I recently stumbled upon an article that stated, “[Rob Brezsny] has successfully changed the horoscope writing style from dry, banal to more creative and narrative driven.” I couldn’t agree more! Read on and see for yourself. Can you glean any truth from your Free Will Astrology forecast for July?

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
July
© Copyright 2009  Rob Brezsny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Time to diversify your energy sources, Aries. It’s as if you’ve grown too dependent on oil — metaphorically speaking — and have neglected to develop relationships with wind turbines, solar panels, natural gas, and other mans of generating power. What if in the future — metaphorically speaking — oil becomes scarcer or wildly expensive? And what if, over the long haul, its byproducts degrade your environment? I suggest you start now to expand the variety of fuels you tap into. It’s a perfect moment to adjust your plans for your long-term energy needs.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Your mirror may lie to you. A friend might neglect to share a crucial detail. Even pets and heroes and normally reliable suppliers might not be completely there for you. Fortunately, I expect that secondary sources will come through. Other people’s mirrors may reveal a clue you haven’t been able to find in your own. An acquaintance could step forward and do a convincing impersonation of a friend. And a previously overlooked or unknown connection might become your own personal wellspring. Moral of the story: If you’re willing to be flexible and forswear all impulses to blame, you won’t be deprived of what you need.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Having discovered I can read the minds of animals, I’ve started a new sideline as a ghostwriter. Here’s an excerpt from an interview I did with Prestige, a potbellied pig born under the sign of Gemini. Brezsny: What do you like best about being a potbellied pig? Prestige: I’m greedy but cute. I get to eat like a pig, yet not be victimized by the negative judgments people usually project onto pigs. Brezsny: Is there anything you’re worried about? Prestige: I need to make my caretaker understand that for the next few weeks we Geminis will need more than the usual amounts of food, love, presents, praise, attention, everything. Brezsny: Anything you’d like to say to my Gemini readers? Prestige: Don’t let anybody make you feel guilty for wanting what you want.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The ancient Chinese sage Lao Tse said, “People of the highest caliber, upon hearing about Taoism, follow it and practice it immediately. People of average caliber, hearing about Taoism, reflect for a while and then experiment. People of the lowest caliber, hearing about Taoism, let out a big laugh.” Now substitute the words “your splashy new ideas” for “Taoism” in Lao Tse’s quote and you’ll have your horoscope for this month, Cancerian. For added punch, remember what he said in another context: “No idea can be considered valuable until a thousand people have laughed at it.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Nietzsche’s dictum might be useful for you to keep in mind right now, Leo: “If it doesn’t kill you, it’ll make you stronger.” Since I’m very sure that the turbulent waters through which you’re navigating will not kill you, I’m looking forward to all the ways this journey will upgrade your confidence and enhance your power. But there’s more to be gained, beyond what Nietzsche formulated. It’s also true that if it doesn’t kill you (which it won’t), it will make you wilder and kinder and smarter and more beautiful.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): According to my projections, you will not, in the coming weeks, meet a dark, secretive stranger who’ll play you like a violin. Nor will you be lured to the warehouse district after midnight to pick up the “missing stuff.” And I highly doubt that you will be invited to join a cult that’s conspiring to seize political power following the events of December 21, 2012. No, Virgo. Your fate is far more mundane than that. In fact, it’s more likely that you will soon meet a bright, forthright stranger who will play you like an accordion. You will be drawn to a convenient location at midday to pick up the “missing stuff.” And you will be invited to become part of a group that has the potential to play a significant role in your quest for meaning in the coming years.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): For years, I’ve remembered most of my dreams every night, so I’m good at spotting trends. And one of the themes that has arisen recently involves you Libras. Last week, I dreamed that three of my Libra friends were pole vaulting at the Olympics. Four nights ago, I dreamed that my two favorite Libran astrologers were rappelling up a skyscraper. Last night, I dreamed that four Libran celebrities — Mahatma Gandhi, Gwen Stefani, Sacha Baron Cohen (a.k.a. Borat), and Kate Winslet — climbed a gold ladder to a cafe on a cloud where they drank magic coffee that made wings sprout on their backs. So what’s going on? Is my subconscious telling me that it’s prime time for you to raise your expectations and upgrade your goals? Do my dreams mean you should rise above the conventional wisdom and rededicate yourself to your loftiest ambitions? What do you think?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Spiritual epiphany alert! Uncanny revelations imminent! Hope you don’t mind being awoken in the middle of your regularly scheduled life by a special delivery from the Great Beyond. Yes, my cute little bundle of rumbling feelings and psychic sensitivities: It doesn’t matter if you’re a true believer or an unrepentant infidel — you will soon be invited to have one of your logical certainties torn out by the roots and replaced with a throbbing vision of cosmic whoopee. Brace yourself for the most pungent fun you’ve had since your last mudwrestle with the angel.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): While appearing on the TV show “I’m a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here,” ex-pro basketball player John Salley gave some advice I’d like to pass along. “When you see crazy coming your way,” he philosophized, “you should cross the street.” I do think crazy will be headed in your direction sometime soon, Sagittarius, and the best response you can make is to avoid it altogether, preferably in a way that it doesn’t notice you. That’s right: Don’t shout at crazy, don’t bolt away ostentatiously, and certainly don’t run up and give crazy a big hug. There are far better ways for you to gather in your fair share of intriguing mystery; I’d hate to see you get bogged down in a useless, inferior version of it.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Everyone wants an extra piece of you these days, and they don’t necessarily care about how it will affect you. So beware of emotional manipulation, subliminal seduction, and the temptation to believe in impossible promises. To make matters more extreme, I suspect you may be secretly pleased that everyone wants an extra piece of you — and might be tempted to conspire in your own dismantling. Let me propose a compromise. How about letting three trustworthy people — no more — take an extra piece of you? And be very certain that they have enough self-control to know when to stop taking.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You’re almost never one brick short of a load. Know what I’m saying? Your elevator almost always goes all the way to the top floor. Rarely, if ever, do I have to warn you against playing with a deck of 51 cards. So I hope you don’t be offended when I say that it’s time to find that missing brick and service your elevator and buy a new deck. In other words, you’re due for your 40,000 mile check-up.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): magic  (ma’ jik), n. 1. A mysterious event or process that seemingly refutes the known laws of science. 2. A willed transformation of one’s own state of mind. 3. A surprising triumph that exceeds all expectations. 4. Something that works, though no one understands why. 5. The impossible becoming possible. 6. “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” (Arthur C. Clarke.) 7. A quality predominant in the lives of Pisceans during the period July 1 through July 20, 2009.

