ACIM – Page 24 – Pam Grout

Lay that sucker down!

March 9, 2018 19 Comments

“Evade every influence that keeps you frozen in the past. ” ― Rob Brezsny

med I’m in Seattle this weekend giving a couple playshops at East West Bookshop so I’m going to make this quick.

If you haven’t heard of this inspiring little bookshop, let me just say it’s a nonprofit (I love when money isn’t the prime objective) and it’s run by members of the Seattle Ananda community who follow the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda. His book Autobiography of a Yogi is a spiritual classic. In fact, if you click here, you can read a post I wrote about Paramahansa when he was just starting out.

But we’re here to talk about A Course in Miracles.

ACIM Lesson 68 (Love holds no grievances) is an extremely potent lesson. It says I can’t really know my full beautiful loving self if I hold grievances. It tells me in no uncertain terms that any of my ‘he done me wrong’s, any of my ‘life’s not fair’ clog up the pipes of the badass I really am.

But to make it really clear, I’m going to tell you a story Eckhart Tolle once told, “If we had little cameras inside our bodies that showed us what happens when we held grievances, we’d never have a grievance again.”

Talk about a mike drop.

Well, as Arnold would say, “I’ll be back.”

Love, only love,
Pam who is sorta sleepless in Seattle

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

What marvelous thing might I create today

March 8, 2018 18 Comments

“A better world is sitting, literally, right in front of us.”–Tom Shadyac
stretching

It’s time for our daily ACIM workout, where we stretch our antiquated views, where we work our imagination muscles, where we reach for a whole new vision.

ACIM Lesson 67 (Love created me like itself) reminds us that we place very low expectations on what might be possible. Even our best and our brightest demonstrate a tiny fraction of what we’re all capable of.

The best way I know for reaching a bigger, more brilliant world is to ask better questions.

Every time we ponder the question “How do I get rid of this?” or “How can I overcome that?” we add energy to sustaining the unwanted state.

As we devote more and more attention to its existence, we further validate its reality. We continue to view the state we’re attempting to overcome as a linear, predictable “problem.”

Not a lot of options in that teensy box.

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 Skywalker, “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.

A most unlikely love affair

March 7, 2018 46 Comments

“Reclaim your land with love.”—Jack Kornfield

asshat So, I started a new relationship today.

And even more noteworthy is that I’ve decided to throw myself into this love affair with complete abandon.

Who is this lucky (or unlucky, depending on your perspective) being?

I’ve decided, as of today, to make a 100 percent commitment, to unconditionally love the asshat in my mind. I’ve mentioned him before. The voice that tells me I’m not good enough, the one that points out my flaws, the one that rolls its eyes and says, “Who are you to talk about the Course in Miracles?”

I’ve tried fighting the voice. I’ve tried resisting it. And now, I’m going all in with the only thing that can ever transform anything. I’m going to love it. I’m going to appreciate that, at one time, this voice was working to protect me. And above all, I’m going to remember one of the first tenets of Buddhism.

Hatred never ceases by hatred.
But by love alone is healed.

ACIM Lesson 66 is My happiness and my function are one. It tells me God only gave me happiness.

And since being happy is my only function and since resistance to the voice and its madness doesn’t make me happy or change anything, I’m–as of today–officially declaring my love for all parts of me, especially the scared little asshat. Who knows? I might even send flowers.

3 thought-twisters that slow down fun and joy

March 6, 2018 32 Comments

“Love is an act of heroic genius. Pleasure is our birthright. Chronic ecstasy is a learnable skill.” –Rob Brezsny

Merriam-Webster just announced the addition of 850 new words to their dictionary. My favorite, coined by a writer of The Simpsons, is embiggen (to make bigger or more expansive).

That’s what I think A Course in Miracles does. It embiggens my happiness.

In fact, ACIM Lesson 65 (My only function is the one God gave me.) encourages me to be single-minded in my pursuit of joy, to make this my one and only goal.

I know a lot of people can get hung up on the wording, but this lesson is very simple. It’s also very radical.

