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Problems seem insurmountable? Hold your horses and read this.

May 3, 2017 36 Comments

“Drag your thoughts away from your troubles…by the ears, by the heels,
or any other way you can manage it.” ― Mark Twain
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The universe is attending to your needs whether you’re aware of it or not. It works on your behalf at all times. You don’t have to earn it or jump through any hoops. It’s yours through grace, not because you prayed hard enough or followed the right commandments.

So no matter what it may look like, everything in your life is working beautifully. I recently heard a story that puts everything into perspective.

Back in the 1900’s, the American public was warned that grave danger lay ahead. An energy shortage was imminent, we were told, because not enough horses were being bred. Horses, after all, were used to plow our fields, deliver our mail, provide transportation. Here’s the plea that went out: “In a few years there will not be enough horses in this country to take care of the commercial needs of the country. Americans, do something!”

So for anybody that buys the “danger, danger” party line, just keep in mind that there is something a whole lot bigger and smarter and more loving that’s running the show, no matter how it may appear to our five senses. We are constantly evolving and being cared for. Our only mission is to let down our resistance, give up our fears and love every glorious moment.

As for that horse shortage? In 2016, the Bureau of Land Management reported having 45,000 unclaimed wild horses.

Pam Grout is the author of 18 books including E-Squared: 9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality and the recently released, Thank and Grow Rich: a 30-day Experiment in Shameless Gratitude and Unabashed Joy.

Can we still hold the Dude to that promise he made in the New Testament?

May 2, 2017 28 Comments

“You carry within your heart a portable paradise.”—Paramahansa Yogananda
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A reader asked me the other day why I chose nine experiments instead of 10 for E-Squared and E-Cubed. She wondered if there was some deep spiritual significance. In numerology, nine is the symbol of wisdom and initiation (or mental instability, depending on who you consult), but here’s the real reason I chose nine.

The original book (God Doesn’t Have Bad Hair Days) had ten experiments. But I found readers to be quite resistant to the Lillies of the Field experiment where I asked people to hold the Dude to that guarantee he made in the New Testament. The one where He promised that if we’d just quit worrying, we’d be clothed, fed, and taken better care of than the lilies of the field?

In our culture at least, people don’t have the chutzpah to place all their trust in the care of the universe. They just aren’t willing to “leave their wallets at home” or have the faith that life really does have their back.

In an effort to convince people to try it, I told the story of Paramahansa Yogananda.

When he was 15, he was sent to the Indian city of Brindaban with nary a rupee. He had been yammering to his family about wanting to quit school and devote his life to God. His brother, a stolid accountant, decided to pull a fast one on his pious pipsqueak brother.

“Okay,” he challenged him, “You wanna do God’s work, fine. But let’s forget about your inheritance. If you wanna depend on God, I insist you depend on Him for everything. What do you say we put your vaunted philosophy to a test in the tangible world?”

Ananta, the sermonizing elder brother made this proposal. “I’ll buy you a one-way ticket to Brindaban. It’s where Lord Krishna first displayed his glories, so it’ll be a good place for you to start. You spend the day there. Take no money. No food. You’re not allowed to beg. Yet you can’t go without food or transportation. Furthermore, you’re not allowed to reveal your predicament to anyone. If you return to my bungalow before midnight without breaking any of these rules, I’ll not only give you my blessing, but I’ll become your first initiate.”

Ananta undoubtedly smirked as he sent his penniless brother and a friend off to the strange city they’d never visited, but not before searching both of them for a hidden hoard.

The friend, lacking the young yogi’s faith, was nervous—almost as nervous as you probably are in contemplating this experiment.

“Shouldn’t we take a couple rupees just as a safeguard?” he pleaded. “At least then we’ll have money to telegraph you in case of misfortune. There’s something reassuring about the clink of coins.”

Paramahansa rebuked his friend, refusing to proceed with the test if he took any “safeguard.”