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CLICK HERE to learn more about Rob Brezsny’s book, Pronoia is the Antidote for Paranoia.

James Eggert, a renowned author of several books on economics and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, has written an innovative new book Meadowlark Economics: Collected Essays on Ecology, Community, and Spirituality, in which he investigates the dramatic disappearance of meadowlarks in a field near his home in Wisconsin. In unraveling the mysterious departure of such creatures and focusing on economical and ecological factors, Eggert is led to conclusions that not only reflect the meadowlark population, but serve as insightful clues into humanity and the need to incorporate environmental, spiritual, and community factors when examining the economy and business practices. The following essay is a fascinating (and rightfully critical) look at Eggert’s principles in relation to Alan Greenspan and the economic pitfalls of free market capitalism.

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Greenspan’s Anguish
by James Eggert

I made a point to save my copy of the Wall Street Journal’s Oct. 24, 2008 issue as an important reminder, a souvenir if you will, of the tumultuous year of 2008. There, on the front page is a memorable photograph of an unhappy Alan Greenspan.  The viewer is, I believe, witnessing a moment of anguish.  Indeed, the headline says it all:

“Greenspan Admits Errors To Hostile House Panel.”

Here then is our former top economist, a man who navigated the nation through numerous financial storms but now has been suddenly blindsided by the greatest economic crisis of our generation.   It was as if Greenspan’s  free-market, anti-regulation house-of-cards had come crashing down on top of him–along with the millions of other victims here and around the globe–a freefall of not only investments, credit, paper wealth,  employment, retirement dreams, and foreclosed realities across the land, but also of economic orthodoxy where at least one hermetically sealed belief bubble had  burst!  It was painful.

I know it hurt because I too have been there.  First it was a fascination with classical Marxism; later it was Democratic Socialism, while sandwiched in between, an infatuation with Milton Friedman’s “Free to Choose” Capitalism.  All of them, in their various ways, had turned out to be limited and, in the end, disappointing.

So now I’m wondering– why not take advantage of this teachable moment?  We might begin by jettisoning all economic “isms” of the past two centuries, to step out of the rigid ideological boxes while distancing ourselves from those “true believers” who have promulgated so many economic and social disasters by trying to cram complex reality into simple ideological molds.

Next, let us invite into our thinking–not a new “ism”–but a new economic consciousness,  a shape-shifting amalgam of market economics informed  by (as this writer sees it), ecological principles, community values, and spiritual insights from the wealth of the world’s great religions.  This new perspective I call simply: “meadowlark economics.”

Markets, of course, do some things very well: recognizing (and pricing) scarcity, identifying trade-offs, while highlighting the importance of incentives and encouraging genuine entrepreneurs.  Markets also do a good job of “bringing forth the goods and services needed for a becoming existence” as one economist elegantly phrased it.   Inventiveness and the evolution of sustainable, democratic, and durable technologies can also be the fruits of efficient markets as well.

But equally important, a “meadowlark economics” will factor in the health of the environment and the maintenance of natural ecological relationships including the integrity of beautiful landscapes and wildlife habitats, the protection of our soils, rivers, lakes, and aquifers, plus the broad spectrum of biodiversity, and yes–if we are very very lucky–the stabilization of Earth’s climate.

The health of local communities should also be a touchstone for economic decision-making.  We might, for example, ask: “How does a new Farm Bill or Energy Bill support local food and transportation systems or encourage livable neighborhoods (vs. the damage done in unregulated free trade agreements)?

Finally, the wisdom and insights from the great spiritual traditions should be added to the mix of an ever evolving economic consciousness.  Consider, for example, the growing emphasis to promote environmental stewardship (“Care of Creation”) or of redressing the savage disparities of wealth and privilege on the one hand, powerlessness and poverty on the other.

