James Twyman – Pam Grout

It’s a-shining in me…now

July 27, 2021 14 Comments

“The ego is the party pooper that prevents us from dancing into the middle of the ballroom floor.”—Francis Lucille

Buenas dias, mis amigos! Spending a month in Mexico’s Sierra Madres is the perfect antidote to hot Kansas summers.

Long mountain hikes, $1 green juices and, of course, the Namaste community makes for an easy dive into today’s Course in Miracles lesson: The peace of God is shining in me now. It’s also making me toy with the idea of resuming my travel writing.

As I’ve shared before, I had no idea (always the preferable plan) how I was going to realize my intention of traveling the world, but Source knew just how to work it out.

Ever since that editor at Ladies Home Journal called to ask if I did travel writing (and I very wisely answered “of course” even though I wasn’t totally sure what that meant), I’ve been writing about foreign cultures, countries and ideas. And, in the process, traveling the world.

Which brings me to the word “try” and why I avoid it by any means necessary. As Thomas Keating said, “to try to accomplish things by force of will is to reinforce the false self.”

The false self, of course, is the part of us that believes life is hard and that we have to seek to find what makes us happy.

Although I’ve repeatedly said “the biggest secret in the world is that we all really love each other,” another biggie in the lies-we-believe department is that happiness is out there somewhere. When in reality, happiness, joy and, yes, peace is our natural state.

And every time we try to attain that, we forget that we already have it.

Take my beautiful new website, for example. It was pretty clear my old site needed an update, but rather than work to find and interview designers, the perfect designer came to me. Out of the blue.

Out of the blue, by the way, is a synonym for the Dude, at least in my vocabulary. Thank you SO MUCH, Ioana Stoica, a Romanian designer who read one of my books and emailed me to volunteer.

So today, no matter what big plans you have, I hope you’ll take today’s Course in Miracles lesson to heart. And here to make it easy, is Jimmy Twyman’s song, “The peace of God is shining in me now.” #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) that has just been turned into an app. Badass ACIM (badass-acim.com)

Impossible? What’s impossible?

July 19, 2021 22 Comments

“You will be bound until all the world is seen by you as blessed.”—A Course in Miracles

Happy Monday, my friends! I’m down in Mexico, loving the weather, the mountains and all the beautiful souls who live here in Ajijic.

Every morning at 9 a.m., I head to Jimmy Twyman’s Namaste community for the morning message and to get a bunch of hugs.

Today, Jimmy challenged each of us to do something “impossible.” The example he shared was his own belief—up until yesterday—that he, a talented musician, couldn’t write a song in Spanish.

Rather than continue on with that belief, he decided to challenge it. He not only wrote a song (in perfect Espanol), but he produced a video (complete with graphics) that he shared with us this morning.

Another “impossible” story came from my dear brother Rod who I met three years ago when I first came to Namaste. He’s 80 now, but when he was 65, soon after retiring from his demanding career as a construction supervisor, his body more or less gave out. He had tremendous back pain, neck pain and could barely get out of bed. Doctor after doctor couldn’t help. Like all of us, he was given the cultural programming about “old age.”

But since he had a much younger girlfriend at the time, he decided that being infirm wasn’t going to cut it for him. He met a guy selling a tonic called “Longevity” that supposedly would keep old age at bay. Rod bought a bottle, began to feel better and bought another bottle.

Within a couple weeks, he was back to his old self. As he says today, it wasn’t so much the tonic that “cured” him, but his belief changed. It was no longer “impossible” that he could be as fit as he ever was. And today, 15 years later, he’s hale, hearty, passionate about life and one of the most loving humans I have ever met.

I also want to let you know that my website is being re-designed this week (one of the many blessings I’ve received over the past few months) so it will likely be unavailable for a few days. So if you can’t access it, that’s why.

And I’ll leave you with this question: What “impossible” belief are you willing to let go of today? #222 Forever

Magic is afoot!

December 27, 2019 21 Comments

“Through it all, I keep coming back to love as the answer, the golden repair that lasts.”–Sue Cochrane

You know those bobble head dogs that people put in their back car window?

That’s what it’s like for me here at the Namaste community in Ajijic, Mexico. I keep hearing things that resonate so deeply and I can’t help but nod and nod. And smile. And pump my fists.