To believe that happiness, joy and fun is why we are here is a completely foreign concept to most people. As I said, it’s so radical that most people can’t even wrap their heads around it.

Which is why the Course suggests I set aside a time every day to reflect on how important my mission really is.

It also asks me to notice (and then eliminate) all thoughts, cultural paradigms and beliefs that interfere.

Here are 3 biggies that often get in my way:

1. It’s preposterous to believe you can be happy and have fun all the time. This is deeply-engrained cultural paradigm. It’s only true to the extent that I believe it.

2. I don’t really deserve to be happy and have fun. Otherwise, known as guilt, the belief that I’ve done something wrong and deserve to suffer. It often comes with the word “should.”

3. If I work really hard, I might deserve a little happiness and fun. Like on weekends. Or my birthday. Certainly not all the time.

So who’s with me? Who’s willing to take on the 24/7 mission of happiness and joy?

Rewriting my story about God

March 5, 2018 23 Comments

“It is not until our image of God is corrected that we begin to understand how we sabotage our own happiness.”—Michele Longo-O’Donnell
anything

Before we commence with today’s festivities, I want to answer a question that was posted on my blog yesterday.

Could you give some suggestions on how to forgive the old story?

The simple answer, of course, is quit thinking about it, but that’s rather flip and perhaps not helpful.

So it came to me this morning as one my own old stories was playing out in my head that: a) I had cemented this “problem” into the plaster of my life by believing it was absolutely true and b) that an alternative story (in fact a gajillion other stories) were also true.

And that maybe that field of the other gajillion stories (where an alternative story could be true and a whole different thing could happen) is actually a pretty good definition of God.

And that forgiveness is nothing more than withdrawing my belief in the one story, withdrawing my conviction that this “problem” needs to be solved.

At that point, I can return to the field of gajillion possibilities. Or, to use the old terminology, return to God. Or love.

Absolutely anything is possible. Until that moment I pluck one particular possibility (usually a problem) out of the gajillion possibilities and then whip the bejesus out of myself for having it.

In quantum physics, it’s called collapsing the wave. All of our problems are nothing but waves we chose to collapse out of the field of gajillion possibilities.

So to turn it over to God is to turn it back over to the field where anything at all is possible. Where the wave is no longer collapsed.

It occurs to me that this definition may be just as difficult to understand as the Course often is. And my goal is to make it as simple as possible. So let me try one more time.

ACIM Lesson 64 (Let me not forget my function) encourages me to bring my attention back to the field of gajillion possibilities instead of zeroing in on one collapsed wave.

My function is to “be the light,” “to spread molecules of merriment.” And it’s much easier to fulfill that function when I focus on the gajillion possibilities (God) rather than the one thing that I just know is a problem, that thing I failed to “forgive.”

This lesson tells me that it’s all very simple–although it begs the question why the Course has used so many words to tout simplicity.

Every decision I make leads to either unhappiness (This problem is real, I believe in it with all my heart) or happiness (Absolutely anything is possible once I return to the field of gajillion possibilities). I prefer definition 2.

Love like crazy

March 4, 2018 59 Comments

“Let go all the trivial things that churn and bubble on the surface of your mind.”—A Course in Miracles

hair days Okay, universe, I get it!

I may be dense, but when I hear something enough times (say like 42), I have no choice but to acknowledge that the bigger thing has come a’knocking. It has an assignment it wants me to take on.

So when my schedule slows down (probably when I’m in Ajijic, Mexico in a couple weeks), I plan to create a book proposal for compiling these daily Course in Miracles lessons into a handy-dandy reference guide. So thank you guys for being so persistent.

And I probably should mention that when I first conceived E-Squared, my bestseller to date, I totally pitched it as a starter kit for understanding the Course. In my proposal, I even mentioned that God had a giant PR problem. That those who claimed to be his minions were not doing him (I prefer the less masculine pronoun “it”) justice.

Because here’s the thing. This unseen energetic force is the biggest badass on the planet. It isn’t limited or finite or a last-minute relief team. Why wouldn’t everyone want to feel this buzz? To use its infinite power? To enjoy its guidance and blessings.