As I glance once more at the photo of Greenspan’s tortured face–again the thought crosses my mind: “Please, no more economic fundamentalism, no more militant orthodoxy.  Instead, let us choose a new economic consciousness leading to a sustainable and healthy future for our Earth, our children, and our grandchildren.”

***********************
James Eggert is a writer and emeritus faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.  His new book Meadowlark Economics: Collected Essays on Ecology, Community and Spirituality (North Atlantic Books) is an exploration of the above ideas.

(Note:  A shortened version of the above essay was first published under the title “Meadowlark Economic View Should Guide Us,” in the Wisconsin State Journal, Jan 24th, 2009.)

Click here for more information on Meadowlark Economics.

June is named after Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage. Some believe that good luck will be brought into their new household if they get married in this month. It’s no wonder that June is known for its large number of wedding festivities! Whether you’re a newlywed, celebrating your nth anniversary, or embarking on a path to discover intimate relations, our June releases will accompany you in your exciting journey this season. Enter into this unpredictable summer with new books that teach and explore the eternally challenging but rewarding topics of sexuality, intimacy, and the afterlife.

To order, please visit www.northatlanticbooks.com.

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Conscious Conception: Elemental Journey through the Labyrinth of Sexuality
By Jeannine Parvati Baker and Frederick Baker

In an age when modern reproductive technology is moving at a rapid and alarming rate, Conscious Conception is an alternative exploration into understanding personal fertility, as well as a comprehensive guide to discovering newfound meaning in our sexuality. Combining knowledge of myth and culture, authors Jeannine Parvati Baker and Frederick Baker offer a step-by-step manual of fertility awareness, depth psychology, and psychic birth control and interweave the five elements–Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether–as tools for discovery in the face of reproductive challenges. Including numerous contributions from experts in the field, the book investigates a broad range of topics, from the causes of infertility to the spiritualization of sexuality. Conscious Conception urges us to see all of the possibilities in life’s plan of continuation and to seek a clearer communion with our own reproductive experience.

$25.00/$29.95
Trade Paper
978-0-938190-83-7
416 pages, 8-1/2 x 11

On sale June 2, 2009

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Cupid’s Poisoned Arrow: From Habit to Harmony in Sexual Relationships
By Marnia Robinson

Cupid’s Poisoned Arrow combines revealing personal experience, an easy-to-understand discussion about the science of making love, and information from sacred texts on sexuality. Focusing on the ancient territory of “bonding-based” lovemaking, it offers a refreshing approach to sexuality and spirituality for men and women interested in redefining and strengthening their intimate relationships. Marnia Robinson describes the biological mechanisms behind passion, the “lows” that often follow sexual satiation, and even why the human brain is vulnerable to compulsive sexual behaviors and other addictions. In doing so, she reveals how bonding-based lovemaking can restore balance and promote well-being and authentic monogamy. Emphasizing gentle intercourse with periods of relaxation, Robinson presents specific mammalian bonding behaviors that help couples stay emotionally attached to each other and explains why they work. This book is for anyone questioning why his or her intimate relationship has become fragile—or has failed—and willing to try an approach that’s so ancient, it’s new.

$18.95/$23.00
Trade Paper
978-1-55643-809-7
416 pages, 6 x 9

On sale June 23, 2009

Click HERE for the author’s website.
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The Western Book of Crossing Over: Conversations with the Other Side
By Sheldon Stoff

This reflective series of conversations with his wife Lorraine after her death enables author Sheldon Stoff to take readers on a journey through the process of living, dying, and living again—in the afterlife. Insights gleaned from both Western and Eastern traditions, especially those of Kabbalah, provide a universalist, non-sectarian context for Stoff’s experiences. With chapters addressing reincarnation, fulfilling one’s life mission, and the significance of finding one’s soul mate, The Western Book of Crossing Over presents a transcendent view of human consciousness and what it means to be alive. Packed with fascinating details about the afterlife, the book serves as a passionate reminder of the importance of keeping an awareness of the afterlife in order to live fully and authentically on this side of the life-death divide. Eleven original drawings of the Other Side based on the conversations between the author and his wife by their son Jesse provide a fascinating visual counterpoint to Lorraine’s descriptions of the afterlife and her uplifting, ultimately hopeful and joyful messages of love.

$14.95/$18.95
Trade Paper
978-1-58394-266-6
176pages, 6 x 9

On sale June 30, 2009

Click HERE for the author’s website.

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I am a Los Angeles native. You can find me in my mom’s SUV on the 5, attempting to befriend two-hour traffic jams while stuffing my face with day-old supermarket California rolls. Two years ago, I came to the Bay Area for school, and discovered the beauty of fresh. Fresh air, fresh food, fresh vibe…I love it all! Better yet, fresh for me meant a whole new avenue of truly healthy living and helping to create a healthy world.

I will say that for those of us who live here, we are blessed with the best gift that a coastal city of fresh, world-changing visions could ever want: sushi connoisseur Casson Trenor as a resident.

Lucky for us, we’ve heard of his new release Sustainable Sushi, a friendly guide with all the information needed for us to make sustainable choices at the sushi bar, allowing people like me to enjoy eating fish in a healthy manner while keeping healthy oceans in mind. We also have Tataki, one of the only sustainable sushi bars in the country, that Trenor helped launch. I must admit that my newfound excitement for this alternative mode of sushi eating has, well, made me eat more of it rather than talk about it to my dear, oblivious buddies back home.

