“The only person you are fighting is yourself and your stubbornness to engage in new circumstances.”
― Jon Krakauer
Because I view the world through rose-colored glasses, I don’t always recognize gloom and doom. Circumstances that others call “tragic” don’t necessarily get the same response from me. Sometimes, I’m even a bit cheeky about it.
Seven months ago, a beautiful young woman named Amanda Poe wrote to tell me she was reading E-Squared and consequently lost her job.
I responded like this:
“I am always of the opinion that losing one’s job and even one’s mind can be a very holy place.”
I told her congratulations and that I couldn’t wait to hear what happens next.
I’d forgotten about this correspondence until a couple weeks ago.
Amanda wrote with me this story:
“I’m very excited to tell you what I’ve been up to. You were right. Losing my job was literally the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I found myself again. I had always been so fearful of money, but when I lost my job.. somehow.. for 5 months I was completely and fully supported by the universe. With no savings and living on unemployment. I promise I still don’t know how it worked out!!
“I now have a job that I love, and I’m soo thankful. I wasn’t even looking for a job, but someone told me about this one and I got it the exact week that my unemployment ran out. I just learned to fully trust.
A lot of other crazy things happened.. I developed a better relationship with my mother.. I received free hair (weave/extensions) after asking the universe for free hair.. then I’m actually on a billboard promoting the hair .. just crazy things!
So, being the curious type and a lover of crazy things, I had to ask. Here’s what she said.
“While I was unemployed, I needed new hair extensions. (You know.. there are needs and wants.. and good hair is a NEED!) I put up an image of a girl who had curly extensions down to her knee caps on my screen saver on my phone. I put it up because I was communicating to the universe that I needed new hair. I didn’t care about the image… I just threw the long hair up there.. I just knew I needed free hair!!
My friend sent me a link to a Facebook post where a hair company was looking for models for their upcoming hair shoot. I submitted my pic and they chose me! They told me I’d get the blonde bob and that I could dye it later. I said “ok” – but when I got there.. they put in different hair. They put in curly hair that was down to my knee caps because they said the other model was acting too diva’ish and they had to let her go. So, now they’d chosen me to be the model for the billboard! The one with the long curly hair just like the one in the picture on my background on my phone.
No seriously.. how many other people have you seen with extensions to their kneecaps??? Its just crazy.
My life goal is to bring the spiritual gurus to teach spirituality to the masses in a super fun way! I’ve finally uploaded my first video under a brand new brand.
Help me in supporting Amanda on Twitter @spirituallydope and on the below YouTube video where you can see her cool new hair.
And remember that we get to decide whether to give the events in our lives a thumb’s up or a thumb’s down. No one can take that power away from us.
Pam Grout is the author of 16 books including E-Squared: 9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality.
22 Responses
I must say that I absolutely crave your emails, and get so excited when I see your name in my inbox. It gives me such hope for the coming week! Please keep it coming!!
So after finding out my fiance was cheating on me and I broke up with him, I should take this as good news? Is that what you are saying?
You get to decide. I’d rather call it good news. But that’s me. I choose happiness.
Game on. I asked the Universe for a new mate, with specific details listed. Let’s see what happens.
Pam, thank you for sharing another story that shows what happens when we trust in our ability and power to create the life we desire.
To Brokenhearted, I’ll say that the good news is that she found out about her fiance’s infidelity before she got married. It’s best to focus on the positive side of any difficult situation. Tough to do sometimes, but possible!
It Frickin’ ALWAYS works out!!!!!
You haven’t won an Emmy, YET. Maybe an Emmy’s not what you should be going after, but rather something in the Guiness World book of records for inciting miracles :).
I loved Amanda’s story and I have my own (several, in fact). Question: where do your readers post all the amazing things that happen after (or in my case, while) reading your book? The craziest thing happened as I read the words “Electricity doesn’t need proof we’re good enough to make toast.”
I bet there are hundreds of thousands of miracle stories yet to be shared. Chicken Soup was just an appetizer. What we need to sustain our souls is the ability to see the magic that happens every day, once we’re focused. It would be great to share my stories and be inspired by others like Amanda’s.
I’d love to hear your stories. I’m including some if them in E-cubed that’s coming out in the fall.
Pam, I hope your head is spinning from all the amazing things happening in your life, and I hope you have experiences that continue to keep you spinning! You are living the life of my dreams and I find inspiration in your writing but also when you speak. I wish I could see you speak in London (on my birthday!), but I’ve already stretched the budget with volunteer travel and my husband’s about to get an ulcer ;).
E-squared materialized right when I had given notice that I was leaving corporate America to pursue my passions in writing, travel, and philanthropy. For experiment 1, I asked for three gifts not just one. I had so many blessings in my life I knew three would be a piece of cake.