I called the book God Doesn’t Have Bad Hair Days. As you may know, it was published back in 2005 and proceeded to do a ginormous nosedive into oblivion. A few years later, I found a different publisher and reissued it with the new title. Let’s just say that it did okay. #1 New York Times okay!

This new book, that we in this community are creating together, will be a paraphrasing of the ACIM workbook.

For example, Lesson 63 (The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness)is basically saying that when I give up my old story (that’s what forgiveness is), I’ll find nothing but peace and joy. In the meantime, my role here is to be happy and spread molecules of merriment throughout the planet.

Why the F Word and I roll deep, Part 2

March 3, 2018 40 Comments

lamott “Celebrate the madness
The joy
Of seeing God
Everywhere!”
— HAFIZ

I’ve devised a simple test for determining what’s important. If it’s widely misunderstood, it’s probably worth my attention.

Case in point: the word “God”—more baggage than a Samsonite store, completely misconceived, the coolest force on the planet. That’s why I rarely call it God.

Love is another word weighted down with misperceptions. We actually believe it’s something we have to find. In reality, it’s who we are, why we’re here, the only thing worthy of our time.

Today, I’d like to bring up another word with massive baggage problems. The F word. Forgiveness.

Most of us think it’s an act we’re forced to perform when horrific jerks do us wrong.
Forgiveness, as I see it, is realizing that no one HAS the power to do me wrong. To believe someone or something outside myself can hurt me is what started all the problems in the first place. It negates the Truth of who I am.

Being pissed off unplugs me from the F.P, this wild and crazy force that’s constantly trying to bless me. It erects a big wall between me and my highest good.

Believing outside forces can hurt me stunts my growth. Blinds me to all the miracles. Creates an illusory world that makes me want to hide, feel guilty, close down.

Each of us is here to strengthen the life force–in ourselves and in each other. If we point fingers and believe something outside ourselves can hurt us, we put the squeeze on this unbelievably cool and ever-present life force.

If anyone had the right to hold a grudge, it was Nelson Mandela. He was imprisoned for 27 years, three of his children died before he did, his second wife Winnie took a lover and his government treated him no better than a dog.

But instead of letting those injustices take away his dignity, his superpower of love, he used them to solidify a vision for a better world. He refused to BE imprisoned.

ACIM Lesson 62 reminds me of the real reason I want to forgive. Because I want to be happy.

Forgiving, it says, removes strain and fatigue. It takes away fear, guilt and pain. It makes me invulnerable. But, as far as I’m concerned, I’m down with forgiveness because it brings me joy.

I am the light, baby

March 2, 2018 22 Comments

“Everyone is involved whether they like it or not in the construction of the world.”—John O’Donohue light

We did it! Made it through the first 50 lessons (and the review) where we learned the world is nothing like we thought. It’s actually malleable and responds to what we believe and think and say about it. We’re the artists, the creators, the only people we can hold accountable if, for some reason, our world doesn’t appear like we think it should.

ACIM Lesson 61 is a biggie. Get this one lesson (I am the light of the world), get it deep in your bones and boom, everything changes!

Not only are you light (underneath the wah-wah-wah of the hamster wheel of thought), but being light is why you’re here. It’s your rai·son d’ê·tre.

Since I happen to agree with John O’Donohue who says, “Music is what language would love to be if it could,” I’m going to let the following song (I’m sorry for those whose browsers don’t read my song links) communicate today’s lesson.

Love you guys! Have the best weekend of your life.

There is a hum in you

March 1, 2018 21 Comments

“Nanny Ogg looked under her bed in case there was a man there. Well, you never knew your luck.”—Terry Prachett
omg
My life seems to be one big OMG after another. Karen Drucker (yes THAT Karen Drucker!), the one who has recorded 19 CD’s and won about every award an inspirational songwriter can win, is writing a song with my AA 2.0. catchphrase. She called (well, I returned her call) and she played the chorus for me. It is, to quote myself, amazingly awesome.

