Mary Oliver – Pam Grout

Let me invite you to a different kind of party

November 29, 2022 27 Comments

“Happiness, when done right, is a kind of holiness, palpable and redemptive.”—Mary Oliver

It occurs to me that my blog posts all say the same thing. I wrap them up, of course, in different packages. But basically, they assert some variation of this theme: 1.) That our natural state is peace and happiness and that 2.) Our feckless egos tell us just the opposite.

The trick, of course, is deciding which idea to feed.

The ego is pretty mouthy and insistent. It runs like stock market ticker tape, constantly announcing that something is wrong, that something needs to be fixed.

I notice that when I place my attention on the random thoughts profusely supplied by the ego, they clump together and create whole Hollywood-worthy productions, complete with set designers and dancing penguins.

But when I feed idea #1, that my natural state is peace and happiness, I evoke a self that’s more generous, open and spontaneous, one that can respond to whatever happens to be at hand.

My thoughts, I’ve noticed, are like legos. They literally build things. One thought leads to the next and to the next and so on.

And while thoughts, when guided by the ego, can certainly construct a lot of heavily-encrusted delusions, it’s important to remember that they ARE just that: delusions. They simply are NOT true. They’re habits that our long-standing attention has temporarily set into concrete.

The good news is the delusions can be dismantled, blown to smithereens, by simply returning to idea #1.

As the Course in Miracles likes to remind me, when I let go of self-deceptions and images I’ve falsely worshipped, fear disappears and only love remains. When I give up suffering, anxiety and doubt, the awareness of eternal peace and happiness, my natural state, can’t help but come pouring in.

Welcome to the celebration of a different kind of party. #222 Forever!

Pam Grout is the author of 20 books including E-Squared, E-Cubed, Thank & Grow Rich and her latest, The Course in Miracles Experiment: A Starter Kit for Rewiring Your Mind (And Therefore Your World).

Practice being fictional

August 1, 2022 31 Comments

“And you too have come into the world to go easy, to be filled with light and to shine.”—Mary Oliver

Do I look like a badass or what? I blame it on my selfie skills!

My daughter, Taz, is such a genius. Even though she no longer has a body, she’s able to send the most miraculous signs and messages my way. And that’s saying something since her mom, me, the recipient of her messages is still more or less trapped in the primitive belief in space and time. But even so, she’s able to get one of her many emissaries to deliver a hedgehog every first of the month.

This month, I’m in Mexico so she whispered the following to my light-filled friend Dawn: “Hey, you know that sweater you were wondering about? The one you couldn’t figure out where it came from? And what in the heck is that weird animal on the front?

“Well, the reason that ended up in your drawer is because when you “just happen” to run into Pam and her friends eating crème brulee at Alex’s, you are going to remember it and say to Pam, “I have something for you. Stop by my place when you’re finished here.”

Dawn told me that as soon as saw me, the guidance was very clear. But then Dawn herself is very clear. I’m sure that’s why Taz asked her to deliver this beautiful, beautiful gift.

I love knowing there are realms way beyond anything I can see, that there are angels and otherworldly beings acting on my behalf. I love recognizing that this world, the one that seems so solid and immutable, is just a figment of my imagination.

This is not something I tell just everyone. It tends to trigger people, especially those with an extreme allegiance to problems and crises, all of which are fictional sequences created by a loud, insistent, distracted mind. When I suggest an oh-so-easy, six-word solution to a disturbance (Simply remove it from your thinking), people tend to look at me as if I just asked them to show me their underwear.

As for me, I’m thrilled that the more I surrender my beliefs and conditioning, the more I recognize that this world is illusion, the the more I feel Taz’s brilliant presence and the radiant joy and unspeakable peace that is my true nature.

FYI. If you’re anywhere near Kansas City, put this on your calendar:

#222 Forever!

Pam Grout is the author of 20 books including E-Squared, E-Cubed, Thank & Grow Rich and her latest, The Course in Miracles Experiment: A Starter Kit for Rewiring Your Mind (And Therefore Your World).

Just the facts, ma’am

June 29, 2022 28 Comments

“Finally, I saw that worrying had come to nothing. And I took my old body out into the morning to sing.”—Mary Oliver

Tech companies around the globe are vying for our attention. They know our collective attention is worth big bucks and they’re doing everything they can to capture it and hold it–the more minutes (hours, for some of us?) the better.

Not only is your attention a highly-prized resource, but you can use it to be of service to the world.

If you refuse to place your attention on all the “what if’s”, the “OMG’s”, the “everything is falling apart,” and simply focus on facts, you’re actually performing a public service.

Most people I know are focused on the emotions, the triggers, the ‘ain’t it awfuls,” By placing their valuable attention there, they create more fear and more negativity. Our attention is THAT powerful.

Here’s a tiny example of how we squander our precious attention:

Let’s say you lost your job. All you really know for sure (the one true fact) is there’s no longer a job in your immediate future. Why start adding a bunch of stories? Things like: What if I can’t find another one? The economy is crazy right now. What if I starve?

Our tendency is to embellish the only fact we know for sure (I lost my job) with all our “oh no’s,” our speculations, our suppositions.

Here’s where the public service comes in:

I lost my job.

Add nothing to this fact. Sit back. Relax. Wait to see what you’re guided to do next. It’s hard and counterintuitive, I know, but if you choose to put your attention on this clear non-emotional, not fraught frequency, you will be guided what to do next.

Life is always here to help us evolve spiritually. Our ONLY job is to refuse to interfere. I heard somebody describe it like this, “My job is to be the allower-in-chief.”

With all the potential emotional pitfalls happening now, I was guided to share this short factual message.

Yours in love and unlimited potential,

The Allower-in-Chief

#222 Forever

Pam Grout is the author of 20 books including E-Squared, E-Cubed, Thank & Grow Rich and her latest, The Course in Miracles Experiment: A Starter Kit for Rewiring Your Mind (And Therefore Your World).

How I use gratitude to give all seeming problems the old one-two punch

September 12, 2018 23 Comments

“There are many words meaning thank you. Some you can only whisper. Some you can only sing.”—Mary Oliver

I was just invited to participate in a Gratitude Summit. As I told the organizers, the reason I answered “can’t wait” is because gratitude, as y’all know, is my wingman.

I use it like I use duct tape. Of all the tools in my kit (and believe me, when you have a thinking cap like mine, you need lots of tools), it’s the one I most often pull out. It’s a multi-purpose utensil whether I’m trying to heal a relationship, fix a physical boo-boo or just feel happier.

I’ve discovered it’s especially useful when I notice I’m marching across the desert towards some mirage that looks an awful lot like a problem. Once I finally lasso my racing mind, the mind that’s squawking “eeks!” “oh no!” “death is surely imminent,” I give it the following one-two punch.

Step One: (again I can only do this when I finally recognize that I’m making it worse by fretting and awfulizing) is to actually realize that this is a gift waiting to be opened. To say thank you that this “problem” is just another rat finally come up from the cellar, one I probably need to look and call out as the poser it is. So thank you “alleged problem” for so clearly showing me I still have resistance. This is an incredible gift when you recognize its healing potential. I mean, who doesn’t want Orkin down there shooing away the vermin?

Step Two: Recognize that whatever this thing my mind is trying to scare me with is one of hundreds of thousands of superpositions in the field of infinite potentiality. This imposter (be it seeming illness, poverty, a disgruntled boss) is literally a tiny spot, barely worth noticing. That’s cause for celebration.

So I can either continue to turn it into a big hairy deal. Or I can say “Hallelujah! Thank ya, Jesus” that I am all-powerful spirit that has temporarily descended into a body and that, with this power, with my very command, I can send it into the native nothingness from which it came.

The Course, above all else, tells us that our salvation lies in teaching the exact opposite of every single thing the ego (or that chattering, blustery mind) believes.

Pam Grout is the author of 19 books including E-Squared, E-Cubed, Thank & Grow Rich and her latest book, Art & Soul,Reloaded: A Year-Long Apprenticeship to Summon the Muses and Ignite Your Daring, Audacious, Creative Side.

Moving towards the “thing” that gives you goose bumps

May 15, 2017 12 Comments

“What I want in my life
is to be willing
to be dazzled—
to cast aside the weight of facts.”—Mary Oliver

The facts of the dominant paradigm insist you can never write a book, be a comedian, make it as an artist.

But facts are only placeholders until the higher truth emerges. That’s why it’s so important to keep moving towards the “thing” that gives you goose bumps.

Back in February, the Daily Show correspondent Hasan Minhaj gave a show at Liberty Hall in Lawrence, Kansas.

He told a touching story about his dream to be a comedian. He grew up in a small university town, was a nerd, a smart kid. He studied political science in college. But after seeing Chris Rock’s standup show, “Never Scared,” he got the goose bumps. It was the big one, the thing he wanted to do.

He started making comedy YouTube videos of him with a photoshopped Conan O’Brien. He put that vision in his mind. He started moving in that direction.

Today, you’ll find plenty of YouTube videos of the nerdy immigrant kid from the small college town—only now they’re of his one-man show, or of him on The Daily Show or as emcee of the White House Correspondent’s Dinner.

Anything can be manifested, but you gotta start with a vision.

What gives you goose bumps, my friends?

Pam Grout is the author of 18 books including E-Squared: 9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality and the recently released, Thank and Grow Rich: a 30-day Experiment in Shameless Gratitude and Unabashed Joy.