Thanks to a review of Sustainable Sushi in the seasonal food magazine Edible Los Angeles, LA will finally get a taste of saving the oceans while dining exquisitely, as they seem to do so well. It’s a win-win situation.

Here’s what Edible Los Angeles had to say:

[Trenor’s] Sustainable Sushi is full of hard fishery facts and undeniable science…but Trenor wisely knows that it’s not just the facts that will change minds. Gorgeous illustrations of each fish and clear photos of exquisite sushi dishes will surely convince readers that seafood like the relatively abundant Northwestern geoduck is as tasty as and more sustainable than the scarce Caribbean conch. Most of us want to do the right thing, but few are willing to sacrifice gustatory pleasure doing it. Sustainable Sushi shows that it is possible to eat right—and well.

So, sushi-loving friends in LA, and elsewhere, here is a list of some sustainable options that can replace our common favorites:

1. Geoduck (“goo-wee-duk”)/mirugai
•    Order mirugai instead of surf clam, wild abalone or conch

2. Alaskan Pollock surimi
•    The Pollock are abundant and a more sustainable option than imitation crab used in rolls like California rolls
•    Here’s a fun fact: Legend has it that the California roll, surimi and avocado, was invited in the 1970s in Los Angeles. The chef used avocado as a replacement for toro, which was difficult to find. The roll went on to become one of the most popular sushi dishes in the US.

3. Wild Salmon
•    Farmed salmon live in crowded conditions which can increase their chances of contracting diseases or parasites. Farmers also use antibiotics or pesticides to combat these problems, and the residual chemicals can be passed onto consumers.
•    Order wild salmon or farmed arctic char instead.

4. U.S. farmed shrimp and freshwater prawns, British Columbia spot prawns, Oregon pink shrimp
•    They are a much better option than most Asian imported farmed shrimp such as tiger prawns—more environmental regulations are in place and in general the product is cleaner.

Can’t wait to make some immediate changes?
CLICK HERE to create a virtual sushi dinner. You can pick up to 8 choices and see if your choices made it on the “Best Choice” or “Good Alternative” categories. Don’t be shocked after the first round when you discover all your choices are ones to avoid; you can read why they are with the helpful pop ups. After you play a couple rounds, put your knowledge to test at dinner tonight at the sushi bar.

CLICK HERE to find reviews of restaurants and recent news in the sushi world.

Browser on IPhone not fast enough?
CLICK HERE to get your own handy copy of the guide!

So go on, tell your friends!

All it took was one blunt but necessary question: “Why aren’t you eating cheese sticks with us?” As an art teacher at an elementary school, Ruby Roth was faced with explaining why she was not joining her students in their meat and dairy-centered school lunches. Though we might think that children are too young and naïve to understand vegetarianism and veganism and the heavy concepts behind them, Roth was surprised with their openness and receptiveness to her answers. Some committed to starting these new diets the very next day!

In this interview podcast from Books Expo America, Roth shares how her interactions with her curious students prompted her to create her groundbreaking children’s book: That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals. Inspired by her own students’ artwork and taking advantage of the pervasiveness of anthropomorphic cartoon characters-turned-celebrities, Roth both wrote and illustrated this fun, colorful resource introducing vegetarianism, veganism, and the beauty of living animals.

She addresses big, heavy, timely issues of factory farms, environmental consequences, and detrimental health effects through vivid graphics and lively text, making this book not only for early readers but for the entire family.

It’ll make both you and your child want to shout, “I want to go vegan!,” a phrase you thought meat-loving fanatics see only in their nightmares.

We can hope that if the politicians and rigid school systems won’t stop the rising rate of obesity and asthma in our young population, these cute farm animals, charming sea creatures and our cuddly, loyal pets will.

Unconvinced? SEE it for yourself!

CLICK HERE to listen to Ruby Roth’s BEA podcast.

I’m in my little cubicle at North Atlantic Books, my third day on the job as the new publicity intern, and I’ve been asked to write a blog on upcoming raw foods events. Initial reaction…groan. To understand the depth of my groan I should probably introduce myself and my relationship with raw foods, which, to be blunt, is a nonexistent one. I’m a college student living on pb&js and cereal, and have recently mastered the art of peeling string cheese into the perfect-sized strips. Sometimes I get the raspberry chocolate balance bars, which constitutes my serving of fruit for the day. David Wolfe has named chocolate a ‘superfood’. So, when you think about it, my balance bar gets double points on the healthy meter as both fruit and superfood qualifier.

Truth be told, I’m a tad ashamed of my ignorance on all matters food. I suppose I find the world of food a bit intimidating. But the benefits of raw foods are undeniable. The raw food diet is one of the 5 most popular diets in the world. Individuals who are on a plant based diet are 200 times less likely to develop cancer. Additionally, they are 20 times less likely to develop heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Statistics like these are hard to ignore and explain why the raw food movement continues to gain momentum. I guess an awareness of the choices we make, including the foods we consume, is all part of growing up. I’m optimistic that I can really learn something while keeping viewers up to date on this important subject. Listed below are some of the major raw foods events happening throughout the summer, including some of our own authors as the feature. And who knows…maybe you’ll catch me at one of these local events. Look for me with the raspberry fudge balance bar crumbs on my shirt.

