Are You Alert for Beauty?

At Any Given Moment, There Are a Thousand Things You Can Love

Nov 16, 2021

In honor of the fact that you're evolving into a higher octave version of yourself, I hereby give you the nickname of "Miracle Player," or else—if you like one of these better—"Sleek Cat" or "Giant Step" or "Fate Whisperer."

You may hereafter also use any of the following titles to refer to yourself: "CEO of My Own Life" or "Self-Teacher of Jubilance and Serenity" or "Fertile Blur of Supple Strength."

Feel free, as well, to anoint your head with organic virgin olive oil, fashion a crown for yourself out of roses, and come up with a wordless sound that is a secret sign you'll give to yourself whenever you need to remember the marvelous creature you are on your way to becoming.

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HOW TO CULTIVATE A VIBRANT RELATIONSHIP

How to cultivate a vibrant relationship with me:

1. Disagree with me in respectful ways, using articulate language and offering interesting ideas.

2. Agree with me in respectful ways, using articulate language and offering interesting ideas.

3. Expand my perspective, change my mind, and teach me things I don't know.

4. Delight me with your unpredictability, your lyrical reverence for the Great Mystery, and your joie de vivre and lust for life.

5. Reminisce about the fun times we had together in the past.

6. Do not call me an idiot or assassinate my character.

7. Turn me on to books, music, websites, movies, videos, and TV shows that have illuminated your destiny and that you think might fill me with wonder and excitement.

8. Don't tell that I used to be so ___________, but now I've become so _____________, and that's a terrible thing.

9. If you have good reasons to believe that I shouldn't use particular words because they are offensive, tell me about them while at the same time expressing compassion for my ignorance.

10. Tell me some good news you have discovered that you think would be fun for me to know about.

11. Don't tell me that because I am an astrologer, I should stick solely to writing about astrology.

12. Tell me how you celebrate life in general, and how you are celebrating life right now.

13. Don't tell me that because I am a spiritual person with a spiritual philosophy, I should never write about politics.

14. With compassion and patience, suggest to me how I might become a better writer and thinker and feeler. Show me how I might become more of the person I want to be.

15. if you haven't taken in at least a smidgen of my published writings and musical offerings, don't act as if you know all the subjects and issues I have ever discussed in my 40+ years of expressing myself in public.

16. Express praise for people you think are doing good work in the world and who are working in behalf of social justice—seeking to bring relief and healing and abundance to those who are less privileged and not well-endowed financially.

17. Point me in the direction of the beautiful creations you have made or helped to make.

18. Don't tell me I should make an effort to understand and appreciate the viewpoints of white supremacists and other racists, misogynists and toxic patriarchal abusers, nazis, Trumpians, plutocrats, spiritual bypassers, militarists, New Age conspiracy mongers, anti-vaxxers whose words and actions result in people getting sick or dying from covid, bigots who want to oppress LGBTQIA people, and fundamentalists of all stripes, including fundamentalist atheists and fundamentalist practitioners of scientism.

19. Describe to me what you would need to feel like our world is more like a paradise than it is right now.

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DELECTABLE STRUGGLE PRONOIA THERAPY

Experiments and exercises in becoming an aggressively sensitive, thunderously receptive, ethically mischievous Master of Mutant Intimacy

I. In the film Fight Club, the character played by Brad Pitt storms into a convenience store with a gun, then herds the clerk out back and threatens to execute him. While the poor man quivers in terror, Pitt asks him questions about himself, extracting the confession that he'd once wanted to be a veterinarian but dropped out of school.

After a few minutes, Pitt frees the clerk without harming him, but says that unless he takes steps to return to veterinary school in the next six weeks, he will hunt him down and kill him.

In my opinion, that's an overly extreme way to motivate someone to do what's good for him. I wish I could come up with a less shocking approach to coax you into resuming the quest for your deferred dreams. Can you think of anything?

2. Lie on your back with your arms outstretched and have a friend measure the distance from the tip of one middle finger to the other.

Do you have a wingspan similar to that of a hawk? Eagle? Osprey? The mythical thunderbird? Pterodactyl? Close your eyes and visualize yourself hovering and swooping above the treetops. What do you see below you?

3. "The important thing," said French critic Charles Du Bos, "is to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become."

Did he really mean at any moment? Like while we're in a convenience store buying a magazine? While we're lying in bed ready for sleep and reviewing the events of the day?

While we're adrift in apathetic melancholy, watching too much TV and neglecting our friends?

At any moment?! I say yes. At all times and in all places be ready to sacrifice what you are for what you could become.

