manifesting – Page 2

Tell it like you want it to be

May 14, 2014 15 Comments

“We have perfected the attitude of worry. If we don’t have something to worry about, that worries us.”—Michele Longo O’Donnell

Our ability to manifest material things is the reason most people get excited about the principles from E-Squared. But “manifesting stuff” is really a bit of a misnomer. The truth about the quantum field is that you are already connected to everything you could ever want to manifest.

What you end up drawing from the quantum soup of endless possibilities is whatever you focus your attention upon. What coalesces around you is what you invest your energy in.

Because the dominant paradigm focuses on problems, that’s what we see. When we focus instead on gratitude, on what is going right (so many more things than you can even imagine), problems dissolve back into the nothingness from which they arose.

Pam Grout is the author of 17 books including E-Squared: 9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality and the soon-to-be-released sequel, E-Cubed, 9 More Experiments that Prove Mirth, Magic and Merriment is your Full-time Gig.

The perks of brazen gratitude, Part III

May 7, 2014 14 Comments

“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer.” ― Maya Angelou

Being happy and feeling blessed is Step #1 when it comes to manifesting. As I said yesterday, that’s one chicken vs. egg dilemma that will never be in question.

Last week, when I was in Kenya, loving the heck out of my awesome career, I got this inspiring email from this amazing light named Madeline McCollom. I was so touched by her story that I asked if I could share. It demonstrates Step #1 in vivid technicolor. Enjoy!!

“In 2004 I gave birth to our second child, a son. Henry was born medically complicated (which I’d learned about at 5 mo. pregnant). He spent his first three years in and out of hospitals and surgeries.

“In a desperate attempt to gain health insurance to cover his expected medical costs, our family got poor and went on state health insurance which was a blessing in disguise.

“There is nothing like poverty to allow one clarity on what matters most. So, when Henry was almost one, I was at the local Planned Parenthood for my annual check up. I remember seeing a W fashion magazine as I waited in the reception area. I was so surprised to see one of my favorite high-end fashion magazines here – everything else was family/parenting focused.

“Anyhow, I opened it up and saw that there was an essay contest from Moet & Chandon (my favorite champagne in my early 20’s). I had worked at a Champagne bar down in the Virgin Islands for a year and learned a little bit about bubbly. So, I figured I’d enter the contest. Why not, right?

“The essay question was, “Why is your life FABULOUS?!” My husband couldn’t believe I was entering. We were flat FLAT broke, we’d lost everything we had when Henry was born– our new restaurant, our credit history, our hometown since we’d relocated to Portland for better medical care–and Henry was living on a feeding tube. We also had a beautiful 5-year old daughter who was definitely NOT getting the childhood I’d hope she’d have.

“Well, I thought, what the heck? We have buckets full of love. That’s what made my life fabulous. I said I could open a bottle of the Moet White Star, and for just a moment feel like I could be anywhere in the world.”

Long story short, “I won. My husband and I (an incredibly talented chef) were flown to NYC for a week of fashion shows in Bryant Park! We stayed at a hotel on Central Park!

“Although they gave us a $500 credit card to use, that was seriously all the money we had to our name for the trip. So, one evening we decided to go out to Per Se, a beautiful restaurant owned by Thomas Keller (of The French Laundry). We couldn’t afford to eat dinner, but I thought we might as well have one cocktail. We ordered some obscure Spanish Sherry – as I had learned a bit about sherry and we had sold a few at our restaurant in Eugene, OR.

“Well, the bartender comes over to us, asks us why we ordered sherry – no one ever did – and I told him our story. He shared with us that his fiancee was from the region in Spain where this sherry was made, and they had just recently returned from meeting her parents. He was so thrilled to have someone to talk with about sherry!

“We kept talking and found out we had both worked at the same wine bar in Portland, OR back in the early 1990’s! He asked if there was ANYTHING he could do for us – I’m guessing he could tell we couldn’t afford their menu – so I decided to go out on a limb and asked if we could see the kitchen. He paused. He said no one really got to go back during service. He went to the kitchen manager, shared our story, and led us into their kitchen.

“This is, undoubtedly, one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It was like a monastery. Quiet and beautiful. It was breathtaking.

