Omega Institute – Pam Grout

Now recruiting: miracle private investigators

July 6, 2020 274 Comments

“Hard times require furious dancing.”—Alice Walker

This week, I was scheduled to give a weeklong Course in Miracles workshop at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York.

Called “All Heaven Will Break Loose,” the workshop was billed as a week “to switch off our thinking caps, cut up our vision boards and rest in the sweet, sweet experience of loving, creating, and being who we really are.”

The main idea was to generate a field of glorious possibility.

Since it got cancelled, I’d like to offer a free weeklong mini workshop right here on the blog.

I’ll show up every day with “assignments.” On second thought, let’s call them opportunities. Opportunities to find a story much deeper than the one we normally perceive. The Course calls this change of perception a miracle.

Yesterday, while zooming with one of my possibility posses, Bonita brought up a party game (that’s what I call exercises) that she’s playing right now. It’s called Find the Miracle. Every day, instead of simply noting three amazingly awesome things that happened (the gratitude program offered in my A.A. 2.0 program), she is actively looking for miracles.

What’s the difference, someone asked?

A miracle happens when we change our perception. Something we thought impossible becomes “well, duh!,” becomes our new, natural way of looking at life. The old life tells us today’s going to be just like yesterday. It says we have to follow all these steps and work really hard and hope, just hope that the other shoe is not going to drop.

Once we withdraw those projections, we find, to quote the Course, “a beauty that will enchant and never cease to cause wonderment at its perfection.”

So who’s in? Who wants to join my miracle private investigation team? All it takes is deciding right here, right now that you’re going to open up to the possibility that miracles are as normal as the rising sun. It’s a simple matter of what we expect.

If you’re down to play the miracle party game, simply commit to turning your attention away from what “appears to be.”

Instead, make the intention, have the expectation that you will be presented with at least one miracle (a big whopping miracle) every single day this week.

You’re invited to report your daily miracle in the comment section below. There will be a new post each day this week with the opportunity to share your miracles.

I’ll be reporting my miracles each day and I hope you’ll join me right here each day.

Let’s do this!!!!

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).

Even Shonda Rhimes uses the Wonder Woman pose

January 8, 2016 10 Comments

“Instead of wallowing in the problem, I figure out what its yes would be.”—Shonda Rhimes

I just finished Shonda Rhimes’ inspiring book, My Year of Saying Yes. It’s a memoir that takes up after she’d already won countless Emmys and Writers Guild and Directors Guild awards for creating Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and all the other shows on ABC’s prime time Thursday. You’d assume that, by that point, she’d be 100 percent happy, confident and living the dream.

Except, she wasn’t. She was scared to speak in public, unhappy in her own body and well, experiencing the same wacked out crazy head space as the rest of us.

In fact, she mentions some big banquet honoring the top women in television, the women who are at the very pinnacle of success. She noticed, one by one, as each was introduced how they downplayed their success, how they pooh-poohed all they’d accomplished. She noted (even though she did it, too) that they should have been jumping to their feet, giving each other fist bumps and saying, “Hell yeah! Thank you for noticing.”

After Shonda’s sister pointed out her tendency to avoid scary things, Shonda decided to embark on an experiment in saying “yes!” Especially to all the things she avoided at all costs. Like speaking in public. Like accepting invitations to be on late-night talk shows. Like looking at how she treated herself.

I especially loved, loved, loved that her remedy for stepping out of her comfort zone was my old favorite: the Wonder Woman pose.

If you’ve been to any of my talks over the past year or two, you know I use the Wonder Woman pose to stave off my own nervousness. I often get my audience to join with me and even took a Wonder Woman action figure to a workshop I gave at the Omega Institute.

Scientists have proven that when you stand like Wonder Woman (fists on waist and legs spread in what Harvard Business School professor Amy Cuddy calls a power pose) you lower your cortisol levels and boost your testosterone.

“So what?” you might be thinking. WHAT is that when your cortisol levels go down, you drastically lower your stress and when testosterone goes up, you feel more confident.

Cuddy discovered that standing in this pose for a mere two minutes helps folks ace job interviews, tests and other potentially stress-provoking events.

The point is…our physiology can help us get our mind out of the gutter of wack-a-doodle thoughts and back on the joy frequency.

The last little tip I’d like to share is to sing. Shonda didn’t mention if she used this little life-changer.

But Jay Pryor, a life coach who I’ve written about before (check out his new book Lean Inside or this article I wrote about him for People magazine), and his wife Jessica sure do. Instead of demanding that their two young kids come to dinner NOW or stop drawing on the Lazy-Boy, they simply break into an aria that much better gets the point across.

Have the best weekend of your life, my friends.

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 is your Full-time Gig.

Being fearless is jumping even if you are afraid

June 9, 2015 24 Comments

“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.”—John Milton

The Universe is even better than the post office at delivering blessings. In spite of my shortcomings, miracles just keep on showing up. My weekend at Omega couldn’t have been more perfect. Perfect weather. Perfect group (the 35 souls who took the Magic and Miracles workshop were all beautiful geniuses who helped make the workshop SO EASY) and I even got the perfect rental car at LaGuardia—a powder blue VW beetle.

As you regulars to the blog know, workshop and easy are not words I usually say in the same sentence. I’ve talked a lot about my discomfort and fears that, as I often say, get so active that I’ve considered buying them a training bra.

