The Anne Report, Find More Life Outside Your Box, shows us that there's an exciting life right outside our routine box. The Main article, Positive Living Requires More Than Just Positive Thinking, shows us that it takes more than only positive thinking to create a positive living experience. The Healthy Living article, You Are What You Eat, or Are You?, provides some expanded guidelines for living healthily. The Anne Talk is Have You Had Your Susan Boyle Moment Today? The Featured Product This Month is Anne's book, Words Make a Difference. Click to read What is EZosophy?

The EZ Mantra: "Everything can be EZ or at least EZier." -- Anne Sermons Gillis

Living EZosophy, December 5, 2017
Published Weekly on Tuesday Mornings

Phone: 281-419-1775
Email: anne@annegillis.com

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  The Anne Report

Find More Life Outside Your Box

Dear ,

Today, we return from a week-long excursion at the Escapees RV Club in Livingston, Texas. This place serves as home to many full time RVers. There are homes here with huge garages that house RVs, rented plots of land for RVers, and people passing through for a few nights, months, or weeks. There is a thrift store, a postal service, a place to eat, assisted living for those who need medical attention, and an on-staff nurse. It's a different world. Many use this place as a permanent residence, but travel the country. Folks are friendly. Everyone waves to everyone and people stop to talk to each other. I talked with a lot of people. It's like a town of yesterday.

Our cell phones didn't work at the park. Therefore, we walked a few blocks to the Care Center to use the very slow connection. It's been an adjustment. I am habituated to my way of life, but after being there, reading a sci-fi novel, and a book about a struggling Asian who grew up in poverty that staggers my imagination, I think my mind is opening. Places like the RV park and books that open my eyes to the limits many face and the unlimited many imagine, leave me in an expanded space and wanting more. Life is a feast, but until we move out of our routines, we keep seeing life through the same filters. I'm happy that I was able to move into some different worlds this week.

One other mention. There's been a lot of synchronicity the last few weeks. One morning I awakened thinking that Costco was never going to carry that brand of chocolate I liked again. It had been two years and I had given up hope. Later that day, Jim calls to tell me he's at Costco and they had started carrying my chocolate again. Another day at the grocery store, I said to Jim, "Let's see if they have liquid smoke." I have been looking for some for several months. I looked up and I was standing by the liquid smoke. I'd looked in several stores for that item. It's not so easy to find, but there I was standing face to face with it, when I mentioned it. Another day I reached in my purse to find the phone to call Jim. My phone was on silent, but as I lifted it out of my purse, I saw he was calling me. I answered and asked where he was. I looked up and he was on the same row, only a few feet from me. It was a big store. We laughed. Life is amazing and sometimes a little quirky. That's it for the Anne report.

  Main Article

Positive Living Requires More Than Just Positive Thinking

Almost everybody in the U. S. has experienced the wonderful moment when a 47-year-old woman stepped onto a stage and belted out the moving song I Dreamed a Dream, from Les Miserables. It was Susan Boyle. She was dressed like an old woman and the audience expected nothing, but when the first sounds passed through her lips, they went crazy with happiness and enthusiasm. I have listened to that moment many times on YouTube. It inspires me. Susan was socially inept, but her courage out-shined her fears and she was magnificent.

Even though I saw the play and the movie, the only words I remembered were, "I dreamed a dream of times gone by." I eventually looked up the lyrics. In the movie, Anne Hathaway sang about her miserable life. It was a surprise to me, because I was so focused on the effect Susan's singing had on everyone, including and especially me, that I forgot about the suffering the play portrayed.

While the words of the song were negative, the effect of the whole experience was positive. It may be the single most positive and surprising moment in the television singing competition shows. That's why fundamental positive thinking doesn't work for me. Words are important and powerful, but there are other forces that override our words. The song spoke of pain, but the effect was one of over-arching delight.

We have to learn how to use positive thoughts and words in a way that makes the whole process positive for us! If I am upset with myself because I used a negative word, the upset does far more damage to my self-esteem than any word could. It's the same for others: when we correct another's words and tell them to use a more positive word, we have a negative effect on them. Now who's being negative? The last thing we need to say to anyone is, "You're so negative." This action illustrates the enactment of the pot calling the kettle black.

Positive thinking offers fresh air when we circulate and recirculate old habits and beliefs that lead us to self-doubt and self-loathing. Positive thinking helps us rethink our view of ourselves, our friends, and our world. Positive thinking is not meant to shut down our authentic expression of ourselves. It's only one tool in the toolbox of well-being. Imagine that you went to the doctor with pneumonia and she gave you an antibiotic. It worked well. One day you go in with a broken arm and she prescribes an antibiotic again. Your neighbor goes in with a heart attack and the doctor prescribes an antibiotic again! It would be crazy. One medicine does not work for all physical challenges.

