The Anne Report, Perceptions, describes a man's perceptions about some of Anne's comments at a book discussion. The Main article, Practical Mysticism, provides some tenets of Anne's approach to living our spirituality. The Healthy Living article, Breathe, You Are Alive, explains the importance of conscious breathing in making our lives EZier. The Anne Talk, Smile. It's EZ EZosophy with Anne, shows us how a smile can make our lives and the lives of others EZier. The Featured Product This Month highlights Anne's 5 books. Click to read What is EZosophy? Click to join Anne's Abundance Affirmations. Click for Shareables From Anne.

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

Living EZosophy, February 5, 2019
Published Weekly on Tuesday Mornings

Phone: 713.922.0242
Email: anne@annegillis.com

Anne's Websites:

  The Anne Report

Perceptions

Dear ,

Today I went to a Theosophical Society meeting. We had a lecture on Kahlil Gibran’s book, The Prophet. People were invited to share, and I shared a couple of times. After the meeting one the members came up to me and told me that my English was better than others’ English. I asked him what he meant. He said I used big words that everyone might not understand. He told me that he had learned that it’s best to speak using simple language. He told me to consider that when I was speaking. He communicated that he used to think he was above everyone, but he wasn’t, and now he knew it. I told him I usually tailored the way I spoke to the people at hand, and I thought it was a sophisticated audience. I couldn’t even remember any big words I used. Certainly, the words “alchemical” and “archetype” are widely used in spiritual circles; are those even “big” words? He stood firm in his point. The conversation turned in another direction.

On our ride home, I asked my husband about my take on the conversation. I said, “If I had been a man, would he have said that to me?” My husband replied, “He likes you.” “What do you mean?” “That’s what boys do to girls they like in school. They pull their pigtails!”

While I don’t know if this guy likes me or not, I did recall a time when I gave advice to someone in a similar manner. Yikes! Pay back? Lesson? Who knows? The dynamic created an interesting conversation, and I thought I’d relate it to you. I draw no conclusions; it’s just another day in the life of a human. And that’s it for the Anne Report.

  Main Article

Practical Mysticism

Last year, I dreamed that a friend told me that something I said in passing made a big difference in her life. I leisurely awakened and pondered her words. I remembered someone saying that she loved to hear me speak because I give such practical advice. I realized that that's what I teach, practical mysticism. Is it blasphemous to call the ordinary mystical? Not in my opinion.

I teach how to wash the floors and clean the windows of the soul. Creating stained glass windows is an art, and the colorful windows are beautiful, but if they aren't kept clean, we can't see their beauty. For us, it’s the everyday windows in our lives that need care and cleaning.

Do you remember the man at the well who was healed by Jesus? Jesus told him to rise up and walk, and when he walked, Jesus said, “Your faith has made you whole.” In modern day terms, we might say, “What you focus on expands” or “What you think about, you bring about.” If you believe the Bible is a self-help book, like I do, then you might see this story is about mental house-keeping. “Your faith” he says repeatedly.

What is faith?

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11: 1) Jesus made it a point to tell the people that they were healed because of their belief. He never said, “I healed you guys.” He was a servant leader, and he wanted people to believe in themselves and their power to take care of themselves. He even said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works….” (John 14:12) He’s still talking about the mind. “Keep it clean and clear, believe in the same one power as I do, and watch out!”

Practical mysticism may not be as intriguing as Kundalini Yoga, but as we live in deference to keeping our minds and hearts clean, the deeper truths begin to surface. The offering of kindness, gratitude, compassion, generosity, and forgiveness spiritually position us to receive Infinite grace and well-being. These heart-felt acts clean the slate of our lives so that new and powerful words can be written in our hearts. When we become practical mystics, we humble ourselves, and in our humility, everything can be EZier and EZier.

  Quotes

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  Abundance Affirmations

Click to 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.

  Featured Product This Month

The Living Book  -  Words Make a Difference
Standing In The Dark
EZosophy  -  Offbeat Prayers
Click here to learn about Anne's 5 books.

  What is EZosophy?

