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Just push the damn button

August 5, 2018 20 Comments

“I can’t just sit here vibrating with my own joy— I have to write about it, I have to share it.”— David Mason

So I have this car. It’s a Prius. Dead frog green, as my daughter has nicknamed its hue.

Among the many things I ADORE about my car is that it has a button about the size of a quarter. I push it and voila! it comes to life. I move another little lever and it takes me wherever I want to go.

I have absolutely NO IDEA how that happens. I’ve heard there are things like transmissions, axels, motors.

But how it actually works? Like Alicia Silverstone’s movie, I’m completely and utterly clueless.

And that’s okay with me.

It’s also my position when it comes to A Course in Miracles. I notice my little pea brain wanting to understand how the transformation works. I want to ask, but why? But how? What exactly does ACIM 217 mean when it says it can be but my gratitude I earn?

I’m still not exactly sure. All I know is that once I started pushing the button (turning my issues over to JC and the Holy S), my life started going where I wanted it to go. I quit breaking down on the side of the roads. I stopped running out of gas.

I’m abundantly grateful I don’t have to read every little detail of the manual or understand a drive train. Or really do anything but push the damn button. I love that it’s not up to me.

Pam Grout is the author of 19 books including E-Squared, E-Cubed, Thank & Grow Rich and her latest book, Art & Soul,Reloaded: A Year-Long Apprenticeship to Summon the Muses and Ignite Your Daring, Audacious, Creative Side.

Can you handle the truth?

August 3, 2018 17 Comments

“If your mind isn’t cluttered by unnecessary things, this could be the best day of your life.”–from a message left on my voice mail by The Zing, AKA Ethan Hughes

Who can forget the explosive scene in A Few Good Men when Tom Cruise has Jack Nicholson on the witness stand? Cruise is badgering Nicholson, wanting to know whether or not he ordered a Code Red.

Nicholson, getting redder and madder, finally erupts: “You can’t handle the truth.”

And that, in a nutshell, is the real answer to all naysayers who want to know why all the good stuff happens to everyone else.

Until we can get on the frequency of gratitude, our connection to the bigger thing is blocked. Our bandwidth can’t handle the eternal, infinite love of the Divine Broadcast that’s always, always airing possibility, joy, freedom.

We’ve clogged up the connection by giving the floor to our inner anxieties, our fears, our time-sucking melodramas. Like Cinderella’s stepsisters, we’ve crammed life’s unending beneficence into our tiny shoes of old judgments and antiquated programming.

A Course in Miracles aims to upgrade the bandwidth of our consciousness. It’s entire purpose is to rewire our nervous system, rewrite old habits and literally change the chemistry of our brains.

And that’s where gratitude, as ACIM Lesson 215 reminds me, comes in.

Until I can look at every single person and event in my life and see its beauty, its radiance, its shimmering love, I will not be able to handle the truth.

Have the very best weekend of your life, my fine-feathered friends.

Why I’m the luckiest person on the planet, Episode 87

August 2, 2018 28 Comments

“It’s not denial. I’m just selective about the reality I accept.”—Calvin & Hobbes

goat2 So happy to be back here on the blog after an extraordinarily epic girlfriend’s road trip.

For those who follow me on Facebook, you might have noticed I sang praises at a beautiful Buddhist stupa in the wilds of Colorado, visited an earthship, practiced goat yoga (yes, we did downward facing goat), hiked and had tea in a mountain castle.

My travels always bring extraordinary gratitude into focus. I live such a blessed life. And here’s the thing. A blessed life is what all of us are meant to be living. All of the time.

That’s the running thread of a Course in Miracles, the only lesson that’s really important. Lesson 214 stresses this radical idea. I am freed from all past ideas and only good can come to me.

Once I drop all the rules, ideas, evidence and grievances that I’ve used to form my life around, only good can come to me.

That’s an affirmation worth running in a loop. Only good can come to me. Only good. Only good. Only good.

Stay tuned for big, big news on the new book.

And also, if anyone is anywhere near Denver in the next two weeks, please stop by my workshop (playshop, more like it) at the Halycon Hotel in Denver.

I love you to the moon and back.

A loving gift of freedom to the world

July 21, 2018 26 Comments

“There’s no such thing as a moment that isn’t rich with treasures.”—Esther Hicks hobson

So, I’m embarking on a road trip tomorrow. My best friend from college flew in and, like Thelma and Louise, we’re heading west.

In a car.

Only thing for sure is a Sarah McLachlan concert at Red Rocks.

