“By figuring things out, by labeling them, we restrict what we let into our awareness, we block the field of infinite potentiality that wants to come forth through us.”– From my book, E-Cubed
A couple years ago, I was invited (for free) on a cruise to Bermuda with three sexy chefs from the Bravo show, Top Chef.
There were private cooking classes, Quick Fire challenges and meet and greets with bad boy celebrity chefs Ash Fulk, Angelo Sosa and Spike Mendelsohn.
And while this travel writing assignment certainly illustrates how amazingly awesome things started happening when I began giving up meaningless ideas, I’m telling you this story because of the cardboard cutouts. That’s me in the picture with the cardboard cutouts of the three guests of honor.
You also see cardboard cutouts at the movies—Kevin Hart and The Rock, for example, are currently at my local theater posing for their movie, Jumanji. College basketball fans often hold up cardboard cutouts or big heads, as they’re known, to distract the opposing team.
So what does that have to do with Lesson 13 from a Course in Miracles?
The purpose of the first 50 lessons is to unravel all thoughts that block our good. To help us realize that everything we see is a cardboard cutout. It’s a picture of the past frozen in time, serving as a stand-in for the real thing.
We decided long ago that life is this certain way and that’s all we can see.
Our crafty brains literally reconstruct empty shells, caricatures of the teeming life that exists in every now moment.
We look at the people in our lives and don’t really see them, not as they are now. We look around at the world we inhabit and see nothing but the cardboard cutout of our story. The invisible grace, the never-ending abundance is invisible to us.
I’ve seen cardboard cutouts of Angelo Sosa and I’ve seen the real thing.
Believe me, the cardboard cutouts pale in comparison.
Pam Grout is the author of 19 books including E-Squared, E-Cubed, Thank & Grow Rich and her new book, Art & Soul,Reloaded: A Year-Long Apprenticeship to Summon the Muses and Ignite Your Daring, Audacious, Creative Side.
11 Responses
I love the “cardboard cut-out” analogy.
Good morning, Pam! I have an expression I use for myself when I am not being present or when I am trying to look good or impress someone: cardboard Sherry.
Your post today made me laugh and reminded me that nothing is better than being authentically HERE, with whatever is truly present in my life.
I don’t want to live in a pretend world or be a pretend person. I wanna be right here, right now, noticing the amazing beauty of that “V” of geese flying overhead past that pink streak of light in the sky.
Once again, thank you thank you thank you for your dedication to these daily posts and inviting us along for the ride! (Wheeeee!) 💥💓💥
love this! 🤗😊
I bet there is a big difference. Yes. Lol 😙😗😎
Again, YAY 🙌!!
I’m pretty nearsighted and started to question my vision when I first saw the cut outs because they looked like cardboard. Thanks for saving me a trip to the ophthalmologist. It’s all becoming more clear here each day. I read somewhere in a quantum physics book that nothing has any meaning other than what we give to it and it isn’t visible until we look for and at it. We have to participate to make it real and have meaning. At least that’s what I think I read. 😉 Am I wrong here?
Wow, the synchronicity! Before I read this, I typed out an ah ha moment that I had today. It’s my birthday and the Universe reminded me of the magical story I am creating, the story with the dazzle! Thank you so much for these blogs each day. 13 is my favorite number and this is the perfect lesson for my birthday today on the 13th. Check your message for my amazing story today.
Very good post. You are a very attractive woman.
I also want you to know that I have come such a long way on my spiritual journey and a good part of it (at least, in the last year) is due to paying attention to your books and this blog. Thank you for producing without fear…
Scott
Great post. You’re so right – the cardboard cutout just isn’t the same as the real thing. Thanks for sharing! ~ KK
My favorite lesson is #7, I see only the past. Everything we view we use our past reference points to identify and label. This is just one of the many ways we limit ourselves.
Hi Pam,
I am loving the additional guidance as I go through the Workbook.
I am stuck though on the term “meaningless”. I don’t feel at all that the world is meaningless, I can’t pretend to think I see the world as meaningless and then it even says that the world is not meaningless but the exercises keep reiterating I am seeing a meaningless world.
I am doing the exercises still but don’t feel I am really making any breakthroughs as this term is a big sticking point.
Wondering if you have any insight to my “stuckness” or I am completely missing something.
Thank you again for this incredible guidance.
With gratitude, Shannon