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 similar columns, Brezsny used witty parables, tender rants, cultural riffs, pagan wisdom, and lively rituals in his playfully positive readings. He brings that same sensibility-and the same message of a smiling universe-to this self-help book for people who may be skeptical about self-help books. Brezsny persuasively advises readers to go along with the universe's good intentions, but his rejection of cynicism and a bleak view of human nature isn't rooted in denial. On the contrary, he makes a case for a cagey optimism that requires a vigorous engagement with the dark forces. He asks us to rethink life as a sublime game created for our amusement and illumination. The book is a chameleon of a tome. You can read it straight through, slowly and surely, or else pick it up and open it at random for tasty hits of inspiration as the spirit moves you. You can even start at the end and weave your way backward. Brezsny has substantially updated this revised and expanded edition-he added nearly one hundred pages-by expanding various sections, adding more than a dozen new pieces and a new chapter, and providing readers with a number of playtime activities and exercises that let them participate through their own writing and drawing. "Brezsny's horoscopes are like little valentines, buoyant and spilling over with mischievousness. They're a soul prognosis." -The New York Times "I have seen the future of American literature and its name is Rob Brezsny." -Tom Robbins, author of Still Life with Woodpecker, Jitterbug Perfume, and many more "With his book Pronoia-an instant pop classic-Rob Brezsny offers a positive, participatory, proactive vision of the workings of our inner and outer universe, which will only give us as much pleasure, love, and ecstasy as we are prepared to accept." -Daniel Pinchbeck, author of 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl "I dig Rob Brezsny for his powerful yet playful insights, his poetry, and his humor . . . I salute him for his dedication to inspiration." -Jason Mraz, singer-songwriter "This wild, wise, and subversive book is a must read for those who want to live a more imaginative and free life . . . Rob Brezsny is a Culture Hero." -Utne Reader "The verbally acrobatic, mystically literate Brezsny lets fly a thousand zingers, each with the feel of having been carved with a poetic effort to express a hard reality instead of a platitude." -San Francisco Chronicle "Brezsny holds his own place next to cultural shamans like Robert Anton Wilson, Timothy Leary, William Burroughs, and Ken Kesey." -Popmatters.com "Rob Brezsny, the renegade wizard behind the syndicated 'Free Will Astrology' column, has dedicated himself to putting the 'pro' back into 'protest.' In his new book, Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia, he presents his own irreverent manifesto, mixing activism and optimism. It reads like the I Ching on Ecstasy and is as insightful and puzzling as a Zen koan." -Body + Soul "Brilliant! Absorbing! Wildly useful! Rob Brezsny gets my nomination for best prophet in a starring role. He's a script doctor for the soul." -Marisa Tomei "Like some voluble combination of HL Mencken and a Sufi whirling dervish, Brezsny writes with disarming fluidity while still remaining acerbic. PRONOIA's style is too sinuous, too wriggly and difficult to classify, edgy and uncomfortable and literally kick-ass (he advocates the athletic kicking of one's own ass with some regularity)." -Santa Fe Reporter "Like a mutant love-child of Jack Kerouac and Anais Nin, Rob Brezsny writes with devilish humor, spiritual audacity, and erotic intensity." -Jay Kinney, author of Hidden Wisdom: A Guide to the Western Inner Traditions