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

  Healthy Living

Breathe, You Are Alive

When I was 18, I visited a quaint, metaphysical bookstore in Raleigh, N.C. I was intrigued by the unusual, and eagerly perused the store’s quirky treasures. A book on breathing captured me, and even though I read only a few paragraphs, the words awakened something in me. My time was short; I was with my father, so I returned the book to its resting place and we departed. I returned a few days later to purchase the book that haunted me. It was no longer there, but the arousal it spurred remained. Breathing! How could it awaken so much? Was conscious breathing a blend of miracle and magic?

Years later I discovered “rebirthing,” which is also called conscious connected breathing. I became a practitioner and spent many intimate hours with my breath. Once I dedicated one hour per day, for a month, to my breathing practice. The results were amazing. I shed years of emotional repression.

I lived in Memphis, TN for 25 years. I moved to the Houston area in 1998 but returned frequently to visit. It turned out that on a 2002 trip, Thich Nhat Hanh was leading a peace march.

The Memphis Peace March

He gave a lecture at a local university, and then we marched to the Civil Rights Museum. Hundreds lined the streets. We were given these instructions by Thich Nhat Hanh: “I suggest that when you breathe in, you take three steps. Bring your attention to the soles of your feet and become aware of the contact between your foot and the ground. Bring your attention down from the level of the brain to the soles of your feet.

Breathing in, we take three steps, and we may tell ourselves with each step, ‘I have arrived. I have arrived. I have arrived.’ And breathing out, we take another three steps, always mindful of the contact between our feet and the ground, and we say, ‘I'm home. I'm home. I'm home.’"

In addition, we used the words “I am strong” and “I am free” as mantras to accompany our breathing and walking. His words, this practice, were lessons on mindfulness.

I purchased his book, Breathe, You Are Alive. In this book, as in all of his books, Thich Nhat Hahn teaches the words of Buddha. He says that mindfulness eliminates the five hindrances: craving, anger, dullness, suspicion, and agitation. Who doesn’t want to escape those tendencies?

A monk asked Buddha, “How can I maintain the Four Establishments of Mindfulness, the Seven Factors of Awakening, and the two factors of wisdom and liberation?” Buddha replied, “Practice conscious breathing.”

Buddha gave the monk instructions, and, as time passes, students took the essence of the teaching and used them to create practices. The practice: one watches the in breath and the out breath. Here are some examples of the practice. It starts with awareness of the breath, then expands with calming words.

• Breathing in, I know I'm breathing in. Breathing out, I know I’m breathing out.
• Breathing in, my breath goes deep. Breathing out, my breath goes slow.
• Breathing in, I am aware of my whole body. Breathing out, I calm my whole body.
• Breathing in, I know I'm alive. Breathing out, I feel the joy of being alive.
• Breathing in, now I have the opportunity to meditate. Breathing out, I feel happy to have that opportunity.
• Breathing in, I'm embracing my unpleasant feeling. Breathing out, I'm becoming my feelings.

Practice ten or more minutes on the first mindfulness practice, while seated, then incorporate mindfulness (awareness of) throughout the day. After working with the first step, go to the next. You will find a comprehensive look into the practice in Breathe, You Are Alive: The Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing.

Breathing practices are performed in all religions, as a part of the mystical teachings or perennial wisdom, yet the secret is out. We have access to one of the most powerful tools of spiritual awakening. It’s free, easily learned, and effective. Happy Breathing!

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

  Anne Talk

Smile. It's EZ EZosophy with Anne

Anne's talk, Smile. It's EZ EZosophy with Anne, shows us how a smile can make our lives and the lives of others EZier. Time: 4:45

  Anne Art

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  Shareables From Anne

The World's Best Weight Loss Secret

Thought Freedom

40 Days to Abundance

Anne's Conscious Carols

  Anne's Schedule

All times here are Central Time
unless otherwise specified.

Saturday, February 16, 2019
10 AM-12 Noon
"Evolution of the Higher Consciousness: An In-Depth Study of H. P. Blavatsky's Teachings," chapter one review, by Anne.
Houston Lodge, Theosophical Society
1525 Heights Blvd., Houston, TX
Donation basis

Sunday, March 31, 2019
10:30 AM Service
Lesson: "Wisdom"
Unity of the Woodlands
25817 Gosling Road, Spring, TX

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