Every morning, we gather together for satsang and it’s just so beautiful the things that are shared. Yesterday, James Twyman, who started this community, sang a song that he wrote just that morning, 30 minutes before group. This is nothing unusual. Because he’s so on fire with Spirit’s call, music flows through him. He seems to have a new song every morning.

Yesterday’s song, however, came straight from Taz. Several community members came up and said they felt her presence.

Here are some of the lyrics:

“You may think I’m leaving, but where would I go? I’m right here inside. Your heart might be grieving but there’s one thing you should know. What you feel inside is yours for all time. It will never fade. It will never fade away. For your heart is now mine. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Always.”

“I’ll be there when you call. There through it all. Your heart is safe with me.
“Just choose to believe. That love always finds a way. It finds a way. When your heart is open wide.”

“Watch for me. In the signs. Dream is now ending. It fades before your eyes. There’s no need for defending. You never really die. All you have to do is feel. My hand upon your own. Always there. Always there.”

If that wasn’t enough, several of us went out to a French bakery for cappuccinos and quiche, and my coffee cup, the only one of six, had E=MC2 on it. Everybody else got different logos, sayings, pictures. We all laughed at the clarity of the sign and I couldn’t help but exclaim ‘Thank you, Tazmosky!”–one of several nicknames I gave her over the years. In fact, Lisa Natoli, my new mighty companion, bought the cup straight from the restaurant and gifted it to me.

Lisa Natoli, if you haven’t already been introduced, is somebody you definitely need to know. She’s a powerful, incredible Course in Miracles teacher. I was so moved by her words that I literally walked up to her out of the blue and asked her to co-lead a week-long workshop/playshop at the Omega Institute from July 5-10. We’re calling it “All heaven will break loose.” Look for it in the upcoming catalog.

The other thing I’d like to announce is that my brother, James Twyman, is heading back to the States tomorrow. On January 4, he launches a radical, two-month tour of his “Brother Sun/Sister Moon” musical. Even better, he and cohort Bill Free are doing it just the way Saint Francis of Assisi did it back in the 12th century. They’re going penniless, on foot, trusting completely in God and the generosity of God’s children.

Here’s why I think it’ll change the world.

These two are all in, 100 percent. Like the original St. Francis, they’re completely on fire with love, with truth, with trust. The tour kicks off in Portland, Oregon, goes south to California and eventually will end with a two-week tour in New York off-Broadway.

They’ll be at Unity Village near me end of January, but, sadly, I’m giving a talk in Boston at that time. I hope to meet up with them in Phoenix in mid-January.

If you feel moved (and believe me, being with these two is such a gift), check out their schedule and offer to feed them, house them, help them get from place to place. They’re trusting in Divine Providence, but, as Paul and John said, it never hurts to accept “a little help from my friends.”

Being in their presence is an experience I have so treasured. And I know you will, too.

I’ll end with the ACIM quote Lisa shared this morning. “If you knew who walked with you, fear would be impossible.”

Have the best weekend of your lives, my friends. I love you to the Planet Zorpia and back.

Judgments deter miracles

December 13, 2019 26 Comments

“The mind continuously creates hypotheses.”—Marilynne Robinson

A couple days ago, at a wonderful vegan pizza restaurant in Ajijic, Mexico, I saw a sign that said, “Listen to your heart, not your habits.”

That could just as well be ACIM Lesson 342. Our brains are on autopilot. They’re wired to look for threats. To automatically mobilize around anything we judge to be scary.

The Course says it’s all a bunch of bunk.

James Twyman made a great point at Satsang yesterday. He brought up medieval knights. With all their breastplates and helmets and other assorted armor, you have to wonder—how did they even move, let alone guard their castles?

And that’s us. Walking around with way too much armor. Our judgments, our hypothesis, our masks make it kinda hard to move. They keep love away. They deter miracles.

So today, instead of galvanizing myself against something horrible coming at me, I’m gonna focus on the other story. I’m gonna commit to beholding beauty, to pointing out all the things I love.

And anytime my brain makes yet another hypothesis, I’ll laugh. And I’ll say, “But did you see the egrets stretching their necks to the sun? Did you see the sweet father walking hand in hand with his daughter to school? Did you see the look in that lover’s eye?

Exalting the beautiful

December 11, 2019 55 Comments

“It is joy by which the labor that will make the life that I want, possible.”–Ross Gay

Unlike my gorgeous daughter who was fluent in Spanish, my language skills are malo, a word that basically means “they suck.”

