The Anne Report, Happy Spring Equinox, reminds us that Springtime begins anew today. The Main article, Turning Gremlins Into Godsends, shows how egoic gremlins can become blessings in disguise. The Healthy Living article, It's Snot, describes the meaning of various-colored nasal mucous. The Anne Talk is EZosophy - Experience Your Self. The Featured Product This Month highlights Anne's third book, Standing in the Dark. Click to see Anne's Books. Click for What is EZosophy? Click for Abundance Affirmations.

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

Living EZosophy, March 20, 2017
Published Weekly on Tuesday Mornings

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

Anne's Websites:

  The Anne Report

Happy Spring Equinox

Dear ,

There are three gorgeous fuchsia colored azalea bushes outside my office window. They announce spring, and today is the first day of spring. The vernal equinox is at 12:15 P.M. EDT. That means the day and night will be of equal length today. Many people celebrate the equinox; especially those who are in touch with the earth and the seasons. Barbara Hand Clow recommends that you write down the three things you would like most in your life, and then focus on them at the time of the equinox. Whether you take this as an exercise in values clarification or an opening into the beyond, it's a good idea to know what you want out of life.

Today is the first day of our trip to see our grand twins. We arrive tomorrow evening. It's a long drive, but with our schedule, we have time to drive, and with a dog, it's our best choice.

Take a look at these two. What GrandMaMa wouldn't do anything to see them? Soon we will be cooking cookies and going to the park. Can't wait, and that's it for the Anne Report.

Anne's Grandtwins: Reynolds (L) and Thomas (R)

Anne

  Main Article

Turning Gremlins Into Godsends

Have I held a thousand hands and wiped ten thousand tears? Have I rocked the world asleep and washed away the fears? Yes, and it's still isn't enough for my egoic mind. I am not dissatisfied with my life. I am happy and proud to be who I am, most of the time. But there is this part of my mind that is very picky, and it picks on me. It hides cleverly and names itself my Call to Excellence, but it is not a call to excellence; it is a call to perfection. It is a call of disapproval. It is a call that diminishes. It puts me on trial. "Good God, I am almost 70 years old. Can't you just give it a rest? If I were 40, I would give you some slack. I might understand your pushing me to do more, but at my age, no."

There's a difference between inner encouragement and inner drivenness. When I stand in front of an audience, I often hear this egoic voice, "What are you going to say? It's all been said; no one wants to hear what you have to say. It's not important. It's fluff stuff." I wilt; I quiver; but only for a moment. I look at the audience. I've learned to outfox that voice. I start an inner dialogue, "These people are just like me. They have the same needs and wants. They have the same fears. They want to be happy. I will not get a performance review from them. I am here to serve. This is not about how I show up. It's about the message. This is not about me. I will do my best and trust that what needs to be said is what gets said. End of discussion." I relax, and most of the time go on to give a meaningful talk.

It's important to out this voice. It can be a subtle, wordless energy or a shouting, deprecating monster, but regardless of how it presents itself, we need to be aware that it's there and not try to pretend we're fine. Or that we are too cool to have "negative" thoughts. Acknowledgement of the egoic mind is the first step toward inner recovery, and, if we're fortunate, it's the last.

Many of us experience deep states of well-being on an ongoing basis, but when the foundation of life gets slippery, we fail to notice. When we have an image of ourselves as someone who has a modicum of enlightenment, it's easy to filter out our weaknesses. We become performance artists for perfectionism. Our overinflated self-images blind us to those funky, disturbing words in our heads.

The best way to out this interloper, this voice of doom, is to notice how we feel. If things are going okay in our lives, we're not chronically depressed, and we haven't just sustained a major loss, then how we feel emotionally is our best indicator.

Here are some signs that the egoic mind is running the show.

• Contraction – the body feels drawn in
• Shallow breath
• Emotional reactivity
• Ungrounded fear
• Need to control
• Wanting to run away from life
• Shame and/or guilt (unfounded guilt) If you were recently cruel to someone, guilt is the appropriate response.
• Need to gossip and put others down
• Blaming others for our problems

Can we move past this mental/emotional badgering? Of course we can. We all have strategies for dealing with this part of our mind. We use our breath; we change our thoughts; we turn on a nurturing inner dialogue; we meditate. We go to therapy; we speak with our closest friends. If we know what to do, what is the problem? The problem is denying that the part of our mind that wreaks havoc exists. We must recognize it, own it, and apply compassion. I have met many people in my life, and, regardless of how enlightened or wonderful they are, they still have to deal with reckless parts of the mind. They know the voice that wrecks peace, love, and passion for living. Gangaji, one of the most enlightened beings I've met, wrote a book entitled, Just Like You. I read it and kept saying to myself, "Just like me." The most enlightened person I'd ever met, is just like me!

In the movie, A Wrinkle in Time, Mrs. Whatsit gives Meg, the main character, a gift. "I give you the gift of your faults." During the movie one can see how her flaws serve her. We, too, can turn our flaws into servants. We can turn anger into meaningful action. We can turn fear into motivation. We can turn sadness into compassion. We don't need to be the victim of the dark side of our character. We need to be the transformer of that side, because when we do, everything can be EZier and EZier.