It is the same with positive thinking. Some feelings surface that have to be processed, not thought away. Feelings are the language of the body and they can't be dictated by the mind, at least not immediately. The feelings respond to thoughts after they have been translated into words. Thoughts are the language of the mind and thoughts aren't necessarily what's best for our feelings.

One of the negative reasons positive thinking is so popular is because people use it as a spiritual by-pass. If I correct you with my spiritually correct positive thinking, I won't have to deal with your feelings, my feelings, or the tragedies of real life. When someone looks at climate disasters and glibly says, "There's a reason for everything," that's a spiritual by-pass. It's much more authentic to say, "My heart goes out to the victims, and I will pray that good comes from this tragedy." We are called to offer our compassionate responses to the world, not to smear chocolate frosting over a mud pie.

The paradox of responding in appropriate ways to each experience life brings, and not just with positive thinking, is that life actually becomes more positive when we face it with a full-bodied response. A long cry brings relief and subsequent laughter. The pain we have over a tragedy opens our hearts so that we can experience more bliss. Being with someone who is dying brings us a deeper appreciation for life, and if we are lucky, we find an intimacy and a raw honesty with the person who is exiting the planet. There's no need to divide our world into positive and negative because those definitions are not big enough. We exist in a circle of life that brings with it rainbows and hurricanes. We appreciate a rainbow and prepare for the hurricane, and that's the way it's meant to be. It would be mixed up if we appreciated the hurricane and prepared for the rainbow. Each feeling, action, and response has its place. We just have to be awake and aware enough to know what to say and when to say it. We have to discern when to open and when to close, because when we do, life becomes EZier and EZier.

Anne

  Quotes

Quotes

"It's a mistake to think the worst too quickly. Look for the deeper meaning. That's what keeps you in the flow."
-- Father Jose, in The Celestine Prophecy

"None of us know where we are going. Pay attention. Something will show up."
-- Father Sanchez, in The Celestine Prophecy

Anne's Affirmations

"My life is a shower of power, and I use my power to create endless well-being for all creation."

"Everything I think, do, and say steers my life in the right direction."

"I provide the time and care it takes for plenty of restful, restoring, and renewing sleep."

"I transform the effects of my past into a perfect present moment. I am blessed with wonderful memories and powerful lessons from the past. I no longer allow my past to dominate my thinking and feeling nature. I am free and safe as I emerge into the full aliveness and wonder of life."

  Featured Product This Month

Finally, a book of affirmations, action plans, and deep insights into the human consciousness that transforms and heals the soul,the local and global community, and the planet. Travel with Gillis on a journey through deep psychology, metaphysics, and nondualism.

The following story, from the book, illustrates the power of words:

Once a young woman had a protective brother. He would not allow her to pursue her spiritual inclinations, so each night she climbed through her window and quietly made her way to her guru's home. She was captivated by the truth he spoke. She excelled in meditation and spiritual disciplines and was told that on her next visit, she would receive enlightenment.

A nosy neighbor ran into her brother at the market. "You think your sister is so chaste. She leaves your house at night, when you sleep, and goes to meet her lover."

The brother didn't believe his neighbor, so the next night he followed his sister. She approached a strange house and entered. His heart was heavy; he felt betrayed. He peered in the window and saw his sister approach the master. At that very moment the master uttered the words that would bring ultimate peace and enlightenment to his sister. The guru heard a rattle at the window and turned and saw the brother. The brother heard the words and fell to the ground in supreme bliss. He made his way inside to the master and through tears of ecstasy, thanked him. He fell to his sister's feet in gratitude. Just one or two words, spoken with power and authority, awakened the highest in the brother. He had done no practices and no preparation, but the words pierced his heart.

You are that brother. May the words and thoughts in the book bring peace, power, ease, and joy. These affirmations are sutras to feed the heart, rather than words to game the mind. Don't expect miracles in the future. Allow the words to pierce the heart right now as they drift past your mind. Surely it is your time. As the great H. W. L. Poonja would tell you, "Now is the only time for enlightenment."

Excerpted from Words Make a Difference.

Order Words Make a Difference from the website or call me at 713-922-0242 to order directly from me. The price is $16.95 plus $3.99 shipping, for a total of $20.94.

Click for the Kindle version on Amazon for $5.99.

  What is EZosophy?

