The Anne Report, Handling Life’s Little Glitches, recounts the glitches Anne's been through recently and how she dealt with them. The Main article, Is EZosophy a Buddhist Philosophy?, shows how some of the important tenets of Buddhism align with the concepts of EZosophy. The Healthy Living article, Cat’s Claw, provides info about this powerful herb and how to make a tea from it. The Anne Talk, Good is Trying to Live Through You, discusses how Good will live through us if we allow it. The Featured Product This Month highlights Anne’s third book, Standing In The Dark. 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, May 28, 2019
Published Weekly on Tuesday Mornings

Phone: 713.922.0242
Email: anne@annegillis.com

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  The Anne Report

Handling Life’s Little Glitches

Dear ,

Life moves quickly. My washing machine works now. I can walk fairly well on my foot, and even do a little yoga. The redo on my failed root canal wasn’t successful, so I have one less tooth and a hole in my head. Before the extraction, I thanked my tooth for her service over the past decades and asked her politely to let go. The last I saw of her, she was in pieces, in a waste container. I am certain that two and half hours in the dentist’s chair, with buzzing, drilling, and pulling, would never make it on anyone’s bucket list.

My sweet body has been through a lot. I thank it as often as possible, for everything it’s given me. It is easy to focus on what was going wrong, especially when there’s pain, but rather than focusing on how something hurts, I keep appreciating my teeth, my toes, and even my stomach. Even though two toes are broken and hurt, I don’t want to keep thinking, “Something’s wrong with my toes.” That becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, on top of an injury. The nausea and throwing up, which I haven’t mentioned until now, was unexpected, and rendered me helpless most of one day. I took so many different things to heal me that the combination made me sick. Lesson learned. Limit my herbal intake.

My body took up my whole week. There was no visit from the tooth fairy. No genie appeared. I didn’t win the lottery. My ship didn’t come in. The only thing that happened was a series of healing attempts and a few mishaps. I’m good with it, no resistance, because when we accept the things we cannot change, don’t suffer over our pain, and do what we can to make ourselves comfortable, everything becomes EZier and EZier. And that’s exactly what I did.

  Main Article

Is EZosophy a Buddhist Philosophy?

I am a Theosophist. I was always one but didn’t know it. I was aware of Theosophy but shied away from it because it wasn’t what I thought it was. I decided to go to a Theosophical Society meeting in 2011, when a friend gave a lecture on the 2012 prophecy. I caught a ride with my friend, Charles Rubio. Soon I developed a pattern of going to the Saturday meetings and riding with Charles. It was almost an hour’s drive, so we had plenty of time to speak of our latest spiritual capers – our journeys into the inner worlds of essence.

My concept of the society began to soften, and the more I saw and heard, the more enamored I became. The Theosophical Society studies ancient wisdom and calls its members to create a more loving world through meditation, study, and service. There are books, journals, conferences, lodges, retreat centers, and study groups dedicated to bringing this higher vision to fruition. The Houston lodge was chartered 107 years ago. These people weren’t quitters. They made it through the depression!

One of our most dependable sources of information and inspiration is the Quest Journal. Our editor, Richard Smoley, does a stellar job of exposing us to perennial wisdom and keeps us on our philosophical toes. He writes a column in each issue, entitled, “From the Editor’s Desk.” His column in our spring issue was so provocative I had to share. The following is my take on Richard’s piece. I’ve added to and taken away from his original piece, but the key ideas below come from his article.

Christianity’s central message is one of love. This comes as no surprise; Jesus was up front about his message. We’ve heard the phrase, “God is love,” so frequently that it’s lost the impact it had two thousand years ago, when hungry hearts let that radical message sink in.

Buddhism’s central theme is also love, but Buddha divided love into four elements: freedom, joy, kindness, and compassion. When we read the teachings of Buddha, we don’t find treatises on love; we find more on the elements Buddha described. Who has not swooned over the traditional Tibetan prayers? “May all beings be happy. May all beings be safe….” Most identify Buddhism with relieving suffering. What relieves suffering? Compassion.

The famous thirteenth century Dzogchen master, Longchenpa, spoke of the Four Immeasurables; (1) Immeasurable Love, (2) Immeasurable Compassion, (3) Immeasurable Joy, and (4) Immeasurable Equanimity. Smoley describes these as the immeasurable catalysts of being, while others refer to them as virtues.

Can there be a downside to love, compassion, joy, and equanimity? Smoley gave me pause, a dip into the shadows. I’ve put his opening remarks into my words. There is a noted difference between love and compassion. We can love someone who is not suffering, but compassion comes into play when we can identify with someone’s loss or pain.