Local Raw Foods Lineup, Summer 2009:

June 11 David Wolfe Copperfield’s Books appearance
People just can’t get enough of Naked Chocolate, Eating for Beauty, The Sunfood Diet Success System, and Superfoods author. Here he gives his last California appearance before heading up to Oregon.
Location: Sebastopol, CA
Time: 7:00 pm
Click here for more information.

June 12-14 31st Annual Harmony Festival
Superfoods author David Wolfe will be speaking on his nutritional discoveries including my favorite…how chocolate can save the world! The festival features hundreds of speakers, workshops, and musical performances including Matisyahu, Dead Kennedys, and India.Arie.
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
Click here for tickets, info, and complete lineup.

June 17 Novato Raw Food and Healthy Living Group June Meetup
What better way to talk raw food and health than in the midst of a delicious potluck of simply prepared, fresh, whole foods. Dr. Connie Burns will give an introduction on Naturopathic Medicine and Alternative Healing. Bring a dish for 8-10 people and try the mouth-watering concoctions of your fellows
Location: 800 DeLong Ave. Suite 100, Novato, CA 94945
Click here to RSVP or get more info.

Monday Night LIVE! @ Café Gratitude
Matthew and Terces Engelhart, owners of the Bay Area’s many Café Gratitudes and authors of The Abounding River Personal Logbook, I Am Grateful, and Sacred Commerce started this Monday night tradition in January 2009 and it’s been an absolute sensation with raw food lovers ever since. The educational speaker lineup is truly impressive. And if you’re new to Café Gratitude you’re in for a real treat. Here are just a few of the upcoming speakers:
June 15 Done Weaver: Remineralize the Earth
June 22 Bruce Horowitz: Raw Foods Chef, author, Sustainable Living
June 29 Cherie Sonia: Founder/director of Living Light Culinary Institute, author
July 13 Blake Bertlius: NLP practitioner
Click here for complete summer lineup.

July 25-26 Raw Health Expo 2009
The ultimate farmers’ market has arrived! Celebrated as the first expo to have a fully-functioning California Certified Farmers’ Market, this expo will have over 75 booths set up for your perusing pleasure. Speakers include Nomi Shannon, author of Raw Gourmet and Victoria Boutenko, author of 12 Steps to Raw Foods, Raw Family Signature Dishes, and Green Smoothie Revolution.
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
Click here for lineup and ticket information.

July 25-26 Sacred Commerce Workshop
Change the way you view the workplace into a spiritually fulfilling society and reap the benefits. Sacred Commerce authors and owners of the deliciously vegan Café Gratitude, Matthew and Terces Engelhart host this two day workshop.
Locaton: SF, location TBA
For more information e-mail: infoa@cafegratitude.com.

August 23-29 5th Annual Vibrant Living Expo
Raw food event of the year! Culinary demos, mini Green Lifestyle film festival, health panels, speakers, workshops, and delicious gourmet raw food.
Location: Living Light Center, Town Hall, and Masonic Hall  Fort Bragg, CA
Click here for more information.

