Never underestimate your power to change yourself

When you accept yourself just as you are, then you can change

Rob Brezsny

Apr 19, 2022

Never underestimate your power to change yourself.

—H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.

—Carl Rogers

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YOUR DARK SIDE MAY BE SWEET AND CREAMY

Fantasize that your so-called "dark side" is sweet and creamy.

When you come home after a day of triumphs, take out the garbage.

Dream you're a red-tailed hawk soaring over a shopping mall.

Forgive yourself for the blindness that put you in the path

of those who betrayed you.

Thank your mother for the pain she endured while birthing you.

Visualize two versions of yourself, one male and one female, holding hands as they gaze into a reflection of the moon on a river.

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You can print out full-sized labels for Bruce Campbell’s Cream of Darkness Soup, then wrap them around your cans: https://tinyurl.com/ntkcamg

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RAMBLING PRONOIA THERAPY

Experiments and exercises in becoming a weirdly sane, fiercely tender, wisely innocent Master of Beautiful Truths

1. Imagine that you have been relieved of your responsibilities for a given time. They will be taken care of by people you trust. You won't have to work to make money during this grace period, but will be given all you need. Nor will you have to clean your house, wash your clothes, or buy and make your food.

Now here's the big question: What will you do now that you are free to do anything you like?

2. 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? As a temporary experiment, act as if you are.

3. A thousand years from today, everyone you know will be long dead and forgotten. There'll be nothing left of the life you love, no evidence that you ever walked this planet. That, at least, is what the fundamentalist materialists would have you believe.

But suppose the truth is very different? What if in fact every little thing you do subtly alters the course of world history?

What if your day-to-day decisions will actually help determine how the human species navigates its way through the epic turning point we're living through?

And finally, what if you will be alive in a thousand years, reincarnated into a fresh body and in possession of the memories of the person you were back in this era?

These are my hypotheses. These are my prophecies. That's why I say: Live as if your soul is eternal.

4. Provide evidence proving or disproving the following four hypotheses:

1. If you're not part of the grueling solution, you're probably part of the insidiously comfortable problem.

2. If you're not conspiring to commit smart fun, you're almost certainly colluding with the disingenuous repression.

3. If you're not trying to rally support for a tough investigation, you'll end up assisting the bland cover-up.

4. If you're not mad about how unconstructively you've used your anger in the past, then you won't be motivated to wield it more creatively any time soon.

5. Many life processes unfold outside of your conscious awareness: your body digesting your food and circulating your blood; trees using carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight to synthesize their nourishment; microorganisms in the soil beneath your feet endlessly toiling to create humus. You don't perceive any of these things directly; they're invisible to you.

Tune in to this vitalizing alchemy. Use your X-ray vision and sub-sonic hearing and psychic smelling. See if you can absorb by osmosis some of the euphoria of the trees as they soak in the sunlight from above and water from below.

6. Beauty and Truth Lab researcher Rebecca Rusche coined the word "careenstable." Here's her explanation of how it originated:

"In high school, my mom used to let me use her VW Beetle to go to basketball practice. One night after practice, a friend and I were chatting and drinking Coke when we decided to see how fast we could get the Beetle going down a nearby dirt road. Soon we were careening at 65 mph, shouting 'careen!' every time we hit a bump and flew into the air.

"When we arrived back at the gym and got out of the car half an hour later, we saw my Coke can sitting on the front bumper next to the license plate. I nudged it softly to see if it was lodged in there, but it fell right off—wasn't stuck at all. I thought, 'There must be a word for this magic,' and thus 'careenstable' was born. It came to mean anything that maintains its poise in the midst of wild, fast movement."

Give an example of how you could experiment with making careenstable work in your own life.

7. "As above, so below" is the maxim at the heart of the Western Hermetic tradition. It implies that the nature of the cosmos is intimately reflected here on Earth—and vice versa.

