A Course in Miracles Experiment (by Pam Grout) Day 175

Have you ever thought about “masking up” to protect yourself against the overwhelming negativity of the ubiquitous messages that runs through our modern lives?

I myself realized quite a few years ago that I actually had no real need for television, and I have my (step-)daughters to thank!

I came home from work one day and our girls, 13 and 14 at the time, were watching “Beavis and Butthead”.  Now, after about 5 minutes of seeing that gem of a cartoon, I asked them “Isn’t there a nature show or something better on the TV?  This is junk!”

 Their reply?  “But it’s funny!”

 Sighing, I let it go, figuring it wasn’t worth an argument.

The next day they were watching “SouthPark”.

The day after that (and after a consult session with my hubby), I stopped paying for cable.

It wasn’t worth an argument, but I was not going to pay out my hard-earned money to feed that cheap to our kids!

I couldn’t protect them from a lot of things, but I could at least lower the “infection rate” of some of the idiocy that I could see on the television.

Thankfully, I have never gotten over that initial reaction of horror at what was considered appropriate for consumption.  That’s been well over 20 years ago, and I still don’t have network TV.

It’s SO much easier to keep a positive frame of mind without the constant renewal of negative feed!  I still listen to the radio occasionally, (mostly NPR), but even that source of “news” is overwhelmingly negative.

I do love my daily dose of good news from the “Good News Network” !  Look for GNN.org for your daily vaccination of positivity, and have a fabulous day today!

Photo by Georg11, courtesy of Pixabay
With Grace and Gratitude, 

LeslieAnne

A Course in Miracles Experiment (by Pam Grout) Day 174

My ego tries really hard to control my entire life.

It’s the snarky little voice that wants me to retreat into a shell, wanting too “protect” me from all those hazards out in the big scary world.

The problem with that whole scenario is that if I’m tucked away safe in my little hermit crab shell, I quickly run out of room to grow.

That voice would keep me safe, but at what cost?

If I’m hiding in my “safe” place, I can’t see the wonders that surround me – just the tiny bit of the world that’s right inn front of me.

Hiding in my shell, I am less vulnerable, but I also am limited in my perceptions and in my actions.

In order to grow and give, I have to take courage in hand and climb out of my shell to join the dance.

Do you hide in your shell when you get challenged?  Or can you bring yourself to face it, knowing that the Universe won’t fish out more than you can handle?

Open up to the wondrous world in all its forms and complexity!  Experience everything today!

Photo by Peggy Choucair,  courtesy of Pixabay

With Grace and Gratitude, 

LeslieAnne

And if you like Hermit Crabs, check out My Hermit Crab Journal and learn facts and trivia about these fascinating creatures at https://bit.ly/HermitCrabFun

Have a wonderful day!

A Course in Miracles Experimental (by Pam Grout) Day 173

Turn off your ego for a while.

Your ego (and mine) have an extremely limited idea of how things ought to be.

One thing that will quiet that snarky little voice is awe.

Have you noticed that when you see or experience something awe-inspiring that your ego shuts the heck up?

I find awe in some pretty mundane places:  my front porch, even.  Earlier this year I was privileged to be in my porch chair when a series of teeny praying mantis hatched from an egg case that had been laid under the head cushion last fall.  Suddenly there was a veritable avalanche of miniature predators, each small enough to fit in a fingernail along with several siblings.

As I sat and watched them emerge from that big-time case, exploding like itty bitty firecrackers, I was completely overcome with wonder at the complexity and richness of life on this planet.

We (I called my son out to help) herded the babies gently one by one into the porch plants, trying to make sure they each had a chance to find some food and survive.

Each time we thought we’d gotten everyone safely relocated, more would pop up – in the siding above the chair, on my arm, on the table!

Finally they quit appearing and we rested, hoping that they would find shelter and food and be safe from our busy house wrens.  

The sense of wonder I felt at being present for this magical multiple birthing is impossible to really convey, but each time we’d see a mantis on the porch over the next few weeks it would strike me again.