But I have managed to master one phrase: “No gracias!” I use it many, many times a day as I am offered everything from aprons to sombreros to big buckets of raspberries and green beans.

I also use this phrase anytime my ego acts up. Today’s Course lesson (“I offer only miracles today. For I would have them returned to me”) tells me that if I only offer miracles (meaning I offer love and peace and other truths of who I am) that’s what boomerangs back. It’s classic law of attraction.

The Course offers daily tips for saying “No gracias” to all ridiculous ideas thrown out by the ego. The ego wants us to believe there’s never enough, that we’re never enough. It harps at us constantly. “You need to follow these seven steps. You need to be wary of this person. You need to work harder.”

The Course reminds us none of that is true. The workbook, which gives us 365 reminders, is all about overwhelming the ego with sheer persistence. That’s why I practice it year after year. That’s why I say “No gracias” to anything that doesn’t represent infinity, joy, peace of mind.

Instead I says, “Si Si” to the beautiful.

I just heard a wonderful interview with Ross Gay. He’s a poet, professor and author of The Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude. He writes beautifully about how joy is an important calling.

“Joy,” he says, “is the moment when my alienation—not just from other people, but from the whole thing — goes away. If it was a visual thing, like, everything becomes luminous.”

Starting on his 42^nd birthday, he promised himself to write a mini-essay each day about something that delighted him, simple things like vegan donuts and arugula and loitering. The thing that surprised him about his year of looking for and writing about delight was how quickly the study of delight made delight more evident.

At first, he thought it was gonna be hard, to find something delightful every day. But he writes that, very quickly, he developed a “delight radar” or a “delight muscle.

“I began to realize how frequently I’m in the presence of sweet little interactions that don’t have to happen, but do—like seeing two people sharing the burden of carrying a shopping bag or a sack of laundry.”

Perhaps my favorite part of the interview was Gay articulating that, in the longing for justice, we must exalt the beautiful and tend to what we love, as much as what we fight.

As he says, “I often think the gap in our speaking about and working for justice is that we forget to advocate for what we love, for what we find beautiful and necessary. We are good at fighting, but imagining, and holding in one’s imagination what is wonderful and to be adored and preserved and exalted is harder for us, it seems.”

So in honor of Ross Gay, I would like to exalt the gardener at the Namaste community here in Ajijic. His name is Augustino. He has been tending to the hundreds of plants, trees and flowers here since they were first planted, way before James Twyman bought the place. He treats each one with love and respect. He talks to them. He notices when one of them needs an extra drink of water or to be moved to a different spot. He is in a deep and caring relationship with his little piece of Mother Earth.

So tell me in the comments section below, “What beautiful thing are you willing to exalt today?”

Running with the stars

December 6, 2019 26 Comments

“I’m writing a book. I have the page numbers done. Now, I just need to fill in the rest.” –Stephen Wright

Happy Friday, my friends. Before this day gets away, I want to send a quick update. I’m in Ajijic, Mexico, hanging out with James Twyman and his wonderful Namaste community. You might remember I was here in early 2018.

Every morning, the lesson from A Course in Miracles is written on a big blackboard and we gather for an hour of singing and hugging and talking Truth.

Today’s ACIM Lesson (“I can be free of suffering today”) is a perfect reminder that we get to choose. At any time, we can step into joy and freedom, be released from the illusion that something is wrong, that something is other than it should be. Our perception (which is really another word for deception) doesn’t begin to show us everything. It only shows us what we’ve decided is true.

As James pointed out this morning, the only thing that keeps us stuck in our current illusion is our fear of letting go and expanding into everything. That’s what the Course promises.

If you’ve been hanging out on this blog for awhile, you likely know my take on A Course in Miracles–the book you guys practically forced me to write–is about to drop.

Hay House is putting together a landing page where anybody who preorders can get a couple extra free books that I also wrote to go along with it.

For those who are ahead of the curve and have already ordered, here’s a big shout out. And know that you can claim your free books ASAP by simply sending an email to Cathy Veloskey at cveloskey@hayhouse.com.

Hay House also wants me to tell you that Art & Soul, Reloaded, the eBook version, is on sale for $1.99 during the month of December. That’s less than a cup of coffee. And worth a whole lot more—especially if you’re feeling the pull to create. It’s available on Amazon, Nook and iBooks.

