Pam Grout

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!

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)

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!

The Dude’s watch list

September 6, 2024 33 Comments

“Transcendent moments of awe change forever how we experience life and the world.”– John Milton

I was going to call this post “the Freaky Math of Gratitude” and then I remembered I wrote one a few years ago called exactly that.

That post, if I must say so myself, made an excellent point so I’ll include it (the original) below for a bit more oomph to the idea I’m about to share.

Unlike math formulas, gratitude doesn’t work in a linear fashion. It doesn’t add up the same way as the simple 2+2, 5 x 7 equations we learned in grade school.

Because it works on many dimensions and because it’s powered by love, it multiplies in a way rationalists can’t understand. Heck, I’m not even a rationalist and I don’t understand how blessing some tiny fragment of a perceived problem causes it to magically transform.

For example, let’s say I only slept 2 hours last night. When I say “thank you” for those two hours instead of bemoaning the other six I’ve been trained I also need, I feel less tired. Try it. Let me know how it works.

The observer effect, a well-known and undebatable principle in physics, addresses the bizarre phenomenon in which the act of observation alters the behavior of that which is being observed.

All matter is wave-like and because particles exist in multiple states simultaneously, the position (the observation) I choose collapses that reality into a definite state. So I can either collapse the gratitude state (and feel rested) or I can collapse the “aint-it-awful” state in which I need more Z’s. Both waves, always available.

The Course in Miracles says that, even our “wretched illusions” (that’s a bit harsh, if you ask me) contain a hidden spark of beauty. Which is where gratitude comes in. It ignites that itty-bitty spark of beauty.

I’m a fan of itty-bitty. Love that it only takes “a mustard seed.” Mustard seeds are so small you practically need a magnifying glass to see them.

Because our dominant paradigm is so hepped up on “more, more, more,” “the bigger the better,” it totally overlooks the immense power of a tiny idea whose time has come.

Lots of regenerative, loving ideas are coming, my friends. And they all start with that tiny mustard seed of gratitude.

Here’s to having the very best weekend of your life! And if you’re so inclined, read on for the last time I wrote about the freaky math of gratitude. #222 Forever!

“I will give thanks to you forever and with my whole heart.”—Book of Psalms

Between the above quote and the story I’m about to tell, you can probably surmise that I went to church yesterday. A dear friend joined the Unity church here in town so, of course, I went to cheer her on. That’s what possibility posses do—celebrate each other for any and all spiritual leaps. Go team!

The speaker at the church service reminded us of the Bible story of the fish and loaves. It happens to be a favorite of mine because its math equation doesn’t add up to what we consider “normal, scientific reality.”

5+2=5000 is not an equation that computes for most of us. It doesn’t match what we were taught in school. Every reasonable, educated adult knows that five loaves and two fish do not feed 5000 people. But that’s only because, alongside math, we were taught the erroneous subject of scarcity and limitation.

When you use the equation of gratitude, when you add blessings to “math problems,” the resulting sums are skewed in your favor. Gratitude compounds and expands everything – even material things.

Jesus and his 12 disciples took 7 measly items (5 loaves and 2 fish) and, by blessing them, by giving gratitude for them, grew their larder into a feast for 5000.

Every word or thought or even breath of gratitude multiplies whatever you have. It renders old school math problems irrelevant. It adds up to truth and the unfathomable math of miracles.

I know I repeat this over and over and over. (I figure I can get away with it because it happens to be Thanksgiving week here in the United States.) Counting blessings turns even the tiniest of things into monster-size blessings, abundance and, yes, miracles that defy all laws of mathematics. Happiest of holidays, my friends!

#222 forever!

Of course, I’d love to

August 23, 2024 27 Comments

“I’m amazed that I can make up such amazing stuff.”—Willie Nelson

I failed to add this to my earlier post, so for those who are interested………

I’ve written about Willie Nelson before—how he credited gratitude with turning his whole career around. Last weekend, I finished his latest book—Energy Follows Thought. I mean, how can I resist a title like that?

He believes, like I do, that our lives are created out of the things we place our attention upon. As we all know, there’s an awful lot of possibilities to choose from.

And more often than we care to admit, we fail to put our attention upon ease, grace, peace and other desirable items from the universal jukebox.

At last week’s P.P. (possibility posse), my friend mentioned an afternoon she blew by obsessing about the difficulty of some technological glitch that needed to be fixed on her website. After several hours of trying, she remembered. “Oh, I have a personal assistant. Maybe she can figure it out.”

She called the P.A. who promptly answered, “Of course, I’d love to!”

Which inspired me to write this post, mostly to remind myself (after all, that’s why I write them) that the Dude ALWAYS gives the same answer. “Of course, I’d love to.”

“It is my great pleasure to show you in three-dimensional, living color the out-picturing of whatever you choose to focus upon.”

Our part? Get on the right frequency and, as J.C. pointed out, “the fish will jump into the boat.”

Have the most incredible, interesting and fun weekend of your life. #222 Forever!!

With a little help from my friends

August 20, 2024 37 Comments

“Your heart and my heart are very, very old friends.”–Hafiz

Happy Tuesday, beloveds! Thought I’d pop in today to share a couple things, all of which involve beautiful connections.

The first is a message from Taz who reminded me this morning that who I am–who we all are–is far greater than we think. She wanted me to know that each of us is WAY MORE wise, kind and joined together than we could ever imagine.

Our bodies which occupy…oh, I don’t know?…99 percent of our attention?…are temporary tools we have the privilege of using for a short while. Sorta like a hammer. But we should never forget they’re not the whole tool box.

I also want to give props to all of you who email me the most amazing things—from pictures of hedgehog feather dusters to amazing manifestation stories to praise for my words that sometimes make me blush, but always remind me why I write and why it’s so important to use our given “tools” to shine for the divine.

Yesterday, a filmmaker I met through Mike Dooley sent me an inspiring video of an otter who, after getting the attention of a human who was able to rescue his trapped mate, swam back to him and presented him with a thank you gift of a rock. An otter gave a human a tangible thank you gift!!!!! Maybe I can figure out how to share that here.

The last connection I want to highlight is a couple friends who are throwing a big party/concert/love fest for the Taz Grout 222 Foundation. It’s on September 22 at Unity Village outside Kansas City. If any of you are in the area (or if you feel like driving/flying/hot air ballooning in), please join us. I’ll be presenting along with Karen Drucker and Greg Tamblyn. They’ll be singing. I’ll just be dancing and celebrating and sharing a few thoughts on inner guidance and spacious aliveness.

Karen Drucker, whose music and words embolden us to forever embrace the wonders of life, is giving a retreat the weekend before so why not come for the whole three days? You can get more info here.

Greg Tamblyn, who might be the funniest singer alive (he’s also profound as Gandhi), is hosting a couple trips to Ireland. I keep trying to sign up, but they book up so fast that a couple years ago when four friends and I intended to go we ended up with a band we’d never ever heard of, but absolutely LOVED. Grace is funny that way. There’s more info here.

So that’s it for today, except for this final thought: You are part of an inscrutable love that’s all-encompassing and more real and vast than you’ll ever know while swinging the hammer.

#222 Forever!