E-Squared:  The 10-year anniversary edition (with a Manifesting Scavenger Hunt!!) GET IT HERE

It takes a village to raise a child….and do lots of other things.

“Social media has sparked a revelation that we, the people, have a voice, and through the democratization of content and ideas we can once again unite around common passions, inspire movements, and ignite change.”
― Brian Solis

I am so excited right now that it’s hard to even sit down and write this post. Why am I so excited? Because of you, because of me, because of all of us working together to change the dominant paradigm. And social media, which I used to avoid (I was a journalist, after all), has flung wide doors for all of us to expand how we see things.

You know how geese, when flying south for the winter, fly in a giant V? No, they’re not advertising the political thriller “V for Vendetta.” They fly in that formation because, together, they increase their flying range by 72 percent. All of us working…I actually prefer the term “PLAYING”…together with social media, with the connections we make on the web, can “do this thing,” this “thing” being to change the world and the way we view it.

We are all connected and we all love each other and I am getting so much support from all of you, be it reviews on Amazon, or emails from readers who are telling me about the most AMAZING things that are happening as they change their consciousness, that my faith has been amped up to a whole new level.

Last week, my new internet friend, Michelle Dobbins, was kind enough to run an interview with me on her uber-fantastic blog, Daily Alchemy. The subtitle alone is enough to make me fall in love: Tips, “spells” and true stories of magic, creation and love in everyday life. She’s a Unitic, a raver and a fabulous mother. She and her kids rave (that’s a term for blasting out gratitude) together. Can you imagine how powerful that is? To teach your kids that life is meant to be unceasingly joyful? That’s Michelle and before I post her interview, I want to tell you a story that proves how awesome this woman is.

And, yes, it relates back to birds. Or rather feathers.

When she was doing Experiment #2 in E-Squared (proving the Volkswagen Jetta Principle that “We impact the Field of Potentiality and Draw from it According to our Beliefs and Expectations”), she decided to manifest white feathers. Within hours of making that intention, she and her family, stuck in traffic, noticed thousands of white feathers along the side of the road. It went on for five miles.

“I don’t know if a truck full of down feathers had a spill or what, but it was crazy how many feathers there were,” she says. “And then, when we arrived back home, there was a single white feather laying on our welcome mat. We were all laughing at the abundance of white feathers. It was like the universe was saying ‘I can give you so much more than what you ask for.”

And with that story, let’s get right into the interview.

1. I love your Monday raves. Especially that you do it with your kids. Every mom should take note. How did you get started on this practice?

I started raving a few years ago, when I learned it from Lola Jones who has classes on divineopenings.com. I loved the idea because it feels a little more vibrant than a gratitude list, which is a wonderful practice, too. My kids and I rave about things that have happened and also, about things we are anticipating. We started a “good things” jar this year to write down raves, so we can read them on New Years Eve and celebrate.

2. Gratitude (or raving or whatever you want to call it) has so many positive benefits. Tell me about some you’ve noticed in your own life?

Wow, so many things. When you focus on what’s positive in your life, it attracts more positive things. I know it’s made my entire family happier and we just seem to enjoy each others’ company more. That is really one of the most important benefits. However, we’ve had a lot of other wonderful blessings come since we started practicing raving. We bought our dream house with a beautiful oasis and pool in the backyard. It was so easy. The money we needed came almost magically and we were able to buy the house for way less than it appraised for. Everything just lined up for us. It seems like life just goes more smoothly than it used to. I always get the coolest clerks and counter people at stores. I have met some of the most upbeat, fun people. Just by becoming more positive, I believe you attract them to you.

3. Tell me more about your business. Your writing? Your angel card readings? How did you come to bless the world in this way?

My personal mission is to be a vortex of positive thought and joy in the world. One of the ways I plan to do that is through fiction writing, but I decided to find as many ways as possible to spread joy and inspire others and that’s how Daily Alchemy came about. I have done angel cards readings for friends and acquaintances for years, so it was a natural gift to share through my blog. Right now, I’m developing some ways to offer more through my blog, perhaps with on-line courses or e-books. I’m also editing a novel and halfway through a first draft of another. I’m in the beginning steps of creating a business around my joy, but while in that process I’m giving as much inspiration out as I can. I bring my spirituality into our heating and cooling business. I visualize our perfect customers finding us and enjoying and raving about our services. I intend that their lives will be blessed through their connection with us. It must work because we have the best customers.