The other blessing in this regard is something the comedian Pete Holmes told my friend, Jessica Ortner, on her Adventures in Happiness podcast. He said it took four years before he was comfortable doing standup. Four fricking’ years! Which makes me feel okay that, even though “my year of speaking dangerously” ended in March, I can “deeply love and accept myself” even when I’m still scared.

AND most importantly, I can continue to jump even when I am afraid.

For those who are interested, here’s my TedX talk where I definitely jumped anyway.

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 recently-released sequel, E-Cubed, 9 More Experiments that Prove Mirth, Magic and Merriment is your Full-time Gig.

Why your life should always be a verb

June 4, 2015 13 Comments

“ Life is a ticket to the greatest show on earth.”– Martin H. Fischer

Hey sports fans! I’m heading to the Omega Institute this weekend and wanted to share a quick story before I go.

I mentioned in E-Cubed that E-Squared has gone from being a funny title on a little black book to being a verb. This is from a guy who says he “E-Squares” everything. It obviously works.

Take it away, David Knapp-Fisher!

“I’m an avid follower of your blog, and loved your books.; in fact, when referring to the F.P. my wife and I always talk about “E-squaring” this, and “E-squaring” that! Well, after reading your post about giving a TEDx Talk, I thought you’d be interested in my little experience…

“I live in Victoria, B.C. and I was accepted as a speaker at the TEDx Stanley Park event in Vancouver which was this past Saturday. Several months ago speakers began attending monthly rehearsals to hone our talks – and since I travelled a distance to be there I’d usually be in Vancouver a few hours early, so I’d hide in a Starbucks and write blog posts until rehearsal time.

“Last month was no different; and with the pressure of a looming deadline to perfect my speech, I wrote a post about how I’m dealing with the nervousness of it all… (sound familiar?) and here’s where E2 came in on a few occasions. I know you know what I mean!

“My first worry came the day before the event – I needed about $25 dollars in change for the myriad of busses and subways I’d need to take over the next 3 days, but was about $8 dollars short. I just “put it out there” and figured the universe would step in, and it would work out. Sure enough, on the Friday (which also happened to be the busiest travel day for me) I arrived in Vancouver to find out that – due to an earlier issue that inconvenienced transit riders – all buses and subways were FREE for the entire day! Woot! Woot! $15- saved already, and problem one out of the way! Thank you, F.P.!

“The next morning the day had arrived, and to be honest, I felt prepared, but still nervous… I mean after all, this is TEDx! I walked into a random shop to grab a coffee, and what was blaring over the speakers, other than “I Lived” by One Republic – the theme song I’d identified weeks earlier that was meant to help me sail through this experience; and hear it was, playing for me the morning of the event!

“And with that, a sense of calm came over me, and nervousness was squashed for the rest of the day.I aced the speech received a standing ovation, and have been riding a high ever since! Let’s chalk another success up for F.P.!

“Anyway, as much as I’ve always believed in the F.P. it’s pretty cool how during one of the most important days of my career, it showed up at all the right times to make sure everything went smoothly, and now I can look back on a seriously cool experience.

“We love, love, love “E-squarin” stuff all day long!

You are hereby formally invited to come meet me at these brilliant and bodacious 2015 events

December 4, 2014 22 Comments

“How beautiful it is to do nothing and then rest afterwards.”—Quote on a postcard at Sparkling Hill Resort, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia

I recently returned from a whirlwind of travel and, while I wouldn’t say I’m doing nothing, I am taking it easy, playing lots of pickleball and percolating a new book. Actually two new books.

I’m also getting ready to launch a really cool contest where every single person wins. Stay tuned for all the exciting details including such prize as a 7-day cruise with yours truly and a pair of tickets to all four North American I Can Do It’s!

The prize pack I offered in E-Cubed went quickly. You can read about it here. But this new one is a doozie so I hope you’ll get as excited as I am. Details forthcoming.

When I returned from my workshop (I liked to call them playshops) at Sparkling Hill, I got an email from a reader who seemed a bit indignant, “Why didn’t you tell me? I’d have come to your seminar. I live really close.”

While I do have an events page on this very website, I probably didn’t do a very hot job of marketing. I’m so new at speaking that it still takes me aback sometimes when people tell me they WANT to hang out.

For those who do, for those who think it’d be rather enjoyable to be part of one of my power posses, here is what’s scheduled so far for 2015:

February 20-22: Weekend Workshop in Bern, Switzerland. Here’s the link, although, unless you speak German (or is it French?), you’ll probably need a translator. Rest assured, I won’t be speaking in anything but English.

April 24-26: I Can Do It! Denver I’m super psyched for this one because it’s my first North American I Can Do It! As I mentioned, I was so high after the London ICDI! that I worried the drug dogs would think I was taking something.

June 5 and 6: Manifesting Magic and Miracles. Omega Institute. The totally cool Omega Institute has been on my bucket list for years. I’m so jazzed that I get to actually present there. My original intention was to volunteer to serve food or clean cabins or something.

June 21 to 28: Silver Lining Cruise with lots of cool speakers from San Francisco to Alaska.

September 24: Orlando I Can Do It! Again, it’s going to be one-of-a-kind.

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 just-released sequel, E-Cubed, 9 More Experiments that Prove Mirth, Magic and Merriment is your Full-time Gig.