A Note From Anne

Dear ,

It'a a unique time in the Houston area because it's cool, and at night it's downright cold. I live in a town that is so typically hot, that people perk up when the thermometer goes down.

I'm cooking soup tonight, and soon I will snuggle in and enjoy the slow down. It feels like soul piddling. Women get this reference because we love to nest – I just call it piddling. Getting warm and snuggling seems luxurious. It's part of EZ living.

I'm hoping you are taking it easy and beginning to create little niches of EZ living in your lives. Go on. Stop, get a blanket, snuggle, read a book, or watch that great movie.

Anne

  Stillness

The buzz word today in spiritual circles is "stillness." What's the deal? Why does that word dominate the language of the spiritual aspirant and master? Could it be because stillness opens our minds to reality, and reality resides in the infinite, not in the local events we call life?

It is in this stillness that the mind opens to the truth beyond words. Novice meditators are amazed at the bliss they attain when they experience just a whiff of reality. Causeless joy, bliss, and wisdom surface as they begin the journey of living in stillness.

Happiness is a result of joy and joy lives in stillness. Yet we try to access that happiness from the outside in. "If I find what I love to do with my life, my soul driven purpose in life, and do that as an avocation or career, then I will be happy." It is true that we might experience happiness when we live what we love, but the happiness comes because at the moment we attain our desire, we drop that desire. When we drop desire, stillness comes through, because mental grasping stops and joy shines through when the mind is still. Yet the enjoyment is temporary when it is event or acquisition driven.

Certainly Michael Jackson was a gifted singer and performer, but if doing what one loves in life is the answer to life's misery, then he would have been happy. I do what I love - don't get me wrong, but I am clear that the writing, drawing, visiting the Caribbean, and being in nature are not the source of my joy. Joy resides in the stillness that brings fulfillment and joy into my awareness. Joy and fulfillment come from the stillness, not from the doing.

We find the same dynamic when we fall in love: the mind stops and bliss ensues, yet the bliss of new love dissolves as the mind picks up speed by yearning for things to be different. "I need more attention, more love, or more time with you. I need you to be present, to listen."

The New Age brought us the idea that thought is creative. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky wrote about the Law of Attraction in the 1800's. This idea that previously was available to few is now the central theme in bestselling books. The law is simple. "What we think about, we bring about." Knowing and practicing the law curbs our appetite for drama, but when one's thinking becomes constant mental control, the mind rarely rests. The mind figures, analyzes, and manipulates in order to get its way. Until awakening, which can happen many times, we live in safe and narrow mental spaces – it's like our minds are caged. A cage may protect us from harm, but what kind of life can one have living in a cage?

Unfortunately, the ultimate new age practices of manifestation or demonstration continue to cage us. It may be a larger cage, but it is a cage nonetheless. It's great to expand the cage - that is an awakening, but at some point we must find the door and escape to freedom. We can only escape by putting down our need to live life through our personal desires. We stop trying to get and ultimately discover the perfection of what is.

A basic sketch of spiritual progression:

• Physical incarnation, AKA birth.
• Growing up physically and learning to take care of our personal lives and bodies – we learn how to make money, exercise, develop relationships. All of these are in the realm of personal power and can be called survival skills. These skills are the foundation for our lives, but they only serve as a stepping off place for self-realization.
• Realizing there is more to life and starting the search for more than you presently know.
• Finding how to get more things as a substitute for opening to the infinite self.
• Hitting the wall of materialism and waking up to that which lies beyond the physical.
• Experiencing true abundance and joy. Honeymoon period with awakening.
• Turning that awakening into another trap, that of spiritual materialism. The mind takes control again so it can continue to have more or better spiritual experiences. It wants to find its way back to the sweet spot and guarantee it will never have to leave.
• Realizing the mind as we know it cannot be counted on for peace, contentment. Letting go again into the stillness. This point of surrender is the high point of the mind. The mind realizes its limits and chooses to rest. It gives up control to a larger reality – that which is larger than our personal lives and thoughts. Bingo – this is the place to be! The mind is still and it can finally look away from its limits into infinite stillness.

How do we keep the mind in this place of stillness? Stillness practices abound. Mantra yoga is a popular eastern mind-stilling practice. Seekers carry mala beads and repeat the mantra over and over again as they count off the number of recitations on the beads. There are 108 beads in the necklace. The rosary is a spin off from this tradition and has ½ the number of beads or 54 beads.

The EZosophy philosophy has a mantra. It is designed to still the mind, which leads to infinite stillness, and it keeps us away from ego driven thoughts that create suffering. The EZ mantra is "Everything can be EZ or at least EZier." If you feel drawn to mantra yoga, you may want to try it. You can even make your own counting device. Take a string or rope and put 108 beads on it. You can use buttons, plastic beads, beads from old jewelry, purchase a set, or use a rosary. See this link for mala beads from tulsi wood.