“So, the last thing I would’ve ever expected as I entered Planned Parenthood in a pretty economically depressed neighborhood in NE Portland – flat broke with a medically fragile little boy–that my husband and I would be whisked off to NYC on an all expense paid vacation and get to see something so magical.”

And, as you can see from the pictures, Madeline’s life keeps getting more magical all the time.

Why I’m the luckiest person on the planet, Part Six.

November 26, 2013 60 Comments

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”
― Thornton Wilder

Some mornings when I’m running to pickleball (no need to be impressed. It’s a mere one block away), I repeat over and over in my head, “Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Thank you, God.”

And I feel so joyful, so lucky. I’ve found that the more I focus on my blessings, the more blessings knock on my door. It’s like Halloween night when so many adorable ballerinas, princesses and even miniature zombies show up to delight me. And all I have to do is provide a bowl of candy.

Yesterday, one of those blessings showed up in the form of Kris Carr, the bestselling author of Crazy Sexy Diet, Crazy Sexy Kitchen and lots of other yummy books.

She’s a former New York dancer, actress and photographer (all things that impress the heck out of little old Kansas me) who overcame cancer by changing her diet, boosting her immune system and focusing on the body’s natural healing power.

Yesterday, in a complete surprise to me, she wrote about E-Squared on her blog. Now, this is a celebrity who has been on Oprah. And because she was kind enough to mention her experience with the Dude Abides, the first experiment in my book, she introduced her millions of fans to little ole me.

Here’s a link if anyone cares to check it out.

So, thank you, Kris Carr, thank you, “Dude” and thank you to everyone who makes my morning affirmation “Something amazingly awesome is going to happen to me today” come true day after day.

In honor of Thanksgiving, tell me in the comments section below why you’re the luckiest person on the planet.

Pam Grout is the author of 16 books including E-Squared: 9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality.

“The leverage to create worlds is at your fingertips.”—Esther Hicks

August 26, 2013 10 Comments

“Most people don’t understand how important thoughts are and leave the development of thought patterns to chance.” –Dr. Daniel Amen

Since I’ve shared lots of butterfly stories here on the blog and have even had readers asking “How do I turn the butterflies off?” I thought I’d share a humorous twist on the Volkswagen Jetta experiment that came from my new friend, Paula, who stopped by to treat me to a fabulous lunch on her way to see her grandbaby in Kansas City.

Anyway, she made the intention to find the word cacophony.

“I’d never heard that word before,” she said. “You used it in E-Squared and I had to look it up, didn’t know what it meant. So I thought it would be fun to make the intention to see or hear that word again.”

Sooooo……wasn’t to be found in the newspaper. Didn’t show up in any of the books she was reading (like me, “my new BFF” devours books).

Basically, she’d forgotten about it. But she’s on her I-Pad, the 48 hours are nearly up, she’s looking up some directions, some route or something and guess what word shows up in autocorrect? Yep, the one and only: cacophony!

And one more fun story from last week:

This one is also from Kansas and from a manifesting maestro who’s only in kindergarten. Take it away, Mom:

“Last Christmas, our daughter received a gift from my sister’s family, in our White Elephant gift exchange. It was a complete kid’s kitchen set that their daughters weren’t using anymore. I didn’t think anything of it, until a few days later, when I went through her backpack from school. In it, there was a piece of paper, with an image of a very similar “kiddy kitchen set” pasted upon it.

When my daughter saw me looking at it, she grabbed the paper, ran into her room and said, “Mommy… LOOK!” She was pointing at the “physical” kitchen set she now had. I had chills. I guess the preschool teacher had the kids cut out an image of something they wanted for Christmas. The thing was, no one in our family knew of her desire. She had not mentioned this item, when asked what she wanted for Christmas… but she had obviously set the intention in her mind, and created her own “vision board.”

I can only imagine that this amazing little girl is going to have one heck of an exciting life.

Woo-hoo! Madi!!

Pam Grout is the author of 16 books including E-Squared: 9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality.

There’s more where that came from.

July 17, 2013 6 Comments

“This is the zone of reality creation: regularly picturing delights that don’t yet exist, emotionally detaching from them, and jumping into action when it’s time to help the miracles occur.”—Martha Beck

Just a quickie today! I had an utterly delightful breakfast with my Spiritual Entrepreneurs group and I’m now off on a road trip to visit my daughter at the farm where she’s interning with political refugees. Not only does she love it (duh! How could any spawn of mine not be giddily blessed), but she’s meeting beautiful people from Bhutan and Burundi and Burma, helping them take their fresh produce to farmer’s markets.

