Pam Grout

Anyone but my mind

December 17, 2024 27 Comments

“On and on the mind spins its tales.”—Eckhart Tolle

In interviews, I’m often asked about mentors. Who do I look to for advice? What books do I read?

And while I admire SO many teachers and have read thousands of books, my current guru of choice are the birds right outside my window.

They come in different colors, different sizes, different species and, yes, they occasionally jockey for the best territory on our bird feeders.

But never, as far as I can tell, do they hold grudges or ruminate or make up stories about their differences.

If they had a human mind, they’d be squawking a story like this: “Can you believe what that woodpecker just did to me? He thinks he owns this bird bath. He has no consideration whatsoever for my feelings. How could I ever be expected to trust him again?”

And this is why my practice is to bypass my human mind and rely instead on the deeper awareness that’s underneath it all. I’ve found this inner aliveness (hidden beneath my mind’s squawking) is much kinder, more compassionate and has no interest in keeping the crazy going.

The mind, on the other hand, constantly spins its wheels, furiously attempts to solve things.

“Just give me a problem, any problem,” the mind urges.

But my mind, I’m discovering, isn’t capable of solving problems. It’s extremely gifted at creating problems, projecting falsehoods, exacerbating suffering. But it doesn’t solve a lot of problems. In fact, its insistence that there’s a problem is where it all begins.

We live in a culture driven by the mind, driven by the will. Our penchant to think we have to figure everything out confines us to a conceptual straitjacket. “Create your best self,” the mind likes to shout. But the mind only sees a teeny slice of reality, most of which is spiritually drained and echoes nothing but old perceptions.

So my mentors will always be the birds, the trees and the alive dance of presence that lives south of my neck, forever waiting patiently for me to catch on.

#222 Forever!

Pam Grout is the author of 20 books including E-Squared, E-Cubed, Thank & Grow Rich and her latest book, The Course in Miracles Experiment: A Starter Kit for Rewiring Your Mind (And Therefore Your World)

You can’t be a little bit pregnant

December 11, 2024 22 Comments

“There is no room for anything but joy and thanks today.”—A Course in Miracles

While most people think Martha Stewart is Snoop Dogg’s bestie, turns out his real “ride or die” is what he calls “the gangsta holy ghost.”

Who knew that he and I shared this confidant, this ally, this #1 homie?

Luckily, the Holy S (who, come to think of it, probably is a bit of a gangsta) has plenty of time for everyone.

Considering Snoop’s active social calendar (he’s everywhere from the Olympics to wine bottles to T-Mobile commercials)–it’s a good thing the Holy S is infinite and on call 24/7.

Whenever I ask to see things differently or when I need help of any kind, Holy S responds ASAP.

And I notice that when I rely on Its guidance rather than my own foolhardy beliefs and assumptions, I’m a gazillion times happier and more at peace.

The Holy S constantly reminds me that when it comes to reality, there is no compromise. I’m either living in love or living in fear. I’m either proclaiming truth or making up illusions.

You can’t love a little bit. Or proclaim a smidgeon of truth. Like heads or tails, it can only be one or the other.

Only love is real, says the Holy S, and all arbitrary rules, old stories and random limits only “exist” if I continue to believe in them.

So here’s to Snoop Dogg, the Holy S and a holiday season filled with love, joy and the only reality that could ever, will ever be true.

#222 Forever!

Sayonara to old assumptions, habits and beliefs

November 20, 2024 46 Comments

“It’s in times when division is fierce that we must reach for each other and hold each other much, much tighter.”—Chelan Harkin

Feliz miércoles, amigos!

Thought I’d take a minute to share a beautiful miracle that happened to me this morning.

Miracles, of course, happen on the daily. Heck, they’re happening every second of every day.

The one I’m about to share is classic ACIM which describes a miracle as “a shift in perception from fear to love.”

Today’s Course lesson (“I gladly make the ‘sacrifice’ of fear”) asks me to let go of self-deception, false images and other barriers I’ve been known to erect against love.

So here’s what went down:

Last week I struck up a conversation with a fellow gringo at a coffee shop. I happened to mention I was an author so he went home and googled me, landed on my website.

