Alan Cohen – Pam Grout

Proud to be high on the woo-woo-spectrum

May 20, 2018 14 Comments

“Your thoughts are the strongest currency at your disposal.”–Alan Cohen
unicorn-httpwww-reddit-comrunicorns
A reporter from Fast Company asked me once, “So what do you say to skeptics?” She was interviewing me on the power of visualization.

Although I probably cited one of the many scientific studies proving its effectiveness, I was tempted to repeat a line from my friend Anita Moorjani. “Every time I hear that not everyone buys this stuff, I almost fall off my unicorn.”

ACIM Lesson 140 is one of those lessons that falls into the unicorn category. Even though it uses one of those words I try to avoid, it very clearly states that no miracle is any more difficult than any other. It’s no harder to cure Stage 4 Cancer than a broken fingernail, for example. It says the power lies in our mind, that healing is as near as our own thoughts.

This, of course, defies every cultural paradigm. Every bit of our mental architecture teaches us that there are easy things and hard things. To heal. To manifest.

Parking spaces? Butterflies? Piece of cake.

BMW convertible? Thirty-eight foot yacht? Not happening. Except that both of those things were manifested by readers of E-Squared within hours of making the intention. You can read one of those stories here.

And that’s why I like sharing stories, hearing stories. So I can wrap my mind around new possibilities.

At my workshop in Austin on Friday, I heard a funny story from a woman who was bemoaning how much she had on her plate. She said to her daughter, “My lawn is out of control. I just wish someone would come over and mow it.” Not 15 minutes later, she heard a lawnmower outside revving its engine. She looked out her window where there was one guy mowing her lawn, another weed-eating. She had no idea who they were. There was no sign on their truck, no notice of why they appeared. She never saw them again. But they did a fabulous job executing the very thing she had requested.

Isn’t it a fun possibility (and a guaranteed fact according to the Course) that everything (healing, every need) could be that incredibly easy?

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.

Let’s talk about love, bay-bee!

April 4, 2018 15 Comments

“Only in love are we free.”—Alan Cohen

dude Yesterday, I made a new friend, explored a new street, wrote a blog post, took photos and sat by the lake watching diving pelicans.

Adventures—even if something small like walking down an unfamiliar street—keep us fresh, new, keep us from falling into old patterns.

The most insidious pattern to which I fall prey is believing that a certain set of attributes can describe who I am.

“Hi! I’m Pam. I’m a writer. I’m a mother. I get nervous speaking in public.”

Like a four-year-old who insists on watching Frozen over and over and over again, I cling to these attributes with a tenacious grip. As if anyone could limit love and light.

ACIM Lesson 84 encourages me to go deeper, to go beyond a paltry little list of attributes.

This lesson (I am as the Dude created me) is repeated over and over and over again throughout the Course. And today, I’m asked to repeat it over and over, every hour.

It’s a way of shaking the etch-a-sketch, of having new adventures. It’s a way of contacting the truth about myself, the truth that knows no fear, the Self that cannot conceive of loss or suffering or death.

So I’ll say it again. I am as the Dude created me.

You say tomato. I say toe-mah-toe!

January 7, 2018 39 Comments

“Why get rich quick when you can be rich now?”—Alan Cohen
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I got a question yesterday from a newbie to the Course in Miracles and thought I’d address it today since it relates to today’s lesson (6): I see only the past.

She said she was stymied by the idea that Sandy Hook and the Holocaust were illusions or holograms. It didn’t seem quite right to ignore the fact that people died.

And while I am no expert on the Course in Miracles (or really anything for that matter), I would like to share my take on it.

When we focus on the past, we ignore the astounding love and grace of right now. To really experience this moment (which is unique in all the world and has never happened before) can make tears roll down your cheeks. It’s that beautiful. We don’t notice because we see only the past.

So it’s not about ignoring tragedy. It’s about NOT ignoring what’s possible right in this moment. I myself don’t want to miss it.

I heard this story the other day. Two celibate monks were crossing a river at the same time as a beautiful, sexy woman. She slipped in the water so one of the monks put her on his back and carried her over. The other monk was aghast. He silently stewed about his friend’s indiscretion: “That’s against our vows. We’re not supposed to touch female flesh.” Finally, able to bear it no longer, he questioned the other monk who replied, “I set her down four hours ago. It seems you’re the only one still carrying her.”

Also want to answer a couple other questions that have popped up:

1. Who am I to pontificate about the Course in Miracles? This question, by the way, came from my own head. I don’t profess to be an expert about really much of anything. I’m a seeker and, over the years, have explored everything from rebirthing, h’oponopono and tapping to Abraham-Hicks and Byron Katie’s The Work. I love them all. I just keep coming back to The Course because well, that seems like my path. It’s not everybody’s tomato nor does it profess to be. All roads, as they say, lead to Rome. I like it because I’m a sucker for miracles and being happy.

2. Will I continue to do this the whole year? That’s a really good question that’s yet to be answered. That’s my intention and as long as it’s fun for me (again, always my bottom line), I’ll be doing it.

3. Which Course in Miracles book is the right one? There’s really only one and it comes from the Foundation for Inner Peace. It’s blue and has the workbook (which is what I go through every year), the text and a manual for teachers. It’s dense and often hard to read and understand. That I’ve stuck with it all these years surprises me as much as anyone. If you don’t feel inclined to buy the book that some have called a useful doorstop, I’ve started (as of yesterday) including a link to the lesson in each post.

That’s it for now, my beautiful, wonderful friends. There are probably other questions, but I’m off to my possibility posse. Oh wait there’s one other thing I should probably mention.

Lots of people who read my book E-Squared are focused on manifestation. And today’s lesson—I see only the past—explains those times when the new car or the new job or the new iPhone X seem stubborn about not showing up. The manifestor is stuck in the frequency of the past where, indeed there was no new car or new job or iPhone X. As Elsa sings, “Let it go. Let it go.”

In this moment, anything is possible and everything is here.

Pam Grout is the author of 19 books including E-Squared: 9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality and the just-released, Art & Soul,Reloaded: A Year-Long Apprenticeship to Summon the Muses and Ignite Your Daring, Audacious, Creative Side.