4. You run an in-home business, right? That seems to be a growing trend. Tell me how you make that work?

I started out as a school teacher and I married a heating and air conditioning technician. When I had my first child I wanted to stay with her, so we quit our jobs and started our own heating and cooling business. No capital, just an office in our house and a small yellow pages ad, but we believed we could. We worked out of our home for nine years and I loved it so much. Three years ago we bought a commercial building and moved our heating and cooling company there, so now I work three five-hour days a week there and the rest of the time I work from home, writing. This was a big manifestation for my husband and me. I didn’t want to leave my children in day care or with a babysitter. We had a strong desire and belief and we not only did it, we made more money that first year than when we both had worked for other people. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something or you need money or connections. All you need is a desire and positive expectations and God (or the Universe, your higher self, whatever term works for you) will lead you once you take that first step.

5. I notice that you’re a Unitic (person who attends Unity or follows their principles.) I’d love to hear how you got involved and how it has influenced your life?

I found the Unity church when I was 22. I was struggling. My fiancé at the time had developed severe mental health difficulties and had tried to commit suicide. His parents took him away to be hospitalized and I was alone in a city where I didn’t know many people and I was devastated that my life had taken this turn. I needed peace and began searching for a church I could believe in. I searched phone books and on-line, but couldn’t find anything. Then, one day I was driving and got lost. I pulled in a parking lot to turn around or ask for directions. I looked up and saw I sign the said Christ Church Unity. I went in and life has never been the same. Everything suddenly made sense to me. Everything the minister said, I understood on a deep level. It was really my first conscious manifestation and it led to all the rest.

6. Lastly, what is the thing you’re most excited about right now?

I’m excited to see how Daily Alchemy develops and to create ways to inspire more people though the site. I’m, also, eager to get some of my fiction writing out into the world. I know the next few years are going to be loads of fun. My first novel has a working title of The Bliss Babe. Bliss Monroe ends up being unwillingly recruited as a Fantasy Fulfillment Agent. She has one month to make three people’s dreams come true before she can have her own wish. It is law of attraction, magical realism story. I’m currently editing it and plan to start submitting it in about 3 months.

Thank you, Michelle!!!

“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” –Roald Dahl

“I pray for the change in perception that will let me see bigger and sweeter realities.”
–Ann Lamott

My favorite thing in the whole world is miracles. I’ve been a student of ‘A Course in Miracles’ for 25 or so years. The TV series I created is set in an ecovillage called Milagro Springs. Milagro, of course, is Spanish for miracle. And I spend my life looking for miracles which, according to my way of thinking, is actually recognizing Truth.

Miracles are natural and normal and happen all the time…once we give up antiquated ways of thinking.

I also love sharing miracles. My new friend Michelle Dobbins, who writes the fabulous blog, Daily Alchemy, devotes Monday to shout-outs or what she calls “Monday raves.” As she says, it’s a time to notice and get excited about the wonderful things in our lives. For more above raves, she suggests Lola Jones. Check out Lola’s fun and fabulous rave movie here.

So it’s Rave Monday (thank you Michelle) and I’d like to take this opportunity to rave about the following two miracles:

The first happened to my friend, Kris. Over the weekend, she lost a favorite necklace. It fell off sometime before, during or after a party. Because there’s snow on the ground, she knew it could be anywhere, buried deep in a bank of snowflakes. At first, she freaked out. It’s her favorite necklace. She frantically began retracing her steps, digging through snow in front of the party, exhausting herself with mental energy—“Oh, no! How will I ever find my necklace in this weather?”

And then suddenly, she got it. That energy, that fear and crazy belief that finding it would be hard could only keep the necklace away. She began to affirm how easy it is to find misplaced items. Within a couple hours, she found a phone that had disappeared a few months ago, a pair of sewing scissors she’d been looking for and one other thing that had mysteriously gone missing.

Her partner went back over to the party and within minutes, called, “Hey, your necklace was right there in a snow drift in front of the house.”

The other miracle happened to yours truly. To set the scene, I have to tell you that my hometown, Lawrence, Kansas, has a really cool, old school downtown with lots of coffee shops, local boutiques and art galleries. We are very proud of our downtown and worked hard to….shall we say…dissuade a big mall from coming in. But the downtown Parking Nazis are rabid. If you park downtown and don’t deposit a quarter or two (hey, what can I say? It’s dirt cheap), you’re going to return to find a yellow envelope under your windshield wiper. Sometimes two or three. It’s as sure as the sun coming up.

I was running late (as usual) to meet my friend, Joyce, for lattes on Saturday. I jetted across the street and remembered, “Ah shucks. I forgot to feed the parking meter.” But I was late and lazy and decided to just make the intention that a wall of protection would surround my car. I do this a lot when I’m driving. Fast forward two and a half hours. Yes, Joyce and I can really talk. I go back to my little car, innocently sitting there with NO TICKETS!!! In fact, the parking meter had 45 minutes to go. So thank you, kind person who fed my parking meter and thank you, universe, for responding (AS ALWAYS) to my last-minute intention. Life is so good!!!!

Pam Grout is the author of E-Squared: 9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality.