Today, I’m musing on the letter “P” and thinking about a paradigm that I think is a life-changer – pronoia.
More than once I’ve mentioned Rob Brezsny and his mission, which he calls Pronoia. He’s written a book about it, and offers this fabulous definition:
DEFINITION: Pronoia is the antidote for paranoia. It’s the understanding that the universe is fundamentally friendly. It’s a mode of training your senses and intellect so you’re able to perceive the fact that life always gives you exactly what you need, exactly when you need it.
HYPOTHESES: Evil is boring. Cynicism is idiotic. Fear is a bad habit. Despair is lazy. Joy is fascinating. Love is an act of heroic genius. Pleasure is your birthright. Receptivity is a superpower.
PROCEDURE: Act as if the universe is a prodigious miracle created for your amusement and illumination. Assume that secret helpers are working behind the scenes to assist you in turning into the gorgeous masterpiece you were born to be. Join the conspiracy to shower all of creation with blessings.
I SO believe this attitude; this way of navigating in the world; this existential premise is not only hugely helpful, but actually critically needed in these times. I think we all have unique ways we can contribute to the greater good in this world and we should go about doing that. Our services, our light, our love is very much needed. And equally important is our commitment to not add to the morass, the abjection, the overall craziness in the world when we’re in a position to offer something more uplifting.
Of course all of us are human, embroiled in individual dramas and collection ones, and of course we all have stresses and problems and times when we feel frightened and depressed. I’m not suggesting we pretend otherwise. But what I am suggesting is that we make an effort to celebrate the delightful, encourage the creative, laugh at the absurd, and generally be part of the feel-good-energy-shift collective. To that effect, I plan on doing more regular postings of things that hopefully with intrigue, inspire, hearten, and perhaps even spark your own. Perhaps I’ll call this feature a Parade of Positivity and Pronoia.
I suspect I can come up with a better name than that, but in the meantime, here’s a few things…
- I have a friend whose doing a daily tarot draw – she pulls a card from one deck, and then pulls the matching card from two other decks and then takes a look at how the symbolism of all three cards dance together. She’s posting daily on Instagram so you might want to take peek and follow along.
- But I also like to pull my own cards, and this one is from one of the Inner Alchemy decks I created a while ago during one of Mindy Tsona’s card creating journeys. You can read more about her work here. I’ll be keeping my eyes open for flow – where is it happening, where does it need to, what magic is in this space?
- I find the work of Lia Halloran inspiring – a beautiful intersection between art and science. Her Your Body is a Space that Sees is a series of gorgeous cyanotype prints that trace contributions of women in astronomy since antiquity. Does it make you think of yourself differently? And isn’t that a very very good thing?
- Sometimes solutions are so simple, like this Lucky Iron Fish that is helping address iron deficiency anemia. Let’s celebrate more of these creative and simple actions.
- Moving on from lucky fish to lucky foxes.
- Artist Miguel Angel Blanco clearly has a handle on understanding the everyday sacred. He’s amassed a library of boxes, each one filled with artifacts he finds on walks. He calls this work The Library of the Forest. It makes my heart happy. There is beauty all around us if we only look. And it’s doubled when we make the effort to share it.
So are you ready to join me in my support of Pronoia? What fabulous thing do you have to share? What is delighting your heart? What kindness has been shown you? Do tell – you know I love to hear.