A Note From Anne

Dear ,

I always want to start my greeting line with something about the weather. When weather extremes happen, they affect us personally, but when I listen to people talking about the weather, I admit my mind often strays.

We take the weather personally, as if it's plotting against us and we want our friends and loved ones to know the circumstances of our lives and the weather seems to be a big circumstance. When it's cold and dreary, I feel like snuggling in front of the fire, and 105 degree heat often determines what I will do outside, but I bet that is not interesting to others.

There’s an old song about hard times and the weather. Maybe you’ve heard it: Side By Side. It was written in 1927 and you might enjoy hearing this spirit lifting song that came out when people were faced with difficult times.

Have a great week, take it easy, and remember that life is not a problem.

NOTE: Click to go to the Anne's Books section below for the Free Kindle Giveaway of Offbeat Prayers for the Modern Mystic on February 11-15, 2014.

Anne

  The Three Forces

Our behaviors are not always what we want them to be. Our habits take us off mark. They can put us in physical jeopardy and lock us in mental and emotional prisons. There's always a list of things to change or rearrange. The list may include things such as altering our eating habits, our worry habits, having children, or turning our lives in a different direction.

I learned about the three forces when I was in my 30's. The information has proven invaluable. These are the forces that mobilize when we decide to make a change. Unless we are fully apprised of the obstacles we may encounter, we might give up without giving ourselves the support we need to guide our lives in the right direction.

What are The Three Forces?

The first force is success. We set a goal and begin to experience success. We find the perfect book to inspire us. We eat healthier food. We find immediate leads on that new job. We lose weight. We don't lose our tempers. Our relationships flourish. Whatever our goal or desire, we seem to be successful or we are well on the way to success and are on top of the world. Wow.

The second force is resistance. We had stopped eating after 9 PM, then out of the blue we start craving mango lassis at 10 PM. The desire is fiercer than ever and we can't resist. The relationship, the one that was getting better, turns sour. Things appear to be worse than ever. Resistance is the ego's last attempt to keep us down. The ego never wants change. But maybe there's another element to this downturn.

Resistance is two sided. It can be our egos trying to sabotage us. If it is our ego messing with us, we need to persist and keep taking steps toward our goals. Another aspect of resistance is a delay that asks us to look deeply. Delay and obstacles give us time and space to clarify our desires. Are going in the direction of our deepest needs? If it's our hearts that bring up resistance, we need to find what soul needs undergird our desires.

I was engaged to a man who stood before a large audience at a relationships seminar and declared he would move mountains to make our relationship the best it could be. He wanted us to be role models and we were the happy couple for about 6 more seconds. Knowing the second force, I was dubious, and then it happened; our relationship tanked. After five years together, he broke our engagement and left. This is a living example of the second force. After our initial success to a greater commitment, we were blind-sided by the ferocity of the second force.

The third force is persistence. It's essential to recognize the ego's attempts and the energy of the second force. There is a part of the mind that doesn't want you to succeed. Persistence is the force that triumphs over resistance. It is important to believe in what you want and take consistent action toward changing your life.

This is a good time to reevaluate, to be sure you still want what you are reaching for. You may want to look at your goal in a different way. If your goal is to have an emotionally honest and loving relationship and heretofore you have been fighting like combat soldiers, you may want to rework your desire. Maybe you could change your desire to be something like, "My partner and I are getting along a little better every day." Expect small positive changes in your relationship and work together to make those things happen.

You may want to take the focus off your relationship all together and focus on yourself. You might realize your partner has no investment in making things different. You can only make changes in your own life. Persistence gives us the opportunity to examine our wants and to be sure they serve our highest good. Beneath all our desires and goals, there is an essence want that drives desires. You may want to write a book, but underneath that desire, is really your need to feel appreciated or acknowledged as a person. Persistence allows you to keep looking at different angles of your desire so you can get to the essence of what you want. It may be that the resistance we encounter is the heart saying to take a new look at our desire. If we just drop our wants, without examining them, we might not get the message. Examine all sides of your desires so you can see which ones bring you closer to your ultimate goals of peace and joy.

In creating our lives, changing our habits, and obtaining our goals, there are three forces: success, resistance, and persistence. Remember not to bail on your desires at the first sign of trouble. We must recognize these forces and use then to our benefit, and when we do, we can definitely make our lives easier and easier.

Anne

  Quotes

"The ego skips over an experience and substitutes thoughts for experience. In assuming it has already had that experience, the ego misses experiencing the moment altogether, which is where the juiciness and aliveness of life is."
  – Gina Lake

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious."
  – Albert Einstein

“If you put yourself in a position where you have to stretch outside your comfort zone, then you are forced to expand your consciousness."
  – Anonymous

  Houston Theosophical Society

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

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

"Recognition of the unique value of every living being expresses itself in reverence for life, compassion for all, sympathy with the need of all individuals to find truth for themselves, and respect for all religious traditions."
   --The Theosophical World View

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.

  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

Now available on Kindle. Click for details.

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

Now available on Kindle. Click for details.

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

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.
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 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

Vegan Chocolate Tahini Fudge

Vegan Chocolate Tahini Fudge
Click image for larger view.

Healthy living is a challenge in our culture, especially if you have a sweet tooth, but I've found something your sweet tooth is going to love. A friend sent this recipe. I tweaked it quite a bit and it's terrific. It is somewhat addictive and much healthier than standard candy. It's Vegan Tahini Fudge. I've substituted carob instead of chocolate and if you have any cacoa (that's a raw chocolate) nibs, you may want to add them as well.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup tahini
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 3 tablespoons carob powder
• 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon or less to taste. This makes the carob sweeter and makes it taste more like chocolate.
• 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne or more, to taste
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the tahini and coconut oil until smooth. (This works best if the coconut oil is slightly warm. In the winter it tends to harden.)

Add everything else and stir until smooth and creamy. I put about two tablespoons in a tiny bowl per serving.

Place the dishes in the freezer on a tray and allow the fudge to set. It will melt if you leave it out too long, so for best results, keep it in the freezer until you're ready to eat it. It's like a frozen treat. I eat it with a spoon.

  Anne Talks

"Go On Life Support - It's Always Available" (1:59)

"Love is Not What You Think" (23:32)

"Celebrating Life" (21:08)