Practice being rich, skinny and madly in love

“You are what you practice most.”—Richard Carlson

When I played soccer, my team met twice a week at a park in front of Kansas City’s Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art to practice. Likewise, when I was learning Clair De Lune on the piano, I rehearsed it over and over again. Practice, of course, makes a new skill normal, second-nature.

Practice is also imperative when setting intentions. It’s important to practice being what you intend to manifest.

If you want money, for example, you have to practice being rich. Every day for at least an hour (or better yet, 24/7 once you get the hang of it), act like the prosperous person you want to become, BE the recipient of abundance you are in Truth. Make all your buying decisions from the perspective of a wealthy person. Ask yourself, “WWOD?” (That’s “What would Oprah do?” for those of you who’ve never worn one of those bracelets.)

When buying makeup, for example, don’t choose the cheapest kind. Act like a wealthy person. Act like you deserve abundance.

If your intention is to drop poundage, practice being skinny and beautiful. Strut around in the body you want to have. Feel that gorgeous beingness with all your heart and soul.

If you want a fabulous relationship, practice having one. One of my favorite stories about relationships comes from a therapist who was counseling a guy on the brink of divorce.

This lovelorn husband says to the therapist, “I cannot wait to get rid of my obstinate, unhappy, horrible wife. And I’ll do anything to make her pay.”

“Okay,” says the therapist, “Here’s what you do. For the next three months, build your wife up. Tell her how beautiful she is, praise her, act as if she’s the woman of your dreams. When you ask for that divorce down the road, she’ll be devastated that she’s about to lose that kind of attention.”

Six months later, the therapist runs into the same guy at a party. “Hey,” he asks, “Did you ever get rid of your obstinate, unhappy, horrible wife?”

The guy looks at him with utter indignation. “What are you talking about?” he says, “My wife is the most beautiful, perfect partner a guy could ever have.”

What do you want in your life? Start practicing.

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.

Be recklessly generous and relentlessly kind

“It’s not our job to play judge and jury, to determine who is worthy of our kindness and who is not. We just need to be kind, unconditionally and without ulterior motive, even – or rather, especially – when we’d prefer not to be.”–Josh Radnor

Left to its own devices, the human mind is quick to jump to conclusions, leap towards fear and cower in the face of possibilities. That’s why I’ve made “training my mind” priority numero uno. On a daily basis, I instruct it to look for beauty. Encourage it to seek out the bigger picture, to focus on the love and the seemingly impossible.

Yes, it’s an incorrigible slacker. Keeps returning to familiar old ruts. Keeps listening to the spin doctor that looks at the world as a potentially scary place. Insists on focusing on the “information” from my five senses, from the news media, from the default setting that says, “Be careful. Worry. Don’t even think about learning to trust.”

So I just keep getting back up in the saddle, directing my mind to focus on what I know to be Truth. That everybody in the world really loves each other and that kindness is always the answer.

I’m often asked, “How is that even possible?” when the “what you see” looms so large in your mind.

And all I can say is it’s the same as the answer to the old joke, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?”

Practice, practice, practice.

So, quit talking about the “world as it seems” and start practicing the way you’d like it to be.

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.

Practice being rich, skinny and madly in love.

“You are what you practice most.”—Richard Carlson

When I played soccer, my team met twice a week at a park in front of Kansas City’s Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art to practice. Likewise, when I was learning Clair De Lune on the piano, I rehearsed it over and over again. Practice, of course, makes a new skill normal, second-nature.

Practice is also imperative when setting intentions. It’s important to practice being what you intend to manifest.

If you want money, for example, you have to practice being rich. Every day for at least an hour (or better yet, 24/7 once you get the hang of it), act like the prosperous person you want to become, BE the recipient of abundance you are in Truth. Make all your buying decisions from the perspective of a wealthy person. Ask yourself, “WWOD?” (That’s “What would Oprah do?” for those of you who’ve never worn one of those bracelets.)

When buying makeup, for example, don’t choose the cheapest kind. Act like a wealthy person. Act like you deserve abundance.

My daughter, who just came home for spring break, and I spent the whole two weeks practicing being wealthy. Every day, we went out for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We shopped and saw movies and didn’t one time consider price tags. We were, to quote Gandhi, “Being the change we wished to see.”

If your intention is to drop poundage, practice being skinny and beautiful. Strut around in the body you want to have. Feel that gorgeous beingness with all your heart and soul.

If you want a fabulous relationship, practice having one. One of my favorite stories about relationships comes from a therapist who was counseling a guy on the brink of divorce.

This lovelorn husband says to the therapist, “I cannot wait to get rid of my obstinate, unhappy, horrible wife. And I’ll do anything to make her pay.”

“Okay,” says the therapist, “Here’s what you do. For the next three months, build your wife up. Tell her how beautiful she is, praise her, act as if she’s the woman of your dreams. When you ask for that divorce down the road, she’ll be devastated that she’s about to lose that kind of attention.”

Six months later, the therapist runs into the same guy at a party. “Hey,” he asks, “Did you ever get rid of your obstinate, unhappy, horrible wife?”

The guy looks at him with utter indignation. “What are you talking about?” he says, “My wife is the most beautiful, perfect partner a guy could ever have.”

What do you want in your life? Start practicing.

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