As the train rumbled towards the holy city, the friend started whining. “I’m really getting hungry. Why did you talk me into this?”

Right before the last stop, two men stepped into their compartment, began joking with the young boys. When the train pulled to a stop, the two men linked arms with the boys and led them into a horse cab.

Well, long story short, they ended up at an ashram, taking the place of two princes who, at the last minute, had to cancel their lunch plans. Not only were they served a 30-course meal, while being fanned by a hostess, but they visited Madanamohana Temple and other Krishna shrines, were given train tickets back to Agra, and fed the finest of Indian sweetmeats for dinner.

Was Ananta ever surprised when, at a few minutes before midnight, the young yogi walks into his home with piles of rupee notes and bursting with stories. His brother, as promised, insisted on receiving spiritual initiation that very evening.

Two quick announcements. The kindle version of Thank & Grow Rich is on sale for $1.99 for just two more days. And there’s still time to enroll for the 5th annual Hay House World Summit (it’s completely free) and features hundreds of authors and speakers talking about really enlightening things. You can sign up here. Hope you’ll join us.

And as always, my friends, thanks for your continuing love and support.

Why I like to gang up on perceived problems

May 1, 2017 34 Comments

“Life is beautiful not because of the things we see or the things we do. Life is beautiful because of the people we meet.”–Simon Sinek
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If you’re a regular at this blog, you know how much I love my Lawrence possibility posses and how important I think it is for all of us to “gang up” on perceived problems of lack and limitation.

I am so thrilled that groups are forming all over the planet to talk about the principles in E-Squared, E-Cubed and Thank & Grow Rich. And so grateful for all the amazing things people send to me—everything from origami roses to Love Lists (thank you Sherry Richert Belul).

Since I get together with my one of my posses every Sunday (they’re like my own personal pit crew who help me change my flat tires when I’m heading in the wrong direction), I often have great stories to tell on Monday.

Here are just three from yesterday:

Never Say No to Fun Rhonda and Carla were driving home from a gardening workshop in Overbrook. Rhonda said to Carla, “You know what I need? A friend who loves to garden and has lots of extra plants to give away.”

The next day (literally the next day) she’s at the posse and a new guy walks in. Rhonda starts chatting him up, welcomes him to the group. “So what do you like to do?” Innocent enough question, right?

He replies: “I’m a Master Gardener.” She has been getting free plants from him ever since.

Jeff didn’t mention it to anybody, but thought, “I’d love to get a mountain bike.” He filed it away in his “someday when I get some money together” file.

Last week, out of the blue, one of his co-workers presented him with a…do I really have to say it?..a mountain bike with a 29-inch frame that was too tall for its original owner, but just the right size for Jeff.

Robbin’s daughter, Kitty, who recently manifested the perfect interior architect job just manifested a second job at the same company for her best friend from college. The two recent graduates moved into an apartment together that, included in the rent, just happens to have its own concierge, its own driver and its own personal trainer.

There were more stories (there are always more stories), but I’ll close for now by reminding us that we are here on Planet Earth to magnify and glorify infinite potentiality. We can’t do that if we depend on what we’ve seen in the past, what we think we know. That’s why it’s so darned important to keep this conversation going.

Anyone else have a great story to share?

Are you willing to allow the possibility of an unrecognizable new world?

April 18, 2017 9 Comments

“I signed up for the Olympics of internal freedom and happiness.”—Grace Bell

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Will Smith once said that all successful people have the delusional quality of believing something different can happen.

Most of us, instead, get stuck in expectation loops. We continue looking for and expecting the same things as yesterday.

But here’s the thing. Today is a brand-new day with an infinite number of new possibilities.

Whoever took over for Ed McMahon could knock on your door with the winning check in the magazine sweepstakes. You could make a new friend or meet a potential S.O. You could get an idea for a book or a song or a nonprofit that might change the lives of millions.