4. Russian scientists have discovered gold deposits in the dust of decayed tree stumps. The phenomenon occurs in forests growing in ground where there is gold ore. Over the course of centuries, the trees' roots suck in minute quantities of the precious metal, eventually accumulating nuggets.

Describe a metaphorically comparable process you could carry out in your own life over the course of the next 20 years. What invisible part of you is like a tree's roots? What's the gold you'd like to suck up?

5. I'm smarter in some places than in others. In Florence, Amsterdam, and Milwaukee, my IQ is off the charts. In Munich, Madrid, and Washington, D.C., I'm rather dull-witted.

Even in Northern California, where I usually live, some spots are more conducive to my higher brain functioning. I'm an idiot on Market Street in San Francisco, whereas I'm awash in wise insights whenever I set foot on Mt. Tamalpais.

What's this about? The specialized branch of astrology called astrocartography would say that the full potentials of my horoscope are more likely to emerge in certain power spots. What about you? Wander around and test to see where you feel most in tune with your deep brilliance.

6. The force of gravity is omnipresent, even though it can't be seen, heard, or touched, and almost no one can explain it. There wasn't even a word for it until the 17th century, when Isaac Newton discovered it and named it after the Latin term gravitas, meaning "heaviness" or "seriousness."

As you deepen your inquiries into pronoia, you may enjoy a similar breakthrough. Can you imagine what it would feel like to become aware of an omnipresent ocean of wild divine love that has always been a secret to you in the same way that the sea is invisible to a fish?

7. Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium. Chemist John Walker invented the match. Physicist Wilhelm Röentgen was the first person to find out about X-rays.

What do these great minds have in common? They all refused to take out patents in connection with their innovations, believing they shouldn't make any profit on something that should belong to everyone.

Try giving away some of your brilliance for free.

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YOUR CHALICE

Visualize a chalice—a ceremonial drinking cup. What's the first image that occurs to you? Is it silver? Ceramic? Plastic? What color? How big? Is it long-stemmed or squat? Does it have a wide, shallow cup or a tall, narrow one, or what? Close your eyes and spend a moment with this vision before reading on.

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So you've pictured a chalice in your mind's eye. Here's an analysis of its possible meaning: What you envisioned represents your capacity to be filled up with goodies. It's a snapshot of your subconscious receptivity to favors and help and inspiration.

For instance, if you imagined a shallow plastic champagne glass, it signifies that you may not be well prepared to drink deeply of the elixirs the universe is conspiring to provide you.

On the other hand, a large-volume, gracefully shaped sterling silver cup suggests that you're ready and willing to receive a steady outpouring of wonders.

A long-stemmed chalice may indicate you're inclined to be aggressive about filling your cup. A short, squat stem could mean you're not feeling very deserving of having your cup filled.

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Now here's the fun part. If you imagined an inadequate chalice, you can change it. If you pictured a chalice you like, you can add more details to it.

Take some time to picture a vessel that's perfectly worthy of you. Imprint it on your imagination. Then, for the next nine days, conjure it up every morning for five minutes right after you wake up, and every evening for five minutes before you go to sleep. It will reprogram your subconscious mind to be ready and willing to accept all the favors and help and inspiration you need.

That in turn will exert an influence on your surroundings, making it easier for the world to deliver its favors and help and inspiration.

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FREE WILL DIVINATION

Mark Seltman is a palm-reader whose approach to his art is different from most fortune-tellers. If he sees a character flaw indicated by a line on your palm, he won't make you feel like it's a curse that you're powerless to resist; instead, he'll tell you what you can do to fix it or overcome it.

An article about Seltman on nymag.com described how his daughter was born with a hand that suggested she'd suffer from low self-esteem when she grew up. In response, Seltman dedicated himself to building her confidence and competence.

Now, years later, the warning sign in her hand at birth has disappeared; she's brimming with aplomb.

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THINGS WE DO OUT OF LOVE

How powerful are the altruistic, idealistic forces already at work in the world. Most of us would say, if asked, that we live in a capitalist society, but vast amounts of how we live our everyday lives – our interactions with and commitments to family lives, friendships, avocations, membership in social, spiritual and political organisations – are in essence noncapitalist or even anticapitalist, made up of things we do for free, out of love and on principle.

Rebecca Solnit

Suppose you had the revolution you are talking and dreaming about. Suppose your side had won, and you had the kind of society that you wanted. How would you live, you personally, in that society? Start living that way now!

—Paul Goodman

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GIFTS

If you'd like to donate to my well-being:

1. 1. Visit my Gift Page — https://paypal.me/GiftsForRob — and contribute to me via the "Send to someone you trust" option.

