A Note From Anne

Dear ,

  My Aliveness Pleasures Others

None of us completely escapes the limits defined by our past; therefore we step into adulthood with high hopes and low skills. The challenges, events, and circumstances that molded our childhoods create today's reality. It's a false realty, but it's a reality we defend as our own. We lack the ability to be truly present. Our wounds are anchored in the past, and we howl when someone steps on them. "How could you treat me like this?" We don’t realize that we showed up in the relationship, at work, or in our friendships, with our guts already hanging out.

Even though we will never heal all our wounds, it is imperative to heal the ones that keep our lives and relationships in turmoil. This is "the work." The main point of the work is to clear the past so that we can live emotionally balanced lives in the present. When I was very young, I tried to hop into self-realization. It didn't take long to find that I needed a therapist, or at least some kind of therapeutic work, before I could consider living the life of the mystic.

Our limiting beliefs are neatly packaged in our subconscious, waiting for the trigger, and the trigger always comes. We think our wounds are unique, and they do have some personal twists, but, for the most part, we all have to overcome the same personal lies. One of the peskiest lies is, "My aliveness and expression hurts others." This lie can start as early as when the baby is in utero. The baby absorbs the emotions of the mother, and if the baby is not wanted, s/he believes (at a pre-verbal level--it’s all emotions at this point) that his or her just being alive is harmful. It can also start if the mother has a difficult pregnancy or delivery. Again, the baby thinks that his or her being alive is a problem, and it is harmful to others. The rest of this person’s life will grow and support this belief, and without some kind of intervention, life will basically suck.

This lie creates different kinds of life paths and behaviors. Some kids adapt by remaining quiet and being needless, wantless children, while others rebel and become angry and indignant at the people who surround them. The rebel might try "to get" those who get close to him or her through a revenge pattern. Some try to be loud, try to be the perpetual center of attention, or carry a chip on their shoulder: "Poor me." Some kids waffle between the two behaviors – trying not to exist and trying to be bigger than life.

My adaptation to the idea that "My aliveness and expression hurt others" was to be very nice, helpful, not to have too many needs, and to stay out of trouble. I did my emotional homework when I was young, so I've outgrown many of the limits, but when I am tired or under significant stress, the old wounds surface. I have to make a very conscious effort to remember the truth.

If you can identify with some of the following, you might be under the influence of your personal lie:

• You feel ashamed when you make a mistake.
• Feedback crushes you.
• You try to be seen as little as possible – wear dark clothes or clothes that don’t stand out. Or you wear clothes that say “Buzz off to the culture – I don’t care what others think.”
• You get very upset if corrected.
• You frequently have feelings of shame.
• You're not asking for what you want and need – never bothering others – offering to pay for everything.
• You're walking on eggshells, never making waves.
• You're trying to be sure you give more than you receive in relationships, or you suck the other person dry, due to a sense of entitlement.

Emotional pain is the soul's "Aha." Pain calls us to go deep, and deep is where the beautiful, rich, and vibrantly alive places reside. Sometimes, through a mysterious grace, we move quickly into these places, while at other times we slowly climb a ladder into our selves. The ladder is the healing work we do on ourselves. It is sometimes painful, but usually rewarding.

The new spirituality focuses on the direct descent into our Selves. Through awareness and being fully present, we go directly to emotional freedom and peace.

Unfortunately we are not always able to access the direct path to well-being. We have to face and deal with the pain in order to heal it. Just as some people can heal their bodies through diet and exercise, others have to rely on surgery and medication. The way to heal our emotional and physical bodies is not determined by which method is the most effective; the best one for us is the one that we can and will do.

If we chose our beliefs, even if it was at a subconscious level, we can choose again. As the old saying goes, "Change your mind, change your life." Try these ideas on for size.

My aliveness and expression please others.
My aliveness and expression pleasure others.
My aliveness and expression enrich my family, friends, and coworkers.
My aliveness and expression enhance life.
My aliveness and expression create multiple avenues of good in my life and in the lives of others.
My aliveness and expression create worlds of joy.
My aliveness and expression heal the world and enrich the universe.
My aliveness and expression make this world a better place.
People relax when they see me.
My presence creates a safe space for myself and others.
When I walk into a room, people feel better.

How do you feel when you hear the truth? The belief that your aliveness and expression hurt others is a big lie. The decision was based on false data. Wake up. Who you are is not a drag on life itself.

Become more aware of what you are thinking. When you start to feel defensive, or like a burden, remind yourself of the truth, "My aliveness and expression please me and pleasure others." Go one step further, and when you see someone else, think, "Your aliveness and expression please me, support my aliveness, and nurture me."

Notice how often you seem to be irritated with others just because they exist. This is a projection from you, because you are upset with yourself for existing. We are not the only ones who deal with this false belief. Almost everyone you meet is suffering, to some extent, from the same delusion. When you make a decision to see beyond others' personalities and foibles, you not only heal yourself, you contribute to their well-being.

Changing this old belief may take time and work, but if you stay present and aware, you can often ward off an overly emotional reaction in the current moment. Healing the belief that your aliveness and expression hurt others may take a while, but identifying the problems and changing the beliefs about your aliveness and expression is worth it. And, for sure, it will make your life easier and easier.