Everything we imagine to be far away and "out there" has a parallel in the here and now. A miniature heaven resides within each of us, although we may not yet have activated its full potential. Astrologers go so far as to say that we all contain the spiritual essences of the planets.

A little bit of Mars lives in your reproductive system and the corresponding parts of your psyche; Jupiter inhabits your solar plexus and feeds your will.

At the Beauty and Truth Lab, we act as if the hypothesis "as above, so below" is a useful perceptual filter. We urge pronoia lovers to experiment with it in the course of their daily practice.

Now and then, though, we recommend that you exercise caution about promoting unity. Writer Hanna Blank sets the right tone. "My cat attempted to adorn a prayer rug with a hairball, and I had to stop her," she says. "There are some instances in which we do not wish all things to be interconnected."

What things don't you want interconnected?

8. Question: Which part of you is too tame, overcivilized, and super-domesticated, and what are you going to do about it?

Answer, from a reader named Jason R.: "I was like a mole in a suburban backyard. I had just one little path I trod each day: to the compost pile and back. I chewed on orange rinds and leftover cabbage. I was tamed by the comfort of my familiar environment, content to have a narrow vision.

"But then I was eaten by a hawk, and became part of a wild, free body. Now I perch on the tops of trees and the peaks of roofs. I survey giddy-wide horizons, from the river to the mesa and far beyond. I have a wealth of choices.

"Where to fly? What to hunt? Who are my allies? My thoughts breathe deep, like the slow explosion of sun on the morning lake."

How would you answer the same question?

9. Confounding lessons and delightful shocks have been increasing in frequency during the recent past and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future.

In light of that fact, you may want to find some new ways to express your amazement. Clichés like "Jesus H. Christ!" or "Holy crap!" or "What the fuck?!" may not be sufficient to capture the full impact of the aha! moments.

To get you launched in the right direction, I'll suggest a few fresh exclamations. They're not designed to become tried-and-true replacements for the lazy phrases you're using now, but are rather meant to jog your imagination and inspire you to conjure up a constantly changing variety of ever-fresh invocations.

Now see how these roll off your tongue: "Great Odin's raven!" "Radical lymphocytes!" "Cackling whacks of jibber-jabber!" "Frosty heat waves!" "Panoramic serpentine!"

10. The Beauty and Truth Lab term "blisssavvvy" means "highly skilled at inducing states of rapture, synergy, and ecstatic empathy." Do you have any ideas about how you could cultivate blisssavvvy?

11. Check out this excerpt from "Those Who Do Not Dance," by Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral: "God asked from on high, / 'How do I come down from this blueness?' / We told Him: / come dance with us in the light."

I love this passage because it reminds me that nothing is ever set in stone; everything is always up for grabs. Even God needs to be open to change and eager for fresh truths. Furthermore, even we puny humans may on occasion need to be God's teacher and helper.

Likewise, we can never be sure about what lowly or unexpected sources might bring us the influences we require.

What do Mistral's words mean to you? Imagine you're the "God" referenced in the poem. What blueness are you ready to come down from, and who might invite you to dance in their light?

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WANT TO GO DEEPER?

Experiment: Present the following dare to a person or persons with whom you would like to go deeper: "You think you know me, but it's possible you know just a tantalizing fraction. Would you like to experience the rest of the story?"

And if anyone expresses interest, take him or her on a tour. Reveal the sides of you that are too mysteriously interesting to show the general public, or too intimate to reveal to anyone you don't trust, or so potent they might intimidate those who don't have a lot of self-possession.

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INNER WORK?

What do you need to kill off in yourself in order to tune in to the beauty that’s hidden from you?

What worn-out shticks are blinding you to the blessings that life is conspiring to give you?

Which of your acerbic theories may have been useful and even brilliant in the past but are now keeping you from becoming aware of the ever-fresh creation that unfolds before you?

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HOW CAN YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE REDEMPTION OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT?

Terence McKenna wrote: "We each must become like fishermen, and go out onto the dark ocean of mind, and let your nets down into that sea.