What inspires your sense of awe and wonder?

https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/gYsgYj1aQuOA4I4PBiyi0Q.Ct6td73yMIRuSZ8aXKPvUy

Video by LeslieAnne Hasty, courtesy of Mother Nature!

With Grace and Gratitude, 

LeslieAnne

A Course in Miracles Experimental (by Pam Grout) Day 172

The Universe created everything out of a need to share love.

We’re just evidence of that abiding love.

If what I’m feeling today isn’t in tune with that ideal of love, abundance and sharing of every good thing, then I need to take Jesus’ advice and turn my cheek.

Now, that’s not to say that I have to stand in place and get beaten up out of a bizarre need to prove some point.

I need to turn my face away from that negativity and engage my feet and brain to go to a better place.  I’m needing to move my eyes away from that darkness and embrace the happiness and light that are my birthright.

When I look at the light, I lose the ability to even see the shadow.  Light always overcomes the darkness.

Turn your cheek!  Aim your whole self at the light, and leave the darkness behind you!

And have a truly wonderful day today!

Photo by jplenio, courtesy of Pixabay
With Grace and Gratitude, 

LeslieAnne

A Course in Miracles Experimental (by Pam Grout) Day 171

Everything we are and everything we experience is part of the Divine plan.

Every little thing that we do or say ripples through the Universe and affects each person and being.

Think about it:  If you wake up and your back hurts (like mine does most days) it’s easy to react to that by grouching at your partner or your child.  When you do that, you’ve given away your innate power to overcome the circumstance and pushed something negative into their path.

Does that make your back feel better?  It sure doesn’t help mine!  

If I instead relegate the ache to a lower level in my mind, and focus instead on the fact that I’m still mobile and active and have important work to accomplish today, I find that it’s not that important if I have some pain.  In fact, this pain forces me to look away and reminds me that there is work to do. I really have to bring my creative game up a level to get past it.

The pain isn’t the real issue.  My reaction to it, is.

How will you respond to your challenges today?  Will you grab hold of your Divinity with both hands and make something positive?  Let’s both get our and find our wave!

Photo by Sean O, courtesy of Unsplash

With Grace and Gratitude, 

LeslieAnne

A Course in Miracles Experiment (by Pam Grout) Day 170

Have you thought lately about how your beliefs are limiting you?  Here’s a common example:

Do you have the basic idea that if you work hard, save money and build up a good retirement fund that you’re doing well?

I’m not arguing whether it’s true or not, just asking.  That’s certainly what was drummed into my head when I was growing up.

What if we each took that idea and turned it upside down and inside out?

What if you and I spent all our time trying to follow our innate passion, trying to make a difference in the world?

Instead of working at enriching ourselves then parking in front of the TV, what if everyone decided to go next door today and do something nice or helpful for a neighbor?  What if everyone did this every day?

Ten minutes could change your view of your neighbor, yourself, and your life.  Ten minutes could start a chain reaction that could easily change lives all over the world.

We can change ourselves.  We can change the world.  That’s the bottom line.  We, you and I, CAN change the world.  We don’t need to wait for it to come, although come it will.  Like the seasons, change is part of life.  

Let’s go to it!

Photo by Jeremy Thomas, courtesy of Unsplash 

With Grace and Gratitude, 

LeslieAnne

A Course in Miracles Experiment (by Pam Grout) Day 169

What do you believe about the abundance of resources?

Do you believe deep down, that there’s only so much food, or money, or shelter, and that it’s not enough for everyone to have plenty?

I still remember my High School science teacher telling us that within 20 years, we wouldn’t be able to produce enough food to feed all the people on the planet.

Forty years later, we still have plenty of food, and still can’t seem to get it to everyone.

The issue is not a lack of abundance.

The issue is whether we believe we can make something happen, and then whether we get off our behinds and act on that belief.

With belief in ourselves comes a willingness to engage in creative thinking, an ability to entertain possibilities.