The point (maybe an excuse) I’m trying to make is I probably won’t be blogging for awhile. And I know you guys sometimes worry about my temporary disappearances.

But here’s the thing. Computers and road trips don’t really mix. Now as for Brad Pitt?

Anyway, ACIM Lesson 202 (as well as the next 18 days) are a review. Just keep remembering that you’re forever free, that you have a purpose that transcends the world and that whatever you need or want is a simple thought away.

This review doesn’t have a lot of words (thank ya, Jesus). Rather it urges us to relinquish all that clutters up our minds, to give it all up to the Big Cheese.

When that seems too vague, I like to think of Hobson, the hilarious butler who took care of Dudley Moore in the 1981 movie “Arthur.”

Deftly performed by John Gielgud, Hobson loved his irresponsible charge with an open heart, no matter what ridiculous, immature thing he did. All Arthur had to do was ring a little silver bell.

The Course tells me that my own personal Hobson (AKA the Holy Spirit) will always, without fail, be available. Always. Always. Always.

So whenever I notice my mind settling into problem state or forgetting to be grateful or worrying about anything at all, I just stop, think of Hobson and ring the silver bell.

We got this, boos!

Wouldn’t it be cool if_________!!!

July 18, 2018 102 Comments

“To know yourself as the Being underneath the thinker is freedom.”–Eckhart Tolle
Imagination
Psst! All you Course in Miracles fans. I had a revelation today. I realized that the reason the big, blue doorstop never gets read is because readers get stuck on all the words and throw the proverbial baby out with the dishwater.

Today’s lesson, ACIM 199 is one of those WTF lessons. It immediately triggers a reaction.

What do you mean I’m not a body? I have mirrors. I see the wrinkles, the cellulite. This books is utterly ridiculous!

And down it goes!

This lesson happens to be the one that’s repeated most often so I decided I’d better point out what it really means.

My body is sorta cool and all. It’s very useful when taking selfies. It’s kinda fun to dress it up, match it with shoes and earrings. But it’s more like a cage than a real thing.

So forget that part of this lesson. Focus on the “I am free” part of it.

For example, I am free to pick a different reality today.

I am free to let go of all those made-up rules I learned as I was growing up.

I am free to create my life at will.

I am free, especially from the limitations of my body.

The body, for the most part, represents the egoic mind, the part that believes you can only be one place at a time, the part that believes your thoughts are private, the part that believes everybody (or at least the everybodies that aren’t in you contacts) is out to get you.

When you claim your freedom, there is really only one question to pose: “Wouldn’t it be cool if__________!!!

Whatever follows that declaration is what you’re creating. You can continue to look at the world you see now OR you can create a new one. The one we see now is old news, it’s what we created over the past few decades. It’s one of many superpositions in the quantum field. It’s no more permanent than a peach.

We can create a new reality. But first we have to realize that we are free to do that. We have to quit staring at what appears to be. We have to start imagining.

Wouldn’t it be cool if we all realize how much we really love each other?

Wouldn’t it be cool if we spent our days expressing our creativity?

Wouldn’t it be cool if every person was housed and fed and aware of his freedom?

I love you guys so much. Thanks for joining me on this journey. I’d love to hear your “Wouldn’t it be cool if_____’s!!! in the comments section below.

Life is supposed to be extraordinarily epic! As we begin to recognize that truth, the same ole, same ole will wither and die from lack of use, from lack of attention.

More tales from the annals of magic and enchantment

July 17, 2018 7 Comments

“When you are joyful, when you say yes to life and have fun, you become a sun in the center of every constellation, and people want to be near you.”—Shannon L. Adler

miracles2 It has been five and a half years since E-Squared made its debut. To this day, I still get emails from readers excited about their experiment results.

I sometimes share these stories here on the blog. Since it has been awhile, I trust you’ll enjoy these fun “test results” that recently popped into my inbox.

For those wondering, I still plan to blog about the Course in Miracles. I’m currently formulating the daily lessons into a book. I’ve also got lots of cool new projects in the making, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, here are three inbox miracles:

1. “I just wanted to drop a note to let you know that I have manifested $10,000 and a perfectly placed porta potty using experiment #1 in your book E2.

“The financial blessing came last March when my husband and I were pulling tiny, frayed strands together to meet our monthly bills. This blessing allowed us to continue our mission to create a better world through our business YogiTriathlete.

