The Anne Report, Storytelling Games People Play, shows how the stories we tell ourselves can hinder our progress in life. The Main article, Seeking Wisdom, provides some practical ways to gain wisdom. The Healthy Living article, Calming Practices, offers some tips for calming the mind and body, making it easier to get into meditation. The Anne Talk, Looking for Prosperity Pilgrims, invites people to actively seek prosperity moments in their lives. The Featured Product This Month highlights Words Make a Difference. Click to read What is EZosophy? Click for Anne's Books. Click for Shareables From Anne. Click for Abundance Affirmations.

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

Living EZosophy, July 31, 2018
Published Weekly on Tuesday Mornings

Phone: 713.922.0242
Email: anne@annegillis.com

Anne's Websites:

  The Anne Report

Storytelling Games People Play

Dear ,

I arrived home Tuesday night and awakened Wednesday to a three-day baby-sitting stint with my curious, effervescent, four-year-old grands. Listening to them is enlivening and entertaining. Thomas asks, "Grandpoppy, are we going the speed lemon?" Reynolds tells me how to make a bubble bath for his pet stuffed dog, Little Lucy. "Get under the water and blow bubbles and that's how you make a bubble bath."

One of our favorites pastimes is storytelling. I make up wild tales. The main character is Hoppy the Poppy Frog. Supporting characters are Tippy the Turtle Two, Freddy the Funny Fish, and Choppy the Happy Alligator. Minor characters include Otis the Owl, Ferdinand the Fox, and Petunia the Pig. The first stories involved cleaning out a lake. The boys were quick to ask for stories that centered around a railroad track and a train. They want the characters to be walking down the railroad track with the train coming behind them and surprising or startling them. They have a one-track mind when it comes to trains. If a story is about the characters going somewhere, they must always end up at the train track.

When they were two, they could listen to the Wheels on the Bus for hours. I heard that song so frequently that it reverberated and repeated itself in my head like a mantra.

While we are no longer children, we have many child-like tendencies. We keep telling ourselves the same stories, only we usually tell tales of woe. I've heard people telling the same stories about how they've been wronged for years. It's really exhausting to hear others' tales of struggle, especially when it's the tenth rendition of poor me. But it's even more destructive and potent when we keep repeating personal stories to ourselves. Until we are free from the past, we can't embrace the present. We live in a perpetual hard attack. Let's free the mind, give up the grudges, and move on, because when we do, life becomes EZier and EZier. That's it for the Anne Report.

Anne

  Main Article

Seeking Wisdom

Some people aspire to be wise. The story of Solomon is held as the consummate story of wisdom. Everyone has heard the story, but I'll repeat it for clarity. Two women came to King Solomon, that wise dude in the Old Testament, both claiming to be the mother of the same child. Solomon was to decide which woman was to take custody. He announced that he would cut the child in two, and each mother could have half. The real mother immediately gave up the child. She would rather have it live, than to have to see it die. Solomon gave the child to the mother who was willing to give up the child. The other mother was obviously an impostor.

I am a member of Quora. It's a question and answer forum. I always wanted to write a Dear Abby column and this forum gives me the opportunity. Recently a question appeared about wisdom. "How can I gain wisdom?" Here's my answer.

When I was young, wisdom was the one attribute I sought. I didn't want it so that I could show off my knowledge. I wanted it so I could live a good life and make compassionate and informed choices. I didn't want to make mistakes. Certainly, if I was wise, I'd be smart too. At some point, I dropped my search for wisdom. There were no maps to guide my way, but there were breadcrumbs of consciousness that led me down an invisible road to higher understanding.

There's a related story about Socrates. He set out to find the wisest person alive. He interviews poets, politicians, and commoners. Many claim to be wise, but when Socrates interviews them, he finds they have an inflated view of themselves and they are filled with self-importance. Socrates himself claimed nothing. He didn't see himself as wise, but he was proclaimed the wisest man of his time.

If one of the wisest men alive was not aware of his wisdom, it may be that if you gain wisdom, you will be unaware of it. There are no wisdom lessons. Once we start quantifying our wisdom quotients, we lose our wisdom.

How does one gain wisdom? If we are to learn from Socrates, we will not seek wisdom itself, and that might be the wisest thing we can ever do.

While it might not be wise to aspire to be wise, wisdom is an attribute worth respect. Some people want to be smart, successful, rich, healthy, slim, right, or in control. We have classes on success, investing, and anger management, and we train people to cut their pets' hair. Suppose we had wisdom classes? Yes, it can't be taught, but I'm stretching the envelop. What would the curriculum be?

• Read five of the greatest books ever written. Here's a list of what is considered the 100 best books of all times.
• Attend a Twelve Step meeting for six months. The first anonymous group was Alcoholics Anonymous. The came AL-ANON, to help the families of alcoholics. There are groups that deal with love addiction, sex addiction, drug addiction, food addiction, and more. These groups have adjunct groups for family members or loved ones of those affected by addiction. CODA is probably the most general group and applies to everyone. The groups help us gain trust, learn to listen, and help us develop compassion. They take people out of isolation. No one must stay in a group, but just going to meetings for six months helps one's wisdom grow. Here's a partial list of the Twelve Step Meetings.
• Volunteer. We don't need to volunteer all the time for everything, but it is important to our human experience to give with no expectation of payback. Volunteering broadens our perspectives and trims down our selfishness.
• Create something, anything. We need to stimulate the unlimited within, and there's nothing like the arts to unleash that creative power. Write a song, tell stories to our grandchildren, doodle, develop scrumptious original recipes. Knit, take photographs, journal, write a song.
• Write a journal with your nondominant hand. It's likely you will find yourself accessing universal wisdom. It helps us reach into the inner child and bypasses the intellect.
• Study ancient wisdom. The Theosophical Society studies perennial wisdom. It's a favorite for me. I've been a member for several years.