If you deny the possibility of something ever happening, you push it away, and fulfill your own prophecy.

I don’t honestly know if what I write here will ever change anyone else’s mind about anything.  But I do know that what I’m writing (and thinking) is changing my mind, and that’s what this is about.

If I can help you find your dream and make it happen, that’s definitely a BIG plus.  But my mind is my responsibility, and you have to take care of yours.  I can almost feel my mind stretching a little bit each day, making room for an infinite variety of possibilities.

I do hope you’re along for the ride!

Have a fabulous day today!

Photo by Raphael Rychetsky, courtesy of Unsplash 

With Grace and Gratitude,

LeslieAnne

A Course in Miracles Experiment (by Pam Grout) Day 168

Claim your blessings today.

Take 15 minutes today to mentally experience all the riches in the Universe, and send those thoughts out into the ether.

The idea of the “gift economy” states that the more I give away, the more I receive.  If I can give everything away, I will be overwhelmingly gifted in return.

By giving, I acknowledge that it’s not really “mine” anyway, and I make room for even more to come.

By giving, I claim the right to receive.

Quantum physics tells us that thoughts have the power to change the physical world.  We change the world around us just by observing it.  If we contribute to the positive, more positive things will be attracted to us.

What will you give today?  And what will you receive?

Photo by Jonathan Sollender, courtesy of Unsplash
With Grace and Gratitude, 

LeslieAnne

A Course in Miracles Experiment (by Pam Grout) Day 167

Death is not the enemy.

Death is an illusion that we use to “protect” ourselves from the fact that our physical being is a temporary shell.

Like the little hermit crab, we need to continue growing, and as we do, we outgrow the shell we’ve borrowed for the present.

Any form of negativity slows down our growth, our expansion into new realms of joy, peace, prosperity.

Anxiety, sorrow, suffering, even the smallest discomfort – all these give power away to the whole illusion that death is real.

Ecology teaches us that death is a part of life, not its opposite.  Death is just a transfer of energy from one state of being to another.  Every tree that burns in a fire is converted into nutrients for the next generation of trees. Every blade of grass eaten by a horse, a rabbit, a cow, is converted into manure that enriches the soil for the plants that remain.

Just because we can’t see our loved ones on this plane of existence, does not mean they’re “gone”.  We just have to open our minds to let in the joy and happiness they’re experiencing now.

Don’t let negativity take away your life!

Keep growing, and get ready to trade in the shell you’re using now for a larger one.  And prepare yourself for the day when you no longer need that shell for protection!

Photo by Amed Sobah, courtesy of Unsplash
With Grace and Gratitude, 

LeslieAnne

Check out “My Hermit Crab Journal” and learn more about these fascinating apartment-friendly pets! Available today at https://bit.ly/HermitCrabFun

A Course in Miracles Experiment (by Pam Grout) Day 166

What gifts surround me, that I overlook?

What blessings do I discount each day, taking them for granted?

How often do I give thanks?

I know I should spend every waking moment in gratitude.  How often do I actually succeed?

Not nearly often enough!  Unfortunately, I get sidetracked each day by the tiny aggravations and irritations of the average working day.

In order to move on, though, and become better, I have to constantly remind myself of all those things that I do take for granted.

I have so much!  My husband, my son, our home.  I’ve got a cat who’s been in the family for 13 years!  She’s definitely a trial sometimes, but she’s very precious.

I’ve got 2 sugar gliders who crab at me when I wake them up for a grasshopper treat.  I’ve got finches who beep constantly if their food or water is getting low.  I’ve got a couple of bunnies in our springhouse who put their heads down to get petted, when I feed and water them.  They get to run on the floor when I’m working on my rowing machine, and they hop, run and slide around as fast as they can go.

I’m blessed to have work that’s unlikely to be downsized, and my husband’s job is the same.

Life is so good.

Let’s celebrate all the gifts we’re given today!

Photo by Luca Bravo, courtesy of Unsplash

With Grace and Gratitude,

LeslieAnne