The Anne Report, Sometimes You Need to Say No, reminds us that sometimes we have to make some changes in our lives. The Main article, The Mosaic Tradition, Religion, and Spirituality, uses the story of Moses as an analogy of how we can deal with the events of our lives. The Healthy Living article, Aromatherapy EZ Stress Formula, provides a recipe for creating an aromatherapy stress relief blend. The Anne Talk, Words Are Limits, talks about how words can be limiting but also useful. The Featured Product This Month highlights Offbeat Prayers for the Modern Mystic. Click to read What is EZosophy? Click for Abundance Affirmations. Click for Shareables From Anne.

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

Living EZosophy, September 11, 2018
Published Weekly on Tuesday Mornings

Phone: 713.922.0242
Email: anne@annegillis.com

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  The Anne Report

Sometimes You Need to Say No

Dear ,

I am a dedicated follower of the truth. Truth is something much deeper than facts. It is the outrage that simmers blow the surface that must present itself before I can move on. It is the sadness that watches a child crying on her first day of school, when she leaves her mom. Truth is a constant, and it watches over us, waiting to slip through our denial. Sure, there are other forms truth takes, let's get mystical, but some truths are the antidote to denial.

This week the truth presented itself when my body said. "You must say No to some things." My eyes were burning: dry eye; we are talking desperate discomfort. I have a doctor's appointment, but the earliest I could get in is in a few weeks. My face was swollen, my nasal passages on fire, and my tooth hurting, as I continue my tooth saga. My dentist couldn't finish the root canal. "Your curved root has calcified." Not what I wanted to hear. "Time for the endodontist." My sister once said, "There are always curved roots!" I think she was right.

Do you remember the song, Let's Get Physical? The lyrics continue, "Let me hear your body talk" and my body did talk: "Say No." So as happy as I have been and as much fun as I have had on our 3-1/2 month sojourn, my body is telling me to slow down. Okay, I will slow down some, but I'd be prevaricating (don't you love that euphemism), if I said I was going to totally slow down. Would you believe I have not completely unpacked?

The very good news is that the sciatica pain I've had since May, the pain that prevented me from my daily walks, is gone. Hallelujah. I'm not sure if my body talk is confused or not, with parts getting better and parts going out, but I'm going to slow down a little. Remember: "Sometimes when your tire goes flat, it's very hard to see, just how well things are going with the other three. Oh, a thousand things went right today and will again tomorrow." (Tim Bays) And that's it for the Anne Report.

P.S. – It is 9/11 today. My prayer is that we live in a world where terrorism is a thing of the past. The US military's war on terror extends to 39 percent of the countries in the world. Sixteen years after our invasion of Afghanistan, Vice President Pence told our soldiers that we were closer than ever to victory, as he boasted that American airstrikes have dramatically increased. The longest war in American history is getting longer. We've got to do better than that. As Joni Mitchell said, "We've got to get back to the garden." And I say, "Peace is patriotic."

Anne

  Main Article

The Mosaic Tradition, Religion, and Spirituality

What a day! Another expression of vast possibility. I see it at the grocery store. We went grocery shopping for the third time this week. We've been out of town for a few months and we are catching up on what we see as necessities. Generally, my husband Jim does the grocery shopping, but we shopped together today. I shop so infrequently that I am awestruck when I go into a grocery store. I can buy Indian bread, Mediterranean bread, sprouted grain bread, and French baguettes. I can buy rice bread, potato bread, rye bread, or amaranth bread. I think if Moses saw the bread selection, he would faint. His "Man cannot live by bread alone," speech might be challenged. Of course, Moses meant that we cannot live on what feeds the body alone; we must feed the soul as well. We must develop spiritual health.

What is spiritual health? What's the difference between spiritual and religious, and what would Moses do? Spiritual health can be summed up succinctly. It is measured by how much love we have in our lives. Not how much love we extend to others, as in trying to help them out or be nice, nor if we have a beloved mate or not; this love is the ground of our being. When we experience this love as the core of our lives, we not only feel okay about life, we see life as a blessing and a treasure. We are not dependent on events or people to make us feel good or bad.

Religion is a set of beliefs, usually based on a story about how others have come to embody and recognize this unconditional love. There are rituals and activities to be practiced that help one get to the desired point – living in love and Living Love. Unfortunately, after everyone put their spin on the way to love, many of the paths led seekers into deep despair. In the Patriarchal religions, women didn't have a place, slaves were a part of the picture, and people who followed an inner light were maligned and even killed. And this legacy continues. Look at what's happening in the Catholic church, with all the cover up of the abuse suffered by its members. The secular world reflects some kind of wounding and the "Me Too" movement is an exposé of injustices sanctified in our culture by the men whose power and success made them untouchable. The same consciousness that is moving to expose the injustices in the Catholic Church is also moving to unhinge the good ole boy club.

