA NEEDS THE TRICKSTER
The Culture Jammer's Encyclopedia
sniggle.net
(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 July 24
Copyright 2008 by Rob Brezsny
FreeWillAstrology.com
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
"Everybody experiences far more than he understands,"
said philosopher Marshall McLuhan. "Yet it is experience,
rather than understanding, that influences behavior." This
is always true, but it will have special meaning for you in the
coming days. You're about to be inundated by a flood of raw perceptions,
sensations, and feelings, and only a fraction of it will be namable,
let alone comprehensible. That shouldn't be a problem, though.
Your job is simply to marvel at all the novelty that's flowing
in, not to be in an anxious hurry to define it.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Your life story is about to deepen and sweeten and get more interesting
-- if, that is, you follow the trail of clues into the
dark forest, and if, as you travel, you hum songs that
are both sad and happy, and if you call on the spirit
of your favorite dead person to accompany you. Of course, you're
perfectly free to refuse the call of your destiny, and never even
take a glance into the dark forest. But in my opinion, that would
cheat you out of some profound fun that has the potential to teach
you and tune you for many years to come.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
I came across a website called "The Common Man's Book of
World Records." It lists triumphs that have been ignored
by the more famous Guinness Book. It tells us that Basel Nevins
licked an asphalt road for 77 minutes straight, establishing an
unsurpassed benchmark. Melissa Lassitter set the world record
for number of hoagies crammed into a bra, with eight; Glen Schlacknik
did an astounding 5,216 squat-thrusts on an escalator in one session;
and Charles Zenk threw a mailbox 33 feet. In the coming week,
I invite you to be inspired by these unsung masters, Libra. According
to my reading of the omens, you're primed to achieve peaks of
accomplishment that few others have even attempted.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
According to Jewish legend, there are in each generation 36 righteous
humans who prevent the rest of us from being destroyed. Through
their extraordinary good deeds and their love of the divine spark,
they save the world over and over again. They're not famous saints,
though. They go about their business anonymously, and no one knows
how crucial they are to our well-being. Might you be one of the
36? I bet you'll be acting like one of them in the coming week.
Your capacity for disseminating blessings will be astounding.
The ripples of benevolence you initiate could ultimately go around
the planet and return to you.
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LISTEN TO AN EXPANDED HOROSCOPE
In addition to the horoscopes that you read here, I create additional
in-depth audio horoscopes for your inspiration.
They're not repeats or elaborations of the stuff you find here,
but entirely fresh explorations of your astrological omens, designed
to help you tune in to your soul's code.
Try them at RealAstrology.com.
They're available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.
They're $6 if you access them on the Web, or $1.99 per minute
over the phone.
"Your audio horoscopes help me love myself better, and I
mean that in a non-narcissistic way."
- Deva P., Indianapolis
"I'm really grateful for the way you pick up my telepathic
requests and answer them in your expanded audio 'scopes."
- Marion H., Birmingham, AL
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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
In his book The Medusa and the Snail, science writer
Lewis Thomas said that the English word "error" developed
from a root meaning "to wander about, looking for something."
That's why he liked Darwin's idea that error is the driving force
in evolution. I think this wandering-about-looking-for-something
approach should be the driving force in your personal evolution,
Sagittarius. The coming weeks will be a great time to meander
and get distracted and stumble upon unexpected opportunities.
May all your mutations have a positive spin! (P.S. Lewis also
wrote this: "The capacity to blunder slightly is the real
marvel of DNA. Without this special attribute, we would still
be anaerobic bacteria and there would be no music.")
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
I predict you will have 32 dreams as you sleep in the coming
week. In at least five of those adventures, you will be offered
a chance to wield a magic hammer like the one that belonged to
the Norse god Thor. You're under no obligation to use it, of course.
But if you do, it could help you smite dream adversaries, from
stupid giants to evil ducks to rash-covered devils. You could
also take advantage of it to build things, like a dream house
or a dream boat. The proper use of the hammer will be a constant
test, since you'll have to be ever-alert and adaptable as you
decide whether to employ it for destruction or creation.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
"Why, I don't even respect myself, I tell ya," said
comedian Rodney Dangerfield. "When I make love, I have to
fantasize that I am somebody else!" Your assignment, Aquarius,
is to experiment with just the second half of that formulation.
