A Note From Anne

Dear ,

There are so many notes, coupons, and pictures stuck on my fridge that things get lost. Today, while clearing expired coupons, I found a sticky note, which had gone unnoticed before. It said "hummus, sprouts, and jacket." My heart stopped. It was put there by my dear deceased friend Judy. I recognized her handwriting. She had probably come home with me, put her food in the fridge, her jacket in the closet, and written a note as a reminder to take them home. Now the jacket she wanted to remember hangs in my closet. I inherited it. Her body retired over a year ago, but the note was here all this time, in clear sight, and I never noticed. How many things do we overlook, not just one time, but consistently?

Is it possible that the answers we so desperately seek are here all along, available to us but overlooked? Enlightenment is about seeing what is already here. While we are having a fit about being in the dark, the light inside is always shining. Things are just not the way they appear to the conditioned mind, and if we want freedom, we are going to have to realize that nothing is missing and that everything is okay. Nothing is missing. Got it?

I love you.

Anne

  Living From Your Now

Life in a physical body is short, yet it seems it will go on forever. Now is such an expansive experience that it's challenging to imagine life ever ending. I have studied the science of physical immortality, and even though this might be a strange thought for many, it's nontraditional thoughts like these that unhook us from our cornered beliefs and provide freshness to words like unlimited and possibility. Maybe our relationship with physical embodiment could be more than we dreamed it to be.

Suppose you knew for certain that you could live as long as you wanted and when you decided to leave, you could just dematerialize into another space of consciousness? Some people are willing to go far enough to say this is possible. Considering things with open-mindedness, things you believe to be impossible, expands the mind.

I had this crazy idea that I like to play with. Supposed death is an illness and we are infected with the death bacteria, but if we could find the cure, then we could live as long as we want to. Why not play with unlimited thoughts as opposed to thinking only of limits. Do it just for fun. Play some real mind tricks.

Science fiction stretches us. Think Harry Potter. Our imaginations glowed in sheer delight with the first movie. Our ability to see life in amazing and exciting ways is without limits. We can discover adventure, sweetness, safety, so many things, but until we let our minds explore avenues that seem wacky, ridiculous, or outrageous, we tend to shut down our imagination and consequently our lives.

I've lived on the edge most of my life, from starting to meditate when I was very young, while being a member of a Country Club and having an active social life, to walking on fire before it was vogue. Wow, did I get raised eye-brows for that. I actually thought it was cool that I could control my mind enough so that I could walk on 1,400 degree coals, but some people just looked at that as if I was loco and that making cookies or sipping Chivas Regal might be more acceptable behavior.

Getting drunk and acting crazy seemed less like risk taking and more like copying the social norm. Maybe one does crazy things when they are drunk, but many a fool has acted out of character when under the influence. Getting drunk and acting out takes no courage. Real courage allows us to do what sings in our hearts even if that choice takes us outside of society's approval zone.

I cofounded a spiritual center before the idea of being spiritual, as opposed to being religious, was an Oprah sponsored idea. I climbed mountains. Okay, to some they may not have been large hills, but to me a 6 hour uphill trek was daunting. I've stayed in the Amazon Jungle. I've jumped off a cliff; to clarify, it was over a lake. There was something empowering about a Vision Quest or rapelling down a rock cliff, yet nothing we do in the physical world can rival the power of the present moment. It took travel and doing some unusual things. I never handled snakes – well not as a religious ceremony, but I've made life more of a risk-taking experience than most, and I found every road, every adventure returned me to now.

Just to recap the journey, it begins when we can entertain new mind-bending ideas and concepts. We grow when we live our lives according to the inner music, and we blossom when we can let go enough to be fully present without zoning out or needing to fix, manipulate, or control life. It's a journey that leads from the head to the heart and it's the only one worth living.

As you can see, the body doesn't need to go anywhere to make that change. It's called the journey without distance. So before you spend your life trying to figure out what is wrong and what will make it work, consider this truth. Everything you need to make your life be what it is meant to be is here. You are already supplied with it. Find a way to keep your mind quiet enough to hear your heart speak and you will find that your life can be EZier and EZier.

Anne

  Quotes

"It is always really useful to hear from someone who has been to hell and back, and can testify."
  – Gangaji

"The people who are the hardest to love are the ones who need it the most."
  – Dan Millman in The Peaceful Warrior

“All blame is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless of how much you blame him, it will not change you."
  – Wayne Dyer

  Houston Theosophical Society

Anne Sermons Gillis currently serves as the president of the Houston Lodge of the Theosophical Society.

Meetings are held on the first and third Saturdays at 10 AM Central Time in Houston, Texas.

For more information visit The Houston Lodge or visit our national organization at http://www.Theosophical.org.

We encourage our members to live a life in service to humanity, in stillness through mediation, and in study of ancient wisdom.

  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

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

Offbeat Prayers for the Modern Mystic is now available on Kindle. Click for details.

  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

All times below are Central Time.
January 28, 2014
Tues., 3:00 – 4:00 PM
Life Changing Insights with Dr. Alan Simberg
Listen to Dr. Alan Simberg interview Anne Sermons Gillis. The show starts at 3 PM and Anne will come on at 3:30 PM. Click here to listen online.

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
Wed., 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 7 and 18, 2014
Fri. & Tue., 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

  Healthy Living

EZ to cook, creamed oat meal

I like steel cut oats for breakfast. I rarely eat them because it takes 45 minutes to cook them. This morning I tried my EZ cooking trick on the oats and they were table ready in minutes. What's the secret? Grind your oats in a coffee grinder until it is a meal/flour. Then cook with water as normal. It cooks in minutes. It's EZ to cook, creamed oat meal. If you buy the fast cooking oats, they are processed so they can cook faster. This shortcut allows you to save time and still have a nonprocessed food.

This trick works with brown rice and barley too. You can make your own cream of barley or cream of rice. They are so good on a cold day. The barley takes a little longer to cook than the oats, but the cooking time is greatly reduced.

  Anne Talks

"A 2nd Conversation with Anne Sermons Gillis" Anne interviewed a second time by Dennis Tardan. (41:25)

"The Searcher's Road Map Show with guest Anne Sermons Gillis" Anne interviewed by Keith Blanchard, first interview. (57:23)

"The Art and Wisdom of Easy Living" Anne Interviewed by Robin Blanc Mascari of Zing Wisdom Network: Insights for Conscious Evolution. (1:06:33)

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Editor/Publisher: Charles David Heineke of TheDoorway.org.

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