The next day, I got three urgent emails from him about how important it was that we get together again. His cryptic messages indicated he was desperate. He even tried to track me down through the community I visit here in Ajijic.

My noisy ego (you know that voice that will say or do anything to keep us from wholeness and joy) pounced. It made a strong case that I should probably steer clear.

But it didn’t feel quite right. So I decided to ask for guidance.

I wrote back and said I’d be open to meeting. Turns out he and his wife also lost a daughter when she was in her 20’s. Turns out, he was absolutely correct. The three of us did need to meet.

We ended up having what the Course calls a “Holy Encounter.” Two and a half hours of beautiful, meaningful sharing.

It was particularly poignant for me because A) I did just what today’s lesson advised (‘sacrificed’ fear) and B) I received even more evidence that the only limits that could ever hinder me are those in my mind.

I feel so blessed for the opportunity to share love and to surrender all false beliefs about people being separate or scary or different from me.

We’re all, to paraphrase the old Firesign Theatre, beautiful bozos on the very same bus.

Oceans of love, my friends!

#222 Forever!

It’s okay, sweetheart!

November 8, 2024 48 Comments

“We are on a sacred journey that can often seem chaotic and frightening, but when understood from a more mystical, archetypal and transformational vantage point, our purpose and the Divine handiwork of this time becomes obvious.” –Carolyn Myss

I decided to pull out my two magic words today.

Some of you may remember them from previous posts. I probably even included them in one of my books. I added the endearment “sweetheart” because it seems crucial to be really, really, really gentle with ourselves right now.

I’m sitting outside at my favorite coffee shop in Ajijic, Mexico. I hear birds singing, tree trimmers whistling and snippets of conversation from nearby tables.

I’m happy to report that the community that first drew me here nearly seven years ago continues to hold a vortex of peace, joy and faith even as emotions and fear swirl around the world.

As people of faith, we must refuse to let outside events control the narrative. We must remember, as someone said in the sangha yesterday, that we will always be the president of our own minds.

That’s why I considered headlining this post, “Lazos de amor.” But then thought the English translation, “only love is real” would speak to more of us.”

That sentiment, whether in English, Spanish, Arabic or any other language, is a universal truth. Only love is real. No matter what. No matter how it might appear to the naked eye.

Anything that doesn’t look like love is smoke and mirrors and it’s only temporary unless we decide to turn it into dogma. All fear can be dissolved with the power of love.

I’m here in Mexico on a sort of spiritual sabbatical to pull together the final pieces of my new book. My friend Jay suggested I announce here on the blog that it will debut in April, mostly because it creates a deadline for myself. We writers need these kinds of guard rails. Dates, deadlines are our friend.

I decided to self-publish this time around which is, in itself, a whole new adventure in creativity. I self-published two books when Taz was young. One of them (Jumpstart Your Metabolism) was eventually bought out by Simon & Schuster (now Atria) after I met a publisher in the green room of the New York talk show where I was demonstrating the book’s “energy cocktails.”

The other, Recycle this Book: And 72 1/2 Other Ways to Save “Yo Momma” Earth was published on recycled grocery bags with illustrations by a seven-year-old Taz. It came out for Earth Day in maybe 2000. The local paper even took our picture with Taz and me standing in our garbage can.

Because the publishing industry has changed so drastically, I decided it would be rather entrepreneurial to go the self-publishing route again. But as I said, I need the deadline.

So folks, please hold me accountable. And please, please, please remember there is only love.

And please tell that president in your mind to have the very best weekend of your life.

#222 Forever!

More amor por favor

November 5, 2024 21 Comments

“To focus only upon doom is to become demonically obsessed, single-pointed and blind to the miraculous, the compassionate, and the fantastic.”—Elizabeth Gilbert

I took this photo in my local coffee shop this morning. Thought it merited a blog post.

Happy Tuesday, beautiful people! I decided this might be a good day to send out some love, to spread some good news and to remind myself (and anybody who happens to listen in) that anything is possible.

I’ve always viewed my writing as a way to sound the gong, throw the confetti, share stories that prove most of what we take for actual fact is a singular superposition in a field of infinite potentialities.

With that in mind, here are a couple stories that recently came my way:

Jelly Roll, before he was Jelly Roll, had, shall we say, a few run-ins with the law. In fact, by the time he was 15, he’d been convicted of armed robbery and, to this day, has a felony on his record.

Back then, he says, he was mad at life, mad at everybody. He was convinced he was a victim, believed every problem was somebody else’s fault.

It wasn’t until he finally decided to look at, as he says, “The Man in the Glass” that his life started to shift. When he began to recognize that he himself was creating it all, that he had the power to change his perspective, his entire world cracked wide open.

Today, he’s not only a Grammy-winning superstar, but he’s devoted his life to changing himself, making amends and helping others see the blamelessness within themselves. In fact, if you haven’t already, check out his amazing testimony to Congress:

The story that caught my eye is one that proves the Course in Miracles tenet that says: “The holiest of all spots on earth is where an ancient hatred has become a present love.”

Today, Jelly Roll and the prosecutor who first convicted him have teamed up to create a program for at-risk and incarcerated youth in Tennessee’s Davidson County. These former enemies are now respected, loving colleagues. He has also become tight with the very sheriff who first locked him up in county jail.

So whatever enemy you think you have (for me, it’s often myself), just know that an open mind and being willing to take full responsibility can restore everything to wholeness, to a present love.

Second story pits statistics and probability against possibility. It involves a couple who tried for years to have a baby. They did the shots, the treatments, everything medical science could think to do.

Finally, their doctor threw up his hands and said, “I’m sorry. It’s not going to work. Your eggs are bad. You’re too old. Go to the adoption place. Here’s a flyer.”

They were about to adopt a baby from Honduras, were busy filling out the forms, getting the life insurance, doing the requisite blood work, when a phlebotomist came to their house and happened to ask, “Now, why am I taking your blood?”

When told the story about how the wife couldn’t get pregnant, the phlebotomist said, “Stop. Just stop.”

He took the guy’s hands, looked him in the eye and proceeded to do some kind of incantation.

After a few, “God is good. God is good,” he said, “It’s all done. Don’t worry about it. In a few months, your wife is going to tell you she’s pregnant.

“You don’t have to do anything. You don’t have to tell your wife. It’s done.”

Three months later, his wife is pregnant. And, yes, they had a beautiful baby girl.

So folks, whatever story you believe to be true, whatever statistic seems like rock solid fact, never forget that, behind the scenes, there’s a bigger reality going on.

The world with which we’re most familiar (being a human, living in a body) pales in comparison to the infinite, utterly indescribable presence that’s just waiting to restore all that we’ve foolishly thrown away.

#222 Forever!!

Breaking free from the algorithm

October 29, 2024 25 Comments

“Sometimes you have to jump out of the boat.”– Rachelle Jeanty

One of my beloved correspondents sent me this hedgehog yesterday and happened to mention she was dealing with a heightened case of JOMO.

Unlike FOMO—the fear of missing out—JOMO is the exact opposite. It’s a state of ecstatic bliss (JOY!!) that comes from not paying attention to the news or the algorithms that right now want us to think we’re all doomed.

Social media companies know that titillating tales of woe are a potent tool for gaining eyeballs and capturing our attention. Their pre-programmed algorithms can best be described as a digitally-fueled, dopamine-releasing game of aint it awful!

By their very nature, algorithms have allegiance only to the past. They give us a story line that reflects what we paid attention to yesterday.

Built into their design is distraction and an agenda that prevents us from the realization that what they’re showing isn’t necessarily true. An agenda that fails to mention that these stats and data are but one tiny superposition in a universe with a bazillion better and more beautiful superpositions. An agenda that intercepts and blocks our inherent knowledge that IT. DOESN’T. HAVE. TO. BE. THIS. WAY!

Algorithms and their twisted narratives reduce us to mere spectators who have forgotten that our attention grows things, that our attention turns our thoughts into material reality.

We humans have agency and power over what is happening here. At any time, we can “miss out” and find the joy. We can stop scrolling, stop adding to the hysteria and turn our attention to the unseen power that has zero interest in the past.

Within each of us is that connection. We don’t need a computer or a modem or a FB profile. This ability to change the narrative, to imagine a new world is where the real levers of power lie.

