Like housebreaking a puppy
“We are all captives of a story,”—Daniel Quinn
For more than 100 years, physicists have known that Newton’s classical view of physical reality doesn’t work at its core. The subatomic realm so defies all reason and logic that most scientists, scared to endanger their academic credentials, have more or less ignored the fact that life is nothing like what we pretend it is.
In fact, the world is so freaky—particles popping up out of nowhere, time slowing down and speeding up, particles reacting and communicating with each other even when separated by thousands of miles—that the main thing scientists have done with this information is develop technology that allows us to blow each other up, send text messages and nuke leftover black-eyed peas.
We now have inscrutable proof that the two main fundaments of physical reality— space and time—are nothing but extremely convincing optical illusions.
As Dr. Fred Alan Wolf, a physicist popularly known as Dr. Quantum, says, “It boils down to this—the universe doesn’t exist without a perceiver of that universe.”
And that’s what the Course in Miracles is all about. It advocates the idea that consciousness creates the material world. It says we humans decide in advance how we’re going to experience life, that we choose beforehand what we want to see.
The problem is, we all look at the world with a giant chip on our shoulder.
So to change the course of our lives, we must actively see and expect a different reality. Most of us, devote time and attention (our consciousness, if you will) to things we don’t want.
But it’s nothing more than a bad habit. And like any bad habit, it can be changed with conscious and deliberate effort.
Which is why I go through the Course lessons every year. Which is why I’ve made mind training my number one priority. I often compare it to housebreaking a puppy.
You just keep taking it back outside and showing it a different reality until one day, it finally realizes, Wow, there’s a whole big world out there. And it’s a lot more fun to pee on trees and bushes and fire hydrants than on Pam’s ratty old house slippers.
Your mind will be astonished by the beauty that’s available when you put it on the spot. Deep peace will appear. Great ideas will materialize and expand. Joy will rise up.
The only thing you need to do is devote your mind only to things you want. If you want peace, think of peace. If you want love, think of love. If you want Jimmy Choo pumps, think of Jimmy Choo pumps. Do not think about how peace looks impossible or that love seems fleeting or that there’s no money in your bank account for Jimmy Choo pumps. Keep your mind focused only on what you want. And anytime that puppy starts heading toward those slippers, pick it up and take it back outside.
But for today, there’s simply Lesson 2: “I have given everything I see all the meaning it has for me.”
For a quick minute, you simply look around and acknowledge that you have given meaning to whatever happens to cross your view.
For example, I’m currently giving meaning to a big globe, a peace tree I recently bought from an artist in Haiti, an encaustic painting I made when writing a story for Cooking Light about art camps in Carmel.
That’s it. One simple day at a time. Just know, that you do not have to seek peace and joy and love. It is your natural state and will come pouring forth once you make space in your mind.
Have an extraordinarily epic day, my beautiful friends!
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.
