The Anne Report, To Plan or Not to Plan?, shows that some times plans stifle our spontaneity and other times they liberate us. The Main article, Sharing the Pain, reports on a multi-cultural service Anne attended recently to commemorate the lives of 100 Muslims who were either killed or wounded in her area. The Healthy Living article, The Mind/Body Connection, demonstrates that what we believe about our ability to heal can determine whether or not we get the healing we want. The Anne Talk, More Machines - Go Machines, discusses how we can be led to our good in life, rather than driven to it. The Featured Product This Month highlights Anne's first book, Offbeat Prayers for the Modern Mystic. Click to read What is EZosophy? Click to join Abundance Affirmations. Click for Shareables From Anne.

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

Living EZosophy, March 26, 2019
Published Weekly on Tuesday Mornings

Phone: 713.922.0242
Email: anne@annegillis.com

Anne's Websites:

  The Anne Report

To Plan or Not to Plan?

Dear ,

Tuesday is finally here. This afternoon Grand Poppy and Grand Ma Ma, that’s Jim and me, pick up our daughter, Elizabeth, and Thomas and Reynolds, our grand twins. We have been waiting since Christmas for the big event. How wonderful it will be to see Elizabeth and the boys. We usually make the two-day trip to South Carolina, but this time they are coming to us!

We have purchased their favorite foods, cleaned, and we are ready. It’s wonderful to have something to look forward to. It brings out the child in us. While it is not necessary to make plans, and maybe we tend to be over-planned in our culture, planning provides a rudder for our daily activities.

We have decided to put our house on the market again. You might remember that the last time we put our home on the market, two hurricanes came though. Our house was high and dry, but our neighborhood was hit twice. Our street looked like a war zone, with debris lined streets and repair crews everywhere. The situation was not conducive to selling homes. Turns out that the perfect storm was the perfect storm to keep away buyers. Now, as we again prepare the home for sale, there are multiple to do lists. While it is daunting to see all I must do, there is a pleasurable aspect of clearing, cleaning, and accomplishing. This is a time when planning is more liberating than debilitating.

There is not one definitive answer to all problems. Some times plans stifle our spontaneity and at other times plans liberate us. Well-timed and thought out plans provide a meaningful path and put a spark in our step. That’s why we must stay in touch with what we need and want, because when it comes to planning, we want to walk the line of inspiration, not desperation. Once we know what we want, plans take us to our desired destination, and when we are headed in the right direction, everything can be EZ or at least EZier.

  Main Article

Sharing the Pain

What happens to the global heart when 100 Muslims are murdered or injured while praying to God for peace, forgiveness, and mercy, for themselves and others? People respond. They take a stand. They decry religious persecution. Neighbors show up. “Not us; we will not stand for this. We stand against Islamophobia and ignorance. We hold the hands of our brothers and sisters. You are not alone.”

The heart response was immediate at CHI St. Luke’s Hospital in The Woodlands, Texas. The hospital chapel filled with doctors, clergy, nurses, workers, and patients. They lifted the distraught in prayer and cried together in heart-broken disbelief.”

Friday evening, I attended a vigil for our slain fellow humans. I didn’t want to offend, so I brought a scarf to cover my head. It was apparent that the non-Muslim women were not expected to cover their heads, but it was heartwarming to see that most of the women chose to cover their heads, in respect for and in unity with our Muslim neighbors.

The evening started with religious leaders welcoming us and explaining the heart of Islam. The main tenet of Islam is peace. The religion believes all human life is sacred. While there are Muslim radical, right-wing extremists who act with violence, this behavior does not reflect the behavior or sentiments of most Muslims. I wasn’t surprised by the words. I had a Muslim friend who died years ago. I rank her among the kindest and most ethical people I’ve ever met. I loved her family and grieved when she passed away from cancer. She lived in the heart of Allah. Why do we fear the use of an Arabic word for God? Allah is the God of Abraham, after all, and Abraham is the patriarch for Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.

The evening continued after the men performed their evening prayers. The program featured priests, pastors, rabbis, imams, chaplains, a judge, policemen, and community activists. They offered condolences and called for something much deeper than tolerance. They called for unity, community, and love. It was a display of outrage, empathy, and compassion from the interfaith and other communities of The Woodlands.

The first speaker gave personal accounts of some of the victims. Personalizing the deaths brought tears to my eyes. I think of my sweet grandchildren and remember the three-year-old child who was slain. He was with his 12-year-old brother, who lived. The people from our community ranged from politicians to Hindus, Jewish moms to children. Two Muslim high school students spoke with passion about how to live with compassion, love, and forgiveness in the face of hatred. They were modern-day Gandhi’s.