Rather than attend to probabilities, algorithms and headlines reflecting yesterday, let’s open ourselves to a radical new mind shift, a new collective reality of peace and prosperity for all.

JOMO and #222 Forever!

Ain’t too proud to beg

October 25, 2024 33 Comments

“I pray at the altar of imagination every day.”—Jason Reynolds

Today, I bring you good news/bad news. And, surprise, surprise, they’re one and the same.

Ready?

As humans, we create ceaselessly.

This is mind-blowing! Amazing! The most exciting reality we can know. We create with every thought.

That’s why every morning, I beg (maybe that’s a bit strong)..,I gently request that the universe, my cosmic concierge run the show.

Whoever controls the narrative wields the power. If the narrative we subscribe to is the material viewpoint, the one that suggests we are lacking, separate and limited, our ceaselessly creative thoughts are going to show us a rather frightening “reality.”

However, if we ask to be guided by the bigger thing, a beautiful, joyful freedom begins to arise.

Everybody claims they want to change the world. But the world is an idea, a narrative that forms from the thoughts and beliefs we dwell upon.

The world begins to change on its own once we refuse to live from false perceptions of brokenness, of scarcity. The world transforms magically when we ask the bigger thing to take the floor.

As the Course in Miracles continually reminds us, we are eternally blessed and sadly, most of us don’t even know it. The reason? The bad news narrative, the material viewpoint that prevails has us in its sway.

But it’s not true. We are NOT lacking. We are NOT separate. We are NOT without power. And once we ask for a wee bit of help, our powerful, unceasing ability to create begins to show us the joy, light and freedom to which we belong.

Happy Friday, gorgeous friends! Have the most stupendous, exciting weekend of your life.

#222 Forever!!!

76 Trombones in the Thought Parade

October 8, 2024 110 Comments

“I can be hurt by nothing but my thoughts.”—A Course in Miracles

Remember the movie, Broadcast News, where Holly Hunter’s character unplugs her phone, checks her watch and takes sixty seconds to sob her eyes out? Every single day.

If I remember correctly (keep in mind this movie is so old that Holly still had a landline to unplug), she does this for stress relief, to get the angst out of her system so she can be “okay” for the rest of the day.

This time of year, I feel a little like Holly Hunter, boo-hooing and getting a few things out of my system. Today happens to be Taz’s birthday. She would have been 31. And in a week, on the 15^th, it will be six years since the unexpected cerebral aneurysm.

So every early October, I’ve noticed, my ego gets a little aggressive, I get a little weepy and well, we both (my ego and me) have an abbreviated pity party……

….even though I know Taz was a sacred gift on loan from Creation. Even though I still feel her presence with me. Even though I know that death is just a story.

The story of Taz is one I miss desperately.

By the time she landed in my womb, I had accumulated a couple degrees, three decades of experience and some notable, if sporadic, accomplishments.

But it was Taz that taught me all the things I really needed to know, like how to slow down, how to marvel at tiny, everyday things, how to laugh, to dance and how to make a room-size fort out of sofa cushions.

But the two biggest lessons I learned from my brilliant, kind, creative daughter is how much love a heart can hold (Like the Grinch, my heart grew three sizes that monumental day in October 1993) and how vital it is to embrace every day, every moment, every second.

Death has a way of slapping us in the face with the reminder that life is short and uncertain and that uttering or promoting any message but “I love you. I have always loved you” is a complete and utter waste of time. This is it, friends, right now. And the only question worth asking is “How can I use this right now moment to be more generous, wide open and fully alive?”

Last week, I traveled to Omaha to partake in Valerie Kaur’s Revolutionary Love Tour. The social justice activist is visiting 45 cities to promote the beautiful idea that “there is no you and me.” Each stop on the tour is a grand celebration of love and possibility.

She talks a lot about her Sikh grandfather who would always say to her, “Do not abandon your post, my dear.” Even when sobbing, even when life appears cruel, even when the ego seems to have the floor.

So rest assured, my friends, I will never abandon my post. And if you want to know more about Valerie, here’s a beautiful interview with her and Brene Brown.

Happy birthday, Taz! And, as always, #222 Forever!!!