Anne

  Health Tip: Move It

  Anne's Books

Standing in The Dark

EZosophy Book

Offbeat Prayers

Click here to see all three of Anne's books

What people are saying about Standing in the Dark:

"Standing in the Dark, by Anne Sermons Gillis, isn't just another positive thinking book. It's a book about the difficult times in life and what we can do to make it through them. It does, however, give us positive ways to make life easier. It's a short book, but it's one that may just turn your thinking on its head, which will probably be the best thing that's happened to your thinking in a long time. It's about how to bring more ease into a life that isn't easy all of the time. Anne discusses six main areas of life: Ease, Mission, Health, Relationships, Money, and Loss."
  – Charles David Heineke, Bonham, TX

What people are saying about EZosophy: The Art and Wisdom of Easy or at Least Easier Living:

"Although most conscious people understand that life doesn't have to a struggle, the "how to" has been missing... until now. Anne's book makes it "easy."
  – T. Harv Eker - Bestselling author and Founder of Peak Potentials Training

What people are saying about Offbeat Prayers for the Modern Mystic:

"I love your book. It is filled with much wisdom, humor and heart. Really beautiful."
  – Alan Cohen author, Enough Already, mentions Anne and EZosophy on page 99

  Quotes

"Do not confuse understanding with a large vocabulary. Sacred writings are beneficial in stimulating desire for inward realization, if one stanza at a time is slowly assimilated. Otherwise, continual intellectual study may result in vanity, false satisfaction, and undigested knowledge."
  – Sri Yukteswar

"If one busies himself with an outer display of scriptural wealth, what time is left for silent inner diving?"
  – Sri Yukteswar

"Searching is looking for something, reaching for something, trying to find what you think will give you what you want. Self inquiry is discovering what is already here. If there is still activity, it is directed toward the source rather than objects. We can make self inquiry a search. We can do self inquiry to get something, and then it becomes searching. But the purity of self inquiry is in the willingness to stop the outward flow of thinking. Thinking is normally about gathering information for survival. By overriding that very natural instinct, and simply telling the truth about what is here, what you are experiencing, you discover yourself."
  – Gangaji

  EZosophy CD/DVD Spotlight

Each week in this space we'll be featuring one of Anne's CD's or DVD's. Click the link below to learn more.

Self Affirming CD: Sacred Sales Affirmations (Standard Edition)

S-A-L-E-S: Sacred Attitudes Lifting Each Spirit: Are you in sales? This CD helps get you into the flow of sales. Anne Sermons Gillis speaks briefly on the idea of sacred sales. The talk is followed with sacred sales affirmations. These affirmations help you to find meaning in what you do and to move into the flow of your destined good. Sacred Sales Affirmations CD (Standard Edition) CD: $11.99 Sacred Sales Affirmations CD (Standard Edition) Downloadable MP3 file - $7.99 http://www.annegillis.com/Books-CDs-Etc.html#Marketing

  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.

  Anne's Services

  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.

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  Anne's Schedule

September 11, 2013
Wed., 7:00 PM
"Get in The Spirit"
Creative Life Spiritual Center
5326 Spring Stuebner Rd., Ste. 200
Back Building
Spring, Texas 77389
281-350-5157

September 11 & 13, 2013
Wed. & Fri., 10:00-11:50 AM
"EZosophy"
Lone Star College
Montgomery Campus
Conroe, TX 77384
936-273-7000
Offered as an ALL Class

October 13, 2013
Sun., 11:00 AM
"Discovery"
Unity Church of Practical Christianity
15920 Piper’s View Dr.
Meadow Community Association
Webster, TX 77598-2550

  Guided Meditations

The first two entries below are two meditations. The third is Anne's encouragement to be be yourself. Click a link below to watch a video.

Love is Now

Breathe: Surrender: Living in the Present

Get your boost for today and celebrate Happy "Free to Be Me" Day (Three minutes long)

  The Lord’s Prayer

Albrecht Dürer:
Study of an Apostle's Hands
"Praying Hands"
(Read "About This Graphic" below.)

There are many people who love The Lord's Prayer. It has its good features, but this contemporary prayer from The Gillis RSV, speaks to me more than the older King James Version. -- Anne

Divine Mother, who walks in harmony with our heavenly Father, blessed be your name.

May love become our common home on earth. Give us the courage to do your will, during the drought and the harvest. May we rest in the assurance that your will reigns in all levels of reality. Help us to remember that when we live fully in the present moment, we unlock our ability to see the abundant sustenance you offer.

Remind us that you do not hold our transgressions against us. Give us an equally compassionate heart, filled with generosity for those who do us wrong.

Keep us from traveling into places that we know will make us unhappy, and deliver us from our ego. For the kingdom is ours, to share and rejoice in, and all that sustains life is everlasting, throughout all times and ages. Life without end, love without end. AMEN and AMEN.

Excerpted from Offbeat Prayers for the Modern Mystic.

About This Graphic: The Dürer brothers, Albrecht and Albert, wanted to be artists. They came from a family of 18 children, therefore finances were insufficient to send them both to school. They made a pact and tossed a coin to determine who would go to art school and who would remain at home and work in the coal mines. Albrecht won and went off to study; the plan was for him to finish his four years of study, then support his brother in attending school. When Albrecht returned home, four years later, his brother’s hands were crippled with arthritis from the harsh working conditions in the mine. To honor Albert, who could no longer become an artist, Albrecht painstakingly drew his brother's hands, in prayer. Albert's hands have inspired people for six centuries. Read more here .

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