Click the graphic above to learn about EZosophy.

NOTE: If you are viewing this on a cell phone, be sure to scroll to the right to see the other column.

  Healthy Living

You Are What You Eat, or Are You?

I once had a friend who was health conscious. He drank reverse osmosis water before most people heard of it. He ate well, but he looked fragile and unhealthy. We've all heard the saying, "You are what you eat." If that's true, he should have been in glowing health.

What was wrong? How could he follow all the food rules and look physically unsteady? You probably know: his mind was unhealthy. He was semi-paranoid and did not socialize well. He was an Einstein-like wacky professor. I loved him and thought him to be cool, but his circle of friends was small, and his lack of self-love was hidden beneath an erudite façade.

The idea that we are what we eat has validity, but mind trumps everything. When we think healthy thoughts, we tend to be healthier, yet this too has limits, because we cannot turn the thoughts of a lifetime around with a few positive thoughts. We have to reverse negative self-judgments and all thoughts that the world is a bad place to be. We have to forgive others and not continue to judge them. We have to clear up our subconscious so it doesn't interfere with our lives. And we must adopt optimism as a way of life. It's not that we can't have any negative thoughts; it's that our predominant belief system must be life-affirming.

Sometimes changing our diet or getting control of what we eat, gives our mind the boost it needs to live a healthier life. It's the same with exercise: we feel better when we exercise, and we feel better about ourselves when we exercise. Even though the mind trumps what we eat and the mind has a more powerful effect than exercise, when we heal our life-denying thoughts, exercise, and eat well, we have a better chance at good health.

The mind has a hard time believing that we are healthy when we have poor health practices. I hear of the occasional uncle who smoked and drank every day, who lived to be 95. I always ask, "Where were his buddies?" Of course, they didn't make it! Maybe one in a million people who drink and smoke make it to ninety, but I wouldn't gamble on those odds.

The mind is the most important factor in our health. Studies show that the mind is as strong as any medicine. Our cells eavesdrop on our internal dialogue and respond to it. Our thoughts stimulate our cells' reactions. Exercise comes next as a health factor, and finally, what we eat is last in what creates a healthy body.

It's best to keep our minds in shape, exercise, and eat well, because when we do, we feel better about what we are doing, and when we have our own emotional support, everything falls into place.

Here are some strategies for healthier living:

• If it's hard to exercise, try my Five Plan. Do something for five minutes. Walk in place for five minutes in the am. Repeat this 3 more times during the day and you've walked the recommended 20 minutes a day. We don't have to do all our exercises at the same time.
• Eat the next best food. When tempted to eat junk food, make the next best choice up. When I'm craving dessert, I might eat a piece of whole grain sprouted toast with vegan butter and naturally sweetened cranberry sauce. We always feel better when we resist foods we believe are unhealthy for us. My favorite food thought comes from Leonard Orr: "My health is more important than my appetite."
• Some people can eat poison and it won't affect them, but they have spent years training to be able to accomplish that feat. This is a case where the mind is over matter, yet my mind isn't that powerful at this point.
• Finally, begin to immerse your mind in health thoughts. Approve of your body. Give appreciation and thanks to your body for serving you so well. Think of everything you eat as being healthy for your body.

While our minds matter the most when it comes to our body, when we eat healthier food and add minimal exercise to our lifestyles, we make it easier for our minds to believe in health. And I'm always for EZier! How about you?

If you have any healthy living tips for the newsletter, send them to me at anne@annegillis.com.

  Anne Talks

Have You Had Your Susan Boyle Moment Today?

Today's Anne Talk is the Have You Had Your Susan Boyle Moment Today? Time: 1:50.

  Anne Art

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NOTICE: Here are two shareables from Anne. Feel free to pass them along.

The World's Best
Weight Loss Secret

Thought Freedom

  Anne's Schedule

All times here are Central Time
unless otherwise specified.

Sunday, December 10, 2017
10:30 AM, "Holiday EZosophy"
Centers for Spiritual Living, Clearlake, TX
18096 Kings Row, Suite D
Houston TX 77058
The Center opens at 10 AM for community, in the Common Room.

Call or Email Anne Now to Schedule Her for Your Meeting.

You may reach Anne by phone at 281-419-1775 or click the button below to contact Anne by email. Anne is also available to officiate at weddings and funerals.

  Anne's Services

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Interested in getting ongoing support? Try life coaching with Anne. Anne offers both short-term and long-term coaching. Contact her for details. Click here to contact Anne by email or Click here to view information on Anne's One Year Seminar and other training too.

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