"And what you're after is not some behemoth that will tear through your nets, foul them, and drag you and your little boat into the abyss.

"Nor are what we looking for a bunch of sardines, that can slip through your net and disappear, ideas like 'have you ever noticed that your little finger exactly fits your nostril' and stuff like that.

"What we are looking for are middle-sized ideas that are not so small that they are trivial, and not so large that they are incomprehensible, but middle-sized ideas that we can wrestle into our boat and take back to the folks on shore, and have fish dinner.

"And everyone of us, this is what we should be looking for. It's not for your elucidation, it's not part of your self-directed psychotherapy; you are an explorer, and you represent our species.

"And the greatest good you can do is to bring back a new idea, because our world is endangered by the absence of good ideas. Our world is in crisis because of the absence of consciousness.

"And so, to whatever degree, any one of us can bring back a small piece of the picture, and contribute it to the building of the new paradigm. Then we participate in the redemption of the human spirit."

—Terence McKenna

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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:

Climate-Resilient Coral Offers Hope to World’s Reefs, Able to Cope With 2ºC of Global Warming. https://tinyurl.com/m77r6444

Anxiety Can Be a Habit – Which Means We Can Stop it, If We Know How. https://tinyurl.com/2p8vdbas

Optimistic Men Have a Better Shot at Less-Stressful, Healthy Aging, Finds New Study. https://tinyurl.com/5h3z7znt

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 April 21

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In 1879, Taurus-born Williamina Fleming was working as a maid for astronomer Edward Charles Pickering, director of the Harvard Observatory. Impressed with her intelligence, Pickering hired Fleming to do scientific work. By 1893, she had become a prominent, award-winning astronomer. Ultimately, she discovered the Horsehead Nebula, helped develop a system for identifying stars, and cataloged thousands of astronomical phenomena. I propose that we make her your role model for the duration of 2022. If there has ever been a year when you might achieve progress like Fleming's, it's this one.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): For 2500 years, Egypt was a conquered territory ruled by non-Egyptians. Persians took control in 525 BCE. Greeks replaced them. In succeeding centuries, Egypt had to submit to the authority of the Roman Empire, the Persians again, the Byzantine Empire, the Arab Islamic Caliphate, the Mamluk Sultanate, the Ottomans, and the British. When British troops withdrew from their occupation in 1956, Egypt was finally an independent nation self-ruled by Egyptians. If there are any elements of your own life story that even partially resemble Egypt's history, I have good news: 2022 is the year you can achieve a more complete version of sovereignty than you have ever enjoyed. And the next phase of your freedom work begins now.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): During the next four weeks, some of the best lessons you can study and learn will come to you while you're socializing and communicating. Even more than is usually the case, your friends and allies will offer you crucial information that has the power to catalyze dynamic decisions. Lucky encounters with Very Interesting People may open up possibilities worth investigating. And here's a fun X-factor: The sometimes surprising words that fly out of your mouth during lively conversations will provide clues about what your deep self has been half-consciously dreaming of.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): "Hold on tight, I would tell myself, but there was nothing for me to hold on to." A character in one of Haruki Murakami's novels says that. In contrast to that poor soul, Leo, I'm happy to tell you that there will indeed be a reliable and sturdy source for you to hold onto in the coming weeks—maybe more than one. I'm glad! In my astrological opinion, now is a time when you'll be smart to get thoroughly anchored. It's not that I think you will be in jeopardy. Rather, you're in a phase when it's more important than usual to identify what makes you feel stable and secure. It's time to bolster your foundations and strengthen your roots.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In the latter half of the 19th century, the US government collaborated with professional hunters to kill millions of bison living in America's Great Plains. Why? It was an effort to subjugate the indigenous people who lived there by eliminating the animals that were their source of food, clothing, shelter, bedding, ropes, shields, and ornaments. The beloved and useful creatures might have gone extinct altogether if it had not been for the intervention of a Virgo rancher named Mary Ann "Molly" Goodnight. She single-handedly rebuilt the bison herds from a few remaining survivors. I propose that we make Goodnight your inspirational role model for the rest of 2022. What dwindling resources or at-risk assets could you restore to health?

