A Note From Anne

Dear ,

I hope you are having a wonderful week, but if not, remember the eight word miracle mantra. “Everything can be EZ (easy) or at least Ezier.” Lavish your life in this idea because your suffering will pass and even the deepest misery can give instant rise to more EZ.

It’s Mother’s Day next Sunday and this issue focuses on mothering yourself. Thank you for reading the newsletter. I hope you will pass it on to a friend or relative who might be open to an Ezier life. Have a great week and live in EZ (ease).

Anne

  Reflections on Mothering

My mom physically died when she was 89, but mama started dying minute by minute when she was in her '70's. She had some form of dementia. I remember my mom sitting in my bedroom keeping me company when I was a teenager. Sometimes we would lie on the bed and talk about things. She was quite a character to the few who were allowed inside. She had a small circle of friends; mostly family were her friends, but she didn’t regret it. I used to try to get her to go out and socialize. She would tell me, "But I like staying home. It's comfortable." So regardless of all the suggestions I made and the attempts I made to make her in my image, she remained just the way she was. I guess I will never know the secret life of my mother, but when I look at the family pictures, I see a beautiful woman, traveling the country, surrounded by friends and loved ones.

Below are photos of my mom, Ernestine Keel Sermons. On the left is an earlier one. The one on the right was taken a month before her passing.

     

My mom was never gossipy or mean-spirited. Her life reflected the living gospel of love. For a woman whose husband left her in the early '50's, which marked her as somewhat of a pariah, it is amazing that her life reflected compassion, gentleness, and sweetness. Our life together wasn’t ideal. She dealt with streaks of insanity, and in her later years she had bouts of paranoia, but we made a good mother and daughter team. I knew she was on my side.

At some point everyone's mother dies, but the need we have for mothering never ends. When we grow up, we have to learn to do it ourselves. It's called self-nurturing. This kind of caring we require includes allowing ourselves to be human and make mistakes, without the internal dialogue turning against us. It means creating time in our lives to do the activities we enjoy. It means learning how to take care of our bodies, minds, and souls.

Being with mother earth nurtures me. If life is hectic, my mind is on fire, or my nerves are jumpy, I head for my back yard. Birds freely chirp, and anoles, green lizard-looking creatures, hop from plant to plant. I stare at an anole from time to time and she moves her head as if she sees and understands. The males have a red dewlap they use to court females. This is a skin flap that protrudes from beneath their mouths. My backyard is a red-light district for anoles. Lots of dewlaps – lots of courting. My old yard gloves just fell apart and I’ve purchased new ones. Being intimate with the dirt, the leaves, the birds, the bugs, even the worms, weaves me into part of life’s cloth. I need that.

My other nurturing activity is drawing. I sometimes use pen and ink, while at other times I draw on my iPad. I use a stylus when drawing on my tablet. A stylus is a metal pen with a plastic thingy on the end, to protect the computer device's surface. That plastic thingy is important. I unpacked my new stylus and threw the thingy away. That was a $15 mistake. My favorite program to use is iPaint. It is inexpensive and easy to use.

I'm more of a doodler than an artist. I have fun using the Paint program on a PC. It’s limited but I stretch my imagination to see what I can create, given its restricted parameters. I put two drawings in the newsletter each week and that keeps me drawing. I feel like a little kid who wants her mom to see what she’s done. "Look, Mommy. I drew a picture." That’s another reason you see my weekly pictures–it’s my show and tell.

It’s Mother’s Day next Sunday, so this week I encourage you to mother yourself. Do that thing that feeds you and brings you pleasure. My special things are drawing, working with in my yard, and growing things, but you may need a different kind of mothering. What things bring tenderness to your soul or tug at your heart strings? Do those. It’s time to be the greatest mom in the world. You deserve that. Happy Mother’s Day.

I've prepared a new 5 minute video that will guide you through a short meditation to help nurture yourself. You can see it by clicking the graphic below.

  Health Tip: Acupressure for Anxiety

Everyone experiences panic, anxiety, or poor sleep sometimes in their lifetime. If your life is off beat, try this simple acupuncture technique. You can do this while sitting at your desk and no one will notice. This week’s health tip comes in video form. Applying acupressure to the Wrist Pressure Point (Ht7) relieves and helps to prevents anxiety, nervousness, panic attacks, palpitations, and poor sleep.

Click the image below to watch the "Acupressure for Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Palpitations" video. The image shows you the process.