I can’t wait for you all to hear it. I’m already envisioning winning a Grammy.

But since I’ve devoted this year to writing about the Course in Miracles, I’m going to quickly introduce my take on ACIM Lesson 60. It’s a review (tomorrow we move on to new material) with these five paraphrased principles:

1. Today, I recognize my innocence. And everybody else’s, while I’m at it.

2. Instead of working really hard, I just have to turn within and tune into the Divine frequency. When I’m there, everything works out in miraculous, beautiful ways.

3. Fear is an imposter. It pretends to be important, but when I see the world as it really is (without fear gunking up the windows), I recognize everyone leaning in (maybe even Sheryl Sandberg) to bless me.

4. The Divine Buzz stalks me wherever I go. There’s never a moment it’s not available. And it will tell me exactly what to do, what to say and whom to say it to.

5. This Divine Buzz, this Super God, lights up the world in peace and beauty and goodness.

So there we have it, my friends. Once again, I just want to say thank you for joining me on this journey. I heard Marianne Williamson say that when she gives talks about The Course, she feels like an aerobics instructor. She may be the one up front, but she’s doing it right along with everyone who’s listening.

That pretty much sums up my thoughts. We’re all in this miracle-performing business together.

Money is everywhere

February 28, 2018 45 Comments

“Happiness comes from many sources, but none of these sources involve car or purse upgrades.”—Mr. Money Mustache abundance

Last November, at an executive women’s retreat in Orlando, I met a brilliant CPA named Christi. I feel compelled to mention that I wasn’t at this weekend retreat because I’m an executive woman. I work in my pajamas. I was there because I was invited to give a two-hour presentation which, you’ll be happy to hear, I didn’t give in my PJ’s.

But this story isn’t about me.

It’s about Christi who is brilliant, not just because she helps clients with taxes and financial planning and all that other left-brain rigamarole, but because she helps them really understand money. Not in the way most of us understand money, but in the way money really is.

She considers it her duty to make sure they know that money is energy and that those numbers on their balance sheets and tax forms are a direct result of their thoughts and beliefs. She loves to tell them that money is unlimited and that it is only their thoughts and beliefs that could ever keep it away.

I’m thinking about money today because I just received my yearly bill from WordPress. WP is a free blogging platform, but I actually pay an annual fee so they’ll take all ads OFF my site. I figure it’s the least I can do for those of you who so generously take the time to read my posts

I write them out of sheer joy, as my own spiritual and creative practice. I write from my heart and I view them as a gift to anyone who cares to read them.

Which is why I don’t use my blog to promote what’s known as affiliate programs. You know–those posts that have the same spiel, the same wording and everything, from five different people. While there’s a certain kind of mad genius in promoting someone else’s program or product in exchange for a percentage of sales, I choose to turn down such invitations because I don’t view you as “a list.” You are my compadres in spiritual mischief, my friends, my sounding board. If I write about something, it’s because I’m genuinely excited about it.

So while Christi’s mission is to maximize and optimize finances, mine is to maximize and optimize joy. That’s why, as I often say, my goal is to become the Warren Buffet of Happiness.

And that’s what A Course in Miracles does. It helps us realize that the way we see ourselves and the world is upside down. It teaches us that living a wonderful, fulfilling life has nothing to do with finances and everything to do with how we see the world.

ACIM Lesson 59 encourages us to give up our pitiful illusions, to reach in and grab the absolute peace that abides within. It’s there within everyone, hidden under our thoughts and crazy beliefs, hidden under worry and stress and belief that money (or really anything at all) is limited. Limitation is a false construct that we have cemented in with our thoughts. It can be changed at any time.

Today, I encourage you to notice that, like Christi preaches, money (and abundance of all kinds) is everywhere.

You’ll find it by getting on a frequency of joy and gratitude. By taking off the blinders that block the presence and the radiance and the unforced generosity of the universe.

My service is to this presence. And to you, my dear friends, who have put a little bit of trust in me. For that, I say thank you, thank you, thank you.