There's so much more we could have in our wisdom curriculum, but the above will suffice. You may not choose to do any of the above, but one simple question to ask yourself when you are making a choice is, "What is the wisest thing to do?" This question will head you in the right direction and certainly make your life EZier and EZier.

Anne

  Quotes

Anne Quotes

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  Featured Product

"Books are waiting to be written. Thus, it was my privilege to bring this book to the world. It brought with it such grace and love. Words Make a Difference sparkles with aliveness and blessing and delivers the perfect information under perfect timing. We are called not only to heal ourselves and those around us, we are destined to hold a vision for the world. This book commands us to be architects of a brave new future and lights a path for us to follow." Anne Sermons Gillis

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.

Click to hear Anne discuss Words Make a Difference.

"Some people use affirmations to reprogram the mind. Certainly we have reams of questionable material in our subconscious mind, but I prefer to think of the affirmations in the book as commands for more compassionate living, openings to greater possibilities, and templates for a brave new world." Anne Sermons Gillis

  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

Calming Practices

Most people spend little or no time with themselves. They may be alone, but their minds are occupied with a book, a computer, phone flitting, work, a TV program, or some other time-filler.

Meditation is the best way to spend time with ourselves, but I frequently hear, "I can't meditate." We develop patterns of stress, but what we need are patterns of calm. Sometimes the mind is so fragmented and stressed, that meditation is not yet an option. In that case, begin practices that calm the mind and prepare it, so that it can eventually meditate. Try this calming practice:

• Sit 5 minutes a day for a week, contemplating, imbibing, two of your favorite songs. As you listen, breathe in to the count of four. Breath out to the count of six. Use inspiring, relaxing songs. The following are examples of soothing songs: Morning Has Broken, The Sound of Music, Daybreak, and Hallelujah, by Leonard Cohen (KD Lang's version).
• Increase your listening time each week until you reach 20 minutes a day. Continue the measured breathing.
• Next, go from songs with lyrics to instrumentals. Baroque or new age music is recommended. This music changes brain wave patterns. We want to go from beta brain wave to alpha, or lower, brain waves. Click for examples.
• If you've followed the plan, you will be experiencing more and more calmness. Some days may be calmer than others, but just keep going. Everyone, even practiced meditators, experience days when the mind is more active than they want it to be.
• Look at yourself. You are here. Congratulations. You've done the work. You can drop the music, if you prefer, but keep it if it helps. Always continue counting the inhale and exhale. This is a breath mantra.

Meditation puts us in touch with our true selves. Until we know ourselves, until we touch ourselves outside of all definitions we have of ourselves, everything we see is not real or is untrue. Mystics call getting in touch with who we are self-realization, but it could as easily be called self-recognition. Even if you never reach full meditation states, it is important that you give yourself regular down time. Your adrenals will thank you, your brain will thank you, your body will thank you, and, best of all, your life will be EZier and EZier.

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

  Anne Talk

Looking for Prosperity Pilgrims

In Looking for Prosperity Pilgrims, invites people to actively seek prosperity moments in their lives. Time: 2:49

  Anne Art

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  Shareables From Anne

The World's Best Weight Loss Secret

Thought Freedom

40 Days to Abundance

  Abundance Affirmations

Join Anne's 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.

  Anne's Schedule

All times here are Central Time
unless otherwise specified.

Friday, August 10, 2018
Workshop: 9:00 AM-3:00 PM EDT
"Reducing Stress by Connecting With the Body" 5 CE credits $50.00
Bring Your Lunch or Purchase for $11
Location: "The Cottage," 122 Alicia Drive, Summerville, SC
Must Register by August 7, 2018
Click for Flyer & to Register Online
To Register by Mail, send Name,
Address & Contact Info to
Anne S. Gillis, c/o Elizabeth Wann
574 Chimney Bluff Dr.
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464
Make Checks Payable to Anne S. Gillis
Refund Requires 48 hrs. Notice

Sunday, August 12, 2018
Morning Service: 10:00 AM EDT
"Enlightened Wisdom"
Unity of Mt. Pleasant
Meets at Center for Holistic Healing
1470 Ben Sawyer Blvd,, Suite #7
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29466

Friday, August 17, 2018
Workshop: 9:00 AM-3:00 PM EDT
"Handling Life's Biggest Challenges:
Body, Relationships, & Money"
5 CE credits $50.00
Bring Your Lunch or Purchase for $11
Location: "The Cottage," 122 Alicia Drive, Summerville, SC
Must Register by August 14, 2018
Click for Flyer & to Register Online
To Register by Mail, send Name,
Address & Contact Info to
Anne S. Gillis, c/o Elizabeth Wann
574 Chimney Bluff Dr.
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464
Make Checks Payable to Anne S. Gillis
Refund Requires 48 hrs. Notice

Contact Anne to book your event:
713.922.0242 or anne@annegillis.com.