  Anne's New Book: Standing in the Dark

Anne's Newest Book Click the image to learn more.	Anne’s new book, Standing in the Dark, is a salve for the out-of-control mind. In a high-speed society that forces time to do double-time and stuffs minds with inestimably complex information, we need mental medicine. Popular mind-bending methods encourage us to come up with the highest thoughts, to be positive and powerful, and to live our passion. Yet That Which is The Highest is beyond what words can touch.
Click the link below to read a review of my new book, by Charles Heineke, my editor for this newsletter, a "Top Reviewer" at Amazon: "Standing in the Dark can be EZier than you may think".
You can buy Standing in the Dark in a printed edition, a pdf edition, or a Kindle edition. Printed Ed.  |   PDF Ed.   |   Kindle Ed. If you don't have a Kindle application for your computer, phone, or tablet, you can download the free Kindle software from this link or connect to the Kindle Cloud Reader in your browser. Your reviews of the book on the Amazon website would definitely be appreciated. If you like the book, you can use the icons below to share it on Facebook and Twitter. Also feel free to share it anywhere else you socialize.

  Quotes

"Don't let your life be a slow boat to hell."
– Anne Sermons Gillis

  Video Bits of Wisdom

A while back I recorded a series of 21 short inspirational videos on a wide range of topics. Most of them are under 2 minutes. I'll be spotlighting a different Video Bit each week in this space, with a link to it below this message. When you go to that page, you'll need to click the Play button to start the video.

This Week: "Chemical Man"
Click Here for This Week's Video Bit

Click the graphic above to see all of the Video Bits.

  What is EZosophy?

What is EZosophy? Click the graphic above to find out.

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

Click the Subscribe button above to get your own copy of Anne's newsletter sent to you every Tuesday morning. If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you can UNsubscribe by clicking this link. Click the Archives button above to read past issues of this newsletter.            FOLLOW Anne. Help Spread the Word. SHARE Anne by sharing this issue.      Like the newsletter? You can support it through your donation via PayPal. It's certainly not necessary, but it is greatly appreciated. It's not tax deductible, but a small $8 donation helps defray our costs. Thank you in advance.   Anne's Services Need a Coach or a Rent-a-Friend? Interested in getting ongoing support? Try life coaching with Anne. Anne offers options for both short-term and long-term coaching. Contact her for details. Click here to contact Anne by email or Click here to view information on Anne's One Year Seminar.   Schedule Anne You may reach Anne by phone at 281-419-1775 or click the button below to contact Anne by email. Anne is also available to officiate at weddings and funerals.

  Anne's Schedule

May 26, 2013
"Celebrating Life"
11:00 AM
Unity of Webster, Texas

  Ask Annie G

Dear Annie G,

Can a lack of vitamin D cause depression?

S. O., Tennessee

Dear S. O.,

Studies indicate that a lack of vitamin D can cause depression. Many people suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which is a mood disorder due to the lack of adequate sunlight. According to her article at http://drgominak.com/vitamin-d, Stasha Gominak, M.D., states that "The farther we move away from the equator, the less UVB wavelength there is in the winter light, so our D hormone fluctuates with the seasons; it goes higher in the summer and lower in the winter."

That's why people don't have as much energy in the winter and one of the reasons animals hibernate. Even after a few days of cloudy weather, I have to start pumping myself up, so the lack of sun gets real personal. When the sun comes out, I feel better immediately.

Vitamin D helps the body use calcium to build strong bones; therefore, a serious lack of vitamin D can cause rickets. Even low levels of vitamin D pose a health threat. Low levels of vitamin D can result in increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment in older adults, severe asthma in children, and cancer.

In recent years vitamin D has captured the attention of many health advocates. Some say it is misclassified as a vitamin and should be considered a hormone. A vitamin is something the body needs that it can’t make – one must get it from food. A hormone is something the body produces. Vitamin D is really a sun hormone because the sun and the skin manufacture the substance we refer to as vitamin D.

The best way to get adequate vitamin D is from sunlight. You probably need from 5 to 30 minutes of exposure to the skin on your face, arms, back, or legs (without sunscreen) two times every week. Read this article for more information.

Fish, meats, fortified dairy products, eggs, and mushrooms top the list of foods containing Vitamin D. If you can't get the sunlight you need, your next best option is though your diet. I take three 2,000 International Units (IUs) vitamin D3 capsules daily to be sure I'm getting all the D I need, but I also make it a point to get my weekly dose of sun.

So if you are depressed, make sure you are getting enough sun or enough vitamin D rich food to keep your D levels normal. You’ll be glad you did, and your bones will love you too.

Thanks for asking.

Annie G

NOTE: Send your questions on life, health, food, spirituality, and relationships to Annie G.

  Anne on BatGap

Rick Archer is the owner of Buddha at the Gas Pump http://batgap.com/. The site interviews "ordinary people who are undergoing a shift to an Awakened state of consciousness, which is transforming their understanding of themselves and the world." Anne was interviewed on April 27, 2013. Click this link to see the article and hear her interview: http://batgap.com/anne-sermons-gillis/.

  Anne Art

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Editor: Charles David Heineke of TheDoorway and TheDoorwayBlog

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