“The second blessing came just this past weekend when I felt inspired to listen to your book again while on my way to meet a group for a trail run here in San Diego. Feeling an agenda to create another $10,000 I announced to the FP that I was letting that go and that I trusted that I would be provided with exactly what I needed. I knew 100% that I would receive a blessing but I asked for it to be obvious because I experience miracles every day.

“The FP delivered.

“I’ve been an endurance athlete for over 13 years and I have never needed a bathroom as much as I did last Saturday. It was all I could do to keep that turtle’s head in its shell. Then voila! Just steps from my car was a porta-potty that I swear I never saw before. Divinely sent into my awareness and all was well in the world again.”

2. “I am turning 27, born and raised in China and came to the US for high school at 15. After college I worked in a big bank and thru a series of unpleasant circumstances I left and came back to NY for grad school. According to my worrying parents, I was in a difficult place in terms of career…

“I constantly listen to Abraham Hicks and Neville Goddard and firmly believe that God will deliver me into the 100% right position I was meant to be. I started reading your E-squared book 1 month ago.

“After reading something you said about putting intentions out there, I said to myself: I will have a girl I like in bed with me in a week and a job in 1 month. Both were actually thrilling and a bit nerve-racking. Nonetheless, I decided. (I don’t usually understand this word but this time, I think I actually tasted the little-bit-scary reality when these things do come true, they would totally shatter my then current way of life in every way, but I didn’t care, I wanted them shattered.)

“Guess what! One of my best friends expressed her feelings towards me the night before she left the US and we spent the night together. I was offered a summer internship in China two weeks into my “search” for a job (the search is more than whole-hearted to me, but to any outsider it would not seem that way, considering I only work mornings and spend afternoons mostly reading your books, ha).

“I don’t know how God did this, but he sure puts everything I ever want with my job into this one offer. I decided I wanted to be a researcher (so I’d know more than the person I speak to), a trader (who make decisions), an executive assistant (so I get to liaise among different parties) in chronological order in the last year alone. I also knew I wanted to be a great friend/business partner with the most successful people in the world at a relatively young age. Given my cultural background, the one thing I want to do is to connect between the US and China. Can you believe me? All of them culminated in this internship I am about to do! I am just so on cloud 9 right now.”

3. “Hi Pam, just finished the 101 Dalmatians chapter in E-Squared! Wahoo, my experiment was to ask for a fun text from my girlfriend. I showered her with good vibes for getting a big windfall.

“I just got a text from her today that she won a pet portrait package in a raffle she entered! It was very fun to get that text, I’m still smiling!”

And so am I! Smiling and celebrating and pumping my fists!

This is what we want instead….

July 16, 2018 18 Comments

“Artists are the gatekeepers of the truth. It is our duty to be the voice of people who are overlooked and marginalized.”–Common
1abcd

So, I’ve seen a lot of life-changing movies lately. I already raved over “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” the film about Mr. Rogers’ unflinching belief in the power of goodness. This past weekend, I saw, “Sorry to Bother You,” another awesome film with world-altering potential.

That’s why I like art so much. It has the ability to palpably move us without widening unnecessary rifts. Art, as far as I’m concerned, is all about communicating transformational messages.

I had the pleasure of chauffeuring several artists from the National African American Quilt Convention that was held in my hometown last week. These quilts schooled us on Jim Crow, voting rights and being a warrior woman, to name just a few.

So, today, because I’m thinking about it, I want to run an excerpt from my latest book, Art & Soul, Reloaded, about the power of art to truly change the world. Here goes:

I thought this was a book about being an artist.

But as I let the muses speak, as I committed to being a channel, I noticed a second message bursting forth: that being creative is about imagining a new world, about designing a new vision.

Art, when done right, orchestrates healing.

As artists, we’re out in the world conducting fieldwork on the culture.

Rather than protest and whine about the state of the world today, we must let our frustrations be our muse. We must let our disgruntlements inspire us to sing, to dance, to shout, “This is what we want instead.”

When a hyacinth macaw loses its nest in the disappearing rainforest, it doesn’t mope or call its therapist. It sings. It makes a joyful noise, reminding us what we have lost.

Ultimately, the world will be bound back together, not by politicians, but by thousands of individuals giving our gifts, thousands of individuals becoming ambassadors of the possible.

Our job is to put our art out there, to get others to gasp, weep, and hoot with joy. And only then, when their mouths are open, can we pop in the red pill.

Not only does art pry us open, but it encourages us to reach out, to join hands, to become a collective force for good. DIY doesn’t mean doing it alone. Creating, after all, can be a team sport.