I believe in fairies, love and infinite possibility

September 20, 2024 31 Comments

“Once you meet the God of love, you tend to fire all the others.”—Mirabai Starr

First, I want to say that I love you all SO MUCH. I love your comments, your insights, your willingness to join me on this crazy, rocking peace train.

I’m just home after an 8-day road trip with my mister. Our ultimate destination was Taz’s Hot Dirt, a regenerative farm that sits a couple hours north of Toronto. We had the great fortune to meet the magic woman behind the project that the 222 Foundation chose to honor in 2022.

Dawna Wightman is a dreamer, a creative, a nonstop force for good and a catalyst for new possibilities. She designed Taz’s Hot Dirt to not only feed people’s bellies, but to nourish the hunger of their soul. Volunteers harvest the produce and then take a bag of it to someone who could use a friend, someone who maybe doesn’t feel connected. Not everybody knows quite yet that it’s impossible to be separate or to be outside the circle of care.

I especially love that Dawna consults with Taz out at the farm and that they’re both expecting worker fairies any day. Don’t laugh. Penny Kelly at Lilly Hill Farms worked with a group of elves to produce 100 tons of grapes on 13 acres, an utter impossibility if you ask any viticulturist.

I realize these kinds of stories make me sound like a cuckoo bird, but I dig being what the “real world” deems a little crazy. My daily intention, in fact, is to free myself from all habits and “beliefs” taught to me by my culture, to relinquish all limitations.

As far as I’m concerned, the bedrock of reality is love and everything else is just an unfortunate perceptual habit. In my Course reading this morning, I was struck by the line that everything we see out there in the world (the chaos, the separation, the arbitrary viewpoints) is made out of the things we don’t want within ourselves, the things we can’t accept.

When we separate ourselves from life, begin to identify with a body, we start casting all we find “intolerable” out there.

The reason this is GREAT news is that, in truth, everything occurs in our own minds where we do have complete and total sovereignty.

The Amazingly Awesome 222 Benefit Concert is happening this Sunday at Unity Village with Karen Drucker, Greg Tamblyn and me. I posted a photo on FB of the three of us and announced it as the start of our World Tour.

FYI: It’s also the end of our World Tour, at least for this year. If you happen to be coming to this ginormous T.A.Z. (Totally. Amazing. Zone. –shoutout to Pamela Joy for the inspiration), I expect to receive a big hug.

Whatever you’ve got planned for this weekend, I trust that you will make it the very best one of your life. #222 Forever!

As natural as your next breath

September 9, 2024 19 Comments

“You do not ask too much of life, but far too little.”—A Course in Miracles

When I was in junior high, listening to the radio with friends, we played a silly game. We’d declare that the next song, whatever it might be, was a message from our current crush.

We took turns and, while said crush most likely had no idea we even existed, we were convinced “the next song” was an accurate portrayal of our love affair.

We waited with much anticipation. What was our “true love” about to reveal? Would it be Barry White’s “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything? Would it be “Love will Keep us Together” by Captain and Tennille? Or, alas, would it be “Tears of a Clown?”

Either way, we listened with our whole being.

That’s how I feel about listening to my inner guidance, my cosmic concierge. I get excited, eager to learn what it is about to reveal. But unlike songs on a radio dial, this frequency is the real deal–a true communion with my inner being.

If I go in with an open mind, not having a clue what “song” will play next, I get better, clearer answers. It’s hard, after all, to talk over someone’s expectations and opinions. I like to go in with a blank slate of joyful anticipation and a true desire for accurate guidance.

I also want to mention a couple more things about “clear, unmistakable guidance,” one of my four daily intentions.

Everyone has a connection to their inner being, absolutely everyone. It’s not just Joan of Arc and Moses who get burning bushes. This robust channel of connection was established in our creation. It’s not like athletic talent where some people have it and others don’t.

It’s just that most of us have learned to ignore it. We’ve habituated to listening to the chattering voice in our head. We’re the ones who separated ourselves from this voice of wisdom.

Also want to note that you don’t have to prove anything to get guidance. Or do it in any particular way. It’s a simple reawakening to a capacity you ALREADY HAVE. It’s not like learning to play the mandolin or mastering a Simone Biles-style double back layout.

Dudes, we already know how to do this. It’s natural. Like taking a breath.

Have a gorgeous week! #222 Forever!