Another trio of miracle tales to fuel the love train

April 6, 2016 6 Comments

“Only if there are angels in your head will you ever possibly see one.”—Mary Oliver

Despite what it says in the newspaper, despite what your mother told you, despite what society insists is rock solid truth, it’s important to remember Shakespeare’s adage, “Nothing is either good nor bad. Only thinking makes it so.”

Your thinking regulates what is allowed into your life experience and what boogies on over to the next guy. You get to decide. You have the final say.

And since my thinking believes in miracles, magic and moving right past the bouncer who says, “You can’t go in,” I hear stories like this each and every day.

Linda, from my gratitude posse, shared this one yesterday:

“Several months ago, tickets for Bruce Springsteen in Kansas City went on sale. I really wanted to go, but did absolutely nothing to get tickets. I just decided I would be going and didn’t think about it again.

“Yesterday two tickets appeared through a friend of a friend. And now I’m going to see Bruce on Thursday.”

This one came in today’s email:

“My horse Mission, an off-the-track thoroughbred that I have had for about a year, never lays down. Yesterday, I mentioned this to my mom.

“Before I went to bed last night I read the section in E-Squared about synchronicities and how often, just reading about them, causes one to “occur.”

“The next morning, I am in the arena with Mission and, as I observe him, I say, “You know, you look sleepy. I think it’s time you just took a little nap.

“So I simply sat down next to where he stood. To my utter awe-mazement, Mission proceeded to lay down RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF ME.

“If you are not a horse person, you might not know that this is not typical horse behavior–especially for THIS horse.

“Not only did he lay down, he stretched out full-length and WENT TO SLEEP.

I have lovely photos of our 25-minute duo power nap.”

And this last one came in a month ago and got temporarily “lost” in my giant file of miracle stories:

“I thought I would send a few examples as to how your books and blog have helped me and my family.

“My four kids are grown and three no longer live in KCMO. This past Christmas I was able to visit my two oldest daughters in LA. It was the first Christmas we have been able to spend together since 2004. Even though we are very close it is easy for time & distance to prevent us from talking about concerns and needs. In January, my two daughters and I began a daily “Today I pray for…” text.

“In a short 3 weeks all 4 of my kids had long standing problems solved and hopes answered. My oldest daughter got a contract that benefitted her career, my second daughter’s boyfriend got a better paying full time job, my son received two different job offers from companies offering the kind of job he has been seeking since he graduated in 2011, and my youngest daughter received confirmation that she would be receiving much needed money for college. Our daily prayers were not specifically for those things, they were about feeling peace, understanding, creative inspiration, whatever we felt the need for that day. It was after all those things lined up I realized, “Wow! that was fast!”

Thanks everybody for doing this blog with me. I am so, so very grateful.

Pam Grout is the author of 18 books including E-Squared: 9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality and the about to be released, Thank and Grow Rich: a 30-day Experiment in Shameless Gratitude and Unabashed Joy

“I am here to be electric. I am here to be alive.”—Tama Kieves

July 15, 2013 21 Comments

“I’ve known for some time that staring at objects while holding pictures in my head makes reality oddly responsive.”—Martha Beck

Martha Beck, who I met one year at an author’s conference in Kansas City (we both had new books out), wrote an article for O Magazine about vision boards. As she said, “Some results are so successful that the hair on the nape of my neck prickled for months.”

Anyone who has read The Secret (a group that includes pretty much everyone on the planet) knows about vision boards where you cut out pictures of things you’d like to invite into your life for dinner.

However, today, I’d like to talk about an even more important practice. Instead of making lists (and vision boards) of things you’d like to receive, how about composing a list of things you’d like to give? Of things you’d like to create?

And before that, make a list of all the things you already have. Things you’re grateful for NOW.

Gratitude (or amazing awesomeness, as I like to call my practice) is the oil that lubes the channels of the world’s beneficence. If you’re not playing with and appreciating “the toys” you have now, why expect new ones? Why even want new ones?

The other day I was walking my dog (lots of things happen when I walk my odd-looking bassador—that’s part Bassett Hound, part Lab) by a railroad track. It’s junky, not exactly a spectacle for the eyes. I’ve walked this route countless times. But earlier that morning I’d been reading Blue Iris, a book of poems and essays by Mary Oliver. Most were about flowers.

In about three blocks, next to what many would describe as an eyesore, I found at least seven species of teensy little flowers. Teensy little flowers that I’d undoubtedly marched by many times and never noticed. I plucked one of each and pressed them between waxed paper and into a big, heavy book. I figure they’ll be a good reminder next time my ego decides to launch a new campaign around lack and fear.

They aren’t the big showy blossoms florists stock, but each one is ridiculously beautiful and I am embarrassed that I walked by so many times without noticing.

So, yea, vision boards are great. But right now, I’m too busy making lists of all the ridiculously beautiful things I already have.

Tell me in the comments below: What ridiculously beautiful things do you already have?

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