So….I’ve been thinking today about little tweaks I’m making in my consciousness, little adjustments that keep the airplane of my life en route and heading towards a joyful target.

Here are three itty bitty belief tweaks that have made an enormous difference in my life:

1. There’s more where that came from. Most of us have a tendency to believe in limits. Instead of realizing the infinity of our Source, we put the brakes on and worry there’s only so much to go around.

2. If it’s not fun, it’s not sustainable. Who isn’t talking about sustainability these days? The realization I’ve come to is that, in order to continue on our path of growth and self-awareness, it has to be viewed as a good time. As Esther Hicks like to say, “It’s always a good idea to sit at the fun table.” Every morning, I pre-pave a day that’s deliciously fun in every way, filled with adventures and blessings.

3.Everything flows smoothly and easily. I’ve talked before about the word “hard” and how, in my opinion, it’s the most dangerous four-letter word in the English language. If we expect things to be hard, we can certainly create life that way. As for me, I prefer creating a life where I simply open the doors and windows and let Source and all its accompanying blessings flow freely in.

Have the best day of your life!

Pam Grout is the author of 16 books including E-Squared: 9 Do-it-yourself Energy Experiments that Prove your Thoughts Create your Reality. She also writes for CNN Travel, Men’s Journal and Huffington Post.

“There’s no reason to have a Plan B, because it distracts from Plan A.”—Will Smith

May 13, 2013 4 Comments

“The second I decide something is done, it’s done. I just have to wait for all y’all to see it.”—Will Smith

Or in many of our cases, we have to wait for ourselves to see it. The minute we make any intention, it’s real, it’s a viable creation. But until we can feel it and actually “be it,” our intention stays on a vibrational plane that’s out of our sight.

Making intentions isn’t the problem. What you’ve been intending is already present. It’s just that you and me and everybody else is stubborn enough that we keep staring at its lack. Until we can catch up vibrationally, we are unable to see and enjoy our fabulous creations.

As Esther Hicks likes to say, “We’ve already created enough joy and happiness for 20 or 30 lifetimes.”

I hope this is a comforting thought. That our only responsibility is to get ourselves tuned into the joyful vibration where blessings flow, to begin resonating to the vibrational catalog of fun, love and laughter. We literally have to distract ourselves from all thoughts and emotions that block the natural flow.

Most of us are really good at the first part of the equation. Making the intention. But the second part, the part where we get out of our own way and allow love and joy and the new Mercedes Benz into our sphere of awareness is often more problematic.

So for right now, forget about your intentions. Just focus on every brilliant, juicy, fun delicious thought you can think of. Be grateful for every little thing. That’s everything that even remotely resembles your intention and everything that doesn’t. When joy is the dominant emotion, you’ll be able to pull good things out of the air like magicians pull rabbits out of hats.

Pam Grout is the author of 16 books including the recently released, E-Squared:9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality.

“I have an insane belief in my own ability to manifest things.”–@JimCarrey

May 10, 2013 3 Comments

“If you wish to understand the Universe, think of energy, frequency and vibration.”—Nikola Tesla

In E-Squared, when introducing the Abracadabra Principle (Whatever I focus on expands), I mentioned that Jim Carrey wrote himself a $10 million check (for acting services rendered) long before he ever made a movie.

I just discovered (check out the video at the end of this post) that he also used to go to Mulholland Drive every night and visualize directors wanting his services. As he jokes in the video, bookstores should probably rename the self-help section “The Jim Carrey” wing.

As he says, not one thing has ever been created without intention.

Enjoy!!

Pam Grout is the author of 16 books including the recently released, E-Squared: 9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality.

Let the universe do the heavy lifting.

March 14, 2013 6 Comments

“Thank you for lifting this corner of the curtain so I can see the Truth, maybe for just a moment, but in a way that might change life forever.”
—Ann Lamott

As anyone who has read my book, E-Squared, knows, I’m prone to looking for and acting on signs from the Big Guy. Recently, I’ve had two questions about the same issue so that tells me it’s time to address.

Here’s the question: “What if I make an intention and it doesn’t happen?”