In other news, I’m actively fielding pitches for the upcoming 222 Foundation award. If you’ve got a great idea to move the needle, an idea for changing perceptions and therefore changing the world, by all means, send your proposal here. The deadline is December 31.

In closing, I’d like to end with this wonderful thought from the poet David Whyte. He says the ultimate touchstone of friendship is the privilege of having been seen by someone. You guys have definitely seen me, been here for me, walked with me, believed in me and accompanied me on a journey impossible to accomplish alone.

Thank you SO MUCH, my friends.

All of us. Together. Forever.

It’s all just a big misunderstanding

April 22, 2018 15 Comments

“Thoughts are the ultimate buzzkill.”—James Twyman

All problems boil down to this one tiny misunderstanding:

We view the world from a different perspective than our Source.

ACIM Lesson 112 is another attempt to correct the misunderstanding.

When you get it that light and joy and peace abide in you, the following three truths become evident:

1. There is nothing you could ever do, nothing that could ever happen, that can separate you from your Source.

2. You are loved beyond anything you could ever imagine. The word love, purloined by a culture that knows nothing of the sort, is a paltry substitute for this deep, abiding connection.

3. Because of your inalienable connection to this bigger thing that cannot be named, you have the power to create worlds. In fact, that is why you are here.

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.

Light and joy and peace abide in me

April 3, 2018 7 Comments

“When I say it’s you I like, I’m talking about that part of you that knows life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive: love, peace and justice.” –Mr. Rogers

Okay guys, it’s nearly 5–when the rest of the world finally pronounces it to be Happy Hour. We know better. Every hour is meant to be happy hour.

However, here in Ajijic (the relaxing side of the wall), the electricity just came back on so I’m going to make this post super short.

Speaking of short, ACIM Lesson 93 is one of those lessons where, if I was the editor, I’d put a big fat period right after the heading.

What more do you need to know? Your true identity is light and joy and peace. And any other crazy idea about who you are is just a ridiculous, boring, no longer-useful re-run.

Time to get out the remote and turn that warped illusion off. For good.

And with that I’ll close with Jimmy Twyman’s take on Lesson 93 because as he says, singing, is like praying twice.

A tale of two perceptions

March 27, 2018 8 Comments

“The ego seems to want us all to have big buts.”—James Twyman

A Course in Miracles has lots and lots and lots of pages, but it sorta boils down to this:

At every moment, I either perceive the world from love or from my ego.

The ego is the pernicious voice in my head that I often refer to as the ass hat. It typically pipes up with some version of “Eeks! Fix this! Run!”

It usually goes something like this: “This is a mistake. Don’t even try. It’s too hard, too risky, too much work.”

Love, on the other hand, says things like: You are more than enough. (And so is everybody else) You have an important role to fulfill. (And so does everybody else.) Your mere presence is enough to change the world.

ACIM Lesson 86 is all about making the choice. Which voice has the floor?

Well, duh!

March 23, 2018 63 Comments

“Feel at home in the universe, enjoy its innumerable marvels. Be active in it, contribute to it, participate in the healing. This is where Reality is.”—Richard Rohr
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I suppose it was inevitable. That I was going to fall in love with Ajijic and that I would be invited on epic adventures.

Beings as I rank rather high on the woo-woo spectrum, I was asked yesterday to join a group of women who were driving to Foco Tonal, an energy vortex about an hour’s drive from the community. And, yes, there was a shaman and the perfect interpreter (who just “happened” to be there) to explain how the ascended masters send powerful energy to this particular spot on the planet.

We (my new best friends—I love how everyone’s your best friend when you’re open) all buzzed and vibrated and felt such joy that we were together and that this was happening. We ended the night drinking margaritas at a Tiki bar on the beach near shirtless men fishing, kids splashing and dogs romping in the surf. Yes, it was an extraordinarly epic day.

ACIM Lesson 82 reminds me that my function is to let go of everything I believe. And that when I do, the perfect people will show up and the perfect days will unfurl before me.

I was also reminded yesterday at the morning meditation (we gather every morning at 9:30) of one of the most powerful proclamations that we send out into the world thousands of times a day.

I AM_____________.

According to James Twyman (who started this community), I AM is the name of God and that whatever we attach to it (I am miserable, for example or I am overweight or I am tired) invokes the power of the Big Kahuna.

Here’s what is going to follow my I AM for today:

I AM joyful.
I AM peace.
I AM the light of the world.

I’d love to hear your I AM’s for this glorious day: