Excerpts From Rob Brezsny's January 2017 Newsletter



WHY GOOD NEWS?

It's crucial to relentlessly report on the abominations that are erupting 
from the Trumpocalypse. But for the sake of our mental health, let's also 
keep track of the good news. Here is a list of some: 
http://tinyurl.com/gsos67q


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OPTIMISM IS A SOUND STRATEGY

"Optimism is a strategy for making a better future," says Noam Chomsky. 
"Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are 
unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so. If you assume 
there is no hope, you guarantee there will be no hope."


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THE DOWNSIDES OF NEGATIVE THINKING

From the New York Times: "All humans have a tendency to ruminate more 
on bad experiences than positive ones. It‚Äôs an evolutionary adaptation 
that helps us avoid danger and react quickly in a crisis.

"But constant negativity can also get in the way of happiness, add to our 
stress and worry level, and ultimately damage our health."

Can we do anything to diminish the power of negative thinking? It's a 
complex, nuanced subject, but here's a good start: 
http://tinyurl.com/hjn2ugs

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P.S. Many of us may be hesitant to diminish our negative thinking. Don't 
we actually need it now, more than ever, to help survive the 
Trumpocalypse?

One of my heroes, radical historian Howard Zinn, said that negative 
thinking tends to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we relentlessly 
imagine the worst possible outcomes, if we concentrate on all the things 
that are falling apart and going wrong, it cripples our capacity to make 
constructive changes. "To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly 
romantic," he wrote. "It gives us the energy to act."

More from Howard Zinn: "What we choose to emphasize in this complex 
history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our 
capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places -- and 
there are so many -- where people have behaved magnificently, this gives 
us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning 
top of a world in a different direction.

"And if we do act, in however small a way, we don‚Äôt have to wait for 
some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of 
presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in 
defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."

Read more of Howard Zinn: http://www.thenation.com/article/optimism-
uncertainty#


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KNOW AND LOVE WHAT YOU ARE FIGHTING FOR

Activist and author Naomi Klein tells a story about the time she traveled 
to Australia at the request of Aboriginal elders. They wanted her to know 
about their struggle to prevent white people from dumping radioactive 
wastes on their land.

Her hosts brought her to their beloved wilderness, where they camped 
under the stars. They showed her "secret sources of fresh water, plants 
used for bush medicines, hidden eucalyptus-lined rivers where the 
kangaroos come to drink."

After three days, Klein grew restless. When were they going to get down 
to business? "Before you can fight," she was told, "you have to know 
what you are fighting for."


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"MY FEELING OF CONNECTION DRIVES ME, NOT MY ANGER"

In the late 1990s, environmental activist Julia Butterfly Hill spent two 
years living in a redwood tree she named "Luna." Her goal was to save it 
from being cut down by a logging company. She succeeded both literally 
and mythically. Luna was spared from death, as was a surrounding three-
acre swath of trees. Hill became an inspiring symbol of artful, 
compassionate protest.

Later she told Benjamin Tong in the DVD "The Taoist and the Activist": 
"So often activism is based on what we are against, what we don't like, 
what we don't want. And yet we manifest what we focus on. And so we 
are manifesting yet ever more of what we don't want, what we don't like, 
what we want to change. So for me, activism is about a spiritual practice 
as a way of life. And I realized I didn't climb the tree because I was angry 
at the corporations and the government; I climbed the tree because when 
I fell in love with the redwoods, I fell in love with the world. So it is my 
feeling of 'connection' that drives me, instead of my anger and feelings of 
being disconnected."


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MY PLAN

My plan is to practice good imaginal hygiene -- curating the contents of 
my imagination with care and reverence -- while also fighting the 
Trumpocalypse and its associated racism, sexism, plutocracy, 
homophobia, nativism, and militarism with all my sexy smart anger in full 
regalia.


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12 WAYS TO RESIST THE TRUMPOCALYPSE

12 Ways to Resist Trump That Only Take an Hour a Day. Including making 
your city a sanctuary, boycotting all Trump products, and reaching out to 
independents. 

More: http://tinyurl.com/h38rotr


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Cities and Towns Gear Up for Political Resistance Against the 
Trumpocalypse. In the years to come, community bills of rights are one 
strategy to shelter vulnerable populations. http://tinyurl.com/hjuyyzh


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Van Jones: ‚ÄùWhat Trump wants to do at a policy level is much worse 
than most liberals understand. It's going to be a Blitzkrieg against 
everything we care about."

So: How to plan the resistance to Trump? Beyond direct action and street 
protest, five clear opposition strategies are emerging.

More: http://tinyurl.com/hrnoxby


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MORE PRONOIA RESOURCES:

Utah‚Äôs New National Monument Marks Big Win for the Protection of 
Indigenous Cultural Sites. 
http://tinyurl.com/go9ysst

Creating an LGBTQIA Safe Space in Rural America. Alternative art spaces 
are critical to establishing connections for queer people, but especially for 
those living in rural areas, where community is smaller and less supported 
than in cities. 
http://tinyurl.com/gnzdbrr

The Science of Creating a Compassionate World. Last year‚Äôs most 
thought-provoking, important, or useful nonfiction books on empathy, 
kindness, and moving the conversation forward. 
http://tinyurl.com/jestaw3

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