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
June
© Copyright 2009  Rob Brezsny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): While reading a crime report in the online version of Northern California’s Arcata Eye newspaper, I came across this entry: “A dreadlocked man attacked a lamp post on the Plaza with his mighty fists, punching it while yelling and, in the memorable description of a witness, ‘fighting amongst himself.’” I immediately thought of you, Aries. According to my analysis of the omens, you’ve been fighting amongst yourself with — how shall I say this? — crafty ferocity. I’d be ecstatic if I could convince you to call a truce, begin peace talks, and maybe even begin practicing some crafty tenderness toward yourself.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): When you Tauruses are at your best, you get into a groove but not into a rut — humming along with creative efficiency, not just going through the motions or repeating the same old tired shticks. When you’re at the top of your game, it’s because you’ve surrounded yourself with stimuli that make you feel peaceful and comfortable. Other people may work well under pressure and accomplish most when they’re driven by stress, but you usually need to be at ease in order to access your deep brilliance. From what I can tell, everything I just said is a description of what will be happening in the coming weeks.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Research shows that if a stranger gazes at you for at least 8.2 seconds, he or she is definitely interested in you. If, on the other hand, the look lasts 4.5 seconds or less, there’s no attraction. I’m guessing that the percentage of long scrutinies you receive in the coming weeks will be higher than usual. Your raw charisma levels will be up, as will your ability to make strong first impressions. How do you plan to exploit the advantages this will give you, Gemini? According to my projections, it’ll be a good time to meet some allies of the future.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): One of the tastiest frogs in the world is at risk of dying out as a species. The “mountain chicken” frog, once a fixture on the chain of Caribbean islands known as Montserrat, has become endangered through loss of habitat, disease, and over-hunting by humans. In response to the crisis, conservationists have airlifted a number of survivors to new homes, attempting to save their kind from extinction. I think it’s time for you to arrange a comparable intervention of your own, Cancerian. A sweet and delicious part of you or your world is not exactly thriving, and needs some strenuous help and care.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): A Florida woman, upset that her local McDonald’s had run out of Chicken McNuggets, phoned the 911 emergency service line for help. In an unrelated incident, a Florida man took the same action when Burger King told him it had no lemonade to sell him. I recommend that you not indulge in similar overreactions in the coming weeks, Leo. The Drama Queen or Drama King archetype is threatening to possess you, and I suspect you’ll have to act forcefully to keep it away. If you’re successful, you’ll be visited by a far more congenial archetype — the Social Butterfly. And that would prove to be amusing and productive.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Most of you Virgos have built-in safeguards that ensure you won’t abuse power. That’s why I feel uninhibited about advising you to grab all the new authority and influence you can get in the next few weeks. It’s one of those phases in your astrological cycle when you’re more likely to be in line for promotions, new privileges, and increased clout. I hope you won’t be shy. You may have to be uncharacteristically aggressive as you claim your rightful potency and rewards.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In the coming days, the surprise and delight quotient will be way up. I bet you’ll be more prone than usual to uttering exclamations.  There may also be a confounding “aha!” and a mind-wobbling “What the frack?!” mixed in there, although I think the emphasis will be on developments that educate and entertain you. Since you will probably be ushered in the direction of the frontier, I think you should find new ways to express your amazement. Instead of cliches like “Jesus H. Christ!” or “Holy crap!”, why not try something fresh, like the following: “Great Odin’s raven!” . . . “Radical lymphocytes!” . . . “Cackling whacks of jibber-jabber!” . . . “Frosty heat waves!” . . . “Panoramic serpentine.” Any other ideas?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): As I was driving out in the country, I spied a curious statement written in large crooked letters on a homemade sign: “I have seen the truth and it doesn’t make sense.” I’m guessing you might feel that way yourself right now, Scorpio. You have summoned the courage to see the deeper reality beneath the official story, but that has made you more confused than you were when you only possessed a smattering of iffy facts. So you’re smarter and better informed, but are nonetheless feeling less secure. My advice: Don’t flee back into the fake comfort of comfy delusions. If you can maintain your poise in the face of the raging ambiguity, you will ultimately be rewarded with a big dose of cathartic clarity.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “Wisdom is knowing I am nothing,” said Indian philosopher Nisargadatta Maharaj. “Love is knowing I am everything. And between the two my life moves.” According to my calculations, Sagittarius, you’ll be more on the “knowing you are everything” side of the polarity for the next few weeks. That’s because a flood is imminent. I expect you’ll be on the receiving end of a massive outreach from the universe — an influx of invitations, inquiries, and offers to make connection. You should also be prepared for the dizzying pleasure that comes from seeing how profoundly interlinked and interdependent you are.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): This is my pledge to you, Capricorn: I promise to use all my otherworldly connections to get your karmic debt reduced in the next few weeks. In return, I ask that you make these pledges to me: You promise not to be a self-pitying martyr or a cranky beast of burden or a willing victim of rank manipulation. You agree not to just follow sloppy orders or passively capitulate as some bad guy with a nice smile tries to lower your standards. And finally, you swear to feed a really healthy desire that will ultimately help give your other desires more integrity and nobility.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “We all have a blind spot in love,” says astrologer Jessica Shepherd at moonkissed.com. “Never simple to figure out and even harder to see head on, our blind spot is as unique and complexly layered as we are.” But it’s not a hopeless cause, I would add. In fact, you may ultimately be able to discern the contours of your special ignorance about romance; you may find a way to fix the unconscious glitch that has undermined your quest for meaningful intimacy. How should you proceed? Well, you will need skillful ingenuity, a willingness to gaze upon a flustering truth about yourself, and maybe a little miraculous grace. And now here’s the very good news, Aquarius: It so happens that all these things are available to you right now.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): It’s a ripe time to revise and rework your past, Pisces. I’ll trust you to make the ultimate determination about how best to do that, but here are some possibilities. 1. Revisit a memory that has haunted you, and do a ritual that resolves it and brings you peace. 2. Return to the scene of an awkward anomaly that remains unsettled, and finally do a duty you neglected. 3. Make your way back to a dream you wandered away from prematurely, and either re-commit yourself to it, or put it to rest for good. 4. Dig up and contemplate a secret that has been festering, and come to a decision about what you can do to heal it.

Homework: What are the five conditions you’d need in your world in order to feel you were living in utopia?  Testify at FreeWillAstrology.com.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Rob Brezsny’s “Free Will Astrology.”

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CLICK HERE to learn more about Rob Brezsny’s book, Pronoia is the Antidote for Paranoia.

Dr. Michael Mayer, author of Energy Psychology: Self Healing Practices for Bodymind Health knows that not everyone has heard of this holistic healing practice. Dr. Mayer is a licensed psychologist practicing in the San Francisco area who specializes in self-healing methods for physical and mental health. He presents his bodymind healing approach at professional conferences, national/international workshops, universities, and hospitals.

So Dr. Mayer, what is energy psychology?

