Mary Karr – Pam Grout

Go towards the light

February 13, 2018 21 Comments

“There’s more joy than I ever knew.”—Mary Karr
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I’m not psychic, but I’m pretty sure that 100 years from now (hopefully sooner), future generations are going to look back at our belief in separation and limits and wonder, “What were they thinking? How could they be so misinformed?”

They’ll scratch their heads at our refusal to live in the light, to celebrate our joy in much the same way we look back at the Roman Circuses.

“Are you kidding me?” we think, “How could thousands of people sit around drinking wine and being entertained by lions ripping gladiators apart?”

They’ll consider it a laughable curiosity that we treated ourselves this way, that we chose to suffer when right on the other side of the veil is everything we could possibly want.

And it’s all so easy and natural. It’s just that our beliefs have blocked the light that tries to stream to us at every moment.

ACIM lesson 44 (God is the light in which I see) basically tells us that it’s far more radical to live in the light than to live in despair.

The side effect of this ridiculous notion of despair and limitation is we live at half throttle. By not delighting in our inherent gifts, we actually live out the outdated Roman Circus-like notion that we are weak and incapable of creating our lives.

Future generations will also consider it freakishly odd that we felt so guilty and didn’t have the fun and joy we are entitled to. They just won’t understand why we didn’t relish in our creative powers. They’ll puzzle, “They had this amazing gift and they left it sitting in the corner, unwrapped.”

For what it’s worth, future generations, I’m doing my part now (even as we speak) to get up every day, pronounce that something amazingly awesome is going to happen to me today and to spend my day in unadulterated wonderment at all the world’s blessings and miracles.

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

Question authority

January 29, 2018 23 Comments

“You know you got it if it makes you feel good.”–Janis Joplin
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The first thing I learned in journalism school is “question your source.” Is the source reliable? Knowledgable? Are the “facts” being presented scientifically-provable?

This standard journalistic practice is especially useful when deciding which of the voices in the chorus of your head to listen to.

In ACIM Lesson 29, we learn God is in everything I see.

Feel free to substitute my word (field of infinite potentiality or FP) or make up one of your own. Love, I’ve found, works like a champ.

But if it’s absolute fact that God, love, the FP is in everything, why do I see pain and dysfunction? Why am I afraid?

When thoughts like this arise, it’s time to question your source. Who is this voice that screams, “Get me out of here. Make this stop.”

For me, it’s always my own made-up story. It’s my cultural programming. It’s definitely not love or infinite potentiality.

As Mary Karr jokes, when she listens to her made-up story (as opposed to the truth of love), she wants to “snort cocaine and make out with the FedEx guy.”

Today, I choose to see love in everything. If the chatty asshat starts yammering, as its wont to do, I will question the source and realize that if it doesn’t feel good, it’s just–as Faulkner calls it–my little postage stamp of reality and not the truth.

The 5 kinds of capital that out-trump financial capital

March 30, 2016 84 Comments

“The spiritual lens—even just the nightly gratitude list–is starting to rewrite the story of my life. I feel like I have been snatched out of the fire, salvaged, saved.”—Mary Karr

You might have seen my post on Facebook, where I gushed in glee about my new book. Hay House, my publisher, moved up the pub date (that’s publication date, not a day where I lift pints of hearty ale) from October to August.

It’s now available for pre-order so I posted the cover and wrote two sentences about my excitement. That tiny mention sold enough books on Amazon to move it to #1 in New Releases in New Thought. At least for a day. I was blown away.

That being said, I want you to know that I don’t view this blog as an advertisement or a marketing tool. In fact, yesterday, I paid to have all ads taken off my site. I figured it was the least I could do for those of you who so generously take the time to read my posts.

I write them out of sheer joy. I write from my heart and I view them as a gift to anyone who cares to read them. I’m not out to monetize this website.

Which is why I don’t use my blog to promote what’s known as affiliate programs. You know–those posts that have the same spiel, the same wording and everything, from five different people. While there’s a certain kind of mad genius in promoting someone else’s program or product in exchange for a percentage of sales, I choose to turn down such invitations because I don’t view you as “a list.” You are my compadres in spiritual mischief, my friends, my sounding board. If I write about something, it’s because I’m genuinely excited about it.

Financial capital, the goal of affiliate marketing, has glaring limitations. It’s fine, but it’s not why we’re here. The riches I talk about in my new book, Thank and Grow Rich, are not the kind you find in a bank.

One of the chapters, in fact, is called Becoming the Warren Buffet of Happiness. The book talks about amassing a different kind of capital. Five different kinds: spiritual capital, social capital, creative capital, adventure capital and alchemic capital.

We acquire these riches by getting on a frequency of joy and gratitude. By taking off the blinders that block the presence and the radiance and the unforced generosity of the universe.

My service is to this presence. And to you, my dear friends, who have put a little bit of trust in me. For that, I say thank you, thank you, thank you.

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 its equally-scintillating sequel, E-Cubed, 9 More Experiments that Prove Mirth, Magic and Merriment

4 bald-faced lies that block your joy and power

March 25, 2016 20 Comments

“The brain’s natural instinct is to judge, but so is the urge to boink the UPS dude.”—Mary Karr

This blog post might come as a bit of a shock. Mainly, because the statement I’m about to make is completely opposite of how we’ve learned to experience life.

Ready?

It is possible to live in a state of uninterrupted deep peace. It’s called enlightenment.

Here’s why most of us (and, yes, that includes me) don’t come close.

1. We’ve created a false self that masquerades as us. We place all our attention on this “self” that is no more real or lasting or solid than Chandler Bing. It’s a made-up hologram. It blocks our real identity and our connection to a sacred, limitless life force.

2. The life force got re-named and developed a bad reputation. The nickname for this realm of beauty, goodness and infinite vastness is, of course, God. But I don’t have to tell you that God, as a concept, has become warped and misused. It’s a closed concept which, again, is the exact opposite of Truth.

3. Enlightenment is regarded as the provenance of a select few. You know that false self I mentioned earlier? It likes to promote the belief that enlightenment is some superhuman accomplishment. When, in Truth, it’s our natural state of being. We are all connected to an immeasurable and indestructible life force. But because we see ourselves as isolated fragments, we plod through life pretending to be something we’re not.

4. A loud squawky voice is manning the dials. We think we’re having thoughts. But our thoughts are having us. And by that I mean, our thoughts, which compulsively judge, compare, label and define, block us from feeling our connection.

Be your unapologetically weird self.

February 15, 2016 39 Comments

“God wants us to put this stuff down now. He wants us to wear the world like a loose garment. And be of good cheer.”—Mary Karr

I headlined this post with the advice venture capitalist Chris Sacca gave to the 2011 graduates of the Carlton School of Management.

Every last one of us is weird and different and that’s a beautiful thing. Diversity is not something to be threatened by. Or to avoid. It’s to be celebrated.

Instead of reaching for the spring-loaded trigger, we should all bust out laughing. The commentary on this blog over the last few days reminds me of a Saturday Night Live sketch. And I’m a huge fan of Saturday Night Live.

Thank you all. I so appreciate your support, your funny comments (imagine disowning someone because they prefer bleu cheese salad dressing or penny loafers) and the reminders that baby, it’s high time to rev up our love engines.

Those old habits of defending our positions might have worked in cavemen days, when saber tooth tigers were trying to rip elk meat from our baby’s mouth. But it’s 2016.

And it’s time to create some new habits, some new beliefs. It’s time to quit gnawing on old miseries and start enjoying the now.

Several of you wondered why I would apologize. It’s not because I did anything wrong. It’s because it felt like the loving choice. Because it’s my spiritual practice to know that, in Truth, nothing can hurt me.

So if I’m asked to apologize, why not? One of my many gurus said if someone asks for your cloak give them your “Vote for Pedro” t-shirt, as well.

Remember it isn’t agreement with others we need. It’s agreement with ourselves.

So I’m hoping the uproar can die down and we can all get back to dreaming, loving, believing in new possibilities.

Again, thank you all so very much.