Let’s explore the interaction of these virtues or immeasurables. Equanimity is calmness and composure, but can we become so non-attached that we become cold or dispassionate? Spiritually immature seekers come out with platitudes like, “It’s all in divine order,” as they offer an intellectual or detached response to genuine human suffering. How can we bring ourselves back from the brink of nonconcern? Love. Love softens the heart, but love causes attachment. Attachment causes suffering. Buddha says we will all suffer because we will love. How do we combat this suffering? Compassion. We develop compassion when we focus on the suffering of all beings. But concentration on suffering can lead to morbidity and/or depression. Suffering is contagious. The medicine for suffering is joy. Immeasurable joy is powerful, and it can overpower us. Maybe we can be overjoyed. Anxiety can be the spawn of joy. Where do we go from here? Back to equanimity. Longchenpa invites us to develop the immeasurables in this order: love, compassion, joy, and equanimity. Cultivation of the immeasurables creates a worthy spiritual practice.

Smoley ends the article with a powerful thought. He nailed it, and, as I read the following words, I breathed a sigh of relief.

“I think it would be wise to contemplate this teaching today, when people overexcite themselves – even in the name of compassion – in the belief that this agitation is a virtue. Agitation and upset are never beneficial, even when supposedly in the service of the highest ideals.”

It seems Smoley is an EZosophist too. He speaks of the uselessness of drama. He calls our attention to the unattractive expressions of the egoic mind. That’s my kind of philosophy – one that invites us to let go of the hyperbole of suffering. I call it EZosophy. When we can drop the drama, especially the drama we’ve dressed up and called virtues, our lives become EZier and EZier. Maybe EZosophy is a Buddhist philosophy!

  Quotes

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  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

  Featured Product This Month

  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

Cat’s Claw

Liah was having blood pressure problems. She heard about cat’s claw, an herb, and tried it. Her blood pressure went down 10 to 15 points and continues to stay down, because she’s still taking it. That’s how I came to hear about cat’s claw. If Liah finds something that works for her, she shares it with her friends. Liah mentioned cat’s claw because of my shingles outbreak. Imagine that: it’s good for shingles too. Cat’s claw is a miracle herb, maybe the holy grail of medicine. It fights inflammation, and our bodies are full of inflammation. Five symptoms of inflammation include: redness, swollen joint that's sometimes warm to the touch, joint pain, joint stiffness, loss of joint function.

I ordered some and, due to our speedy delivery system, I received it the next day. I fixed myself one cup of cat’s claw tea. Yuck! It wasn’t tasty. But if it can rid the body of strep, fight viruses, and kill bacteria, I can stand a little nasty. After all, I drink turmeric tea and vinegar water. Fortunately, my outbreak only lasted one week, and I had no pain or itching. Still, a little cat’s claw couldn’t hurt.

Here’s a recipe for the tea, which comes from Medical Medium Life Changing Foods, by Anthony William. He is the same person who made drinking celery juice a health must. Full disclosure: I’ve had no celery juice, but I’m sure the celery farmers are happy.

CAT’S CLAW TEA: Makes 4 cups. There’s nothing like drinking a cup of this cat’s claw tea, as you watch the moon rise, to activate your body’s healing potential. It’s an especially useful practice when you’ve done yoga or Pilates earlier in the day.

2 teaspoons cat’s claw (or 2-3 capsules, emptied) Slice lemon. Raw honey (optional). Boil 4 cups of water. For each serving of tea, use 1 teaspoon of cat’s claw per cup of hot water. *Steep for 5 minutes or more. Serve with lemon slices and raw honey, if desired. *If a stronger, more medicinal tea is desired, use 2 teaspoons up to 1 tablespoon of cat’s claw per cup.

Due to the AMA, FDA, and the powers that be, I advise you that the information about cat’s claw is recreational and not to be taken as medical advice. Next time your cat’s claw gets stuck in your sweater, just blame the FDA, and always remember that silliness is sacred. Finally, take into account that what is good for high blood pressure is not good for low blood pressure. Always do your research before starting to take anything.

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

  Anne Talk

Good is Trying to Live Through You

Today’s Anne Talk is Good is Trying to Live Through You. This is a video Anne made for the Prosperity team, but it’s good for EZosophy too! Please join the Abundance Affirmations group and be on the prosperity team. Time: 2:01

  Anne Art

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  Abundance Affirmations

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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, AKA Dr. Money, posts a nightly goodnight for the prosperity team, and everyone who watches them becomes a part of the prosperity team.