Energy psychology (EP) is a leading-edge psychological method. Like the field of energy medicine, EP is based 
on the notion that psychological disturbances can be effected, modulated, regulated, and healed through interventions that change the disturbances in the body’s 
electromagnetic energies and energy fields. Combining ancient knowledge of the body’s bioenergy flow in and around the body with modern applications, energy psychologists have developed 
simple techniques that anyone can learn to alleviate a wide range of common problems that plague modern man. Energy psychology combines physical interventions derived from acupuncture, yoga and other ancient systems of healing with cognitive 
interventions including imaginal exposure to bring about therapeutic shifts in thoughts, emotions and behavioral patterns 
that are involved in a wide range of psychological problems. The chief medical officer of Kosovo, and the founder of Green Cross said EP was the most effective method they’ve seen for healing the effects of severe trauma. Research on EP has also been shown to be effective for many of the common issues of our everyday lives.

In Mayer’s new book, he broadens and deepens the field of EP by integrating Qigong* and other cross-cultural energy healing traditions, symbolic process methods, depth psychotherapy, Gendlin’s “Focusing,” and other well-established psychological methods.

CLICK HERE to visit Dr. Mayer’s website.

CLICK HERE to read a recent interview with Michael Mayer from the Duluth News Tribune. (You have to complete the free registration before viewing the article.)

CLICK HERE to find out more about Energy Psychology.
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*Qigong, of which Tai chi is the most known method, is a many thousand-year method of cultivating the energy of life by synchronizing breath and movement. Qigong, one of the five branches of Chinese medicine, also has time tested stress reduction methods such as breathing techniques that simultaneously relax and energize while one is remaining still.

On April 18, Tissa Abeysekara — writer, filmmaker, actor — passed away in his native Sri Lanka from complications resulting from a mild heart attack, two weeks shy of his 70th birthday. We feel honored to have had the privilege of introducing Tissa’s poignant fiction to an American audience with Bringing Tony Home. Tissa will be missed by his family, friends, and readers.

The following memories and reflections were contributed by Mark White, Scala House Press.

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The argument that what constitutes poetry is precisely what is lost when poetry is translated into another language is generally ascribed to Robert Frost. Until I had the honor of working with Tissa Abeysekara on the stories that would ultimately form Bringing Tony Home, I had always paid closer heed to the other half of that partial truth, that what constitutes poetry (and literature in general) is precisely what is saved in translation: namely, the poet’s and, by extension, another culture’s voice.

From my first introduction to Tissa’s work, what struck me most about his writing were the traits that we generally use to judge poets: his use of language, diction, syntax, and his ability to remain fixed on a detail — a piece of landscape, for instance — until he was satisfied that it was fully explored.

None of this is to say that his stories aren’t extremely moving on many levels: “Elsewhere” can be read as a severe indictment of Sri Lanka’s classist and patriarchal systems, and “Hark, the Moaning Pond ” is as powerful a myth-telling as I have ever come across. But for the most part it was less the terrain that Tissa covered than it was the language he used to explore that terrain that I found so affecting.

Randomly opening the collection, for example, I find this passage from “Elsewhere”:

It was dark under the rubber trees, and the sad whistle held until the Little Train came out of that gloom into the bright sunlight, and beyond the embankment on the left I saw a strip of paddy, a winding river of emerald green. On either side the undulating land was thickly timbered, and past all that and far away on the patch of blue sky there was a bluer shape like a brush stroke — Sri Pada, the Holy Peak — and it began moving with my angle of vision.

These two sentences are representative of the style he uses throughout all of his fiction. At their core, I believe, they reveal less a storyteller’s prose than they do a mirror to the movements of a mind. Like waves in the incoming tide, each phrase that Tissa employs, each fragment of thought, moves just beyond the previous one to cover the next piece of landscape, the next node of thought that he was exploring.

Tissa didn’t write to convey knowledge; his stories reveal a mind, nearing the end of its life, trying to make sense of everything in it. It was through language, through the distinct, undulating cadence of his sentences, that Tissa explored that mind.

And words. Like a poet, Tissa clung tenaciously to his words. A Sinhala writer who had adopted English as his “mother tongue” in the early 1960s, Tissa’s command of the English language was impeccable, and words were his blood. But of course he remained Sinhala, and Sri Lankan, and words like Amerikkan piti, banian, Gamage, hackery, niyara, Wesak, and so on, filled his prose. Most of Sinhala derivation, and some the legacy of Portuguese and British colonialism.

And nearly all of it “Greek” for Americans with little knowledge of Sri Lanka beyond news accounts of tsunamis or civil wars. So in the process of preparing the stories for American publication with Tissa, we were faced with the challenge of what to do with those words. While the meaning of most of them, in the context of their respective passages, could be inferred by a careful reader, there were many that I suggested we might consider “translating” for the sake of inclusivity. With not much effort, we certainly could have found “American” replacements that would have retained the integrity of the stories while making them slightly more accessible.

But in the end it was Tissa’s voice that won out — virtually every Sinhala or “colonial” word or phrase remained as he had originally placed it — and rightfully so. For it was in those words, I came to realize, it was in the precise details of his childhood landscapes that, if not his muse, then certainly Tissa’s identity as a writer, resided.

Sixty years into his life, as he set out to explore his memory through these beautiful stories, those words remained just as they were when he first experienced them as a child: Amerikkan piti, banian, Gamage, hackery, niyara. . . “Translating” them for the sake of “understanding” would have obliterated Tissa’s landscape, and with it, precisely what constituted his poetry.