The thing is, you never know. But because we get up every morning expecting the exact same thing, we get reruns of yesterday.

But what if you woke up to a world where everything was completely unrecognizable? Are you willing to allow that possibility? The possibility that the world’s largesse could flow into your life? The possibility that we could have peace on Earth? And that all children could go to bed with a full stomach knowing they were deeply loved and cherished?

In the interest of unrecognizable new possibilities, thought I’d share some cool stories that have recently proven to me that whatever happened in the past has no bearing on today.

1. Rihanna’s people called.. “Last month, a friend shared your book Thank & Grow Rich on Instagram. I’m not much for reading books that don’t involve beauty or makeup (I have a comprehension problem and it takes me a long time to read a book versus others). But without much thought, I immediately subscribed to Audible and decided to “listen” your book.

“Your book has been such an eye opener for me, you have no idea! I can’t thank you enough!! I got a call back for a second round of interviews for Global Makeup Artist position for Rihanna’s new makeup line! I made it to the top 50 and beat out over 1500 other artists that applied for the job.”

2. Fresh coconuts in Belgium in the middle of winter. “Reading E-Squared, I thought of challenging the Universe by ordering a coconut in the middle of winter. Before this, I’d never seen coconuts at our local grocery store. Hannah, my nanny, and I went for our weekly grocery shopping tour while the kids were in school. And I couldn’t believe it! There, in between the fresh fruits was an entire BOX full of coconuts!!! In the middle of winter in Belgium. Hannah had to slap me as I was speechless and couldn’t move. That’s how surreal it felt to me! And after that I just keep on ordering and without fault, each order has come in the most hilarious ways.”

3. A lottery win. “I just wanted to say that reading your book has provided me with much appreciated positive reciprocation, and universal confirmation. I read your book recently and after asking for the “sign” or for divine communion(FP), I won the lottery. It was in the thousands, nothing to retire on but certainly a sign. Also a way to tie up any or all looming debts. I had lucid dreaming and other profound experiences since this and just wanted to say… You were meant to write this book. You wrote it, in such a way that it was perfectly, timed, simple and encapsuled our fundamental rights as beings on this planet.”

4. Universe giving clear signs. “This is the best 222 story you will ever hear!!

“So ….. I asked the universe to provide me with some 222’s along with the other things requested for that experiment – I had manifested the other things so the next morning I was a little bit impolite really and demanded some 222’s. Well needless to say I was swamped – I found them everywhere.

“That night after work I received a package addressed to my husband and on enquiring with him they were apparently some number plates he had had on hold for 35 years. So I opened them and you guessed it – BMW 222. How did my husband know that 35 years ago his wife (which he hadn’t even meet) would be looking for proof of her manifestion skills in the form of three numbers??? I don’t really know or even care how it works Those numbers have become a way that I can ‘talk’ to the universe. Thanks for your books – I just love them and you for writing them. Love, Sally.”

Thank you, Sally, and everyone else who has written to share their miracle story.

Make sure to claim your blessing this weekend

April 14, 2017 17 Comments

“It’s not denial. I’m just selective about the reality I accept.”–Calvin & Hobbes
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When it comes to manifesting miracles, there’s really just one hindrance. It’s the same obstacle whether you’re trying to draw in a new Lexus or attract a soul mate.

Instead of using our imaginations, we rely on what we know now, what appearances have revealed in the past.

“What is” is the last place you should go when wanting something new. You have to create a vision, a vision that gets you pumped up and excited. There is no room for “what is” or “what you know now.”

That’s why it’s called a miracle. It’s a rearranging of life as we think it is. A Course in Miracles insists that miracles are normal and that if we’re not enjoying them on a daily basis, something has gone wrong.

What has gone wrong is that we keep believing and putting our attention on what we’ve noticed in the past. The past has no relevance.

What has relevance is having a vision. You must employ your imagination because what you want to draw into your life has been blocked by your strong belief in it not being there.

