Pronia is the Antidote for Paranoia

In this age of divisiveness in politics and religion and, well, just about everything else, it’s rare to come across something uplifting enough to catch your eye long enough for you to put down your remote and actually read something. Brezsny’s “Real Astrology” graces the pages of this and many other weekly newspapers, and we all have at some point fallen captive to his lyrical projections of our destinies. Now imagine taking that omniscient poetry and adding hints of Tom Robbins, SF Chronicle columnist Mark Morford and a dash of soap-guru Dr. Bronner, and you have the benevolent enlightenment textbook, Pronoia. As you read through the pages you’ll learn how to rephrase paranoid thoughts to “pronoiac” statements, attempt various experiments and writing exercises to open up your knowledge of the possible, and generally read uplifting news bits about humanity in situations where someone persevered against unbelievable odds. While it contains its share of trite slogans, every once in a while I read something in here and think, “You know, that really is a nice thought.” What a refreshing change from the daily diatribe.