With the weather warming up at the end of spring and beginning of summer, many people feel a spirit of discovery and adventure stirring. Whether you want to discover a new place, a new topic, or something new about yourself, we have the book for you. North Atlantic Books is proud to introduce our diverse new titles for May. Ranging from France to crop circles to Shamanic teachings to Gandhi, these books will instruct, intrigue and inspire.

To order, please visit www.northatlanticbooks.com.

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Green Earth Guide: Traveling Naturally in France
By Dorian Yates

Green Earth Guide is a one-stop reference that provides travelers in France with tips to stay green and healthy even when traveling. This guide contains current, comprehensive listings of health food stores and farmers’ markets, public transit information, alternative health care facilities, green businesses, organic vineyards, renewable energy resources, yoga and spiritual centers, national parks, and other green places of interest. Written in a friendly, accessible style with personal anecdotes, how-to travel tips, and practical information, the book offers an insider’s guide to healthy living on the road. Green Earth Guide helps travelers have a wonderful, fulfilling vacation while leaving a smaller footprint wherever they venture in France.

$14.95/$18.95
Trade Paper
978-1-55643-806-6
160 pages, 5 x 9

On sale May 5, 2009

Click HERE to visit the author’s website.

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Discovering Your Spirit Animal: The Wisdom of the Shamans
By Lucy Harmer

Shamanic healer Lucy Harmer presents a practical approach to understanding spirit animals and applying their power to specific situations in daily life. The book explains what a spirit animal is, describes its purpose, and shows that understanding the “medicine” of one’s spirit animal—assimilating its qualities and characteristics—allows one to apply the lessons and messages they convey and use them for personal transformation. Discovering Your Spirit Animal provides guidance for meeting and getting to know one’s spirit animal through easy exercises and shamanic techniques.

$12.95/$15.99
Trade Paper
978-1-55643-796-0
100 pages, 5 x 8

On sale May 12, 2009

Click HERE to view the author’s website.

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Centered and Connected: A Therapeutic Approach to Mind-Body Awareness
By Thea Rytz

Centered and Connected presents body-based techniques that integrate practices of self-reflection and non-judgmental awareness in order to foster healing, build self-esteem, and develop a stronger connection to one’s body. Author Rytz explores the disconnection between the mind and body, which can create alienation, lack of self-acceptance, and more serious emotional problems. Some of the body areas explored include the head, heart, hands, feet, stomach, and pelvis, as well as body-related phenomena such as the breath, gravity, and the voice. Each topic is followed by four simple and enjoyable activities meant to improve the body-mind relationship. There are 128 activities in all. More than 250 photographs and illustrations help readers visualize and utilize the exercises described.

$17.95/$22.00
Trade Paper
978-1-55643-798-4
200 pages, 8-3/4 x 7-7/8

On sale May 12, 2009

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Crop Circles: The Bones of God
By Michael Glickman

An intensive study of the crop-circle phenomenon in the region of its most important appearances—the English countryside—has given Glickman extraordinary personal insight into a subject usually known only through second-hand reports and speculation. More than eight years in the writing, Crop Circles: The Bones of God is unique among books on this modern enigma in that it combines the author’s firsthand field encounters and some of the most famous crop-circle formations with an intricate and dazzling analysis of the structure and content of those formations. This beautifully illustrated mix of personal narrative with detailed study informs a larger discussion of the role of crop circles in the modern world and their unprecedented promise of new chapters in the history of consciousness.

$15.95/$18.95
Trade Paper
978-1-58394-228-4
160 pages, 7 x 9-1/4

On sale May 12, 2009

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The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi
By Mahatma Gandhi, Edited by John Strohmeier

The Bhagavad Gita, also called The Song of the Lord, is a 700- line section of a much longer Sanskrit war epic, the Mahabharata, about the legendary conflict between two branches of an Indian ruling family. Framed as a conversation between Krishna, an incarnation of the god Vishnu, and a general of one of the armies, the Gita is written in powerful poetic language meant to be chanted. This book is based on talks given by Gandhi between February and November 1926 at the Satyagraha Ashram in Ahmedabad, India. During this time—a period when Gandhi had withdrawn from mass political activity–he met with his followers almost daily, after morning prayer sessions, to discuss the Gita’s contents and meaning as it unfolded before him. This book is the transcription of those daily sessions.

$13.95/$17.95
Trade Paper
978-1-55643-800-4
248 pages, 5-1/2 x 8-1/2

On sale May 19, 2009

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That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals: A Book about Vegans, Vegetarians, and All Living Things
By Ruby Roth

That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals uses colorful artwork and lively text to introduce vegetarianism and veganism to early readers (ages six to ten). Written and illustrated by Ruby Roth, the book features an endearing animal cast of pigs, turkeys, cows, quail, turtles, and dolphins. The book also describes the negative effects eating meat has on the environment. A separate section entitled “What Else Can We Do?” suggests ways children can learn more about the vegetarian and vegan lifestyles, such as: “Celebrate Thanksgiving with a vegan feast” or “Buy clothes, shoes, belts, and bags that are not made from leather or other animal skins or fur.” This compassionate, informative book offers both an entertaining read and a resource to inspire parents and children to talk about a timely, increasingly important subject.

$16.95/$19.95 in Canada
Hardcover
978-1-55643-785-4
48 pages, 11 x 9

On sale May 26, 2009

Click HERE to visit the author’s website.

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