As you know if you’ve been attending this party for very long, I hear about miracles every day. Readers write me with their “You’re never going to believe this” stories. The other day I got an email from a woman in India who had written me 18 months earlier about her desire to attract a partner. Seems as if her parents had other ideas about her perfect soul mate. I wrote back and said something about trusting the universe had her back and knowing that it always, always wants what’s best. A few days ago, she wrote to say that she’s now happily married. And all she had to do was let go of her story that she was hopelessly single and that her parents would never approve of her choice.

Like the Brothers Grimm, we all have stories and we invest lots of energy in them. But let me say it again, your old stories have no relevance on your future unless you keep repeating them.

To manifest miracles, you have to let go of every story and just trust, deep down, that joy is your birthright, that good things are lined up for you and will flow in the very moment you release your old story. All your good is right there, waiting.

I often hear from musicians who, inspired by my work, write songs about E-Squared or about gratitude. I need to collect them all and put out an album.

Last year, I met an amazing musician named Claudia Carawan. She is the music director at Unity Bon Air in Richmond, Virginia. The day I spoke there, she played this song that, while she didn’t write for me, could easily be my theme song.

So, dear friends, please, do what this song says—get up every day and claim your blessing!

Why I believe in singing to the choir

April 10, 2017 15 Comments

“Let no sorrow abate your joy today, no fear disturb your peace. Bring happiness to everyone who looks on you and sees your happy face.”—A Course in Miracles
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First, a hearty shout out to all of you who kindly objected to Adam Grant’s reporting that the average Joe believes Pollyannas are 14 percent less intelligent than those who criticize.

I’d like to point out that this well-known Wharton professor presented no research suggesting it was a fact. He simply made the observation that people erroneously BELIEVE people who criticize are smarter. But it’s an incorrect perception.

The Journal of Neuroscience, in fact, published a study proving just the opposite. When test subjects are on unhappy frequencies (the problem state our culture promotes), their visual cortexes—the part of the brain responsible for sight—doesn’t fully process information. According to research, happy, non-critical test subjects see 50 percent more than their unhappy counterparts.

Sadly, the dominant paradigm of our consumer-mad culture is a set-up. It encourages us to want more and more stuff, so instead of celebrating all we have, we obsess over what we don’t. We focus on what we still want.

When was the last time you celebrated the fact that your planet has trees that provide you with FREE oxygen and soil that grows yummy food.

If I had to distill my message down to what’s often referred to as an elevator speech, it would be this: We have a choice. We can live in problem state. Or we can live in possibility state.

Methinks, it’s only prudent to magnify the possibilities. To celebrate the gifts.

So, yes, some of those folks Adam Grant was referring to would likely accuse me of wasting my time. They’d tell me I was simply singing to the choir.

But I think singing together is important, because as I said in Thank & Grow Rich, the world is crying out for a team of “radio towers” who are beaming in the cosmic energy of infinite possibility. It needs a lot of human frequencies who believe in the invisible power of light and love.

And while I’ve got you on the line, Hay House asked me to mention that the Kindle, Nook and iBook version of Thank & Grow Rich is currently selling for a measly $1.99. So if you haven’t joined the choir, you can do it now for next to nothing.

So thanks again, my friends. Keep beaming that love and light.

Ode to a Grecian Urn, the Universe and my possibility posse

April 3, 2017 40 Comments

“If your mind isn’t cluttered with unnecessary things, this could be the best day of your life.”—The Zing AKA Ethan Hughes aa4d729c1e0c103cf83c15bcde5b821d

I’m officially screwed.

According to Wharton prof Adam Grant, people who criticize are typically rated 14 percent more intelligent than people who gush in gratitude like I do.

But you know what? I’ll bet they’re not nearly as happy.

Singing praises about my life, whether it be odes to Grecian urns or compliments to my loved ones, is an art I refuse to disavow, even if I appear foolish, ridiculous and well, 14 percent less intelligent.