2. You can also contribute by buying the Expanded Audio Horoscopes I create every week. These forecasts are different from the written horoscopes I provide here.

They're my four- to five-minute-long ruminations about the current chapter of your life story. They're available at https://RealAstrology.com

3. I also write daily horoscopes, available as text messages sent to your phone. They're shorter than the weekly 'scopes, but more frequent. You can get these regular bursts of inspiration for 67 cents a day if you sign up for a subscription.

Go to https://RealAstrology.com . Register or log in. On the new page, click on "Subscribe / Renew" under "Daily Text Message Horoscopes" in the right-hand column.

4 Commit to offering me a regular donation through my Patreon page at https://Patreon.com/FreeWillAstrology

5. Finally, I have made it possible for subscribers to my newsletter to pay a subscription fee to me for my newsletter, BUT ONLY IF THEY WANT TO AND CAN AFFORD TO!

I have offered my astrology newsletter free of charge for the past 21 years, and I will continue to do so for the next 21 years at least.

If, however, you are sufficiently prosperous and feel comfortable about donating money to me, I welcome it. Please know, though: I am TOTALLY FINE if you don't donate.

P.S.: No pressure, though! I understand that some of you don't have enough money yourself, and it wouldn't make sense for you to give some to me.

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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:

Former Billionaire, Chuck Feeney has given away over 99% of his wealth, more than $8 Billion, to help underprivileged kids go to college and to other philanthropic causes. He is currently living in a rented apartment, not owning a car and flying economy-class.

The Good Guys Calendar is a Celebration of Men and Their Good Deeds. https://tinyurl.com/4jrzr9ty

Study Reports Incredible New Numbers For Critically Endangered Grauer’s Gorilla Species. https://tinyurl.com/x93uaekn

For a lot more pronoiac resources and ideas, read my book Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings

Available at Bookshop.org: https://tinyurl.com/548hp8y8

Available at Powells: https://bit.ly/PowellsPronoia

Available at Barnes & Noble: https://tinyurl.com/PronoiaBN

Available at Amazon: https://bit.ly/Pronoia

A free preview of the book is available here: https://tinyurl.com/PronoiaPreview

Please tell me your own nominations for PRONOIA RESOURCES: Truthrooster@gmail.com.

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

Week beginning November 18

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): "Some people become so expert at reading between the lines they don't read the lines," wrote author Margaret Millar. That's not a common problem for you Scorpios. You are an expert at reading between the lines, but that doesn't cause you to miss the simple facts. Better than any other sign of the zodiac, you are skilled at seeing both secret and obvious things. Given the astrological omens that will be active for you during the rest of 2021, I suspect this skill of yours will be a virtual superpower. And even more than usual, the people in your life will benefit from your skill at naming the truth.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Storyteller and mythologist Michael Meade believes that each of us has an inner indigenous person—a part of our psyche that can love and learn from nature, that's inclined to revere and commune with the ancestors, that seeks holiness in the familiar delights of the earth. The coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to cultivate your relationship with your inner indigenous person. What other experiences might be available to you as you align your personal rhythms with the rhythms of the earth? What joys might emerge as you strive to connect on deeper levels with animals and plants and natural forces?

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Capricorn novelist Haruki Murakami writes, "I was always hungry for love. Just once, I wanted to know what it was like to get my fill of it—to be fed so much love I couldn’t take any more. Just once." Most of us feel that longing, although few of us admit it. But I will urge you to place this desire in the front of your awareness during the next two weeks. I'll encourage you to treat your yearning for maximum love as a sacred strength, a virtue to nurture and be proud of. I'll even suggest you let people know that's what you want. Doing so may not result in a total satisfaction of the longing, but who knows? Maybe it will. If there will ever be a time when such fulfillment could occur, it will be soon.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): An article published in the journal Scientific American declared, "Most people don't know when to stop talking." Conversations between strangers and between friends typically go on too long. A mere two percent of all dialogs finish when both parties want them to. That's the bad news, Aquarius. The good news is that in the coming weeks, your sensitivity about this issue will be more acute than usual. As a result, your talk will be extra concise and effective—more persuasive, more interesting, and more influential. Take advantage of this subtle superpower! (Further info: tinyurl.com/WhenToStop)