In other words, while you're making love, fantasize that you're
somebody else. But do it because you care deeply about yourself
-- so deeply that you want to transcend your customary reactions
and expand your identity. Do it because you dare to awaken to
previously unknown possibilities of who you might be. By the way,
this exercise will yield even better results if you not only play
with experimental self-images when you're doing the wild thing,
but all the rest of the time as well.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
In her book Zen Miracles, Brenda Shoshanna defines
the "shadow" as being the unacceptable aspects of ourselves
that we dump into our unconscious minds. As we avoid looking at
that hidden stuff, it festers. Meanwhile, we project it onto people
we know, imagining that they possess the qualities we're repressing.
The antidote to this problem, says Shoshanna, is to "eat
our shadow" -- haul it up from out of the pit and develop
a conscious connection with it. Doing so not only prevents our
unacknowledged darkness from haunting our thoughts and distorting
our relationships; it also liberates tremendous psychic energy.
I'm telling you this, Pisces, because it's an excellent time to
eat your shadow.
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LISTEN TO AN EXPANDED HOROSCOPE
In addition to the horoscopes that you're reading here, I create
more in-depth audio horoscopes for your inspiration. Find out
more at RealAstrology.com.
The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888
or 1-900-950-7700.
"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
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ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Anna Renalda Hyatt, a reader from Colorado, bragged to me about
her prowess. "My capacity for expressing love far surpasses
that of anyone I have ever met," she wrote. "I am a
Sublime Genius of Love, a Master of Unconditional Compassion,
a Virtuoso of Deep Empathy." Your assignment in the coming
days, Aries, is to compete with her: Unleash a perfect storm of
ingenious passion that will ignite subtle revolutions everywhere
you go. Explore the frontiers of smart love.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Your teeth aren't white enough. Your laugh sounds weird. Something's
amiss with the way you solve problems; I'm not sure what, I just
know you've got a disability there. And as for your hair: Could
you please change it so it doesn't make you appear so out of touch
with reality? OK, now relax. Everything I just said was a bad
joke -- it wasn't true at all. I wanted to show you how susceptible
you are to believing the lie that you should be different from
what you actually are. The fact is, Taurus, this is an excellent
time for you to practice feeling a total acceptance of and curious
fascination with yourself. Try saying this out loud: "I am
perfectly myself."
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
At the end of a recent school year, only 37 percent of New York's
high school students passed the state-administered math exam.
Instead of withholding diplomas from the other 63 percent, officials
nullified the results and eased the standards for future tests.
Normally I'm queasy about lowering the criteria for success, but
in this case I approve. Math is absurdly overvalued as an educational
necessity. There are many other subjects that should get more
emphasis in the high school curriculum. Teach logic, not algebra!
Teach critical thinking, not trigonometry! My rant is a prelude
to the climax of your horoscope, which is this: Stop pushing so
hard to accomplish a task that's really not all that important
in the long run.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
During a trip to India, my friend Jeff paid a boatman to row
him out into the Ganges River for a little recreational cruise.
When they got there, the boatman stopped and refused to move,
let alone row him back to shore, unless Jeff forked over a surcharge.
Don't let something like that happen to you in the coming week,
Cancerian. Always have a well-planned arrangement, agreed on in
advance, to come back from wherever you're brave enough to go.
Be experimental, yes. Explore new territory, yes. Be willing to
surrender some control, yes. But make sure you've got a return
ticket.
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HOMEWORK:
See what you can do to influence an institution that influences
you. Go to FreeWillAstrology.com
and click on "Email Rob."
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WANT TO GET YOUR CHART DONE?
I'm not doing personal charts, but I highly recommend my astrological
colleague, RO LOUGHRAN. Her approach closely matches my own. In
our many discussions about astrology over the years, we've had
a major influence on each other's work.
Ro utilizes a blend of well-trained
intuition, emotional warmth, and
a high
degree of technical proficiency
in horoscope interpretation; she
is skilled
at exploring the mysteries of your
life's purpose and nurturing your
connection with your own inner
wisdom.
Ro is based in California, but
can do phone consultations and
otherwise
work with you regardless of geographic
boundaries.
Ro's website is at YourSoulJourney.com
She can also be reached at roloughran@comcast.net
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Submissions sent to the Free
Will Astrology Weekly Newsletter
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Please be sure to note your preference
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Contents of the Free Will Astrology Newsletter are Copyright
2008 Rob Brezsny
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