Today’s sonnet of joy goes out to my possibility posse. I’ve been known to drool just thinking about all the cool things revealed there each week.

Like yesterday, Rhonda told a story about a fender bender. Tempers have a tendency to flare during such events. But Rhonda, rather than get all discombobulated, jumped out of the car and made friends with her “perpetrator.” They even laughed and gave shout-outs because, well, nobody’s hurt and as my friend Annola used to say, “the baby’s still breathing.”

When you choose to join rather than separate, to love rather than fear, the universe takes care of the material world. As Rhonda and her new friend were chatting, they heard a pop. The dent that could potentially have created an enemy literally popped back into perfection.

Another posse member shared a story about being crammed into the New York subway at rush hour. Stuffed like ricotta inside a pasta shell, nobody could move. One beautiful human got pissed, started yelling at the person next to him. My friend thought, “Uh oh, this is not good.”

But the person being yelled at, rather than react, simply acted in love, simply asked with sincere compassion, “What can I do to make this better?” The pissed-off person kept yelling and the other person kept loving him, kept offering a miracle. My friend said that what could have easily turned into a riot turned into an inspiring lesson.

The conditioned mind would say, “They’re doing a bad thing. They must be a bad person.” But instead of “fighting,” instead of creating an “enemy” they simply asked “What’s it like to be you?”

Okay, my friends, that’s my sonnet, my ode, my gush for the day. Would love to hear in the comments section below, what you’re choosing to fall in love with today. I promise not to think you’re 14 percent less intelligent.

Why gratitude is the best game in town

March 31, 2017 37 Comments

“The universe is programmed for your joy.”–Marianne Williamson
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As a devotee of A Course in Miracles, I go through its 365 lessons every year, starting January 1. Right now, the lessons are teaching me about grievances and how every time I have one, I block the light, I block the miracles, I block the truth.

I have come to the conclusion that the only problem (or grievance) I ever have is thinking I have a problem. Which is why gratitude is such a holy practice.

Not only does giving thanks move me onto a different frequency and change the lens through which I see the world, but it changes the world itself. It changes material objects. It changes the events in my life.

When I focus on grievances, the light cannot get through. Reality cannot get through. All I can see is a hologram of my grievances which, as anyone peering inside my head can tell you, is not a place anyone would want to pitch a tent.

The universe is alive, constantly changing, constantly in motion. And we participate in its evolution. All my grievances do is make more grievances.

At the 1927 Solvay Conference in Brussels, attended by dozens of future Nobel prize winners, physicists Werner Heisenberg and Neils Bohr made the case that even scientific research wasn’t completely pure and well, scientific because the experimenter, the observer, affects the experiment through his beliefs and expectations.

Did you get that? We shape the forces of the universe with our thoughts and beliefs. So, when we look for all that’s going right, we animate that superposition into our lives. When we focus on our grievances (basically anytime, we think things should be other than they are), we animate a world of suffering and struggle.

Many insist on hanging on to the belief that our grievances and struggles are real and I would never attempt to take that away from anyone.

But I can tell you this about my own life. When I put my attention on everything that’s going right (hey, my heart is still beating, the birds are still singing, the sun came up without me having to do a thing), my life, both mentally and physically, is more fun. I’m more curious, more loving, more peaceful. And for me, that’s enough.

So my friends, as I often say on Friday, have the very best weekend of your life. And, yes, I’ve shared this before, but I think it’s high time to share it again. I love you all!

Why I’m the luckiest person on the planet, Episode 23

March 27, 2017 36 Comments

“Goodness is the truth. Our lives are eternal, perfect, complete, harmonious and always in balance. Dwell on that truth, that unchangeable presence.”—Michele Longo-O’Donnell Pam at Rana

I get interviewed a lot. One of the common questions is “What kind of goals do you set for yourself?” And sometimes my interviewers scratch their head with my answer. It usually goes something like this: “I don’t. Rather, I trust the universe so much that I let it set the agenda. It’s so much wiser and sees so many more possibilities than I ever could.”

