Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings

by Rob Brezsny

Book Overview

Readers were instantly beguiled by Rob Brezsny's new approach to the humble horoscope when his Free Will Astrology column first appeared in 1996. Instead of the generic, one-size-fits-all style of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1583941231
• ISBN13: 9781583941232
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: Frog
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 2.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 8.6" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

Pronoia and me

Every time I pick up this book and start to read, my mood changes. I can be a gloomy guss at times and these wise words pull me right out of the shadows. I begin to feel lighter and less worried about the state of the world. I feel hope and maybe even start to hum a ditty. That's enough for me to recommend this book to you. Love to you all, tim

Follow your rowdy bliss!

Pronoia is a philosophy book of a most unusual stripe. It takes a lot of the ideas that Breszny has developed on the Free Will Astrology site and particularly that he included as themes in his amazing novel, The Televisionary Oracle, and expands on them, shaping them into a chaotically coherent philosophy of life. The style is undeniably Breszny-- quirky, irreverent, soulful, linguistically athletic, challenging, hopeful. This is not your college Philosophy 101 class's philosophy book. It's structured rather freewheelingly, part creative workbook (including spaces for you to write your own thoughts and even your own chapter), part essay collection, part word art (noting the inclusion of "homeopathic medicine wheels" that cram negative information in a circular paragraph enclosed by healing symbols and words), part exuberant poetry slam, part instruction manual for the inner development of "rowdy bliss". Big and packed full of interesting information and musings, illustrated lavishly with quirky graphics and nifty fonts, it is the kind of book that you can either read straight through or flip around, seeing where the pages fall in a somewhat bibliomantic attempt to receive an eccentric oracle. One thing's for sure, one reading is not enough to completely absorb everything this book contains, but it will be a pleasure to go back and re-read many times in the future. No doubt the less whimsically inclined would regard this book with a raised eyebrow and no little incredulity; Breszny's a holy fool, a sacred clown, and he can be downright outrageous and goofy even when he's at his most heartfelt and profound. Cynics may find his relentless optimism over the top. But this is a smart man who's invested a tremendous amount of contemplation and personal experience into every idea he proposes. He is in no small measure radical, as he challenges the assumptions about the bleakness of the world that are so constantly fed to us. His optimism and faith are not at all blind nor are they syrupy or saccharine; he addresses the existence of sorrow and suffering in the world and encourages his readers to adopt the scientist's tools to test and evaluate our beliefs. At the heart of his philosophy is that we all have the right to experience tremendous joy in our lives, the ability to shape the world around us, and the unceasing gifts of a benevolent universe that longs to help us and communicate with us. He takes the previously-little-explored concept of "pronoia" and expands it into a creative, active, loving, lusty way of life. Not for him is the traditional religion's dichotomy of material=bad vs. spirit=good; nor the "fluffy newage" optimism that shoves the shadow self into the closet and slams the door. He proscribes neither quivering submission to and timid requests of a scornful punisher deity, nor spartan rejection of the world in seeking a cold and lonely enlightenment. His ideas belong in the world, not apart from it; they go boldly into crowds creatin

Unique, Innovative, Transcendent, Brilliant Book!

Rarely am I inspired to jump in here and review a book. "PRONOIA" leaves me no choice. The book is amazing. Rob Brezsny has created a manifesto for those of us who have always doubted that we are doomed by Original Sin. "PRONOIA" affirms that the Universe is fundamentally friendly and conspiring to give you exactly what you need. Rob Brezsny slays the cult of doom and replaces fear with joy. There should be more books like "PRONOIA" published today, but so far there aren't: this is the only one. You don't need The Church, A Savior, A Guru, Ayahuasca, DMT or Psilocybin Mushrooms to "break on through to the other side." Brezsny takes you there in the pages of "PRONOIA." It's one of those books that you don't even have to read lineary at all: flip it open to any page and know that the Universe has directed you to this specific thought! Bravo, Brezsny! You created something exceptional here. "PRONOIA" is the best book I've read in the 21st Century! Chris Duel News-Talk 550 KTSA San Antonio, Texas

Unique Book to be Experienced, not merely read!

***** I don't think I've ever come across a book anything like Pronoia before. It is large, chock full of information of the positive sort (as opposed to of the negative sort). This is because "pronoia" is the opposite of "paranoid" (when you think everyone is out to get you)---you think every is out to shower you with blessings! The book is written to celebrate pronoia is a variety of ways, all of which make you feel good. The author, Rob Brezskny, writes in a lyrical, irreverant, wildly unconventional and beautiful style. I've never seen anyone else write like that---he is unique. The book sort of reminds me in a way of Ram Dass' "Be Here Now", a cult classic, and an amazing consciousness book of the time that is still in print today. I think that Pronoia will be as popular as that classic book. Pronoia is an experience, not just a book. And you can GET the experience from just reading the book! It can be read linearly, or bit by bit from time to time, with equally good results. There are many interactive sections, provocative questions, exercises to try, ideas for journalling, etc. throughout the book. These interactive things aren't traditional exercises you'd find in a "normal" book, though. They are wild, wacky, and wonderful---just like the book! The book is quite irreverent, yet it beautifully captures the God I worship in its pages---not the God of any one religion, but of all of us. He thinks up interesting new names for this supreme being like "the Divine Wow"...and you experience the love of this higher power throughout the book, not in ways you'd expect. There is much humor throughout too---it is a laugh-out loud kind of book. If you are open, even just a little bit, to the experience that the whole world COULD be conspiring to shower you with love and blessing---or if you'd LIKE to be open to this possibility---then this is a book, and an experience for you. If you are a negative, pessimistic person, or if you are depressed, or if you are just searching for more meaning and happiness in your life---AND---you read this entire book, I will bet that you will be much more ready, if not entirely ready, to live your life quite differently in various ways. Pronoia is a great value too---lots of book, lots of experience---for a really great price. If you're wondering if you should get it, the answer is yes! I know it looks odd and is different, but take the chance and you won't be sorry! I am buying 5 more copies to give to my closest friends...one of the best and most life-changing books I've read. *****

This book soaks into you like a sunbeam

It's like dreaming in a sunbeam being bombarded with visions that soak into you and change your outlook for the better. I've been reading it for days now and always finding new things. It's not necessary to read it in a linear fashion. Get this book, it's refreshing and good.