What about Moses? Why bring him up? Moses is an interesting character. He is important to all the Abrahamic religions, but in doing due diligence, one might question the facts about Moses. Did he really author those first few books in the bible? Many attribute the authorship of these books to different scribes, not a singular author. Scholarly consensus is that Moses was a legendary figure. "The story of the infant Moses' salvation from the Nile is based on an earlier legend of King Sargon of Akkad, while the story of the parting of the Red Sea trades on Mesopotamian creation mythology." * Maybe we could call him an archetype. He would be the hero. He supposedly led over 600,000 people out of Egypt, and that census does not include women and children. Egyptians are known as immaculate historians, yet there is no written or archaeological evidence that this exodus occurred. If more than a million and a half people trooped out of a country, doesn't it seem like someone would have documented it? How could that many people even travel together? The stench, the matter of ongoing food for a million and a half people, not just food for a day, but for 40 years; how could that happen? Yes, I heard about the manna from heaven, but enough food falling from the sky to feed that many people for 40 years. That story doesn't work unless it's a metaphor.

But if the story of Moses is about how we separate from what we know, and wander around trying to figure out what is going on, then Moses is our guy. He didn't have a clue. He followed his intuition and discovered a oneness of all that is. He moved consciousness from that of a pantheon of gods to a singular or monotheistic expression and experience of love. He became a leader who led those he loved out of slavery. He emancipated them. Obviously, they were not in the best of shape when they left, but doesn't that happen to us when we leave our familiar limits and set out into the vast unknown to follow an inner urge that calls forth something great in us?

Who says we have to get any one thing out of the stories from our past? Why not explore them for clues or advice? Why not allow our minds to tune into an archetype and explore its hidden treasures?

So, what would Moses do? He would tell you to take a chance and follow your inner urges. He would tell you that leaving the familiar will be uncomfortable, and sometimes you will think that you are not going to make it. He will tell you that the goal is not important; you must be fully alive in the journey. And he would say, "There is only one life, and that life is in you, in everything. That life is living love, and when you stand grounded in that love, you will be at rest."

*Further Reading:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Exodus
2. https://www.ancient.eu/Moses/

Anne

  Quotes

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  Featured Product

Order Offbeat Prayers for the Modern Mystic from my website or call me at 713.922.0242 to order directly from me. The price is $15.95, including shipping.

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  What is EZosophy?

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  Healthy Living

Aromatherapy EZ Stress Formula

Stress is the word of the day. We are an overwhelmed and breathless culture. We hurry, worry, and scurry. I love aroma therapy. Nothing like the good sniff of EZ (ease) found in a bottle of EZ Stress Formula. I put the EZ Formula on my palms and smell it as I'm drifting off to sleep. I rub it on my body any time of the day.

Here's my recipe. Play with the number of drops to suit your tastes. Don't use any more than 6 drops of any one kind of oil. I like the neroli. It has an unusual fragrance that I find appealing. This will not smell like perfume, but the fragrance does have its unique charm.

EZ Stress Formula

Ingredients

• 2 drops basil essential oil (to be known as EO)
• 4 drops of bergamot (EO)
• 2 drops Roman chamomile (EO)
• 3 drops neroli (EO)

Fill a two ounce bottle with apricot oil (almond oil or any other carrier oil without an odor works). Add drops and roll the bottle to blend.

Use on hands, the bottom of your feet, place on a cotton swab and carry it in a leak proof bag, and sniff when needed during the day, or carry the bottle with you to use.

Save all your little brown vitamin bottles. I use emptied Stevia bottles. It's best to use colored bottles. It helps to preserve the oils. The little ones are usually brown, green, or blue. Try to reuse bottles rather than purchasing new bottles. Be sure to sterilize the bottles before using with the oils.

When you buy all these ingredients, you will have plenty left to make EZ Formula for gifts. Write a little note with your gift so they will know how to use it, and be sure to include the benefits. What are the benefits? Ease, calmness, and relaxation.

Enjoy.

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

  Anne Talk

Words Are Limits

In Words Are Limits, Anne talks about how words can be limiting but also useful. Time: 4:26

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  Abundance Affirmations

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  Shareables From Anne

The World's Best Weight Loss Secret

Thought Freedom

40 Days to Abundance