Say the mantra one time for each bead you count off. The more often you repeat the mantra, the more your mind rests. This action literally trains the mind to go off duty.

There are other mantras that you might like. Here are two:

• Christian Prosperity mantra – "God supplies all my needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." This mantra, based on the Bible scripture found in Philippians 4:19, points you away from fear of lack and toward the true essence of abundance.

• The name of God mantra – "Om Namah Shivaya" is said to be the most powerful mantra because the actual word sounds are the sound of creation. This mantra has many implications, but I think of it as meaning the infinite unmanifest and the finite manifest acknowledge and bow to each other. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr_H4eiQOh8

Mantra yoga is one path to stillness. Give it a try. You will be surprised what happens when train your mind to be still. Be curious; think of some of the things you tried – food, shopping, sex, working yourself too hard, codependency. Why not try one more thing, something that bears fruit, because if you do, you will find that your life will become EZ or at least EZier.

Anne

  Quotes

"Whatever plane our consciousness may be acting in, both we and the things belonging to that plane are, for the time being, our only realities. As we rise in the scale of development we perceive that during the stages through which we have passed we mistook shadows for realities, and the upward progress of the Ego is a series of progressive awakenings, each advance bringing with it the idea that now, at last, we have reached "reality"; but only when we shall have reached the absolute Consciousness, and blended our own with it, shall we be free from the delusions produced by Maya [illusion].”
  – Helena Petrovna Blavatsky

Words reduce reality to something the human mind can grasp, which isn’t very much. Language consists of five basic sounds produced by the vocal cords. They are the vowels a, e, i, o, u. The other sounds are consonants produced by air pressure: s, f, g, and so forth. Do you believe some combination of such basic sounds could ever explain who you are, or the ultimate purpose of the universe, or even what a tree or stone is in its depth?"
  – Eckhart Tolle

  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

  What is EZosophy?

Click the graphic above to find out.

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  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

February 6 and 13, 2014
Thur., 1:00 – 3:00 PM
"EZosophy"
Lone Star College ALL Program
Kingwood Campus
20000 Kingwood Drive
Kingwood, TX 77339-3801
281-312-1600

February 9, 2014
Sun., 11:00 AM
"Strength"
Unity Church of Practical Christianity
15920 Piper’s View Dr.
Meadow Community Association
Webster, TX 77598-2550
281-520-4047

February 19 and 26, 2014
Thur., 10:00 – 11:50 AM
"EZosophy"
Lone Star College ALL Program
Montgomery Campus
3200 College Park Drive
Conroe, TX 77384-4500
936-273-7000

March 4 and 7, 2014
Tue. & Fri., 10:00 – 11:50 AM
"Alive, Awake, Aware"
Lone Star College ALL Program
Montgomery Campus
3200 College Park Drive
Conroe, TX 77384-4500
936-273-7000

  Health Tip: Have a Cup of Tea

When winter comes, I love to drink hot tea. It warms me; my mouth loves the feel of the cup on my lips. Sometimes I make tea in my pottery teapot. It was my friend Judy's tea pot. It seems like a special event to make tea in Judy's pot (with matching tray – fancy!), and it's practical: the tea stays warm for a long time. Tea making is zen-like. It's a soul activity if you let it be. Be present when making tea. Think of it as communion. Tea making is a stillness practice. The English have high tea, the Japanese have the tea ceremony, and, fortunately, we can create our personal High Tea Ceremony.

Hot tea is not only an emotional and physically warming treat, it is medicine. Do you have congestion or one of those fall colds? You can get relief from ginger root tea. It helps clear congestion. You can get convenient tea bags or make you own. Put 2 cups of boiling water over a one inch piece of chopped ginger root and steep it for 10 or more minutes. Add a little cayenne to open and drain nasal passages. If you are not carb watching, add a little local honey or maple syrup and you will enjoy a delightful, warming drink.

Sometimes I buy ginger root and it dries up before I can use it. So I cut the dried root into small pieces and put it in my coffee grinder – one piece at a time. It grinds to a fine powder that I use in baking or salad dressings. (I use that grinder for herbs, making flours, and all sorts of things. I don't even drink coffee, but I love my coffee grinder.)

As the months get colder, we tend to slow down, stay indoors, and hibernate. It's a time for restoration. Rather than fight the fact that we will be less active, it's best to join in the natural rhythm of life, snuggle in your favorite blanket, and enjoy a cup of hot, relaxing tea. Your life will be EZier when you go with the seasonal flow.

  Anne Talks

Go On Life Support: Life Always Supports You. Two minute video

EZosophy Training: Make Your Life EZ or at Least EZier. 25 minute video

  Anne Art

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Editor/Publisher: Charles David Heineke of TheDoorwayBlog.

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