First and foremost, DO NOT BEAT YOURSELF UP! Do not ask yourself, “What am I doing wrong?” Do not make the erroneous conclusion that the universe does not have your back.

In fact, the very best tact when you’re unable to find your intention is to say, “THANK YOU!!!” “Thank you for showing me that I still have..…oh, maybe just a tad bit of resistance.”

And then go out and do something really fun, something that makes you sing with joy. If you can’t think of even one thing that makes you smile, that’s a sure sign your channels of love and joy are not as open as they could be. Again, no biggie. Feel free to borrow one of the many things I do when I notice my channels are blocked with twigs of negativity and self-doubt:

** Dance around the house. Put on some lively music and go for it.

** Get a stack of dollar bills and go out and give them away. I know a guy who uses hundys, but I’m still more comfortable using ones.

** Sing a happy song as loud as you possibly can.

Your only job (and that word probably demonstrates part of the problem) is to go out and get happy. When you’re happy, life works. In fact, number one on my hit parade of intentions is something I borrowed from Yogi Bhajan: “To make myself so happy that others get happy just looking at me.”

When manifesting, you’ve undoubtedly heard that “How is not up to you.” These days, I’m not even so sure “What” is the best strategy. I prefer to focus on “Why?”

Why do I want money? So I can have an amazingly awesome time.
Why do I want to write books and blog posts? So I can use my God-given gifts.
Why do I want a meaningful, expanding relationship? So I can be a more loving person.

That’s what all of us really want—to have an amazingly awesome time, to use our gifts, to be loving human beans. And I’ve discovered that when I start “being” those things, the “whats” flow like a hawk in a tail wind.

The universe wants to give us every good thing. It is only our resistance that stops it from stampeding towards us like a herd of wild mustangs.

How to manifest: the power of baby steps

January 9, 2013 5 Comments

When we first learn about manifesting and the “law of attraction,” we tend to jump in with giant goals, things like new cars, new homes, boyfriends who look like Fabio. Those are all fantastic intentions and every single one of you deserves every one of those things.

But what I’d like to suggest is baby steps. Starting small. When you first learn to play golf, you break it down and master one step at a time. You spend a week practicing, say, keeping your eye on the ball. The next week you work on keeping your lead arm straight. It’s impossible to take it all in at once.

It’s the same with learning to manifest. In fact, jumping into the deep end, our normal inclination, tends to backfire and actually ends up being counterproductive. Let’s say you decide you want a BMW Z3 2.8 Roadster by oh.…next Wednesday. It’s quite possible that, instead of getting all worked up and excited about the new car, your predominant thoughts will be something like “eat my shorts.”

Needless to say, thoughts like those can only lead to disappointment. And I think that’s what happens. We get all fired up about this amazing idea that our thoughts create our reality. We start affirming and visualizing and being sure that this is our destiny and then the past starts creeping in. The negative thoughts. The way it’s always been.

Going from broke, depressed and loveless to rich, perpetually happy and a having a black book filled with numbers is a virtual chasm and can’t help but fail. When these intentions don’t happen overnight, which they won’t (They could. It’s possible. Gurus in India pull jewels out of the thin air), you’ll get discouraged and either give up or believe you’re not worthy.

What I’d like to suggest is starting small. Building muscle gradually.

Start with something you have absolutely no baggage around. Money, which is No#1 on most manifesters’ hit parade, comes with how can I say this politely, more suitcases than the Chicago airport.

If you start with something simple, something like say a blue feather, your thoughts won’t immediately put up their dukes and start yammering. In fact, small intentions are so nonthreatening that often we manifest them immediately.

For one thing, you’re not fighting the current. Most people, something like 95 percent of the human race, think manifesting money is supremely difficult. No doubt you’ve heard all the alleged facts about money:

It doesn’t grow on trees.
Making money is hard.
Blah, blah.

But I hasten to point out you don’t hear people going around saying, “It’s impossible to find blue feathers.”

So by starting with baby steps, you won’t immediately provoke the group consciousness. And, most importantly, you won’t trigger your own doubts and past failures.

Here are the three steps:

1. Go for something small, something you won’t be all “that’s impossible” about.
2. Make an intention and make it crystal clear.
3. Set a deadline.

In fact, for the next week, I’d like your help in creating some data for my new Hay House book: E-Squared: 9 Do-it-yourself Energy Experiments to Prove your Thoughts Create Your Reality.