Last week’s trip to Italy is the perfect example. I hadn’t set the intention to return to Italy. I love Italy. Who doesn’t, right? But I hadn’t consciously put “trip to Italy” on a vision board or made that intention.

Nonetheless, I got invited on an all-expense-paid trip to Italy to meet Giovanni Rana and get to know his family, his company, his pasta that, just writing the word, makes me drool. You might have seen the picture on Facebook of me doing the Wonder Woman pose at Castelvecchio.

Not only that, but I got to dine at a 500-year-old lakeside estate that also hosted Winston Churchill and Princess Di. I visited a wine cellar that had a bottle of cognac from 1840. I got to be a food stylist, meet Romeo (er, rather the actor who played him in the interactive play we saw at the Capulet’s home), stay in a five-star hotel and drink all the cappuccinos and wine I desired.

Oh yes, and Federico Fellini’s long-time assistant, who evidently follows my blog, noticed I was in Italy and invited me to Rome to have a cappuccino. Sadly, I didn’t have time, but you can bet I’ll take her up on the offer next time the universe sends me to Italy.

But the best part is I got to witness a very successful business that practices what I preach. Pour your heart into what you love. Follow the thing that makes you feel alive. Give everything you can to everybody you can.

I’ll be writing about Giovanni Rana in the next few weeks, writing a travel story about my exquisite visit to the medieval cobbletoned streets of Verona. But, since you guys are part of MY heart, I thought I’d start here on the blog by not-so-subtly mentioning that the most important thing anyone could ever do to improve their life is to get it deep down in their bones that they are so incredibly loved so by the universe. And to know and trust that it constantly tries to send blessings just like this. All they must do is give up their grievances and move towards their joy.

I’ll close now with this Italian toast. Cin Cin. Which means “all good things to you.”

Ciao, bella, my amazingly awesome friends.

What marvelous thing might I create today?

March 22, 2017 18 Comments

“What is the most important thing we can think about in this most extraordinary moment?”–Buckminster Fuller

I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again. The quality of your life is in direct proportion to the questions you ask. The universe will always match you question for question.

Sadly, most of the questions we ask are repeats of the questions we asked yesterday. We keep wondering the “same ole, same ole” that forever locks us into a tiny box of perception that greatly limits our reality. We place amazingly low expectations on what might be possible.

Every time you ponder the question “How do I get rid of this?” or “How can I overcome that?” you add energy to sustaining the unwanted state. As you devote more and more attention to its existence, you further validate its reality. You continue to view the state you’re attempting to overcome as a linear, predictable “problem.”

Not a lot of options in that teensy box.

Here’s what I’ve learned from quantum physics. Despite how it looks, we humans and everything else we lay gaze upon are, at our core, nothing but patterns of light and energy. We are entangled with all other beings on the planet, forever linked with the indivisible “Field of Potentiality” or to use Luke Skywalker’s vernacular, “The Force.”

By continuing to ask the same boring questions and residing in the same uncomfortable little shoebox, we block the flow and full expression of the F.P’s power.

The force, to borrow from Luke one more time, “can’t be with us.”

So my intention is to ask bigger questions, to think bigger thoughts?

“What if?” is always a good start.

“What if our politicians could see eye-to-eye, to join forces for true and lasting change?”

“What if every child on the planet had a hot meal before they went to bed tonight?”

“What if every family had a roof over their head?”

“What can I do today that makes me dance with joy?

“How can I grow into the loving, wise, inspiring person I am meant to be?”

“What marvelous thing might I create today?”

Anything is possible, but we have to imagine it first. The more big questions we ask, the more we dare to say, “What would it look like if….?,” the bigger our lives will become. Putting your attention on something calls it into existence. We can literally reshape and redesign our lives by asking bigger questions.