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): British Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758–1805) was born under the sign of Libra. He was a brilliant and unconventional strategist whose leadership brought many naval victories for his country. Yet he was blind in one eye, was missing most of his right arm from a battle wound, and was in constant discomfort from chronic seasickness. I propose we make him one of your patron saints for the coming weeks. May he inspire you to do your best and surpass your previous accomplishments even if you're not feeling perfect. (But also keep in mind: The problems you have to deal with will be far milder than Nelson's.)

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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!

Contrary to what some horoscope fans believe, there's no such thing as predestination. Fate is a tricky phenomenon that keeps changing its mind about where it wants to go. The planets may impel, as the astrological saying goes, but they don't compel.

That's why I've never really considered myself a fortuneteller. I prefer to think that my greatest service is as a psychic intelligence agent, helping you expose the hidden patterns and unconscious forces that may be affecting your life without your knowledge.

If I "predict" anything, it's not so much the future as the unknown part of the present.

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.

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.)

You can also listen over the phone by calling 1-877-873-4888. The cost is $1.99 per minute. Each forecast is 4-5 minutes long.

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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Anti-apartheid activist Bantu Stephen Biko (1946–1977) was profoundly committed to authenticity. The repressive South African government hated that about him. Biko said, "I'm going to be me as I am, and you can beat me or jail me or even kill me, but I'm not going to be what you want me to be." Fortunately for you, Scorpio, you're in far less danger as you become more and more of your genuine self. That's not to say the task of learning how to be true to your deep soul is entirely risk-free. There are people out there, even allies, who may be afraid of or resistant to your efforts. Don't let their pressure influence you to dilute your holy quest.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): "The artist must train not only his eye but also his soul," said Sagittarian painter Wassily Kandinsky. Inspired by his observation, I'm telling you, "The practical dreamer should train not only her reasoning abilities but also her primal intuition, creative imagination, non-rational perceptivity, animal instincts, and rowdy wisdom." I especially urge you to embody my advice in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. Now is a favorable time to make abundant use of the other modes of intelligence that help you understand life as it really is—and not merely as the logical, analytical mind conceives it to be.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The language spoken by the indigenous Cherokee people is at least 3,000 years old. But it never had a written component until the 1820s. Then a Cherokee polymath named Sequoyah formulated a syllabary, making it possible for the first time to read and write the language. It was a herculean accomplishment with few precedents in history. I propose we name him your inspirational role model for the rest of 2022. In my astrological understanding, you are poised to make dramatic breakthroughs in self-expression and communication that will serve you and others for a long time.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): A study by psychologists concludes there is a good way to enhance your willpower: For a given time, say one week, use your non-dominant hand to brush your teeth, wield your computer mouse, open your front door with your key, or perform other habitual activities. Doing so boosts your ability to overcome regular patterns that tend to keep you mired in inertia. You're more likely to summon the resolution and drive necessary to initiate new approaches in all areas of your life—and stick with them. The coming weeks will be an especially favorable time to try this experiment. (For more info, read this: https://tinyurl.com/BoostWillpower)

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In his book Thus Spoke Zarathustra, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, "You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist." According to my reading of the astrological omens, you will be justified to say something like that in the near future. Now is a favorable time to honestly acknowledge differences between you and others—and accept those differences just as they are. The important point is to do what you need to do without decreeing that other people are wrong or misguided.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries author Marge Piercy writes, "I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart, who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience, who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward, who do what has to be done, again and again." According to my analysis of the astrological factors, you'll be wise to be like a person Piercy describes. You're entering a phase of your cycle when diligent work and impeccable self-discipline are most necessary and most likely to yield stellar rewards.

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Homework: What's your favorite ethical trick? Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com

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