Anne

  Quotes

Anne Quotes

"Consciousness is calling. It calls through imaginative ways. If we don't hear it, it gets louder. If we miss it where we are, it meets us around the corner. It calls in the wind. It swims in the eyes of loved-ones and blesses us though sound and smell. It never lets up, and when we draw our last breath, it will be whispering sweetness."

"Joy is a master teacher. It's my favorite teacher, because it is fun. It combats the terminal seriousness of society and turns problems into possibilities. One thing all cultures and people have in common: they all jump for joy. It's soul medicine. Apply joy to cynicism and the resistance to life melts."

"Blessings are not reserved for masters. Masters can't get around to everybody, so everyone left is on the blessing team. That means that you and I are on the blessing team. There were no try-outs; just by being, we made the team.

The following are the tools of the trade:

• Smiles bless and are contagious.
• Laughter blesses.
• Kindness blesses.
• Compassion blesses.
• Forgiveness blesses.
• Appreciation blesses.
• Smiling eyes bless.
• Enthusiasm blesses.

Jesus blessed the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the ardent seekers, the peacemakers, the victims, and the pure of heart. Though he may have done the heavy lifting, there's more to do. We have the tools. Let's go forth and bless."

  Shareables from Anne

The World's Best Weight Loss Secret

Thought Freedom

40 Days to Abundance

  Featured Product This Month

  Anne's Books

Click to learn about Anne's books.

  What is EZosophy?

Click 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

It's Snot

Have you ever blown your nose and noticed the color of your snot? "I wonder what that means?" I heard that yellow meant it was a bacterial infection and that green meant it was a viral infection. Last week, when I blew my nose, it yielded green. Were my assumptions about the color correct? I was discouraged, because it seemed like I had been a snot factory too long. I was surprised and encouraged to find, on the internet, our most trustworthy dispenser of medical information (LOL), that green mucus means that the body is working overtime to fight infection. Once my snot turned green, I should be well in one to two weeks. I was happy to have the snot on my side, but one or two weeks? And rest and drink plenty of fluids for that long? I've grown accustomed to our instant society and wanted to be well sooner than that. Okay, so I'll just be blowing my nose and coughing a while longer. No need to suffer about my physical limitations.

Here's what I learned while exploring the wonderful world of mucus. Mucus plays an important role in our health. It keeps everything watered so that nothing dries out. It coats our tummies, lungs, noses, throats, and mouths. If they dried out, our skin would crack. Did you know that a healthy body churns out one to one-and-a-half liters of mucus a day? And it has antibodies or histamines that kill invading critters.

Here are some facts about snot.

• Clear snot - Clear snot is normal, but if you have more snot than normal, use this guide. It's allergies if it's stringy, and if it's more liquid, it's a virus.
• White snot - White and thick, that lasts two weeks: you've got an infection.
• Yellow snot - You are sick, and your body is fighting the infection.
• Green snot - Your body is in overdrive, fighting the infection.
• Red snot - No surprise: you have blood in your snot.
• Brown snot - The color is probably due to particulate matter from the environment. Stay away from that place if possible.
• Black snot - Run to the doctor. Take your insurance card.

I won't go into all the ways to deal with snot. By now everyone is irrigating their sinuses, but I want to leave you with a comforting thought: snot is your friend.

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

  Anne Talks

EZosophy - Experience Your Self

In EZosophy - Experience Your Self, Anne reminds us to tap into ourselves, in the Third Eye area, and in the Heart Chakra area, by tapping gently over the heart. Time: 2:34

  Anne Art

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Click the image to see a larger view.

  Anne's Schedule

All times here are Central Time
unless otherwise specified.

Sunday, April 8, 2018
10:30 AM: "Synchronicity"
After snacks, at 12:30ish:
"Synchronicity Workshop"
Unity Circle of Light
25817a Gosling Road
The Woodlands, TX 77389
281-681-8883

Sunday, April 15, 2018
12:15 PM: "Honoring our losses and our loved ones through grief, ceremony, and storytelling"
Unity Circle of Light
Creekside Elementary School
5949 Creekside Forest Dr.
The Woodlands, TX 77379

Sunday, April 22, 2018
11:00AM-12:00PM: "Emerge and See"
Unity of Brazosport
507 S. Brooks St. (Hwy. 36)
Brazoria, TX 77422

Sunday, May 13, 2018
11:00AM-12:00PM: To Be Announced
Unity of Brazosport
507 S. Brooks St. (Hwy. 36)
Brazoria, TX 77422

  Abundance Affirmations

Join Anne's New Facebook Group

This group is a place to post uplifting affirmations and thoughts about prosperity and abundant living. Let's create a right relationship with money so that we feel comfortable about money. Let's use money as it's meant to be used, and not as a way to accumulate power or to fill a void. We don't need money to buy more stuff. We need it to create a world that works for everyone. We want to cast off old beliefs of lack and reclaim our natural state of abundance.