The Home Depot of Spiritual Practice

“Do not bend reality to your tiny experience or limit its purpose to your little personal thoughts.”—A Course in Miracles

The universe is kinda like Home Depot, offering an unlimited selection of tools to further my good.

ACIM Lesson 25 (I do not know what anything is for) assures me that every single person, every single thing that happens is in my best interest.

And since my best interest right now is to head to pickleball, I’m going to re-run one of my favorite posts from 2013. Enjoy!

Hans Schultz is the fictional sergeant to Colonel Wilhelm Klink in the old TV series, Hogan’s Heroes.

Even though Schultz knew about the shenanigans of the Allied POW’s who were running Special Operations from Stalag 13, he was famous for proclaiming to his inept colonel, “I know nothing” in a clipped, German accent.

I repeat that line (complete with the accent) quite often. In fact, it has become an important piece of my spiritual practice.

I have learned that any time I think I’ve figured something out, any time I believe I’ve found the route to this intention or that dream, I promptly proceed to get in my own way.

My understanding is sorely limited. But when “I know nothing,” like Hans Schultz, I leave the gates wide open for blessings to rush in.

Last week, for example, I got an incredible response to my first post on The Daily Love. It’s a popular website run by Mastin Kipp, a young entrepreneur who recently appeared on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday as one of the Next Generation thought leaders.

I happened to catch that episode, looked him up and discovered that, lo and behold, he grew up in my hometown. I decided that I wanted to write for The Daily Love and I did everything I could think of to interest Mastin in my “brilliant wisdom.” I even wrote an article about him in the local Lawrence magazine. I mean, c’mon, we talked in person.

Those initial pitches? That initial scheme I came up with for getting on The Daily Love? Futile. Nada. Didn’t work.

However, when I let go of my plan, repeated the Hans Schultz “I know nothing” and forgot all about it (“Set it and forget it” is a new mantra of mine), Madeline Giles, the editor of The Daily Love or the Love Curator, as she’s known, contacted me.

Out of the blue, she wrote to me, said she liked my new book and wondered if I’d be up for contributing to The Daily Love.

So, Hans Schultz, thank you for proving that inspiration and important spiritual practices can come from anywhere.

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.