show-and-tell – Pam Grout

Think how much closer we’d be if, instead of talking about our dysfunctions, we got together to share our creations.

April 15, 2013 1 Comment

“I could show and tell your students things they could gain from no other wizards.” –J.K. Rowling

Woot! Woot! It’s Show and Tell Day!

Yep, we adults need show and tell. Probably more than kindergarteners. Think how much closer we’d all be if, instead of getting together to talk about our dysfunctions, we got together to look at each other’s creations.

Why isn’t this a normal thing? Every week or so we should get together with families and friends and show them something we really like, something unique about us. We should bring in some doodle we made on the side of a Visa bill or something we thought up while waiting at the dry cleaners. Adults still think things up. We just don’t tell anyone. We don’t think it’s important. Not with lawns that need mowing and mufflers that need fixing.

So with that thought in mind, I’ve got three things to share, all sent by friends and readers of E-Squared:

This first picture is from the beautiful Maria Venardis who, while doing Experiment #2 that proves “You Impact the Field and Draw from It According to your Beliefs and Expectations,” made the intention to see a blue feather. She’d more or less forgotten about it, was out walking with a friend at the park and voila! look what showed up:

Second item for today’s Show and Tell is from a doctor friend of mine who was also doing the Volkswagen Jetta experiment.

Here’s what he said:

“I counted 80+ beige colored cars driving down Mass Street. Finally got tired of counting them. Decided to look for yellow butterflies a few days later. Can you appreciate my jaw-dropping moment when I went in to see an elderly female patient with hip pain.”

Here’s what she was wearing on the lapel of her sweater:

Last story is from another reader (sorry no pictures with this one)

“I have to tell you about the Abracadabra Principle (That’s the one that proves, “Whatever you Focus on Expands). I asked for flowers. Something I never get. I had to receive them by 9:20 this morning. I never thought I wouldn’t get them, I knew some how I would. Around 7:30 this morning one of the women I work with handed me a large strip of white paper and said, “here’s a bouquet of flowers for you.” Something she has never done and she said she doesn’t know why she did it. I laughed and then told her on break why it was so funny. Beautiful white flowers, how cool.”

And lastly, remember that wonderful “Ode to Money” written last week by Felicia Spahr at www.FelsGotSwag.com?

Well, today, she’s featuring a blog post from me, an excerpt I guess you could say, from my upcoming project. Check it out here:

And this picture, that I failed to run last Monday, is the incomparable Fel of said named blog in the flesh. Isn’t she gorgeous?

Thanks everybody for your amazing emails and stories and pictures. I love you all and am so glad we’re connected.

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

The six things preschoolers do WAY better than adults

January 14, 2013 No Comments

There’s a reason J.C. said, “Let the children come unto me.”

Kids know important stuff, stuff we mature adults work very hard to unteach them. But maybe instead of urging our children to “be careful” and “act responsible,” we should follow their lead.

Here are the top six things preschoolers have over us:

1. Make believe. You don’t have to tell a kid that “anything is possible.” They’re pros at “pretend” or what behavioral specialists call visualization. Olympic athletes, in fact, spend nearly as many hours mentally rehearsing their success as they do physically practicing. Well, duh? our kids could tell us. They don’t need anyone’s permission to be a pilot or a doctor or an architect. They’re already flying around the room and healing their dolls’ boo-boos and building sand castles. They know popsicle sticks can be boats, batons or bridges over moats. Or better yet, lined up all the way to Bulgaria.
2. The opposite game. Remember how much fun it was to state everything backwards, to say “I don’t like you very much” which, of course, meant “You are everything to me.” If we could only realize that our political opponents and anyone else who disagrees with us or nags at us or call us names are really just playing “the opposite game.” Then we could quit taking everything so personally and remember that the biggest secret in the world is “we all really love each other.”
3. Tag, you’re it. Instead of hogging all the attention, kids chase each other around and parlay being “it.” And, needless to say, we all want to be “it” from time to time.
4. Cry when they’re hurt. Instead of pretending to be all “cool” and “together,” kids just lay it on the line. The only games they play are for fun. They don’t care what color or sexual orientation or religion a playmate is. In fact, they don’t notice differences at all. I have a friend who lost his arm when he was in the Navy. Until kids get to the age of 5 or so, they don’t even notice that he’s missing his right arm. It’s remarkable the day kids he’s known since they were babies suddenly notice. “What happened to your arm?” they ask in utter amazement. Of course, their mom’s give them dirty looks and tell them to “pipe down.”
5. Show-and-tell. Think how much closer we’d all be if we stopped long enough to honor one another in a circle of show-and-tell. If we listened to one another’s stories, looked at each other’s creations. Why isn’t this a normal thing? Every week or so we should get together with families and friends and show them something we really like, something unique about us. Bring in some doodle we made on the side of a Visa bill or something we thought up while waiting at the dry cleaners. Adults still think things up. We just don’t tell anyone. We don’t think it’s important. Not with lawns that need mowing and mufflers that need fixing.
6. What’s the hurry? If you want to expand your world, go on a walk with a five-year-old. They notice everything. The sun glinting off the mud puddle. The snail making figure eights of slime along the sidewalk. The hawk perched on the neighbor’s mailbox. Sure, you know everybody’s Facebook status registered on a little screen. But preschoolers? They know everything else.