One person taps out a beat. Another leads into a melody, and before long, the entire audience has joined the chorus, raising hope for the whole world.

Blame it on the boogie

July 13, 2018 20 Comments

Beware the stories you read or tell. Beneath the waters of consciousness, they are altering your world.”–Ben Okri 1 bc

Kids’ computer games have undoubtedly evolved since my daughter Taz played them on the giant desktop (compared to today’s laptops, that early Gateway is a veritable behemoth) in my office.

Back then, she had several games where, by pointing a cursor at an item in a scene, it would came alive. For example, if she clicked on a cupboard door, it would open, music would play and a duet of dancing mice would pirouette across the shelf. Or she’d click on a flowerpot and it would shimmy and shake until its beautiful red petals rained to the ground.

Life is like those old computer games. When you put your attention on something, it literally comes alive. If you put your cursor on all the opportunities and love in the scenes of your life, that reality comes alive.

But if you continue to click on the monsters under the bed, they, too, are more than happy to put in an appearance. The thing is we’re the ones manning the dials. We’re the ones deciding where to point our cursors, where to send our attention.

Have the best weekend of your life, my friends! I trust it will include dancing.

Making goodness attractive again

July 9, 2018 24 Comments

“When I say it’s you I like, I’m talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed.” –Fred Rogers

MrRogers I thought about titling this blog post, “Because you Watched,” a common phrase on Netflix that leads viewers to movies and series that are similar to what they’ve watched before and presumably something they’d enjoy.

Because you follow this blog and presumably resonate to my abiding belief in the importance of love, freely and unconditionally given, I want to recommend the movie I saw over the weekend. It’s called “Won’t you be my Neighbor” and it’s about Fred Rogers and his deceptively simple show that championed goodness, human dignity and kindness to all.

Using songs, puppets and neighborhood guests, Mr. Rogers and his iconic neighborhood attempted to value children and their feelings and to calm the waters in the wake of Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination, the Challenger disaster and even 9/11.

The suspense of the movie, rather than relying on negative twists and battles to overcome, turns around this question: “What nice thing will this uncommonly kind man do next?”

His quiet valorization of kindness and gentleness feels wildly countercultural.

Even when he was attacked by right-wing commentators who derided his belief in the “specialness” of every child (after all, they said, it will turn children into entitled snowflakes), he choose kindness as does the filmmaker of this very special film.

Rather than depict his detractors with anger, the film notes their presence with a bemused sadness. Why be like this?

The film, like my blog, takes for granted that goodness, honoring our basic humanity and compassion are worthy goals. Rather than value shock and disruption, I stand for love, for all, forever.

As Mr. Rogers said during his testimony to Congress on the importance of public television, he summed up his mission like this, “Let’s make goodness attractive.”

That certainly works for me.

If I had to pick just one

July 8, 2018 23 Comments

“It’s all about having a clean antenna.”—Pete Holmes
1 ba
As a travel writer, I get this question a lot. What’s your favorite country? Or city? Or destination in general?

I have a couple pat answers. Either I answer with the country or city or destination I last visited—because, after all, that’s what lovers of travel do. They fall in love with every place, everything, every person.

Or I point out that, just like you don’t want pizza at every meal, you can’t narrow your favs to just one. It depends on an evolving string of moods and desires. Favorites change.

The one question I’ve never gotten, however, is what’s your favorite Course in Miracles lesson. If anyone every did ask, I’d undoubtedly pick ACIM Lesson 189.

Here’s why:

1. It promises a world alive with hope and blessed with perfect charity and love. I mean, what more could you ever want? Or need?

2. It also promises that this world, when seen anew, keeps us safe from every form of danger or pain. Again, not a bad guarantee.

3. It says the real world, the one we block with all our fears, offers endless wells of joy. This is what’s actually there, folks, when we let go of our holograms of malice and attack. These problematic holograms are NOT REAL. We made them up and continue to invest in them by staring at them, believing in them, trying to fix them. Let me repeat. They are NOT real.

4. And this is probably my all-time favorite part about this lesson. I don’t have to do anything. The universe will show up with endless benevolence and generosity the very minute I open the valve. It promises that boundless joy is what’s natural and, as soon as I ask, it will show up. Like ASAP. God, it says, will be there in joyful and immediate response.

5. It also says, “forget this world, forget this course.” Come with wholly empty hands. It tells me to let go of every single thought the past has taught, every idea I learned before now.

So favorite destination? No idea. Favorite Course Lesson? 189. Maybe I’ll throw the rest away and practice 189 every day for the rest of my life.