While the killings were senseless, the response of my community was miraculous. Baptists, Mormons, Presbyterians, Catholics, New Thought – held our brothers and sisters in heart and blessing. The members of the mosque were visibly touched and gratitude-filled. I was greeted over and over. “Thank you so much for coming.”

One minister told the story of the Good Samaritan and another read St. Francis’ prayer. A crowded room, filled with people who abhor cruelty and intolerance, came together, espousing an “I got your back” philosophy. We left the vigil amidst hugs, laughter, and, perhaps, wings on the soles of our shoes. While not all things in life are EZ, all things can be EZier when we have the love and support of our friends, family, and communities. My love goes out to all who suffer religious intolerance, genocide, fear, and physical harm, and I send blessings to all who move to end injustice.

  Quotes

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  Featured Product This Month

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. Click to order the Kindle version on Amazon for $4.99.

Click here to learn about ALL of Anne's books.

  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.

  Shareables From Anne

The World's Best Weight Loss Secret

Thought Freedom

40 Days to Abundance

EZosophy Vows

Vows of Seriousness

Anne's Conscious Carols

  What is EZosophy?

Click the image to learn about EZosophy.

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

  Healthy Living

The Mind/Body Connection

I met Dr. Albert Amao at one of the Theosophical Society’s annual summer meetings. He is all about healing and was eager to share his findings with me. Today I read his article. He talks about things I know and agree with. The problem is that I forget to believe in what I already know to be true. I know how our experiences, emotions, and beliefs affect our bodies. I know we can heal disease by changing our minds. I have healed myself many times, but there’s always some ailment that I hold out from my beliefs. Al’s article reminded me that our bodies are the great healers.

I read articles about things I already know and believe to remind me that they are true. Outside influence turns on my internal cheerleaders. Those cheerleaders shout, “You can do it. It is possible. Your body is an amazing healer. Others have done it; you can do it too.”

One of his stories is about people who needed knee surgery. A study of the subjects divided them into two groups. One group received knee surgery and the other group didn’t. The group of people who didn’t have the surgery received an incision that was sewn up to make it look as if they had surgery. Both groups recovered equally. The ones who did not have the surgery regained full use of their knees. The mind believed so strongly that they had the surgery that it produced actual changes in the body.

When and how did the awareness of the mind/body connection start? Dr. Amao and many others credit this to Phineas Quimby. Dr. Amao puts it like this:

“The phenomenon of mental/mind healing started in the mid-1800's with a layman known as Phineas P. Quimby (1802-1866); he was an unschooled clock maker in New England, who, after curing himself without medicine, reached the conclusion that negative beliefs create most human illnesses.

Quimby was diagnosed with a terminal illness by the medical profession of the time; his kidneys were disintegrating, and he was also suffering from tuberculosis. Disillusioned with life, he abandoned his successful business and retired to his farm, expecting to die. To make a long story short, he healed himself with the help of his assistant, Lucius Burkmar, and discovered what is called Mental/Mind healing. Subsequently, he started curing all kinds of diseases by just changing the frame of mind of the sick person.”

Another study, comparing alternative medicine’s to mainstream medicine’s effectiveness, found that the most important component of healing was the patient’s belief in the method they chose. I thought the study would show that one method was more effective than the other, but the study showed that the patient’s belief determined the outcome, not the method used.

Once we know that healing and health are within reach, we must believe we deserve to be healthy. If we believe we are bad, or that our aliveness hurts others, it’s easy for our bodies to create illness as a form of punishment. Forgiveness, compassion, and a return to our original innocence are the medicines for existential guilt.

The final component of healthy living is having a meaningful life. Is life worth living? I had a friend with chronic financial problems. She worked into her seventies and could never retire. Maybe illness was her way out. She no longer felt that life was worth living or that she had anything to contribute. In her eyes, the quality of her life didn’t warrant its continuation.

Once we determine that health is possible, believe that we deserve to be healthy, and know that life is worth living, we can move in the right direction. Our health requires personal responsibility and introspection. Just believing that we can be healthy may not be enough to address our subconscious agendas, but when we are sincere about health and do our personal work, life itself will provide the necessary ingredients for health. We can accept a diagnosis, but we don’t have to accept a negative prognosis. We each have a unique healing path. Let’s be sure we take the path that is right for us, because when we do, everything can be EZ or at least EZier.

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

  Anne Talk

More Machines - Go Machines

Today's Anne Talk, More Machines - Go Machines, discusses how can be led to our good in life, rather than driven to it. Time: 6:33

  Anne Art

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  Anne's Schedule

All times here are Central Time
unless otherwise specified.

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

Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019
11:00 AM Service: "New Beginnings"
Unity of Brazosport
507 S. Brooks St. (Hwy 36), Brazoria, TX

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