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Since 1996, Ira Glass has produced the renowned radio series This American Life. In 2013, as a reward for his excellence, he was offered a raise in his annual salary from $170,000 to $278,000. He accepted it for one year, but then asked that it be lowered to $146,000. He described the large increase in pay as "unseemly." What?! I appreciate his modesty, but I disapprove. I'm always rooting for Pisceans like Ira Glass to embrace the fullness of their worth and to be aggressive about gathering all the rewards they're offered. So I'm inclined, especially right now, to urge you NOT to be like Glass. Please swoop up all the kudos, benefits, and blessings you deserve.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries poet and philosopher Friedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843) had many ups and downs. He was one of Germany's greatest poets and philosophers, but he also endured more emotional distress than most people. His biographer wrote, "Sometimes this genius goes dark and sinks down into the bitter well of his heart, but mostly his apocalyptic star glitters wondrously." You may have been flirting with a milder version of a "bitter well of the heart," Aries. But I foresee that you will soon return to a phase when your star glitters wondrously—and without the "apocalyptic" tinge that Hölderlin harbored.

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OUR COLLABORATION

I really do feel that you're here with me as I create these horoscopes. In a sense, you're my assistant. Our telepathic connection is utterly palpable and practical.

The hopes and questions you project my way stream into my higher mind, coloring my psychic environment and enriching my desire to give you exactly what you need.

If you ever want more inspiration generated in that same collaborative spirit -- beyond the horoscopes you're reading here -- keep in mind that every week I also offer EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES for you. They're four-to-five-minute meditations on the current state of your destiny.

To listen to your Expanded Audio Horoscope online, go to https://RealAstrology.com

The cost is $6 per sign online. (Discounts are available for bulk purchases.)

"Your expanded astrology horoscopes help me remember who I really am. Thanks for the support, Rob!"

—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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TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Author David Foster Wallace felt sad about how little of our mind's intense activity can be shared with others. So much of what goes on inside us seems impossible to express. Or if it is possible to express, few of our listeners are receptive to it or able to fully understand it. That's the bad news, Taurus. But here's the good news: In the coming weeks, I believe you will experience much less of this sad problem than usual. I'm guessing you'll be especially skilled at articulating your lush truth and will have an extra receptive audience for it.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): "I never resist temptation," declared playwright George Bernard Shaw. Why did he dare to utter such an outlandish statement? "Because I have found that things that are bad for me do not tempt me," he said. I propose that you aspire to embody his attitude during the next eight weeks, Gemini. Make it your aspiration to cultivate a state of mind wherein you will only be tempted to engage with influences that are healthy and educational and inspiring. You can do it! I know you can!

CANCER (June 21-July 22): While still a teenager, Cancerian cowboy Slim Pickens (1919–1983) competed in the rodeo, a sporting event in which brave athletes tangle with aggressive broncos and bulls. When America entered World War II, Pickens went to a recruiting office to sign up for the military. When asked about his profession, Pickens said "rodeo." The clerk misheard and instead wrote "radio." Pickens was assigned to work at an armed forces radio station in the American Midwest, where he spent the entire war. It was a safe and secure place for him to be. I foresee a lucky mistake like that in your near future, Cancerian. Maybe more than one lucky mistake. Be alert.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): To create your horoscope, I've borrowed ideas from four famous Leos. They all address your current astrological needs. First, here's Leo author P. L. Travers: "More and more I’ve become convinced that the great treasure to possess is the unknown." Second, here's Leo author Sue Monk Kidd: "There is no place so awake and alive as the edge of becoming." Third, Leo poet Philip Larkin: "Originality is being different from oneself, not others." Finally, Leo author Susan Cheever: "There is no such thing as expecting too much."

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I encourage you to adopt the perspective expressed by spiritual author Ann Voskamp. She wrote, "I want to see beauty. In the ugly, in the sink, in the suffering, in the daily, the moments before I sleep." I understand that taking this assignment seriously could be a challenging exercise. Most of us are quick to spot flaws and awfulness, but few have been trained to be alert for elegance and splendor and wondrousness. Are you willing to try out this approach? Experiment with it. Treat it as an opportunity to reprogram your perceptual faculties. Three weeks from now, your eyes and ears could be attuned to marvels they had previously missed.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran educator and anthropologist Johnnetta Cole wrote, "The first sign of an educated person is that she asks more questions than she delivers answers." I agree and would also say this: A prime attribute of an intelligent, eager-to-learn person is that she asks more questions than she delivers answers. I encourage you to be like that during the coming weeks, Libra. According to my astrological estimation, you are scheduled to boost your intelligence and raise your curiosity. An excellent way to meet your appointments with destiny will be to have fun dreaming up interesting questions.

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Homework. Tell how everyone in the world should be more like you. https://Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com

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Submissions sent to Rob Brezsny's Astrology 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 submissions for length, style, and content.

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Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter

Are You Alert for Beauty?

At Any Given Moment, There Are a Thousand Things You Can Love

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