I’d like your permission to enlist y’all as my test subjects, as my guinea pigs, if you will.

Using the three baby steps I just outlined, I’d like you to attempt to manifest the following five things:

1. Upfront parking spot
2. Blue feather
3. Free cup of coffee
4. Hearing from a friend from the past
5. Having something interesting and unexpected land in your mailbox or in-box

You’ve got a week.

And I hope you’ll send me an email or make a comment here to let me know which of these things you’ve manifested.

And just know that once you’ve got things like this down, moving on to money and that date with the Fabio look-a-like will be a piece of cake.

As we say in Manifesterland. “Today, a feather, tomorrow the world.”

Getting your manifesting ducks to quack in unison

January 8, 2013 2 Comments

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”
–T-shirt I saw in Hawaii

ducks2
Filmmaker Michael Moore, in a 2002 commencement speech, gave the following advice. “All you boys should learn that once you give up on that girl, she will come to you.”

In some ways, prayer works the same way. By believing we desperately need prayer or a miracle or something we don’t have now, we deny God’s truth. We suit up with the wrong attitude.

Any time we look for an answer, we make the false assumption that the answer isn’t already here. Praying for love or happiness or some other desired goal defeats the whole purpose. It assumes somehow that the outcome of life is still in doubt. It’s not. God’s truth is perfection, all-joy, all-love, and to crave some piddling commodity is believing there’s something else. You have to suit up with perfect confidence that you have the right for all that is good. In fact, you have to believe it’s already here.

To Jesus, prayer was not a matter of bribing God. It was simply understanding that the higher law of Spirit overrides the lower law of the mental and physical plane. To plead or beg or to act like it’s not here is to suppose duality, not unity. And unity is what we’re going for. To get those ducks lined up, to get all those waves in laser-like coherence.

Like a laser, touched for the very first time

“We can’t afford the luxury of doubt.”
–Elastigirl in the Incredibles

I don’t know if you know anything about laser technology, but it works a little bit like Congress did on September 12, 2001. Remember how all those cantankerous old senators and representatives completely forgot they were Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives? How the only thing in their minds were “I’m an American, by God” and they sang God Bless America” in one great, big unified chorus? Well, that’s how a laser works.

Unlike ordinary light, that has lots of different types and sizes of wavelengths, lasers have one size wavelength, each of which precisely reinforces every other.

This is how you want to pray. Or it is if you want to see something appreciable happen. When Jesus “prayed” to multiple the fish and loaves, he didn’t beg God to “make something happen,” he simply put all his thoughts into one laser-like formation, namely that abundance and plenty was his divine right.

In fact, the real reason Jesus was crucified was those in command thought he was altogether too confident. How dare he be so bold as to think he could make crippled people walk, lepers dance? But Jesus didn’t just think he could do these things. He knew. He knew the truth of who he was which made his mind a veritable laser. He didn’t doubt for one second there was plenty of food to go around. He didn’t stop to question if a blind man could see (after all, the gift of health and perfect self-expression is everyone’s divine right) or if that storm that so scared the disciples was real. He knew that he had the right to command the heavens and the earth. In fact, that’s the only big difference between Jesus and you and me. We’re still wondering.

If you go back to Aramaic, which as you probably know is the language Jesus conversed in, the root word of ask reveals more than a “well, if it’s not too much trouble.” Ask, in Aramaic, means a combination of claim (as in that deed to the land is yours) or demand. To ask for something in prayer is to simply lay hold of what’s yours. You have the right, and even the responsibility to command your life.

How can we be sure, you ask? Same way you’re sure two plus two equals four. Because it’s a simple, unalterable principle of mathematics. If you add two plus two and get five, that’s not the principle of mathematic’s fault. Likewise, if you’re not getting the answers you want from your prayers, that’s not God’s fault. It’s you that’s screwing up the principle.

With God, there is no variation. There is one perfect picture of health, abundance, joy, peace, love, and all that other good stuff. But because we, like ordinary light with its variety of wavelengths, have all these variety of thoughts, we create a lot of turbulence. But it’s not necessary.

Prayer that is focused through an integrated, whole personality is like a laser—a single, clear beam. It doesn’t matter who asks or how they ask God’s answer is always “love and light and peace.” That’s not only God’s final answer, it’s the only answer