Although I knew I was making the right decision and that we also had some money saved to get us by for a while, I was still nervous about leaving my comfortable salary. So I asked to show me signs of abundance, show me that I and my family would be fine. Within two hours the first two gifts arrived: the car repairs that were estimated at a thousand dollars or more cost $175. And we discovered our favorite Italian restaurant had happy hour every day with our favorite dishes, so we had more options than dismal fast food even on our new Sensible budget.
I was so excited to see the third gift.
Then it got really quiet. Nothing else happened that day.
I woke up the next morning feeling time was running out. I wondered, maybe I’m focusing too much on abundance. Maybe this next gift needs to be about something else.
I couldn’t get back to sleep so got up early. Rather than read, as my usual habit, I told myself if I were going to be a writer, I would need to find the optimal times for me to write and develop a good routine. I felt mornings would be great, so I committed to write rather than read first thing that morning.
As I went to make some tea, I saw something black fly into the curtains of the sliding glass doors in our kitchen. It was a little black bird. He panicked when I tried to open the door to free him, and flew to the window above the sink. He didn’t understand that magic force of glass that kept him inside. Eventually he stopped flaying against the window and sat on, of all things, the toaster…
I stood near him, trying to send friendly energy. He was so cute, his soft eyes blinking and staring straight at me. I could see his heart beating in his round little chest. I had sudden urge to take his photo but my phone was on the other side of the kitchen and I didn’t want to startle the little guy.
In all the ten years we’ve lived in our home outside of Seattle we’ve never had birds fly into our house. It happened a lot in my parents’ home. My mom would chase them out using a broom. I knew if I needed to I would push his feathered little bottom out of our house, but I really wanted to avoid frightening him any further, and hoped I could use a gentler method.
The toaster was on the same wall as the sliding glass doors, so he couldn’t see that the door was now open. I decided to try to show him by walking outside and waving to him through the kitchen window. Nothing happened, so I went back in.
There he was, still sitting on that toaster, heart still pounding.
I called him, and went back outside again, continuing to call. Then my dog appeared in the doorway. I started laughing and told him I wasn’t talking to him. At that moment the little bird flew out of the house, over my head, and up into the trees.
That was such a funny story I wrote it in my journal.
Having satisfied my writing commitment, i got back to reading your book. I was really appreciating your analogy of universal energy to electricity (yes, finally something written in clear and simple terms!) when in the next paragraph I saw the line:
“Electricity doesn’t need proof we’re good enough to make toast.”
I put my Kindle down, thinking, wait a second. That bird was sitting on our toaster…was that a coincidence?
In my writing I noted how I realized that little bird was just like me. Terrified, yet taking a leap of faith that the world was a friendly place, that the door would be open when he flew to it, and that I wouldn’t be on the other side trying to catch him.
This is much like my own leap of faith, leaving my job and comfortable lifestyle for a vision, not able to see what’s coming, but moving forward on the belief that the universe is a friendly place.
Whenever I start to feel anxious about the future and whether this right-brained highly logical person that I’ve been can make it in the creative and spiritual world that’s been calling me, I find myself thinking of that little black bird, remembering how it had the courage to fly towards something it couldn’t see, trusting in something (me) that it didn’t fully understand.
So my third gift was not a material thing, but rather a story. One that so far I’ve only told my family and a couple of friends. And one that gives me the inspiration to keep moving forward into the unknown.
(I also realized the little bird gave me a chance to experience myself as the universal force, trying to guide a little soul to where it wanted to be. If I were the universal force, then I definitely would work in funny things like the toaster, because i enjoy finding humor in everything).
Hi Pam! I enjoy reading your posts, too. I also practice viewing the world through a positive lense. I received some “bad” news the other day and remember thinking, “some way, somehow, this is working together for my good” and as a result I am at peace. I’m excited to witness the beauty of this situation unfold. Genuinely curio and excited.
*curious
Hi Tamara, it will be great if you would share the outcome with all us like minded people. I learn so much from others’ experiences and they help me realise that these things are possible for me too.
I just love good news stories and this one as all of them, really touches a sensitive chord with me. Well done Amanda and all fellow travellers! I am deeply happy for you.
Can I have a little Monday moan please? I look forward to a day when I can share my feel good story. In fact, I will be trumpetting it from the highest mountain tops and church steeples that I can find here in Australia and in France, the latter being the end result of the feel good story (a permanent life there).
I have read E Squared and none of the experiments have worked for me, not one and I went into each with more faith than Job in the bible could ever have mustered! (or is that mustard ;-)) Needless to say, this has not exactly been good for my self esteem or my sense of worthiness which is already deflated due to not finding a job after resigning from my previous job without having something else lined up because I was arrogant enough to think that finding a new job will be a piece of cake (at 56 years of age!).
I am starting the book again and, needless to say, those experiments and I will be spending some time together again but this time around I’ll be laying down the rules for sure. They simply have to work, non negotiable!
If there is anyone who would like to share their experiences in this process of creation with me, I will gladly welcome it.
Pammy, just keep on doing what you are doing dear friend. You touch many, many lives in ways that words cannot describe.
Sincerely
Hilda Olivier
Hilda, I won’t give you a Monday moan as it’s still Sunday over here ;). However, I’d be happy to share my experiences, which I recorded in my journal. I am so grateful for this post and your comment about none of the experiments working, because I did get stuck midway and I didn’t understand why until now.
I need to clean up my journal entrees, but I can share a summary now: Because I see you mention it, your blocker might be my blocker, which is related to feelings of worthiness. When the experiments worked for me, I had no doubt that I deserved what I requested. For each one that worked, I had the attitude of “I want this and of course I am worthy of this”. Amanda knew she needed her hair extensions and there was no doubt she was worthy of getting them (and she looks fantastic!). After each request I went on without dwelling about my query, because, Of course they were going to happen.
For each experiment that didn’t work, I realize I went in saying I would really, really like this to happen. Please? And I dwelled on each request, thinking, I hope this happens, I hope this happens.
Worth vs. Unworthy. A manifestation vs. a miracle (a word I should stop using for a while). Demanding vs. begging. Of course I deserve this vs. I hope I’m worthy.
Who cares how old you are? You deserve all that your heart desires. Of course you do.
Oh Ruth, you are a ray of sunshine and I thank you for taking the time to explain your experience.
You are so right about the words we use. I have always been “asking respectfully” and in hindsight probably came across to the Universe/God as someone who is excusing herself for being a liability and so “demanding” when there are others who are in such trying and challenging circumstances in other parts of the world.
There is enough to go around in this generous world of ours and I am as deserving of the life of my dreams as anyone else on whose behalf I ask when I have my “chats.”
How about we share our experiment experiences (good or not so good) here as we go along. I will certainly benefit as I am sure others who feel a little left behind in this creative process, will too.
Blessings to you Ruth.
I’m checking into a handful of E-squared groups, each with over 100 members, who are sharing their experiences on FB. I’ll share the links so you and anyone else who’s interested can join. There is power in numbers.
Hi Hilda (and anyone else interested in working on their experiments together)! I found an active Facebook group called ‘E-Squared Manifestation Group’ here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/612535715434778/
It’s a closed group, so our conversations are kept to members only, and you can keep your personal FB separate (unless you decide to also friend someone within the group). Come join me and over 300 like-minded people to share and support each other!
This is legendary! You know what, I happened to come across this blog without specifically looking for I didn’t know that it existed. The headline about Judge Judy grabbed my attention et voila! This alone was meant to be for me and I am so immensely grateful! The FB group and your pro-activity has opened up a whole new world of hope and faith to me that I will get to where I want to be from where I am right now. I have joined the group and posted my first count down aka Experiment #1! Namaste!
Am reading and loving your book now thank you
Sent from my iPhone
Hello Pam and Friends! We DO live in a world where people get Emmys for exuberant, joyful creativity. Is there one on your Fun Card, Pam?
I noticed an interesting thing a while back when I started to really watch my thoughts, and had those feelings about not being able to make things happen. A funny mirror thing: if I FEEL ‘not good enough’, when I look out at what is around me, I SEE (and judge) ‘not good enough.’
So I had to start small: being kind to myself, feeling playful about the process, looking for small things, and then taking my time to enjoy them without dismissing THEM as ‘not good enough.’ After a while, taking away that judgement meant that I could be more comfortable in this goofy world, where things can be lumpy and textured, light and dark, smooth and rough. We human beings do have intense, messy adventures, don’t we? I’m getting better at riding the waves and appreciating the trickles and bursts of bright sunshine, love, and joy when they come, and taking it easy while new things incubate.
Looking forward to E Cubed!
I love this story about the hair extensions!! I just lost my job last Thursday. I find that I am not panicked or freaked out at all, in fact I am jumping for joy that I no longer have to go back to that mundane, tedious, boring job where I had 2 hours worth of work and 8 hours to do it in! I am trusting God, the angels and the universe to supply my needs as I enjoy this “free time” to do some emotional and actual house clearing. I am working on manifesting a free therapeutic massage and a pedicure 🙂 Loved e-squared!
This is exactly what I have been looking for. So excited to read all of the successes. Thanks.